Doctor of Education, University of Akron, 2018, Educational Leadership

Veterans are enrolling in higher education in increasing numbers. Many institutions are positioning themselves to receive these students by providing support services and personnel. Despite these efforts, the success rates of this student population have been called into question, and they report poor goodness of fit within the classroom. Professional development initiatives which specifically explore the needs of student veterans within the classroom environment have been limited, or not readily accessible to faculty. This study took place at a community college in the Midwest United States. The purpose of this qualitative study was to invite feedback from both student veterans and faculty who are veterans by asking them to provide context for, and direct input into, a proposed faculty professional development product. An interpretivist epistemology was used so as to capture the social reality of these stakeholders. This feedback served to validate and enhance critical content for three online training modules entitled The VET RESPECT CHECK. Each word within The VET RESPECT CHECK is an acronym for the content of three topic areas: first module: the veteran as student; second module: the classroom environment; and third module: resources. The development of these three modules was guided by Lawler and King's Adult Learning Model for Faculty Development, as well as Allen's CCAF best practice model for online learning. Both groups independently voted and agreed that content regarding the physical, emotional, and behavioral environment was the most important information for faculty to understand. Despite the fact that the topic of suicide was not directly brought forth within the program outline, both groups expressed clear concerns for the safety of veteran students. Furthermore, these groups believe that there is a need for faculty to be sensitive to the issue of veteran suicide and understand their role in facilitating access to resources.

Committee: Renee Mudrey-Camino Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Gary Holliday Ph.D. (Committee Member); Robert C. Schwartz Ph.D. (Committee Member); Nasser Razek Ed.D. (Committee Member); Wondimu Ahmed Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Educational Leadership

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2021, EDU Teaching and Learning

This study examines the big and small stories of faculty at a small, internationally-focused graduate school in New England during a time of change in higher education. A macro-micro perspective enables both an aerial view of faculty experience over time and a view of how faculty work with students at the ground level. The landscape of higher education has been shifting, a story which has drawn the interest of researchers looking at change at the institutional level. In the literature, and in the media, stories are told in broad strokes: the rise of the neoliberal university, the wave of campus internationalization, and an increasing reliance on a contingent faculty workforce. However, in spite of faculty's central position within these phenomena, stories of faculty experience during this era of change mostly remain untold. Narrative research has primarily focused on the professional development and situated learning of novice educators as they find their footing and balance a range of commitments. Considerably less attention has been given to veteran faculty whose stories are situated at the confluence of broader changes in higher education. This study addresses this gap and, in its synergy of big and small stories, contributes to the dynamic field of narrative research in educational contexts. Retrospective big stories told in life history interviews capture the life-span of faculty careers, from entering the field to experiencing challenges and change through working with diverse groups of students over several decades. Analysis of these stories produced two key metaphors which are the focus of Chapter 3. Through the use of bedrock stories, faculty preserve shared values and an institutional narrative in the face of change. In faultline stories, faculty make sense of unsettling or unresolved experiences. The findings suggest that these stories of critical events are important sources of institutional narratives and faculty learning. Compared to well-order (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Leslie C. Moore (Advisor); Alan Hirvela (Committee Member); Peter Sayer (Committee Member) Subjects: Education; English As A Second Language; Higher Education; Language; Teacher Education; Teaching