This quantitative correlational study examined the relationship between the attributional style dimensions of internality, stability, and globality, and academic performance among community college students on academic probation. The sample consisted of 114 community college students on academic probation. Participant attributional styles were…

As college promise programs proliferate across the United States with noted intentions to promote access through increased affordability, it is necessary to understand the relationship between these programs and other forms of financial aid, including loans. Using federal, state, and program-level data, we leverage a natural experiment to estimate…

This dissertation consists of three independent chapters in applied microeconomics. In the first chapter, I study the causal effect impact of early life circumstances on adult psychological well-being using the property reform in China as a positive and policy driven change in economic resources in early life. Exploiting the staggered adoption of…

In response to research raising concerns about developmental placement, new placement systems and curricular models designed to increase the number of students placed into entry-level college courses have emerged in recent years. These systems aim to more accurately identify students who may benefit from some type of developmental instruction and…

This meta-analysis examined the relationship between psychosocial factors and community college student success. Informed by college persistence models and motivational theory, we statistically integrated past research on five psychosocial categories (motivation, self-perceptions, attributions, self-regulation, and anxiety), examining their…

African American students enroll in 2-year colleges at disproportionately high rates. Little exploration has been conducted on students within this population who could have attended 4-year institutions--a phenomenon known as "undermatching" (Bastedo & Flaster, 2014). This study explores their college choice process, the factors that…

The purpose of this qualitative study was to discover the motivational factors influencing part-time faculty employment within the community college from the perspective of the part-time faculty. The study examined these reported motivational factors for differences influenced by age, gender, and employment status. A survey was distributed to a…

Thanks to the Student Transitions Project (STP) there is a wealth of data on student mobility in BC's post-secondary system; however, these data do not explain why students are moving, and how their educational goals are being supported. In early 2012, the BC Council on Admissions and Transfer commissioned BC Stats to survey over 1,600 students…

This study addressed pedagogical practices in the public speaking classroom in an attempt to help control communication apprehension (CA) levels and improve retention rates among college students in the basic public speaking course. Guided by the theoretical frameworks of Berger and Calabrese's uncertainty reduction theory and Weiner's attribution…

The purpose of this study was to determine if a relationship existed between exam grades and students. causal attributions of their grades in a developmental mathematics course at a community college. Also investigated were differences in causal attributions of grades between Traditional and Nontraditional students. In addition, among…

This study examines the relationship between scheduling (3-, 2-, and 1-day-per-week classes) and achievement in college algebra. The study is grounded in spacing effect theory, which examines how variations in the frequency and timing of instruction affect student learning, and involves 116 Florida community college students. Regression analyses…

This study focused on degree-seeking baccalaureate-degree holders at one two-year technical institute in the Midsouth to determine why they chose to study at the two-year college and how they compared their two-year college experience with their baccalaureate educational experience. Findings indicated the technical college was their first choice…

This recently completed study examined whether attribution theory can explain helping behavior in an interdependent classroom environment that utilized a cooperative-learning model. The study focused on student participants enrolled in 6 community college communication classes taught by the same instructor. Three levels of cooperative-learning…