Thesis (Ph. D.)--Michigan State University. Higher, Adult, and Lifelong Education. Dept. of Educational Administration, 2006. / Title from PDF t.p. (viewed on Nov. 12, 2008) Includes bibliographical references (p. 174-183). Also issued in print.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Oregon State University, June 2010. / Printout. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 178-184). Also available on the World Wide Web.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Oregon State University, 2008. / Printout. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 186-199). Also available on the World Wide Web.

Research on the development of K-12 teachers’ beliefs about and approaches to teaching and learning suggests that exposure to professional development programs can lead to the use of conceptual change strategies that engage students as active participants in the learning process rather than on teacher-centered strategies focused on information transfer. However, within the existing literature on the development of teacher beliefs and approaches to teaching and learning there exists a void of information pertaining to the development of community college instructors’ beliefs and approaches. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between pre-tenure community college instructors’ beliefs about teaching and learning, their approaches to the learning process, and the training they receive via a professional development program specifically established to provide training in teaching methods, pedagogy, curriculum, and/ or instruction. Forty community college instructors going through an established three-year tenure process completed a revised version of the Approaches to Teaching Inventory (ATI-R) created by Trigwell and Prosser (1998). Data analysis revealed that there was no difference in the scores of instructors who had participated in the professional development program on teaching and learning and those instructors who had no exposure to courses that focused on teaching and learning. Further, findings suggest that instructors’ participation in the courses is not related to their beliefs or teaching approaches. iii The findings of this study warrant a closer examination of programs designed to provide higher education instructors with training in pedagogy and instruction. Additionally, the findings present an opportunity for professional development programs to improve current practice.

Thesis (EdD)--University of Central Florida, Spring 2004. / Title from title screen. Includes bibliographical references.

One of the challenges facing community colleges in the United States is the looming retirements of executive/senior-level leadership, particularly the president, on a wide scale. This study explored the career aspirations of executive-level leaders within the community college using Social Cognitive Career Theory as the conceptual framework. Within the context of a three-person collaborative dissertation project, a mixed methods case study approach was utilized for the research design. It first examined the perceived and preferred organizational culture(s) by administering the Organizational Culture Assessment Instrument (OCAI). Building upon results of the OCAI, interviews with executive-level leaders explored how personal and institutional factors impact their aspirations of to ascend to the community college presidency. The findings of the research indicate that affecting change, being asked, and the desire to help are personal factors of influence that motivate executive-level leaders to seek the role of community college president. On the other hand, age, family, and potential work-life imbalance might dissuade executive-level leaders from seeking this role. The study reveals that organizational culture (the “culture of caring”) and leadership development are positive factors of institutional influence. Institutional factors that dissuade executive-level leaders from seeking the community college presidency are politics, the state of the institution being led, and the unknown. This study advances the field of educational leadership in that a number of personal and institutional factors are adduced that influence the aspirations of executive-level leaders to progress to the community college presidency. The findings identify the need for research across multiple institutions and the need to expand Social Cognitive Career Theory to include personal-cognitive barriers of race and gender.

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between nonverbal immediacy of community college teachers, both full-time and part-time, and their within-semester student retention rates.

The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of academic and administrative community college leaders regarding the relationship between select external mandates and associated institutional effectiveness practices, institutional performance, and the use of assessment results for institutional improvement in Tennessee community colleges. Tennessee community colleges were selected for this study due to their decades long history with institutional assessments through the performance funding program. A primary assumption underlying this study was that Tennessee community colleges provide a historically unique assessment context for this study. The researcher developed a specific survey instrument for this study. The design of the survey provided for the measurement of the perceptions of academic and administrative community college leaders with regard to: (1) knowledge of external mandates; (2) assessment of compliance with regional accreditation mandates of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) as well as planning requirements of the Tennessee Board of Regents (TBR); (3) the perceived impact of these mandates on institutional practices; (4) the overall associated performance of their institutions on selected performance assessments; and (5) use of assessment results for institutional improvement. Leaders were grouped into categories representing academic, administrative, and joint academic and administrative job duties. Several findings were derived from this study. First, Tennessee community college leaders tend to be knowledgeable. of external mandates. Second, SACS institutional effectiveness mandates have tended to have a moderate to strong influence on Tennessee community colleges, followed by the influence of SACS institutional research mandates. The influence of state planning mandates received a mixed evaluation, with planned-changed mandates, (i.e. progress toward key system goals) perceived as having less of an impact as a mandate compared to the others considered. On the positive side, Tennessee community colleges do tend to follow state planning mandates promoting assessment of the external environment as an integral part of the institutional planning process. Further, a moderate correlation was found between compliance with SACS institutional effectiveness mandates and both dependent study variables: (1) institutional performance; and (2) the use of assessment results for institutional improvement. Other study variables had weak to somewhat moderate relationships with the dependent variables. Several recommendations were offered for institutional practitioners as well as future community college researchers.

Many community colleges struggle to find the best strategy to help incoming at-risk students prepare for the placement test. The purpose of this quantitative quasi-experimental study, was to answer the question as to which of 2 programs, a 2-week, face-to-face mathematics refresher program, Math Boost-Up, or an online-only program, might increase the ACCUPLACER posttest scores of incoming community college students. The study used archival data for 136 students who self-selected to either participate in the Math Boost-Up program (the experiment group), or in the online-only program (the comparison group). Knowles's theory of adult learning, andragogy, served as the theoretical framework. Spearman, Kruskal-Wallis, Mann-Whitney, and chi-square tests were used to measure the effect of 4 moderator variables (age, high school GPA, number of minutes spent in MyFoundationsLab, and number of days spent in face-to-face sessions) on the pre- and posttest scores of students in each group. The results indicated that students in the Math Boost-Up program experienced statistically significant gains in arithmetic and elementary algebra than did those students in the online-only program. The results also indicated that the 4 moderator variables affected gains in posttest scores. Additionally, the results disproved the andragogical premise that students would be self-directed and would self-select to participate in the intervention. A recommendation was that participation in the face-to-face refresher program should be mandatory. The study contributes to social change by providing evidence that short-term refresher programs could increase the scores of students on placement tests.

Many first-generation students (FGS) succumb to challenges and barriers and ultimately give up on their educational goals. Little is known about FGS who graduate and are successful in their discipline. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore factors that influenced the persistence of FGS who graduated and are employed in the healthcare field. The theoretical framework consisted of experiential learning, identity development and environmental influence, and social cognitive career theories. The research questions focused on how FGS made decisions to graduate, interpreted their academic learning experiences, and perceived academic support received in the college environment. Data was collected from questionnaires designed by the researcher and emailed to 12 participants, and from college retention, enrollment, licensure, and safety and security reports. Data analysis involved open and axial coding and application of the NVivo software package, whereby 8 themes emerged. Findings indicated that (a) family support, mastering a skill, and challenges and academic successes supported FGS' decisions to graduate; (b) inspiration, vocational interest, and self-awareness defined and described FGS' academic learning experiences; and, (c) faculty and student engagement and environmental support revealed the academic support FGS received in the college environment. The study suggested ways in which the persistence of FGS in community college healthcare programs can be improved. Implications for future research into variables that influence the persistence of FGS were discussed. Improving the retention of FGS and widening the pool of community healthcare workers can impact positive social change by contributing to social welfare and economic development.