Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 1996. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 76-78). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Louisville, 2008. Thesis (Ph. D.)--Western Kentucky University, 2008. / University of Louisville, Department of Educational Leadership, Foundations, and Human Resource Education. Western Kentucky University, Department of Educational Administration, Leadership, and Research. Vita. "December 2008." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 215-231).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2007. / Title from first page of PDF file. Includes bibliographical references (p. 286-296).

This study examines the relationship between school support, family support, community support, teen parenting programs and postsecondary education among teen mothers in North Carolina. The sample consisted of 212 participants who became teen mothers between the ages of 13-19 and have since attained postsecondary education. The variables used for the study included the following: school support, family support, community support, teen parenting programs, resilience, and mentoring. The research employed a 33-item, five-point Likert scale questionnaire. Explanatory design was utilized to create the study. Purposive and snowball sampling was utilized to gather the data. The findings of the study, overall, indicates that majority of the participants believe that school support, family support, community support, teen parenting programs, resilience, and mentoring helped them to attain postsecondary education.

This research is a case study of the quality improvement process in an English further education college. It examines the way that staff involved in the design and operation of the quality system shape the process in a part of the education sector that struggles with issues of performance. The case is placed into the context of an unstable policy environment, where further education colleges have been subjected to frequent bouts of government intervention and a funding regime that is unfavourable when compared to secondary schools and universities. The contribution to knowledge of this thesis is that it addresses an under-researched area of further education by viewing the quality process from the perspective of the governors, managers and professional staff responsible for its design and operation. As such it addresses a problem where a lot of attention has been given to teaching staff who experience the quality process or to macro studies where the focus is on outputs in the sector. However, less attention has been paid to the governors, senior staff and quality teams who assess teaching and learning in colleges. The data for the case study were gathered over a two-year period between 2010-2012 and include interviews with college staff, senior staff from OFSTED and the Department for Business Innovation and Skills and staff from a second college, used to help verify the findings. In addition to this, documentation for the quality system was gathered including inspection documents and policy documents. The data were analysed in order to surface traits of social and organisational practice that address the problem of operating a quality system in an environment that is highly resistant to systemisation and predictability. The findings are presented as 'fuzzy' generalisations supplemented by guidance in the form of design principles. The thesis provides an empirically grounded description of key elements of the relationships and the surrounding sociotechnical system that were found in the case. The design principles augment the case study and provide guidance on how a combination of trust relationships, resilience of processes to disruption and flexibility of application provide a background for the quality improvement process at Stretchford College, which was rated as 'Outstanding' at the time of the research.

Working within a Social Cognitive Career Theory framework, the study explored outcomes associated with participation in a dual-enrollment (high school and community college) College Transition Support Program (CTSP). The study used three data points over a nine month period to explore whether participation in the CTSP was associated with changes in college self-efficacy, education-related future aspirations and goals, perceived barriers, perceived support, locus of control, depression, anxiety, academic achievement-related expectations, academic achievement-related fears, and academic achievement-related expectation-fear balance, as well as college persistence and cumulative college GPA. Repeated measure responses of a group of 34 CTSP students were contrasted with a group of 34 students in a non-equivalent comparison group. Baseline data for a group of 207 non-CTSP alternative high school students were also used to test for selection bias for both of the longitudinal groups. Doubly multivariate repeated measures analysis of variance (DMRM-ANOVA) procedures were conducted. Multivariate results suggested that participation in the CTSP was associated with positive, statistically significant growth in the weighted linear combination of outcome variables. Repeated measures univariate analyses were also conducted to provide more detail. CTSP participation was associated with growth over time on several positive student outcomes, including college self-efficacy, education-related future aspirations and goals, academic achievement-related expectation-fear balance, academic locus of control, and college persistence/retention. In addition, CTSP students earned significantly higher cumulative college GPAs over their first year at the community college.

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Management Sciences in Administration and Information Management, Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa, 2017. / This dissertation evaluates the quality of administrative practices in three selected Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges in KwaZulu-Natal, situated in the Durban area. TVET Colleges, formerly known as Further Education and Training (FET) colleges in South Africa, have undergone numerous changes since 1994. The South African government has recognized the sharp increase in unemployment, particularly among the youth of the country. There is a dearth of trained employees possessing a certain skills set required in the South African vocational industry and the government has identified TVET colleges as the panacea to address this skills shortage. Student satisfaction is important in higher education as it influences effective learning. This study adopted a mixed methods approach involving a set of questionnaires administered to students. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with administrative clerks and administrative managers. A stratified sampling technique was used when collecting data from staff and a convenience sample was applied when collecting data from students. A SERVQUAL theoretical framework was employed in this study; this model explains the students’ perceptions and expectations in evaluation of administrative practices which have been used to measure service quality in an administrative service context. The result of the research indicated great importance for all TVET colleges to implement an appropriate set of processes for the administrative practices and to continuously review and refine the application system (COLTECH) being used to capture academic information for students, and the lack of support to the administrative clerks in dealing with all students’ enquiries expeditiously. Following an in-depth analysis of the results, this study recommends more consultation with students regarding administrative practices; flexibility in accessing academic information on time; a high level of communication in any enquiries; and proper monitoring of the application system (COLTECH). Administrative clerks should be authorised to rectify errors as soon as possible; continuous training; workshops and the COLTECH application system should be continuously upgraded. / M

Adults with a diagnosis of High Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder (HF ASD) are becoming a significant presence on college campuses across the United States. A number of colleges have created programs to provide services to support accommodations for these students under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA); the first was created in 2002. The creation of these programs does not guarantee success. The use of the logic model in the formative evaluation process has been found to be a key foundation for the establishment of an effective program. The logic model provides a visual representation of the defined problem, the resources and services, and the data sources which provide documentation of service delivery and the intended outcomes of the program. This study is a formative evaluation that uses a logic model approach conducted during the second year of an Autism Spectrum Support Program. This study analyzed data generated by 25 adult participants (20 male, 5 female) between the ages of 18 and 30 with a diagnosis of HF ASD to determine what changes to the program were required. The logic model served a dual purpose in this evaluation. First, it provided a visual representation of the services provided. Second, it served as a template for the organization of the program data. Methodological problems, suggested program changes, and future research directions are discussed.

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