Date of Award
1-27-2017
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Educational Leadership, Ed.D.
First Advisor
Amany Saleh
Committee Members
Daniel O’Meara; David Holman; Gwendolyn Neal; Jill Simons
Call Number
LD251.A566d 2016 S53
Abstract
Each year, thousands of individuals enter higher education unprepared for college-level work. These students are usually required to spend at least one semester in developmental coursework prior to enrolling in college-level classes such as English composition and college algebra. The purpose of this study was to provide a systematic assessment of the level of implementation of best practice in developmental education at U. S. institutions of higher education. The research questions sought to answer to what extent are the current best practices of developmental education implemented in two- and four-year colleges and universities in the U. S., whether there was a significant difference between the level of implementation of best practices at two- and four-year colleges and universities, and whether the implementation of best practices was influenced by the gender, age, or years of teaching experience (in general and developmental education) of the respondent. A survey to assess the level of implementation of best practices was distributed to 2,540 individuals involved in developmental education at two-and four-year colleges and universities. A total of 659 survey responses were received, yielding a 25.9% response rate. The analysis provided the following. Two-year institutions represented the bulk of the respondents (78.2%). Both two- and four-year institutions demonstrated high levels of implementation of the established best practices. Additionally, all of the best practices (for both two- and four-year) exhibited means above 2.0, indicating agreement with the level of implementation. Four-year institutions demonstrated significantly lower results in five of the best practices, while the two-year responses showed significantly lower results in three. The demographic categories, gender and years of teaching experience (overall and in developmental education) produced several significant findings. Males ranked six of the best practices at lower levels of implementation than females (who only had one significant finding). Those early in their career (1-6 years) ranked four best practices lower than the mid-career (7-25) and late-career respondents. The late-career individuals ranked two best practices significantly lower than the mid-career respondents.
Rights Management
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Sharp, Deltha Lynn, "Implementation Of Best Practices in Developmental Education" (2017). Student Theses and Dissertations. 614.
https://arch.astate.edu/all-etd/614
