<p> This study investigated the relationship between caring and trust within the undergraduate classroom using two valid instruments and an original open-ended survey. The participants were from a mid-western university that included international students. Fifty undergraduate students volunteered to participate in the study. No undergraduate students were excluded from participating in the study, based on diversity. Evidence of a correlation between caring and trust was found using the Caring Professional Scale developed by Swanson (1991) and the Modified Instructional Perspectives Inventory adapted for students (MIPI-S) developed by Henschke (1989). The Cronbach alpha for the CPS was 0.74 to 0.97 and for the MIPI-S, it was 0.81 to 0.85 for factor two 'teacher trust of learners.' Both instruments were scored on a five-point Likert scale. The CPS was originally designed for consumers to rate a variety of healthcare providers on their practice relationship style during a research grant with the National Institute of Health and National Institute of Nursing Research. The MIPI-S was comprised of seven factors that measured engagement between faculty and students. Originally administered at the Chicago City Colleges and the Saint Louis Community Colleges, the MIPI instruments' reliability was established in three other doctoral dissertations as well. A Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient was conducted, resulting in a moderate to strong positive correlation between caring and trust. A comparison of instrument items was also conducted utilizing a <i>z</i>-test (0.95) and <i> t</i>-test (0.24); each test scored below critical value indicating no interchangeability between instruments. This evidence seemed to support measurement of the two separate items of interest: caring and trust. As the benefit of higher education continued to be scrutinized by society, test scores and grades were perhaps a less reliable means of measurement for student satisfaction and retention. Therefore, the learning experience may become the new measurement for student satisfaction and retention.</p><p>

This thesis critically examines the development of student agency and how it can be achieved in higher education through designing a curriculum underpinned by a relational pedagogy. Within the context of a higher education sector dominated by marketisation, performativity and competition, the publications qualitatively investigate the lived experiences of academics and students with reference to a range of pedagogic practices. These include peer coaching, service learning, formative assessment practices; and a collaborative staff and student engagement activity designed to evaluate the learning experience. My work is informed by a number of complementary theoretical perspectives including socio cognitivist, sociocultural and socio constructionist approaches which are used to examine and promote understanding of how learning is influenced by social interaction. The commentary outlines connecting themes and theoretical perspectives, the main arguments of each paper, and critically reviews the methodological approaches adopted. It concludes by summarising the original contribution my work makes to the research fields of assessment and evaluation, and service learning. This includes findings drawn from examining pedagogic practices not previously investigated using qualitative approaches, and importing the predominately North American concept of service- learning to provide a new perspective on how UK universities might engage with community partners. The key significance of the work as a whole is that it demonstrates that curriculum design can enable the development of student agency both individually and collectively, and that this can be supported by incorporating relational pedagogic approaches that particularly reflect on the nature of reciprocity and the role of trust as part of the learning experience.

<p> This study focused on the instructional competency needs of new dental hygiene educators. The purpose of this qualitative and phenomenological study was twofold: (a) to explore the lived experiences and perceptions of 14 dental hygiene educators who have transitioned from clinical practice into the California Community College education system to further understand preparation experiences and instructional competence as related to knowledge, dispositions and skills and (b) to explore what recommendations dental hygiene educators might offer to better support new professors in developing instructional competence as related to knowledge, dispositions, and skills. </p><p> The researcher collected data by conducting semi-structured interviews. Several key themes emerged in the qualitative data including, a lack of supportive structures for new faculty, a lack of established pedagogical practices, a lack of staff development, the need for a formal orientation and mentorship programs, the need for pedagogical training for faculty, and standardization of best practices. </p><p> Findings from this research study supported several conclusions about the instructional competency needs for new dental hygiene educators in California, including: a formal program to support the transition of dental hygiene clinicians to become dental hygiene educators does not exist and has left educators under prepared to make a successful transition; developing instructional competency as a dental hygiene educator requires formal professional development and ongoing support that is currently lacking; new dental hygiene educators need supportive collaboration from fellow colleagues in order to increase consistency, communication, inclusion and calibration; and new dental hygiene educators would benefit from a formal orientation and mentorship program in teaching methodologies. </p><p> Study outcomes recommend the following for support for new dental hygiene educators: dental hygiene departments should expand ways to increase communication between adjunct and full-time faculty, technology training for new and existing faculty should be increased; the new dental hygiene educator should have additional education in teaching methodologies; new dental hygiene faculty should experience a formal orientation upon employment, and a formal mentorship programs should be implemented into dental hygiene programs. Broader recommendations include a three-part instructional competency model for new dental hygiene faculty to include a formal orientation prior to employment, teaching methodology training for faculty, and a formal mentorship program.</p><p>

<p> This dissertation examines the role of the faculty-student interaction in the perceived sense of belonging first generation students experience while attending 2-year community college. While Strayhorn&rsquo;s (2012) definition of sense of belonging is referenced this researcher has developed a diagram that focuses on the sense of belonging that focuses specifically on the 2-year community college student due to the fact that the theoretical frameworks regarding sense of belonging focus, primarily, on the perception of belonging among college students attending residential 4-year colleges and universities. The sense of belonging for first-generation, community college students suggests that a student&rsquo;s perceived sense of belonging (what is referred to as <i> internal)</i> is influenced by the faculty-student interaction; particularly by the external (what is referred to as <i>behavioral)</i> actions of faculty. The first-generation student&rsquo;s perception of belonging, those students whose parents do not have a college degree, will be discussed; in particular, the research examines the experiences of first-generation African American and Latino, community college, students. The perceptions of belonging were uncovered through the use of one on one interviews and an examination of the 2014 responses by first-generation students to the University of Texas (2015) Community College Survey on Student Engagement (CCSSE). This is not a true mixed methods study as the data from CCSSE was used for reporting purposes only. The focus on the lived experience provided this study with rich and insightful material that adds to the limited body of research related to the community college as a post-secondary institution.</p><p>

This research explores the ways in which young Turkish university students understand, express and negotiate religious practice versus secularism in the public and private spheres as these have emerged in the early twenty-first century, in light of the historical polarization between Islamism and secularism in Turkey. Data was collected using qualitative research methodologies, including participant observation and in-depth interviews with forty-five university students in Istanbul, Turkey. This latter method allowed participants to express their perceptions and experiences about the relationship between Islam and secularity in the context of Turkey’s move to democracy, and the success of the AKP religious party in democratic elections. The thesis begins with a review of relevant scholarly literature; first, debates on the relationship between Islam and the secular state, and secularist policies of Turkey; second, social and cultural conceptions of the relationship between Islam and secularity in Turkey; third, philosophical and conceptual debates on Islam and secularity. Examining this issue, I explore (1) the perceptions and views of university students on secularism and Islamism, the secularist state and the Islamic state; (2) their understanding and experience of religiosity and secularity; (3) the impact of religious groups in Turkey on the relationship of university students with religion, secularity and modernity; (4) the divisions or cohesion of Turkish society based on religion, culture, and lifestyle. I then move on to present and examine one of the most prominent public events of Turkish politics in 2013, the Gezi Park Protests, in terms of the subject of my thesis. The thesis concludes that Turkish university students, both secular and religiously oriented, do successfully negotiate the secular spaces of the public sphere, and have developed new kinds of religiosity and Islamic understanding that stress individual choice and shape their attitudes towards the state, politics, and fellow students who choose to embrace different lifestyles.

The starting point of this thesis is the idea in the literature that the main objective of NPM is to apply strategic direction to public organizations (Truss, 2006) that could help to achieve economic and cost-cutting objectives (Boyne, ibid.). Achieving these objectives is, in part, based on applying management reform (Hood, 1995) through a focus on performance management, the setting of quality standards, the adoption of a philosophy of enhancing value for money and the replacement of the allegedly traditional bureaucratic structure of management based on satisfying organizational members’ interests and demands a more market- or competition-based set of arrangements. In UK higher education institutions (HEIs), human resource management (HRM) has had a major influence by orchestrating these changes to achieve organizational effectiveness (Brown, 2008). Thus human resource professionals must address these changes when planning and carrying out their roles and programmes. This thesis proposes that there are two models that can be adapted to public sector organizations, such as universities: Stakeholder Satisfaction (SS) model and Instrumental Rationality (IR) model. Stakeholder Satisfaction model is concerned with balancing the demands and interests of different stakeholders and members. It is related to political, social and communicative forms of rationality as a base to achieve Organizational Effectiveness (OC). The HRM role in this model seems to focus on operations and people to satisfying members’ interests (Employee Champion role) and to perform administrative activities (Administrative Expert role). Instrumental Rationality model is seeking to achieve economic goals. The OE perspective under this model is related to technical and economic rationality. HRM within this model is concerned with achieving strategic orientation in an organization (Business Partner role). I argue that applying New Public Management (NPM) may influence public sector organizations to move from the Stakeholder Satisfaction model to the Instrumental Rationality model. Similarly, this might well be accompanied by HRM departments in universities shifting their main focus from the role of ‘Employee Champion’ to that of ‘Business Partner’.

This study explores cross-cultural adaptation in the context of European student mobility. It shows how the individual journeys of sojourners can be extremely varied, and are affected by internal and external factors, such as motivations, expectations, personality, coping strategies, skills, characteristics of the environment, and chance, among others. This longitudinal qualitative study follows a cohort of 21 Italian university students from before their departure to a number of European destinations, to their return back home. The data collected was in the form of interviews and weekly “diary-tables”, used to create graphs representing the ups and down of the individual experiences. In terms of the research findings, I have shown how the complexities of the adaptation process can be adequately understood within a model that caters for that complexity, while showing that this type of experience can be situated within the perspective of life changes. Anderson’s (1994) model seems particularly suitable in this context. I have also shown that European student mobility has changed since it was set up in 1987, and that increasing numbers of mobile students, the rise of instruction through the medium of English in many HE institutions, globalisation and technology, have changed the landscape within which these students move. Finally, I have shown how residence abroad does not necessarily bring enhanced intercultural skills, although these can be encouraged by providing the students with the concepts and language to describe their experiences, and opportunities for reflection before, during and after the experience abroad. This is the area in which HE institutions in Europe can play a significant role.

This thesis argues that excellence is emancipatory in the sense that it promotes individual and collective transformation and it traces this idealized concept back to Aristotle and the concept of eudaimonia (Aristotle: 2009). This is the idea that excellence promotes happiness and well-being; it enables human beings to flourish and live to their full potential. In short, the thesis is about the potential of higher education to transform lives, in particular those of young people. Thus the fundamental premise of the thesis is that a legitimating principle of English higher education is excellence defined as the Hellenic ideal and that excellence is emancipatory. The thesis operates from the perspective of Critical Theory and operationalizes the theories and concepts of Habermas. It argues that the political discourse of excellence – the economic imperative of competition - eclipses emancipatory excellence in discourse but that in the lifeworld of the university this transformational concept of higher education remains unaffected as a legitimating principle, despite recent government reforms. In a further subsidiary argument, the thesis argues that the emancipatory interests of the university, particularly those of social science are inextricably linked to those of wider society (Barnett: 1994; 2; Habermas: 1977; 1978; 1988) and that this critical normative claim can be realized in an ideal speech situation. The thesis argues that the ideal speech situation already exists in the scientific-public validation of Critical Theory geared at world construction (Strydom: 2011; 158) but that a space for a new discursive event exists in the wider public community of knowledgeable social agents (Bohman: 1999; 475; Nowotny: 1993; 308). This thesis is argued for using material from in-depth, semi-structured, conversation-led research interviews which were conducted with senior administrators, higher education policy specialists and academics across the English higher education sector.

The study was undertaken in the online environment of the English language learning course in one of the institutions of higher education that deliver all its courses entirely online: the Syrian Virtual University (SVU).A proliferation in the use of computer conferencing tools (both video and audio) in language learning has taken place. The use of these tools, together with the relatively "traditional" asynchronous text-based ones, allows educators to cater to different learning needs and language skills. Such tools may require the implementation of new teaching approaches according to the nature of the tool and the pedagogical objectives of using the tool. Synchronous tools are a new medium for course delivery. It is not known if these tools can efficiently support English language teaching and learning when used by virtual learners and tutors together with other elements of the online environment. The purpose of the qualitative case study was to explore the nature of an online environment using integrated tools, and how different elements of the online environment such as content free tools and web-based materials are currently used by learners and tutors. Opportunities and constraints of these tools as well as learner and teacher experiences with these tools and materials were included in the study. Factors that hinder/facilitate language learning using these tools was described and analysed. Data analysis involved qualitative content and thematic analysis. The key findings show that the online environment did provide students with the opportunity of experiencing multiple approaches: self study where students worked alone on the interactive materials and received computer feedback, and learning through audio conferencing where they worked with each other and with the teacher to receive human feedback. These two approaches met different language learning needs, i.e., student's needs for independent learning, and their needs for social learning. It also met the needs of students who were less capable of working independently, especially those who did not have the necessary proficiency in English for working alone. These students had the opportunity to have support from the teacher and from other students. The use of multimodality offered many opportunities for language teaching and learning, but at the same time, there were many constraints that need to be addressed in further research.

<p> Large bodies of literature reveal two salient experiences during adolescence and young adulthood for many men who identify as gay and bisexual: disclosing one&rsquo;s sexual identity to parents and going to college. Research suggests the reaction of one&rsquo;s parents to sexual identity disclosure serves as a powerful indicator of subsequent health-related and psychosocial outcomes, yet little is known regarding the relationship between parental reaction and accessing college and financial aid. This study explores the lived experiences of White gay and bisexual young men and how they navigated the college choice and financial aid processes. The study investigates three interconnected constructs with regard to one&rsquo;s sexual identity disclosure to his parent: the nature of the college choice process; the navigation of financial aid and scholarships; and other experiences that work to facilitate or restrict the college choice and financial aid processes. This qualitative study employs a phenomenological lens to retrospectively gather data using semi-structured, in-depth interviews with 18 gay and bisexual-identified men, ages 18 to 24 years old, from a large U.S. metropolitan area. Participants were selected using online and phone-based social media dating applications, popular in gay and bisexual men&rsquo;s communities. The findings of this study suggest that prior to disclosure, the young men expressed a perceived fear in coming out to their parents. After disclosure, most participants reported that families were supportive of their sexual identities as well as their college choice process, and all participants went to college with financial aid support from their parents. Due to the limited sample size and specific characteristics of men in this study, future research must be conducted to explore this relationship of sexual identity disclosure and college access further. This study concludes with a set of suggestions and recommendations for parents, counselors, and higher education leaders.</p><p>