Theses and Dissertations

Issuing Body

Mississippi State University

Advisor

Davis, James

Committee Member

Garner, Howell

Committee Member

Wiseman, Marty

Committee Member

King, Stephanie

Committee Member

Stonecypher, Wayne

Date of Degree

5-1-2010

Original embargo terms

MSU Only Indefinitely

Document Type

Dissertation - Campus Access Only

Major

Community College Leadership

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

College

College of Education

Department

Department of Leadership and Foundations

Abstract

Research indicates that college students who engage in proven educational practices associated with high levels of learning and achievement gain more from their educational experiences and have higher rates of degree completion than those who do not. Studies also indicate that community college students who transfer to senior colleges are less likely to engage in these proven educational practices than non-transfer students attending senior colleges. Participants in this research study were administered a survey developed by the National Survey on Student Engagement (NSSE) to compare levels of engagement in five benchmark categories. All-USA Community College Academic Team national winners attending senior colleges were compared with a general population of community college transfers students attending senior colleges and All-USA Community College Academic Team national winners attending senior colleges were compared with non-transfer students attending senior colleges. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Independent samples t-tests were run to determine if significant differences existed in the levels of engagement between the groups. The findings of this study showed that the 2006 All-USA Community College Academic Team national winner‘s levels of engagement in each of the five benchmarks categories were higher and significantly different when compared to the other two groups. Further, the personal characteristics of the 2006 All-USA Community College Academic Team national winners were analyzed to determine if there were significant differences which led to higher levels of engagement while attending senior colleges. The findings revealed that only one personal characteristic, gender, contributed to a significant difference in the level of engagement for a benchmark. Female respondents‘ level of engagement in the academic challenge benchmark was higher and significantly different compared to male respondents.

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/11668/16259

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