Browsing by Subject "Graduate education"
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Item Examining the experiences and perceptions of Latino males pursuing a PhD in the social sciences/humanities at a predominately White, research-intensive, public university(2014-05) Gonzalez, Manuel Antonio, IV; Saenz, Victor B.The struggles of Latino males along the education pipeline have been well documented in recent history. Despite this increased research focus, gaps continue to exist in the literature on Latino males in education settings. Currently, the literature predominately centers on the Latino male experience in the K-12, community college, and 4-year college environments. The educational experiences of Latino males in doctoral education settings have not yet been presented. This study examines and provides insight into the Latino male doctoral student journey by detailing Latino male doctoral student experiences and perceptions at a predominately White, research-intensive, public university. In light of the deficit model research surrounding men of color, it is imperative to present the narratives of successful, high achieving Latino males along their pursuit of a doctoral degree. This study critically examines the experiences and perceptions of Latino males in pursuit of a PhD within the humanities or social sciences at a predominately White, research-intensive, public university. The mission of the study was to shed light on thematic influences, factors, and emotions that led these individuals to take interest and pursue a doctoral degree. The study's findings are presented under the lens of Latino critical race theory and gender role conflict in order to develop a thorough understanding of the internal and external influences on the Latino male doctoral student experience. My dissertation's unique contributions are its addition of the Latino male doctoral student experience to the literature on Latino males in educational contexts. Furthermore, this study's unique contributions include a new perspective on how Latino males perceive their gender roles and responsibilities as successful doctoral students. The Latino male doctoral students in this study displayed resilience during moments of vulnerability and embrace responsibility during challenging circumstances. These actions were efforts to maintain control of their doctoral education experience and to create a new image for Latino masculinity. As the findings indicate, the Latino male doctoral student experience at a large predominately White, research-intensive, public university is filled with complexity, adversity, and determination.Item Managing academic and personal life in graduate studies : an interactive qualitative analysis of graduate student persistence and transformation(2011-08) Winston, Rachel Anne; Roueche, John E.; Northcutt, Norvell; McClenney, Kay; McCombs, Maxwell; Butler, Jess; Reddick, Richard; McCoy, DannyThis study examines the impact of academic and personal life on graduate student persistence and transformation. Of particular interest are the relationships, emotions, and life management skills required throughout the graduate experience and how socialization, emotional intelligence, and advising aid students through their academic program. With an average of seven to eight years required to complete a doctoral program, life happens. Students enter and leave relationships, children are born, family members have emergencies, health issues arise, and emotional growth takes place. Therefore, students transform not only academically, but in many ways. These are intertwined as evidenced by the data-derived system representation. The importance of understanding the interconnected links in graduate experience spans academic, social, economic, and societal spheres. Each year hundreds of thousands of students enter graduate school. However, for doctoral students, there is an enormous gap between acceptance and completion. After seven years, approximately 50 percent complete their program and after ten years the rate climbs to only 57 percent (Council of Graduate Schools, 2010). This study offers a systemic representation and a four-stage model of graduate student development, incorporating student-identified factors: Faculty Impact, Life Management, Relationships, Playing the Game, Growth/Transformation, Emotions, and Reward/Purpose. Stage I: Orientation and Socialization Stage II: Adjustment and Transition Stage III: Navigation and Transformation Stage IV: Completion and Advancement The results, presented as a systems-based model, along with analysis, may be used to support faculty, advisors, and administrators in creating better advising, orientation, evaluation, and support systems. Departmental policies may be improved to identify at-risk students, provide mentorship opportunities, or obtain continual feedback to understand the underlying factors that may stop students from progressing. This research might also help identify students during the application/admission process. The methodological framework used to create the system produced in this study is Interactive Qualitative Analysis (Northcutt & McCoy, 2004), a methodology that provides the quantitative rigor of algorithmically generated data analysis, combined with the qualitative descriptiveness of interviews, in order to provide insights into the drivers of graduate school persistence. This methodology uses a systematic, protocol-driven research procedure to construct a unified, descriptive diagram to illustrate the phenomenon.Item Reliability and validity of the Graduate Student Behaviors Inventory (GSBI)(Texas Tech University, 2007-12) Boroda, Allison D.; Olivarez, Arturo; Stevens, Tara; Fedler, Clifford B.; Hamman, DouglasThe purpose of the current study was the generation of an instrument to measure graduate degree-seeking behaviors. Goals included the establishment of strong psychometric properties through evidence of face validity, construct validity, discriminant and convergent validity, and predictive validity. Additionally, a goal of the study was to establish an instrument with good internal consistency reliability of the subscales. Analysis of the data with 247 graduate students at a large MidWestern University and a response rate of approximately 16% indicated stong validity of the Graduate Student Behaviors Inventory (GSBI). Cronbach's alphas for the subscales ranged from 0.58 to 0.95 indicating moderate to high reliability for the instrument. Confirmatory factor analyses indicated strong construct, discriminant and convergent validity evidence. Further, Structural Equation Modeling suggested predictive validity of Psychological factor indicators for students' satisfaction with their graduate program experiences. Suggestions include providing interim measures of students' emotional attributes of the graduate degree program each semester in order to gauge their intent to persist with the degree.