Date of Award
8-2020
Document Type
Campus Access Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Education/Leadership in Urban Schools
First Advisor
Patricia Krueger-Henney
Second Advisor
Franchine Menashy
Third Advisor
John Saltmarsh
Abstract
This research addresses issues of inequity in completion rates at the community college level for historically marginalized students. This Participatory Action Research (PAR) project allowed community college students to not only document what it is like to be a student in a small New England community college; it also shares student-generated findings, actions, and suggestions that push toward improving completion rates. This PAR project was rooted in transformative praxis, critical race theory, and desire-based theory to empower those who have been silenced by institutionalized, colonial, and positivistic educational policies. The interwoven approach of the project allowed for a complexity of experiences to be articulated by the students themselves. This project used a mix of standard and evolving methods, such as cognitive bio-mapping, focus group interviews, narrative reflections, data analysis, literature review, and student-run presentations that culminated in the students taking action on campus. The results of this multi-modal approach reveal that while students experience feelings of isolation, struggle with inflexible course schedules, and articulate feeling a general lack of a “community feeling” on campus, they are willing and able, to make relevant suggestions for change at the institutional and policy levels.
Recommended Citation
Gully-Hightower, Tara, "Community College Non-Completion: Students' Voices and Embodiments of Stress and Healing" (2020). Graduate Doctoral Dissertations. 594.
https://scholarworks.umb.edu/doctoral_dissertations/594
Comments
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