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  • ItemOpen Access
    African-American women college and university presidents: their role, experiences, challenges and barriers
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 2008) Woodard, Sophia J., author; Davies, Timothy G., advisor
    The purpose of this study was to examine four phenomena: role, experiences, challenges, and barriers of African-American women college and university presidents with a particular focus on the role based on the social conscious concept of "race upliftment" as espoused by Dr. W.E.B. DuBois and other African American scholars of the early 20th century. The review of literature suggests that there is a tendency to advocate for race upliftment primarily when leading an African-American institution or an Historically Black College and University (HBCU). As a qualitative phenomenological study, in-depth personal and telephone one to two hour interviews were conducted with eight African-American women college and university presidents of two and four-year institutions. Each interview was tape-recorded with the full permission of the president. A demographic questionnaire was completed by each president prior to conducting the interview. All eight recorded tapes were transcribed and the data analysis process involved six major steps based on Creswell (1994). The qualitative software HyperRESEARCH was used to assist in analyzing and coding the data, and in compiling the qualitative report. Reading and memoing were used for code and theme development, and a reflexive journal, member checking, clarifying research bias and peer review were used for validity and trustworthiness. The findings of this study revealed that role plays a significant component for these women and is categorized into several areas that include: (1) nurturer and protector of students; (2) fiscal manager; (3) values and skills practitioner; (4) spiritual practitioner and servant; and (5) communications expert. Their work in role directly impacts and influences how they view and serve in their role as leaders. In fact, these African-American women college and university presidents developed many of their concepts of role based on the multi-faceted experiences they encountered both on their journey to the presidency and in this journey. Many of their experiences encompassed their formative years of education and training/rearing in their homes and communities, the educational journeys they traveled through college and graduate school, as well as the varied professional encounters in academia prior to becoming presidents. The collective energy of these experiences were an exciting and foundational part of their leadership development and journeys to the presidency which were also consumed with challenges and barriers. These challenges and barriers were centered around five specific areas that comprised the challenges of leadership: (1) addressing and resolving fiscal insolvency; (2) personal challenges such as parenting roles and living apart from family members(children and husbands); (3) managing health and wellness; (4) gender, race and age disparity; and (5) professional challenges such as status quo issues, college-wide communication issues, dealing with alumni concerns and problems with overbearing board-of-trustee members. In essence, the role, experiences, challenges and barriers that emerged from the data (voices) of these African-American women college and university presidents comprise the journey they traveled in becoming and being president.
  • ItemOpen Access
    Art-based narrative inquiry with Native American breast cancer survivors
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 2008) Warson, Elizabeth, author; Kees, Natalie, advisor; Carlson, Laurie, advisor
    Background and aims. Breast cancer rates for American Indian and Alaska Native women are lower than any ethnic or racial group. This fact alone has contributed to the perception that breast cancer is not an "Indian" problem among health officials. Cancer statistics in general for American Indian and Alaska Natives are unreliable because of the frequency of racial misclassification, underreporting, and clustering data under the "other" category. Inclusive data from The Intercultural Cancer Council suggests that rates of breast cancer for American Indians and Alaska Natives, who experience the poorest 5-year survivorship, have been increasing over the past 20 years. The majority of the cancer research among Native people has concentrated on eliminating social, cultural, and structure barriers to healthcare. What has not been included in the literature are culturally-relevant psychosocial interventions incorporating the expressive arts. Behavioral research in cancer care for Native American women is needed to address quality of life factors. The purpose of this post modern narrative inquiry is to explore, through artmaking and storytelling, the belief systems surrounding wellness and physical illness from the perspective of Native women diagnosed with breast cancer. This narrative inquiry would provide the ground work for culturally-competent psychosocial interventions utilizing the expressive arts. Method. The participants were 2 American Indian women diagnosed with breast cancer from the Coharie tribe in Clinton, North Carolina, ages 74 and 66. These women were co-collaborators in an emergent narrative inquiry, incorporating a demographic interview, 3 main art task, and 8 open-ended interview questions. Their stories were analyzed discursively using the zoom model. To supplement the emergent themes from the analysis, 3 additional data sources, comprising interviews from a traditional healer and two tribal representatives, were included in the situational analysis. Results. Two positional "maps" were created from the layers of narrative and visual discourse analysis. The maps charted different positions along a four different continuums: cancer related medical treatment, traditional American Indian healing practices, wellness, and breast cancer and breast cancer treatment. The maps showed that wellness and spirituality were inseparable and a core belief to undergoing breast cancer treatment and survivorship. Traditional healing practices were viewed as a complementary approach to Western medicine; however, this approach was not a shared position with providers. The positional maps suggested that a more culturally-relevant, holistic, approach to cancer care was needed in this community.
  • ItemOpen Access
    The process of designing and constructing an accessible residence hall for people with disabilities on a public university campus
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 2008) Wernsman, M. Gayle, author; Lehmann, Jean P., advisor
    One of the great challenges to older universities and colleges is that of fashioning campuses that once disregarded and discouraged people with disabilities into welcoming and inclusive environments. Handicap accessibility can impact a university's recruitment of students, faculty and staff, building costs and budgets, the raising of public and private funding, and the marketability of the campus for events beyond academic uses, such as conventions, conferences, meetings and entertainment. This qualitative case study examined the process by which physical barrier removal and compliance with accessibility codes, such as the Americans with Disabilities Act, is accomplished on a public university campus and to identify the individuals who most influence these projects. The study was bounded by and limited to a newly constructed residence hall on the campus of Colorado State University. Methodology included three types of data gathering: interviews, site visit, and archival and documents search. The list of interview participants evolved in a chain or snowball sampling method. Data reduction was done by inductive analysis. What emerged is a story revealing the chronology of the funding, design and construction process of a residence hall. The apportionment and sequence of the responsibilities of each participant and their degree of influence on accessibility are discussed. Information gained from site visits and document findings was worked into this descriptive narrative. Themes that emerged were related to construction funding, bid proposals, accessibility issues and the experience and training of those interviewed. Also identified as themes were the construction of a full-scale model of a typical student room and the issue of why students with disabilities choose to live in an older dormitory. Findings are generalized into suggestions that administrators, architects, designers and facility planners can use to improve future university construction.
  • ItemOpen Access
    A biographical study of namesake John F. Tinker on the landmark legal case Tinker et al. v. The Des Moines Independent Community School District et al.
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 2008) Wolfe-Dawson, Leigh, author; Harbour, Clifford P., advisor
    The purpose of this biographical study was to understand the effect of the case Tinker et al. v. The Des Moines Independent Community School District et al. circa 1965-1969, on namesake John F. Tinker, circa 2008. John Tinker was involved in a landmark 1969 United States Supreme Court decision nearly 40 years ago. He was 15 years old when he wore a black armband to school to protest the Vietnam War; he is 57 now. In legal and educational environments, Tinker is known as a name on a school-related legal decision, but there is a person behind that name. While there is abundant information about his legal case, not much is known about the namesake. This study attempted to understand how Tinker experienced his legal case and how he understands its effect on his life. This study centered on John Tinker's own voice. Through in-depth, open-ended, one-on-one, face-to-face, voice-to-voice, and computer-to-computer conversations, an account of his life using his own words emerged. What was discovered was that Tinker is a multi-faceted person and the Tinker legal case is only one aspect of his full and unique life. This study is important because Tinker is a living being who as a teenager was involved in an activity that culminated in a landmark decision by the United States Supreme Court. That legal decision holds today-40 years later-and affects every public school student in the United States.
  • ItemOpen Access
    Using office referrals to examine discipline patterns: positive behavior support in a high school
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 2008) Wiley, Cynthia Loe, author; Cooner, Donna, advisor; Carlson, Laurie, advisor
    The utility of systemic positive disciplinary frameworks such as school-wide positive behavior support (SWPBS) in high schools has not been determined. Most research to date has focused on elementary and middle schools that have instituted positive school-wide disciplinary frameworks with varying degrees of success. Similar research is necessary to determine if this type of disciplinary framework can be efficaciously applied at the high school level. The purpose of this three-year study was to describe discipline patterns in a comprehensive public high school pre- and post-implementation of a school-wide positive behavior support (SWPBS) system. Participants in the study were students from grades nine through twelve. The mean annual population of the school was 1,187. The research objective was to utilize longitudinal systematic observation data to provide a comprehensive description (Johnson, 2001) of a SWPBS system as it was applied in one high school and to increase understanding of universal level implementation of SWPBS in this particular context. Disciplinary incidences as measured by archival office discipline referrals (ODRs) were analyzed and described for each of the three years (one year of baseline data and two years of intervention data) under study. Overall ODR patterns were examined as well as the incidence of disciplinary referrals related to student grade level, gender, and selected disruptive and antisocial discipline categories. The descriptive analysis provided data in both aggregate and disaggregate form to render insights into educational reform, both process and outcome, in one high school. Information on implementation fidelity was provided. The study highlighted areas for improvement within this specific school and indicated that SWPBS may be beneficial at the high school level.
  • ItemOpen Access
    In their words: life stories of native born, African American women enrolled in an urban community college
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 2008) Vasconcellos, Tina, author; Harbour, Clifford P., advisor
    This narrative inquiry revealed the life stories of six native born, African American women enrolled in an urban community college. The researcher incorporates her story when describing how she selected her topic of inquiry and why it is important for practitioners and policy makers to hear the voices of African American women learners enrolled in community colleges. The ways of knowing literature (Belenky, et al. 1986; Goldberger, 1996) and literature about African American women learners served as a theoretical backdrop for this inquiry. The researcher employed a culturally sensitive research approach recommended by Tillman (2002) for studies involving African American participants. This method combines critical theory and feminist theory and places the participants' individual and shared cultural knowledge at the center of the inquiry from conception to final write up. An interpretive framework of persistence, transformation, and connection emerged inductively during analysis. The researcher used this framework to offer recommendations for practitioners, policy makers, and researchers. The researcher recommends establishing a professional development program for new faculty promoting connected learning as defined by her participants, developing a re-entry keystone program to support students in working through their issues about learning, implementing a peer mentor program between first and second year students to support continued personal growth in both groups, and increasing funding for research, programs, and services for students with disabilities. The researcher is aware that while her study highlighted life stories, struggles, and successes of African American women learners enrolled in a community college, further research in this area is warranted. The researcher recommends conducting additional qualitative studies to learn more about the experiences and life stories of African American women learners in the community college system. Also recommended are qualitative or mixed methods studies with first semester and last semester students to assess self esteem and personal growth of African American women learners. The researcher believes that this inquiry offers practitioners and policy makers an opportunity to listen to African American women's voices and their recommendations for a connecting learning environment.
  • ItemOpen Access
    Learning styles of radiography students during clinical practice
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 2009) Ward, L. Patrice, author; Feller, Rich, advisor
    The purpose of this study was to identify and describe the common learning styles of radiography students during clinical practice. Quantitative, descriptive research methodology identified the learning styles of radiography students. A single self-report questionnaire, developed to assess learning styles in clinical practice, was administered electronically via a Web page. The sample included 350 radiography students from Joint Review Committee on Education in Radiologic Technology (JRCERT) associate degree programs in the United States. There were six subscales of learning styles identified: structure, integration, experimentation, authority, orientation, and approach. Findings found three groups of radiography students with similar learning styles: task oriented (n = 101), purposeful (n = 134), and tentative (n = 114). Students identified with the task oriented learning style were characterized by preferences to test ideas and draw on intuition and feelings during clinical learning situations. Purposeful learning style students were distinguished by preferences to plan, actively integrate theory and practice, focus on results, and trust in theoretical concepts. The tentative learning style students were characterized by preferences for more prescriptive and results oriented clinical learning experiences and moderation in other learning style elements. Radiography students as a group tended to plan more than improvise and actively rather than passively integrate theory and practice. During clinical learning experiences, they were inclined to focus on results more than process and were apt to rely on i themselves rather than depend on experts for guidance. There were statistically significant differences in distribution for gender, level in program, and age among the three groups of common learning styles. Findings found males were more likely to identify with the purposeful learning style and females with the tentative learning style. First year students were more likely to identify with the purposeful learning style and second year students with the task oriented learning style. Traditional students were more likely to identify with the tentative learning style and nontraditional students with the purposeful learning style. There were no significant differences in distribution associated with learning styles and level of education. Implications for practice include suggestions for students and clinical faculty to apply knowledge of learning styles to understand differences among students, to enhance discussion about learning, and to inspire creative techniques to facilitate learning during clinical practice. Findings offer possibilities for refining the questionnaire and directions for future research to improve teaching effectiveness and student achievement.
  • ItemOpen Access
    Visualizing work flow for process improvement: a case study of class scheduling at a university
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 2008) Waite, Alina Michelle, author; Gilley, Jerry W., advisor
    The purpose of this case study was to analyze and map class scheduling by a school in a higher education setting so that the process could be understood, documented, and ultimately improved. Class scheduling is a process by which faculty and staff generate a class schedule. A class schedule is a common source of information from which faculty, staff, and students plan and organize their personal and professional lives. A class schedule has several components including course descriptions, days, times, locations, enrollment capacities, and names of instructors. The school, part of a university, initiated an analysis of class scheduling to address inefficiencies in the process and occasional errors that appeared in the final class schedule. The school offers numerous options for students interested in educator licensing, graduate degree programs, and professional development through its three main functions and respective academic programs of study. Opportunities for performance improvement often exist at functional interfaces, as described by Rummler and Brache. This qualitative research study took place in two phases from Fall 2006 to Spring 2008. Data were collected using multiple methods from a variety of sources including document reviews, interviews, and focus groups. A total of 34 individuals participated in Phases I and II combined. Three primary research questions were asked to address the present performance problem involving class scheduling at the school: (1) How does class scheduling operate within the school? (2) What are the problems associated with class scheduling? (3) How can class scheduling be improved? Answers to these research questions satisfied the aims of the study: the work activities or process steps and their sequence were defined and documented, performance issues were identified along with performance indicators, and finally recommendations were made for future performance improvement. Findings indicated written procedures describing class scheduling were not available and therefore the performance gap could not be properly assessed. Process maps and timelines were created to visualize work flow for further consideration in developing appropriate procedures and improving the overall efficiency and effectiveness of class scheduling.
  • ItemOpen Access
    Welfare and child welfare collaboration
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 2008) Tungate, Susan L., author; Morgan, George A., advisor; Buchan, Victoria, advisor
    Within departments of social services, child welfare and income assistance programs are typically separate administrative units. Coordinating services for dual-system families across these program areas has been encouraged in the wake of welfare reform and its more stringent time frames in combination with child welfare legislation that places time limits on permanency decisions for children placed out of the home. Many of the barriers to self-sufficiency faced by clients involved with Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) are also implicated in difficulties with parenting. Cross-system collaboration between these two programs is challenging, and attributing client outcomes to collaboration is difficult due to the huge number of variables involved and the considerable variety in collaborative structures. What works for whom, how and in what contexts is poorly understood. The purpose of this study was to describe the extent and nature of collaboration between child welfare and TANF programs within Colorado county departments of human/social services. Data were collected from county departments of human/social services directors for all 64 Colorado counties and a purposive sample of 38 administrators responsible for child welfare and Colorado Works programs within the county departments. Protocols for identifying clients with open cases or needs in both programs were described, as well as the extent of services coordination. Collaboration between these services also occurred via specialized programs or teams that blended resources and targeted specific client groups. TANF funding was an important resource for these programs and teams that were often described as oriented toward early intervention and prevention. Supports and barriers to cross-system collaboration included federal and state level influences, agency leadership and culture, staff workload, training and resources. The perceived overlap in needs of clients accessing both programs was sizable; the estimate of clients with cases open in both programs was higher in the smaller, poorer counties. Addressing the cross-system information needs of staff did not often happen in a deliberate, systematic way. State level leadership is likely important to successful collaborative efforts via explication of effective models and policies that support it.
  • ItemOpen Access
    Influence of beginning college type on post secondary educational achievement: a matched pairs study
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 2009) Vance, Joanna, author; Davies, Timothy G., advisor
    The purpose of this study was to gather more information about the influence of beginning higher education at a two-year college versus beginning at a four-year college on a student's educational achievement. The three outcomes of interest were: (1) whether a student remains continuously enrolled throughout college; (2) total number of college credits a student completes; and (3) highest degree, if any, a student obtains. In order to compare students who began at two-year colleges with their peers who began at four-year colleges, students were matched on the following six variables: (1) gender, (2) ethnicity, (3) mother's highest level of education, (4) father's highest level of education, (5) total family income during the student's eighth grade year, and (6) the student's own predictions of how far they will go in post secondary education, made while seniors in high school. The study used data collected by the National Educational Longitudinal Study of 1988 (NELS:88). The study supported previous literature, finding that students who begin at two-year schools are 48% more likely to complete less than one year of full-time enrollment than are their four-year peers and are 42% less likely to stay continuously enrolled over their college experience than are their four-year peers. The study also found that students who begin at four-year schools are 46% more likely to obtain a bachelor's degree than their two-year peers. For all three outcome variables of interest those students who began at four-year colleges achieved more academically than their matched peers who began at two-year colleges. When two students who are very similar in terms of gender, ethnicity, parents' level of education, socioeconomic status and self perceived future achievement begin their education at different colleges-one a four-year school and the other a two-year school-the four-year attendee consistently will achieve more academically. This information is important and relevant to students, parents, researchers, and policymakers alike.
  • ItemOpen Access
    A critical ethnography: the process of change at a core knowledge junior high school
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 2008) Urban, Elizabeth A., author; Banning, James, advisor; Dickmann, Ellyn, advisor
    The challenge of educational change and the culture of organizational change have been the focus of research and literature for many decades. A look at the history of American education reveals that change designed in the direction of social fairness traditionally falls short of the objectives or fails completely within its first five years (Benham-Tye, 2000). The need for change and for continual renewal to improve schools is evident. The journey of change and the obstacles of that journey are more complex. The process of change and the puzzling dynamics of that process were the subject of this study. The purpose of the study was to further the understanding of the change process, the conditions which surround success and the obstacles which accompany failure. The focus of the study was a junior high school, which opened in the fall of 2004. An ethnographic study was conducted at the site over the period of the school's first sixteen months, from May 2004 to August 2005. The purpose of the first study was to record the journey of the school from its inception. In that first year, four key themes emerged: collaboration; visionary leadership; teachers and parents as agents of change; and trusting the process. That original study provided the archival data that were the starting point for the present study. The present study began in August, 2007 and continued through February, 2008. Research questions were designed to investigate the process of change over time. The qualitative research method was a modified version of Phil Carspecken's Model for Critical Ethnography (1996). The findings revealed additional cultural themes and dimensions as well as obstacles and barriers to the change process. New themes in year four. (1) The Journey of Change - From "Speed Boat to House Boat to Barge"; (2) Change Experienced by the Members - The Teacher's Stories; (3) From Trust the Process to Process the Trust - A Dose of Self-Scrutiny Four cultural dimensions. (1) Inquiry - Continual Study and Learning to Improve the Practice; (2) Responsibility - Speaking with Integrity and Doing What is Said; (3) Care - Practicing a Nurturing Pedagogy; (4) Celebration - Working Joyfully and Acknowledging Human Effort Obstacle to change. (1) Growth of School; (2) Fiscal Limitations; (3) Nature of the Profession; (4) Conventional Thinking Recommendations were made in the concluding chapter.
  • ItemOpen Access
    Globalization of compassion: women in the foreground of cultures of peace
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 2008) Tivona, Elissa J., author; Banning, James, advisor; Griffin, Cindy, advisor
    This qualitative document analysis examines nine core rhetorical acts featured in the foreground of mediated public discourse (print and broadcast media) contrasting them to rhetorical acts of nine global "peacewomen" presented in 1000 PeaceWomen Across the Globe. This text is a compilation of the personal narratives of 1000 women nominated collectively for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2005. I constructed Local Focus Dyads, juxtaposing one woman's narrative from each global region with a first ranked news story for the same region, as identified through a systematic LexisNexis search. As a result of my analysis I derived a theoretical framework contrasting foreground and background rhetoric around overarching themes of progress, human security, and sustained agency. I found assumptions and news judgments dominating the foreground of public discourse glut communication delivery channels, crowding out clear depictions and focused understanding of alternate, peace-building rhetorical performance being regularly enacted in the background, often by women. The results of the study are discussed in terms of new possibilities for peace construction that emerge by "racking focus" and bringing women's background narratives to the foreground of public discourse. In Weaving Cultures of Peace-Tapestries in the Making I discuss six themes threading throughout the background rhetorical acts I studied. These new possibilities include: mending wounds and alleviating suffering; weaving social safety nets; crafting cultures of conflict resolution and "repurposing" cultures of violence; discerning innovative patterns; knitting together local and global; and affixing badges of honor to peace construction. My findings are consistent with other academic research and provide compelling possibilities for further investigation. From a journalistic perspective, I imagine action research raising questions of whether alternate news stories, featuring rhetorical acts central to cultures of peace (especially those enacted by women), contribute to changing the perceptions of media consumers? In Communications Studies terms, I envision in-depth studies continuing to clarify and articulate rhetoric of peace construction, grounded in a larger dataset of peacewomen narratives. As an educator, I wonder about our responsibilities for re-adjusting a lens on the world to more accurately portray the full bandwidth of human performance, not just the narrow spectrum currently featured in headlines.
  • ItemOpen Access
    Examining the impact of Chickering's seven principles of good practice on student attrition in online courses in the community college
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 2009) Tirrell, Timothy, author; Quick, Don, advisor
    As online enrollments escalate in colleges and universities across the country, so does concern about student attrition rates in these courses, or students who drop, fail or are administratively withdrawn from the course. There is an abundance of literature addressing student success in online courses and much of this focuses on using constructivist learning theories to create learning experiences that engage the student. Also emerging from the literature is the Seven Principles of Good Instructional Practice by Checkering and Gamson as an accepted rubric for evaluating effective online instruction. This study focuses on whether the use of instructional strategies as measured by the Seven Principles of Good Practice has an effect on student attrition rates in online courses. Full and part time faculty at three community colleges in Virginia who taught at least one online course in the last three semesters completed an online survey to determine the extent they use instructional strategies reflecting the constructivist-based Seven Principles of Good Practice in their online courses. Scores from the survey were then compared to the attrition rates in their courses. Results indicated both groups strongly used instructional strategies reflecting the seven principles of good practice in their online courses and there was observed in the reported use between full and part time faculty, although full time faculty scores ranged a bit higher while part-time faculty scores tended to cluster towards the middle. When the results for the principles are examined individually rather than as a set, both groups scored weaker on principles reflecting innovative instructional strategies. However, no relation between the extent to which faculty reported using those instructional strategies and student success as measured by attrition rates could be found. Also the study results support the need for further research controlling for certain variables which are discussed in the conclusion of the study.
  • ItemOpen Access
    Perception of African American male college students' satisfaction with academic advising services and their intent to remain enrolled in school
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 2008) Thompson, Allen A., author; Gloeckner, Gene W., advisor
    The purpose of this study was to examine how academic advising services impact African American male undergraduate college students' rate of retention and the students' level of satisfaction. The sample included 48 undergraduate African American male college students attending one of two public universities in Norfolk, VA: Norfolk State University or Old Dominion University. Participants in the research study completed the Academic Advising Inventory (AAI). Pearson correlation statistics determined relationships of students' satisfaction with academic advising and both the number of advising sessions attended and amount of time in sessions. Nonsignificant negative relationships were found. Independent t-tests found no difference in students' satisfaction with academic advising based on individual or group academic advising, class standing, or type of academic advising (prescriptive versus developmental) received. An additional Independent t-test found no difference in students' grade point average based on type of academic advising received. Two by two factorial ANOVAs examined relationships between students' satisfaction with academic advising with their experienced academic advising type, first generation designation, class standing, and whether or not they were advised alone or in a group. Results indicated students' satisfaction is unrelated to experienced academic advising type, first generation designation, class standing, and whether or not they were advised alone or in a group. Additional 2x2 factorial ANOVAs examined relationships between students' grade point average with experienced academic advising type, first generation designation, class standing, and whether or not they were advised alone or in a group. Results indicated students' grade point average was unrelated to experienced academic advising type, first generation designation, class standing, and whether or not they were advised alone or in a group. Multiple regression statistics examined students' satisfaction with academic advising. Results indicated no combination of variables studied: grade point average, academic advising type, class standing, first generation designation, and amount of time in sessions predicted students' satisfaction.
  • ItemOpen Access
    Relationship between adjunct and full-time faculty teaching at a for-profit university
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 2009) Strom Kays, Sarah A., author; Kuk, Linda, advisor; Davies, Timothy, advisor
    This qualitative case study explored the workplace relationships of adjunct and full-time faculty teaching at a for-profit university. The study was conducted at one campus of Segway University. Faculty in this study included men and women and represented different academic departments. All full-time faculty participants had experience teaching as adjunct faculty members. The adjunct faculty in this study all possessed industry-related experience. Findings from this study included an understanding of the perceived relationships and an identification of workplace tensions and competition between the two faculty groups. Administrators and faculty can use the results of this study to improve their workplace relationships by identifying the factors contributing to workplace tension and competition.
  • ItemOpen Access
    Mapping the journey toward the principalship: a mixed methods design
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 2008) Stevenson, Cerissa, author; Cooner, Donna, advisor
    The intent of this study is to learn about principal intern perceptions of their grasp of the eleven identified state principal standards for Colorado. Three components of principal preparation programs were isolated for this study: standards, internships, and reflection. Journey Mapping, "a real-time internet-based reporting system that promotes reflective practice and continuous learning for students" (Westmoreland, 2003, p.1), supported the reflective process and data collection. Principal interns logged on at regular intervals and completed open-ended questions (identifying successes, challenges and concerns) and rated themselves on their knowledge of principal standards on a six-point scale. Longitudinal data from two academic years and three principal cohorts were collected. The design was a concurrent triangulation mixed methods design (QUANT + QUAL). The quantitative analysis for this inquiry was a non-experimental comparative approach. The qualitative analysis was done using template analysis. Matrices were created using computer assisted qualitative data analysis software, which aided in the mixed analysis. Data were analyzed based on time of journal entry (initial, mid-year, and final), gender, and years of experience. A statistically significant difference for initial to mid-year and mid-year to final scores was found. There was not a statistically significant difference between male and female participants and their overall scores. A mixed ANOVA also showed a statistically significant increase of scores over time, however, the other factors, years of experience and gender, were not found to have a significant interaction with overall scores. All standards were addressed throughout the journal entries under specific categories: successes, challenges, and concerns. While there were a few areas of improvement discovered (e.g. more practice with Supervision of Personnel and Resources), this analysis revealed the increased knowledge gained during the principal internship. Several standards; Foundations of Leadership, Contextual Understanding, Planning and Organization, Management and Evaluation of Instruction, and Supervision of Student Conduct, were especially strengths gained from the internships. Few differences were discovered through the narratives for gender. Challenges varied for the different levels of experience, but not for successes or concerns. Results of this study revealed the value of the combination of internships, standards, and reflection in preparing future principals.
  • ItemOpen Access
    Negation and affirmation: the lived experience of non-majority students in a community college dual enrollment program
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 2009) Snow, Ted G., author; Davies, Timothy G., advisor
    This qualitative study explored the lived experience of non-majority high school students enrolled in a community college dual enrollment program. Through a systematic analysis of data collected from personal interviews with twelve non-majority students from a community college two groups of themes emerged: Themes of Negation and Themes of Affirmation. The Themes of Negation included Racism and Bias, and Mixed Messages. Racism and Bias describes pre-college experiences in which participants were devalued, discouraged or distracted from their studies because of their race or ethnicity. Mixed Messages describes contradictory messages participants received from family members which created an atmosphere of ambiguity about the value of college or which guided them away from college. The Themes of Affirmation included Positive Expectations, Respect and Equity, and Confirmation. Positive Expectations describes experiences in which influential others predicted successful academic outcomes for participants that encouraged college pursuits. Respect and Equity describes experiences of being valued, included, and welcomed in the college environment. Confirmation describes experiences which confirmed participants' motivations, acknowledged their academic successes, and sustained their participation in college. Through the contrasting experiences of negation and affirmation, participants experienced Identity Clarification because they were identified in the dual enrollment context as college students rather than as minorities. The findings are interpreted in the context of the literature.
  • ItemOpen Access
    Associate Degree nursing graduate perceptions of the influence of service learning on transition to clinical practice
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 2009) Smith-Stillson, Kathy, author; Quick, Don, advisor
    The 2007 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projected a need for more than one million new and replacement nurses by 2016, while higher education continues to be challenged to find methods of producing graduate satisfaction, accompanied by successful transition from college to the workplace. Some nursing programs are meeting the challenge by utilizing a 1970s teaching strategy partnering experiential learning and community service-service learning, allowing students to work side-by-side with practicing medical professionals to meet community needs for nursing practice. Although success of this pedagogy has been documented with increasing frequency by Baccalaureate Nursing programs, Associate Degree (AD) program outcomes have only been described anecdotally, if at all, in research. Furthermore, even anecdotal accounts on any level have involved the reflections of student nurses, faculty and employers. Nowhere in the literature have reflections been documented of AD registered nurses who had experienced service learning as students. Using a qualitative basic interpretive design, this research sought to capture the meaning AD prepared RNs attributed to the service learning experience as it related to transition from the Associate Degree nursing program to the practice setting. This study used focus groups and interviews to explore the perceptions of Associate Degree prepared registered nurses whose nursing program included service learning educational experiences. In response to open-ended questions, fifteen participants shared their perceptions of what transpired as each worked in a community free clinic with nurse practitioners to meet clinical coursework requirements. Six themes were identified from participant responses. Three of the themes were intrinsic to the study: skill development, heightened awareness, and increased civic responsibility. Three additional themes went beyond the transfer of learning themes: professional inspiration, satisfaction, and success. In light of the findings related to participant responses, additional research of both a qualitative and quantitative nature is recommended. Research of this nature is warranted both with graduates of Associate Degree nursing programs where service learning was part of the curriculum and with graduates of Baccalaureate Degree nursing programs where service learning was part of the curriculum.
  • ItemOpen Access
    A bricolage of narratives about teaching college in prison: interpreting through a performance text
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 2008) Spaulding, Susanna Belle, author; Harbour, Clifford P., advisor
    The purpose of this narrative inquiry was to explore and understand how a selected group of educators made meaning of their experiences teaching college courses in prison. This phenomenon was framed by the tension between two contrasting conceptualizations of education: education as a means of social control and education as the practice of freedom. The data were in-depth stories collected from a small number of participants through unstructured interviews. As I identified narrative structures from my interview transcripts for analysis, three transcendent themes emerged that I used to create a coherent composite story, or bricolage, about these lived experiences. Using a feminist lens, I examined how these educators worked in a borderland, negotiated power relations within this environment, and made personal transformations. To convey an impression of these real-life experiences, I presented the data in a performance text leaving intact large segments of my participants' interview dialogue. The prison offered a rich discursive environment for this study since its hierarchical power structure that focuses on social control contrasts with the democratic classroom that the participants attempted to create. Within the stormy, dangerous, and frustrating prison setting, these educators encountered unique situations for which they were often unprepared and were caught between competing conceptualizations of education.
  • ItemOpen Access
    Community college instructors' experiences with post-baccalaureate reverse transfer students: a phenomenology
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 2008) Smith, Scott R., author; Anderson, Sharon K., advisor
    This qualitative study examined the lived experiences of eight community college faculty. The goal of the research was to understand what it is like to teach community college classes with post-baccalaureate reverse transfer (PBRT) students in them. Using a phenomenological approach, the data was interpreted to develop an understanding of the essence derived from the participant's experience. Through the interpretation of the data, six master themes emerged: Participants' Description of PBRTs, Participants' Knowledge of PBRTs in Their Classrooms, Academic Capital Displayed by PBRTs in Participants' Classrooms, Dynamics and Interactions between PBRTs and non-PBRTs, Participants' Feelings of Teaching PBRTs, and Refining Teaching Styles to Fit PBRTs. These master themes provided the structure and meaning to the essence of the phenomenon, Professionals Working with Professionals - the Fluidity of Education. Participants' Description of PBRTs gave a portrayal of the PBRT student as the participants view them. The theme, Participants' Knowledge of PBRTs in Their Classrooms, allowed the participants to explain how they determined who PBRTs are and whether it mattered if they knew or not. The Academic Capital Displayed by PBRTs in Participants' Classrooms theme describes how the participants appreciate the academic capital PBRTs bring with them, as well as the seriousness, focus, and professional behaviors they display in class. The Dynamics and Interactions between PBRTs and Non-PBRTs theme describes the world of classes with both PBRTs and non-PBRTs. In this environment the evolution of relationships between the two groups of students and participants transpires. In the Participants' Feelings of Teaching PBRTs theme, participants shared their feelings about how it is a natural fit to teach PBRTs because of the connectedness of being professionals. The final theme, Refining Teaching Styles to Fit PBRTs, illustrates how the participants modified their teaching style so it was both equitable and fair to PBRTs and non-PBRTs. These six master themes were reduced to the essence of the participants' experiences of teaching PBRT students, Professionals Working with Professionals - the Fluidity of Education. It illustrates the professional relationships between the participant and PBRTs and the cyclical transference of knowledge, resulting in collaborative learning.