Doctoral students are often popularly portrayed as early career researchers and/or academics, engaged single mindedly in esoteric research projects; in other words, they are perceived as boffins. However much this may have been true (or not) in the past, this is certainly not the case in the 21st century. New routes to doctoral qualification have proliferated in recent years and with this growth and diversification the learner identities of the participants engaged in doctoral programmes has also broadened and diversified. Adopting a case study approach, based upon the narratives of 15 professional doctorate students who entered the programme over the age of 40, this study aimed to critically explore the reality of learner identities of these older adults engaged in higher degree study. This qualitative study has explored in depth and detail, the motivational factors driving this student group to embark upon a professional doctorate in mid- to later-life. The identities of these candidates have also been explored through the rich, qualitative data collected in the one-to-one semi-structured interviews that formed the basis of the project. Five significant findings resulted from the analysis and discussion of the qualitative data. The first was that a strength of the particular doctoral programme examined in the case study was that it offered people in mid- to later-life educational opportunities that may have been denied to the, for various reasons, at an earlier stage in the life-cycle. A second finding was that the professional doctorate was attractive to professional people because it provided a staged entry into academia and allowed the professional experience and competences of the candidates to become an integral part of the admissions procedures. The third finding related to the diverse learner identities of the participants. The fourth finding suggests that postgraduate study in general, and doctoral study in particular, can be life enhancing and provide measures of inclusion and social justice that may have been denied to people in earlier life. The study concluded on the fifth finding, that the professional doctorate would be improved by being embedded more firmly in a work-based or workplace learning approach which would further support the strong professional identities of the project participants.

Taking a narrative inquiry approach and using poetic forms of representation, this thesis details the journey of a group of international and UK Higher Education students as they developed the skills necessary to become independent learners and engage in a new educational context. In contrast to many studies which take international students as their focus, this study does not isolate one group and thus avoids a deficit approach to an understanding of the international student experience. The narrative inquiry methodology used combines elements of life story, life history, ethnography and autobiography; it is emergent, responsive, blurring genres, boundaries and refusing dichotomous classifications. Using Savin-Baden’s (2004) combined analysis and interpretation approach, stories were created. These were collated into themes which identified connections across the stories, and to the issues identified as the focus of the study. These stories became the basis for a process of poetic transcription/analysis/interpretation where data, reflective notes, field notes and literature were integrated into stanzas which combined the voices of the participants’, the researcher and those of the literature (Byrne, 2015). The students’ narratives revealed an initially differentiated direct entrant experience. These students shared with their continuing peers a novice status in the subject but this was coupled with a novice status in the learning environment. The students had a practical conceptualisation of critical thinking, in that they articulated their understanding of this concept in terms of reading, research, writing and the construction of citation based arguments within their assignment. There was a move from reliance on the tutor as the bestower of knowledge to a collaborative construction of knowledge. The second year of study was characterised by a changing social dynamic that resulted from the joining of the direct entrant students. Thus the second year was about working out who to work with in order to achieve the best outcome. There was interaction between international and UK students. Skills were adapted, refined and shared in multiple communities of practice within a landscape of learning. The students’ learning experience was transformative in terms of their skills development. Poetry makes the representation of data an individual process of making meaning but also transcends the personal, evoking the experience of the participants, making the researcher’s influence explicit and acknowledging the many co-collaborators in its production including the reader. The poems evoke the experiences of a peer-supportive and diverse group of students, illuminating the collaborative nature of their skills development as they share not just subject knowledge but also methods for learning and assessment. Through a focus on a combination of international, UK, second year and direct entrant students, insights are provided into the ways in which this particular diverse group of students negotiated cultural and language differences to develop supportive, inter-cultural communities of practice.

<p> Often considered the gateway to the middle class in the United States, community colleges are struggling to find ways to support all students in career planning and preparation. Unfortunately, increasing numbers of first generation students who enter community colleges through the door of open access, place into developmental education (remedial) courses and must satisfactorily complete this often-rigid sequence before beginning college level classes. For many first-generation, under-prepared, underresourced students, this is a frustrating and often insurmountable barrier, causing many students to abort their postsecondary training. </p><p> Creating intentional conditions and instructional strategies that support student learning is essential in increasing the number of first-generation, under-prepared and under-resourced students who enter and complete postsecondary training and degrees. Advancement via Individual Determination Higher Education (AVID HE) is one identified holistic support strategy showing positive trends in supporting this student population on one community college campus. </p><p> This study used a mixed methods approach which included both a statistical analysis of a treatment group in a combined reading/writing course called WR91 Mt Hood Community College AVID HE Learning Communities and two stand-alone reading/writing courses called RD90/WR90 courses, along with a case study qualitative methodology to investigate how AVID HE supports pre-college developmental education students to develop sufficient social capital to transition from non-credit (pre-college) to credited courses and programs.</p><p>

<p> The purpose of this study was to complete a mixed-methods comparative analysis of first-generation and non-first-generation students in the Midwest to determine potential differences between students&rsquo; college satisfaction, retention factors, college selection, college experience, and deciding factors on attending college at private, public, and Historically Black Colleges and Universities. The Primary Researcher believed that a students&rsquo; classifications (first-generation or non-first-generation) and the type of university that they chose to attend would yield different results in their overall college experiences. The Researcher conducted the study in different settings and did not compare by the type of university or the type of students who attended the universities. The previous research was conducted in different regions. The Primary Researcher was not able to find extensive then-current research on first-generation and non-first-generation students in the Midwest. The results found did not show that being a first-generation or a non-first-generation student at a Historically Black College and University, public, or private university made a difference. The Primary Researcher found that overall, first-generation students had a more positive perception of their college experience than their non-first-generation peers.</p><p>

<p> Question-asking has long been an integral part of human learning. In scholarly investigations over the past several decades, questions have been studied in terms of the answers they generate, their grammatical structure, their cognitive functions, their logical content, and their social dynamics. Studies of student classroom questioning have focused on science education and reading instruction particularly; they detail the reasons why students don&rsquo;t ask questions and add a plethora of recommendations about teaching students how to question. This qualitative study addressed question-asking from a hermeneutic moral realist perspective, studying question-asking as it unfolded in the everyday practice of learning in a graduate seminar on design thinking. Findings of the study included seven themes that fit within three broader metathemes about the complexities and virtues of classroom questioning, the sociality of question-asking, and the temporality of questions in practice. Specific themes that emerged from the study concerned the complexity of overlapping practices within the classroom, ways in which students evaluated the quality and virtue of their questioning interactions, the moral reference points that guided student participation in various kinds of questioning (i.e., convergent questions, divergent questions, challenges to others), and the temporality of student question-asking that reflected the way questions mattered to students and how different aspects of the subject matter were disclosed and concealed in the process of learning. Findings from this study suggest that a moral realist-oriented inquiry can provide a wide-ranging and nuanced set of insights regarding question-asking as a part of student learning.</p><p>

<p> This study explored the learning experiences of higher education students who suffered childhood trauma (CT). Eleven participants both undergraduate and graduate who attended a Midwestern university self-identified as CT survivors. There was research on the negative impact of CT on learning in children and adolescents, as well as posttraumatic stress and veterans. However, the PI was unable to find research on the impact of CT on adults in higher education. Higher education institutions and professors may benefit from understanding how to help these students who often have an invisible learning disability. Research questions asked, what is the learning experience of higher education CT survivors, what can be learned that could help other CT survivors in higher education, and what do they need to be successful. Multiple case studies was the qualitative method used to explore the participants&rsquo; learning experiences. Instrumentation included an Adverse Childhood Experience study (ACEs) questionnaire with self-scoring guide, 14 initial interview questions, structured ongoing journaling entries, and exit interviews. </p><p> Data analysis resulted in nine emerging themes: challenging, learning strategies, anxiety, fear, time management, support groups, determined, personal character traits, and adult learning principles. Four themes described the particpants&rsquo; negative learning experiences&mdash;challenging, anxiety, time management issues, and fear. Two described the positive&mdash;determined, and personal character traits (e.g., resilient, confident). One described techniques they use to help them be successful&mdash;learning strategies (e.g., [all said] face-to-face learning). And, two described what they need from professors and higher education&mdash;support groups (that include professors) and application of adult learning principles&mdash;attend to the characteristics of adult learners (e.g., self-directedness, immediate application to solve real-life problems), and use a learning process by which adults learn best (e.g., prepare the learner so as to avoid emotional trigger experiences, shift from subject- to performance-centeredness). The salient finding was that CT survivors in higher education are the same as any adult learner, but may benefit from an informed level of sensitivity to their learning needs. Allowing new students to self-identify as CT survivors and the general application of adult learning principles may allow all higher education learners to be successful. </p><p>

<p> Student retention in higher education is currently one area most colleges are looking to improve and build upon (Baer &amp; Norris, 2016). Higher education institutions in the United States have been under increased scrutiny from lawmakers and accrediting agencies to provide an affordable education for a diverse population for jobs in a highly technical economy (Boateng, Plopper, &amp; Keith, 2015; Slanger, Berg, Fisk, &amp; Hanson, 2015). Some colleges and universities are exploring programs to engage the modern student through the creation of learning communities, first-year programming, and interventions to bridge the gap of those students who are highly unlikely to persist to graduation (Alarcon &amp; Edwards, 2012; Selingo, 2015). This study focused on an all-male retention program in one private liberal arts college over an eight-year period where invasive interventions were introduced in year five in an effort to enhance the overall program. This quantitative study was designed to determine if there was (1) a difference in the grade point average between male, first-time freshmen who did not receive specific invasive interventions as compared to male, first-time freshmen who received specific invasive interventions; (2) a difference in the number of male, first-time freshmen who were removed from academic probation and did not receive specific invasive interventions as compared to male, first-time freshmen who received specific invasive interventions; and (3) a difference in retention rates of male, first-time freshmen who did not receive specific invasive interventions as compared to male, first-time freshmen who received interventions. Data obtained from the analyses were determined not statistically significant. Future studies should be designed to obtain additional information on what aids students retention, potentially using a mixed method approach. </p><p>

<p> The role and functions of an academic library have evolved drastically as the result of a new social, economic, and technological reality. Libraries are responding to these developments by changing focus from collection and storage of information to becoming active partners in students&rsquo; educational journey. The learning commons model of service is a concept that is founded on the vision of supporting the integrated learning needs of the digital generation. Many institutions have already adopted the learning commons model that may include space re-design and re-purposing learning and teaching support resources and services. However, planning and implementing the transition from a traditional academic library to a learning commons model is a daunting challenge for most of the smaller institutions. A key to successful transformation is identifying strategies that will lead to planning and implementing a productive and thriving learning commons that will motivate students to develop critical thinking and engage in creative learning within an information and technology-rich environment.</p><p>

The research examined why students chose to study at an international branch campus (IBC) and how they perceived their experiences’ impact on their employability. The research posed a question which has largely been studied using quantitative measures with a few notable exceptions such as Pyvis and Chapman (2007) who investigated offshore Australian programmes. Because quantitative studies cannot capture the underlying complexities encompassing the cultural system and socio-cultural properties influencing the agential powers exercised by the individual, this research attempts to explain student choices and experiences using the concepts of rates of return to education, signalling/screening and identity in the qualitative tradition from a critical realist perspective. The leitmotif of this thesis is the analytical dualism of structure and agency (Archer, 1995) in which the link between these two was an inevitable part of the narrative explaining how structure constrained and enabled participants who as free agents took responsibility for their destinies. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 31 students from three IBCs. The findings have policy implications for the research indicates that there are significant structural factors at the levels of host and source countries which affect the IBC market. There are also structural factors at the institutional level associated not only with the IBC and parent university but also with the local partner. At the individual level, there are socio-cultural influences which at times shape student choices but at other times, conflict with the individual’s own life project. The research shows that it is important to understand the factors influencing student choices and experiences at the IBC and its parent campus within the wider framework of structure and agency in order to inform sector-wide and institutional internationalisation policies and strategic planning.

Globally, continuing professional development(CPD) is recognized as essential for promoting teacher learning and improving school effectiveness (e.g. Boyle, 2004; Cordingly et al., Gusky, 2000; Powell et al., 2003). Broad attention to CPD exists in many countries. CPD in Saudi Arabia is very much in its infancy and is characterized by an absence of sustained and progessive opportunites. This thesis seeks to invesitgate the development of a CPD programme that was designed by multiple stakeholders (a Steering Group) for newly qualified teachers (NQTs) in Saudi. The study sought a) to gather the perceptions of the Steering Group concerning their experiences in the design of the programme, and b) to track a sample of NQTs as they completed the CPD programme, seeking their views on the programme (content,delivery and organization etc.) and also the percieved impact of the prgramme on both their classroom practice and wider professional life in school. A qualitative approach was adopted in this thesis. The study undertaken in this thesis was designed in two phases. The first phase focused on the views and experiences of the 'Steering Group' who collectively designed the programme. In the first phase, data were gathered through dorect observationof the Steering Group planning meetings, and semi-structured interviews with the Steering Group members after the programme had been developed. The second phase involved the implementation of the CPD programme. Five NQTs attended the CPD sessions. They were observed in the CPD sessions and in their classrooms and interviewed across the implementation period and after each classroom observation. NQTs were also asked to keep a reflective diary to record their experiences. Data were analysed inductively using a constant comparison process. A number of themes emerged. the collaborative design process enables many voices to be heard. Data indicated that while individual Sterring Group members initially sought to influence the broader direction of the CPD programme, all participants appreciated opportunities to debate CPD provision. Steering Group members offered many examples of 'new learning' which had emerged as a consequence of working alongside other stakeholders. NQTs were also positive regarding the content, activities and the delivery of the programme, in particular 'open discussion' as one delivery strategy. They were also positive concerning their engagement in the programme. Given that there is no mentoring arranagement in Saudi schools the programme became a place for teachers to talk and to share their experience. Many elements of the programme were taken into the classroom by the NQTs. The study conceptualizes CPD as 'collective authorship'. Serving teacher professional development needs the full engagement of all stakeholders to have a positive effect in Saudi. However, there is much to be learned concerning the'collective authorship' of CPD programmes and the need for a coordinated collaboration between a range of stakeholders with a common interest in new teacher induction and professional development. Close attention needs to be paid to time and resources when developing and implementing such CPD programmes in the future. Suggestions for further research into and development of Saudi CPD are provided.