<p> First-generation, low-income, and disabled college students are an increasing population (Tinto, 2012). TRIO Student Support Services (SSS) is an academic support program funded by the U.S. Department of Education that seeks to support this demographic to overcome challenges and thrive while in college (Coffman, 2011). Utilizing a mixed methods approach, the goal of this study was to examine the student success outcomes of retention and grade point average of TRIO SSS students compared to students who are similarly qualified but not being served by TRIO SSS at a Midwestern, large, public, four-year institution. In addition, TRIO SSS seniors were interviewed during focus groups. During focus groups, students reflected on their overall programmatic experiences in TRIO. A total of 1,913 students were involved in the quantitative analysis, and 16 TRIO seniors participated in the focus groups. Data analysis resulted in the emergence of four major themes: (a) relationships, (b) loyalty, (c) trust, and (d) transformation. These findings were consistent with other studies conducted within the scope of Tinto&rsquo;s (2012) theory of student retention. All of the interview participants identified a profound and personal emotional connection to their time in TRIO SSS. This study was significant due to the lack of previous research that couples the experiences of students with quantitative data. Implications for practice included, but were not limited to, stronger support for first-generation students through a range of campus partnerships and initiatives. Recommendations for future research included expanding this study by examining TRIO programs at other institutions and gathering perceptions of first-generation students through multiple focus groups.</p>

No description available.

<p> <b>Purpose:</b> The purpose of this mixed-methods phenomenological study was to describe elementary school general education teachers&rsquo; perceptions of how their efficacy, as teachers, was affected by their experiences in implementing the PBIS framework. This study also sought to determine a better understanding of the skills necessary to impact all students while increasing teachers&rsquo; efficacy and their ability to carry out their obligations in facilitating student academic success and student discipline. </p><p> <b>Methodology:</b> Consistent with a mixed-methods approach, the instruments used in this study collected descriptive data and perceptual data from a group of elementary general education teachers from Riverside County, California. Through an electronic format, two different surveys were administered to participating elementary school teachers. In addition, principals of participating PBIS elementary schools referred teachers from their sites to participate in semistructured interviews. </p><p> <b>Findings:</b> Findings showed that the implementation of PBIS had positive effects on teachers&rsquo; efficacy, thus affecting their classroom experiences and student conduct. To understand teachers&rsquo; perceptions of how the implementation of PBIS was affecting their efficacy, the researcher first had to understand the teachers&rsquo; perceptions of how PBIS was being implemented at their sites. Findings demonstrated that teachers did not have a clear understanding of PBIS. However, teachers did understand and used the strategies learned through the implementation of PBIS. They included the opportunity to model, practice, and apply appropriate behavior and the strategies.</p><p> <b>Conclusions:</b> Teachers perceived that they were able to influence the three domains of teacher efficacy&mdash;student engagement, instructional strategies, and classroom management&mdash;and the skills within each; learn the strategies and supports to redirect student behavior; and influence classroom management. Findings from this study also revealed that teachers could redirect student behaviors by providing students with clear expectations, praise, positive student recognition, and rewards.</p>

No description available.

<p> This quantitative study examined the experiences of first-generation college students and the influence of cultural wealth capital on their college outcomes. The study analyzed secondary data from The Educational Longitudinal Study of 2002 (ELS:2002), a nationally representative data set capturing the high school, college and early post-secondary education experiences and outcomes of high school sophomore students in 2002 over a 10-year span, including college and early career outcomes. The scope of the data was narrowed to only examine students that indicated they were first-generation college students. </p><p> Using Tara Yosso&rsquo;s (2005) Community Cultural Wealth model as the conceptual framework, and, using factor analysis, the study operationalized two forms of capital from the model: aspirational capital and navigational capital. Both linear and logit regression analysis were used in examining this relationship between the capital constructs and college pipeline outcomes (enrollment, persistence and graduation) for first-generation college students. </p><p> The study found that for every one standard deviation increase of aspirational capital, first-generation college students were found to be 28.5% more likely to enroll in college. Additionally, for every one standard deviation of aspirational capital, first-generation students were 25.6% more likely to persist through to their fourth semester college, a time when first-generation college students are found to be most likely to drop out of college. The dissertation includes a robust discussion of outcomes and related recommendations for theory, practice and policy.</p><p>

Thesis (Ed.D.)--Indiana University, 2007. / Title from dissertation home page (viewed Sept. 24, 2008). Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 69-01, Section: A, page: 0191.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Indiana University, Dept. of Sociology, 2007. / Title from dissertation home page (viewed Sept. 24, 2008). Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 69-02, Section: A, page: 0771. Adviser: Thomas F. Gieryn.

<p> This is a study of how the quality of a university strategic plan can be assessed on the basis of content validated rubrics. It further explores of the dynamics of how the choice of a planning process, i.e. inclusive or non-inclusive, can be affected by strategic intent, change capacity and leadership style of the organization's President. </p><p> As the definition of a quality strategic plan document is established by the study, the next problem the study addresses is the gap in higher education literature about the import of clear strategic intent, i.e. the focus on what the organization is trying to achieve. Therefore, two research questions evolve and are addressed in the study: (1) What are the factors that drive the choice of a strategic planning process? (2) Does the process choice affect the quality of the final plan document? </p><p> The first phase of research surveyed 16 presidents of prestigious universities. These participants content validated a Comprehensive Quality Matrix. In the second sampling process, faculty and staff from one Midwestern urban college (Site A) and another university in the same city (Site B) were engaged for focus groups and interviews as the beta sites. This second phase explores the assumption that faculty and staff are more inclined to accept and support change if they are viewed as beneficiaries of and collaborators in that change. </p><p> Conclusively, the research was a mixed study in that Phase I was quantitative in nature whereas Phase II was qualitative. A review of findings from the research reveals that criteria for a high-quality strategic plan document can indeed be defined. The researcher developed a Comprehensive Quality Matrix, whose content was validated by experts using a statistically significant standard method. The researcher also identified certain factors that affect the choice of a planning process (inclusive or exclusive). The major elements were strategic intent and culture management, while the minor elements were organizational capacity and organizational learning. Leader style and orientation were found to further impact process choice. Task-oriented leaders tend to be more exclusive in their planning processes, whereas relational leaders tend to be more inclusive. </p>

<p> Research regarding homeschooled students and their transition to college has been focused on two distinct areas: their academic performance and success integrating into a university community. The purpose of this study was to analyze the transition experiences of students who were homeschooled prior to attendance at a residential university campus compared to students who were conventionally educated and attending the same university. My research uses a sociological framework and a qualitative comparative research design to focus on the ability of students from different educational backgrounds to garner social capital, network with peers, manage "rite of passage" experiences (such as dating and exposure to substance use) and nurture friendships. I interviewed 50 students: 25 students who had been homeschooled prior to college entrance and 25 conventionally educated students who attended the same university. Interview data were supplemented by focus group data from 13 homeschooled students. Using social capital, socialization, college student adjustment as theoretical frameworks, my findings challenge assumptions that homeschooled students' lack of formal school-related social exposure prior to attending college typically leads to adjustment problems in the university environment. There were some differences in assimilation experiences and the strategies used in the transition when comparing homeschooled versus conventionally educated students. However, the homeschooled students who transitioned to the university environment were socially engaged with others, both in the residential community and in co-curricular activities, on par with their conventionally educated peers. My findings suggest that, despite receiving their earlier education outside of formal settings that characterize conventional education, many homeschooled students have the skill development, social exposure and capacity to transition successfully to a residential university setting. Homeschooled students' ability to develop social capital, nurture social networks and assimilate into a collective community challenges the position of homeschooling opponents, who assume negative impacts due to insular relationships, lack of routine experience with age peers and limited access to conventional social opportunities. These empirical findings have implications for sociological research, homeschooling families, and critics and proponents of home-based education. </p><p> <i>Keywords:</i> homeschool, transition, social capital development, socialization, college student adjustment, student engagement.</p>

<p> This discussion encompasses the specifics of a partnership between leading U.S. foundations&mdash;the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the Ford Foundation, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and the Kresge Foundation. This analysis illustrates the dynamics of their collaboration&mdash;the Partnership for Higher Education in Africa&mdash;and offers an interpretation of how foundations leveraged legitimacy by both working collaboratively with peer grant-makers, and paying attention to their African beneficiaries' input. This inquiry illustrates how these foundations strategically monitored their accountability around various legitimation mechanisms to maximize the impact of their philanthropy on the field of higher education in Africa while supporting the field's institutionalization. They gained legitimacy by rationalizing a form of collective and participatory action, and promoting a discourse of capacity building that reinforced their role in higher education in Africa. The foundations also positioned themselves strategically in the ecology of international developers to advocate for the importance of higher education in the economic development of Africa while upholding their own conception of knowledge societies.</p>