Although critical thinking skills are important for all citizens participating in a democratic society, many community college students appear to lack these skills. This study addressed the apparent lack of research relating critical thinking instruction to campus climate. Critical thinking theory and Moos's organizational climate theory served as the theoretical foundation. The relationship between faculty's perceptions of three campus climate factors and their use of five critical thinking instructional techniques in the classroom was analyzed in this quantitative study. An online instrument based on the School-Level Environment Questionnaire (SLEQ) to measure campus climate and a researcher-designed measure of critical thinking instructional techniques was used in a nonexperimental correlational design. Responses from a purposive sample of 276 community college faculty in the western United States were evaluated using multiple regression analysis. Results indicated participatory decision-making was directly related, staff freedom was inversely related, and work pressure was not related to faculty's use of critical thinking instruction in their classrooms. This study contributes to positive social change by providing information that community college leaders can use to improve their students' critical thinking skills. As a result, students and graduates will be better prepared to contribute to the community and society at large by making better social and moral decisions.

College faculty members are often inadequately prepared to use technology in their classrooms. They often learn technology without institutional support, and without understanding technology's impact on student learning. As a result of these shortcomings, the use of technology in the college classroom is often not systematic or focused on improving learning. This study used a conceptual framework based on Wenger's learning community or community of practice idea. This study examined a Midwestern university where faculty made only limited use of classroom technology and did not demonstrate contemporary approaches to student learning. The study set out to determine the impact of technology-based faculty learning communities on student engagement. Five university faculty members served as research participants; all agreed to form a learning community and participate in a series of interviews that examined the impact of technology integration and the role of learning communities on adopting technology. Interview data were analyzed using an emergent and exploratory approach where themes and trends were identified through direct observation and examination of interview transcripts. One of the emergent themes was that increased faculty technology use depends primarily on positive prior experiences with technology. Another theme was that students' self-reported technology competency does not accurately reflect classroom uses, which may have a significant impact on educational technology integration strategies. The study's findings provide guidelines for a best practice model of faculty professional development to improve and enhance classroom learning with educational technology.

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.

Current research shows that students with a growth mindset are more motivated to learn, want to work harder, are less discouraged by difficulty, use more effective strategies for learning, and have higher academic performance in comparison to students without this mindset. Despite these promising findings, a growth mindset is sometimes not reinforced or is even refuted by classroom conditions. The purpose of this intrinsic case study was to explore how community college educators create classroom environments that foster a growth mindset. The conceptual framework for this study was a social constructivist approach where the interviewer and the participants co-constructed the interpretation of how to influence a growth mindset in the community college classroom. Data were collected through 14 in-depth interviews with community college educators who completed a workshop on influencing a growth mindset. Data were analyzed through categorizing, coding, and identifying themes that answered the research question. The findings of this study indicated that the mindset of the student and the teacher play an important role in academic success at the community college and that faculty desire training in tools and strategies to create classroom environments that foster a growth mindset. Recommendations include an in-depth, experiential professional development program based on research where community college educators from a variety of disciplines can collaborate to gain new knowledge and skills. Training community college educators using the most effective ways of fostering a growth mindset to increase students' motivation, effort, and persistence will lead to greater academic success and degree completion.

Research on organizational change theory confirms the importance of leaders' ability to establish a sense of urgency, create institutional support for change, develop a vision, communicate the vision, empower others toward action, generate results, and ultimately create change in the organizational culture. Organizational change in nested systems, in which CEOs of individual units report upward through a state, regional, or corporate hierarchy, has not been extensively studied. To address this gap in the literature, this phenomenological study explored perceptions of college leaders who in 2002-2003 participated in the transformation of seven 2-year technical colleges into a community college system. The study probed leaders' perceptions of organizational change at the campus level in a nested organizational structure. Two research questions addressed (a) how 2-year college leaders in a nested leadership structure reporting to a system president perceive and describe their experiences of transformational change; and (b) lessons, if any, that these leaders offer other state-governed, 2-year college systems attempting similar levels of transformative change. The study was based on Kotter's change model, which was used to examine the nature and degree of organizational change that occurred in the institutions studied. Data were collected through in-depth interviews and analyzed through a transcendental phenomenological process. Results highlighted the importance of communication, leadership, exploiting a sense of urgency, and addressing internal and external concerns chance to participate in the economy. This study will help leaders of multi-campus or nested state systems facilitate transformational change to better achieve those social goals.

Although the major responsibility for community college governance falls to presidents and administrators, researchers have recognized the integral role of faculty in governing higher education institutions. Few studies, however, have explored the effectiveness of contributions of faculty elected to community college academic senates. The purpose of this research was to investigate the background traits and leadership skills of elected academic senate presidents in order to identify both their perceptions of themselves as leaders and the perceptions of other faculty senate members. This study was based in the theory of transformational leadership in organizations and its impact on the effectiveness of organizations. The research question for this quantitative study focused on the extent to which the elected academic senate presidents' background and leadership traits affect the performance of faculty senates. The Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (Form 5X; MLQ 5X) and supplemental demographic data were used with faculty at the 112 community colleges in a western state to measure the relationship between leadership behavior and organizational effectiveness. Data were analyzed using Pearson's correlation and z and t tests. Results indicated that there is a significant relationship between senate presidents who were transformational leaders and more effective in leading faculty senates. The implications for social change include informing community college faculty senates and their presidents about effective leadership styles and skills and providing resources to improve faculty governance. The anticipated results are improved college governance, enhanced college service to their communities, and enriched education for their students.

The problem addressed in this study was to understand the knowledge gap between project management competencies available and those needed for successful implementation of technology projects at a community college. The purpose of the qualitative study was to evaluate, compare, and analyze the performance of project managers of 2 large technology projects in a specific community college with respect to each other and what was known about achieving project success at a public institution of higher education (IHE). The research questions for this study examined the competencies exhibited by the project leaders, the success parameters established for the projects, and how the individual project leaders were selected. The conceptual frameworks that supported this study were enterprise wide technology implementation, project management, success assessment, and public IHE operational structures. A comparative case study approach using responsive interviewing techniques with 10 stakeholders from each of the projects yielded dialog that was coded in combination with documentation and observation evidence using recognized competency standards. The relationships and significance of patterns found in this data were analyzed against the proposition that the level of project success is a function of the application of project management competencies of the project leader. The results identified 9 elements that characterized competencies specific to effective project outcome success within the context of the community college. The results contribute to positive social change include implementation of organizational project management initiatives that will enable community colleges to continue to serve a vital role in providing an affordable college education.

National movements for greater quality in education have increased concerns about student learning and the effectiveness of teaching for the community college. Faculty are responsible for student learning, yet criticized for using ineffective teaching methods despite limited data on community college teaching practices. The purpose of this study was to gain a descriptive understanding of current teaching practices in three community colleges. This single-phase study used a concurrent mixed-method exploratory research design. A purposeful sample of 185 community college faculty across three colleges in the southwestern United States were surveyed about what methods they use, how they perceive their teaching effectiveness, what motivates them to change, and why they teach as they do. This study was grounded in the framework of Bandura's self-efficacy theory to enhance an understanding of the faculty's perspective of improving teaching and learning. Descriptive statistics and inductive analysis of mixed-method data led to key findings indicating that faculty were incorporating diverse and learner-centered strategies and using a variety of assessment methods. Despite feeling that good teaching is not rewarded by their colleges, faculty found participating in professional development and trying new methods beneficial to their teaching. The data indicated that better ways to evaluate teaching effectiveness are needed, along with better ways to evaluate student success at community colleges. This study benefits students, faculty, and community colleges nationally by providing research data to help inform and encourage administrative vision, support, and policies relating to faculty development and learner-centered programs to increase student engagement and success.

Low graduation rates are a significant issue for colleges. The majority of higher education institutions in the United States offer learning communities (LCs), which have been found to be effective for improving course success and persisting to the next semester. However, there is a gap in the literature regarding the effectiveness of LCs with different types of populations and different types of LCs. The purpose of this meta-analysis was to identify the most effective types of LCs. Research questions addressed the effects of different types of LCs on different student success outcomes for community colleges. The study was based on Tinto's interactionist model of student departure and Astin's model of student involvement. Studies examining the relationship between student success and participation in college LCs provided the data for the meta-analysis. A random effects model was used to generate the average effect size for 39 studies and 50 individual effect sizes. The results showed that LCs are most effective with community college students when they include additional support strategies, counseling is available to students, one of the linked courses is an academic skills course, at least one of the linked course is developmental, and the focus is on increasing course success or student engagement. The implications for positive social change suggest that LC programs implement two linked courses, include an academic skills course, focus on developmental courses, and provide access to a counselor and additional student support strategies. In addition, LC programs are most effective when the goals of the program are student engagement and course success.

Community college graduation rates are low, and community colleges have been tasked with producing more graduates to meet workforce needs. Research has determined that engaged students remain at their institutions and complete their degrees. Service learning has been identified as a high-impact practice that engages students with their learning and builds connections between students and campus personnel. The majority of service-learning research, having been conducted with 4-year colleges and universities, may have limited applicability to the community college population. This qualitative descriptive case study describes how institutionalized service learning on 1 community college campus is structured, supported, and operated. The study used the framework of student success, service learning, and institutionalization to determine how the college provided resources and opportunities for service learning. Participants for the study were selected using mixed purposeful sampling to identify individuals recently involved with service learning at the college; data came from document reviews, campus and Internet observations, college staff interviews, and student group online discussions. Data were collected and analyzed using a spiraling technique. Findings indicated that the college's curricular and cocurricular service-learning activities were integrated throughout the campus in many departments and with different groups. While the service-learning coordinators made distinctions between curricular and cocurricular service learning, student participants did not make such distinctions. Students in this study were engaged with their service learning. These findings have applicability for all community college educators, demonstrating that institutionalized community college service learning might lead to greater retention through graduation.