One of the earliest indications that a student may be interested in STEM paths is the students’ own self-efficacy for science as well as how they may see themselves in a STEM career as part of their science self-identity (Schlegel et al., 2019). Currently, there is a need to contribute to research that can assist agencies such as the National Science Foundation (NSF), Department of Education and the National Academy of Sciences in advising the nation, including high schools and postsecondary institutions on ways to increase the enrollment of students in STEM-related careers. This study examined the extent to which science self-efficacy and science identity are related to postsecondary STEM degree selection, with special attention to how factors like race, gender, SES status and urbanicity influence science self-efficacy and science identity and how they may be predicative of postsecondary STEM degree selection. Correlation analysis was conducted to quantify the relationship between science identity and STEM degree selection, as well as between science self-efficacy and STEM degree selection. Correlation analysis by subgroup was conducted to examine differences in science identity and science self-efficacy between students based on the demographic characteristics. And binary logistic regression was conducted using the inputs of science identity, science self-efficacy, and demographic characteristics as variants to estimate STEM degree selection. Results of this study suggests that science identity and science self-efficacy are positively correlated with a student selecting a STEM degree. Relationships between science identity and self-efficacy with STEM degree selection among the demographic characteristics was also positively correlated. Black/African Americans and students from the lowest SES both are less likely to select a degree in STEM, while all other demographics show a positive predictive pattern. This work can be used to guide science education policy at the local, state, and national levels, and to direct science education programming in formal and informal settings including those at the high school level in ways to better prepare and encourage students into STEM careers.

The purpose of this study was to explore with community college presidents of 292 Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Level 1 institutions their perceptions as to the extent to which selected leadership styles presently required in the performance of presidential duties may be required in the future. Also investigated were leadership succession planning and professional development initiatives aimed at identifying and developing future leaders. A total of 209 (71.6%) presidents completed a researcher designed survey. Data analysis resulted in the following major findings. The presidents indicated a high level of support for each of the five leadership styles for current presidents as well as for future leaders. A consultative style of leadership was deemed to be the most important form of leadership for current leaders and increasing in importance for future leaders. Participative leadership was ranked second and could be considered as a transitional alternative for new presidents. The delegative and negotiative leadership styles were cited as the third and fourth most important forms of leadership for current and future leaders. Fifth ranked was the directive or autocratic style of leadership. Three-fourths of community college presidents indicated that they were actively engaged in the identification and development of potential leaders. Presidents were highly supportive of six developmental areas (budgeting, financial management, fund raising, governing boards, internal governance, and politics/relationships) but perceived politics and relationships as being the most critical area of development for future presidents. Presidents, with less than 10 years of service, were more actively engaged in identifying potential future leaders than their longer tenured counterparts. Those planning to retire within the next 6 years indicated the highest level of engagement. Institutional leaders who had been identified for advancement in a succession plan during their careers were more likely to have a succession plan in place in their institution; however, succession planning was largely informal.

The purpose of this study was: (1) to determine whether or not there is a place for "short-term" courses in the junior college business curriculum, (2) to set forth some guiding principles for the development of such courses, and (3) to record information that might be of assistance to business educators, curriculum planners, and administrators interested in exploring the possible incorporation of short-term courses in their curricula.

Participation in non-classroom activities has been documented to extend the intellectual, social, and psychosocial outcomes of the college experience. However, the benefits of non-classroom activities are often difficult to quantify due their voluntary nature, with findings mostly related to students within four-year institutions. The purpose of this study was to determine whether rural community college full-time freshman students who participate in non-classroom activities differ from nonparticipants with regard to self-identified values of academic integration, social integration, degree commitment, collegiate stress, and institutional commitment. These five factors have been demonstrated to influence student persistence and were adopted from Davidson et al.’s (2015) College Persistence Questionnaire, Version 2 (CPQ-V2). CPQ-V2 data were collected using an electronic survey distributed during the Fall 2021 semester. Survey participants offered details about their personal background and involvement in non-classroom activities, followed by responses to a series of questions from an adapted form of the CPQ-V2. The chi-square test of independence and one-way ANOVA were used to identify significant associations or relationships between variables. Data were analyzed through the lens of Astin’s theory of student involvement and Tinto’s theory of student departure. The results of analysis detected statistically significant associations between students’ level of involvement and their program of study, residency, employment, parental education, and volume of online classes. Their type of involvement was found to have a significant association with student residency. The level of involvement among students was also found to be significantly associated with their self-reported sense of social integration and degree commitment, a finding that was accompanied by the types of involvement and their statistical significance to their sense of social integration. Results from the survey instrument can vary across institutions and student populations; still, the results further demonstrate the differences among student groups in their non-classroom involvement. Accordingly, practitioners should continuously monitor their institution’s effectiveness in providing non-classroom opportunities that meet community college students’ needs and support their persistence efforts.

The purpose of this non-experimental, quantitative correlational study was to investigate whether any significant relationships existed between one-way student commute distance and retention for first-time, community college freshmen. Additional student success metrics such as three-year graduation rates, enrollment status, credit hours attempted and completed, and GPA were also analyzed for any possible relationship with commute distance. Archival student data were collected from the participating institution, a public community college in the southeastern United States with four separate instructional site locations. This study followed the incoming class of 2016, entering in the fall semester, through the end of their third year, completing in Spring 2019. The sample included all first-time freshmen at the institution who were taking all their classes in-person (N = 1,320). Students’ residential ZIP codes and location of classroom instruction were collected to calculate the one-way commute distance in miles. Chi-square test of independence, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), and a Pearson correlation coefficient were utilized to analyze the research questions for significant relationships among the study’s variables. Results indicated that commute distance for first-time community college freshmen does not have a significant relationship with freshman to sophomore retention, overall GPA, or three-year graduation outcome. This study identified a significant, positive relationship between commute distance and credits attempted and credits completed during the first semester of enrollment. Student ethnicity was also found to have a significant relationship with commute distance. Minority students were found to be less likely to commute longer distance compared to their peers. Students attending classes at the institution’s main campus instructional site were found to be significantly more likely to graduate in three years compared to those attending classes at satellite locations, regardless of commute distance.

Hmong Americans' postsecondary completion rates remain low when compared to other Asian ethnic groups. As the Hmong population continues to grow, so does the need for intervention to increase the total number of postsecondary graduates. Many Hmong Americans are first-generation college students and continue to face challenges and barriers that prevent them from being successful in higher education. “Forty-seven and a half percent of Hmong adults (25 years or older) reported having attended college, but not earning a degree” (National Commission on Asian American and Pacific Islander Research in Education, 2011). Without a college degree, Hmong Americans face limited resources and opportunities to advance in their careers, resulting in limited earning potential (Research Summary, n.d.). Without a college degree, career options are limited, and may result in low-wage jobs that perpetuate the poverty level of SEAAs. (“Overview of the Educational Challenges of SEAA - 2013,” n.d.) Asian Americans continue to be successful in degree completion rates, masking the struggles of sub-ethnic groups that immigrated to America in the late 1970s to early 1980s as they assimilate into America. To address the issue of low completion rates of Hmong Americans, targeted services will aid and support them through their academic journey. Many Hmong Americans begin their journey in higher education at a community college. Community colleges have been providing education and skills training helping to fill the needs of high-demand industries. Community colleges have transformed millions of American lives paving the way to the middle class through middle-class careers (Holliefield-Hoyle & Hammons, 2015, pg. 29). Attrition rates of Hmong Americans remain a primary concern in postsecondary institutions. Primary causes of attrition include inadequate financial support, unsolidified academic decisions, and life interruptions (Bowers et al., 2019, pg. 2). As colleges strive to provide resources to alleviate some of these barriers, many students do not utilize these services (Bowers et al., 2019, pg.2). The purpose of this study was to identify success strategies of Hmong Americans that completed their undergraduate degrees and beyond to provide information to current and future Hmong Americans as they pursue their degree. These strategies helped the participants as they discover new things while learning to balance school, work, children, and cultural obligations. Through a basic general qualitative study, the research identified the following themes: 1) First-Generation College Students; 2) Counseling; 3); Connection with Professors 4) Connection with colleagues; 5) Library; 6) Tutoring; 7) Personal growth. Much research is needed to continue the research into other successful measures Hmong Americans have used to complete their undergraduate degrees and beyond. This research contributes toward the growing research into successful strategies used by Hmong Americans and other students in America as the information gathered from this research will aid all postsecondary students.

This qualitative study sought to understand community college faculty’s perceptions of and experiences with culturally responsive teaching. Participants were full- and part-time faculty currently employed at community colleges in the Southeastern United States and purposefully selected to provide information-rich data. Data collected from the semi-structured, in-depth interviews with the participants were coded and thematically analyzed. Emerging themes included faculty’s inclusion of varied categories of cultural diversity when describing students; limited knowledge related to culturally responsive teaching; perception that culturally responsive teaching is centered on connecting and building relationships with students; belief in the value of providing students exposure to different cultures; perception that culturally responsive teaching increases students’ employability; perception of numerous challenges with the implementation of culturally responsive teaching; identification of current strategies they believed reflected culturally responsive teaching practice; recognition of the need for more professional development related to culturally responsive teaching; desire for professional development experiences with practical strategies; and identification of the challenges related to professional development. The findings may inform community colleges’ implementation of culturally responsive teaching and related professional development, as well indicate areas where more research about culturally responsive teaching in community colleges is needed.

In California community colleges, students of color reach educational milestones and culminating outcomes disproportionately less often than their peers. In the past decade, the state has committed renewed energy to refining student equity plan regulations requiring individual colleges to identify and develop strategies to close such gaps. This dissertation sought to focus on the intended beneficiaries of these efforts, asking how students themselves define and experience equity. Using semistructured, narrative interviews to explore the experiences of nine students of color at a California community college, this qualitative case was supported by institutional documents, participant observation, and interviews with college personnel. This inquiry was conceptually framed by Dowd and Bensimon’s (2015) insights on equity’s meaning as a standard of justice, California student equity plan success indicators, and Yosso’s (2005) community cultural wealth. Students’ stories wove tapestries of struggles and triumphs. Their engagement with the college and coursework was often mediated by the external circumstances and internal tumult of their lived experiences and hurdles that derived from college’s personnel or processes. Alternately, students found informational, material, social, and motivational resources in their home networks, college programs, relationships with personnel, and their own recognition of personal growth. Students’ experiences with the college denoted equity by its presence and its absence. While affirmatively identifying instances of caring, validation, and growth, less positive experiences revealed the extent to which equity remains aspirational. These findings give voice to the asymmetries between policy/regulatory efforts to redress entrenched educational inequities and the realities of students’ lived experience.

In this companion dissertation findings are reported of applied case study research on four community college organizational units that consistently meet or exceed standard performance measures. Ample prior evidence confirmed that performance extended significantly beyond what might be explained by available tangible resources alone. The case study contexts are common in higher education in general: a) an external partnership, (b) an ad hoc team, (c) a traditional, cross-divisional service unit, and (d) a grant-funded student service unit. Emerging positive organizational theory and research shows promise for revealing performance-influencing phenomena and behaviors that are not adequately represented in standard measures. Therefore, this collaborative case study research was designed to explore positive influences on the success of the four community college units. The companion dissertation consists of three manuscripts. Chapter 2, a technical report, is a collaboratively-written synthesis of findings from the four individual case studies. Key findings across the units suggest the influence on performance of: (a) a people-first culture, (b) authentic, trusting, inclusive leadership, and (c) resource richness beyond constrained tangible resources. In Chapter 3, the author presents in journal article format one of the case studies that contributed to the findings reported in Chapter 2. The academic library chosen for this research serves an urban community college campus near the geographic center of its city. The research asks how the library consistently performs well despite severe budget and staffing constraints and a series of disruptive events. Key findings in Chapter 3 include the following influences on performance: (a) valuing people and building relationships; (b) a culture of service that shares duties, resources, and expertise; and (c) leadership that effectively translates formal goals into an enabling matrix of behaviors and phenomena. In Chapter 4, a scholarly narrative, the author reflects on transformative aspects of the doctoral experience on learning and life. Practical recommendations are offered. Additional research is needed to explore causal relationships, how to influence greater resource amplification, and how to increase awareness of positive organizational dynamics.

In recent years, institutions of higher education have dramatically increased the number of online courses and degree programs offered to students, and yet it remains unclear what factors determine student satisfaction with online course and instructor effectiveness. Accordingly, the purpose of this exploratory correlation study was to examine how factors related to courses and instructors contributed to student perceptions of course quality (CQ) and instructor effectiveness (IE). Six stepwise regression procedures assessed the effects of specific course and instructor characteristics on perceptions of CQ and IE across one year of course evaluation data collected in a northeastern 2-year college. Results revealed that IE, quality of readings and assignments, and quality of threaded discussions had significant effects on CQ. In turn, student ratings of CQ, instructor-inspired interest in course material, and instructor availability and helpfulness had significant effects on IE. The results of the study can allow higher education administrators to make more effective decisions regarding online instruction and course structure, thus leading to increases in student persistence and success within online courses and programs.