Theses and Dissertations

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Open Access
A biographical study of namesake John F. Tinker on the landmark legal case Tinker et al. v. The Des Moines Independent Community School District et al.
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2008) Wolfe-Dawson, Leigh, author; Harbour, Clifford P., advisor
The purpose of this biographical study was to understand the effect of the case Tinker et al. v. The Des Moines Independent Community School District et al. circa 1965-1969, on namesake John F. Tinker, circa 2008. John Tinker was involved in a landmark 1969 United States Supreme Court decision nearly 40 years ago. He was 15 years old when he wore a black armband to school to protest the Vietnam War; he is 57 now. In legal and educational environments, Tinker is known as a name on a school-related legal decision, but there is a person behind that name. While there is abundant information about his legal case, not much is known about the namesake. This study attempted to understand how Tinker experienced his legal case and how he understands its effect on his life. This study centered on John Tinker's own voice. Through in-depth, open-ended, one-on-one, face-to-face, voice-to-voice, and computer-to-computer conversations, an account of his life using his own words emerged. What was discovered was that Tinker is a multi-faceted person and the Tinker legal case is only one aspect of his full and unique life. This study is important because Tinker is a living being who as a teenager was involved in an activity that culminated in a landmark decision by the United States Supreme Court. That legal decision holds today-40 years later-and affects every public school student in the United States.
Open Access
A bricolage of narratives about teaching college in prison: interpreting through a performance text
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2008) Spaulding, Susanna Belle, author; Harbour, Clifford P., advisor
The purpose of this narrative inquiry was to explore and understand how a selected group of educators made meaning of their experiences teaching college courses in prison. This phenomenon was framed by the tension between two contrasting conceptualizations of education: education as a means of social control and education as the practice of freedom. The data were in-depth stories collected from a small number of participants through unstructured interviews. As I identified narrative structures from my interview transcripts for analysis, three transcendent themes emerged that I used to create a coherent composite story, or bricolage, about these lived experiences. Using a feminist lens, I examined how these educators worked in a borderland, negotiated power relations within this environment, and made personal transformations. To convey an impression of these real-life experiences, I presented the data in a performance text leaving intact large segments of my participants' interview dialogue. The prison offered a rich discursive environment for this study since its hierarchical power structure that focuses on social control contrasts with the democratic classroom that the participants attempted to create. Within the stormy, dangerous, and frustrating prison setting, these educators encountered unique situations for which they were often unprepared and were caught between competing conceptualizations of education.
Open Access
A case study: organizational culture of a division I intercollegiate athletic department
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2015) Powers, Shannon, author; Makela, Carole, advisor; Enns, Kellie, committee member; Foley, Jeffrey, committee member; Shue, Carolyn, committee member
A major barrier to the reform of intercollegiate athletics is its cultural significance in higher education. Major culture change has not occurred and few studies have examined culture within Division I athletic departments (Schroeder, 2010). The specific aim of this study was to understand how the following elements of a collegiate athletic department interact with one another: institutional culture, leadership and power, internal and the external environments. Data collection included 42 interviews; an 8 day on-campus observation period by the researcher of the athletic department; events such as graduation and sporting events; archival data on alumni; the university website for media guides, financial and academic data; news and social media sites such as Twitter. Analysis of data entailed complete transcription of all interviews and notes, entry into the computer, followed by coding procedures outlined by Strauss and Corbin (1990) and LeCompte and Schensul (1999). A strong partnership between institutional and internal athletic department was based upon mutual objective of student academic achievement. An antiquated mentality toward women in head coaching and leadership roles, a deficit mentality, and economic woes were evident in the culture. These findings may be prevalent in many DI universities attempting to keep up with the few independently funded intercollegiate programs. A multiple case study using Schroeder’s (2010) framework across several DI institutions may support similar findings.
Open Access
A classroom of horrors and lessons from the dark: an affective learning framework for engaging students in literacy
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2019) Davis, Justin Daniel, author; Jennings, Louise, advisor; Birmingham, Daniel, committee member; Brinks, Ellen, committee member; Timpson, William, committee member
While student engagement has long been acknowledged as important in the learning process in scholarship, the concept of engagement has just recently shifted from an idea of passive compliance to overt interest. Much of the research continues to focus on largely cognitive aspects of engagement such as higher level thinking processes, taxonomies, and rigor. While cognitive engagement is important, far less attention has focused on affective, or emotional, engagement. The researcher seeks to capture personal student experiences around engagement and analyze participant responses for possible themes to examine the potentially positive impacts and possible constraints of using the horror genre as a means to apply a proposed Affective Learning Framework in order to effectively and holistically engage students. The Affective Learning Framework consisted of four key domains: Relevancy/Connectedness, Interest/Autonomy, Hook/Controversy, and a Positive Learning Environment. Broadly, the purpose of this research is to capture the insights and voices of secondary students around using horror as a means to emotionally engage them in literacy and relevant real-world issues in an after-school horror literature club in an effort to battle feelings of boredom and disconnectedness that students often experience in the classroom. It examines horror as a potentially powerful teaching tool in secondary and post-secondary settings. As a qualitative study, the analysis of open-ended survey questions, transcribed dialogue, and interviews resulted in a thematic analysis case study in order to detail the potential of emerging or common themes as they related to the application of the Affective Learning Framework. As student voice is often lacking in the literature about what they feel about engagement, and this was a primary driver for the purpose of this study, student voice is a critical aspect of this research. The study also addresses meaningful implementation of the horror genre into reading and writing, with further implications around the use of subgenres and how this work may fit into the general classroom setting through the Affective Learning Framework.
Open Access
A concepts for calculus intervention: measuring student attitudes toward mathematics and achievement in calculus
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2010) Pilgrim, Mary, author; Gloeckner, Gene William, 1950-, advisor; Kennedy, Paul A., committee member; Dickmann, Ellyn M., committee member; Klopfenstein, Kenneth F., committee member
Data indicate that about 40 percent of students initially enrolled in MATH 160: Calculus for Physical Scientists I finish the course with a grade of D or F, dropped, or withdrew from the course (Reinholz, 2009). The high failure rate let to an intervention course (MATH 180) for students at risk of failing MATH 160. At-risk students were identified based on their calculus exam one scores. This dissertation reports on the effect of MATH 180 during the fall 2009 semester on both student achievement in MATH 160 and math attitude. Students identified as being at-risk of failing MATH 160 were invited to drop MATH 160 and enroll in MATH 180. Not all students that were invited accepted the invitation. After completing MATH 180 during the fall 2009 semester, students then had the option to enroll in MATH 160 for the spring 2010 semester. MATH 180 students exhibited improvement in exam one scores. From the fall 2009 semester to the spring 2010 semester students raised their exam one scores by one-half of a standard deviation. Although MATH 180 students showed improvement in MATH 160 during the spring 2010 semester, there were no overall significant differences in achievement between students that took MATH 180 and those that did not. Qualitative analysis indicated that MATH 180 students came to understand that calculus problems could be solved using multiple strategies, but they did not always know what those strategies were. "In class it was hard at first to understand the direction it was going but it was helpful to try to think at math differently than I have been taught all my life." Math attitude was measured using the Modified Indiana Mathematics Belief Scales (MIMBS). MIMBS scores improved for students that took MATH 180, but there were no significant differences between MATH 180 students and non-MATH 180 students. There were significant correlations between constructs measured by the MIMBS and final course grade in MATH 160. Despite there being no significant differences in academic performance, trends in the data indicate higher final exam scores and course grades for students in the intervention group.
Open Access
A critical ethnography: the process of change at a core knowledge junior high school
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2008) Urban, Elizabeth A., author; Banning, James, advisor; Dickmann, Ellyn, advisor
The challenge of educational change and the culture of organizational change have been the focus of research and literature for many decades. A look at the history of American education reveals that change designed in the direction of social fairness traditionally falls short of the objectives or fails completely within its first five years (Benham-Tye, 2000). The need for change and for continual renewal to improve schools is evident. The journey of change and the obstacles of that journey are more complex. The process of change and the puzzling dynamics of that process were the subject of this study. The purpose of the study was to further the understanding of the change process, the conditions which surround success and the obstacles which accompany failure. The focus of the study was a junior high school, which opened in the fall of 2004. An ethnographic study was conducted at the site over the period of the school's first sixteen months, from May 2004 to August 2005. The purpose of the first study was to record the journey of the school from its inception. In that first year, four key themes emerged: collaboration; visionary leadership; teachers and parents as agents of change; and trusting the process. That original study provided the archival data that were the starting point for the present study. The present study began in August, 2007 and continued through February, 2008. Research questions were designed to investigate the process of change over time. The qualitative research method was a modified version of Phil Carspecken's Model for Critical Ethnography (1996). The findings revealed additional cultural themes and dimensions as well as obstacles and barriers to the change process. New themes in year four. (1) The Journey of Change - From "Speed Boat to House Boat to Barge"; (2) Change Experienced by the Members - The Teacher's Stories; (3) From Trust the Process to Process the Trust - A Dose of Self-Scrutiny Four cultural dimensions. (1) Inquiry - Continual Study and Learning to Improve the Practice; (2) Responsibility - Speaking with Integrity and Doing What is Said; (3) Care - Practicing a Nurturing Pedagogy; (4) Celebration - Working Joyfully and Acknowledging Human Effort Obstacle to change. (1) Growth of School; (2) Fiscal Limitations; (3) Nature of the Profession; (4) Conventional Thinking Recommendations were made in the concluding chapter.
Open Access
A decolonial analysis of peace education in India and Pakistan
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2023) Jalal, Runeela, author; Jennings, Louise, advisor; Timpson, William, committee member; Archibeque-Engle, Shannon, committee member; Ehlers-Zavala, Fabiola, committee member
This dissertation investigates the current state of peace pedagogy in formal and informal educational platforms in India and Pakistan. The overarching goal is to amass pedagogical strategies for peace teaching by understanding the aspirations of peace as understood by the local wisdom in the spirit of decolonial educational approaches. The socio-political postcolonial conflict scene is understood through the theories of Structural Violence (Galtung, 1969) and Cascades of Violence (Braithwaite and D'Costa. 2018). It was important as India and Pakistan were colonized for a century and the postcolonial conflict climate has its distinctive nature. There is considerable research done to explain the postcolonial repercussions on a society entailing violence, conflicts, and nationalism and how such negative impacts trickle down into the education system in India and Pakistan. Additionally, The Theory of Positive Psychology (Seligman, 1998) defines the parameters of decolonized peace pedagogy for analyzing educational documents and the work of self-motivated peace practitioners working with non-governmental organizations (NGOs). After this foundational understanding is developed for this research study in Chapter 1, Chapters 2-4 explore the possible implementation of peace pedagogy in education in India and Pakistan through three interrelated articles. The first article is a systematic review of the peace pedagogy literature in postcolonial lands around the world. These regions mainly are located in the Global South which includes Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. The second article takes a closer look at the place of peace pedagogy in existing formal/informal educational platforms through document analysis of policy papers, college programs, and a few non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Pakistan and India. The third article focuses on the efforts of NGOs at the grassroots level through phenomenological interviews with peace practitioners in Pakistan and India; this study focuses on how these practitioners engage with local communities to make meaning of peace at the local level and devise a suitable peace pedagogy to continue their mission of peace education. Chapter 5 addresses implications of this research study by contributing to the decolonial ways of building knowledge for implementing peace pedagogy in postcolonial lands specifically India and Pakistan. In doing so, Chapter 5 summarizes comparative knowledge through a literature review of peace pedagogy in postcolonial lands around the world and India and Pakistan. This helped identifying gaps which prevent linear implementation of peace pedagogy from early education up to graduate level in India and Pakistan, thus, compromising the objectives of establishing peace. Recommendations for the education system mainly through the lessons learned by the self-motivated peace educators and activists are put forward for considerations.
Open Access
A funds of knowledge study on the college persistence experiences of first year Latinx students in the College Assistance Migrant Program (CAMP)
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2022) Bocchetti, Miriam L., author; Muñoz, Susana, advisor; Barone, Ryan, committee member; Ishiwata, Eric, committee member; Zarestky, Jill, committee member
The increasing numbers of Latinx students enrolling in post-secondary education has resulted in a compelling need for colleges and universities to understand the complexities of the Latinx migrant student experience, with the hopes that understanding the nuances of the Latinx migrant student experience can assist educators in developing and enhancing initiatives to better support this population of students. It has been well documented that this marginalized and underserved student population historically encounters unique challenges as they navigate the oppressive systems of higher education. Using funds of knowledge as a theoretical lens, this phenomenological study explores the college persistence experiences of first-year, Latinx participants enrolled in the College Assistance Migrant Program (CAMP), a federally funded program designed to support migrant students in their first year of post-secondary education.
Open Access
A grounded theory study of wellness and college and university leaders
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2009) Lorenz, Gregory F., author; Davies, Timothy, advisor
The projections for higher education indicate a large number of senior academic leadership posts being vacated in the future due to retirement of existing leaders. The gap in leadership positions lends itself to an increased importance for developing a pipeline of talent to fill these positions. The leadership lifestyle lived by academic leaders is one of fast pace, high responsibility, and little personal time. This lifestyle may be unattractive for potential leaders. Therefore, the creation of a climate that allows potential leaders to view academic leadership positions as desirable and achievable while allowing for personal wellness is necessary. This grounded theory study aimed to determine the meaning of wellness for academic leaders in higher education and better understand how they achieved or maintained wellness in their lives. 7 academic leaders were interviewed. The results yielded a grounded theory called wellness maturity with four supporting axial categories: intention, gauge of wellness, reflection, and adaptation. Sitting within the cultural backdrop of the academic leadership lifestyle, wellness maturity represents an optimal wellness destination with constant movement towards the unique destination for each individual. It is represented as a continuum with low wellness maturity on one end and high wellness maturity on the opposite end. Although it is important for individual leaders to have an understanding of what wellness means for themselves, it is more important for leaders to identify the importance of wellness in their lives. As the leader enters the wellness maturity continuum and moves towards the destination of wellness maturity, he or she engages in a process of self-reflection. Reflection occurs about one's place on the continuum and gauge of wellness. The result of this reflective process is adaptation to the personal and professional challenges associated with the leadership lifestyle. The results of this study have application for leaders seeking to maintain or achieve wellness within the context of a leadership lifestyle. The major contributions of this study are that it adds to the literature of wellness and particularly higher education leadership, and it offers greater insight into practical applications and considerations necessary for the achievement or maintenance of wellness.
Open Access
A mixed methods approach to understanding engagement and inclusion of minoritized groups in the society of American foresters
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2022) Dahl, Jamie, author; Gloeckner, Gene, advisor; Birmingham, Daniel, committee member; Fernández-Giménez, Maria, committee member; Archibeque-Engle, Shannon, committee member
People of color, women, and other groups are minoritized in forestry and natural resource professions (Kern et al., 2015; Kuhns et al., 2004; Otero & Brown, 1996; Sharik et al., 2015). Numerous sources share the concern that natural resources fields must begin to reflect the larger demographic makeup of the U.S., or minoritized groups will continue to miss opportunities to influence and lead natural resources decisions (Finney, 2014; Westphal et al., 2022). We need to understand better how current professionals feel engaged and included if we are to bring more people together to understand, enjoy, use, and tend to our forests and natural places. We also need to appreciate how different people connect to the environment and environmental professions. This transformative mixed methods study blends qualitative and quantitative methods to enhance understanding of engagement and inclusion (E&I) of minoritized groups and other members of the Society of American Foresters (SAF). The study took an innovative approach, utilizing environmental justice as a research frame (Schlosberg, 2004; 2007; Schlosberg & Coles, 2016). The survey was sent to all SAF members in 2021 and utilized established engagement and inclusion measures, including perceptions of culture, respect, organizational commitment, sense of belonging, and stereotype threat vulnerability. Additionally, the study asked questions about the pathway of participants to forestry and natural resources as a focus of study and career. Statistically significant differences were found when comparing groups on these E&I measures. Women had significant differences compared to men, with women having lower perceptions of culture, varied perceptions of respect, lower sense of belonging, lower organizational commitment, and greater perceptions of stereotype threat. Members of color had some significant differences compared to White members, with lower perceptions of SAF culture at the national level; and greater perceptions of stereotype threat and specific career barriers. LGBQ+ members had significant differences compared to non-LGBQ+, including lower culture perception and lower sense of belonging. Age group comparisons also showed significant differences and contributed to predictive associations. Additional statistically significant interactions and predictive associations were also found. Respondents shared their pathways to forestry and NR as a focus of study and career, including information about exposure to nature-based activities as a youth and perceptions of career barriers. Several open-ended questions provided rich qualitative data. These data were analyzed using content analysis and an environmental justice frame. Patterns arose that help explain and enhance our statistical findings and further contribute to established literature. Responding SAF members mentioned fundamental environmental justice (EJ) principles including recognition of philosophies, promotion of capabilities, and participation and inclusion. Some members also commented on the ripple effect that SAF E&I problems could have on various human stakeholders, the natural resource itself, and our world (Schlosberg, 2004; 2007; Schlosberg & Coles, 2016; Schlosberg, 2013). Participants expressed concern for impacts on their fellow SAF members and concern for SAF's sustainability as an organization if diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) issues were not addressed better. This research helps convey the urgency and need to keep environmental justice and DEI at the forefront of SAF's evolving strategy and vision. SAF members in this study ask the organization to be a leader in DEI.
Open Access
A mixed methods explanatory study of the failure/drop rate for freshman STEM calculus students
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2013) Worthley, Mary, author; Gloeckner, Gene, advisor; Kennedy, Paul, advisor; Banning, James, committee member; Siller, Thomas, committee member
In a national context of high failure rates in freshman calculus courses, the purpose of this study was to understand who is struggling, and why. High failure rates are especially alarming given a local environment where students have access to a variety of academic, and personal, assistance. The sample consists of students at Colorado State University (CSU) who attended a course in freshman calculus from Fall 2007 to Fall 2012. An explanatory sequential mixed methods approach was used in this study. Using data from CSU's Registrar's Office and Mathematics department, descriptive statistics highlighted several student attributes worth pursuing. Fall and spring cohorts have a different make up and different outcomes. Hence this study concentrated on the fall cohort, which comprises mainly of freshmen. The combination of attributes that produced the strongest prediction of student's final result in calculus were Colorado Commission on Higher Education index scores, CSU Mathematics department placement test scores, and calculus repeat status (R2 =.30, n=1325). For Fall 2012, these attributes were combined with student motivation and student strategies constructs, measured using the MSLQ instrument. The combination giving the strongest prediction of student's first mid-term examination results (R2 =.34, n=124) included CSU Mathematics department placement test scores, along with MSLQ constructs test anxiety, and self-efficacy for learning and performance. However, using logistic regression only 38.7% of the students who failed were correctly predicted to fail. Former students of CSU's calculus course aimed at freshmen STEM students were interviewed or surveyed, in an attempt to probe how students experience this course. Several common elements emerged. Students were dedicating vast amounts of time to this course. There was a common belief this course could be passed if the student worked hard enough. The difference between those who succeeded and those who did not appeared to relate to how this study time was spent. Those who floundered often struggled to locate appropriate help, although they were quite aware they needed assistance. Many of those interviewed also avoided working with other students. Reasons cited ranged from claims of being individual learners, to frustration at finding a group who had the same study goals. Some non-traditional students were also alienated by the prospect of working with 'teenagers'. Two other results from the analysis of student interviews suggested reanalyzing the quantitative data and including student's prior history with mathematics, as well as if the student was non-traditional. The combination of attributes that gave the strongest relationship (R2 =.40, n=101) were CSU Mathematics department placement test results, combined with MSLQ constructs test anxiety, self-efficacy for learning and performance, organization, as well as the student's own appraisal of the quality of mathematics teaching they received in high school. However, the ability to accurately predict if a student will fail was minimal. Focusing on students who do fail, three groups of students of interest were isolated: those who have yet to declare their major, 'non-traditional' students, particularly those enrolled in the eight a.m. class, and, curiously, those students who choose to enroll in the ten a.m. class.
Open Access
A mixed-methods investigation of the college-going experiences of first-generation college students
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2020) Holliday, Chrissy, author; Anderson, Sharon K., advisor; DeMirjyn, Maricela, committee member; McKelfresh, David, committee member; Kuk, Linda, committee member
College-going culture represents the development of college aspiration within individuals, and also the provision of guidance and support to prepare students for college application, enrollment, and success (Achinstein, Curry, & Ogawa, 2015; Corwin & Tierney, 2007). First- generation students are of particular research interest because they have lower college-going rates than their peers whose parents have degrees (Langenkamp & Shifrer, 2018), a reality that ultimately contributes to disparate educational outcomes with both individual and societal impacts (Serna & Woulfe, 2017; Trostel & Chase Smith, 2015). This mixed-methods case study provides greater insight into the college-going experiences of first-generation college students by answering the research question, "How did first-generation students attending an Hispanic-serving institution (HSI) experience the phenomenon of college-going culture in their high schools and communities?" The study also answered four secondary research questions: (a) "What similarities and differences exist among students graduating from high schools with different college-going cultures?"; (b) "What factors related to the theoretical frameworks selected for this study inform college-going culture for those students?"; (c) "How do those differences and informative factors converge and diverge by case profile?"; and (d) "What do the combined quantitative and qualitative data reveal about college-going culture that is not provided by one or the other alone?" Detailed analysis of survey and interview data provided insight into the student experiences and resulted in six assertions with practical implications for practitioners and future researchers.
Open Access
A multiple case study of instructors utilizing classroom response systems (CRS) to achieve pedagogical goals
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2015) Milholland, Eric Stanley, author; Kaminski, Karen, advisor; Timpson, William, committee member; Most, David, committee member; Miller, Jeffrey, committee member
This study examined five instructors who have employed Classroom Response Systems (CRS) for a minimum of five years. Instructors were asked their initial pedagogical goals when adopting CRS, and also to describe any changes in those goals or use of the technology since that time. Emerging themes were identified using a multiple case study methodology. All instructors said their use of CRS evolved and changed from initial adoption to their current use of the technology today. Student engagement was the single ubiquitous reason provided for choosing to employ CRS. Other potential reason for using CRS include: peer instruction via group and cooperative learning, increasing student responsibility, reducing lecture while increasing interaction, employing deep learning pedagogy, redistributing classroom power back to students, increasing student achievement, and making classroom learning more enjoyable. No single technique appeared to be required to benefit from the use of CRS. Instructors described an assortment of practices they found personally successful in a variety of classroom sizes. Some even chose to utilize the same pedagogical techniques as if they were using CRS, but purposefully eschewed the devices because they found them too constraining for the desired learning outcome. This indicates that the teaching methodology was more important that the technology. CRS seems to be suitable for performing a variety of pedagogical tasks, even if it is not the ideal way to achieve any single one. Based on this research, it appears the greatest strength of CRS is that it can proficiently accomplish a multitude of learning goals in a relatively easy manner.
Open Access
A narrative inquiry of four female first-year, first-generation student perspectives of the university experience
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2007) Gengler-Dunn, Deborah, author; Banning, James, advisor; Griffin, Cindy, advisor
This narrative qualitative study explored the experiences of four first-generation female college students during their first year at Colorado State University. Guiding research questions addressed various influences impacting on this first year as a first-generation student, including social, familial, campus environmental issues, and perceptions of self and expectations. While the characteristic of being a first-generation student female overlapped with other characteristics such as race or socio-economics, the essence of this gender specific study sought to give voice to first-generation, first-year, female-dedicated accounts of the college experience. While shared themes were explored and while these proved useful in displaying index streams of some frequent female experiences, the academically mandated process of reducing individual participant experience into generalized themes appeared antithetical to the researcher's felt sense of directing a study toward the individual and the distinct voice and experience of each woman participant. Using a feminist theoretical lens to secure the ecology of the female experience, the researcher interpreted the experiences of these women and shared recommendations toward female leadership strategies. Although evocative insight emerged due to this marginalized group (females) striking out into unfamiliar academic territory for both themselves and their families, a telling wisdom came from what these women expected. While themes of Self-Expectation/Agency, The Familiar, Involvement, Challenges, and Other-Expectation surfaced, the dual expectations of Self and Other provoked a curious antagonistic binary wherein the first courted dynamic self-agency and the latter bred an acquired avoidance/acquiescence. As a result, the researcher questioned an existing perception of responsive gender equality in the college environment and challenged educators toward vital conversations regarding how equal-in-premise and equal-in-lived-reality present themselves for women on a college campus. The researcher also advanced the Fens Behavior Model, an oppositional resistance/avoidance of perceived negative female imaging utilized to defend and/or preserve a positive personal declaration of the female self. It is the researcher's belief that while the instinctive story these women tell themselves is one of personal strength and leadership, the grand narrative they seemingly, sensibly must acknowledge as regards gender may demonstrate a counter-productive adulteration.
Open Access
A narrative study of ethnically diverse American public school female superintendents
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2012) Isaacs, Nelda L., author; Anderson, Sharon K., advisor; Banning, James, committee member; Kuk, Linda, committee member; Zimmerman, Toni, committee member
Historically, women, especially minority women, have been underrepresented in the American public school superintendence. Using a narrative inquiry approach, five ethnically diverse American public school female superintendents were interviewed to determine what life experiences led them to the public school superintendence, how they described their day-to-day experiences at this position, and what can be inferred from their narratives about how they would encourage, inform, and support other women seeking this position. The data garnered through the narratives identify family, personal expectations, professional experience, concepts of power and influence, and advocacy for students as contributing factors that led each woman to the public school superintendence. While each of the women could only present her unique story, there were similarities and differences among the women's lived experiences, and with the research literature, that included their career paths, career patterns, barriers, leadership style, and reasons for exiting the superintendence. The women’s day-to-day experiences indicated they were change agents who actively contributed both to the schools and the communities in which they served. Potential support for other women seeking this position emerged, including mentorships, spirituality, family support, and superintendent and board relationships.
Open Access
A phenomenological investigation of coexisting values in healthcare
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2018) Stewart, Christopher W., author; Lynham, Susan A., advisor; Coates, Tabitha K. L., committee member; Mumford, Troy V., committee member; Lopes, Tobin P., committee member
Health care delivery in the United States has a storied history that has led the American public to expect that their Health Care Practitioners (HCPs) will pursue personal and professional values such as benevolence, equality and capability. A progressive set of events that dates back to the implementation of national health insurance for the elderly and the more recent emergence of events surrounding the implementation of the market-based solution in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act have led healthcare organization to become increasingly concerned with the pursuit of market values (e.g. competition; productivity). A review of relevant literature on the coexistence of personal, professional and market values in health care pointed toward a number of potential consequences that might emanate from this coexisting values phenomenon. The HCPs who practice at the nexus of this phenomenon are those who most directly experience such consequences and the aim of this study was to qualitatively explore and illuminate the lived experience of a selection of doctors and nurses. Through an application of a co-constructive approach to inquiry it was found that those HCPs who participated in the study experience professional opportunities to express their personal value preferences, while also experiencing a paradoxical tension when it comes to leaving their patients feeling satisfied with their care experience. It was also found that the HCPs interpret their interactions with the pharmaceutical industry in a variety of ways, and that a HCPs exposure to market values is influenced by their practice area and the type health system they are working in. The vast majority of study participants practice within the same health care organization (system), and it was further found that these HCPs benefit from a quality of leadership and organizational support that enables the pursuit of their care value priorities. Study finding also point to the potential for adverse consequences (e.g. demoralization; burnout) in instances where HCPs are unable to fully realize their personal and professional value priorities. Study implications feature suggestions for practice, theory development and future research, and suggestions for those who might endeavor comparable qualitative research.
Open Access
A phenomenological study of gay male undergraduate college students' experiences at a Jesuit Catholic university
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2016) Willette, James M., author; Kuk, Linda, advisor; Anderson, Sharon, committee member; Miller, Lisa, committee member; Scott, Malcolm, committee member
The purpose of this interpretative phenomenological study was to understand how male undergraduate students who identify as openly gay experience marginality and mattering at a Jesuit Catholic university. There were 28 Jesuit colleges and universities in the United States as of this writing, each with its own varying approach towards the treatment of gay and lesbian students. Much like the state of the Catholic Church in the era of Pope Francis, many Jesuit colleges and universities struggle with the philosophical contradiction between maintaining a distinctly Catholic identity and creating a campus climate that reflects the Jesuit values of care and social justice. Using Schlossberg’s (1989) theory of marginality and mattering in college environments as the theoretical framework, data were collected from fourteen participants through semi-structured interviews, which took place at a Jesuit Catholic university in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. Data were then analyzed using interpretative phenomenological analysis, which yielded three cross-case superordinate themes and ten sub-themes. The three cross-case superordinate themes—Identity; Campus Climate, and; The Church and the Institution—described key elements of participants’ experiences as male undergraduate students who identify as openly gay at a Jesuit Catholic university and how these students experienced marginality and mattering on-campus. Each of the three main themes was then used as a lens to explore how participants experienced marginality and mattering.
Open Access
A phenomenological study of low-income students formerly pursuing baccalaureate degrees with the assistance of a private foundation scholarship
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2013) Schutt, Michelle K., author; Kuk, Linda, advisor; Felix, Oscar, committee member; Scott, Malcolm, committee member; Wolgemuth, Jennifer, committee member
This qualitative study investigated the lived experience of at-risk students who were funded by a private foundation scholarship but who lost that funding for a variety of reasons. Data were collected through personal interviews with seven former scholars. The themes emerging from the study included: educational aspirations, the scholarship opportunity, the college experience, and conscious reflection. Implications of this study may be applicable to private gifting foundations as they establish scholarship guidelines and student support systems, faculty and college staff while working with students from underprivileged backgrounds and attempting to understand their complex college journey. Additionally college students and their families may benefit from this study as they learn to maneuver through the complexities of college, specifically as it relates being a first generation college student.
Open Access
A phenomenological study of the lived experience of re-entry adjustment of Fulbright FLTA alumni from North Africa and South Asia
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2018) Marquis, George, author; Kuk, Linda, advisor; Berensek, Alexandra, committee member; Jennings, Louise, committee member; Lynham, Susan, committee member
Sojourners returning to their home countries after working or studying in the United States may face challenges in the re-entry adjustment process. Traditionally, much research on the experience of re-entry adjustment has been survey-based, with researcher-crafted questions not allowing for in-depth and nuanced perspectives of the sojourners. Drawing on in-depth, qualitative interviews from nine North African and South Asian alumni of a Fulbright's Foreign Language Teaching Assistants (FLTA) program, this study employed interpretative phenomenological analysis to capture descriptions of participants' lived experience of re-entry adjustment. Interpretative analysis of unique individual lives combined the situated perspectives of both the participants and researcher. While the in-depth interviews revealed unique lived experiences, careful analysis also revealed four superordinate phenomenological themes of re-entry adjustment: Confidence and a Sense of Empowerment; Comparisons of the Home and Host Countries, Heightened Critical Sensitivity, and Adopting a Re-entry Style. The themes offer a clearer picture of the challenges of returning to areas of the world that are quite different in terms of culture and development from the United States. Descriptions of lived experience were infused with strong feelings and emotions that sometimes typified a process of grieving over separation and loss. Data revealed that the participants struggled to make sense of their current home environment and questioned whether returning home was the correct decision. However, data also revealed participants' strong sense of obligation to family and desires of participants to build on their experiences in the United States and achieve impact. Participants described their desire to transfer knowledge, skills, and new perspectives to their home countries, but expected some resistance. The findings suggest that alumni would benefit from opportunities to discuss their re-entry adjustment challenges in a more supportive home culture environment.
Open Access
A phenomenological study of the organizational commitment of new student affairs professionals
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2020) Jacques, Tammy W., author; Kuk, Linda, advisor; Anderson, Sharon, committee member; Chesson, Craig, committee member; Tungate, Susan, committee member
In this phenomenological study, the author examined the experiences of how 13 new student affairs professionals made meaning of organizational commitment in the workplace. Using data collected from interviews, the findings offer insight into how student affairs supervisors can create an atmosphere conducive to employee commitment to their organization. The author used Meyer and Allen's (1991) three-component conceptualization of organizational commitment as a framework. The thematic results were (a) personal connection, (b) supportive supervision, (c) workplace support among colleagues, (d) gratification from impacting students, (e) long hours, and (f) emotional toll from responding to mental-health and crisis-management issues. Cultivated Relationships was the essence that emerged from the study.