The purpose of this research was to explore the factorial validity of the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE), a survey widely used by institutions of higher education. Specifically, using data collected from first-year students and seniors at The University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UT), this research addressed three research questions. First, to what extent does the five-factor model of NSSE (i.e., the benchmark model) exhibit factorial validity? Second, to what extent is Pike’s (2006b) scalelet model of the NSSE factorially valid? Finally, is there a model that depicts the NSSE data better than the models consisting of benchmarks or scalelets? The participants of this study were first-year (n = 981) and senior (n = 944) students at UT who completed the online version of the NSSE in the spring of 2009. Using confirmatory factor analysis, results suggested poor model fit for both the benchmark model and Pike’s (2006b) scalelet model. Exploratory factor analysis with oblique rotation (Promax) resulted in a six-factor solution consisting of 27 items that accounted for approximately 39 percent of variance. The six-factor model failed, however, to exhibit sufficient model fit when confirmatory factor analysis was applied to a different data set (i.e., NSSE data collected in the spring of 2010). Overall, results suggest that much more validation research is needed for the National Survey of Student Engagement to ensure that its use among institutions of higher education is appropriate.

The purpose of this study was to observe pre-kindergarten through fifth-grade public school classrooms to examine differences among instructional practices and technology use by teachers, students and the overall classroom. The current study differed from and built upon previous classroom observational research in a number of major ways. First, the observational data examined both student and teacher technology use and the availability of technology in the classroom. Second, authentic classroom behaviors were examined in relation to technology use; specifically, behaviors related to the impact of technology use on student engagement as well as differences among technology use in classrooms and differences by student socio-economic status. Finally, unlike previous studies, this study focused specifically on pre-kindergarten through fifth-grade classrooms from the same large public school district that was diverse by both socio-economic status (SES) and by student ethnicity. Overall, the results of this study suggest that technology has not been adequately implemented into the observed classrooms. Technology was available but was not used to a great extent. When technology was implemented, teachers were primarily observed using it to present material and students were observed using it almost exclusively for basic skills activities. This low-level of technology integration occurred in elementary schools of a high performing school district which had a technology plan in place, a low student to computer ratio, and 100 percent of the classrooms had Internet access. Furthermore, only 15 percent of teachers were observed integrating technology to a great extent; however, students in these classrooms were observed on task significantly more frequently than students in classrooms where technology was observed less or not at all. On the other hand, students were observed off task significantly more in classrooms where either no technology integration was observed or where it was only observed a moderate amount. These findings support and build upon previous observational studies. There is still a need, however, for strong, empirical research to be conducted to further examine the use of technology in elementary classrooms.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Indiana University, 2010. / Title from screen (viewed on March 3, 2010). School of Nursing, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI). Advisor(s): Judith Halstead, Anna McDaniel, Mary L. Fisher, Lillian Stokes. Includes vitae. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 98-107).

This study examines the Hispanic Scholarship Consortium (HSC), a scholarship program in Central Texas that serves Hispanic college students. This study analyses trends in awarding and persisting with the program. A better understanding of what influences persistence rates can help scholarship programs in implementing policies to increase college completion rates. The findings can assist programs identify needed changes to improve scholarship application and award processes. These results can also help programs assist scholars during their college careers by identifying at-risk students early on and developing supportive practices to promote student persistence. Additionally, scholarship organizations can utilize metrics to identify long-term trends among their scholarship recipients for ongoing program evaluation and enhancement. This mixed method study utilizes both quantitative and qualitative research methods by analyzing student focus group data along with HSC program data. Quantitative analysis is used to determine predictors of persistence in the HSC program. The qualitative analysis results are used to find themes regarding students’ perception of HSC offerings. The study focuses on college students who receive scholarships from the HSC. It examines the relationship between persistence in HSC with student factors such as high school and college grade point average (GPA), gender, college major, college type, first generation status, low-income status, citizenship, high school graduates from schools with more than 35% free and reduced lunch (F&RL) population, and scholarship award amount. Additionally, it examines the relationship between scholarship award amount and student factors. Ultimately, this study provides insights for best practices in scholarship programs. The findings will contribute to a better understanding of scholarship programs and their potential for influencing persistence and college graduation rates. The knowledge gained should not only benefit HSC, but also provide recommendations for other scholarship programs and possibly a state supported initiative. / text

This study investigates the relationship of student engagement with the design of structured group learning experiences (SGLEs) implemented by increasing numbers of community colleges. Using data from the Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCSSE) and the Community College Institutional Survey (CCIS), I employ Vygotsky's activity systems theory as a framework for interpreting the results of hierarchical linear models where student engagement measures are outcome variables, and the several covariates selected in terms of SGLEs as a social activity system. The results provide evidence that, among 24 different curricular elements of SGLEs, engagement is positively related to only a few of them, in particular co-curricular and community activities (campus or community service project(s), participation in campus activities/events outside the classroom, and service learning). There was limited evidence that engagement is related to duration and intensity of the programs; instead the evidence suggests that the people involved, both the personnel that teach and facilitate the programs, and the characteristics of the student participants, matter most to engagement. Even as this study provides the first views of the contours of student engagement within high-impact practices on a national scale, it also suggests that what may be important for engagement is that the programs bring people together for a purposeful experience at all. The results suggest the need for increased attention to co-curricular and community activities and professional development by practitioners; and for research, they propose hypotheses for further research such as the relative import of participation vis-à-vis program design, and they suggest new conceptual approaches to the study of high-impact practices generally. / text

As online learning becomes more popular, higher education is becoming more interested in this new medium of learning. However, attrition has become a developing problem for colleges and universities that offer online classes, as some students found it was difficult to stay engaged in their online courses. From the literature, it was hypothesized that instructional designs that incorporate collaborative activities will lead to higher perceived engagement levels than those that incorporate individualistic learning. An exploratory study used a self-report survey instrument to measure students' perception of level of engagement in six graduate-level online classes (n=66). Half of the courses in the study integrated formal collaborative activities as a significant component of the course and half represented learning environments characterized by whole group and individualistic learning. The results showed a significant positive relationship between classes that used collaborative activities and engagement levels. However, the coded responses of the participants showed that while classes that use such activities had higher levels of engagement, it is possible that this may be attributable to other factors external to the formal elements of collaboration in the course. Recommendations are offered for future research that may help identify the elements that contribute to engagement in online courses. / text

Blogging is a form of social media, and student engagement is at the center of blogging. The benefits of blogging include being easy to create and maintain, making writing easier to share, encouraging students to write outside of the classroom, and supporting group collaboration. The findings suggest students are more passive in their blogging experiences, as the data found students generally read blogs more than they wrote blogs. The Unified Theory on Acceptance and Use of Technology and self-efficacy theory were used as the framework for the study. This study sought to explore agricultural leadership students’ motivations for blogging. Student responses indicated on average they read blogs less than once a month. Students typically reported a preference for informal writing even if they did not blog. Teacher training could be used to increase awareness among educators about the benefits of blogging. Educators must be able to convey the benefits of educational blogging in terms of its ease and benefit for student acceptance.

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The purpose of this study is to more clearly understand what student' experience while involved in service-learning courses. Moreover, I sought to identify the relationships among service-learning, the outcomes typically attributed to it, and student engagement according to Naturalistic Inquiry methodology (Lincoln & Guba, 1985) and quantitative data from the Australasian Survey of Student Engagement (2009-2010) in two different upper-division courses at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand during the second semester of the 2009 academic year. One class approached service-learning in an addendum/add-on type of approach (Approach I service-learning), while the other course used a more fully-integrated approach (Approach II service-learning). The theoretical framework offered by the philosophy of experiential education (Dewey) and the theories of experiential learning (Kolb), transformative learning (Mezirow), and student engagement (Kuh) combine to serve as the lens through which service-learning was initially viewed in this study. This framework provided the initial structure by which this study was facilitated and the relationship between service-learning and its typically attributed outcomes could be observed and better understood within a New Zealand tertiary environment. The student experiences within Approach I and II service-learning served as sources for pursuing a greater level of sophistication and understanding of how these experiences influence the relationships of service-learning and ultimately how service-learning influences student engagement. Such an investigation is relevant to New Zealand tertiary teachers, researchers, and leaders, who are interested in creating conditions that engage students in learning while developing students personally and involving them within the local community. For transferability purposes, the goal of this study is to provide enough “thick description” (Lincoln & Guba, 1985, p. 125) in the case of each approach to service-learning so that educators from New Zealand and the rest of the world can find meaning, value, and direction. Quantitative findings from this study clearly demonstrated a statistically significant shift in student engagement benchmarks in both approaches to service-learning (3 of 6 AUSSE benchmarks in Approach I service-learning and 6 of 6 AUSSE benchmarks in Approach II service-learning). Qualitative data provided the means to suggest why these significant shifts occurred and illuminated the complexity of the student experience within service-learning environments. Qualitatively, both approaches to service-learning shifted the context of what it meant to be a student in a classroom. The following themes symbolize the different experiences and demonstrate ways teachers can best engage both eager and reluctant learners: different experiences-providing opportunities for growth; consistently being a part of something-internal/external to university; active-learning through experiencing and thinking for yourself; worthwhile, intrinsic-due to helping community organisations. Considering the effects of service-learning on engagement have been relatively un-researched in New Zealand higher education and further inquiry into the pedagogical consequences has been warranted, the implications may provide insight into the development of service-learning in higher education for New Zealand, Australasia, and potentially, the world.

This study investigates how the meaning of education has changed for the Inuvialuit in Tuktoyaktuk, NWT, Canada, over a century. This is done by situating Inuvialuit educational experiences in the context of government policies, socioeconomic and cultural changes, and Inuvialuit self-determination. The study found that the meaning of education for the Inuvialuit has been and continues to be: acquiring the means to support a family. A change has occurred from learning the Inuvialuk way in the 1930s to striving for the best of both worlds in the 1970s to the dream of becoming whatever I want in the 2000s. Unfortunately, the dreams that youth have are often cut short. Among other things, the level of engagement in formal education by youth and their families is influenced by the familys past experiences and perceptions of the education system. The study identifies family, community, school, and policy factors that increased student engagement.