The purpose of this study was to explore the phenomenon of community colleges creating pathways to degree completion in professional-technical programs by breaking degree programs into smaller portions, referred to as "chunks." The purpose or possible advantage of chunking was that it would improve the rate of degree completion among...
Community colleges are experiencing a decline in state allocated funding. Traditionally, college administrators look for ways to cut expenditures and raise tuition and fees to make up for the shortfall. Using available land resources to generate a revenue stream may provide revenue for community colleges.
The purpose of this study...
The primary responsibility of electric utilities is to supply consistent, dependable, and affordable energy to private customers, businesses, and industries. As with many businesses, electric utilities are experiencing the effects of an aging workforce and expending considerable resources to train their current and replacement workers. Community colleges can partner with...
This research addressed the complexities of identity development in the lives of seven elementary and middle school preservice literacy teachers during their graduate teacher education program at a private western university using a poststructural feminism theoretical lens. This research investigated two questions: 1) How do preservice teachers develop their identity...
This autoethnography explores issues that impact educational leadership by examining individual reflections, perceptions, and responses developed through the lens of a principal of two elementary schools. The main data source involves journal entries collected over a period of one year. Theories of educational leadership styles and effective school practices form...
The community college, now over 100 years old, began with the singular mission of preparing students for transfer to the university. Throughout the 20th century, the community college has expanded its missions to serve increasingly complex and comprehensive community needs. Through a textual analysis of community engagement within seven seminal...
The purpose of this study was to understand how refrigeration, heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (RHVAC) service technicians (techs) learned from troubleshooting. This understanding resulted in instructional and curricular strategies designed to help community colleges prepare vocational students to learn more effectively from informal workplace learning. RHVAC techs were studied...
College governance is a function of structure and of how people act within that
structure. Organizational strategies no longer identify administrations as monopolies
that possess all of the good ideas. Recent organizational management approaches to
governance promote inclusiveness in decision-making and are at odds with the
community college's historical structures,...
Title: African-American Women Faculty Teaching at Institutions of Higher Learning in the Pacific Northwest: Challenges, Dilemas, and Sustainability
Institutions of higher learning in the Pacific Northwest have successfully recruited African-American faculty, yet these institutions have difficulty retaining African-American faculty for at least five years. African-American women faculty experience problems obtaining...
Community college and university degree partnership programs allow students to tailor their educational experiences to fit personal goals and preferences while transitioning back and forth seamlessly between a community college and four-year university. This qualitative research study, telling the stories and lived experiences of six students participating in a community...
This phenomenological inquiry explored dimensions of reflection for older adults in a developmental oriented adventure education experience. Data were gathered from emergent interviews with four individuals while participating in a multi-day, self-contained experiential education program conducted in a rugged environment, and led by a Navajo leader. Two principle research questions...
Many White social scientists and educators are unaware of and/or
detached from the realities of racism and conduct social research that 1.)
perpetuates stereotypes, falsely setting People of Color as inferior and
White people as superior and/or 2.) explains the differences of White
people and People of Color in terms...
There is a wealth of research on issues surrounding teacher burnout and school reform. The literature on burnout, however, does not provide information on system-based burnout prevention models. Comprehensive reform, although intended to improve schools as a whole, does not look at reform models developed as sources of teacher support....
The purpose of this research project was to gain a deeper understanding of the
lived experience of faculty of color. More specifically, this project explores how
diversity-related workload expectations impact faculty of color who work in
predominantly white community colleges. Known by various descriptors, the term
used in this research...
This phenomenological inquiry explored the experiences of library leaders and discipline faculty members engaging in a collaborative instructional change initiative focused on a process-based learning pedagogy and led by an academic library. The investigation’s purpose was providing insight and understanding concerning the: (a) library’s role in instructional leadership; (b) experience...
Prior research has noted the changing demographics of higher education since the Civil Rights Movement and the expanded need for multicultural education. Armando Hernandez Morales (2003) wrote that, “A multiculturally competent person is aware of and knowledgeable about cultural differences, their own cultural identity, and the history and contemporary struggles...
Recent scientific studies show strong correlations between oral and systemic disease, creating a crucial need for increased collaboration between the medical and dental professions. Interdisciplinary collaboration between medical and dental providers is emerging as a critical component to effective patient care. The role of the dental hygienist in interdisciplinary collaboration...
Servers in a small college town were asked to take part in an interview to assess perceptions of their use of nonverbal communication, how they believe nonverbal communication affects tipping behavior, and whether or not they received formal training in nonverbal communication tactics. The study also links nonverbal communication with...
The purpose of this study is to explore the lived experience of courage among community college leaders across the United States. The following questions guided the research: (1) What is the courageous experience like for a community college leader? (2) What is the process of courage development? (3) What are...
This research addresses the complexities of White racial identity development in the lives of five elementary and middle school preservice teachers during their graduate teacher education program at a private Christian Pacific Northwestern university. Using a poststructural framework, this research investigated three questions: 1) How do the aspects of subjectivation...
Bullying prevents its targets from enjoying a safe, stress-free living, learning, and working environment. For most children, bullying experiences will be merely unpleasant childhood memories. This remains the same in adult's working environment. During the past decade, the concept of workplace abuse has had an increasing resonance within western countries....
The two-fold purpose of this study was to identify critically important factors that affect the
meaningful assessment of student learning outcomes and study why they were critically
important. A three-round Delphi process was used in both a pilot project and in a full study to
solicit the opinions of individuals...
The focus of this research was to examine the relationship between the Oregon secondary agricultural education teachers’ level of computer-based technology integration, perceptions of barriers to computer-based technology integration, and learning style preferences. Additionally the correlational analysis of the level of computer-based technology integration and the following demographic variables was...
There are more than 6,900 known living languages in the world, half of which could be extinct within one hundred years. Approximately 150 indigenous American languages are still spoken in the United States; however, it is estimated that by the year 2050 only twenty of them will remain.
Language preservation...
Millions of children are exposed to various types of violence throughout their school years. American children, by the time they are 18 years old, have seen more than 100,000 acts of violence on television alone. The effect of exposure to violence becomes a part of a child's life experience and...
This research addressed the role of educational technology associations as change agents within education with particular emphasis on issues of advocacy and leadership. Using a poststructural feminist lens and the metaphor of interview and analysis as storytelling, it explored the perspectives of nineteen individuals belonging to a national level educational...
Purpose of the Study: The purpose of this research was to present a documentary analysis of school district reorganization in Oregon during the period from August 2O, 1957, to July 1, 1964, and to develop a plan for further school district reorganization for Oregon. The major elements of this study...
The purpose of this study is to explore, through their own voices, the higher
education experiences of selected urban American Indian females in California
community colleges. This study is an attempt to identify pathways to academic
success by teasing out college practices and support systems that help Native
women navigate...
Community colleges in the United States have become an important educational destination for international students. According to the Institute of International Education (IIE, 2006), international students who enrolled for the first time at a U.S. campus increased by 8 per cent, from 131,946 students in 2004/2005 to 142,923 in 2005/2006....
The study was designed to gain an understanding of the implementation of Performance Measures Funding at one Washington State community college. The research participants included the nine
individuals who were charged with the design and implementation of the college's Improvement Plan, which addressed the four legislatively, prescribed goals outlined in...
This is a study of the process of collaboration between a community college and selected social service agencies for the purpose of developing an integrative social service and education delivery system, the One-Stop Center. Particular focus is on the interpersonal dynamics among the key stakeholders involved in a collaborative partnership....
Research into community college governance has in the past centered on the formal aspects of decision-making of these institutions. These past studies often ignore the informal governance practices and policies that operate within all organizations. Staff perceptions of community
college governance have not been studied and possible disjunction between formal...
Critics of higher education urge educators to transform their institutions so as to align them with the needs of the twenty-first-century learner. However, colleges desiring to survive in a rapidly changing external environment often discover they must first find a way to make
fundamental changes in their institutional culture. Some...
Strategic planning is a frequently used method for defining appropriate institutional responses to changing internal and external conditions. Numerous efforts have been made to adopt strategic planning styles that were originally developed in manufacturing businesses to the purposes of higher education. Despite theses efforts, community colleges have not yet developed...
The purpose of this study is to identify the internal support systems that contributed to the success of community college faculty teaching in a distance education setting. How do those faculty who are perceived as being successful in this setting attain such stature? What are the contributing factors? If contributing...
This ethnography describes a learning context where transformational learning routinely creates an emancipatory experience. It identifies those elements that increase understanding of transformative process-describing how the context that contains and supports this learning is constructed and a perspective transformation is sparked by group synergy. It names three transformational learning outcomes:...
The purpose of this cross-cultural study is to improve the understanding of the educational experiences of immigrant students who leave postsecondary education prior to completion of a program in two traditionally immigrant-magnet countries. This research focuses on Bangladeshi immigrants in the United Kingdom and Mexican immigrants in the United States,...
This thesis is an ethnohistoric study of the water rights of the Yakima Confederated Tribes. The study considers the water rights issues of the Yakimas from the cultural viewpoint at the time of European contact to the present legal and political situation. It traces the many obstacles the Yakimas have...
This qualitative narrative inquiry study explored the experiences and perspectives of five Asian American females who have sought presidencies and/or vice presidencies in community colleges. All five of the participants are currently either a president or vice president in community colleges. This study found nine themes that capture the barriers...
The purpose of the study was to provide a method for evaluating the effect, impact or role that (as perceived by automotive, diesel, automotive collision faculty and administrators) the nationally recognized industry training standards developed by Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) and National Automotive Technicians Education Foundation (NATEF) have on the...
The purpose of this study was to identify some of the factors associated with student usage of the Student Health Services (SHS)
and of the Infirmary at Oregon State University. The population for the study was the freshman class entering Oregon State University in September, 1968. The original enrollment of...
The purpose of this study was to better understand the relationship between selected academic factors and the persistence of GED recipients in community colleges in the state of Oregon. With this purpose in mind, the study addressed the following research question: Is there a relationship between selected academic variables and...
The primary purpose of the present study was to investigate the effect of peer presence upon the health-related physical fitness test scores of college students. A total of 312 undergraduate college students, 156 males and 156 females, 18 through 29 years of age, randomly selected from the physical education activity...
In juvenile corrections education approximately 50% of the students are eligible for special education services. This dissertation examines Oregon's juvenile corrections educators' understanding of their role in the special education process. This process involves student referrals, evaluations, and eligibility determination for special education services, and the development of individualized education...
Portland Public School District and in particular Jefferson High School are examined in a functionalist framework to determine
the extent to which they meet community needs. B. Malinowski's functionalist theory is employed to analyze desegregation and integration policies and actions of the Portland Public School District and Jefferson High School,...
Instruction in a University Honors College was evaluated using Small Group Instructional Diagnosis (SGID), a qualitative evaluation process. Fifty-one class sections were evaluated over a three-year period to determine what worked to help students learn, what did not work, and suggestions for improvement. Seven instructors used both SGID and an...
The purposes of this thesis are; (a) the presentation of authentic data concerning the Chemawa Indian School from its establishment at Forest Grove, Oregon, in 1880 to the present time at Chemawa, Oregon; (b) the recording of some of the significant information concerning the school's growth; and to) an effort...
The purpose of this study was to provide understanding of Oregon Workforce Quality Council contributions to the development of a world-class workforce. Research goals were
to describe Council processes and outcomes, as well as barriers to the achievement of Council purposes. A case-study approach was selected for the research design....
The purpose of this study was to learn about the experiences of Generation 1.5 Hispanics in developmental English in community college. A qualitative comparative case study design was used for this social critical study. The key findings fell into three categories: road blocks, motivators, and actions. The road blocks included:...
This research sought to "get at" students' understandings of their own racial identity development. The limited degree with which participants have been heard and honored in research activities points to the need to inquire about their experiences first-hand, respect their stories, and consider their voices among, or in spite of,...
This study examined the relationships between business, education, and the economy, and specifically addressed the significant impact that business has had on education and educational policy. A large amount of research exists on the history of school reform and the development of educational policy, but none of the research examined...
The primary purpose of this study was to determine the work values of the emotionally disturbed adolescents and to compare these values with those indicated by adolescents
of the same age level from a regular public school. A secondary objective was to compare the work values of the age levels,...
This investigation into nursing education in Nevada was initiated to assess both the quality and frequency of performance of 52 nursing behaviors, arranged in six
groupings. Recent graduates were asked to evaluate how well they believed they were prepared to perform these behaviors
related to teaching, leadership, planning & evaluation,...
The purpose of this phenomenological study is to describe how Oregon governors
Barbara Roberts and John Kitzhaber, whose tenures both coincided with the passage
and implementation of property tax limitation measures, determined the community
college budgets within their recommended state budgets. The stories of Robert’s 1993
and Kitzhaber’s 2001 decisions...
The purpose of this ethnographic study was to explore White, female teachers’ attitudes and perspectives towards their African American students, the Black/White Achievement Gap, and their teaching practice in regards to their students’ achievement, through the use of focus group discussions. The target group for this study was White, female...
This study examines the relationship between organizational absorptive
capacity and organizational responsiveness to changes in their environment exhibited
by growth-oriented SMEs in Russia. Adopting the theoretical framework and
methodology used by Liao, Welsch and Stoica in their 2003 study of the absorptive
capacity and organizational responsiveness of U.S. growth-oriented SMEs,...
This research study focused on the ways that reading poetry in print differs from viewing poetry in performance and the effect this had on comprehension and appreciation. Videotaped poetry readings provided students with opportunities to experience poetry in performance. Because very little had been researched in this area, a grounded...
With the rapid development of technology, online learning is increasing
significantly and becoming a popular method of education for many universities and
colleges around the world. Because of computers and the internet, most online
learning today is interactive, and sometimes more interactive than the traditional
classroom. Students can interact on...
This research examines two questions: 1) What stories do Christian teacher educators tell about their own White racial identity development? and 2) Is there an impact of studying White racial identity development on the praxis of Christian teacher educators? If so, in what ways? The researcher began the project with...
When older women return to the workplace after an absence they can find the decision-making process difficult. Either their skills are not current or their knowledge of the workplace is out of date. As a community college administrator, my interest was in understanding the process older women went through in...
The purpose of this study is to explore through their own stories and journeys (storjourns), how lesbian leaders influence and transform dominant community college culture. Five lesbian leaders participated who held the position of Director, Associate Dean, Dean, Executive Vice President, and President/Executive Dean. This microethnographical inquiry divulges and makes...
This is a study of how the use of Baldrige Educational Quality Criteria provides community college leaders and external evaluators with richer, more meaningful data for organizational improvement, more comprehensive information about the institution, and a better means for illustrating clear connections between campus systems and processes. This study was...
Purpose of the Study: Fundamental to the issue of a proposal for professional preparation in college student personnel work for Western Canada is: What are the training experiences that will constitute an adequate preparation for persons performing student personnel functions in two-year postsecondary
institutions in Western Canada? There is a...
The in-service Teacher Education Program in India has evinced a rapid growth since India gained independence in 1947. An all-India program of in-service education was established by the Ministry of Education in 1955. At present, the in-service education is carried out by 69 Extension Centers and 24 Extension Units attached...
The purpose of this study was to discern the nature of legislators' perceptions about community colleges' abilities to generate revenues through alternative funding sources and the resultant effects on state allocations to these colleges. Selected community college-related staff members and legislative staff members in Idaho and Oregon were asked to...
This study of the Oregon State college news appearing in the Oregonian and Oregon Journal in Portland at five-year intervals over a 15-year period was undertaken primarily to attempt to determine, if possible, trends in college news; to indicate the emphasis on different types of college news; to determine the...
The purpose of this study was to document a community college faculty development process through which the faculty learned to reconstruct their curriculum around significant learning outcomes and authentic assessment strategies. The following questions focused the inquiry: 1. What kind of organizational support systems were necessary for the faculty to...
The purpose of this study was to discern unpredicted, non-linear patterns that may emerge in complex instructional systems design projects. A secondary purpose was to determine how existing models could be redesigned to accommodate emerging factors. The following questions focused the inquiry:
1. In what ways does the actual ISD...
The purpose of this study is to describe the factors and issues surrounding development of one community college baccalaureate degree program, the three-year Bachelor of Manufacturing Technology at Westark College in Arkansas. This study probes three primary movements at play in the Westark baccalaureate program, which was developed to respond...
Purposes of the Study: The study had several purposes, the major one being to identify common professional education competencies essential to adequate performance by administrators of vocational education at the community college level. Other purposes of the study were to: (1) determine if significant differences existed in vocational administration competencies...
The purpose of this study was to analyze four
contemporary approaches to moral education from the sociological perspective of Durkheim. These four approaches were inculcation, values clarification, the moral discussion approach, and the just community approach. In this study Durkheim's theory of morality and moral education were identified, and the...
The purpose of this descriptive study was to explore PRC Chinese graduate student perceptions of their education-related choices at a U.S. university, and to assess the values and considerations underlying these choices. The objectives of the study were to: (a) explore and discover how
students perceived and described education in...
This research addresses how instructors move from surface levels of diversity
understanding to deep levels. The focus was higher education instructors who taught in a
general education program, primarily teaching freshman students. The case location is at
a public institution on the West coast. Using the literature on diversity and...
The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of participation in physical fitness programs on the self-perceived level of job performance of Oregon public
university employees. A volunteer sample of 344 fulltime public university employees responded to the specifically designed questionnaire. Job performance was measured by job satisfaction,...
The purpose of this study is to name and give voice to the spiritual expression of leadership by women community college presidents. The following questions guided the research: (1) How do women community college presidents describe spirituality? (2) How does spirituality convey itself in the reflections, self-expression, and practice of...
The successful educator must be cognizant of and accommodate individual learner needs. The mediation of learning between the educator and learner is at the very root of
successful teaching and learning. Recognizing and acknowledging that educators have preferred methods of operation (teaching style preferences) and students have preferred methods of...
The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between student-teacher ratios (STR) and caseload sizes and feelings of success and satisfaction and three factors
of burnout as reported by Oregon teachers of students with mild disabilities. The target population of this study (N = 1347) were teachers of...
This study examines educator perceptions related to what has been termed New-Union labor reforms. The study provides a review of literature related to teacher Unionization and details a mixed methods analysis of educator beliefs related to three specific labor reforms: (a) alternative salary structures, (b) collaborative, or interest based bargaining...
Different racial/ethnic groups often perceive the realities of the campus environment differently: This difference in perspective and the attendant reactions can be a factor in student satisfaction or dissatisfaction. A quantitative survey administered in 1996 and 1999 revealed that African-American students on the campus of a diverse two-year community college...
Using meta-ethnography, this thesis analyzes the literature on transformational
leadership and related sources to identify the themes, patterns and connections that
describe transformational leadership. These findings were combined with findings from
an analysis of selected sources on adult learning theory and leadership training to
establish the basis for a design...
Ashlock (1975) identified career education descriptive
factors as related to eight content areas of the Theory and
Practicum II program at Oregon State University. Based on
this research and the research literature, a Career Education
Competency-Based Instructional Model was devised. By
modifying the curriculum, this career education conceptual
model for...
The purpose of this dissertation was to explore the effect of teacher training on the nature and context of movement instruction in Oregon elementary schools. While there are numerous instructional guides and many anecdotal descriptions of classroom movement highlighting the work of movement arts specialists, to the best of our...
The purpose of the study was to determine if the delivery of an integrated
agriculture and science curriculum to the Agricultural Education MAT (Master of Arts
in Teaching) students, increased their desire and ability to integrate their curriculum and
collaborate with other teachers once they started teaching, and to identify...
This purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the role of the community
college chief academic officer and to describe how CAOs define successful
performance. It examined (a) experience candidates brought to the position; (b) job
duties and responsibilities; (c) knowledge, skills, and abilities required; (d) challenges
and barriers;...
Stress associated with gaining admission to first-choice colleges has increased
dramatically during the past decade in Taiwan (Republic of China) and has become a process
charged with anxiety. The purpose of this study was to explore the impact of college
entrance exams upon student well-being, based upon the assumption that...
The principal focus of this investigation was to add to the very limited body of
knowledge on stress and burnout among certificated school psychologists. The
objective of this study was to learn both the incidence of burnout and the relationship
between that incidence and selected demographic variables and supervisory support...
The American public school system has been delegated the responsibility
for providing all children with an equal educational
opportunity. For the state of Alaska, this charge is both unique and
difficult. The academic performance of Alaskan Native students, the
state's largest minority, is a serious concern due to their relatively...
The purpose of this case study was to examine a third-grade teacher’s effective use of mathematical discourse in the classroom setting. The study offers insights into the following research questions: 1) How does a teacher’s engagement in mathematical discourse communities influence her practice and self-efficacy as a mathematics educator? 2)...
This autoethnographic research explores learning, teaching, and leading from the perspective of an adult woman who is both a nontraditional student and a non-traditional worker in the academy. Because she returned to school at the age of forty to earn a bachelor's degree, and is currently an associate professor of...
Corporate employee volunteer programs are redefining "corporate
social responsibility." Community benefits derived from these
programs are well documented. However, there is limited research on
what internal impact such programs have on the sponsoring
corporations.
Kast and Rosenzwieg (1978) define "organizational performance" as
"effectiveness," "efficiency" and "participant satisfaction." The
study focused...
The purpose of this study is to explore the factors that led to the move to include non-need aid in community college institutional financial aid policies. The following questions guided the research: (1) What meaning do those involved in the
formulation of institutional financial aid policy at community colleges give...
The purpose of this study is to examine the role of a Filipino American college student organization at a Predominantly White Institution, and uncover elements of the organization that influence or limit the development of critical consciousness of its members. This study focuses on the aspect of critical consciousness that...
The original research detailed in this document recognizes that the majority of students with disabilities between 18-69 years of age will attend a community college. The literature also indicates an exponential increase for better job opportunity and earnings relative to individuals with disabilities who attain higher levels of education. This...
The focus of this study was to examine the administrative legacy of two African American women administrators, Maxine Buie Mimms and Wintonnette Joye Hardiman, who administrated The Evergreen State College-Tacoma, Washington (TESC-T) campus for more than three decades. TESC-T is nationally known for its community-based curriculum and pedagogy, high retention...
Two-year chemistry-based technology training (CBTT) programs in the U.S. are important in the preparation of the professional technical workforce. The purpose of this study was to identify, examine, and analyze factors related to the economic sustainability of CBTT programs. A review of literature identified four clustered categories of 31 sub-factors...