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Browsing by Author "Lehmann, Jean P., advisor"

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    Colorado's secondary school programs of agricultural education: perceptions of sustainability
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 2008) Enns, Kellie Jo, author; Lehmann, Jean P., advisor
    Agricultural education (Ag Ed) is faced with unique challenges; competition for scarce resources, teacher retention, and quality programmatic offerings are dilemmas within the profession. A rapidly changing agriculture industry and societal shift away from agrarian lifestyles complicates the Ag Ed culture. These challenges indicate it is a prudent time to study sustainability of Ag Ed in Colorado. The purpose of the study was fourfold: first to understand if Colorado Ag Ed programs are perceived sustainable; second, to determine the characteristics of important resources in agricultural education; third, to determine the association of resources to program sustainability; and finally, to understand demographics that might predict sustainability. Knowledge of sustainability may help policy makers to develop models for programs consistent with state and national strategic growth initiatives. Perceptions were gathered from three groups of Ag Ed stakeholders in the 2007-2008 school-year: teachers (n = 96), administrators (n = 64) and community members (n = 65). Agricultural education in Colorado is perceived to be sustainable. Sustainability was ranked on a 10 point scale (1 = Very Sustainable to 10 = Very Unsustainable), M = 2.32, N = 204, SD = 1.37. Program resources were characterized according to the perceptions of stakeholders. Utilizing Spearman's Rho statistic, the effectiveness of Ag Ed resources of Organization and Instructional Content (rs = .399), FFA and Leadership Development (rs = .305), SAE and Experiential Learning (rs = .403), the Agriculture Teacher (rs = .337), Program Management (rs = .453) and Program Support (rs = .454) were positively correlated to sustainability. The Kruskal-Wallis test determined if differences existed in the three stakeholder groups perceptions of sustainability. The groups showed no significant differences regarding perception of Ag Ed program sustainability, χ2 (2, N = 204) = 4.875, p = .087. Demographic data and sustainability perceptions were utilized in a simultaneous multiple regression equation. The combination of variables to predict sustainability was statistically significant, F(5,134) = 7.167, p < .000. Demographic characteristics of School Enrollment, Ag Ed Enrollment, and Ag Industry Outlook significantly predict sustainability when all variables are included. The adjusted R2 value was .172. This indicates that this model explains about 17 percent of the variance in sustainability.
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    Lessons learned from the case study of a university-based teacher education program for second career adults: stakeholder views over 18 years
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 2007) Butler, Alexandra S., author; Lehmann, Jean P., advisor; Uchiyama, Kay, advisor
    In recent years the need for teachers has brought discussions about alternative teacher training models to the forefront (Huling, 2001; Levine, 2006). This study was conducted to understand best practices related to one type of alternative teacher education program; a fast track university graduate education program for second-career adults. The researcher used an embedded case study methodology with four stakeholder groups; program graduates (n=101 or 50% of the available sample), program directors (n=6), university administrators (n=6), and selected employers of graduates (n=6). The graduates completed an online survey addressing their satisfaction in the program. The researcher conducted hour-long interviews with the other three participant groups to further explore factors that either positively or negatively affected the program's implementation. Additionally the researcher reviewed program archival materials.
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    Qualitative interpretative case study: disability documentation on one community college campus
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 2008) Awoniyi, Beatrice Ojuolape, author; Lehmann, Jean P., advisor; Davies, Timothy Gray, advisor
    The relationship between disability service providers and the students they serve is complex. What seems to connect them initially is the documentation that students provide when they request services. Few studies have focused on how disability service providers use the documentation they receive to make eligibility and accommodation decisions. This interpretative case study examined multiple perspectives on disability documentation. It examined how eligibility and accommodation decisions are made based on documentation.
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    The process of designing and constructing an accessible residence hall for people with disabilities on a public university campus
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 2008) Wernsman, M. Gayle, author; Lehmann, Jean P., advisor
    One of the great challenges to older universities and colleges is that of fashioning campuses that once disregarded and discouraged people with disabilities into welcoming and inclusive environments. Handicap accessibility can impact a university's recruitment of students, faculty and staff, building costs and budgets, the raising of public and private funding, and the marketability of the campus for events beyond academic uses, such as conventions, conferences, meetings and entertainment. This qualitative case study examined the process by which physical barrier removal and compliance with accessibility codes, such as the Americans with Disabilities Act, is accomplished on a public university campus and to identify the individuals who most influence these projects. The study was bounded by and limited to a newly constructed residence hall on the campus of Colorado State University. Methodology included three types of data gathering: interviews, site visit, and archival and documents search. The list of interview participants evolved in a chain or snowball sampling method. Data reduction was done by inductive analysis. What emerged is a story revealing the chronology of the funding, design and construction process of a residence hall. The apportionment and sequence of the responsibilities of each participant and their degree of influence on accessibility are discussed. Information gained from site visits and document findings was worked into this descriptive narrative. Themes that emerged were related to construction funding, bid proposals, accessibility issues and the experience and training of those interviewed. Also identified as themes were the construction of a full-scale model of a typical student room and the issue of why students with disabilities choose to live in an older dormitory. Findings are generalized into suggestions that administrators, architects, designers and facility planners can use to improve future university construction.