The purpose of this study was to develop an instrument to measure the sense of competence of traditional age college students across the dimensions that define the construct. The Sense of Competence Scale-Revised (SCS-R) was developed to provide a measure of Chickering’s (1969) first vector, an important psychosocial construct. Administrators can use data from the instrument to modify an institution’s academic and social environment to enhance the development of the intellectual, physical, and interpersonal competencies of college students. During the development and validation, various aspects of the SCS-R were examined in accordance with the validity framework outlined by Messick (1995). According to Messick (1995), the validity of measures can be examined in terms of six forms of evidence; content, substantive, structural, generalizability, external and consequential. The six forms of evidence function as general standards for all educational measurement (Messick, 1995). During the study the content aspect of validity was addressed through the creation of concept maps and test blueprints. In addition, the content aspect of validity was addressed by creating and selecting items by reviewing the literature and hosting brainstorming sessions, items were then reviewed by student development theory experts, pilot tested, field tested and then items with high technical quality were selected for the final instrument. The substantive aspect of validity was addressed through an analysis of item rating scale functioning, person fit to the measurement scales, and item difficulty. The structural aspect of validity was addressed by evidence of the instrument’s dimensionality. The generalizability aspect of validity was addressed through an analysis of item/person reliability. The evidence generated from the study suggested that the chosen items for the SCS-R provide reliable and valid estimates of a student’ s personal assessment of their intellectual, physical and interpersonal abilities. / Ph. D.

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Character development in higher education is essential for enhancing ethical awareness and moral reasoning. However, inconsistent perspectives exist concerning the impact of ethics education on students' ethical awareness and moral reasoning. This phenomenological study examined the perceptions of senior-level undergraduate business students on their own ethical belief systems and changes in ethical awareness. Astin's student development theory on the environmental effects on learning formed the conceptual framework. The research questions explored how the 4-year undergraduate business school experience changed the students' ability to recognize and evaluate ethical concerns in relation to the ethical aspects of coursework. Thirteen undergraduate seniors pursuing a business degree from a Catholic college were purposively selected. In-depth interviews were used to obtain data about ethical self-awareness, recognition of ethical issues, understanding ethical concepts, and assessing core values. The study followed Moustakas' recommendation for phenomenological analysis, a modification of the Stevick-Colaizzi-Keen method. Emergent themes included the meaning of moral character development, the perception of the college business curriculum in relation to students' core values, and the approaches used to affect ethical situations. The findings suggest that the business curriculum increase the students' exposure to ethical situations and introduce decision tools that could be useful in ethical dilemmas. Recommendations involve considering a pretest and posttest design and Astin's entire inputs-environment-outcomes model as the theoretical framework. The implications for positive social change include the development of character education toward moral competencies and ethical decision-making skills of future business leaders.

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The purpose of this qualitative, phenomenographic study was to understand the experiences, backgrounds, and perspectives of new, primary role academic advisors at four-year public institutions in the United States. Research on advising has provided insight into advising best practices and the student perceptions of academic advising; however, there is little research illustrating current primary role academic advisors and their experience, or perhaps lack thereof. To receive highly coveted federal and state funding, higher education institutions must show growth in student success. Academic advisors are on the front lines of student success because they are tasked with the responsibility of retaining students at the respective institution through graduation. Research has indicated the importance of effective advising as it directly relates to student success metrics. Only recently have a small number of post-secondary graduate programs in the United States established certificate or degree programs specific to academic advising. Also, there are no required training standards for the profession. Because of this, advisors arrive on campus with diverse educational and occupational backgrounds and experiences that may or may not be related to their work with students that directly impacts student success. This research involved interviews with 17 new, primary role academic advisors at four-year public institutions in the United States. Participants discussed their educational and occupational backgrounds and experiences prior to entering the advising profession, their training and development experiences, and their knowledge and perceptions of NACADA’s Core Competency Model and student development theory as it applies to advising. This study added to the gaps in literature by providing specific examples of experience and knowledge of academic advisors currently working with students in the United States. Additionally, there are vast differences in advisor knowledge and understanding of NACADA’s Conceptual Core Competency and student development theories. Many advisors are aware of ideas related to professional best practices whereas others understand specific concepts related to best practices in academic advising. The findings may be used to address the necessity of implementing a university-wide, standard training and development program using NACADA’s Core Competency model as a guide for effective advising practice.

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