Supervision is seen as an essential and important element in the training of counselors. As trainees receive much of their role definition from their supervisors, an unsatisfactory supervisory relationship where the trainee is experiencing incongruence between his or her beliefs about his or her role in the counseling situation and the messages being received from the supervisor can be seen as a source of stress and frustration. The present study was designed to examine the relationship between role conflict, satisfaction with supervision, and psychological strain.Results indicate there is a significant positive relationship between theoretical congruence and satisfaction with supervision. No significant positive relationships were found, however, between role conflict and psychological strain, or between theoretical congruence and psychological strain. Additionally, no significant negative relationships were found between role conflict and theoretical congruence or between role conflict and satisfaction with supervisionFurthermore, post hoc analysis revealed significant relationships by gender. In males, for example, a significant negative relationship was found between supervisory working alliance and role conflict.In females, a significant positive relationship was found between theoretical congruence and supervisory working alliance. / Department of Counseling Psychology and Guidance Services

This study explored the extent to which graduate students enrolled in Higher Education courses were proficient at writing. While writing proficiency has been extensively studied in elementary students, high school students, and undergraduates, little attention has been paid to formally evaluating graduate student proficiency. Despite the relatively new idea of assessing graduate student writing, it is a concern for graduate faculty and a valid area for study. This study was based on a sample of graduate students enrolled in at least one course in Higher Education at public institutions of higher education in the United States. A total sample size of 97 students was obtained. Two instruments were administered to the participants: A General Information and Writing Experience Questionnaire (G-WEQ) and the SAT II: Writing Test, Part B. The G-WEQ was designed to capture demographic information about the participants, as well as allow participants to provide a self-assessment of writing and describe the writing experiences they are currently encountering in graduate school. To assess writing proficiency for the participants, the SAT II: Writing Test, Part B was used. The purpose of the test is to "measure [test takers'] ability to...recognize faults in usage and structure, and to use language with sensitivity to meaning" (Educational Testing Service, 1999-2000, p.7). The z-Statistic for a Single Sample Mean significance test was used to determine whether the sample mean scored significantly higher than the population mean on the SAT II: Writing Test. This was not the case (z=0.295, p<0.38). The graduate students in this sample did not score significantly higher on the SAT II: Writing Test, Part B than the typical high school senior whose scores enter into the norm group.

That graduate study is detrimental to marriages has received empirical support. This study utilized systems theory to examine and help explain the dissolution process of graduate student marriages. Specifically, it examined the impact of marital structure on perceptions of marital quality. Drawing primarily from Scheinkman's (1988) qualitative study, spouses in asymmetrical marriages (i.e., marriages where only one spouse is in graduate school), as opposed to symmetrical marriages (i.e., marriages where both spouses are in graduate school), were hypothesized to report (a) less satisfaction with the division of household labor, (b) lower perceptions of equity, and (c) less satisfaction with emotional intimacy. These, in turn, were hypothesized to lower perceptions of marital quality. Participants from a list of master's and doctoral-level students at a west coast university in the United States were randomly selected and contacted by phone. Only married students and their partners were solicited for participation. The final sample consisted of 121 married individuals (60 husband-wife pairs, 1 female) who responded to a mailed questionnaire. Of these 121 respondents, 85 were involved in asymmetrical arrangements and 36 in symmetrical arrangements. Contrary to expectations, asymmetry did not indirectly (and negatively) affect marital quality through satisfaction with the division of household labor and perception of equity. There was, however, some evidence that asymmetry negatively influenced marital quality by lowering spouses' satisfaction with emotional intimacy. This latter finding was considered to be meaningfully significant because satisfaction with emotional intimacy was by far the strongest predictor of marital quality. The findings are discussed primarily in terms of the education level of each spouse. Reconceptualizing asymmetry as an educational or power differential, or even more generally as a difference in emotional experiences, is recommended. In other words, it is not the number of spouses in school per se that matters; it is the understanding and emotional connectedness between them. / Graduation date: 1997

The purpose of the study was to analyze strategies and techniques used in graduate student recruitment efforts at institutions of higher education which have developed graduate student recruitment programs involving administrative personnel in graduate schools. The population consisted of 71 graduate school deans. The deans, however, were given the alternative of selecting an alternate administrator to respond to the survey provided the alternate possessed experience with graduate recruitment activities.A Likert-type instrument consisting of 42 questionnaire items was utilized to gather data pertaining to the respondent and the institution included in the survey, organization for graduate recruitment, current and desired involvement with recruitment administrative functions, plus usage and perceived effectiveness of selected strategy/techniques used in graduate recruitment.Findings1. Institutions having the greatest available finances for graduate recruitment activities tended to have coordinated recruitment programs.2. Graduate administrators expressed strong interest in being involved with the development of recruitment planning, setting goals and identifying desirable recruitment strategies and techniques.3. A lack of formal training existed for personnel engaged in graduate student recruitment.4. Financial assistance, prompt response to applicant inquiry, and personal contact from the concerned department (faculty) were perceived as very effective student recruitment strategy/techniques.5. The utilization of alumni as well as establishing contact with representatives from business and industry were viewed as valuable but relatively untapped sources for increasing the number of graduate student applications.Conclusions1. The projected decline in the 18 to 24 year-old population group can be off-set partially by conscientious efforts to attract former degree recipients from other age groups, women and minorities.2. Graduate student recruitment has traditionally differed from undergraduate recruitment. Much, of the current activity conducted as. graduate recruitment is uncoordinated and difficult to monitor; however, efforts to organize graduate recruitment programs are attracting the attention of graduate administrators nationally, thus creating the potential for an emerging professional area in graduate education.3. Financial support for coordinated graduate recruitment programs will be derived predominantly from the university budget.4. Faculty are imperative to successful graduate student recruitment, therefore, recruitment planning should include ways to effectively utilize outstanding faculty in the recruitment process.

The present exploratory study focused on international graduate students who might experience some difficulties with major life transitions and studying in a different culture. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between personal assertiveness and social support satisfaction among international graduate students. The researcher hypothesized that assertive international graduate students would report higher levels of seeking out and marshalling social support. Thus, they would more likely be satisfied with their perceived social support. The present study also examined several demographic variables such as ethnicity, sex, TOEFL scores, GPA, and length of stay in the U.S., as possible factors affecting their assertiveness and perceived social support satisfaction. The major findings indicated that assertiveness did not always augment social support satisfaction in the current sample. However, the results of the study demonstrated the effects of ethnicity and several other variables in predicting the levels of assertiveness and perceived social support satisfaction among international graduate students. The study also suggested several implications for future research regarding the relationship between interpersonal variables and perceived social support satisfaction. / Department of Psychological Science

This study is an exploration of the educational experiences of women from the Caribbean island of Barbados who traveled to the USA to pursue higher education. An autoethnography research methodology was used in order to capture each woman’s educational experiences. Autoethnography also supported the inclusion of the researcher’s voice and interpretations as a Barbadian woman fitting the criteria for participation. These educational journeys represented the field and cultural world under study. Through analysis, themes emerged from each woman's description of Influential Others; Protagonist Self; and Educational Settings within her storied journey. Storied experiences in relation to race, ethnicity, and being women and the role American Higher Education had in each woman's life were also analyzed. The emergent themes supported the existence of a web of interacting narratives spun first in Barbados and extending to American Higher Education. Through the educational settings each woman interacted with, this web of narratives linked her educational journey to the narratives of the people who went before her; beside her; and after her. This web of narratives also supports each woman’s storied understanding of self, others, and settings within that journey. / Access to thesis permanently restricted to Ball State community only / Department of Educational Studies

The role of work in one's life, especially as it is represented by experienced workers, has been the focus of many studies; the role of education in relation to the traditional college age student's life has also been studied extensively. However, there is limited research concerning the role of education in relation to the career development of the more mature graduate student who is a member of both the educational and the work community. The primary purpose of this study was to determine if graduate students were mature in their career development and whether there was a difference in the career maturity stages of students who attended graduate school with the intention of changing their occupations as compared with those who intended to enhance them. A secondary purpose was to determine whether age, gender, major field of study, or years worked in current occupation had a relationship to the career maturity of these graduate students. A descriptive design was used in the study. Instruments used to collect data were demographic data sheets and the Adult Career Concerns Inventory of Super, Thompson, and Lindeman (1988). The subjects were 200 randomly selected graduate students from one private and one public university in the Washington metropolitan area. Data were collected by survey and analyzed by descriptive statistics, chi-square analysis, t tests, and regression. The results showed a statistically significant difference between Career Enhancers and Career Changers in the Exploration Stage of the ACCI. Age in relation to career maturity was found to be statistically significant. No statistically significant relationships were found between gender, major field of study, or years worked in current occupation and the career maturity of graduate students. / Ed. D.

The problem with which this study is concerned is to determine and identify the factors associated with the choices Arab graduate students make when selecting their graduate school and major area of study at institutions of higher education in the United States. In addition, comparisons are made between the responses of Arab graduate students (1) who attend American private schools with those who attend American public schools and (2) those who are self-supported with those who are outside supported.

A number of studies have been conducted on the attrition rates of undergraduate and graduate students. However, the body of knowledge concerning attrition for doctoral students, especially those who have attained the level of “all but dissertation” (ABD), is limited. The purpose of this research was to examine retention and attrition factors of doctoral candidates from a typical Higher Education Doctoral Program (Research II Public Institution) who were admitted to candidacy from 1991 through July 2000. Participation of the subject population was limited to those who had attained the level of ABD--those who had previously fulfilled the residency, coursework, foreign language or tool-subject requirements, and successfully completed the comprehensive/qualifying exams. This population included current ABDs, previously attrited ABDs, and graduates of the degree program. The research study was qualitative and intended to identify the effect of specific, predetermined factors that may have influenced or affected the progress of current, previous, and graduated students towards the doctoral degree in higher education. This study obtained responses to questions from the questionnaire/survey instrument concerning factors that affected program completion or attrition. Students had the opportunity to elaborate on factors from their dissertation, advisement, and personal, financial, and employment experiences that affected their ability to complete the program through open-ended question responses. By examining key factors in the doctoral degree experience from the three sample groups (current ABDs, previous ABDs, and graduated Ed.Ds), this study was able to draw some conclusions about doctoral attrition. Reconstructing and comparing the experiences of ABDs from the point of candidacy to the point of attrition or completion of the program determined trends, commonalities, and issues affecting achievement. Results of this study add to the limited research concerning ABD attrition and provide an insight from the student perspective as to the obstacles and support variables in the quest for the doctoral degree.

The Ronald E. McNair Scholars Program is a U.S. Department of Education TRIO Program, funded at 152 institutions across the United States and Puerto Rico. In 2013, total funding reached over $35 million--of which, Portland State University received approximately $211,000 (US Department of Education, 2013). The program's goal is to introduce first-generation, low-income, under-represented group college students to effective strategies for succeeding in doctoral programs so they may become professors and create a more supportive environment for future non-traditional students. One way to explore program effectiveness beyond completion of the McNair Program is to ask the McNair Scholars themselves about program impact. This comparative interview study explores McNair graduates' understandings of issues they face in adjusting to graduate school and how participation in the McNair Program prepared them to address these issues. Typically, McNair program evaluations emphasize the collection and analysis of quantitative data - e.g. graduate school enrollment and degree attainment. However, little qualitative research has been conducted on graduate's perceptions of the impact of program participation on their graduate school experiences. This study, which uses Bourdieu's Theory of Social Reproduction, along with the sociology-based ideas of role-as-resource, role mastery, and expertise development, explores students' perceptions of the McNair Program's effectiveness in regards to helping them understand the "graduate student" role and use that role to succeed in graduate school and beyond.