Community colleges are in a unique position in the hierarchy of higher education. They provide quality education at an affordable price. They are strategically located in communities to provide educational opportunities for everyone. The latest prediction is that enrollment at two-year institutions is expected to increase from 5.7 million students to 6.3 million students by 2012 (Gerald & Hussar, 2002). However, research indicates that the retention and transfer rates of community college students are low. This is problematic due to the increased calls for accountability on the national education agenda which are linked to student outcomes. This is astounding for a system with a foundational belief in self-development and an unquenchable mission to provide postsecondary access to people who would likely not attend college if such avenues did not exist. Fortunately, there is one aspect of this statistic that brings renewed optimism to the university transfer mission of community colleges. Eightyive percent of Phi Theta Kappa members transfer to a four-year institution. Currently more than 600 colleges and universities in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Canada, and London offer more than $36 million in transfer scholarships to Phi Theta Kappa members (www.ptk.org). This study examined the experiences of those students who are members of Phi Theta Kappa in an effort to identify ways to recruit and retain students and increase the transfer percentage for community college students. The Community College Student Experiences Questionnaire was used to examine their community college experiences quantitatively. Descriptive statistics and Spearman correlations were used to analyze the data. Results of this study indicated that the Phi Theta Kappans were attending their community college to prepare for transfer to a four-year college or university. As anticipated, the Phi Theta Kappans were more involved in activities related to their courses and computer technology. The Quality of Effort scale indicated a low level of engagement in cultural activities. An unexpected finding was that there was no statistical significant difference in student satisfaction based on age, sex, or gender. Additionally, the students were satisfied with their community college environment.

This research is an exploratory study into gender dynamics in an engineering classroom in a Faculty of Engineering at an Australian University. It has concentrated on understanding and presenting students perceptions of their learning environment in an engineering classroom and their experiences within it to determine the extent to which gender affects different classroom experiences. A first year engineering subject ‘Introduction to Engineering Computing’ was the environment used for this study. The research employed an ethnographic research methodology drawing on semi-structured interviews and observations. It also used surveys to triangulate the data for improved reliability and validity. Gender has clearly been highlighted as a determinant of students’ experiences from a students’ perspective in an engineering classroom. The most noticeable differences between female and male student experiences found in this study stemmed from four factors: their previous experiences; their learning approaches; the language used within the classroom and the lack of role models. In these areas there were found to be various levels of advantage and disadvantage experienced by women and men. These are presented in Chapter 5 & 6 of this thesis. The resulting understanding begins the process of providing a framework in which strategies can be developed to more effectively engage female and male students in engineering education. / Masters Thesis

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The COVID-19 pandemic sparked rapid shifts to engineering education, causing changes to course formats and student experiences. The culture of undergraduate engineering programs undoubtably affected this transition online and affected how students interpreted their experiences. To date, research on engineering culture has explored the values, beliefs, and underlying ideologies of the culture. However, what we know about engineering culture was captured predominantly during periods of stability. Because COVID-19 provides an opportunity to either challenge or uphold aspects of engineering culture, it was imperative to capture the experiences of students undergoing an engineering education during this time. In order to understand what facets of engineering culture were salient in students' interpretations of their classroom experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic, I conducted a multiple case study exploring mechanical engineering students' constructions of their experiences taking second and third year courses during the pandemic. I compared two mechanical engineering programs – one in the United States and one in South Africa – by conducting semi-structured interviews with 10 to 11 mechanical engineering undergraduate students at each site as well as 1 to 2 key informants. My analysis identified the following cultural features that emerged as salient from students' perspectives during the pandemic at both sites: intrinsic hardness, differential access to resources, and application and design. Additionally, my analysis identified the following cultural features that emerged as salient at only one site: seeking help, job market, and scientific way of thinking. The key difference between sites appeared with respect to differential access to resources. This study captures and reports critical data about students' constructions of their experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. By investigating engineering culture during a time of stress, this research identifies the most salient features of engineering culture that remained constant through the pandemic as well as the features that changed due to the pandemic. Further, the global comparative aspect of this work highlights which features of engineering culture are universal and which are influenced by national context. Overall, this research aims to inform future educational responses to disasters as well as future change efforts in engineering. / Doctor of Philosophy / The COVID-19 pandemic sparked rapid shifts to engineering education, sending students home and shifting classes online. The beliefs and values that engineering instructors and students have about how engineering should be taught and learned impacted this shift online in ways that could either help or hinder student learning. The pandemic provides an opportunity to understand which beliefs and values in engineering were stickiest and the most important to how students described their experiences. In order to understand how students described their experiences taking classes online during the pandemic, I interviewed 10 to 11 mechanical engineering students at two universities – one university in the United States and one in South Africa. I asked students to share stories about taking classes during the pandemic. I then analyzed their responses and looked for commonalities across their stories. I found that students talked about six common features of their experiences. First, students felt like their classes were hard, and they felt their classes should have been hard because that was part of what it means to study engineering. Second, students noticed that having a laptop and Wi-Fi became very important when all teaching and learning was happening online, and not having that access made learning more challenging. Third, students missed their in-person laboratory classes, which they also saw as central to engineering. Fourth, students at the university in South Africa talked about challenges with getting help with their classes because virtual learning made accessing instructor and peer help more difficult. Fifth, students at the university in the United States had concerns about finding jobs because the pandemic was impacting the economy and their ability to obtain internships. Sixth, students at the university in the United States were frustrated that the response to the pandemic wasn't more rooted in science. This study captures and reports students' stories about their experiences during the pandemic. By looking at how students talked about their experiences during the pandemic, this research identifies the stickiest features of engineering culture that remained constant through the pandemic as well as the features that changed due to the pandemic. Further, by comparing two countries, this work highlights which beliefs and values in engineering are widespread and which are not. Overall, this research aims to inform future educational responses to disasters as well as future change efforts in engineering.

The alarming numbers of Latino/a students graduating from four year institutions continues to be low and while access has improved there still lies an issue in that the number of students graduating has not increased (Otero, Rivas & Rivera, 2007; Watkins, Labarrie & Appio 2010; Jones, Castellanos & Cole 2002) Latina/o undergraduate students are positioned in relation to the White dominant student population at Predominately White Institutions (PWIs), which, in many ways silences their voices and thus maintains an educational space of Whiteness. The purpose of this study is to understand and highlight the experiences of Latina/os, particularly the ways in which they navigate through PWIs. Testimonio, a narrative of marginalization, has been recognized as a way to collect qualitative data from students. Through this genre and a Critical Race Theory and Latina/o Critical Race Theory framework, the author examines and shares student experiences to do what? (Delgado & Stefancic, 2012; Peréz Huber & Cueva, 2012). Testimonio is used as a methodology to co-conduct a research process that engages the researcher, and 10 students as the participants to share educational experiences. Students positioned themselves as distant from the university and understood educational spaces of Whiteness to be spaces of financial access and white student serving. As such, Latina/o students navigate the spaces through community support and avoiding unwelcoming spaces throughout the larger institution.

The purpose of this study was to examine national survey data from across the United States for respondents from two-year community colleges. Historically little empirical evidence exists in the literature about this population of students who identity as sexual minorities. The study begins with a historical overview of the LGBTQ rights movement. This provides a baseline for why studies including this invisible minority group are important and especially timely for two-year college campuses. Literature is barrowed from four-year college and university studies. Data were analyzed using the Rasch Partial Credit model. This analysis included testing for data-fit to the model, evaluation of items which did not fit the model, item mapping, differential functioning based on sexual identity, and standard descriptive statistics. The aim of this analysis was to determine if harassment, discrimination, and violence on campus towards sexual minority students occur and attempt to assess the prevalence of such activities. Results indicate that there doesn’t exist differences in responses between male and female participants. However, differences exist related to campus perceptions for sexual minority students and their non-minority (heterosexual) peers.

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The purpose of this case study was to examine musical experiences which may affect student perceptions of self-efficacy in Advanced Placement (AP) Music Theory. Four students from a single AP Music Theory class participated in interviews where they discussed experiences in high school music study. Interview topics included ensemble participation in high school, outside-school involvement in musical activities and study, and perceptions of success in the course and preparation for the AP Music Theory examination. Specific research questions addressed in the study were: (1) What course skills addressed in AP Music Theory do students from different musical backgrounds feel most prepared to demonstrate within the context of the AP Music Theory examination? (2) What do student participants from different musical backgrounds cite as specific challenges in AP Music Theory? (3) How do students perceive their own musical backgrounds in relationship to their perceived success in AP Music Theory? Findings suggested that prior musical experiences and a positive, low-stress classroom atmosphere contributed to participants’ confidence completing fundamental performance tasks in AP Music Theory, and that those influences affected participants’ feelings of self-efficacy in the class and on the AP Music Theory examination. Conversely, participants’ application of prior knowledge and previously developed musical skills to more difficult AP-style performance tasks solicited feelings of self-doubt and lower levels of self-efficacy. Implications of this study suggest that teachers of school music ensembles, applied lessons, and AP Music Theory should consider student self-efficacy when designing instruction and planning rehearsals or lessons. Researchers might consider measuring student feelings of self-efficacy in specific performance tasks, and the ways in which teachers can help students to develop self-efficacy in music classes. / Music Education

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