This is a constructivist grounded theory study that explored and investigated the leadership understandings of collegiate women in Saudi Arabia’s private non-profit universities, the opportunities they have to develop leadership, and how and why they develop leadership. The researcher engaged in semi-structured interviews with 25 collegiate women who have experiences in student leadership in one or more cocurricular program at their respective university. The findings revealed that collegiate women: (a) have a collective sense of the importance in developing their leadership potential to better themselves, to better each other, and for the betterment of the Saudi Arabian society; (b) they are interested in and motivated to develop their leadership potential; (c) develop leadership in inconsistent and informal ways; and (d) understand leadership as a relational practice. This is an unprecedented study in the field of college student leadership development within the context of Saudi Arabia. The findings have a number of important implications for action and future research in Saudi Arabia, as well as in neighboring countries that share similar complexities pertaining to women’s role and status in society.

<p> This study examined the extent to which a relationship exists between Christian spirituality and the intercultural effectiveness of academic leaders in Christian higher education. The study utilized a sequential mixed methods approach, with two quantitative surveys administered first, followed by a qualitative open-ended e-mail survey in order to delve deeper into the quantitative findings and answer the research questions. Thirty-four academic leaders responded to the quantitative surveys for a response rate of 51.5%, and eight academic leaders were purposefully selected for the subsequent qualitative survey. No statistically strong relationships between Christian spirituality and intercultural effectiveness were found in this investigation. The quantitative research found Awareness of God to have a slight moderate relationship with interpersonal engagement, and instability was found to have a slight negative moderate relationship with hardiness. Subsequently, eight academic leaders participated in the qualitative research that further explained some relationship between Christian spirituality and intercultural effectiveness in the context of Christian higher education.</p>

<p> Peer assessment in higher education can contribute to students' domain knowledge, engagement, critical thinking, and self-assessment skills. This qualitative study explored how peer assessment fits within the teaching practice of project management faculty as they prepare students to lead empowered project teams. A substantive grounded theory was generated from analysis of surveys, interviews and course documents to examine the positions, practices, goals, and outcomes of integrating peer assessment in their practice. Integration of peer assessment is promoted by a constructivist orientation, online teaching, and teaching adult learners. Project management educators engage in an active learning cycle of seeking support, puzzling, experimenting, and adapting their integration of peer assessment. Connections to theory, and implications for enhancing the integration and sustainability of peer assessment in project management education are discussed.</p>

<p> Student affairs professionals work directly with university students in various programs that provide services to these students. From these experiences, they collect daily valuable insights about how to serve students successfully. Yet, in general, they are not publishing about their work even though dissemination of such knowledge through publication could positively impact programs and services across many institutions. My dissertation explored what happens when mid-level student affairs professionals pursue scholarly writing during a structured program intended to help participants produce manuscripts for publication. In working with five professionals in student services at a large urban institution in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States, I learned about participants' identities as scholars as well as which writing strategies they found effective. I worked with participants using case study and action research methodologies and used writing coaching as an intervention to support the tenets of autonomy, competence, and relatedness as defined by Self-Determination Theory. Participants viewed strategies that created a habit of practice that fostered writing to be the most effective. Participants varied in how they viewed themselves professionally along the scholar-practitioner continuum. Leadership can create environments to foster scholarship among student affairs professionals. I give recommendations not only for senior student affairs officers but also for graduate programs in higher education as well as national student affairs organizations to promote research and writing in the profession. Lastly, I share recommendations for further research.</p>

<p> Thirty four international doctoral students were interviewed to determine what types of advising and mentoring experiences were effective and beneficial, and what experiences had been difficult or unhelpful. The students reported a high level of satisfaction with their advisors and with their program of studies. However, during the interviews, students began to describe other factors that contributed to their well-being and their experiences. </p><p> Issues described included language difficulties and problems developing relationships with other students. Although most students developed close, personal relationships with advisors or departmental colleagues, few students reported having large numbers of friends and associates outside of their academic departments. </p><p> Topics that international doctoral students described as significant in their lives included specific obstacles encountered with immigration or visas, family and financial concerns. Several lived in poverty, and the precarious nature of their personal incomes and academic financing was frustrating and stressful. The students also spoke of the ways in which they had grown as scholars and as individuals. These experiences influenced how the students visualized their future positions as educators, global citizens, and community members. They were open to new ideas and experiences. The students frequently used language that was associated with high levels of self-efficacy and personal growth; in many ways they mentored themselves. Potential policy changes and additional areas of research are identified.</p>

<p> This study investigates the different levels of confidence, motivation, and self-concept of several student populations at one community college. The existing literature on the subject of self-concept describes a multi-dimensional and complex phenomenon that is sometimes overlooked when assessing students&rsquo; higher education needs. Student self-perceptions and motivations, however, are based on the sum total of experiences a student&rsquo;s experiences. They represent a measurement of aptitude not currently addressed by most standardized instruments. What self-concept offers is a better understanding of what students believe their capabilities are and possible pathways to success.</p><p> Through the use of mean comparisons and blocked-entry regression models, several differences in motivations, ability, and self-concept levels among various group comparisons were identified. Differences in mean cumulative G.P.A. performance were examined by gender, race/ethnicity, college readiness, and other student success categories. An interesting case of possible variable suppression was found in one of the models examining student leadership self-concept, and this should be examined in future studies of the concept. </p><p> Understanding individual academic and social self-concept levels could improve the success of tailored or customized curricula and student services in higher education. A combination of individual and custom approaches is recommended in order to address the unique needs of individuals and targeted populations. Self-concept variables provide educators data that could be extremely powerful in assessing the academic needs of minorities, first-generation, traditional, non-traditional, and at-risk students.</p>

This study is a qualitative investigation of the role that social networks play in the adjustment and academic success of international students. With large numbers of international students enrolled on US campuses, it is important for practitioners to prepare, understand and address their dynamic needs. Based on social network, social capital, and student development integrated framework, the study focuses on how international students utilize social networks to adjust and for academic success. Data were gathered through 30 in-depth, semi-structured interviews with international students. The number of international students coming to the US has increased dramatically. As this increase continues to pick, competition for these students locally and globally has intensified. Competing effectively requires addressing the needs and challenges these students face. Social networks of friends, family members, faculty, and administrators address the different needs and challenges facing this population. Yet, few studies have investigated how the students utilize social networks. Despite their fundamental role in students' adjustment and academic success, social networks have received little attention from higher education scholars, particularly on the role of social networks in the students' adjustment and success. This study investigated social networks of international students in general, factors that facilitate and impede social networking, how different networks correspond to different needs, and ways in which these networks help the students adjust and succeed. The findings of this study confirm that social networks play an important role in the various needs and challenges international students encounter as they pursue their studies.

This study is a multidisciplinary historical analysis of the national junior-community college mission debate in the twentieth century. It utilizes resource dependency, institutional and social movement theories to explain the organizational behaviors of the community college as these relate to the concept of mission. Historians of the colleges note that the first junior colleges were established without clear missions or a plausible theoretical framework to rationalize their educational activities and social purposes. Growth in concern about the mission and identity of the community college parallels movement expansion.A common conception among community college scholars is that the colleges are non-traditional, non-specialized by design, and mandated to provide a comprehensive curriculum to their communities. Practitioners tend to focus on the ideas of openness, access, and responsiveness to community needs. Historically, there has been little consensus among practitioners, advocates, and academic researchers about the educational outcomes and social significance of the colleges. Practitioners and critics often speak past each other because they employ incommensurate units of analysis and possess conflicting or unexamined assumptions. As a result, these multiple lenses of analysis lead to multiple understandings (and misunderstanding) of the community college mission.This study analyzes how and why the junior college was transformed from a minor extension of secondary education to an expansive, ubiquitous national institution embracing a fungible, even amorphous, comprehensive mission. It contextualizes two questions posed by George Vaughan:Why do even the community college's most articulate and intelligent leaders have difficulty explaining its Proteus-like characteristics? Why is it difficult to explain to the public in simple and understandable terms the twin towers of community college philosophy: open access and comprehensiveness? (1991a, p. 2)Two additional questions guide this research and lead to the investigation's findings:1) How can organization, institutional and social movement theories clarify the mission problem?2) What is the impact of postindustrial change on the contemporary community college mission?This study employs historical methods, grounded theory, and case study methodology to elaborate and explain organizational behavior and to uncover previously ignored characteristics of the national community movement.

The field of higher education offers a wealth of literature concerning part-time, adjunct faculty. While the decision to employ this category of labor is crucial to the financial exigency of many institutions this study adopts the perspective of the individual employee and to investigate the motivations and strategies that adjuncts employ in order to teach in the field of higher education. To date, the majority of the literature concerning adjuncts has been written from the perspective of the full-time, tenure track academician. This paper investigates the perspective of adjunct faculty in higher education; specifically the personal branding efforts carried out in the execution of an adjunct's day-to-day job requirements. Additionally the study examines the economic situation - what I am calling "the new economy" - in which an adjunct must function and how this has impacted their career. And finally, the study looks at how adjunct faculty fit in and transition among the multiple taxonomies in which they have been cast by researchers.The study was a qualitative analysis of twelve adjuncts who possessed varying levels of terminal education achievement. Some temporary laborers are clearly valued by the institutions that hire them because of the skill and expertise they bring to the schools, while others rely on relationships with the decision makers to formulate a career in their chosen field. The findings from this study indicate that adjuncts clearly employ a broad variety of personal branding and selling strategies in order to maintain a foothold in the field of higher education. Future directions include the opportunity for longitudinally investigating the impact that personal branding plays in educational career as well as the impact adjuncts have on students' educational experience.

<p> With the nontraditional student population growing at a staggering rate, this study was conducted to contribute to the literature on the reasons nontraditional students remain enrolled in a university, despite having to overcome multiple challenges not typical of a traditional college student. The problem statement of this study stated: <i>It was not known how nontraditional students perceived factors and events that motivated them to stay enrolled in postsecondary courses and persist to attaining a degree.</i> The research questions were (1) How did a nontraditional student stay motivated to remain enrolled at a university? (2) What were the positive and negative experiences that influenced a nontraditional student to remain enrolled at a university? and (3) What perceived obstacles or challenges did nontraditional students experience that resulted in the decision to withdraw from a university before goal completion? Ten nontraditional students at moderate or high risk of dropping out were interviewed for this qualitative phenomenological study. The theoretical framework of Bean and Metzner&rsquo;s conceptual model of nontraditional student attrition was utilized in the study. The data were analyzed utilizing Moustakas&rsquo; modified Stevick-Colaizzi-Keen method of analysis, with thirteen themes emerging in the analysis. The theoretical implication of this study is that there are compelling reasons nontraditional students have to remain enrolled in college, despite the presence of obstacles that often lead to attrition rather than persistence. Additional research is warranted on nontraditional student retention that focuses on qualitative studies and methods of supporting these students to assist in their challenges.</p>