No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

The purpose of this study was to examine parental actions to finance higher education. Data were analyzed from the 1995-96 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS: 96). Results of this study indicated that gender, race, housing status, and attendance status of students were factors in the amount of loans that was assumed by parents. Further results indicated that parent'9s marital status, total parent contribution, parent income, the cost of attending, and institutional control were also factors in the amount of loans that were assumed by parents. The age of students and the amount of parent savings did not effect the percentage of parents who assumed loans nor did it effect the amount of loans that were assumed by parents. Recommendations for future research include a continued focus on how families, as a whole, are financing higher education, repayment practices and default rates of parents who assumed loans to pay for higher education, specific types of loans that parents use to fund higher education, parental debt and what ratio of their debt is due to educational loans. / Master of Arts

<p> This study sought to address the challenge of interesting university professors in adopting more deliberate and integrated approaches to course design through a multi-case study of five professors in the liberal arts at a top-tier research university. Professors watched video-recorded interviews with five of their own past students who were graduates of the university. The researcher interviewed the professors before and after they viewed the alumni feedback. Professors were asked to reflect on what most surprised and concerned them in the interviews and if and how they were inclined or disinclined to alter their courses. Professors were also asked to compare feedback from alumni to feedback from students. Central findings related to the research questions were that: (a) professors&rsquo; views of their course and course design changed after receiving feedback from their alumni; (b) professors perceived a need to alter their course design when they received surprising and concerning feedback from alumni; (c) but, feedback needed to be sufficiently concerning for professors to be inclined to alter their course designs, and (d) even then, several factors disinclined professors to follow through on changes. These factors opposing change include professors&rsquo; recollections of their college experiences, lack of pedagogical and course design knowledge, and university disincentives to focus on teaching. Professors appreciated hearing from the alumni because alumni had longer-term and more real world perspective than current students and were unconcerned about grades. Professors uniformly disliked, and to a great extent disregarded, student feedback from course evaluations because surveys are anonymous and lack context about who is making a comment and why. In contrast, the alumni interviews allowed professors to see and hear personalized feedback that provided context for which individual said what. Several additional findings emerged from the research. These were: (a) professors developed courses based on limited understanding of what students retained in a course; (b) professors relied considerably on their own educational experiences and on trial and error in creating courses and in their teaching; and (c) professors&rsquo; dislike of course evaluations made them skeptical of student feedback. These findings have potential significance for professors, faculty developers, universities, and students because they suggest an avenue for impacting faculty attitudes about their course design by planting seeds of curiosity about the link between design and course impact. Findings also support the use of alumni interviews as a tool for collecting feedback and existing evidence that faculty development efforts are best when they are personal, context-specific, and endure over time. Because this was a small exploratory study, repeating the alumni interview approach with more faculty and alumni is recommended.</p>

<p> The purpose of this research project was to improve the practice of using online lectures at a small private university. Using action research methodology, the researcher worked with a group of five university instructors to refine the use of online lectures through design and pedagogical practice. Beginning with a template or guide based on the literature, the instructors developed online lectures connected with a student activity. Following the principles of the TPACK framework, instructors were urged to develop student activities that worked best for their specific content as well as their desired student outcomes. Two cycles of implementation, analysis, and modification were used to refine the template and the student activities.</p><p> Data were gathered from the students who viewed the online lectures and from the faculty through focus group meetings after each cycle. Analysis of both the students&rsquo; experience and the instructors&rsquo; experience led to minor changes in the template but more significant changes to the associated student activities.</p><p> Findings suggest that the effective use of online lectures depends largely on the student activity included with the lecture; in other words, pedagogy is at least as important as design. Other factors, such as practice and experience with developing online lectures are needed to develop the instructors&rsquo; expertise with both technical issues as well as pedagogical issues. Although the online lecture template and suggested activities list were honed to a degree of effectiveness, it will take an ongoing process of analysis and modification to keep this tool relevant in the coming years.</p>

<p> Human beings have spent much time and effort in trying to understand themselves, others, and their world. Mankind uses intellect when trying to understand life but the majority of people continue to encounter frustration, confusion, and a variety of obstacles when dealing with daily challenges and people. Theorists and researchers understand that successful existence requires more than mere knowledge; it requires a level of understanding, a form of wisdom foreign to the bulk of the populace. The missing ingredient for this kind of wisdom is the ability to &lsquo;know thyself,&rsquo; which is the beginning of establishing a higher level of emotional maturity. This qualitative study focused on the transformational learning process of the adult learner, aged 50 and older. In studying the learning processes, an online survey was implemented and then Partridge's (1985, 2014) Maturity Reasoning Index Program (MRIP) was used as a psycho-educational program and administered after the participants answered five vignettes regarding current perspectives of five areas of their logic reasoning. After completing the MRIP, participants answered five additional vignettes regarding similar areas of reasoning. This study investigated participants&rsquo; transformational learning experiences as they developed a higher level of emotional maturity compared to previous reported emotional maturity findings. A group of 32 volunteers, recruited from a university listserv and networking among family and friends, spent several months completing the online study. The study included an initial four-part survey, a brief pre-test survey, an extensive psycho-educational program, and a brief post-test. At the end of the study, 23 participants completed the study. Findings indicate an increase in using a higher level of logic of reasoning or potential transformation after completing the psycho-educational program. Additional research is recommended in the area of emotional maturation, life satisfaction, wisdom, and trust-of-self for adult learners aged 50 and older.</p>

<p> This dissertation examines the gap in college enrollment between Asian Americans and Latino Americans regarding the effects of family and school factors, classifying them into the six ethnic/generational status groups (Asian American first generation, Asian American second generation, Asian American third generation and plus, Latino American first generation, Latino American second generation, and Latino American third generation and plus). Through logistic regression analysis of the ELS: 2002 data, national longitudinal sample of 10^th graders, the study findings indicate that except for 10^th grade achievement, family plays a more important role in predicting overall college attendance (both 2-year and 4-year colleges), including SES, gender, parental and students&rsquo; expectations, 3^rd generation, and high school type. On the contrary, school plays a more important role in predicting 4-year college attendance, including 10^th grade achievement, academic excellence, participation in extracurricular activities, and English proficiency. Asian Americans are more likely to enroll in overall colleges as well as 4-year colleges, and the generation difference is not found. In contrast, Latino Americans are less likely to enroll in overall colleges as well as 4-year colleges, and there are noticeable generation differences; the low college enrollment rates are largely driven by non-immigrant Latinos. Recommendations for policy makers are provided.</p>

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Educational Leadership / W. Franklin Spikes / Since the events of 9/11, homeland security has emerged as an important and growing field of study. It is based upon information which is drawn from a diverse network of multiple disciplines that serve a variety of professions. Due to the embryonic nature of this field and the complicated nature of the mix of professions served, college and university administrators and faculty need to develop a better data-based sense about why students enroll, attend, and complete homeland security-related educational programs. As one might expect with a new field like homeland security studies, little research concerning student enrollment, persistence, and attendance patterns has been conducted to date. This study used the Dillman Tailored Design Mode of Internet Survey methodology to collect data (Dillman 2007; Dillman, Smith, & Christian, 2009). Data were collected from students attending homeland security-related graduate programs during the 2009 fall semester. Data concerning program delivery modes (online, face-to-face, and hybrid) and generational demographics (Baby Boomers, Generation X, Generation Y), were used as the basis to examine the elements of student enrollment, persistence, and completion patterns in this study. In order to accomplish data reduction and decrease error, an Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) was conducted to sort loaded factors from the 30 item survey instrument. Eight factors were obtained all with over |.7| load values including four having positive values and four having negative values. These eight factors were used as dependent variables to conduct a MANOVA with generational demographic and program delivery mode as independent variables in order to determine if any significance existed. Significance was discovered between one of the four factors and the two independent variables with low to medium effect size based upon partial eta squared. The intersection of the two dependent variables of generational demographic and program delivery mode was not found to be significant. Further MANOVA with the four negative load factors of EFA were found to be significant in regards to program delivery mode and the intersection of program delivery mode and generational demographic. The significance found was with low to medium effect size based upon partial eta squared.