ABSTRACT
The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of first-year seminar (FYS) course modality on first-semester GPA and second-semester retention of community college students' system-wide. For many student's community colleges serve as an affordable option for higher education. The first-year seminar course connects students to the college to create better academic outcomes. With the increase in technology the FYS course is available in three different course modalities;face-to-face, hybrid, and online. Understanding which course modality has the largest academic outcomes of FYS course will present administrators of the benefits of one modality over others. The study investigated academic outcomes of the FYS course by examining course modality at Lone Star Community College (LSC). Findings revealed no statistical differences between full-time enrolled students in any of the course modalities. Part-time students in the face-to-face FYS had higher first-semester GPA's than those enrolled in the other modalities. Results revealed students in the online FYS course modality were less likely to be retained the second semester. When predicting second-semester retention, enrollment status was a stronger predictor than course modality. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)
ABSTRACT
Student performance on kindergarten screening measures and level of kindergarten-entry skills have been shown to be predictive of subsequent academic achievement, thus making kindergarten screening measures a useful tool that guides the monitoring of student progress over time. Though a commonly used tool to assist in kindergarten placement considerations by educators nationwide, the literature is lacking in studies that demonstrate the predictive ability of the Developmental Indicators for the Assessment of Learning - Fourth Edition (DIAL-4) on later academic achievement. Related, behavioral and emotional functioning has been demonstrated to significantly impact student achievement. While the literature supports the predictive ability of kindergarten screening measures on academic performance, research is limited on how behavioral functioning moderates this predictive relationship. The present study aimed to examine the predictive ability of the DIAL-4 on later academic achievement and identify whether behavioral and emotional functioning impacts upon, and to what degree, the relationship between academic achievement and the DIAL-4. Additionally, this study examined the impact of the pause of in-person learning, as caused by the COVID-19 pandemic on student achievement and behavioral and emotional functioning through within-samples comparisons of student functioning in 2019 and 2021 to identify change amongst individual students. The results support the predictive ability of the DIAL-4 on subsequent academic achievement with significant correlations between DIAL-4 scores obtained before kindergarten with subsequent measures of academic achievement. The was no evidence found for a moderation effect of behavioral and emotional functioning on the prediction of academic achievement. Lastly, when controlling for scores on the DIAL-4, the data suggest a decrease in rate of student academic achievement and an increase in emotional and behavioral dysregulation following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated by statistically significant differences in BERI scores as well as significant decreases in rates of growth in reading ability within some cohorts. These findings provide educators with empirical evidence for the utility of the DIAL-4 in predicting academic achievement as well as insight into how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted students' functioning. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)
ABSTRACT
This quantitative study examines the impact that selected academic and personal demographic characteristics had on the successful completion of online coursework during the Covid-19 pandemic. Focused on a high-research university in the Southeastern United States during the Fall of 2020, this research looked the potential influence that prior online learning experiences had on students' abilities to transition to the online modality during a time of crisis. Data for this study was retrieved from institutional sources and the sample consisted of 5,739 second-year students at the institution. After describing the sample and population, exploratory regressions were conducted to establish models for explaining variance in online GPA performance and percentage of online course completion during the Fall 2020 semester. The resulting models account for 40% of the earned online GPA and 19% of the variance in online course completion percentage.In addition to the aforementioned models, the results of this study showed significant differences in online learning performance by race, with White students significantly outperforming students of color. This held for students with and without prior online learning experiences, which were found to have little impact on the performance of students in the online modality during a time of crisis. The results of the study also showed that academic discipline, while having a negligible relationship in most cases, did negatively impact the performance of some STEM students.This ex-post facto research highlights the fact that crisis learning differs from traditional learning in more ways than originally thought. Overall, performance during the semester studied declined, indicating the impact of added stresses during a time of crisis. The study sheds light on opportunities for future research, including the prospect of investigating how students initially experiencing online learning during a time of crisis perform in subsequent online classes and the need to focus on how teacher preparation and course design may impact learner engagement in the online modality. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)
ABSTRACT
The evolution of the higher education sector has included a strong focus on academic performance despite increasing workloads and employment precarity, with COVID-19 further disrupting traditional university expectations. Drawing on HERD's author voices from 2010 to 2020, this reflective review examines the changing nature of academe, mapping the shifts in role and identity that occur through an academic's career life cycle. The mechanisms to support these developmental journeys are examined, highlighting the role that development agencies and university leaders need to play in supporting the holistic development of academics (and researchers), particularly as expectations evolve. Implications for a post-COVID sector are explored, suggesting this disruptive phase will require more responsive support from universities, developers and university leaders. The paper identifies gaps in research and commentary that warrant further exploration by scholars in the future. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)
ABSTRACT
In spring 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic forced educational systems to transition into an emergency remote learning modality. This quantitative study compared retention and productive grade rates of two 16-week academic semesters and compared face-to-face (fall 2019) and remote (fall 2020) emergency remote instruction. The study sample was drawn from the core courses of History, English, and Speech at San Antonio College. Those courses were selected in part due to the high proportion of first time in college students who were considered a vulnerable population regarding performance and persistence. Additional variables (i.e., gender, veteran status, first-generation status, and socio-economic status) were examined to determine whether they were predictors of either productive grade rate or retention. The findings suggested no difference between productive grade rates but higher retention in the face-to-face semester. The findings also indicated that gender (female) was predictive in both modalities, but no other variables were. At a minimum, those results suggested the importance of local assessment of predictors of student success in general, and when making decisions related to remote learning in particular. Finally, results of this study suggested that despite concerns regarding the scholastic impact on students and faculty forced into emergency remote instruction, that did not adversely affect student outcomes. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)
ABSTRACT
Optimal mental health is a global and increasingly pressing issue. Major events in recent times, such as the effects of global warming and the Covid-19 pandemic, have had undeniable negative effects on people's well-being. The mental health of young people is of particular importance: strategies to deal with adversity are learned and developed at this stage of life. Success aids the likelihood of being a lifelong resilient and hopefully flourishing individual, whereas difficulty may leave an individual vulnerable to slipping into persistent mental ill health. Given this, there seems an obvious and necessary role for educational institutions in promoting such strategies and thus improving the well-being of students. Positive psychology has a valuable contribution to make in this regard, as achieving optimal mental health is perhaps its primary purpose, and positive psychology interventions (PPIs) are broad-based and cost-effective to implement when compared with more traditional clinical approaches. They are also technology friendly, meaning they may be disbursed widely. The research in this thesis explores the use of several PPIs in school and university settings with the aim of building significant and lasting well-being improvements for young people. It works to find the most effective interventions and to understand what makes them so. Finally, it seeks to create real-world value by considering how such interventions may be designed and implemented in an educational context. The thesis comprises four studies. The first study used a positive diary exercise in a sample of primary school children. The exercise resulted in a significant increase in happiness and reduction in depressive symptoms during and up to three months after the intervention. A tertile split revealed interestingly different response profiles for participants depending on baseline well-being. A similar intervention in the second study found significant associated improvements in academic performance. The third study applied two PPIs in samples of undergraduates. The first part also used the diary exercise, which found there to be less convincing evidence of its effectiveness when compared with the first two studies. The second part used a signature strengths intervention, which resulted in marked and sustained improvements in self-esteem and life satisfaction. This study highlighted the differing outcomes that different interventions may have, particularly across age groups. It also raised questions as to why certain well-being markers improve more or last longer than others, suggesting that an individual's sense of autonomy or control may be a factor. These questions shaped the fourth study, which was more exploratory. It used a novel exercise-framed PPI to determine whether a sense of control, as measured by judgments of contingency, is linked with well-being, and whether positively manipulating such judgments might lead to improvements thereof. The complexity of the experimental paradigm meant that findings were inconclusive in this regard, but it opened the door to future work that might be able to distil more robust effects. Overall, this thesis finds that PPIs demonstrate huge promise for mental health improvements and that they are a feasible option for incorporation into an educational curriculum. However, it seems they are not universal aids and careful consideration needs to be given to the type of intervention used and who the target recipients are. Age and baseline well-being are two important factors, for example. If properly implemented, PPIs could be valuable tools to build resilience and enable young people to flourish now and through the rest of their lives. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)
ABSTRACT
Athletic and academic identities among college student-athletes have been identified as important determinants of their academic achievement, career preparation, and sport termination. However, less is known about how these two identities, independently or simultaneously may be related to student-athletes' overall (e.g., levels of optimism and happiness) or sport-wellbeing (e.g., satisfaction with one's sport performance). To this end, the purpose of the study was to examine how student-athletes' academic and athletic identities are associated with their overall and sport well-being in a U.S. national sample of 241 Division I student-athletes. I also examined whether the relationship between these two identities and well-being would be moderated by the student-athletes' year in school, gender, or race. Because this study took place during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic (Summer of 2020), I also explored whether interruptions to school and sport activities due to the pandemic would also affect student-athletes reported overall and sport well-being. Results showed a significant positive relationship between academic identity and overall well-being, and a negative relationship between athletic identity and sport well-being. Additionally, year in school and race were significant correlates of sport well-being, with lowerclassmen student-athletes (first- and second-year students) and White student-athletes reporting higher levels of sport well-being than their counterparts. Race and gender were also significant predictors of overall well-being. Specifically, male student-athletes and White student-athletes reported higher levels of overall well-being than student-athletes identifying as female or as a person of color. Finally, results also indicated that COVID-19 were negatively associated with participants' overall and sport well-being. However, the relationship between academic nor athletic identity and well-being (i.e., overall, sport well-being) were not moderated by self-reported rage, gender, year in school, or COVID-19 interruptions. After a review of the current literature and its limitations, findings and implications for practice with student-athletes are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)
ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic forced nursing education programs to change traditional face-to-face teaching to virtual education and simulated experiences. Therefore, research is needed to determine how this change affected nursing students' academic performance and their performance on standardized exams. The purpose of this three-part study, guided by Knowles's adult learning theory, was to determine if there was a difference in Associate of Science in Nursing (ASN) students' performance on: (a) Assessment Technology Institute (ATI) Comprehensive Predictor (CP) scores, (b) end of program scores, and for (c) CP scores for first generation students before the COVID-19 pandemic compared with nursing students' scores during the pandemic. Ex post facto data collected from three semesters of ASN students before the COVID-19 pandemic and three semesters during the COVID-19 pandemic made up the sample used for analysis. Results revealed no significant difference in students' CP scores between the two timeframes. A significant decrease was seen in students' end of program scores during the pandemic compared to prepandemic. No significant difference was seen on the CP scores of first generation students during the two time periods;however, the first generation students scored significantly lower regardless of the time compared to non-first generation students. This research is important to nursing education as it may facilitate positive social change by raising awareness of the need to improve virtual learning strategies to improve program outcomes and to recognize first generation students as needing additional assistance compared to non-first generation students. Future research is needed on strategies for virtual learning and specifically for first generation students. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)
ABSTRACT
Building on recent research in high performance mindsets and their correlation to high performing people in the workplace, academic success as well as athletic performance, this study aimed to examine the happiness of high performing people. This study examines the relationship between the noncognitive skills of self-awareness, self-discipline, internal locus of control with sport performance, growth mindset and happiness of college football players during the COVID-19 pandemic school year. Participants were 99 undergraduate college football players from four different private universities within the United States. The results indicated that year in school predicted athletic performance. The mindset skills of intrinsic motivation, grit, and hope will help student athletes to stay in their athletic programs which in turn will lead to a higher level of performance. Student athletes that trust the process and remain in the program longer will have a greater likelihood of higher athletic achievement. Year in school along with internal locus of control predict growth mindset among participants. Self-awareness and internal locus of control were significant predictors of happiness amongst participants. College athletes and college students in general need learning opportunities in the mindset skills of self-awareness and internal locus of control. These mindset skills will help them balance their busy lives, maintain a growth mindset and be happy. Curriculum around these mindset skills needs to continue to be developed and tested for effectiveness. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)
ABSTRACT
At the end of the year 2019, COVID-19 was first noticed in Wuhan, China, and since then, it has strongly impacted almost all aspects of people's daily lives everywhere. Schools at all levels worldwide have to transit to online instruction modes to accommodate the social distancing and disinfection requirements. The current study aims to explore the influencing factors of students' academic performance in tertiary education during the pandemic, specifically from the perceptions of students and instructors. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) analysis was applied to analyze the data collected from students and instructors who participated in online instruction in a large public university in western New York during Fall 2020. As the first COVID case in the county appeared in the middle of Spring 2020 (mid-March), Fall 2020 was the following semester after the abrupt transition happened. The results of this study showed that students' perceptions on course structure, communication, learning outcome, and instructors' perceptions on attendance and instructional effectiveness had a significant association with students' GPA. It was also found that instructors' previous experience in online education influences their students' perceptions on course structure and communication but not on their own perceptions on attendance, student learning outcome, and instructional effectiveness. The findings of this research provided potential directions for future research in instructors' training and online course facilitation. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)
ABSTRACT
The present study widened the pandemic's mental health response by examining the impact of learning format, depression, and anxiety on college students' academic performance during COVID-19. The study consisted of 222 college students who responded to survey measures through online survey platforms Qualtrics and Amazon Mechanical Turk. The study utilized a multiple regression design and consisted of three measures: The Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item (GAD-7) scale, the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ)-9 and a questionnaire assessing online disruptions during the pandemic. The hypotheses for this study are as follows: pandemic anxiety would have a negative influence on the respondent's academic performance (research question one), there will be a significant negative correlation between pandemic depression and academic performance (research question two), there will be a significant negative correlation between grades and academic performance (research question three), and during the pandemic, computer devices have interfered with the participants' ability to access online learning (research question four). The study's results showed the following: Regarding research question one, pandemic anxiety was found to negatively impact student academic performance. Research question two showed that college students who scored higher on the depression measure had higher GPAs than college students who scored lower on the depression measure. Research question three showed that the COVID-19 pandemic increased students' academic performance. Research question four showed that college students who experienced higher levels of computer device interference that affected their ability to access online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic had a higher GPA than college students who endorsed experiencing low computer device interference. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)
ABSTRACT
Optimal mental health is a global and increasingly pressing issue. Major events in recent times, such as the effects of global warming and the Covid-19 pandemic, have had undeniable negative effects on people's well-being. The mental health of young people is of particular importance: strategies to deal with adversity are learned and developed at this stage of life. Success aids the likelihood of being a lifelong resilient and hopefully flourishing individual, whereas difficulty may leave an individual vulnerable to slipping into persistent mental ill health. Given this, there seems an obvious and necessary role for educational institutions in promoting such strategies and thus improving the well-being of students. Positive psychology has a valuable contribution to make in this regard, as achieving optimal mental health is perhaps its primary purpose, and positive psychology interventions (PPIs) are broad-based and cost-effective to implement when compared with more traditional clinical approaches. They are also technology friendly, meaning they may be disbursed widely. The research in this thesis explores the use of several PPIs in school and university settings with the aim of building significant and lasting well-being improvements for young people. It works to find the most effective interventions and to understand what makes them so. Finally, it seeks to create real-world value by considering how such interventions may be designed and implemented in an educational context. The thesis comprises four studies. The first study used a positive diary exercise in a sample of primary school children. The exercise resulted in a significant increase in happiness and reduction in depressive symptoms during and up to three months after the intervention. A tertile split revealed interestingly different response profiles for participants depending on baseline well-being. A similar intervention in the second study found significant associated improvements in academic performance. The third study applied two PPIs in samples of undergraduates. The first part also used the diary exercise, which found there to be less convincing evidence of its effectiveness when compared with the first two studies. The second part used a signature strengths intervention, which resulted in marked and sustained improvements in self-esteem and life satisfaction. This study highlighted the differing outcomes that different interventions may have, particularly across age groups. It also raised questions as to why certain well-being markers improve more or last longer than others, suggesting that an individual's sense of autonomy or control may be a factor. These questions shaped the fourth study, which was more exploratory. It used a novel exercise-framed PPI to determine whether a sense of control, as measured by judgments of contingency, is linked with well-being, and whether positively manipulating such judgments might lead to improvements thereof. The complexity of the experimental paradigm meant that findings were inconclusive in this regard, but it opened the door to future work that might be able to distil more robust effects. Overall, this thesis finds that PPIs demonstrate huge promise for mental health improvements and that they are a feasible option for incorporation into an educational curriculum. However, it seems they are not universal aids and careful consideration needs to be given to the type of intervention used and who the target recipients are. Age and baseline well-being are two important factors, for example. If properly implemented, PPIs could be valuable tools to build resilience and enable young people to flourish now and through the rest of their lives. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)
ABSTRACT
Athletic and academic identities among college student-athletes have been identified as important determinants of their academic achievement, career preparation, and sport termination. However, less is known about how these two identities, independently or simultaneously may be related to student-athletes' overall (e.g., levels of optimism and happiness) or sport-wellbeing (e.g., satisfaction with one's sport performance). To this end, the purpose of the study was to examine how student-athletes' academic and athletic identities are associated with their overall and sport well-being in a U.S. national sample of 241 Division I student-athletes. I also examined whether the relationship between these two identities and well-being would be moderated by the student-athletes' year in school, gender, or race. Because this study took place during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic (Summer of 2020), I also explored whether interruptions to school and sport activities due to the pandemic would also affect student-athletes reported overall and sport well-being. Results showed a significant positive relationship between academic identity and overall well-being, and a negative relationship between athletic identity and sport well-being. Additionally, year in school and race were significant correlates of sport well-being, with lowerclassmen student-athletes (first- and second-year students) and White student-athletes reporting higher levels of sport well-being than their counterparts. Race and gender were also significant predictors of overall well-being. Specifically, male student-athletes and White student-athletes reported higher levels of overall well-being than student-athletes identifying as female or as a person of color. Finally, results also indicated that COVID-19 were negatively associated with participants' overall and sport well-being. However, the relationship between academic nor athletic identity and well-being (i.e., overall, sport well-being) were not moderated by self-reported rage, gender, year in school, or COVID-19 interruptions. After a review of the current literature and its limitations, findings and implications for practice with student-athletes are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)
ABSTRACT
The present study widened the pandemic's mental health response by examining the impact of learning format, depression, and anxiety on college students' academic performance during COVID-19. The study consisted of 222 college students who responded to survey measures through online survey platforms Qualtrics and Amazon Mechanical Turk. The study utilized a multiple regression design and consisted of three measures: The Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item (GAD-7) scale, the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ)-9 and a questionnaire assessing online disruptions during the pandemic. The hypotheses for this study are as follows: pandemic anxiety would have a negative influence on the respondent's academic performance (research question one), there will be a significant negative correlation between pandemic depression and academic performance (research question two), there will be a significant negative correlation between grades and academic performance (research question three), and during the pandemic, computer devices have interfered with the participants' ability to access online learning (research question four). The study's results showed the following: Regarding research question one, pandemic anxiety was found to negatively impact student academic performance. Research question two showed that college students who scored higher on the depression measure had higher GPAs than college students who scored lower on the depression measure. Research question three showed that the COVID-19 pandemic increased students' academic performance. Research question four showed that college students who experienced higher levels of computer device interference that affected their ability to access online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic had a higher GPA than college students who endorsed experiencing low computer device interference. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)
ABSTRACT
In spring 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic forced educational systems to transition into an emergency remote learning modality. This quantitative study compared retention and productive grade rates of two 16-week academic semesters and compared face-to-face (fall 2019) and remote (fall 2020) emergency remote instruction. The study sample was drawn from the core courses of History, English, and Speech at San Antonio College. Those courses were selected in part due to the high proportion of first time in college students who were considered a vulnerable population regarding performance and persistence. Additional variables (i.e., gender, veteran status, first-generation status, and socio-economic status) were examined to determine whether they were predictors of either productive grade rate or retention. The findings suggested no difference between productive grade rates but higher retention in the face-to-face semester. The findings also indicated that gender (female) was predictive in both modalities, but no other variables were. At a minimum, those results suggested the importance of local assessment of predictors of student success in general, and when making decisions related to remote learning in particular. Finally, results of this study suggested that despite concerns regarding the scholastic impact on students and faculty forced into emergency remote instruction, that did not adversely affect student outcomes. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)
ABSTRACT
Building on recent research in high performance mindsets and their correlation to high performing people in the workplace, academic success as well as athletic performance, this study aimed to examine the happiness of high performing people. This study examines the relationship between the noncognitive skills of self-awareness, self-discipline, internal locus of control with sport performance, growth mindset and happiness of college football players during the COVID-19 pandemic school year. Participants were 99 undergraduate college football players from four different private universities within the United States. The results indicated that year in school predicted athletic performance. The mindset skills of intrinsic motivation, grit, and hope will help student athletes to stay in their athletic programs which in turn will lead to a higher level of performance. Student athletes that trust the process and remain in the program longer will have a greater likelihood of higher athletic achievement. Year in school along with internal locus of control predict growth mindset among participants. Self-awareness and internal locus of control were significant predictors of happiness amongst participants. College athletes and college students in general need learning opportunities in the mindset skills of self-awareness and internal locus of control. These mindset skills will help them balance their busy lives, maintain a growth mindset and be happy. Curriculum around these mindset skills needs to continue to be developed and tested for effectiveness. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)
ABSTRACT
At the end of the year 2019, COVID-19 was first noticed in Wuhan, China, and since then, it has strongly impacted almost all aspects of people's daily lives everywhere. Schools at all levels worldwide have to transit to online instruction modes to accommodate the social distancing and disinfection requirements. The current study aims to explore the influencing factors of students' academic performance in tertiary education during the pandemic, specifically from the perceptions of students and instructors. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) analysis was applied to analyze the data collected from students and instructors who participated in online instruction in a large public university in western New York during Fall 2020. As the first COVID case in the county appeared in the middle of Spring 2020 (mid-March), Fall 2020 was the following semester after the abrupt transition happened. The results of this study showed that students' perceptions on course structure, communication, learning outcome, and instructors' perceptions on attendance and instructional effectiveness had a significant association with students' GPA. It was also found that instructors' previous experience in online education influences their students' perceptions on course structure and communication but not on their own perceptions on attendance, student learning outcome, and instructional effectiveness. The findings of this research provided potential directions for future research in instructors' training and online course facilitation. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)
ABSTRACT
This paper presents findings on research-based interventions that were employed as part of a semester-long PDSA (Plan-Do-Study-Act) cycle at Davis & Elkins College (D&E) aimed at decreasing math anxiety while increasing student achievement on high-stakes standardized assessments with a focus on growth mindset and productive struggle. Based on data from 2015-2018, the success rate of preservice elementary teachers (K-6) on the mathematics portion of the Praxis Core Academic Skills for Educators exam was approximately 30% on first attempt at D&E. Drivers of this problem of practice include the attitudes, beliefs, and mindsets of test takers. Often, students who have a history of negative experiences in mathematics suffer from a cycle of math anxiety involving a lack of confidence and avoidance of mathematics. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, students were enrolled in online courses and the interventions included two free online courses: Stanford University's How to Learn Math: For Students and Khan Academy's Praxis Core Math. The interventions aimed to enable students to experience a more positive, productive cycle of math achievement. Results indicate that these methods were more helpful for some groups of students than for others. The characteristics of each group are noteworthy for future study. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)
ABSTRACT
The nursing profession is in the midst of an epic shortage that will require an additional 400 thousand new nurses by 2026 due to an aging population (Bureau of Labor and Statistics, 2019) and it's estimated that 11% of the current workforce will leave the profession entirely due to the COVID-19 pandemic (Raso et. al., 2021). Simultaneously, the National League for Nursing (2016) is calling for greater diversity within the nursing profession that includes gender. Nurses who are men may help alleviate the nursing shortage and contribute to diversity within the profession. However, men in nursing education experience barriers related to entering a predominately female profession (O'Lynn, 2004) that negatively affect their abilities to persist (Christensen & Knight, 2014). The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to examine the factors that contribute to men nursing student persistence in associate degree nursing programs. This study utilized the framework of Swail and colleagues' (2003) model of geometric persistence and achievement to answer the following research questions: what cognitive, social, and institutional factors contribute to men nursing student persistence in associate degree nursing programs.Findings from this study were derived from qualitative data. The men in the study demonstrated a strength-based approach to overcome gender barriers typically encountered in nursing education that ultimately aided in abilities to persist. They achieved this through demonstrating: (a) goal commitment, (b) time management skills, (c) utilization of academic resources, (d) self-care activities, (e) positive outlooks regarding their gender, and (f) the use of relationships. Results from this study shaped the recommendations that inform administrators, faculty, and future men nursing students on the factors that contribute to men nursing student persistence. This study helps fill the gap in the literature on the phenomena and opens the door for future studies of men nursing students in both 2-and 4-year programs and their persistence. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)
ABSTRACT
The challenge to improve academic achievement for community college students has generated concern for decades, with renewed emphasis during the Coronavirus Pandemic of 2020-2021, known as Covid-19 (Roueche, 1968;West & Fabre, 2021). National and local initiatives for student success have been launched with mixed results from a broad coalition of champions (Smith, Baldwin, & Schmidt, 2015). The challenge of succeeding in higher education for many students suggests that a corresponding demand for academic support services would exist, but that has not been the universal student response at every institution (Friedlander, 1980;Hendriksen, Yang, Love, & Hall, 2005). Research has demonstrated the efficacy of academic support services for students when used, dispelling most doubts about their utility (Center for Community College Student Engagement, CCCSE, 2012;Kostecki & Bers, 2008). This quantitative study is about factors that relate to student engagement with an academic support center during Covid-19. That support center is the Tutoring and Academic Skills Center (TASC) at College of the Desert (COD) in Palm Desert, California. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)