Preparing underprepared community college students for college-level reading and writing: through the lens of developmental English faculty.

Permanent URL: http://hdl.handle.net/2047/D20315081
Title:
Preparing underprepared community college students for college-level reading and writing : through the lens of developmental English faculty
Creator:
Roberts, Sheril T. (Author)
Contributor:
Ewell, Sara (Advisor)
Unger, Christopher (Committee member)
Stansbury, Calvin E (Committee member)
Language:
English
Publisher:
Boston, Massachusetts : Northeastern University, 2018
Date Accepted:
July 2018
Date Awarded:
September 2018
Type of resource:
Text
Genre:
Dissertations
Format:
electronic
Digital origin:
born digital
Abstract/Description:
Community colleges are often the academic home to students who are underprepared in reading and writing. To gain a better understanding of this problem, the researcher conducted an Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis. The goal of phenomenological research is to gain a deeper understanding of the lived experiences of participants. This qualitative study examined the perceptions and experiences of developmental English faculty as they prepare underprepared students for college-level reading and writing. This study sought to answer the following research questions: How do developmental English faculty members experience teaching students who are underprepared for college-level reading and writing? Also, what are the successes and challenges experienced by developmental English faculty as they teach students who are underprepared for college-level reading and writing? Six developmental English faculty members from various community colleges were interviewed using a semi-structured interview protocol. The findings uncovered four themes and one subtheme: 1) students entered developmental English class underprepared in reading, 2) all faculty members were motivated to be agents of change for their students, 3) most students were faced with personal challenges that hindered their progress in developmental English, 4) developmental English faculty felt underprepared to teach students how to read as they were not properly trained in reading pedagogy, resulting in the faculty members need to be innovative in the classroom (subtheme). This study validated current literature that high faculty expectations lead to better academic performance from students, faculty loathe the new accelerated format of developmental English courses, and more collaboration between high schools and colleges is necessary for student success in postsecondary education. It is suggested that this study be used as a foundation to further research topics of pedagogical preparation for developmental English faculty, collaboration between secondary and postsecondary faculty, and the experiences of faculty members of college-level courses. Furthermore, this study could be used to suggest better pedagogical practices and more strategic academic preparation and professional development for developmental English faculty.
Subjects and keywords:
Developmental English
Reading
Underprepared
Writing
Higher education administration
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17760/D20315081
Permanent URL:
http://hdl.handle.net/2047/D20315081
Use and reproduction:
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