Much of the service-learning literature in higher education assumes that community service linked to classroom learning is inherently connected to concerns of social justice. While some service-learning practice aims to alleviate oppressive or unfair circumstances and promote "more just relationships," there is little research that examines the effectiveness of service-learning in developing that commitment. The purpose of this qualitative research is to understand how students' experiences in service-learning contribute to their understanding of and commitment to social justice. The program investigated is a four semester critical service-learning experience, named the Citizen Scholars Program, at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Written assignments and interview transcripts from 11 women who participated in the program comprise the data for this dissertation research. This secondary data set was analyzed using grounded theory methodology to explore connections between students' participation in service-learning and their understandings of and commitments to social justice. The findings from this research suggest that participants in this study did develop more complex conceptions of social justice. Through the critical service-learning experience provided by the Citizen Scholars Program, students report being able to: develop authentic relationships with community members, question the distribution of power in society, and deepen their commitments to social justice. The study identified six properties of social justice sensemaking that appear to influence students' understanding of and commitment to social justice. Reflection on the self and experience, introduction to new information, contradictory experiences, relationships with peers and community members, and the idea of plausibility were all shown to spur students' social justice meaning construction. The findings of this study were used to develop a conceptual framework that charts how the critical service-learning experience of the Citizen Scholars Program facilitates social justice sensemaking. This framework can guide the work of scholars and practitioners who aim or hope to encourage social justice commitments in students. Students left Citizen Scholars with confidence in their views of social justice and a willingness to take action in alignment with those views. This research demonstrates that critical service-learning can foster a greater sense of agency to act in support of social justice.

Through experience-based learning courses students deepen and possibly alter presently held understandings and assumptions when such classroom experiences allow students to practice skills and reflect on behaviors, actions and activities that simulate "real world" situations (Andresen, Boud & Cohen, 2000). Engaging in "real-world" situations exposes students to the type of emotion-laden interactions that are encountered upon entering the workplace. To date, little research has been conducted that investigates the relationship between experience-based learning courses, reflection and emotional competency. Therefore, this research explored new ground, opening up further discussions as to the role of experiential learning in developing students' emotional intelligence. Sport Event Management, a course conducted at a University in the North Eastern US region with 25 undergraduate and graduate students, was the setting for this empirical investigation into the impact of an experience-based learning course on students' emotional competency. Specifically, a quasi-experimental, mixed methods design was used to determine if students' emotional competency could be developed over the course of one semester when students were not formally trained or instructed in emotional intelligence theory. To aid in the examination of the impact on students' emotional competency development, differences between the experience-based learning course, Sport Event Management, and two courses using more traditional teaching methods were investigated. Differences between experimental and comparison group students' emotional competency were investigated at the conclusion of the spring semester using quantitative (ECI-U) and qualitative (Critical Incident Interview and exit interview) methods. Results from the quantitative measure (ECI-U) supported the contention that an experience-based course can positively increase students' emotional competency over the course of one semester but for graduate students only. However, qualitative results suggested that for both undergraduate and graduate students the impact of an experience-based learning course was more conducive than traditional courses to fostering the social and emotional learning that contributes to emotional competency development. Specifically, the experience-based learning course contributed to students' development of emotional competencies related to self-understanding and their ability to understand and interact with others in an organizational setting.

The purpose of this study is to explore, identify and describe organizational opportunity through the thoughts, perceptions and experiences of women who are currently mid-level administrators in higher education organizational settings. The idea of organizational opportunity provides the basis of the study, and the tenets of the "new scholarship on women and education" which incorporates a feminist perspective provides the framework for the study's design and methodology. The participants were invited to take part in the study, and the sample was drawn from individual member listings of the current directories of three higher education associations. The participants are women mid-level administrators in selected public, state-supported universities in California with the functional title: Dean of Students (when not identified as the chief student affairs officer), Director of Housing or Residential Education, and Director of Student Activities or College Union. Qualitative research methods were used in collecting the data through the use of a guided, open ended, in-depth interview with the participants. The study's research questions focus on: (1) how women in higher education administration describe organizational opportunity; (2) what organizational opportunities women in higher education administration describe as needing to develop professionally; (3) how women in higher education administration create organizational opportunity; and (4) what conditions women in higher education administration describe that increase and diminish organizational opportunity for their development. The analysis of the data reveals five major frameworks of the concept of organizational opportunity: (1) Organizational Context; (2) Creating Opportunity; (3) Organizational Access; (4) Organizational Support Through Mentors, and (5) Personal Factors Affecting Organizational Opportunity. A discussion of each frame is presented as well as the participant's advice to women interested in a career in higher education administration.

This dissertation examined the critical role of human and social capital in the evolution of the NCAA Division I men’s collegiate basketball product over time. Specifically, it sought to understand the characteristics of coaching networks that were consistently successful in perpetuating leader development over time, thereby theoretically replicating positive performance outcomes over long time spans. Interviews, content analyses and a literature search were performed to evaluate factors such as the processes of identification and selection of assistant coaches, the learning systems associated with their leader development, the strategies for their career advancement and growth, and the support structures of ongoing mentorship and professional networks that are important subsequent to their external promotion. Mixed methods were employed in the study. First, a quantitative analysis was performed in the early phases of the research project to identify the relevant coaching networks to be evaluated as well as to assess statistical relationships between five measures of coaching networks and success outcomes. This analysis was followed subsequently by qualitative ethnographic methods in relation to the selected coaching networks. The final output was the development of a conceptual model to be utilized for future research. Apart from some limited exploration by members of the popular press, there are no empirical studies known by this author that have examined characteristics of successful coaching networks and development systems.

Public universities contribute towards advancing social mobility for individuals. However, a discrepancy exists between how universities balance their institutional needs with the burning issues of local communities. Little research has gone into understanding how universities support socio-economically disadvantaged communities. This study, while acknowledging the excellent work done by U.S. universities in various areas, explores ways through which Community Service Learning (CSL) partnerships can help higher education better meet the development needs of under-served local communities, while meeting institutional needs. Literature suggests that universities emphasize their Research and Teaching missions over their Service mission intended for community outreach. In cases where the Service mission is recognized through CSL, universities primarily focus on projects in wealthier communities rather than those in socioeconomically depressed neighborhoods. This study examines the potential role of CSL partnerships in supporting the socio-economic advancement of marginalized urban communities. It explores the literature related to university CSL partnerships and their contributions to improving and sustaining development in such communities. There is scarce research focusing on CSL models that help achieve community advancement. Although the study uses the U.S. context, the concepts and models explored can be modified to suit similar development needs in less industrialized countries. Mechanisms to bridge the gap between universities and respective neighborhoods through the creation of development opportunities benefiting both constituencies are highlighted using UMass/Nuestras Raices CSL partnership as a unit of analysis. Research questions include: What key conditions of Nuestras Raices farm model applied by UMass/HPN partnership foster socio-economic advancement among the inner city community members? How can conditions fostering socio-economic advancement be sustained and promoted? A qualitative research method with a case study approach was used in answering these questions. Findings indicated a Culturally Integrated Model (CIM) of CSL to be effective in fostering and sustaining socio-economic advancement among impoverished communities. Community transformation is possible where a CSL partnership using the CIM provides opportunities benefiting both educational institutions and marginalized neighborhoods. Key conditions identified for fostering effectiveness were reciprocal partnership, participants' efforts and interest, strong leadership and organization, and the farm-site location. Recommendations for future improved practice of university CSL partnerships are suggested.

Few research studies have focused on WAC program development. Those that exist do not examine the ideological grounds for programmatic changes. This dissertation explores the dynamics of such changes through a four-year ethnographic study of WAC program development at a small, public, liberal arts college. The study employed extensive participant observation, interviewing, and document collection to trace how curricular and cultural changes around writing take shape and what ideologies and rhetorical practices come into play during that complex change process. The site for the study is of special interest because WAC there was in transition from an informal coalition focused on changing culture and pedagogy to a potentially institutional program equally invested in curricular reform. My study documents the interactions that characterize the change process, using Jenny Edbauer's conception of rhetorical ecology for its explanatory power in non-linear discursive environments. I analyze rhetorical encounters between a wide range of institutional constituents, including administrators and faculty from multiple disciplines. In these encounters, higher education's historic ideologies surface and interact in complex ways with WAC's ideologies. Using critical discourse analysis, I unpack these interactions and ideological multilectics, examining how language and values circulate among multiple users, texts, and sites within the rhetorical ecology of one college, influencing the shape of program developments. WAC scholars suggest that contemporary practitioners need to forge alliances with other cross-curricular initiatives in order for WAC to continue as a viable educational movement. My analysis of how WAC advocates at one college positioned their efforts in relation to other curricular changes reveals both benefits and costs resulting from such alliances. Although alliances can produce significant reforms, working with groups that have divergent ideological premises risks positioning WAC in subordination to others' ideological priorities. Two intertwined strategies appear to mitigate this problem: (1) ideological recentering on WAC's core theoretical commitments and (2) formation of recombinant multilectics by identifying the ideologies in play and considering how, or whether, core WAC ideological commitments align with them. Acts of recentering that incorporate deliberate multilectics may be key survival strategies for WAC programs as they interact with other cross-curricular initiatives.

Prior to the Fall 2019 implementation of the Bachelor of General Studies (BGS) degree at the University of Central Florida (UCF), the Interdisciplinary Studies (IDS) degree programs were the primary option for students with a range of majors, accumulated credits, and diverse curricular interests. While the IDS degree required students to fulfill requirements in two disciplinary areas of study and a minor, the BGS degree program was introduced to provide students greater flexibility with coursework. The BGS degree was a solution to the complex educational problem of practice presented by the increasing number of undergraduate students with 120+ credit hours enrolled at the university with no clear pathway to graduation. This design-based research study integrated both theory and practice and had as its goals, a.) the development and approval of the BGS institutional effectiveness evaluation plan, b.) course curriculum maps aligned with learning outcomes, and c.) development of communication strategies based on data from a nonexperimental survey research design that described the university faculty and academic advisors' knowledge of the BGS degree program, and their perception and beliefs about the importance of university issues that each reflected a different dimension of organizational culture.

Citizenship is often referred to as the forgotten outcome of colleges and universities. The present study examined the relationship between undergraduate students' perceived citizenship level and different types of civic experiences (service-learning, community service, and peer-to-peer civic discussions) and also different demographic factors (gender, race/ethnicity, and parental level of education) at a public institution using the Personal and Social Responsibility Inventory. This study used structural equation modeling and multiple regression analysis. This marks the first time these variables have been researched together. This study found a significant correlation between both community service and peer-to-peer civic discussions in relation to citizenship level. Yet, service-learning frequency was not found to be a significant factor. On the other hand, all three civic experiences together was found to be significantly correlated to citizenship aptitudes. Leading the researcher to find that a holistic (both inside and outside the classroom) approach to student citizenship is valuable for student development. Also, only one significant relationship was found between citizenship levels and any demographic variable (parental education level of doctorate or professional degree).

This study examined incentives, academic outcomes, and student performance in the South African higher education (HE) sector using the University of Cape Town as a case study. The analysis was conducted using a dataset that stacked three cross-sections of first year entering students and tracked these students over time. The thesis comprises six chapters. The introductory chapter provides background content on the research. Chapter 2 presents an exploratory and descriptive analysis of the South African HE sectors over the period 2004–2015. It focuses on a descriptive analysis of key South African HE indicators and outcomes. The first objective was to evaluate access to HE by identifying the pool of potential entrants through an examination of the school-leaving cohort of each year. The second objective was to identify racial enrolment, progression, and completion patterns to observe whether significant changes occurred over the period. The author finds that the differentials in performance between racial subgroups have narrowed over time. White students are shown to have the highest student success rates at above 80%, and although other subgroups show some improvement, they do not catch up to these rates. A trend analysis of the data, however, provided support for a fall in the dropout rate for all students. This chapter also provides evidence for persistence in but slower progression through HE. Chapter 3 presents a way to consider and evaluate the Dean's Merit List (DML) incentive system in the context of an African economy. The author evaluated the impact of academic recognition policies, specifically the DML, on student outcomes. Using a regression discontinuity approach, the chapter shows that the DML as an academic incentive policy, has largely negative rather than the intended positive effects over the short- and long-term on academic performance in the South African context. The results indicate that the DML has an unfavourable impact on subsequent academic performance. Students who received the award tended to earn lower grade point averages in subsequent years than expected. The findings suggest that the DML does not reinforce academic achievement. These results appear to be counterintuitive but support Bénabou and Tirole's theoretical expectations regarding extrinsic motivation in a situation of asymmetric information between an agent and principal. Chapter 4 investigates student performance over time by introducing a ranking variable of student achievement. The main finding is that race, gender, and performance on final school leaving examinations are important determinants of academic achievement. Female students outperform male students across the distribution of grade point average, and this finding is consistent with the growing international literature. Chapter 5 presents detailed evidence on the determinants of academic outcomes using discrete-time methods for competing risks survival analysis. An important contribution of this chapter is studying the determinants of dropout and graduation in HE in the context of an African country. While graduation is the preferred route of exit, voluntary and involuntary exit before completion remain prominent for a significant number of students. Interestingly, and contrary to other international studies, the author did not find support for financial aid status contributing to either voluntary dropout or graduation, even after controlling for academic and socio-economic background factors. Students on academic programmes are shown to be more likely to be involuntarily excluded and less likely to graduate or voluntarily exit HE then mainstream students. This is a cause for concern as these programmes are an initiative intended to address transformation and equity in, HE, attracting significant resources from within and outside universities. Chapter 6 summarises and presents policy discussions. Overall, the study shows that one-size-fits-all policies within the same institution applied across heterogenous faculties do not achieve their desired outcomes in the South African HE is setting. Considerable thought should be given to the nature of recognition policies as other basic requirements, such as course progression criteria, tend to crowd out the desired incentive effects of recognition policies. In addition, academic administrators should consider programmes that promote a decrease in outcome disparities in HE, including establishing more and expanding academic development programmes.

One student learning goal for social diversity courses is to help students develop the knowledge and skills necessary to take action against policies and practices in society that are antithetical to a diverse democracy. This democratic outcome is described in the literature as social action engagement (Hurtado, Nelson Laird, Landreman, Engberg, & Fernandez, 2002). Previous studies have found that enrollment in a diversity course positively influences the importance students' place on social action engagement, their commitment and confidence to engage in social action, and their motivation to promote social justice. However, there is a dearth of research that examines which course processes and activities in diversity courses students believe affect their readiness to engage in actions that will interrupt and eradicate social oppression in society. Readiness in this study refers to a person's competence and desire to engage in a specific task (Hershey, 2004). The primary method for this assessment is an analysis of 60 students responses to a series of two vignettes administered at the beginning and end of a social diversity course that describe a situation involving a social justice issue. In addition, six students were interviewed to provide data in their own words about the course processes and activities they believe are most effective in increasing their readiness for social action engagement. Students did not identify or analyze the problem accurately on most vignettes over time. However, students were less likely to deny that a problem existed in the incidents described in each scenario on the post-test. Students maintained their motivation to take action in the scenarios over the course of the semester and their ability to identify action strategies and potential risks. In addition, students showed increased confidence and intention to engage in social action by the end of the course. Students who responded to the sexism vignette showed the most change over time in comparison to the other vignettes. Six themes emerged from the interviews. The themes derived from the interview data are lived experiences, perspective-taking, critical thinking, empathy, personal awareness and self-confidence.