Thesis (M.A.)--Wheaton College (Ill.), 2007. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaf 137).

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The attitudes toward the integration of faith and discipline of full-time faculty members at five selected Southern Baptist colleges and universities which are members of the Christian College Coalition were explored for this study. The integration of faith and discipline is a concept unique to Southern Baptist higher education. Arthur Walker, Jr., of the Education Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention defines the concept as referring to the mission of the institution, the personal faith of faculty members, and the professional involvement and interaction of faculty members with their students, regardless of disciplines. Since little information exists on faculty attitudes toward this concept, data were collected through a survey instrument on three dimensions of integration: professorial integration in the classroom, professorial integration in and out of the classroom, and institutional integration of faith and discipline.

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Modern day society is characterised by the availability of technology and the abundance of information in all formats that require all individuals using it to poses information literacy skills (ILS).ILS enable people the ability to locate, analyse, evaluate access and retrieve the desired information to satisfy a need. Research on IL in academic and school libraries has gained momentum in the field of Information Science where as little has been documented concerning public libraries and IL. This therefore calls for more research on IL in public libraries. Public libraries serve a wide and diverse community of which students are a part. In instances where school libraries are either non-existent or not developed, students seek assistance from the public library within their community. This study sought to investigate the role of public libraries in enhancing the ILS of senior secondary school students in the Central District in Botswana. The fact that school libraries in Botswana are underdeveloped to produce competent and confident students equipped with ILS that could be used in the work environment and continuous lifelong learning, motivated the study. A concern that there exists a gap in research concerning public libraries and IL within the Botswana context necessitated this study. The study used a survey research design where both quantitative and qualitative research approaches were adopted. This involved the collection and analysis of quantitative and qualitative data. The purpose of a mixed methods approach was based on the idea that qualitative results could assist in explaining and interpreting the findings of a quantitative study. Data collection involved three sets of closed ended questionnaires and observations in all schools and public libraries. The population of the study consisted of public librarians, teacher librarians and students. Quantitative data were analysed using the Statistical Packages for Social Sciences (SPSS) to generate statistics. The findings of the study revealed that the public libraries in the Central District in Botswana are above average in terms of materials and use. It brought to light that senior secondary schoolstudents use the public libraries for school purposes and get assistance when they seek for it. Public librarians do not have special classes aimed at enhancing the ILS of students. The public libraries offer IL in the form of computer training, they do this as, and when students register, just like the other members of the community. The library’s contribution to enhancement of the students’ ILS, (study skills, reading skills and use of reference works) is somewhat limited. Limited resources, lack of reading culture, low budgets, and lack of support from government negatively challenge the full potential impact of IL enhancement. / Information Science / M.A. Information Science

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The purpose of this study was to analyze the perceptions of critical strategies and challenges for shaping Masters' programs in public relations in California universities. Using a qualitative approach, this study reported the findings from Web site review and interviews with leaders at four California institutions offering graduate work in Public Relations. Four primary findings included: (1) Masters' degree programs in public relations fell into a wide range of disciplines and titles. (2) Close connections with industry practitioners strengthened curriculum and assessment. Connections often occurred through the use of practitioners as adjunct faculty, allowing current perspectives on public relations practices and use of media. (3) Experiential learning and authentic activities, both in the classroom and through internships, were critical. (4) Each program was designed to give students both the theoretical foundation and the practical application of the profession. These findings confirmed theoretic frameworks for ideal graduate education programs and professional frameworks from Public Relations Society of America. The study concludes with recommendations for practice. First, a high quality graduate program would include multiple perspectives from diverse faculty and participants. Second, a high quality graduate program would emphasize participatory cultures, incorporating a shared program direction, and a community of learners. The third attribute of a high quality graduate program in public relations would foster a community of learners. Planned breadth and depth course work would be the fourth important element. The last recommendation for developing and sustaining a high quality graduate program would be to attain or pursue adequate resources.

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This quasi-experimental study explored African American student's sense of belonging (SOBE), academic self-efficacy (ASE), parents' educational attainment (PEA), and academic success (GPA) at historically Black colleges and universities and predominantly white institutions. The purpose of the present study measured how the factors influenced the rate of persistence to see how colleges and universities could assist to retain African American students in the pursuit of full matriculation through an independent samples t-test, multiple regression analyses, confirmatory factor analyses, and structural equation modeling with the results from methods such as item parceling, factor scoring, and sum scoring being compared. Results indicated that the second-order SEM, item parceling, and factor score regression approaches were found to have consistent results in terms of significant predictors. Parental educational attainment was found to not have an effect on academic achievement or collegiate persistence, but sense of belonging and academic self-efficacy were found to be significant predictors of GPA and CP with ASE being the strongest indicator for collegiate persistence and academic achievement. Implications for future research suggest additional schools be included and higher education institutions should seek further assessment to ensure their African American students feel included in an effort to increase overall persistence amongst African American students.