Dissertations / Theses: 'Academic experiences'

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Chen, Qiongqiong. "Globalization and transnational academic mobility| The experiences of Chinese academic returnees." Thesis, State University of New York at Buffalo, 2015. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=3683013.

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The purpose of this study was to examine the way US returned academics negotiate their academic identities and professional practices at China's research universities in the context of higher education internationalization. To be specific, it explored how western doctoral education and work experiences affect returnees, and how these returnees reconstruct what it means to be and become a Chinese professor as they renegotiate the existing university rules, cultures, and practices. Second, it examined the complexity of the internationalization of Chinese universities and the role that returnees play in the process. This study went beyond economic accounts of academic mobility and placed the investigation in a broader frame of social and cultural analysis in order to go deep into the everyday experiences of the returning scholars around issues of their sense of identity, as well as their ways of connecting and bringing about changes in their work communities. It shed light on scholarly debates on transnational academic mobility and higher education internationalization in China.

This study utilized qualitative methodology to explore the everyday experiences of the returned Chinese scholars. The sample was comprised of 52 US doctoral recipients from different disciplines at five research universities in both east and west China. In-depth interviews were used as the primary method of data collection. Other methods, such as non-participatory observation, informal conversations, and documentary analysis, were also used to complement the interview data. An inductive analysis approach was employed to generate codes, categories, and themes from the raw data. Data interpretation and reporting followed the Standards for Reporting on Empirical Social Science Research in AERA Publications.

This study finds that 1) the returnees were motivated to return by China's rapid economic and social development, policy initiatives on mobilizing return moves, and better career opportunities that the improved academic system provided. They also returned for cultural and personal reasons, including social attachment, cultural belonging, self-realization, and family considerations. It suggests that the act of returning is a complex process that involves both personal choices and negotiations of various conditions and regions. 2) The integration of returnees into Chinese universities was not always a linear process, but constrained by the existing university structures and power relations. These include the bureaucracies of university administration, local politics and complicated interpersonal relationships, the problematic evaluation and funding system, and a lack of an efficient administrative system that supports high quality of teaching and research. 3) The returnees were not passively adapting to the structure. Instead, they were strategically drawing upon and using part of their transnational gains and advantages to create a new space for their professional careers and China's higher education innovation. They can be regarded as a driving force for change, either by introducing new teaching and research practices at the operational level, or calling for organizational changes by taking up leadership positions at the institutional level.

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Barger, Becky Marie. "Faculty Experiences and Satisfaction with Academic Freedom." University of Toledo / OhioLINK, 2010. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=toledo1279123430.

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Oikonomou, Sofia. "Academic Teachers' Perceptions and Experiences of Outdoor Education." Thesis, Linköpings universitet, Institutionen för kultur och kommunikation, 2012. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-79028.

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Outdoor education constitutes an alternative teaching approach that is characterized by authentic experiences and activities in outdoor natural and cultural landscapes. As a relatively new and progressive teaching method, it tries to find and consolidate its place within the existing educational system. The current thesis explores Greek academic teachers’ perceptions and experiences in the field of outdoor education. More specifically, eight academic teachers from a Greek university express their views about outdoor education and report their experiences in outdoor lessons. Through a qualitative approach, this research includes analysis of data extracted from semi-structured interviews with the academics. From the thematic analysis of the data four themes emerged that illustrate teachers’ opinions. The results of the research revealed academic teachers’ basic knowledge on the field of outdoor education, as they presented some well-aimed examples of main characteristics of the approach. Moreover, they reported limited previous outdoor experiences with their students and perceive outdoor lessons as any action outside the typical classroom, attributing higher importance to outdoor activities performed in cultural rather than natural landscapes. Also, academics acknowledged several benefits that outdoor education provides to their students such as the stimulation of all their senses, the connection of theory with practice and the promotion of social relations. In addition, they attributed significant importance to both the experiential approach to learning and to the connection with nature that outdoor lessons provide. Nevertheless, academic teachers highlighted many barriers that inhibit their efforts to apply outdoor lessons such as lack of time and appropriate places, inadequate infrastructure, human resources as well as insufficient pedagogical training and preparation. Concluding, what seems to trouble academics most is the prevailing educational culture inside schools and universities as well as teachers’ and academic teachers’ attitudes. The above findings contribute to the current limited scientific knowledge concerning the practice of outdoor education in the higher level of education. Last but not least, further qualitative research is a prerequisite in order to study the origin of the perceptions and attitudes of Greek academics and comprehend the socio-cultural and educational context in which these have been formed.

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Dawson, Diane, Kristin Hoffmann, and Selinda Adelle Berg. "Integrating research into LIS field experiences in academic libraries." Elsevier, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10388/311.

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Field experiences function as a link between LIS theory and practice. Students should be provided with an experience that is a true reflection of the professional environment. The increasing focus on research by academic librarians provides an opportunity and responsibility to integrate research into the field experiences of LIS students.
Selinda Adelle Berg Clinical Medicine Librarian University of Windsor, Canada sberg@uwindsor.ca; Kristin Hoffmann Research & Instructional Services Librarian The University of Western Ontario, Canada khoffma8@uwo.ca; Diane Dawson Natural Sciences Liaison Librarian The University of Saskatchewan, Canada diane.dawson@usask.ca

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Perez, Eduardo. "Exploring student perceptions of academic mentoring and coaching experiences." Thesis, California State University, Fullerton, 2014. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=3580206.

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While there is an abundant amount of research relative to coaching and mentoring programs, there is little understanding about the interaction between coaches/mentors and students. The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate student perceptions of their academic coaching and mentoring experiences at two Southern California community colleges. Alexander Astin's input-environment-output (I-E-O) model and theory of involvement was used alongside an interpretive model to help explain students' understanding of their experiences with coaches and mentors. One-on-one interviews and a focus group were conducted and provided data that led to the emergence of themes related to role models, empowerment, and motivation. In addition, the one-on-one interviews and the focus group also illustrated students' strong desires to pursue advance and professional degrees. In addition the findings highlighted the importance of race and ethnicity in the establishment of rapport and the need to validate individuals as college students with the abilities to peruse advance degrees in higher education. Lastly, the research identified role modeling, cultural connectedness, opportunities for mentoring, and the various institutional agents who may occupy the status of a mentor or coach as important factors in the mentoring and coaching experiences.

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Holley, Matthew. "The lived experiences of gay physicians in academic medicine." Thesis, Indiana University, 2016. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=10129386.

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Background: Despite efforts by academic medical centers to adopt institutional policies and practices to create an inclusive environment for LGBT patients, students, staff, and faculty, the literature on the experiences of LGBT faculty with academic medicine is limited. Thus, this study examined the career experiences of gay physicians in academic medicine to further develop a narrative of the queer faculty experience.

Methods: A qualitative study was conducted with eleven full-time academic physicians from various AAMC accredited medical schools who openly identify as gay. In-depth interviews were conducted with each participant to understand their reasons for becoming a physician, their career progression and current roles, and their experiences with particular elements of faculty life such as promotion and tenure.

Results: A thematic analysis using interpretative phenomenological analysis techniques revealed that the lived experience of gay physicians can be grouped into two categories based upon the saliency of sexual identity. In the first, the academic physician’s sexual identity is at the forefront, whereas in the second, sexual identity becomes almost invisible. The influence of sexual identity can be clearly seen in the service obligations of gay academic physicians as well as the relationships they create with learners, colleagues, and patients. While gay physicians in academic medicine struggle to find other LGBT mentors, they do often rely on a network of mentors similar to all academic physicians. Lastly, there did not appear to be significant consequences for gay physicians navigating a career in academic medicine nor being successful in the promotion and tenure process.

Conclusions: Findings from this study indicate that the environment for LGBT individuals within academic medicine is rapidly evolving. Yet, the results of this study still suggest opportunities for leaders within academic health centers to implement inclusive policies and benefit programs for LGBT individuals, develop active recruitment and retention programs for LGBT faculty, and infuse LGBT perspectives into institutional programming. By doing so, academic medical centers allow LGBT faculty to be their authentic self and ultimately be thriving clinical educators.

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Lewis, Marcia Jackson. "The influence of differential sibling experiences on academic achievement." Case Western Reserve University School of Graduate Studies / OhioLINK, 1992. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1056464687.

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Luke, Sharon. "Faculty Experiences of Academic Dishonesty in Physician Assistant Education." ScholarWorks, 2019. https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/7820.

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Academic dishonesty and cheating abound in universities across the globe, with increased instances of academic dishonesty in many disciplines including medical professional education programs that have high expectations for integrity and ethical conduct. The purpose of this study was to determine how faculty in physician assistant (PA) programs described their experiences, specifically their roles and responsibilities, in addressing incidents of academic dishonesty. The conceptual framework by Nitsch and colleagues, which focused on faculty failure to report conduct violations in dishonesty cases, informed interviews with 10 PA faculty members concerning the role of faculty members in academic dishonesty violations. Interview transcripts were analyzed to identify common themes through a manual coding process. Interviews were followed by a modified Delphi process with 5 of the participants to confirm consensus of the responses obtained in the interviews. Themes from the findings focused on faculty members' high expectations of academic honesty from students in PA programs, the role of university involvement in reporting and managing cases of academic dishonesty, including deterrents to faculty reporting, and program strategies to deter academic dishonesty. Based on findings, a PA faculty development workshop was developed for creating cultures of academic integrity in PA programs and program campuses. Positive social change may result through better management of cases of academic dishonesty in PA programs and on campus, as well as the use of faculty as change agents in promoting a culture of campus integrity.

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Freeman, Keri. "Investigating First Year Undergraduate EAL Students' Academic Literacy Experiences." Thesis, Griffith University, 2018. http://hdl.handle.net/10072/377655.

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Australian universities have become places where students from diverse backgrounds and cultures come together to pursue tertiary education. This study contributes to current understandings of how universities have responded to their now diverse student body, and adds insight into curricula and classroom practices which might better accommodate learners who have English as an Additional Language (EAL). While issues surrounding EAL students have been examined and discussed for two decades, Lea and Street (2006), Leask (2013), and Wingate (2015) contend that university pedagogies and practices are yet to adequately cater for students from diverse backgrounds. In particular, disciplinary pedagogies tend to be dominated by assumptions that EAL students’ linguistic, cultural, and educational backgrounds are deficits, which limit their capacity to adapt to Australian tertiary learning environments. Accordingly, research which focuses on first year EAL students’ academic expectations and experiences is critical so that Australian universities can enhance current pedagogies which guide curricula and classroom practices. This study employed Lea and Street’s (1998) academic literacies approach to examine how first year undergraduate EAL students from a range of educational and cultural backgrounds, and fields of study, mediated their first year at an English-speaking university. The study investigated participants’ academic expectations, academic socialisation, and academic literacies, including their experiences constructing new student identities, and engaging with teachers and peers. Such research is important to provide evidence of best practice strategies to support EAL students’ literacy and learning, and foster a sense of belonging. This study also examined participants’ academic reading, a fundamental aspect of academic literacy which has been under researched (Hill & Meo, 2015; Wingate, 2015). Three research questions guided the study: Research Question 1 investigated participants’ expectations of their new learning environment; Research Question 2 examined how the students mediated their academic socialisation; and Research Question 3 investigated what factors enabled and constrained participants’ academic literacies. The primary research method was a multiple case study approach in which eight units of analysis were embedded within the research setting, a university in South East Queensland. The study employed a three phase explanatory qualitative and quantitative research design. A self-administered questionnaire with a convenience sample size of 159 first year EAL students was implemented in Phase I. The questionnaire examined respondents’ expectations of academic conventions and skills, academic reading, and engagement with teachers and peers. The survey data were analysed using SPSS software to generate descriptive statistics. The findings informed the qualitative case study inquiry. Phase II was the first stage of the multiple case studies. Eight case study participants were recruited through purposive sampling. Phase II examined participants’ academic socialisation experiences. Data was collected through weekly structured interviews, and course document analysis. In Phase III, semi-structured interviews investigated participants’ classroom experiences, student identities, and academic relationships with teachers and peers. The case study data were analysed using thematic analysis, which involved an iterative process of reading, rereading, and coding the data into themes related to the issues under investigation. The multiple sources of data revealed that participants’ expectations and experiences were homogenous, despite their diverse backgrounds. This suggests that first year EAL students share similar literacy and learning needs. Participants demonstrated an understanding of disciplinary literacy practices and conventions. They expected to enhance their language, academic, and intercultural communication skills, with the help of course teachers. They believed it was important to feel a sense of belonging in their new academic community, and engage with domestic peers. However, these expectations were largely unfulfilled. The findings also showed that EAL students often underestimate the reality of course reading demands. Nevertheless, participants demonstrated positive student identities by adapting and extending their literacy practices to successfully mediate disciplinary requirements. They read strategically by engaging with academic texts they believed were relevant to their literacy and learning. Participants’ academic achievements indicated that their linguistic, cultural, and educational backgrounds did not hinder their capability to engage in their courses and complete assessment tasks. This suggests that the prevailing perception about EAL students’ cultural and educational backgrounds being barriers to learning is misguided. However, the participants’ academic literacies were hindered when they encountered classroom learning environments which did not incorporate language and literacy instruction, constructive feedback on assessments, or peer engagement. There was also little evidence that courses applied reading pedagogies. These challenges, in particular the lack of classroom engagement with domestic peers, negatively affected their sense of belonging in their new academic community. The study findings reveal a disparity between EAL students’ classroom experiences, and best practice first year and internationalisation strategies recommended in the literature (e.g., Lea & Street, 2006; Leask, 2013; Wingate, 2015). A noteworthy finding is that the teaching practices which help EAL students’ communicative confidence and learning require little effort. That is, when teachers show interest, and facilitate cross-cultural classroom interactions, there is a positive impact on students’ feelings of belonging. The implication is teachers are in the best position to provide supportive and inclusive classroom learning environments that fulfil
Thesis (PhD Doctorate)
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
School Educ & Professional St
Arts, Education and Law
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Kelly, Mary. "A phenomenographic study to explore academics' experiences of their research role in one academic nursing department." Thesis, University of Bristol, 2014. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.658613.

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This study explores academics' experiences of their research role in one Irish university nursing department. Since 2002, nursing has been an all-graduate profession. This policy change means that nurse education is now based in higher education institutes. For the study, interviews were conducted with eighteen academics, ranging from lecturer to senior lecturer and above from several disciplinary backgrounds using a phenomenographic approach, to enable an understanding of the range and variation in experiences. Three categories of experience emerged from the data: 'getting a foothold on research'; 'navigating an early research career' and 'research as core to the academic role'. In each category there is variation in the focus of awareness concerning involvement in research and research networks, individuals' research aims, and research as a component of the overall academic role. Three dimensions of variation were discerned in the analysis. These relate to involvement in research, identity as a researcher, and control over the nature of work. A critical boundary area concerning membership of the community of research practice is PhD study. The findings indicate that sustained and structured support is required in order to promote the visibility of research within the department and to facilitate continuity of research activity.

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Bainbridge, Samantha. "Experiences of hospitalized patients with dementia." Honors in the Major Thesis, University of Central Florida, 2012. http://digital.library.ucf.edu/cdm/ref/collection/ETH/id/657.

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People with dementia are hospitalized for a variety of reasons. The combination of dementia with additional health conditions creates a unique challenge to caregivers in acute care settings. There is a dearth of information available to provide guidance to the nursing staff caring for these patients. This integrated review of the literature examined the experiences of hospitalization from the perspective of the older adult with dementia, the family caregiver, and the patient care staff. Results showed a limited body of literature that addressed hospital experiences of people with dementia and those of family and professional caregivers. Additionally, few studies addressing this topic have been conducted in the United States. The primary finding from this study is that better communication is needed between nursing staff, patients, and their family caregivers. Nurses should carry out detailed assessments of cognition and pain in all elderly patients, and strive to provide appropriate palliative and end-of-life care. Dementia- specific training for all staff members may help to promote a better understanding of patients with dementia. Lastly, further research into the experiences of hospitalized dementia patients is needed, with a focus on acute care settings within the United States.
B.S.N.
Bachelors
Nursing
Nursing

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Moody, Jane Elizabeth. "WOMEN'S EXPERIENCES WITH DISTANCE EDUCATION." Master's thesis, University of Central Florida, 2004. http://digital.library.ucf.edu/cdm/ref/collection/ETD/id/4493.

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This thesis examines issues that affect women in online learning, and discusses four women's particular experiences in the University of Central Florida's distance learning program. Online education involves aspects of support and communication that may affect women's learning experiences either positively or negatively. Distance learning may also allow women to pursue their education while still taking care of their families and outside work. In order to get a better idea of how distance learning impacts women, I discuss several studies that examine how distance learning affects women in particular. I identify three areas from this literature that seem to be particularly important in order for women to have a successful distance learning experience: social support, technical support, and awareness of differences in discussion style. After reviewing the existing literature, I discuss how this literature applies to four women's experiences here at UCF. I talk with them about how they perceive their online learning experiences, and about how they feel that the issues identified in the literature are reflected in their own lives. I discuss their issues with support, technical support, and online discussions, and relate these to existing literature in order to come up with areas that may need further exploration or improvement. I conclude the study by providing suggestions and recommendations for professors who deal with women in their online classes. I also suggest areas for further exploration in the field of women's distance education.
M.A.
Department of English
Arts and Sciences
English

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Havill, Amanda Marie. "Relationships among child abuse experiences, social support, and academic success." Honors in the Major Thesis, University of Central Florida, 2011. http://digital.library.ucf.edu/cdm/ref/collection/ETH/id/395.

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Nonetheless, understanding the childhood experiences that individuals bring with them into their later lives still may be important in fostering the best possible academic outcomes.; Previous research indicated that childhood abuse experiences are important factors in determining the length and achievement of individuals' academic careers (Braver, Bumberry, Green, & Rawson, 1992). Several additional studies suggested that there is a relationship between childhood abuse experiences and social support (i.e., parental, peer, and teacher; Ezzell, Swenson, & Brondino, 2000; Goebbels, Nichols, Walsh, & De Vries, 2008). Although these relationships were documented, few studies examined the relationships between childhood abuse experiences, social support, and academic success in one comprehensive analysis. As a result, the current study examined the relationships among childhood abuse experiences, social support, and academic success. More specifically, the current study examined the mediational role of social support in the relationship between childhood abuse experiences and academic success. Participants completed four empirically validated questionnaires online. These questionnaires included a demographics questionnaire, the Student Perceived Availability of Social Support Questionnaire (SPASSQ; Vedder, Boekaerts, & Seegers, 2005), the Motivation to Achieve Academically Questionnaire (MAAQ; Waugh, 2002), and the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ; Bernstein & Fink, 1998)). Using correlational analyses and regression analyses, results of the current study indicated that those individuals who reported childhood abuse experiences are more likely to have reported lower levels of parental support and that those who received a higher level of teachers' support are more likely to endorse academic success. Finally, childhood abuse experiences and social support generally were not significant predictors of academic success, and social support did not serve as a mediator in the relationship between childhood abuse experiences and academic success.
B.S.
Bachelors
Sciences
Psychology

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Reddin, Galen C. "Struggles and achievements: experiences of working-class white male academics who attain tenure." Diss., University of Iowa, 2012. https://ir.uiowa.edu/etd/2970.

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This study investigated a little known topic: the experiences of working-class, white male, professors, who have attained tenure. Academics who have immigrated from working class backgrounds have reported experiences of navigating culturally confusing interactions within their professional settings, even years after their class migrations. Working-class, white, male, tenured academics were selected for the present study in order to ascertain findings intended to contribute to understandings of their pre-tenure experiences, and strategies that they believed were most significant for tenure attainment. Ethnographic research methods were employed in this study. Research questions guiding the study were: "What do first-generation, white male college professors identify as the key factors which helped them achieve tenure?" and, "To what extent did their class background help or hinder the process?" The data analysis chapter divides participants' experiences into three themes; Theme 1 addresses some of the formal and informal social contexts of the tenure process. Themes 2 and 3 focus on the participants' psychological and social challenges and successes that were also part of the process. This study analyzed data regarding social contexts that participants believed were relevant to their tenure attainment. Participants experienced academic culture in ways connected to important issues of diversity and exclusion found in the literature on the experiences of other, more traditionally recognized marginalized groups in American higher education. Seemingly routine work related events often transpired according to unwritten social rules informed by academic culture. Most participants reported significant cultural outsider experiences, and although they experienced cultural based success challenges, they gradually developed strategies that incorporated working-class background experiences into their pre-tenure period experiences in ways that they believed constituted unique professional strengths. Findings were generalized in four statements: most participants experienced social class-related struggles toward gaining tenure attainment; most participants had entered academia without adequate cultural knowledge; most participants experienced academic work and social related practices as contentious with their working-class sensibilities; and most participants gradually developed internal truces between their past and present cultural orientations toward their eventual goal of tenure attainment. Directions for future study and concluding thoughts are included.

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Harris, Jodet-Marie Morreau Lanny E. "Relationships between violent experiences and academic performance in public schools." Normal, Ill. Illinois State University, 1995. http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/ilstu/fullcit?p9633394.

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Thesis (Ed. D.)--Illinois State University, 1995.
Title from title page screen, viewed May 11, 2006. Dissertation Committee: Lanny Morreau (chair), Thomas Caldwell, Eddie Glenn, Nick Maroules, William Tolone, Mark Fleischer. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 114-136) and abstract. Also available in print.

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Denison, Donald Brian. "The transition to university, academic experiences in the first semester." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 1999. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk1/tape7/PQDD_0022/NQ50145.pdf.

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Denison, Donald Brian. "The transition to university : academic experiences in the first semester." Thesis, McGill University, 1998. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=35872.

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This descriptive case study was an investigation of the transition to university, with a focus on academic experiences in the first semester of the 1992--93 academic year at a Canadian research university. To guide the study, a conceptual framework of the transition to university was created by combining elements of relevant theoretical models in the counseling and higher education literature. A purposive sample of eight first year students was selected, equally distributed in terms of gender, entry status (high school vs. college), and actual or contemplated program of study (English vs. Physics). Data were collected by means of semi-structured interviews conducted at four points in the academic year. These were supplemented by class schedules, university documents, and classroom visits. Analysis of the interview data was conducted using the NUD·IST software package.
The results of the study suggest that students are strangers, in a strange land during their first semester at university. As they encounter successive sets of academic challenges throughout the semester, they are "learning the ropes" of functioning in this unfamiliar territory. In so doing, students are acquiring the experiential knowledge base that will allow them to survive in university. The results support the study's conceptualization of the transition to university, but also suggest that figure research in this area requires a more fine-grained and comprehensive model of the academic environment as experienced by students. Towards this end, the basic elements of an ecological perspective on the academic world of university students are presented. Areas of needed research related to the academic transition experiences of first year students are identified, and recommendations are made for improving orientation and academic advising, as well as course design and instructional practices.

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Moriarty, Jess. "Autobiographical and researched experiences with academic writing : an analytical autoethnodrama." Thesis, University of Brighton, 2013. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.589805.

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This thesis identifies analytical autoethnography as a methodology that synthesises autobiography and social critique in order to resist, and also change, dominant authoritative discourse. The author has carried out twelve open-ended interviews with academics from a variety of subject areas at one university in order to elicit autobiographical experiences with academic writing and the so-called 'publish or perish culture'. Evidence from the author's autobiographical experiences and the interview data have been used to inform a short autoethnodrama set in a university on the south coast. This triangulation of research- autobiography-script seeks to maintain the balance between rigorous academic analysis and experiential autobiographical reflection via a creative and emotionally charged text. The autoethnodrama considers the 'impact' of the Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) and current such exercises, and the possible and real effects of the pressure to 'publish or perish' on institutional culture and individual lives. Autoethnodrama is justified as a methodological approach because it seeks to resist positivist-informed 'master' narratives, instead offering a highly charged, creatively written text that explicitly links autobiographical experiences and the social/cultural group under study without claiming objectivity or denying a personal bias. The research proposes that autoethnography can encourage an enlightened reading of a text and empower readers with an enhanced process of meaning-making. A maj or finding of the research is that this is important and that autoethnography also offers the potential for making academic writing more democratic and inclusive. The research identifies staff development strategies that offer the potential for a less stressful academic writing process and democratic university environment including mentoring and other explicit institutional support. In addition the research identifies the process of producing this thesis as a means of further democratising the conventional academic writing process and progressing the case for a more inclusive and expansive approach to academic writing. The thesis proposes a more holistic and person-centred approach to academic writing and also to academic life.

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Salaz, Alicia. "International branch campus faculty member experiences of the academic library." Thesis, University of Liverpool, 2015. http://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/2010812/.

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This thesis uses phenomenography to investigate the perceptions and experiences of academic libraries by faculty members across a variety of disciplines working in international branch campuses (IBCs). The main research question addressed by the study asks how faculty members experience the academic library, with the objective of identifying qualitative variations in experience within this group. The findings of this research address established practical problems related to library value and identity, and have implications for practice in both the development and evaluation of library services for faculty members, as well as communication about those services with faculty members. Furthermore, the findings of this research support practical developments in the support of faculty members engaged in transnational higher education provision. The results of the research find that these participants in this context experienced the academic library in at least six different ways and reported a variety of experiences in terms of using information, in and out of the academic library, to accomplish core faculty member functions of teaching and research. The categories of experience generated through the study are: IBC faculty members experience the academic library as relationships with librarians; as a content provider; as a discovery service; as a facilitator for engaging with the academic community; as a champion of reading books; and as a compliance centre for information ethics. Investigations into the information behaviour, library use and perceptions of faculty members have been conducted in a variety of contexts, but are limited in transnational contexts. This research therefore also represents an original and important contribution to an understanding of academic library practice in transnational or cross-border contexts, as well as contributing to a limited knowledge base about the experiences of faculty members in transnational higher education generally. Phenomenographic investigations into the experiences of library and information science elements such as libraries and information centres are rare, and therefore this research represents an original contribution to understanding this phenomenon in this way. The study employed phenomenography as the methodology for understanding the academic library experiences of the participants. Ten faculty member participants representing a variety of IBC institutions located within major educational hubs in the Arab Gulf and Southeast Asia were interviewed about their academic library experiences moving from a home campus to a branch campus, using the story of this move as a critical incident for starting discussion and relaying real experiences to the researcher. These experiences are theoretically situated in the context of information worlds (Jaeger & Burnett, 2010) in order to increase understanding around the formation of these experiences and to critically analyse practical implications. This research design contributes to the phenomenographic method by detailing its procedures and to its theoretical aspects by linking the methodological with a framework, Jaeger and Burnett’s theory of information worlds, which facilitates phenomenography outside its traditional domain of teaching and learning research.

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Shibani, Fathia El. "Biliteracy and academic success: The experiences of selected Libyan students." University of the Western Cape, 2019. http://hdl.handle.net/11394/6953.

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Magister Artium - MA
This study is an investigation into the biliteracy skills (in Arabic and English) employed by Libyan students at the University of the Western Cape to gain their academic success. Nowadays, international students form a significant number in every academic institution. The study attempts to show that there are literacy factors beyond basic editing of written tasks by biliterate students studying outside their country of origin that need to be acknowledged as contributing to their success in completing such tasks. Qualitative research methods - a questionnaire and interviews – were used in order to understand what strategies the participants rely on to first understand, then write their assignments, how they apply their biliteracy skills, and what biliterate resources they draw on in their writing in order to produce a successful assignment. Hornberger’s (1989) Biliteracy Model was adopted as a framework to map students’ responses. This study may serve as a response to the question posed by Hornberger and Link (2012:243): “How should educators engage with students’ linguistic and literacy diversity in order to facilitate successful school experiences and greater academic achievement for students from often minoritized backgrounds?” This study might also be one of a series of research studies exploring, as Creese and Blackledge (2010:113) recommend, “what ‘teachable’ pedagogic resources are available in flexible, concurrent approaches to learning and teaching languages bilingually”. The findings of the research show that the Libyan students in this study used particular strategies whenever they faced academic barriers, and to compensate for their limited competence in English and the academic discourse in the foreign context of UWC. The most significant of these strategies were the use of the first language as a bridge to the second, oral discussions preceding written assignments, drawing on prior knowledge, and moving from reading to writing. Moreover, the findings revealed some of the factors behind the students’ growing confidence in their writing and consequently, succeeding in writing their assignments. These were lecturers’ feedback, oral discussions with a writing coach or friends, and drawing on contextualized content.

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Yumba, Wyclliiffe. "The Experiences of the Swedish Female Academics and their Struggles to Succeed." Thesis, Linköpings universitet, Institutionen för beteendevetenskap och lärande, 2009. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-81901.

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The purpose of this study is to investigate the experiences of academic women in order to gain an in depth understanding of factors that encourage and discourage their career advancement. A qualitative design and a Feminist standpoint framework guided the study. 11 faculty members from different faculties were interviewed in this study: eight female academics and three male academics from three Swedish universities: Linköping, Örebro and Stockholm. The study looked at the factors that encourage women academics career advancement such as: personal, family and academic factors. While, factors that discourage their career advancement have been also discussed and such factors are: the lack of support, network and mentorship; the reconciliation of the private life and the professional life; the lack of time: excess academic and administrative workloads. The results of this study also revealed that the lack of academic support, mentorship and the combination of family and work duties appeared to be the greatest barriers for the career advancement of the female academics. study concludes that despite the Swedish government countless series of measures and reforms to improve gender equality and equal opportunity in higher education, the number of female academics in the top ranking especially professorship is still very low and the career progression is also slow compared to their male counterpart.

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Scott, Shelleyann. "Professional development : a study of secondary teachers' experiences and perspectives /." Full text available, 2000. http://adt.curtin.edu.au/theses/available/adt-WCU20030312.145827.

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Rolandsson, Victoria. "Designing Experiences in the Context of Academic Ceremonies : A Unified Approach." Thesis, Umeå universitet, Institutionen för informatik, 2014. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-89953.

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Today’s society has moved towards a greater focus on users experiences from several different perspectives. It applies to the virtual world as well as to the environment outside computers. As markets are becoming saturated with products and services that are relatively similar, staging experiences is a possible way to increase product and service value. Within academic ceremonies at universities, the focus on the guests’ experiences is central. The aim of this thesis is to clarify how three key concepts can lay a ground for better understanding when going forward in the design of experiences in the context of academic ceremonies. The concepts are User Experience, Service Design and Ubiquitous Computing. The results shows that by dividing the processes of designing the ceremonies into smaller pieces and analysing them, using Patrick W. Jordan’s Hierarchy of Consumer Needs the current situation could be defined. A unified approach was taken towards the key concepts, which visualized the means we have to utilize in the possibilities of reaching upwards in the hierarchy and thus designing better experiences.

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Mackenzie, Helen Elizabeth. "Students' experiences of academic play within transitional space in higher education." Thesis, University of Nottingham, 2011. http://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/13449/.

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This thesis argues that Donald Winnicott's theory of transitional space and play casts new light upon the ontological dimensions of students' experiences of transition within Higher Education. Winnicott enables the illumination of the different ways that students might react, cope and personally develop when faced with similarity, difference and change, demonstrating this can have powerful influences upon the facilitation and hindrance of individuals’ transitions. The qualitative case study, conducted at a Russell Group University, involves an in depth exploration of eight second-year undergraduate Biological Science students' transitional journeys during their study of one module. The students' study included designing their own experiments, working with others, presenting orally, analysing their data and individually writing a scientific report, as part of a creative group project. I argue throughout this thesis that this module invited learners to engage in adult, transitional academic play spaces. Here, learners had the freedom to risk putting him or herself into relation with sameness, uncertainty, difficulty, challenge and change. The study reports that the potential and enjoyment of transition, as Winnicott proposed, might be only fully realised when the conditions are 'good enough' in the mind of the learner. This involves achieving a delicate balance between firstly, the provision of a teaching and learning environment that provides the freedom and opportunities to engage with transition and secondly, the capacities of students to engage with change which might include, toughness, resilience and a will to learn. In the light of the empirical findings it is argued that students' transitional journeys are both idiosyncratic and complex and students emerge in different ways. It is found that at this stage in their degree study all students required the sensitive support of teaching staff in order to have the confidence to engage within transitional space.

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Kirk-Ainsworth, Carolyn. "The academic and social experiences of disabled pupils : a case study." Thesis, University of Sheffield, 2003. http://etheses.whiterose.ac.uk/6055/.

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This small scale, qualitative study explores the reality of the academic and social experiences of pupils with physical impairments. It focuses on one secondary school in the North West of England that has admitted disabled pupils for over twenty years. Whilst acknowledging that integration does take place, it analyses the extent to which this can be equated with inclusion. Semi-structured interviews with both disabled pupils and learning support assistants reveal that the school has experienced some success, but the degree to which the establishment encourages full participation as well as celebrating difference is seen to be affected by a variety of factors. The role of the learning support assistant together with accessibility to the physical environment, prove key features in the inclusion process. In addition, lack of proximity, restricted sporting and extra-curricular opportunity, together with the absence of a facility to discuss disability issues, prove to be discriminatory factors. An historical framework sets the institutional issues against a backdrop of successive governmental policies. Whilst the latter have published a commitment to integration - integration as opposed to inclusion -a series of qualifying clauses have led to inaction and indecision, resulting in restricted involvement for disabled pupils. Conclusions reached stress the need for future development. The importance of this school and indeed all educational establishments, working towards inclusive practice, is seen as paramount.

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Watson, Jo. "Educational experiences of occupational therapy students from non-traditional academic backgrounds." Thesis, University of Southampton, 2010. https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/174985/.

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Occupational therapy (OT) pre-registration education in the United Kingdom (UK) stands at the intersection of the fields of higher education (HE) and professional practice. It is subject to various government agendas including an ongoing commitment to widening participation in HE and to diversifying the health and social care workforce to reflect modern cultural diversity. Both have contributed to a changing profile in the OT student population and in 2005, 67 percent of the intake was mature (College of Occupational Therapists, 2007b), and increasing numbers are entering with ‘non-traditional’ academic backgrounds, an umbrella term which subsumes a variety of entry qualifications. The early weeks of study in HE can prove challenging to students as they settle into the new learning environment and begin to comprehend the expectations held of them (Yorke, 2005). It has been suggested that those from non-traditional academic backgrounds may find this transition, particularly the need to take a high level of responsibility for their own learning, difficult as a result of the skills, experiences and expectations accumulated throughout their pre-entry education (Sambell and Hubbard, 2004). While small-scale studies suggest that OT students from such backgrounds are as academically successful as traditional school-leavers at graduation (Howard and Jerosch-Herold, 2000), there is little evidence offering insight into how they actually experience and negotiate the demands of their programme. Recognising that learning and teaching are embedded within the milieu in which they occur, this longitudinal research adopted a case study methodology to capture complexity and understand the issue within its natural context (Yin, 2003). In an instrumental single-case design (Stake, 1995), a neither unique nor extreme undergraduate OT programme became a vehicle for exploring the educational experiences of students with non-traditional academic backgrounds. Thirteen volunteer participants were drawn from a single cohort in one of the UK’s research intensive universities. Data were collected via initial focus groups exploring pre-entry educational experiences and expectations of studying in HE, reflective diaries recording educational experiences that participants considered significant or meaningful, and one-to-one semi-structured interviews conducted towards the end of participants’ first and third years of study which focused on exploring their learning experiences. Supplementary and contextual data were provided by analysis of institutional, school and departmental documents to provide insight into the culture and practices of the learning context and a progression routes study which considered the entry qualifications, progression and exit awards of four cohorts of OT students from a range of educational backgrounds. The nature of students’ entry qualifications or academic background were found to have no statistically significant impact on whether they passed at Level 4, 5 or 6, or achieved a ‘good’ (upper second or first class) honours degree, although male students and those from amongst the lower socio-economic groups had significantly poorer academic outcomes at all levels of analysis. Theoretical thematic analysis (Braun and Clarke, 2006) of qualitative data underpinned by Bourdieu’s (1990b) theory of practice highlighted that students’ educational experiences were much less influenced by the nature of their academic backgrounds than by the congruence of individual dispositions or habitus, born out of social provenance, with the dominant culture of the particular field of HE they had entered. Emerging codes converged to represent themes suggesting clusters of shared experience amongst some participants, while examination of each individual dataset revealed varying positional tendencies and trajectories within the field. This research highlights the important roles played by academic, linguistic, social and practice-oriented capital in the way that students developed a feel for and learned to play ‘the game’ and present knowledge and understanding in the form ‘legitimated’ by the field. Juxtaposing the nature and expectations of the new field in relation to those previously occupied by individual participants and the established habitus each brought with them helped to illuminate the situation and adds a new dimension to understanding individual experiences of learning in HE.

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Smith, Beatrice L. "A Qualitative Study of Veteran Students' Perspectives of their Academic Experiences." Scholar Commons, 2017. http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd/6760.

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The purpose of this study was to describe and explain Veteran students’ perspectives on academic success as they enter or reenter the university setting. Recent research applied to Veteran students has focused on social integration and to a lesser extent on academic integration and student success. For this qualitative study grounded in social constructivism, the primary method of data collection was the recording, transcription, and analysis of oral interviews with 11 Veteran students. The findings were aligned to the theoretical framework which was adapted from Tinto’s Conditions for Student Success (2012). The results contribute to the current body of scholarly literature that highlights positive attributes that Veteran students possess including leadership skills, maturity, and acquired skills related to global and cultural awareness, and motivation. Other findings include the effectiveness of having specific programming efforts for Veteran students. As for research implications for practice, the results of this study suggest that Veteran students are not necessarily familiar with support services offered. They prefer face-to-face program delivery and may need assistance with meeting University requirements such as providing immunization records, establishing in-state residency, providing sufficient documentation for receiving support services, and options if benefits eligibility run out prior to graduation. Results also reaffirm that colleges and universities need to continue to develop and improve conditions that are known to promote student success for Veteran students.

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Gonzalez, Rosemary. "Reconciling academic and ethnc [sic] identity : Mexican American adolescents' encounter experiences /." May be available electronically:, 2003. http://proquest.umi.com/login?COPT=REJTPTU1MTUmSU5UPTAmVkVSPTI=&clientId=12498.

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Blume, Amabda K. "Diversity-Related Experiences and Academic Performance Among Ethnic Minority College Students." DigitalCommons@USU, 2016. https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/etd/5089.

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Students of color experience numerous educational disadvantages compared to White students. These disadvantages begin in elementary school and continue into college and adulthood. Ethnic minority students typically have less resources available to them than White students and are typically less prepared for college—academically and financially. Once students of color enroll in college, they face additional barriers due to discrimination and negative attitudes towards diversity. These factors play a key role in student engagement and persistence. The campus racial climate of a university, defined as the overall racial environment of the campus, has been shown to strongly influence students’ feelings of belonging to an institution. This study examined the links among experiences of discrimination, campus openness to diversity, multicultural experiences, academic success, and feelings of school belonging for students of color, in order to identify ways in which we can improve the educational experiences of disadvantaged students. The current study found evidence that many diversity-related experiences such as cross-racial interactions, campus racial climate, cocurricular diversity activities, and discrimination, strongly influenced feelings of school belonging for students of color. These findings add support to previous research that suggests that diversity experiences on college campuses play a significant role in making students feel welcome at an institution. However, diversity-related experiences examined in this study appeared to have little correlation to academic performance and retention. School belonging did not correlate with academic performance. It seems students’ grades may be better explained by internal factors, like motivation, rather than external factors, like the campus environment. Perceptions of more negative cross-racial interactions and more discrimination experiences were linked with more negative perceptions of the campus racial climate. Campus racial climate was linked to students’ desire to pursue higher education in the future. As the amount of positive cross-racial interactions students experienced increased, so did the amount of negative cross-racial interactions. This suggests that higher levels of cross-racial interactions result in both positive and negative experiences. More cross-racial interactions and cocurricular diversity activities were associated with more experiences of discrimination. This suggests that students of color are likely to experience discrimination when interacting with persons of different racial backgrounds or engaging in conversations related to diversity. Overall, diversity-related experiences linked to feelings of school belonging more than academic performance. Findings provide guidance for college-based initiatives to improve campus racial climates, in order to create more welcoming environments for students of color.

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Russell, Roger Chesley. "Expatriate managers' immersion in another culture : a phenomenological study of lived experiences /." Full text available, 2006. http://adt.curtin.edu.au/theses/available/adt-WCU20070205.153552.

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Edmonds, Poff Allison Ruth. "Exploring women's life course experiences with weight using story theory." Doctoral diss., University of Central Florida, 2011. http://digital.library.ucf.edu/cdm/ref/collection/ETD/id/4885.

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Themes that were identified relative to participants' experiences with their weight included: changes associated with emotional and physical health; eating patterns associated with multiple and/or changing roles/relationships; and, changes in the environment. An interpretation of the predominant pattern of weight gain included: changes in eating and physical activity that occur during multiple and simultaneous transitional life experiences, primarily in adulthood. The findings suggest that transitional experiences in women's lives - physiological, developmental, relational or environmental - were critical in that they presented risk for behavior changes related to eating and physical activity. The results of this study and the use of story theory have implications for providing individualized, patient-centered lifestyle recommendations for the prevention of unhealthy weight gain.; This qualitative study included women who had gone through the menopausal transition and had experienced obesity, and it focused on their weight histories and experiences across the life course. The goal of this research was to add to the body of knowledge concerning weight gain by applying a novel middle range theory (story theory). Story theory was used to collect and interpret from women's life course stories the critical themes and patterns of their weight gain. Oral accounts were elicited during personal interviews from a convenience sample of ten women recruited from a weight loss and exercise program in Central Florida. Literature focusing on the prevalence of obesity, contributing factors and associated complications, as well as treatment approaches is extensive. A variety of approaches have been proposed to identify factors that contribute to the development of obesity across the lifespan. Ultimately, the goal of these studies is to understand risk factors for weight gain along with corresponding prevention and management strategies. A particular life course approach focuses on critical periods across the life span that may be associated with risk for the development of obesity. For women, puberty, pregnancy and menopause are noted to be critical for weight change in the life course as they are associated with hormonal changes and changes in body composition including fat mass. Story theory was chosen to conceptualize and guide participants through a personal interview in order to share their weight experiences along their life course. Content analysis procedures were used to analyze the data in order to identify themes and corresponding verbatim exemplars. A re-constructed composite story was developed that included excerpts from the participants' stories in order to reveal contextualized results.
ID: 030423138; System requirements: World Wide Web browser and PDF reader.; Mode of access: World Wide Web.; Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Central Florida, 2011.; Includes bibliographical references.
Ph.D.
Doctorate
Nursing

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Kadel, Fallon. "Experiences with social services among homeless LGBTQ young adults." Honors in the Major Thesis, University of Central Florida, 2012. http://digital.library.ucf.edu/cdm/ref/collection/ETH/id/571.

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My findings imply that homeless LGBTQ young adults are very limited in where they can go to find LGBTQ-accepting services. Even though all the shelters that were interviewed claimed they did not discriminate against LGBTQ persons, they do not provide and are not affiliated with services or programs that are considered to be LGBTQ- accepting. Based on the research, shelters would rather have clients conform to their pre-existing structure rather than the shelters conforming to the specific needs of the clients.; The goal of this research is to explore what programs and services are being provided at various homeless shelters in the South Florida area that would appeal to homeless clients who self-identify as a member of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer/questioning (LGBTQ) community, if staff and faculty are trained on how to better address LGBTQ specific issues, how often staff receive LGBTQ sensitivity training, what demographic information is being recorded upon client intake and whether or not homeless LGBTQ young adults would feel safe using their facility when receiving social services. Data for this research was collected through brief, confidential telephone interviews with staff members at twenty-five various social service providers throughout the Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade Counties of South Florida. Short interviews were also conducted with two major LGBTQ advocacy groups in Broward and Miami-Dade County. As a result of completing my research, I have found that no shelters in Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade County provide programs or services that are identified as LGBTQ-friendly. There are a few shelters that are affiliated with the local LGBTQ advocacy groups and will refer LGBTQ clients to these groups for services. Training on cultural diversity is required of all staff members of each social service provider, however in these cultural diversity training sessions, LGBTQ issues are just reviewed and not the main focus of the sessions. In addition to a lack of direct focus on LGBTQ specific issues, these training sessions are infrequent. This research also shows that social services are taking into account demographic information such as race and sex but not really focusing on sexual orientation or gender identity, leaving us with a severe lack of data on where this specific population is going to receive social services.
B.A.
Bachelors
Sciences
Sociology

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Newton, Mandi Boblin Sheryl. "Exploring the experiences of romantic relationships and intimacy for women with anorexia nervosa /." [Hamilton, Ont.] : McMaster University, 2004.

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Aquino-Russell, Catherine Elma. "Understanding the lived experiences of persons who have a different sense of hearing /." Full text available, 2003. http://adt.curtin.edu.au/theses/available/adt-WCU20040219.113721.

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Dastmozd, Rassoul. "African American students' experiences at "urban community college"." Fort Collins, CO. : The author, 2007. http://www.clark.edu/Library/InstitutionalRepository/Rassoul%20Dastmozd%20Dissertation.pdf.

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Walters, Sue. "Bangladeshi pupils : experiences, identity and achievement." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2004. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:7036edf0-2278-4951-b85b-8b147e0a7840.

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This thesis focuses on the experiences of Bangladeshi pupils attending schools in England in the context of their perceived underachievement in the English school system. Statistical studies in the 1970s and 1980s established that Bangladeshi pupils were doing very poorly in school while later surveys in the 1990s continued to show Bangladeshi pupils as low achieving. The study explores 'What is it in the lives, backgrounds and schooling experiences of Bangladeshi pupils that helps and hinders them in learning and achieving in the English school system?' The study also questions the appropriateness of considering pupils in terms of their ethnicity in relation to achievement. An ethnographic case study approach was adopted so that the micro-processes of learning and being a pupil could be examined. Six Bangladeshi children were identified in one predominantly white, rural county. The six children were attending three different schools in the same city. The research was thus conducted in three different classrooms over the period of one year. Data were collected through unstructured observations and in-depth semistructured and unstructured interviews. Families, teachers and other children in the classrooms were included in the research. The case studies show how the children's teachers came to assess the case study children and their learning needs through the ways in which the children took part in teacher-pupil classroom interaction. Each case study shows how these teacher assessments affected each child's access to resources such as support and to opportunities for using language and learning in the classroom. The case study pupils were particularly vulnerable because their under-resourced teachers rarely recognised their English as an Additional Language (EAL) needs. As a result 'within-child' explanations, often connected to mistaken assumptions about the child's home, culture or Muslim identity, were then called on to explain poor work or inattention. The case study children were also vulnerable because their teachers only considered their academic performance in relation to other Bangladeshi or EAL pupils and not in relation to the other White English language background children in the classroom. Where pupil needs were recognised and provided for the focus of support was on modifying behaviour so that pupils behaved like an 'ideal pupil' rather than on developing the appropriate English language needed for accessing the curriculum and becoming or remaining an achieving pupil. Other kinds of support resulted in 'fragmented' learning experiences and being placed in supported lower sets from which movement into higher sets was not possible. The case studies also show how some of the case study children took part in reading interactions with their teachers and appeared as successful readers although they were not able to read for meaning. These particular case studies demonstrate that learning the interaction patterns of reading in the Early Years classroom is not enough to allow a pupil to become a successful reader and that what counts as reading in different contexts and literacy practices needs to be given attention. The case studies also reveal how some of the case study children were hindered in their learning and achievement in school by their lack of access to resources outside school. These included having someone at home to help them with their English school reading and homework as well as their access to pre-school education. The study concludes by suggesting that to focus on achievement in terms of ethnicity conceals the language needs of many Bangladeshi pupils and the role that these play in achievement. To this end a trajectory of what needs to be acquired in terms of language and literacy to be a successful pupil in English schools is provided. The question of why Bangladeshi pupils have been one of the lowest achieving pupil groups in England is then addressed and it is concluded from the data provided by the study that having few economic, social and cultural resources can make it difficult for a pupil to achieve in school, as can being an EAL pupil with unmet language needs or being a pupil with home literacy and learning practices that are different to the literacy and learning practices of English schools. Taken alone none of these situations necessarily predicates underachievement, yet some of the pupils in this study found themselves disadvantages by all three situations.

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Muntean, Brooke. "Academic and Social Experiences of Spanish Native Speakers in an Immersion Program." ScholarWorks@UNO, 2011. http://scholarworks.uno.edu/td/1333.

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The purpose of this research is to explore the academic and social experiences of English learners (ELs) in a Spanish immersion program. The researcher is specifically interested in learning about both the English and Spanish language acquisition of these ELs, as well as their social interactions as this pertains to their academic development. The participants were a sample of 12 Spanish native speakers who were working towards acquiring both social and academic English. Additionally, the researcher interviewed five other students who were in the Spanish immersion program, but who were not included in the ESOL class. These 17 students represented a wide range of English language proficiencies, ranging from emergent to advanced, and were in the ninth grade during the period of data collection. The researcher also interviewed five of these students' teachers, so as to gain a better understanding of the experiences of these heritage speakers. Data were collected over the course of the 2009-2010 school year through observations, interviews, sociograms, and ongoing assessments. These assessments were collected from several sources, including an English language assessment that was administered by the ESOL coordinator, an ongoing school-wide assessment of lexile scores, and an English and Spanish informal reading inventory. The findings of this study were divided into two meta themes of the academic and social experiences of the student participants. In investigating these students' academic experiences, the researcher found that the 22 participants placed a considerable emphasis on language development, particularly in the maintenance of the Spanish native speakers' heritage language. A sizeable need existed, however, for instruction that was better differentiated to the wide range xv of proficiencies that these students demonstrated in both English and Spanish. Through the analysis of the participants' social experiences, the researcher also discovered that a strong sense of community existed amongst the participants in the ESOL and immersion programs. This interconnectedness, however, led to an insular behavior amongst the Spanish native speakers, which further exacerbated the racial tension that existed at Greenwood High. Greenwood as a whole would greatly benefit from the fostering of intercultural sensitivity amongst this multicultural and multilingual student body.

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Muminovic, Fahret. "Perception versus Reality: Assessing the Academic Experiences of the UNO Immigrant Community." ScholarWorks@UNO, 2012. http://scholarworks.uno.edu/honors_theses/18.

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The purpose of my study is to compare the academic experiences of international students with those of domestic students at the University of New Orleans (UNO). Specifically, I aimed the study towards determining international students’ perceptions and expectations of UNO, and assessing whether or not UNO’s ability to meet their expectations had an impact on student success or failure at UNO. To test this, I asked various international and domestic students to respond to a survey consisting of both open-ended and multiple choice questions. The open-ended questions were designed to capture the student experiences on expectations, academic atmosphere, and overall college life, all of which are likely to vary from one student to the other. The multiple choice questions were on student status, tenure, and other items that can easily be classified into distinct categories. I collected and analyzed the surveys over a period of four months to decide which variables in the international students’ experiences affect their academic career. In addition, I questioned if any of the stated variables aided in campus adjustment or helped meet the student expectations regarding school performance and goals. Results indicate that the majority of students, both domestic and international, feel their academic expectations are being met by what UNO has to offer. Those students who feel their expectations (of what UNO would provide them) are not met indicated their academic performance is reflective of their own efforts, an idea that students feel is fostered by UNO. However, there was no significant factor that may have helped or deterred positive experience overall.

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Simpson, Miya T. "Exploring the Academic and Social Transititon Experiences of Ethnic Minority Graduate Students." Diss., Virginia Tech, 2003. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/29992.

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Despite gains made in the educational attainment of ethnic minorities, members of these groups remain underrepresented in higher education. Fewer numbers of minorities at the undergraduate level translates into fewer minority students eligible to pursue graduate and professional degrees. As such, institutions of higher education have begun to recognize the importance of not only ensuring that minority students earn bachelor's degrees, but that they are prepared for success in graduate school. Graduate school preparation programs (GSPPs) were created to improve access, retention, and graduation rates among groups underrepresented in higher education, and prepare them for transition to graduate study. To date, however little research has been conducted to see if GSPPs actually assist minority students in making that transition. This study explored the academic and social transition experiences of minority students to graduate school and analyzed the differences in transition by race (Black/African American, Hispanic/Latino, American Indian/Alaskan Native), type of GSPP experience (no program, research-only program, graduate/professional school seminars only, holistic program), and duration of experience (less than six weeks during summer, 7-12 weeks during summer, summer and academic year). The study employed a national sample of 621 ethnic minority graduate students at nine research extensive universities. Data were collected using the Minority Graduate Student Experiences Survey (MGSES), a 77-item instrument specifically designed for this study. Items for the survey were developed utilizing existing literature on the academic and social integration experiences of graduate students. Overall, ethnic minority graduate students reported favorable academic and social experiences but appear to be more satisfied with their academic experiences than their social experiences. No significant differences were found by race on any of the subscales on the Academic Experiences (AE) scale, however, differences did emerge between Black/African American graduate students and Hispanic/Latino graduate students on one subscale of the Social Experiences (SE) scale. Significant differences were also found by program type and program duration on the AE and SE subscales. Finally, results indicated differences between those who reported no program involvement and those who had been involved in a program of some type on the both the AE and SE scales.
Ph. D.

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Workman, Jamie L. "Undecided First Year College Students' Experiences with Academic Advising at Miami University." Ohio University / OhioLINK, 2013. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1369836009.

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Comfort, Juanita Rodgers. "Negotiating Identity in Academic Writing : Experiences of African American Women Doctoral Students." The Ohio State University, 1995. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1287415909.

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Saha, Neete. "INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS’ EXPERIENCES WITH ACADEMIC ADVISING AT A MID-WESTERNPUBLIC RESEARCH UNIVERSITY." Kent State University / OhioLINK, 2018. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1523394293374372.

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Tyldesley, Alison. "A socio-cultural approach to higher education students' experiences with academic literacies." Thesis, Sheffield Hallam University, 2013. http://shura.shu.ac.uk/7628/.

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The focus of this thesis is an exploration of students' engagement with academic literacies. The study is based on interview data, visual material and objects brought to these interviews by five students on an Education Studies undergraduate degree course. Drawing from the theoretical frame of New Literacy Studies, academic literacies are broadly defined as socially situated literacy practices. The focus is on how and where ‘academic literacies’ happen and how these literacies interact with personal histories and students' broader socio-cultural experience. Three themes: journeying, identity and emotional concerns, have been identified. The themes highlight the complex, nuanced and socially-embedded nature of the participants’ academic lives. In particular, Bakhtin’s notion of chronotopes is drawn on to illuminate the patterning of experiences in time and space. The findings provide insights into students’ broader literacy practices moving beyond the current focus on academic writing within the academic literacies field.

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Lafortune, Joshua Bryan. "A Look into the Lived Experiences of College Students with Asperger's Disorder." Antioch University / OhioLINK, 2013. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=antioch1370614000.

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Bubriski, Anne. "Interracial Lesbian and Gay Couples: Navigating Private and Public Experiences." Doctoral diss., University of Central Florida, 2013. http://digital.library.ucf.edu/cdm/ref/collection/ETD/id/5775.

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This study explores the private and public experiences of Black/White interracial lesbian and gay couples. Drawing from the theoretical frameworks of critical race theory and intersectional feminism, this research focuses on how the intersections of gender, race, and sexuality influence relationship experiences and family processes in both private and public spaces for interracial same-sex couples. This study is based on 19 in-depth interviews with individuals in Black/White lesbian and gay relationships. Participants' stories highlight intersectionality in terms of the ways interracial lesbian and gay couples navigate these interpersonal and public spaces. Participant experiences suggest that the dichotomy of private/public is often blurred, and these two spaces frequently overlap and intersect. Often what participants experience in public is then discussed and interpreted within private spaces. It is in the private space that participants work through complex issues in order to present themselves as a couple in public. Participants frequently used their public and interpersonal experiences with their partners to be reflexive of their own understandings of the social world, relationship processes, and love. Given the lack of research on same-sex, interracial families, this study makes an important contribution to sociological research on families, LGTBQ studies, and race studies.
Ph.D.
Doctorate
Sociology
Sciences
Sociology

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Morrow, Patricia. "Neurophenomenological Methods: Experiences of Earth and Space in Simulation." Doctoral diss., University of Central Florida, 2013. http://digital.library.ucf.edu/cdm/ref/collection/ETD/id/5990.

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The present study explores the nature and structure of spiritual and aesthetic experiences through the interdisciplinary application of neurophenomenology (NP). This approach merges aspects of psychology, neurophysiology, and phenomenology into a unified methodology. The study is nested within a larger project, Space, Science, and Spirituality, and as such, it carries a common goal to use simulation to evoke spiritual and aesthetic responses similar to those expressed by astronauts and cosmonauts. Careful analysis of previous work in NP provided methodological “lessons learned”, which guided the experimental design, execution, and analysis of the present study. The data collected provides support for experience as a phenomenon that can be studied through empirical means. Further, the articulation of spiritual and aesthetic experiences akin to astronaut experiences corresponds to specific neurological and psychological indicators. Among those indicators are differences in EEG measures during simulation time relative to expressions of spiritual experience following the simulation and changes in visual processing across theta, alpha, and beta signals as correlated with self-identification. These findings support an embodied theory of experience that incorporates memory, executive function, perception, and consciousness. In addition to its academic contribution, this research holds implications for commercial space flight, long-term space missions, post-traumatic stress disorder therapies, and the entertainment industry.
Ph.D.
Doctorate
Psychology
Sciences
Modeling and Simulation

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47

Day, Deborah A. "Factors in the Undergraduate Experience that Influence Young Alumni Giving." Diss., Virginia Tech, 2018. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/82966.

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Public funding of higher education has declined substantially in recent years (Alexander, 2000; Esposito, 2010; Mortenson, 2012; NACUBO, 2011; Redd, 2014; Serna and Harris, 2014), while operating costs and demand have increased (Desrochers and Kirshstein, 2012; Mortenson, 2012; Mumper and Freeman, 2011; NCSES, 2014; Serna and Harris, 2014; St. John and Parsons, 2004), forcing institutions to look for alternative sources of revenue (NCSL, 2010). One such alternative source of revenue is alumni giving (Monks, 2003; Archibald and Feldman, 2012; CAE, 2014). Research has shown that the factors that influence alumni financial giving include demographic characteristics (Hoyt, 2004; Monks, 2003), academic experiences (Monks, 2003; Pumerantz, 2005), social experiences (Monks, 2005; Thomas and Smart, 2005; Volkwein, 1989), and alumni participation variables (Gaier, 2005; Gallo and Hubschman, 2003). Although there is ample evidence to support the importance of alumni giving, researchers have not examined the factors that influence young alumni giving. This study sought to determine if demographic characteristics, academic experiences and social experiences explain the variance in alumni giving to their alma mater within five years of graduating. I conducted a case study at a single institution and used Volkwein's (1989) model of giving coupled with data from the 2011 National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) that captured alumni's demographic characteristics and measured their academic and social experiences while in college. I merged NSSE with data about giving that I retrieved from the Development Office at the selected institution. The variables included five Demographic items, fourteen Academic Experience items with numerous sub-items, and twelve Social Experience items with numerous sub-items. Exploratory factor analysis revealed five academic factors and four social factors. The results of a multiple regression analysis revealed that only one factor, Class Assignments, explained the variance in young alumni giving, but it may have been spurious. It would appear that demographic characteristics and academic and social factors determined from NSSE are not particularly useful in explaining giving by young alumni. Indeed, only 14.5% of participants actually made a donation within five years of graduating. Clearly more research is needed to expand upon the literature about alumni giving.
Ph. D.

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48

Abou-El-Kheir, Amir. "A phenomenological study of Qatari student experiences of identities, languages and academic achievement." Thesis, King's College London (University of London), 2014. https://kclpure.kcl.ac.uk/portal/en/theses/a-phenomenological-study-of-qatari-student-experiences-of-identities-languages-and-academic-achievement(d2b6723c-15f8-4260-8d02-eaabe6a54183).html.

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The thesis investigates the lived experiences of Qatari university students with regards to education, language and identity. Qatar provides a unique site for such research, since it has a strange demographic situation in which Qataris are a minority compared to foreigners; English is dominant when compared to Arabic; and the education system of Qatar is being revolutionized continuously in the 21st century. This context has motivated the study to conduct an inquiry into how young Qatari students experience these phenomena in their lifeworlds. The research questions of the thesis are concerned with how the participants understand themselves; how they experience their educational activities; what their perspective is about academic achievement; and how they see the language situation in Qatar and how it influences them. The methodology chosen for the study is a phenomenological interview-based design. For reasons described, the theoretical background that seemed most useful for such a project is interpretivist-constructivist because the main line of inquiry is about the lived and shared experiences of the participants. Many methodological measures are taken to ensure that the results of the thesis are trustworthy. As the data is analyzed, a concept of identity is construed, based on the relevant literature and the initial review of the interviews, and it is applied to the analyses in relation to education, achievement and language. As the findings point out, the participants of the study experience a complicated process of negotiation in multiple layers of social reality and multiple circles of belongings in living through the complex and unique socio-cultural situations of present day Qatar.

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49

Harris-Williams, Cassandra. "African American College Students' Perceptions of Valuable College Experiences Relative to Academic Performance." Kent State University / OhioLINK, 2011. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1304473859.

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50

Radtke, Michelle. "Career and technical education real-world experiences strenghten the understanding of academic standards." Online version, 2008. http://www.uwstout.edu/lib/thesis/2008/2008radtkem.pdf.

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Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Academic experiences'

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