This mixed method Explanatory study examined the thoughts and beliefs of teachers and students at Southeastern Louisiana University (SLU) involved in online teaching and learning. Three research questions addressing faculty perceptions about their online teaching at SLU, effective teaching methods or strategies employed by online faculty at SLU, and the student perceptions about online teaching at SLU were addressed. There were two sequences of data collection: the first consisted of two surveys sent to online teachers and another to students enrolled in online courses in three academic colleges. The second sequence of interviews with nine experienced online teachers provided a fourth data source. Quantitative analysis of survey data was conducted and qualitative analysis of the interviews was accomplished. Survey findings revealed that faculty and students agreed that giving effective feedback, and providing clearly stated guidelines were important. The students said providing more clearly stated guidelines were among the things that faculty could have done more of to assist their online learning. Additional survey results and interviews with nine experienced online teachers revealed what methods and strategies were employed by online teachers at SLU within and across disciplines to build online learning communities. Findings indicated that most technical skills were not considered critical for effective online teaching; however facilitation skills such as giving effective feedback and engaging the online learner were the most critical. There was general agreement among online teachers that online teaching and face-to-face teaching were very different. Teachers who were interviewed reported that they used e-mail as the prime source of one-to-one communication with learners.

Access to higher education at the beginning of the new millennium faces unprecedented challenges. Although many of those challenges have been identified and addressed through research and federal and state policies, there still exists an inherent gap in the current and potential future success of todays college students. This is particularly true for minority and lower-income students. Some of the identified challenges include: lack of financial assistance, persisting through and graduating from college, pre-college preparation, socioeconomic status, and family support/motivation. This study focuses primarily on the financial barriers that impede the process of providing equal access to all students, which is the access dilemma. The purpose of this study is to assess the Louisiana TOPS program a) to determine its primary goals according to key administrators, policy makers, and legislators, b) to determine the extent to which key administrators, policy makers and legislators believe that TOPS has impacted the status of higher education in Louisiana, and c) to ascertain perceptions of students on the influence of the TOPS program on their educational experiences. This study also explored the various aspects of the access dilemma in Louisiana and how TOPS has positively and/or negatively influenced its various components. Qualitative and quantitative measures are employed in this study in an effort to explore the access dilemma in Louisiana and the impact that TOPS has had since its inception in 1997. Two primary sources of data resulting from a researcher-developed questionnaire and elite interviews with selected experts were merged to form the basis for this study. Major findings of the study show that a) the lack of declared goals for the TOPS program has hindered its effective administration and evaluation, b) a majority of the qualitative responses revealed that the TOPS initiative has positively impacted higher education in Louisiana, and c) TOPS has had positive and negative influences on the educational and social experiences of its recipients.

In the educational field, accountability is one of the key issues in the media. No Child Left Behind (NCLB) has made a definite impact in the political and social realm of society. However, many people do not understand what it fully means to education on all levels. The aim of this thesis is to compare and contrast the Louisiana School Accountability System with the new Federal government's No Child Left Behind. Of key interest in this comparative study is: long-term goals, flagging methods, disaggregation of subgroups, starting out - index/proficiency rate, modification/corrective plans, number of tests, indicators, and high stakes testing. An example of possible conclusions is included using elementary and middle school data from 2002. In addition to these quantitative measures, a qualitative section is integrated into the report from the researcher's own experiences as a participant observer to better inform the reader in issues concerning accountability. Many questions encircle the newly instated system, but queries particularly surround the implementation, implications, and conclusions that will be evident in the further institution of NCLB. Nevertheless, this thesis hopes to provide insight into the impact of accountability in Louisiana and, more particularly, the changes that must be made for Louisiana to be in compliance with the Federal government. Every person who has a stake in education needs to be able to understand the major components of accountability under the Federal NCLB; the aim of this project is relaying that very information.

The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of students, teachers, and administrators on the effectiveness of a study skills course, "Dynamics of Effective Study," on the academic achievement of African American students at a dedicated academic magnet high school. Qualitative research methods were utilized in this study. Fifteen African American students who completed the study skills course, fifteen African American students who did not take or complete the study skills course, five former study skills teachers, and three administrators from the dedicated academic magnet high school volunteered to participate in the study. Open-ended interviews were conducted with the students, teachers, and administrators. The students were matched by gender, class, entrance GPAs and entrance reading stanine scores from the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills (ITBS). Data were collected from written documents, transcripts, fieldnotes, and interviews, from the volunteers from the dedicated academic magnet high school and three other high schools in the school district in southeast Louisiana. Data were also collected from written documents from the school systems. Perceptions of students, teachers, and administrators of the effectiveness of the study skills course, "Dynamics of Effective Study," on the academic achievement of African American students were varied. All student participants in the study skills course, eight out of fifteen student non-participants in the study skills course, and three out of five former study skills teachers indicated that they perceived the study skills course to be effective for African American students. All three administrators indicated tht they perceived the study skills course as ineffective for African American students as it was implemented in the curriculum.

This study explores the challenges that African American women administrators experience as professionals in public institutions of higher education and the strategies they employ to cope with the resulting conflicts. It uses Black Feminism and the five dimensions as a framework for understanding the challenges and experiences. The five dimensions that characterize Black Feminist Thought are: 1) core themes of a Black woman's standpoint; 2) variation of responses to core themes; 3) interdependence of experience and consciousness; 4) consciousness and the struggle for a self-defined standpoint; and 5) interdependence of thought and action. Interviews and participant observations were conducted with 10 African American women administrators at public institutions in Louisiana. Interviews included two presidents, four vice-presidents, and four deans. During open-ended interviews, participants were asked to talk about their challenges and experiences related to their personal and professional experiences as administrators. Ten themes emerged from the research data: spirituality; family support systems; balancing career and family; racism and sexism; lack of respect by colleagues and subordinates; mentoring and networking; isolation and underrepresentation; competency and confidence; professional satisfaction and community consciousness. This study highlights the 10 African American women administrators' challenges and experiences in order to help institutions of higher learning become more supportive and reduce the challenges that promote a chilly work environment.

Standards based reform (SBR) measured by LEAP for the 21st Century (LEAP 21), the high stakes testing program in Louisiana, was explored across rural, suburban, and urban school community types. Differences in scores of Black and White eighth graders on LEAP 21 were analyzed using a multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA), revealing race and the interaction of race and community type to be statistically significant at p< .05. Black students did not score as well as White students when scores were analyzed by pass/fail and achievement level differences. The percentage of Black students passing the test increased at rates greater than White students when scores from magnet schools were included. Parents of eighth graders disagreed with the use of a single criterion for promotion. Parents said the instruction students received, pace of instruction, and stress of testing negatively affected student performance with the result that their children considered a Graduate Equivalency Diploma (GED) or quitting school. Parents agreed that affluence and the level of family support affected students test performance. Some parents also believed it was unfair that non-public school students were not required to take or pass such tests and some parents considered enrolling their child in a non-public school to avoid the consequences of the state testing program.

This study investigated the effects of selected predictor variables of academic achievement on the academic performance of student-athletes at Louisiana State University. This study attempted to identify cognitive and noncognitive variables that might explain the variance in the cumulative college grade point average (GPA)among student-athletes at LSU enrolled during the 2003-04 academic year. Cognitive variables included ACT composite score, high school GPA, and cumulative college GPA. Noncognitive variables included positive self-concept, support of academic plans, and community involvement. In addition, data were collected for two sport variables--type of sport participation (revenue and non-revenue generating sports) and time spent on sport (in hours per week). These data were analyzed using a stepwise regression method for student-athletes as a group, as well as by subgroups of gender, race, and academic classification level (freshman, upperclassmen). In addition, follow-up interviews were done with selected student-athletes to provide insight into the experiences that student-athletes encountered as a result of their dual roles as students and student-athletes. The results of this study indicated that high school GPA, ACT composite score, gender, and academic classification level accounted for 55 percent of the variance in student-athletes' cumulative college GPA. High school GPA was the most effective single predictor variable of student-athletes' cumulative college GPA. In subgroup regression analyses, a different combination of cognitive and noncognitive variables explained most of the variance for each subgroup. Time spent on sport was significant in regression equations for whites, males, and upperclassmen student-athletes. Type of sport participation was significant for black and all freshman student-athletes. Support of academic plans was significant for all female and black student-athletes. The results of this study suggest that, in addition to the cognitive variables, the noncognitive variables accounted for additional variance in college cumulative GPA in the subgroup analyses. Moreover, student-athletes identified time constraints, feeling fatigued, and financial concerns as challenges encountered in their dual roles as students and student-athletes. These various experiences of student-athletes should be considered when developing academic support strategies designed to improve their academic performance.

What is school culture? How can it be measured, described and contrasted? Is school culture related to school improvement? This dissertation investigates school culture and its relationship to school improvement. The study is organized into three phases and employs a mixed methods approach to study the cultures of three pairs of matched schools over a 15 month period. Phase I consists of a multi-disciplinary literature review across the fields of psychology, sociology, business management, anthropology, and educational administration. This process resulted in the development of a new conceptualization of school culture based on merging complementary theories. As defined here school culture consists of four dimensions: I: Professional Orientation, II: Organizational Structure, III: Quality of the Learning Environment, and IV: Student-centered Focus. These dimensions are manifested on three levels: artifacts, espoused beliefs, and basic assumptions. Phase II utilizes the new more complex framework to describe the cultures of six schools. Resulting case studies yielded thick descriptions which detail the salient aspects of school culture. Similarities, unique attributes, and points of contrasts in schools were readily apparent in the case studies developed through the new framework. Variations in policy implementation and internal processes were also captured by the study. Possible causal links between processes and products were suggested, such as a link between principal leadership and professional orientation, or between professional orientation and quality of the learning environment, or distributed informal leadership and teacher turnover. Phase III contrasts the cultures of three pairs of matched schools that differ in the amount of improvement they demonstrated over a two year period. In all three cross-case comparisons of matched schools, the school with the more effective culture was also the school that demonstrated the most growth in student achievement. The dimensional framework allowed for more precise point by point comparisons of culture than were previously available. The primary differences found between the cultures of improving versus non-improving matched schools were in Dimension I. Professional Orientation, followed by Dimension II. Organizational Structure.

This research study sought to discover how students with disabilities utilized self-determination in the pursuit of and participation in post-secondary education. Qualitative methods were employed in this study, specifically the use of multiple case studies with embedded units of analysis. Students with a disability, who possessed self-determination and were currently enrolled in an institution of higher education, were the primary participants in this study. Additional information was gathered from parents, professionals, or other individuals who were familiar with the student's pursuit of and participation in postsecondary education. Embedded units of analysis for study consisted of information and skills designed to enhance self-determination, access to opportunities to exhibit self-determination, and facilitative support from others. Data gathering consisted of interviews with multiple sources that were able to provide rich information regarding the phenomenon of self-determination. The constant comparative method was used for data analysis. Findings support the theoretical assumptions that self-determination is enhanced through information and skills designed to enhance self-determination, access to opportunities to exhibit self-determination, and facilitative support from others. Other themes that emerged from the data include use of accommodations, problem-solving, stickability attitude, and a family member working in an institution of higher education.

The primary purpose of this study was to determine the influence of level of participation in services provided by the Student Support Services (SSS) Program on the grade point average, retention, and the six-year graduation rate of first-time entering freshmen who also entered the SSS program at a research extensive university in the South. Participants in the study were one hundred, fifty-two (152) SSS students who entered this university in the fall of 1996 and fall of 1997. Tintos (1987) longitudinal model of institutional departure was used as the conceptual framework for this study. Services provided by the SSS program were examined to determine whether they were academic (formal) and social (informal) and if student participation encouraged integration in the university, thus decreasing the rate of departure among study participants. Findings indicate that peer mentoring, tutoring, counseling, and study skills training were provided to participants in the study group, and that hours earned and hours carried each semester significantly impacted student grade point averages. The mentoring and study skills services provided by SSS, as well as cumulative hours earned and high school academic grade point averages, influenced student retention for the 5th semester of enrollment. Both sixth and seventh semester retention was positively affected by the cumulative number of hours students had earned prior to the semester under investigation. Results of this study also indicated that those students who successfully earned more credit hours each semester were more likely to continue postsecondary education until they were graduated.