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Co-Constructing College-Going Capital in a Rural High School English ClassJanuary 2015 (has links)
abstract: Compared to their urban and suburban counterparts, rural students have lower college enrollment rates. Despite many school and community benefits including small class sizes, close student-teacher relationships, and strong connections among community members, many rural high school students’ post-secondary educational opportunities are constrained by factors such as: fewer college preparatory courses, narrow school curriculums, geographic isolation, high poverty rates, and limited access to college and career counseling. This action research study was conducted to examine how and to what extent underserved rural high school students constructed college-going capital through their participation in an English class designed to supplement their school’s limited college-access services. The study took place over a 19-week semester at Seligman High School, a small rural school comprised of approximately 55 students. To support their construction of college-going capital, students’ junior- and senior-level English class curriculums blended traditional college preparation activities with college-level reading and writing assignments focused on the U.S. educational system and its college-access inequities. The theoretical perspectives that framed this study included: social cognitive career theory, sociocultural theory, and critical literacy. Further, research on perceived post-secondary educational barriers and supports, dialogic discourse, and college access informed the study. By using a concurrent, transformative mixed methods research design, both qualitative and quantitative data were collected simultaneously. Then, while maintaining an advocacy stance, the data were analyzed separately and brought together to determine convergences and divergences. Drawing data from student surveys, student and researcher journal entries, student and college coach interviews, dialogic discussion transcripts, and an image elicitation process, this study showed that, through their participation in an English language arts college-going class, students developed college-going skills, knowledge, self-efficacy, and critical literacy. The study also revealed the following: students acquired varying levels of critical consciousness; students benefited from adult mentors coaching them about college-going; and students did not experience significant changes in their perceptions of barriers to and supports for college-going during their participation in the course. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Educational Administration and Supervision 2015
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Experiences of community college faculty in developing discipline specific educational master plans at American River CollegeLorimer, Susan L. 11 June 2002 (has links)
Today's community colleges are challenged to respond to rapidly
changing internal and external environments. Their responses must promote highly
responsive and relevant programs and services, while keeping intact the strengths
of community colleges--access, student success, and a focus on teaching and
learning. Further, these responses must occur in the context of rising costs,
decreasing revenues, and increased accountability. Accrediting agencies are
requiring colleges to more effectively respond to change by implementing
improved planning processes. The research literature on higher education planning
suggests faculty are a key constituency to engage in planning efforts. However,
little is written about actual faculty experiences in planning.
This qualitative study was conducted to provide increased understanding of
how faculty at a large, suburban California community college experienced
developing discipline specific educational master plans (EMPs) in Spring 2001.
Using interactive qualitative analysis methodology, a seven-member faculty focus
group first identified the affinities (or themes) of their planning experience. These
affinities were used to develop interview questions for another 14 faculty members.
The 21 faculty participants were from a total of nine different instructional areas,
and had been identified as lead EMP contacts for their disciplines. Following its
collection, the data was analyzed to generate grounded theory about the faculty
EMP experience.
The "Faculty EMP Experience Systems Theory" revealed the primary
driver of the faculty experience was their belief eligibility for future resources for
their disciplines was tied directly to their EMPs. This was followed by secondary
drivers of their past experiences with planning at the college, and the resources they
were given, or accessed, to complete their plans. Together, these three drivers
directly influenced how the planning work was done. The secondary outcomes of
the faculty experience developing EMPs included interpersonal effects of engaging
in the EMP process, and unanswered questions about what the administration
would actually do with their EMP work. Finally, the primary outcomes of the
faculty experience were their evaluation of the EMP processes and products
(plans), and the frustrations, if any, they experienced. This new theory suggests
implications for practice and further research. / Graduation date: 2003
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An effort to increase student success through data based decision making : a case studyShelton, Margaret Ann-Schmid 16 October 2012 (has links)
The need for knowledge workers is increasing; most jobs of the future will require some post secondary education. Half of the students who enter the open door of the community college are not prepared for college level work and must first enroll in developmental education. Half of those students will not complete remediation. Though institutions of higher education provide developmental education, the effectiveness of developmental education programs - performance in subsequent courses, grade point average, and persistence to graduation - are rarely studied. This case study explored an Achieving the Dream institution's commitment to establishing a "culture of evidence" to guide decision making and facilitate student success in developmental education programs. Research was gathered from interviews, observations, and a review of pertinent documents during the researcher's four-month internship at the institution. This study found a culture of evidence evolving at the institution and the institution's participation in Achieving the Dream contributing to the culture of evidence through its use of data to measure student success and facilitate decision making. Indicators of student success measured at this institution included success rates in developmental courses, fall-to-fall persistence, progression in the developmental course sequence, and graduation rates. The researcher used John P. Kotter's Eight Stage Process of Creating Major Change as a framework to review the institution's progress toward creating institutional change. The researcher identified practices that could bring about institutional change when building a culture of evidence. / text
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Financial Tools to Build Retention: A Look at How to Improve Financial Literacy for Students at Texas A&M University-CommerceCuller, Darrion J. 11 August 2022 (has links)
No description available.
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