- Collection:
- Atlanta University and Clark Atlanta University Theses and Dissertations
- Title:
- The influence of professional development training of new career, non-traditional adjunct faculty on the level of student engagement in one Georgia technical community college, 2020
- Creator:
- Evans, Arthur C., III
- Date of Original:
- 2020-12
- Subject:
- Degrees, Academic
Dissertations, Academic - Location:
- United States, Georgia, Fulton County, Atlanta, 33.749, -84.38798
- Medium:
- born digital
- Type:
- Text
- Format:
- application/pdf
- Description:
- The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to understand the influence of professional development for adjunct faculty at 2-year community colleges on classroom student engagement. This research study focused on the new-career, nontraditional adjunct population to better understand the influence of professional development for this particular faculty group. The dependent variable for the study was classroom student engagement. The independent variables were (a) faculty professional development, (b) faculty prep time, (c) instructional format, (d) student learning styles, (e) instructional approaches, and (f) teacher-student interactions. Qualitative data were gathered from the interviews conducted with the faculty and student participants, and this data were coded and analyzed for themes. Moreover, the qualitative approach used was a phenomenological case study. Quantitative data were also gathered from the faculty and student survey participants. A convergent mixed-methods approach was used because it allowed for qualitative and quantitative data to be collected, analyzed, and interpreted at the same time. The convergent research approach seeks to gather a “comprehensive analysis of the research problem” (Creswell & Creswell, 2018, p. 41). Quantitative data were collected from 45 faculty and 28 student participants survey responses. Using the Pearson correlation test, the relationships between independent and dependent variables were analyzed. Correlation analysis was used to test the magnitude of the relationship between variables, whether it be a direct or inverse relationship (Urdan, 2017). Qualitative data were collected from eight faculty and four student interviews. Qualitative data were gathered from the interviews conducted with the faculty and student participants, and these data were coded and analyzed for themes. The findings showed a significant relationship between classroom student engagement and (a) faculty professional development, (b) faculty prep time, (c) instructional format, (d) student learning styles, (e) faculty instructional approaches, and (f) teacher-student interaction. Furthermore, some specific instructional approaches such as (a) giving presentations and lectures, and (b) discussions and learning through inquiry were accurate predictors of student engagement. Additionally, some specific teacher-student interactions such as (a) changes in student facial expression and (b) changes in students’ posture were also significant predictors of student engagement.
- External Identifiers:
- Metadata URL:
- http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12322/cau.td:2020_evans_arthur_c_iii
- Rights Holder:
- Clark Atlanta University
- Original Collection:
- Atlanta University and Clark Atlanta University Theses and Dissertations
- Holding Institution:
- Atlanta University Center Robert W. Woodruff Library
- Rights:
-
