The purpose of this study was to explore how a semester-long scholar practitioner workshop influenced student affairs professionals' quantitative research and statistics competency. Participants' professional engagement and perceptions of barriers and motivation to develop as scholar practitioners were also examined. Although barriers to…

This multi-phase mixed-methods study explores provider and recipient perceptions of the current state of early childhood professional development in a southeastern area of the United States. Professional development for the early childhood workforce has been shown to positively influence the quality of early childhood classrooms. This study…

The emerging millennial generation of young professionals in student affairs, often accused of being shielded from many of life's developmentally stimulating challenges, may not be sufficiently self-authored to effectively facilitate epistemological, intrapersonal, and interpersonal development among their students. Contrary to expectations,…

The purpose of this study was to identify the relationship of personal characteristics, job characteristics, and fit on the job satisfaction of mid-level managers in student affairs. The study was quantitative in nature and used the Job Satisfaction Survey (Spector, 1997) and several additional instruments to assess the impact of these variables…

This dissertation examines the job satisfaction of mid to high level female student affairs administrators within higher education institutions in the United States. The study investigates factors related to job satisfaction as identified through Kalleberg's theory on intrinsic and extrinsic factors, and theories on mentorship and sponsorship as…

The purpose of this study is to examine the professional standards and competencies that California community college student government advisors perceive as important, their confidence level in those professional standards and competencies and the role that they believe professional organizations can play in developing those skills. This study…

The lack of women represented in high level student affairs positions has been documented in the literature (Ting & Watt, 1999). The literature suggest that an existing pool of qualified, experienced women is present on university campuses, but has yet to be tapped to enhance the gender diversity at senior administrative level positions (King…

There is limited research available on the relationship between motherhood and career satisfaction. This dissertation examined women who worked as student affairs professionals to develop a greater understanding of the relationship between motherhood and career satisfaction. The following research questions were addressed: Is there a difference…

The purpose of this study was to identify the leadership competencies and characteristics that are "preferred" by student affairs administrators, and to compare these preferences across generations to determine if there were any differences. The term "preferred" was used to indicate that the study asked respondents to assign a value or a level of…

Over the last two decades, several studies have confirmed that there is a leadership crisis among the nation's community colleges. In response to this leadership crisis, the American Association of Community Colleges [AACC] commissioned the development of a leadership competency framework consisting of six leadership competency areas deemed…

Despite long-standing calls for more intentional professional development as a way to ensure a higher quality workforce in student affairs, little progress has been made. Various committees and task forces have suggested frameworks for program development, the certification of program quality and attendance, the recording of individual…