The decrease in the number of people entering the accounting field raises a concern in both the higher education and professional industry. Only 36 percent of eighth graders possess adequate reading comprehensions skills and most do not improve before they enter college. Thirty-three percent of students entering community colleges have inadequate…

The focus of this study was the construct of undermining motivation, specifically for reading. Because motivation plays an important role in a student's academic performance, it is important for schools and teachers to be aware of the experiences of students experiencing undermining motivations. Research has not only shown that many actions…

The purpose of this research was to determine what a school district in Texas does to have consistent bond approval passages. The qualitative research consisted of three interviews that included six questions to district senior staff participants who closely work on school bonds. Research showed that the district relies on guided and established…

It is becoming ever more challenging to address the changing landscape faced by California Community Colleges. Change agents strive to implement needed interventions but are often disappointed in the outcomes. However, the literature shows that the odds of successful change increase when interventions align with the organization's culture. The…

This dissertation will address the questions: In what ways can MBR theory be applied to design training that will improve the capacity of Citizen scientists to collect and analyze high quality scientific data?; To what degree does this training impact their ability to formulate complex understandings of environmental problems in their Citizen? The…

Teacher turnover rates in the nation are incredibly high, and college of education programs are experiencing declining enrollment. Combined, these two factors have led to staffing concerns in most states. A lack of highly qualified teachers threatens the quality of education historically hard-to-staff schools can provide their students. The first…

The first year of employment is a critical time that significantly impacts new hire perceptions of the organization and their level of engagement. This experience, commonly referred to using the term "onboarding," is the complex process of facilitating the new hire's adjustment to the organization and providing them with a clear…

The Oregon community college system employs a full-time faculty workforce that is overwhelmingly White. This study aimed to research why the representation of faculty of color in the state's community colleges remains low by conducting interviews with faculty of color about their experiences at these public 2-year institutions using…

Student enrollment in online courses continues to grow as student retention rates continue to decrease. Student disengagement in learning directly impacts online nursing programs' attrition and retention rates. The problem addressed in this study was students' disengagement with learning in asynchronous online nursing courses. The bioecological…

Foster youth graduate from college at lower rates than their nonfoster youth peers. Only 10% of foster youth graduate with an associate degree, and less than 3% graduate with a bachelor's degree (Courtney et al., 2011), and there is a significant achievement gap between foster youth and nonfoster youth students (Emerson & Bassett, 2010; Hussar…

Schools used to be the center of a community, serving as a hub for empowering students, staff, and community members. As our public school and political landscapes are constantly changing, this qualitative, phenomenological study researches school stakeholders in the midst of turnaround efforts, exploring the role of inclusive engagement on…

This study analyzed the impacts of participation in short-term study abroad programs at Oklahoma community colleges through a quantitative research design. Student retention and degree completion are concerns for all types of higher education institutions, but U.S. community colleges experience an even greater struggle to retain students from…

This is a qualitative study that explores how successful supplemental mathematics instructors prepare their students for on-level mathematics, that is taken as a corequisite, at a rural Midwestern community college. Using the Zone of Proximal Development with educational scaffolding as a theoretical framework, this study considers how scaffolding…

During declining revenue, community college leaders may be unable to balance their budgets effectively. Community college managers who fail to balance budgets negatively impact a college's financial sustainability. Grounded in Burn's transactional leadership theory, the purpose of this qualitative single case study was to explore strategies…

Community college enrollment has seen a significant shift in student demographics, including the decline of White students from 60% in 2001 to 46.2% in 2017 (American Association of Community Colleges, 2019), whereas efforts to diversify senior leadership have had little success (Rodriguez, 2015). Examining literature from peer-reviewed journals,…