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Low graduation rates are a significant issue for colleges. The majority of higher education institutions in the United States offer learning communities (LCs), which have been found to be effective for improving course success and persisting to the next semester. However, there is a gap in the literature regarding the effectiveness of LCs with different types of populations and different types of LCs. The purpose of this meta-analysis was to identify the most effective types of LCs. Research questions addressed the effects of different types of LCs on different student success outcomes for community colleges. The study was based on Tinto's interactionist model of student departure and Astin's model of student involvement. Studies examining the relationship between student success and participation in college LCs provided the data for the meta-analysis. A random effects model was used to generate the average effect size for 39 studies and 50 individual effect sizes. The results showed that LCs are most effective with community college students when they include additional support strategies, counseling is available to students, one of the linked courses is an academic skills course, at least one of the linked course is developmental, and the focus is on increasing course success or student engagement. The implications for positive social change suggest that LC programs implement two linked courses, include an academic skills course, focus on developmental courses, and provide access to a counselor and additional student support strategies. In addition, LC programs are most effective when the goals of the program are student engagement and course success.

Parents and teachers have differing perspectives of parental involvement which presents a barrier to the development of effective parental involvement. This mixed-method, sequential, exploratory study of parents and teachers in rural school districts sought to identify, compare, and analyze these divergent parental involvement perspectives. A sample of 122 parents and 21 certified teachers from 3 rural elementary schools were first surveyed using parallel questions from Epstein's School and family partnerships parent (or teacher) questionnaire (SFP). Independent-sample t-tests of SFP scales confirmed parental involvement perspectives of parents and teachers differed significantly. Survey data was analyzed descriptively and identified 5 specific topics of differences: parents' ability to help with reading and math, their need for teacher ideas, checking homework, volunteering, teacher and parent communication, and sharing learning expectations. Next, 5 focus groups of parents, teachers, and parents and teachers together probed these topics. Digital recordings of focus group data were transcribed, segmented, and coded for repeated words and phrases. Themes were then inductively developed. Results specified parents want clear, timely communication, while teachers want parents' support and to assist with children's homework. Results further indicated improved communication would assist in building stronger parent teacher relationships. Focus groups provided a venue for communication and building relationships inspiring transformation. The implications of social change are that parental involvement programs that address the perspectives of both parents and teachers improve understanding and promote a sense of social justice where both parents and teachers share positions of power in the education of children.

With two-thirds of new leaders being women, it has become increasingly more clear that the face of our educational organizations is changing both symbolically and substantively. The demands placed on public education have also grown exponentially. If society demands that schools become better, then it is necessary to investigate the approaches that school leaders utilize in making decisions. The purpose of this research was to explore the different approaches that educational leaders implement during their decision-making processes. The present study asked 20 school leaders within Miami Dade County Public Schools to report and explain their personal approaches to leadership to determine if these individuals utilize the reporting categories of masculine, feminine, or multidimensional decision making. Following a four-round modified electronic Delphi technique, involving an open-ended questionnaire, a situation specific decision making survey, and two subsequent rounds of reflection, it was determined that the majority of school leaders use a multidimensional approach in making decisions; however, these individuals did not adhere strictly to any one of the specific reporting categories discussed. The study showed that the incorporation of several approaches contributed to the decision-making processes of educational leaders. Although contrary to relevant literature in the field, participants’ leadership approaches were not stringently tied to whether they happened to be male or female. The results of the current study suggest that research in sex-role orientations and gender studies, especially in the fields of organizational and educational leadership, may be evolving. The complex nature surrounding leadership in schools may imply that the infusion of a diverse or multidimensional approach to decision making is a necessary part of steering an organization towards a path that meets contemporary education demands. The environment particular to each school determines the leadership approach that is appropriate. Environmental variables may include the school’s history, the demographics of students and personnel, and details involving the type of organizational culture that has been fostered. Practical implications of the current study include exploring appropriate leadership and the role that multidimensional leadership approaches have in fulfilling the needs of specific schools. These leadership styles not only incorporate masculine and feminine leadership approaches, but also integrate approaches that can be considered androgynous and multidimensional.

Advocates of middle grades reform in the United States argue that curriculum and instruction, as well as leadership, organization, and community relationships, should be informed by knowledge of the developmental characteristics of 10 to 15 year-olds within physical, social, emotional, psychological, cognitive, and moral domains. Noticeably absent from their conception of human development are spiritual developmental characteristics of young adolescents. This interdisciplinary research was a critical constructivist (Kincheloe, 2008) inquiry of the following question: What is the educational relevance of spiritual development in middle grades education? To study this question, critical historiographical research methods (Villaverde, Kincheloe, & Helyar, 2006) were used to interrogate the academic discourses of three fields related to the research question: (a) the middle grades concept; (b) spirituality as a developmental domain; and (c) holistic education. Foundational texts from these fields served as sources of data. I present the result of the data analyses as narratives on the paradigms that influenced the (hi)stories of these three academic fields. These narratives were analyzed for common epistemological and ontological perspectives. Amongst the paradigms of the three fields, three meta-paradigms are shared: Ecological Epistemology, Holistic Ontology, and Positivist Ontology. In addition, a discursive interrelationship within each field, a dynamic of paradox, was found between the three meta-paradigms. These results offer encouragement for the relevance of spiritual development as part of the middle grades concept, as they suggest that integration of knowledge of adolescent spiritual development is theoretically supported by commitments to caring relationships in schools and constructivist learning theory. The results also suggest a paradigm revolution (Kuhn, 1996) that might allow for a new discourse of possibility (Giroux, 1981) for spirituality in education. This dissertation research could serve as a basis for further research that focuses on how to integrate knowledge of adolescent spiritual development in public schools in the United States.

Abstract The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore perceptions of loss and grief experiences within religious rites and rituals vis-à-vis the context of counseling. Literature indicated the need for a better understanding of grief and loss experiences from bereaved individuals’ perspectives and the context within which loss and grief experiences occur (Dillenburger & Keenan, 2005; Stroebe, Hansson, Schut, & Stroebe, 2008). Participants for this study included 10 purposefully selected Catholic members from two Catholic Church parishes in Nigeria, Africa. All participants had experienced loss and grief, had participated in Catholic burial and funeral rites and rituals, and were 21 years or older. The main research question was: How do bereaved individuals perceive their grief experiences within the context of Catholic burial and funeral rites and rituals? Data collected to answer the research questions consisted of observations, semi-structured interviews, and documents. A cross-analysis approach was used that identified 63 themes, which were collapsed into 11 major themes. depicted in three areas; bereaved participants’ grief experiences, bereaved participants’ experiences of rites and rituals, and implications for counseling. The findings of this study indicated that loss of a relationship was a dominant preoccupation in grief and grieving process. Additional themes reflected by bereaved individuals’ grief and grieving experiences were; time and nature of death, religious rites and rituals, family and community support, family frictions, financial stressors, positive memories, belief system, finding meaning, ongoing traumatization, and counseling. Overall, the conclusion from this study was that three areas conceptualize loss and grief experiences: bereaved participants’ grief experiences, bereaved participants’ experiences of rites and rituals, and implications for counseling.

This study of African American undergraduates at Emory & Henry College, Tusculum College, Western Carolina University, East Tennessee State University, Appalachian State University, and University of North Carolina at Asheville was conducted to determine students' stages of identity development, level of involvement in campus activities, and demographic characteristics within historically White Southern Appalachian colleges and universities, both public and independent. Three research questions were answered by analyzing 21 null hypotheses using the t-test and the chi square test. Hypotheses were tested at the.05 level of significance. Data collected in this study revealed that the students' perceptions of identity development and their level of involvement at historically White public or independent colleges and universities in Southern Appalachia were more similar than different. Comparative analyses sought differences in public and independent student differences in identity development, involvement, and characteristics of African American students at public and independent colleges and universities. Few statistically significant differences were found in the demographic characteristics, stages of identity development, and level of involvement. A comparative analysis of African American undergraduates at independent colleges and universities revealed significant differences in the level of involvement and demographic characteristics. Public universities enrolled more females and their students had more pre-college cultural experiences than independent students. Students enrolled in public universities were significantly less involved in sports than independent students. Specific demographic characteristics did not affect college choices. Data in this study indicated a need for improving the programs, activities, and services available to African American undergraduates attending historically White colleges and universities in Southern Appalachia. Several recommendations were made. Institutional and programmatic strategies were outlined to improve identity development and involvement of African American undergraduates at Emory & Henry College, Tusculum College, Western Carolina University, University of North Carolina at Asheville, East Tennessee State University, and Appalachian State University.