This autoethnographic study examined the challenges and difficulties a post-9/11 combat veteran faced as they transitioned and reintegrated into civilian life post-military service. With suicide rates in the veteran community reaching alarming rates, this study explored personal narratives and perspectives on reintegration to counter the deficit…

Legislators and correctional administrators are tasked with problem-solving current issues of mass incarceration and high criminal recidivism rates. Part of the solution is to implement successful rehabilitative initiatives through reentry programming. While Postsecondary Correctional Education programs are proven to reduce recidivism and assist…

With the 84th Legislature's House Bill 505 expansion of dual credit in Texas in fall 2015, students became eligible to begin coursework as early as ninth grade. Allowing students to begin college earlier in their high school journey triggered questions about their college and career readiness during transition to postsecondary coursework, which…

This dissertation study examines the acculturation experiences of Saudi Arabian students pursuing higher education in the United States. It investigates the relationships among students' acculturation strategies, self-assertion, and academic self-efficacy, while exploring the moderating effects of English proficiency and length of stay. The study…

One of the goals of various European Union organizations (i.e., Roma and non-Roma nonprofits) is the integration of Roma into the educational system. A challenge for the educational systems in European Union (EU) countries, therefore, is to determine how to support the academic performance of Roma. Understanding the positive and negative factors…

This interpretive phenomenological analysis (IPA) studied the acculturation experiences of six adult immigrant students who were enrolled in a local community college adult basic education (ABE) program. The main study question was seeking how adult (ESOL) students perceive themselves and their overall position in mainstream American society.…

Migrant students from Muslim backgrounds constitute a minority in Armenia, France and Germany. This study, conducted in 2014, explored the influence of higher education on the civic and social integration of migrant students from Muslim backgrounds into French, German and Armenian societies. The present research sought to understand whether and…

Recreational sport participation has been promoted as a way for college students to connect to the campus community, improve overall physical health, and moderate anxiety and stress. However, limited research has been conducted with racial and ethnic minority students at colleges and universities in the United States to determine if their…

The study of language contact epitomizes the dynamics of language as a system of human communication. The competing linguistic forces at work when speakers of different language varieties come into contact can be narrowed down to two basic concepts--convergence and divergence. Looking at linguistic areas using a macro approach, languages in…

Although there has been an increase in higher education enrollment, at Catholic institutions underrepresented students are graduating at lower rates than White and non-first generation students. The lack of persistence of these underrepresented students leads to an attainment gap wider than that at other private universities. Furthermore, it…

The school, France's traditional vehicle for integrating diverse populations into a national culture and fostering civic participation, has encountered difficulties in fulfilling its central mission as demographic shifts have given rise to competing conceptions of religious, cultural, ethnic, political and national identity. For French society the…

This qualitative interpretive study explored how former newcomer English Language Learners (ELLs) in Boston Public Schools (BPS) made sense of their transmigration experiences through a digital storytelling project. The study fills a gap on transmigration experiences in the context of English-only learning environments, with a particular…

Hispanics are the fastest growing minority group in the United States and the second fastest growing group in the in post-secondary education. However, at most major universities Hispanic students are less likely to stay enrolled and less likely to graduate than any other racial group. It is vital for Hispanics to earn a college degree, as earning…

Building on sociological studies regarding college choice and persistence, this qualitative study investigates the college and post college experiences of 15 current students with NFL aspirations and 13 former students who held NFL aspirations, all from Division I Football Bowl Series (FBS) programs. A phenomenological design is implemented to…

A dramatic reversal of gender inequality in education occurred when women reached parity with men in college graduation rates around 1982 and surpassed men since then. While scholars have documented this remarkable turnaround in the gender gap in college completion, few studies have offered explanations for why this reversal occurred or why women…