Perceptions of Community College Students and Faculty on Persistence in Developmental Reading.

Perceptions of Community College Students and Faculty on Persistence in Developmental Reading by Lisa H. Aofrate MS, Western Oregon University, 2000 BS, Western Oregon University, 1997 Project Study Submitted in Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Education Walden University June 2016 Abstract Attrition for entry-level, non-traditional college students taking developmental reading courses is a concern for higher education institutions. Students need to complete basic developmental reading courses in order to progress in their vocational or collegiate studies. This phenomenological study followed a social constructivist approach to attempt to understand what developmental reading students and faculty experience regarding persistence. The key research question examined the perceptions and understandings of college students and faculty involved in college entry level, nontraditional developmental reading classes regarding the factors impacting student persistence at a local community college. Using interviews, surveys, and participant journals, data were collected from 3 non-traditional, developmental reading students, who were over 24 years of age, and 3 of their instructors. Interview data were transcribed and all data were analyzed using open coding and thematic analysis. The themes discovered from both student and instructor perspectives were that student-centered instruction, experiential learning, and critical reflection were all methods for improving developmental reading student persistence. Implications for positive social change include providing research findings to the local site that might be used to improve student retention in developmental reading courses.Attrition for entry-level, non-traditional college students taking developmental reading courses is a concern for higher education institutions. Students need to complete basic developmental reading courses in order to progress in their vocational or collegiate studies. This phenomenological study followed a social constructivist approach to attempt to understand what developmental reading students and faculty experience regarding persistence. The key research question examined the perceptions and understandings of college students and faculty involved in college entry level, nontraditional developmental reading classes regarding the factors impacting student persistence at a local community college. Using interviews, surveys, and participant journals, data were collected from 3 non-traditional, developmental reading students, who were over 24 years of age, and 3 of their instructors. Interview data were transcribed and all data were analyzed using open coding and thematic analysis. The themes discovered from both student and instructor perspectives were that student-centered instruction, experiential learning, and critical reflection were all methods for improving developmental reading student persistence. Implications for positive social change include providing research findings to the local site that might be used to improve student retention in developmental reading courses. Perceptions of Community College Students and Faculty on Persistence in Developmental Reading by Lisa H. Aofrate MS, Western Oregon University, 2000 BS, Western Oregon University, 1997 Project Study Submitted in Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Education Walden University June 2016 Dedication I dedicate this Doctoral dissertation to Dr. George McMeen, who was my committee chair for most of this ever challenging and surprising journey. There is no reservation in sharing that without his continued support and counsel I could not have completed this process. Acknowledgments I thank the university school library media specialists who helped with this research for their participation, the university dissertation editors for their advice and feedback, my current chair and committee members for their support, patience, and guidance during and through immeasurable challenges, fellow doctoral students—those who have completed this process, those in the midst of the process, and those just beginning—for their support, feedback, and friendship. I thank my friends as well who have shared their doctoral woes, who have positively expected completion from me, who have been my peer reviewers, and who gave me their enthusiastic support.