Search Constraints
Filtering by:
Campus
Sacramento
Remove constraint Campus: Sacramento
Collection
Thesis
Remove constraint Collection: Thesis
« Previous |
1 - 10 of 4,419
|
Next »
Number of results to display per page
Search Results
- Creator:
- Johnson, Ryne L.
- Description:
- A Certified Apprenticeship program comprises a partnership between private industry that serves as the program sponsor providing on-the-job (OJT) training opportunities, and public education agencies that provide Related Supplemental Instruction (RSI). Most certified programs require 4-5 years of combined OJT and RSI time, during which participants are paid while they train. Those who complete a certified apprenticeship program earn the title of Journeyman and become eligible for commensurate wages and benefits. These advantages lead supporters to tout apprenticeship as “the other four-year degree”, stating that it is a viable pathway to the middle class. Each certified program is required to follow guidelines for the recruitment of minorities and women, clearly stipulated in the State of California Plan for Equal Opportunity in Apprenticeship. This quantitative study examined participant data from eight of the largest apprenticeship programs in Northern California over a fifteen-year period (2000-2014) to determine if recruitment efforts, reflected in participation and completion records, align with the mission and vision originally designed by the State for the advancement of people of color and women in the public education-supported trades. My study asked three research questions, each considering equality of access and program success from different perspectives. For my first question, I compared reported participation levels by race and gender in each program against the criteria incorporated in California’s plan and summarized results in a series of tables and maps showing deficiencies, by program, in targeted race and gender participation levels across the 46-county Northern California region. For my second question, I completed a series of chi-square goodness of fit evaluations for race and gender across all programs. For my third question, I created a logistic regression model to determine which, if any, participant characteristics predicted program success. Overall, I found that people of color and women were underserved by the study group programs. Exceptions to this finding were in programs associated with generally lower paying career opportunities. Interestingly, my regression model showed that Latinos, though underrepresented, were more likely to successfully complete programs than Caucasians. My study has significant implications for state and federal administrators of apprenticeship programs as well as for the development of future policies designed to expand apprenticeship opportunities. If Certified Apprenticeship is going to fulfill its promise to be “the other four-year degree” recognized programs must serve all candidates to the level required by regulation. Policy recommendations include reviewing existing recruiting and mentorship practices to ensure they are inclusive to women and people of color, interviewing candidates who dropped out of programs to determine what factors may contribute most greatly to program failure, and increasing outreach to veterans to expand awareness of Certified Apprenticeship programs.
- Resource Type:
- Dissertation
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Educational Leadership
- Creator:
- Medley, Carson David
- Description:
- Too many Division II male student athlete collegiate basketball players are not graduating from college. In 2016, the Federal Graduation Rates (FGR) of Division II college basketball players (N=3,245) was 46%. This phenomenological qualitative study seeks to better understand what effect the redshirt year has on the identity, social, emotional, academic, and athletic development of college student athletes by interviewing 12 of the current student athletes on a Division II basketball team who either redshirted or are in the process of redshirting. The findings revealed that transformational leadership focusing on the holistic development (identity, social, emotional, academic, and athletic development) of the redshirt student athlete by employing the Social Emotional Academic Athletic model (SEAA) will lead to feelings of belonging and commitment that will increase the overall Division II NCAA graduation rates for all student athletes. The findings have led to the following conclusion: Committed male student athlete basketball players redshirting their freshman year made successful transitions in identity from high school to college; Committed male student athlete basketball players redshirting their freshman year showed positive social, emotional, academic, and athletic development; and committed male student athlete basketball players redshirting in this program have higher graduation rates based on the positive effects the redshirt year had on their identity, social, emotional, academic, and athletic development.
- Resource Type:
- Dissertation
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Educational Leadership
- Creator:
- Olsen, Susan Nisonger
- Description:
- Throughout the United States, urban schools and districts with high-poverty and highly diverse learners have historically struggled with chronically low student achievement. Generally, their initiatives to rectify this problem have focused on implementing instructional reform goals for improving student achievement by ensuring all students have access and opportunity for rigorous learning for college and career success. Many districts and schools have devoted significant time and resources aimed at teacher professional development and training. This study took a qualitative analysis approach to understanding the growing use of instructional coaching programs to improve teaching and learning in high-poverty, highly diverse schools in three Northern California School Districts. This study addressed the lack of empirical research on the people in the profession of instructional coaching by gaining insight into instructional coaches working in roles that were focused on instructional reform in schools and districts with high-poverty and highly diverse student populations. Through the use of focus groups, this study investigated experiences and perspectives of K-12 public school instructional coaches (ICs) in three urban Northern California school districts. This study used the frameworks of guided participation (Rogoff, 1990), Billett’s (2004) learning through work perspectives, and Lave’s (1991) situating learning in communities of practice to understand instructional coaches’ experiences as they learned and made sense of the activities and duties of instructional coaching in high-poverty, highly diverse urban schools. Additionally, this study was focused on addressing the need for further understanding of the experiences and perspectives of ICs and how they made sense of and understood their role in relation to district instructional reform initiatives using culturally relevant instructional practices (Ladson-Billings, 1985). The findings of this study were that ICs do not receive formal training, they struggle with organizational dysfunction, and they rely on their social networks to make sense of their roles and responsibilities. Additionally, ICs do not address the socio-cultural needs of students in their coaching practices and instead reproduced the status quo, reinforcing teaching practices that marginalize students in highly diverse schools. This study recommends a learning through work coaching pedagogy using guided participation (Rogoff, 1990) and critical stance coaching (Teemant, et al., 2014) as a promising approach to more effective instructional coaching programs in high-poverty, highly diverse urban schools, and districts.
- Resource Type:
- Dissertation
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Educational Leadership
- Creator:
- Vang, Kong Meng
- Description:
- The purpose of the study was to explore factors that impacted school connectedness for high school (grades 9 to 12) students identified as Emotionally Disturbed (ED). The study utilized a mixed methods design. The study highlighted the narratives and experiences of students identified as ED and how those narratives and experiences impacted their sense of school connectedness. The inclusion of student experiences and narratives provides a platform for dialogue between policymakers and its primary stakeholders: the students. Further, the study included surveys that examined the relationships between variables of interest. There were 20 participants who were interviewed and 33 participants who completed the surveys. Through qualitative analysis, the study found that students identified as ED valued school connectedness. There were four positive themes that promoted school connectedness and four negative themes that hindered school connectedness. The positive themes were positive teacher relationship, supportive and caring friends, participation in school activities, and a supportive school community. Emergent negative themes that contributed to poor school connectedness were social isolation, stigma, bullying, and negative teacher relationships. Quantitative analysis revealed a significant positive relationship between school connectedness and behavioral engagement, student participation in the decision making process and behavioral engagement, cognitive engagement and student participation in the decision making process, stereotype threat and cognitive engagement, and resiliency and stereotype threat. Overall, results from the study aligned with previous studies involving school connectedness with unique considerations for students identified as ED. Implications for policymakers and educational leaders are discussed.
- Resource Type:
- Dissertation
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Educational Leadership
- Creator:
- Lucyga, Susan J. T.
- Description:
- The purpose of this qualitative research study is to explore the classroom experiences of Black community college students and White community college faculty to possibly uncover barriers and provide suggestions to achieve a transformative learning environment. This research centers Black student narratives and then compares the findings with the classroom experiences of White faculty. This study hopes to increase the body of knowledge about inherent and unnoticed barriers in the classroom that impede the academic success of Black community college students. Critical Race Theory and Black Critical Theory are the study’s two theoretical frameworks. Based on the findings, I have proposed a model titled Positionality Consciousness: Working toward Creating a Transformative Classroom. The model is made up of four components: denial, acceptance, personal awareness, and humility and love. This model offers a perspective whereby educators can continually interrogate their practices and positionality. Only by continual self-reflection and subsequent action can there be any hope of achieving justice and equity in the classroom for all students.
- Resource Type:
- Dissertation
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Educational Leadership
- Creator:
- Tabrizi, Setareh Haddad
- Description:
- The topic of this study was multiliteracy competencies and multiliteracy centers on California State University (CSU) campuses. In this study, multiliteracies were defined as WORDS: writing, oral, reading, digital and social competencies. The purpose of this research is first, to determine California State University (CSU) students’ perceptions of multiliteracy competencies and what services they recommend would benefit them. Second, to determine what are significant predictors that lead to strong writing, oral, reading, digital and social literacies for students. Third, to evaluate CSU writing center coordinators’ perceptions of expanding writing center services to include multiliteracy support for students. There are four total research questions that drive this study, three qualitative and one quantitative. This study utilized a concurrent triangulation mixed methods approach. This meant that both qualitative and quantitative data was collected simultaneously from participants and the results were triangulated with the theoretical frameworks and the literature review to demonstrate a well-rounded viewpoint of the topic (Boudah, 2011; Creswell & Plano Clark, 2011). Two surveys were created, one distributed to CSU students and the other distributed to CSU writing center coordinators. The students’ survey contained both qualitative and quantitative questions while the coordinators’ survey contained only qualitative questions. There were four research question for this study, three qualitative and one quantitative, regarding students’ multiliteracy attitudes, recommended services and what variables can predict strong competencies in writing, oral, reading, digital and social literacies. The final research question explored writing center coordinators’ perceptions regarding a writing center expansion to include multiliteracy assistance and what obstacles they could potentially face with this expansion. The results indicated that many students felt positive and negative regarding their multiliteracy competencies and felt they would benefit from increased resources, workshops, classes and tutoring. Practice and instruction in the classroom and from a tutor were significant predictors that led to strong multiliteracy competencies in the five focus areas. Writing center coordinators revealed that they already provide some multiliteracy assistance with tutoring and workshops but they are not explicitly offering multiliteracy tutoring yet. Finally, their responses revealed that without proper resources, funding and institutional support they will not likely expand services despite the fact that they felt positive regarding a multiliteracy center expansion. A total of seven recommendations for action emerged from this study. Five from the qualitative findings and two recommendations emerged from the quantitative findings. These recommendations included: Instructional support, faculty professional development, multiliteracy center tutoring, increased communication between faculty and mental health services, increased funding and institutional support as well as multiliteracy practice and instruction in the classroom and finally, with a tutor. It is up to instructors, writing center coordinators and administration to execute these recommendations and implement them on CSU campuses for students. Although many themes emerged from the findings, not all of them fit within the scope of this study and therefore are potential suggested areas of future research. Educators could explore training and Multiliteracy Across the Curriculum (MAC) professional development, examine CSU Channel Islands as a multiliteracy center within the CSU system. Additionally, a set alone study that examines faculty and administrations’ attitudes towards multiliteracy instruction and support, a study of students’ anxiety factors in the classroom as well as examining students’ multiliteracy competencies by using pre- and post-tests to determine at what frequency and duration students need to receive multiliteracy practice and instruction in order to improve their competencies.
- Resource Type:
- Dissertation
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Educational Leadership
- Creator:
- Yang, Wyler
- Description:
- Under a Critical Race Theory with a class analysis (Dumas, 2013; Leonardo, 2012), this phenomenology explored the lived experiences of Mong college undergraduate students who rely on Federal Pell Grants and investigated how they negotiated economic challenges while pursuing a college degree. This research utilized Giorgi’s (2009) Descriptive Phenomenological Method to explore the experiences of undergraduate Mong college students. This research utilized Giorgi’s (2009) Descriptive Phenomenology Method to explore the experiences of undergraduate Mong college students by focusing on three research questions. 1. How do Mong undergraduate college students describe their experience utilizing their Federal Pell Grants? 2. What other streams of financial support do low-income Mong undergraduate college students have available while pursuing their degree? 3. What do Mong undergraduate college students express as necessary measures to improve their current economic condition? A general structure emerged for each research question that described the experiences of undergraduate Mong students who are recipients of Federal Pell Grants. This study recommends higher education institutions, policymakers, and administrators to be critical in their assessment of the needs and assistance of Mong college students.
- Resource Type:
- Dissertation
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Educational Leadership
- Creator:
- DeVere, Daniel J.
- Description:
- This qualitative study critically examines the academic, cultural, and social experiences of Punjabi Sikh American students in a Northern California community college to identify factors that promote or inhibit their progress and success. The theoretical framework guiding the research included AsianCrit, a variant of Critical Race Theory, and Model Minority Theory. Employing a phenomenological approach, individual, face-to-face, in-depth interviews of ninety minutes in length were conducted with a purposeful sample of twelve Sikh college students that included students of both genders. Thematic analysis was conducted on interview transcripts. Four themes describe academic factors that affect Sikh students' progress and success: A lack of college readiness; Language and culturally-embedded curricular content challenges; Sources of academic support; and Interactions with instructors. Cultural factors affecting Sikh college students' progress and success are of four types: Assumptions related to Model Minority Theory; Parental expectations and influence; Significant cultural values, including familial connection, respect, and financial security; and Cultural accommodations and adaptations. Student narratives concerning social factors that affect them yielded two themes: Social relationships and Racism/Concern for Personal and Family Safety. Findings demonstrate that microaggressions against Sikh students occur in all three aspects of their lives explored in this study, a factor that inhibits their academic progress. A Critical Race Theory lens reveals that Sikh students routinely experience discrimination from instructors, counselors, and other students. Applying AsianCrit specifically identifies microaggressions based on Model Minority Theory assumptions. Sikh students draw strength from their close-knit familial and cultural connections. Their parents are a significant source of support. For some, cultural pride and a sense of belonging within the family and the culture are a platform from which they operate. These factors promote their progress and success.
- Resource Type:
- Dissertation
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Educational Leadership
9. Learning transfer in a public agency : a context for situational leadership and situated learning
- Creator:
- Hayes, Roderick Jay
- Description:
- The purpose of this study was twofold: a) to understand learning transfer relative to teamwork competency among supervisors who have participated in a professional development program; and, b) to evaluate the relationship between the professional development curriculum and supervisors’ decision-making. The phenomenon of learning transfer is an “active process” whereby employees apply what is learned in training situations, to new situations and to learn related information more quickly (Bransford, et al., p. 17). “It is estimated that only 10% to 13% of learned skills from staff training programs are transferred to the work environment (Austin & Hopkins, 2004, p. 191).” Six supervisors and eight social workers described their experiences of teamwork and professional development within a public human services agency (PHHS). Using a phenomenological methodology to collect and analyze data, four focus groups and one interview were conducted in order for the supervisors and social workers to describe their experiences separately. Data analysis entailed categorizing into codes and then identifying salient themes from the data. Four themes emerged in this study: (1) Precedent, (2) Opportunity, (3) Initiative, and (4) Reward. The theme of Precedent indicated that the PHHS management do not consider teamwork and professional development priority topics. The theme of Opportunity indicated that supervisors and social workers agree that more professional development opportunities need to be made available. The theme of initiative indicated that supervisors and social workers are not creating their own teamwork or professional development activities. The theme of Reward indicated that supervisors and social workers expect job promotion as a natural outcome to their work. The study concluded with recommendations to the public human services agency for enhancing their professional development program. One recommendation is the revision of the professional development curriculum with more emphasis on leadership literature. Another recommendation calls for the introduction of the science of learning and teaching into the professional development curriculum.
- Resource Type:
- Dissertation
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Educational Leadership
- Creator:
- Spencer, Delmy Gabriela
- Description:
- The purpose of this qualitative study is to shed light on the experiences of six Latina California Community Colleges (CCC) administrators and the factors that contributed to their success. More specifically, the study examines how the elements of overt discrimination and covert discrimination (microaggressions) in the administrators’ work environment impacted their leadership development and career advancement. It also looks at the strategies of resilience that help Latina administrators succeed in their leadership positions despite their underrepresentation. The qualitative research design for this study captured the women’s stories and descriptions of racial microaggressions in their work environment. This study used a phenomenological approach because it focuses on “how people describe things and experience them through their senses” (Patton, 2002, p. 105). This particular approach helped describe the meaning behind research participants’ lived experiences of a phenomenon (Creswell, 2005). The researcher used critical race theory (CRT) and Latino critical race theory (LatCrit) as frameworks to analyze the impact of microaggressions on the Latina California community college administrators. Narratives were used as the primary method to gather data that address the relationship between racial microaggressions and work environment climate. A narrative is a methodological tool used to give a voice to a subordinate group (Aguirre, 2000). Research participants were given the opportunity to discuss their lived experiences by telling the stories of the subtle forms of racism or discrimination they experience.
- Resource Type:
- Dissertation
- Campus Tesim:
- Sacramento
- Department:
- Educational Leadership