<p> Does PLUS Push? A Multilevel Analysis of the Relationship Between PLUS Loans and Persistence for Low-Income Students Given the growth of the PLUS loan program and its increasing importance in facilitating college access for many students, makes it critical to better understand the relationship between this form of federal financial aid and student outcomes. Using data from the National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS: 12), conducted by the U.S. Department of Education&rsquo;s National Center for Education Statistics, this study examined the impact receiving a PLUS loan has on persistence for low-income students. Both logistic regression and hierarchical generalized linear modeling were used to determine whether the relationship between a PLUS loan and persistence exists when moderated by family income level and the percentage of minority student enrollment (PME) at the institution. Analyses also examined the nested effects of student and institutional characteristics on persistence of PLUS borrowers.</p><p> Five key findings emerged from the analyses. First, receiving a PLUS loan has no meaningful effect on persistence when compared to loans other than PLUS. Secondly, low-income students are more likely to persist than students from middle to upper incomes, even when receiving a PLUS loan. Third, PLUS borrowers were more likely to persist when all student characteristics are included in the logistic regression model. Fourth, a significant relationship between receiving a PLUS loan and the institution&rsquo;s percentage of minority student enrollment was found. Lastly, significant cross level relationships were found between student&rsquo;s major, undergraduate classification, parent&rsquo;s highest level of education, and race, once interacted with an institutional level predictor (i.e. selectivity, tuition, control, and PME). More specifically, as the percentage of minorities attending an institution increased, the more likely a non-white student would persist.</p><p> This study&rsquo;s overall finding is that PLUS does not meaningfully influence student persistence when compared to other loans. This finding supports the importance of expanding financial aid counseling to parent borrowers. As college costs increase, students will continue relying more heavily on their parent&rsquo;s finances to assist them in covering their unmet need. However, this study found parent borrowing does not necessarily impact student persistence. Therefore, it is critical that potential PLUS borrowers and the institutions likely to serve them, provide a thorough examination of the drawbacks and benefits of this program.</p>

<p> The educational connoisseurship and criticism method was used to research the challenges elementary teachers go through each day. This study's findings are taken from observations and interviews with three veteran elementary teachers who have experienced challenges and burdens due to the intensification of their jobs, student behavior, parental involvement, and teacher pay. Veteran elementary teachers were chosen as participants, as they have been through many changes that often happens in education and are able to provide insight that only veteran elementary teachers can provide. The results showed that although elementary teachers have many challenges, they are still able to find a sense of presence, bringing their whole self into the moment, in the classroom and a level of existential joy in teaching. These veteran elementary teachers reveal how having a sense of humor helps to keep their sense of presence. Also, elementary teachers find moments when the mandated curriculum needs to take a back seat while they reconnect with their students.</p><p>

<p> The purpose of this mixed methods case-study was to understand why students enroll in the Community Involvement work-study program, why employers continue to host students, and what are the parents&rsquo; perceptions of their child&rsquo;s experience. The following research question framed this study: <i>What is the perceived impact of the Community Involvement Program?</i> </p><p> Five additional questions further guided this study: 1. Why do students enroll in the Community Involvement Program? 2. What impact does enrolling in a work-study program have for participating students? 3. What motivates employers to become a volunteer host site for Community Involvement students? 4. What impact do parents perceive when their son or daughter participates in the Community Involvement Program? 5. How do students enrolled in the Community Involvement Program compare to those students who are not enrolled in the program based on GPAs, attendance patterns, and postsecondary plans? </p><p> This study examined the perceptions of the students, employers, parents, the instructor and the high school principal. Qualitative methods included open-ended surveys, interviews, focus groups, and student artifacts. Quantitative methods included analyzing Likert-type survey questions and archival data (GPAs, attendance patterns, and postsecondary plans). The findings will provide those involved in the education and workforce communities with insight into why students and employers continue to enroll in and support work-study programming. </p><p> The research study concluded that students, employers, parents, the instructor and the principal all found benefit in the Community Involvement Program. The study also confirmed the positive impact on GPAs, school attendance and postsecondary enrollment noted in the previous work-study literature. Seniors enrolled in the work-study program at Fulton High School had significantly higher GPAs, fewer absences, and were more likely to enroll in a two- or four-year postsecondary program as compared to seniors not enrolled. The students also shared that they believe the Community Involvement Program provided career exploration opportunities, lessons about work environment, lessons about postsecondary planning, and the development of meaningful relationships which impacted their future. Employers host students because they want to support the school and local community, see a positive impact on their work environment, find future employees, and develop meaningful relationships with the students. Parents noted that Community Involvement Program positively impacted their child&rsquo;s career and postsecondary decisions, their children learned valuable work lessons, and developed relationships with employers that impacted career and college decisions. Each of the participants including the instructor and principal suggested expanding the program to all juniors and offer the program during the summer. Recommendations based on the findings included: 1) more high schools should offer work-study programs for one or two semesters to juniors and seniors, 2) encourage employers to host and expand opportunities for students, 3) hire students who participate, and 4) promote work-study opportunities in the community and schools.</p><p>

<p> Knowing the perceptions of college students regarding their safety on campus from an active school shooter can be valuable when campus police and security, college safety boards, and other members of the college community are designing policies and emergency plans to protect the college. However, few studies have been conducted to examine perceptions of students regarding fear of a school shooter on a university campus. To address this gap in the literature, this particular study was conducted to specifically inspect the perceptions of students regarding fear of a school shooter on a university campus in Missouri. This study resulted in a record of how the fear of a school shooter is perceived by college students from a variety of viewpoints. A qualitative, grounded theory design was selected for this study and was framed through the perspective of values theory and human and campus ecology theories. Interviews with 25 university students in Missouri were conducted. Data analysis resulted in the emergence of four major themes: (a) contentment, (b) partnership, (c) communication, and (d) maintenance. Overall, students in this study felt a great degree of contentment and desired to reduce their fear of an active shooter by creating a partnership with campus police, communicating better, and rejecting stricter gun laws.</p>

<p> America's postsecondary education system currently supports nearly 11 million people, but only 33-37% of these students will actually graduate with a Baccalaureate degree (Kuh, Kinzie, Schuh, Whitt &amp; Associates, 2005; OECD, 2009). Researchers have been examining various aspects of America's "persistence puzzle" for the past 30 years. The majority of these studies have focused on the academic and social environs of first-year, native students enrolled in large university programs (Braxton, Sullivan, &amp; Johnson, 1997), where America's transfer student populations have been restricted or excluded (Townsend &amp; Wilson, 2009). These restrictions represent a rather significant oversight in the current literature, given that approximately 52% of America's first-year postsecondary students are enrolled in community college programs (Cejda, 1997; Keener, 1994) and that nearly 40% of today's graduates will transfer between several institutions before obtaining a baccalaureate degree (NCES, 2005). Furthermore, the majority of these studies have relied on quantitative methods/data, which address persistence as an outcomes, rather than a series of events/experiences that contribute to a student's decision to withdraw (Tinto, 1993). As a result, we know very little about the psychological and environmental challenges students face as they transition between institutions (Laanan, 2004). Even those studies that have referred to the "transfer shock" students experience during their transition have failed to explore the methods, attributes, stresses (both psychological, social &amp; cultural), or the strategies students employ to relieve these stresses (Holahan, Green, &amp; Kelley, 1983; Laanan, 2001). </p><p> This study examined the adjustment process of vertical transfer students who recently transferred to a four-year, Research I, Baccalaureate university in the southeast United States. It applied Adelman's (2006) definition of a vertical transfer student as: someone who began his or her postsecondary education in a community college, earned a at least 10 college credits and then transferred to a Baccalaureate university. This definition was then applied to a specific group of vertical transfer students who recently transferred from a single, local community college, less than three miles from the university, as these students represent approximately 43.3% of the total incoming transfer student population at the Baccalaureate institution (OIR, 2012b). The primary goals of this study were to define the transfer student experience, assist future transfer students with their transitions, and assess the quality/effectiveness of current programs so that staff, faculty and administrators could align and/or improve cooperative persistence programs that exist between these two institutions. After all, the rigors these students face during their adjustment to life as university students will have a significant impact on their persistence and/or success (Astin, 1984, Tinto, 1993, Townsend &amp; Wilson, 2009).</p>

<p> Institutions of higher education, states, and government agencies are seeking avenues for increasing access, improving learning outcomes, and increasing student retention. The majority of chief academic officers polled indicate that online learning is key to the growth of their institutions, while simultaneously indicating concern that online learners are less likely to succeed and persist. A common construct for how institutions can facilitate student success and persistence is the notion of engagement. Since 2000, campuses have relied upon the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) to guide institutional policies and practices supporting student success. The research on the applicability of the NSSE to online learning is scarce. This ex post facto quantitative study explored the relationship between scores on the ten NSSE Engagement Indicators and two widely used measures of student success: grade point average (GPA) and persistence. </p><p> The study sample comprised students from five public state institutions that had administered the NSSE during the 2013 and 2014 cycles. Statistical tests were employed to examine potential differences between online and non-online learners. A small significant difference in GPA was discovered, with online learners having a higher average GPA than non-online counterparts. There was no significant difference in rates of persistence between the groups. Regression analyses revealed no statistically significant relationship between Engagement Indicator scores and either GPA or persistence. </p><p> The study findings did not support assertions in the field that online learners are less likely to succeed than non-online learners. The findings were contrary to previous research on the role of engagement in the equation of student success and persistence. Differences in NSSE scores between online learners and non-online learners offered evidence of how those groups may be distinct. The study suggests the need for delineating NSSE results based upon different groups of students, and brings into question the applicability of the engagement construct for online learners. The need to clearly and consistently define &ldquo;online&rdquo; becomes a critical aspect of the discussion. Recommendations for policy and practice are offered, including the importance of addressing attrition bias, and a caution on making inferential interpretations with descriptive statistics from a survey.</p>

This thesis comprises eight publications produced between 2000 and 2009 in addition to a critical review of that work. The review considers the contribution made by the author to the perspectives on policy making offered by the framework of policy transfer and its subsequent applications within global social policy and related sub disciplines. It develops to explore the author's use of critical policy sociology and methodological work in social policy, education and political science in order to enhance existing perspectives on policy transfer. In contrast to rational linear models of decision making, alternative recursive deliberate approaches are suggested throughout this work. The review also considers aspects of the author's work on integrated working or trans-professionalism in the public services. Those aspects of his work on policy theory which illuminate professional learning are critically assessed.

<p> The purpose of this study was to determine school personnel&rsquo;s perceptions of safety in their school building as well as determine their confidence in their abilities to respond to an active intruder incident. The participants of this study were school personnel from a suburban, Southwestern Illinois PreK-12 school district. The study captured perceptions of safety and school procedures within the district&rsquo;s nine buildings. The sample of participants were obtained through purposeful and convenience sampling. The participants were then assigned into five categories of participants, purposely identified: Administration, Teachers/Faculty, Support Staff (e.g., paraprofessional, aides, secretaries), Other Staff (e.g., custodians, caf&eacute; workers, bus drivers, monitors), and Substitutes (for all positions). In addition, the school&rsquo;s current documented policy on school safety and active intruder response procedures was reviewed. The qualitative design of this study included interviews and document analysis. The study was a phenomenological study with triangulation that included research questions addressing school personnel perceptions of safety and their preparedness in the event of an active intruder situation, comparing these responses among the identified categories, and identifying the type of active intruder training provided to school personnel. The seven themes that emerged from the interviews were limited safeguards, sense of safety, training, response issues, supplies and equipment, handbook awareness, and improvements. Additional research is needed to determine if other schools in Illinois require improvements in their active intruder response plans, procedures, and provided training.</p><p>

<p> Adult learners have become the majority on many college campuses, but as many as two-thirds of these students do not persist in attaining a degree. Although future labor projections present a positive outlook, an estimated shortage of graduates appears imminent despite the fact that individuals with bachelor&rsquo;s degrees have greater earning potential, lower unemployment rates, and greater career opportunities. The cause of this persistence problem is examined through analysis of the factors that affect persistence and the enrollment patterns of adult learners. </p><p> The diversity of the nontraditional adult population contributes to this predicament of low completion rates as their heterogeneous characteristics creates difficultly in analyzing which factors, in isolation or in combination, can be attributed to the gap in achievement. Moreover, a consistent standard of measuring adult student retention is lacking. Some colleges and universities do not even track degree persistence and completion rates for nontraditional adult students. </p><p> The purpose of this study is to examine the characteristics of nontraditional adult learners to determine how these factors influence a student&rsquo;s ability to persist toward degree completion. This study examined student demographics, finances, employment, academic records, institutional factors, and enrollment patterns to gain an understanding of what motivates adult students to complete a degree, continue to persist, or to cease enrollment altogether. With this information, institutions of higher learning will be in a better position to determine methods, policies and practices that will encourage, empower and motivate all adult learners to persist in their studies despite any combination of factors putting at risk their potential to graduate. The research design was a quantitative, nonexperimental, correlational, predictive design.</p>

<p> The current qualitative study focused on understanding the process of learning to teach. Using interviews of teacher educators, the study explored the importance of a set of teaching activities developed as part of the Teacher Self Efficacy Survey (Tschannen-Moran &amp; Woolfolk Hoy, 2001) as well as the inclusion of instructional and assessment strategies for the teaching activities and the quality of beginning teacher performance of the activities. </p><p> Data were collected from interviews of 15 teacher educators. A process of open, axial, and substantive coding was applied to the data to inductively identify and categorize data relevant to the purpose of the study and to allow comparisons among and between categories. </p><p> Findings suggested that teaching activities are critically important to and a comprehensive description of effective teaching, and that beginning teachers struggle with differentiation and applying their learning to their practice. Further, findings suggested that the source of beginning teacher struggles was found within the teacher education program, within school contexts, and between the two institutions. In addition, findings suggested that beginning teachers perform the student engagement activities and those related to instructional strategies more proficiently than classroom management activities, and that all three teaching activity categories were included in the curriculum, but to different degrees and not all as part of curriculum design. A variety of pedagogies were used to prepare preservice teachers; however, there was no reported knowledge of assessment instruments used to measure preservice teachers&rsquo; readiness for teaching and to obtain data on the performance of their graduates. Lastly, this study revealed that teacher education program leaders were reluctant to participate in a study that sought to draw direct connections between the skills taught in the program and how well beginning teachers perform them. </p><p> Based on the findings, the researcher recommends further studies to determine the viability of the teaching activities as a comprehensive and accurate definition of effective teaching. Further the researcher recommends that teacher education programs and school districts adopt the teaching activities as a consistent framework for providing preservice education, for setting school district expectations, and for conducting teacher evaluations.</p>