Thesis (Ph. D.)--Florida State University, 2004. / Advisor: Dr. Robert Schwartz, Florida State University, College of Education, Dept. of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies. Title and description from dissertation home page (viewed July 12, 2004). Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--West Virginia University, 2004. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains v, 439 p. : ill. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 384-400).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Florida, 1980. / Description based on print version record. Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 87-91).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Washington State University, May 2010. / Title from PDF title page (viewed on June 23, 2010). "Department of Education Leadership and Counseling Psychology." Includes bibliographical references (p. 58-66).

Dissertations (Ed. D.)--Rowan University, 2009. / Typescript. "UMI Number: 3359935"--T.p. verso. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2007. / The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file. Title from title screen of research.pdf file (viewed on September 25, 2007) Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

The primary problem of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of two teaching techniques in relation to their respective influence on changing behavior by a group process.

Many tertiary institutions are confronted with the challenge of unprepared students. This epidemic is largely due to factors in and out of individuals‟ control. These factors include academic proficiency, course-student match, support and integration, financial stability, preparation, personal circumstances and engagement. The main objective of this study is therefore threefold: Firstly, to describe what student readiness entails; secondly to understand why there is a lack of readiness among first-year Human Resource Management students, and thirdly, to identify and improve upon interventions that prepare students for tertiary education. For this study student readiness refers to the ability of students to meet the basic requirements to successfully enrol for a course without remedial assistance and to successfully complete their studies in the recommended timeframe. The target population of this study focussed on students who registered on a full-time basis for the National Diploma in Human Resource Management for the academic year 2014 (n=117). A self-administered questionnaire was distributed to the students and an open-ended questionnaire additionally to the lecturers who teach first-year Human Resource Management students. The study was subjected to various statistical techniques such as Cronbach‟s alpha, t-tests, Pearson moment product correlation and Cohen‟s d. In doing so an improved insight into student readiness and success was developed. The main findings of the study indicated that there is a relationship between the type of schooling and readiness factors as statistical significance was noted. In addition, students who scored high on readiness factors were more likely to succeed in tertiary education. Moreover the number of interventions students is exposed to positively influence student readiness and success. This study has contributed to the body of knowledge which relates to the broader educational environment in South Africa and provides recommendations to address student readiness and success.

The primary purpose of this study was to assess the relevance of two forms of orientation courses for adult students (aged 25 and older) and to determine a means of predicting the relevance for future adult students. The two forms of orientation were information-giving/ skill-building courses which emphasized school related information and student related skills and personal growth courses which emphasized self-confidence and self-determination building and emotional/ psychological adjustment to the role of student. The experimental group included adults in five orientation courses. Three were information-giving/skill-building (Self-Instructional Orientation, College Survival, and Information and Planning Workshop for Interior Design Students) and two were personal growth (Women Returning to School and Second Career Adults). Students were able to select whichever orientation option they preferred. The control group included adults in four orientation courses taught at another campus of the same community college. Students in the control group did not have a choice of orientation content or structure. All students completed a questionnaire on the relevance of their orientation at the end of the course. Students in the experimental group also completed the Edwards Personal Preference Schedule (SPPS). A comparison of the mean relevance scores of the experimental and control groups indicated that those students who had an option in their orientation course found the course more relevant than those who had no option. A comparison of the retention rates (subsequent enrollment in the community college) for the high and low relevance reporters in the experimental group and within each of the two groups of the experimental group (information-giving/skill-building and personal growth) indicated that high relevance reporters did not have a higher retention rate than low relevance reporters within the subgroups or for the group as a whole. In a comparison between the subgroups, however, the personal growth subgroup had both a higher mean relevance score and a higher retention rate than the information-giving/skill-building subgroup. Using relevance as the dependent variable, regression equations for each of the subgroups were developed on the basis of selected ZPPS variables. Adult students who are high on deference and achievement and low on autonomy and succorance are more likely to find an information-giving/skill-building course relevant. Adult students who are high on deference and low on change, nurturance, order, and autonomy are more likely to find a personal growth course relevant. On the basis of the study, it was concluded that adults will be more apt to find their orientation course relevant if they have several options from which to choose, that personal growth elements should receive more emphasis in orientation courses for adult students, that the relevance of an orientation course will not affect the student's likelihood of re-enrolling, and that orientation relevance can be predicted given the appropriate EPPS scores. / Ed. D.

In the process of adjusting to a new institutional environment, transfer students will often experience difficulties and these difficulties may limit their academic potential. Can an institution create a formal process which can help the transfer student adjust to the institutional environment? This study is an examination of a program--an extended transfer student orientation course modeled after the freshman extended orientation course which was developed at the University of South Carolina. Grade Point Average (GPA) was used to study the effects of the course on academic achievement (academic integration as measured by GPA, retention and graduation rates). This experimental study was conducted at Oregon State University, a northwestern land-grant institution. The study was conducted with two groups of newly-admitted transfer students. The experimental group (N=80) consisted of those self-selected transfer students enrolled in the extended transfer student orientation course, while the comparison group (N=80) consisted of transfer students, picked at random, who were not enrolled in the course. The two groups were studied after the Fall 1988 extended transfer student orientation course. The demographic data revealed that a majority of the students transferred from in-state institutions, tended to enter from two-year institutions and four-year institutions. This study showed no evidence that the extended transfer student orientation course had an effect on academic achievement. / Graduation date: 1993