Doctor of Philosophy / Curriculum and Instruction Programs / Nobel S. Rebello / This dissertation reports on a naturalistic evaluation study of a series of NSF grant projects collectively known as PEPTYC -- Physics Enhancement Project for Two Year College Physics Instructors. The project encompassed seven different cycles of professional development occurring during the 1990's via May Institutes, held at Texas A&M University. Follow-up meetings were held at American Association of Physics Teachers - Texas Section Meetings. The research was conducted post hoc. The research evaluated the characteristics of effective professional development under an evaluation frame work designed by D.L. Kirkpatrick (1959) and adapted by the researcher to address issues that are pertinent to the professional development of faculty. This framework was adapted to be viewed through an educator's eye in an effort to ascertain the long term affects of the program and determine how the program affected the participants' attitudes, pedagogical knowledge, and instructional practices. The PEPTYC program philosophy was based on the premise, supported by research, that professional development programs addressing specific teaching practices are more successful than generic programs. Furthermore, professional development is more effective in helping teachers use alternative approaches when teachers are engaged in active learning experiences rather than passively listening to lectures or presentations. The naturalistic study was based on surveys and semi-structured interviews with 14 individuals who participated in PEPTYC workshops, as well as presenters of the PEPTYC program. The interviews were analyzed to describe how the PEPTYC project influenced the participants long after they had completed their training. This project can inform the development of similar evaluation studies of other professional development programs.

The purpose of this study was to compare the perceptions held by three significant groups concerning management training programs in two-year colleges in the United States on the present and desired future importance of these curriculum objectives: semi-professional, technical, supplemental, retraining and transfer. The perceptions were determined by analyses of responses to questionnaires sent to representative members of each of three groups.

The purpose of this study was to identify a set of determinants of quality for public two-year colleges. To identify specific measures of quality for public two-year colleges, 61 variables of quality were selected from recent research on quality in higher education and consolidated on the Inventory of Determinants of Quality (IDQ). This instrument was mailed to a random sample of two-year college presidents, two-year college faculty members, four-year college deans, and community business leaders. Of the 476 surveys mailed, 315 were returned. The ANOVA procedure identified 24 IDQ items which the four study groups agreed were important to determining quality at public two-year colleges and 6 IDQ items which were less important. The study groups differed significantly in rating the remaining 31 IDQ items as determinants of quality for public two-year colleges. The majority of items found to be important to determining quality at public two-year colleges were related to student outcomes and academic standards. Items related to faculty characteristics, such as research productivity, were found to be less important. Four-year college deans differed significantly from the other three study groups on 13 IDQ items. The major differences were on items related specifically to two-year colleges such as diverse instructional delivery systems and the relationship between the two-year college and its local community. The results of the study led to two major conclusions regarding the determination of quality of public two—year colleges. First, a different set of criteria must be used for measuring quality at two-year colleges. Second, outcome measures must be an integral part of any two-year college evaluation system. Further research is recommended to determine the degree to which the items identified as determinants of quality for two-year colleges should be measured.

The failure rate for students enrolled in the online sections of a gateway course, Introduction to Computers, was 15% higher than for students enrolled in the face-to-face sections at a rural community college in the southeastern United States. The computer course is required by all of the college's programs of study to obtain an associate degree. Failure to complete the gateway course increases attrition, time to graduate, and educational expenses. Guided by Bruner's constructivist theory, which maintains that students are active learners who construct their knowledge, the purpose of this qualitative study was to examine the perceptions of students and teachers that might explain the gap in performance in the online sections, and to use the results of this study to identify strategies to improve online student performance. This qualitative study incorporated semistructured interviews with a randomly selected sample of 8 online students who completed the course and with the 2 online instructors. Perceptions of the students and instructors were coded to identify and analyze emerging themes. The findings revealed that online students procrastinated and had difficulty completing assignments. Suggested strategies to meet challenges were better preparation for online learning and study skills including time management. This study included developing a 3-day professional development project to enhance online instructional techniques and learning strategies to promote student time management skills, grades, and course completion. This study and project promote positive social change by providing a deeper understanding of strategies that could improve student performance. The study findings will be beneficial to teachers, students, and course administrators.

ABSTRACT SWIMMING UPSTREAM: A STUDY OF BLACK MALES AND THE ACADEMIC PIPELINE Rhonda D. Wilkins Post secondary participation and graduation rates of Black males are declining rapidly. Black women, however, are realizing substantial growth in both of these areas and account for the majority of the increase in Black student college enrollment. This qualitative case study addresses the decline in Black male participation in higher education by focusing on six Black men who completed college programs and the academic pipeline that brought them to their degree. The purpose of the research inquiry was to determine various factors that either helped or hindered the academic progression of the six Black male participants. For the study participants the two-year college was a component of their academic pipeline and was assessed based on its function as a conduit aiding degree attainment. The common factors that emerged from the findings as influential to the academic progression of the six Black males were categorized as: (a) personal attributes and perceptions, (b) relationships and external influences, and (c) institutional factors. The personal attributes of the participants included self-efficacy, endurance and resilience, and self-regulation. These attributes were framed within the central context of personal agency. Factors external to the participants consisted of family messages about higher education, role models, mentors and advocates, early exposure to college and participation in athletic sports. The institutional factors that surfaced were insufficient college preparation in high school, contrasts between the climate and culture of the two-year college and four-year institution, the lack of promotion of the transfer function at the two-year college. Race and gender were also considered relative to the men and their experiences with the academic pipeline. The salient factors included: (a) the general social and economic conditions faced by young Black males, (b) the perpetuation of negative or one-dimensional stereotypes in the media, (c) pre-college educational inequities, (d) the lack of assistance with college transition, and (e) the unwelcoming climates and lack of Black faculty at predominately white institutions. The study concluded that Black males may face many hurdles to postsecondary attainment and will therefore require personal, family, community, and institutional forces to push them through the academic pipeline.

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The two-year private college has been recognized as a valuable sector of American higher education; yet, its documented decline has failed to incite substantial research focusing on the how and why. This study explored the plight and potential of one particular set of private institutions, the two-year United Methodist colleges, which exhibit characteristics that both distinguish and closely align them with the broader institutional classification as two-year private colleges. By means of a multi-case approach, this study attempted to identify significant opportunities and threats perceived by chief executive officers that affect the viability of these representative institutions. Ultimately, the study sought to document the strategies employed by these schools to ensure their continued existence. The researcher intended to strengthen the empirical foundation for an informed discussion of the issues affecting this unique sector of higher education and, specifically, to identify relevant variables that may be used in subsequent research efforts. The results of the study indicate that the two-year United Methodist colleges share opportunities and challenges with the small, four-year liberal arts college and the general category of religious colleges. At the same time, the data reflect intra-group differences that contribute to the distinctiveness of the individual institutions. Clearly, the future appears to be questionable for this institutional sector that is small in terms of the number of colleges operating and the volume of students served. However, as the first authentic American contribution to the higher education landscape, the two-year private and church-related college continues to serve a unique purpose with its own particular approach to student development, academic endeavors, communal activities, and organizational operation. These institutions contribute to the diversity of the higher education system in the United States as a body of colleges specifically committed to the needs of freshmen and sophomores in an environment characterized by a strong sense of values and community. The impact of their extinction is inestimable but would undoubtedly diminish the pluralism that is so greatly valued in the American higher education system.

Many medical school admissions personnel and pre-health advisors advise premedical students not to take the medical school prerequisite courses at two-year colleges because they believe the courses are less academically rigorous than the same courses at four-year institutions (Losada, 2009; Marie, 2009; Thurlow, 2008, 2009a, 2009b). According to this belief, premedical students who complete the medical school prerequisite courses at a two-year college could be at a disadvantage in regard to medical school admission compared to those students who complete the medical school prerequisite courses at a four-year institution. In an effort to analyze these perceptions, this study examined factors pertaining to the enrollment of premedical students in the medical school prerequisite courses at two-year colleges. This research study examined the enrollment statuses and grades of matriculants to medical school from the University of Central Florida between 2007 and 2011. Specifically, the type of student enrollment of the matriculants who completed any of the medical school prerequisite courses at a two-year college was examined, and both their type of institutional enrollment and grades in the organic chemistry courses were also examined. The results indicated that there were significant differences in types of student enrollment in most medical school prerequisite courses at two-year colleges, and based on these differences, the researcher identified whether completing certain prerequisite courses as certain types of enrollment were either “more acceptable” or “less acceptable” for premedical students. In addition, the results indicated that there were not significant differences in organic chemistry grades based on the type of institution where the courses iv were taken. Based on these results, the researcher could not categorize the courses at either type of institution as “more rigorous” or “less rigorous” than the other, but the researcher also recommends that these results should be perceived cautiously until additional, more in-depth research can be conducted on this topic. Finally, recommendations and implications for premedical students, pre-health advisors, medical school admissions personnel, two-year colleges, and four-year institutions were discussed.