Coker, J. S., Heiser, E., & Taylor, L. (2018). Student outcomes associated with short-term and semester study abroad programs. Frontiers: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad, 30(2), 92-105.
This study compares student outcomes across no study abroad, semester, short-term, two short-terms, and semester plus short-term programs to identify the impact of study abroad programs on learners’ results. According to the authors, short-term and semester programs correlate positively with students’ educational experiences and willingness to re-enroll in the same institution. However, learners who undertook semester programs had positive outcomes in several categories. The authors also indicate that short-term programs have higher value while semester programs have better outcomes overall. The study derives its strength from its reliable report on the results of a program evaluation using data from the National Survey of Student Engagement. Additionally, the authors are professional researchers in student support in the higher education field. The findings of this study can guide higher education leaders to execute effective programs by emphasizing the additional benefits that students get when they take semester programs after short-term programs. However, the study finds less compelling proof of better outcomes when students take extra programs to semester programs.
Daugherty, L., Gomez, C. J., Carew, D. G., Mendoza-Graf, A., & Miller, T. (2018). Designing and implementing corequisite models of developmental education. Rand Corporation, 12.
According to Daugherty et al. (2018), most students entering community colleges are considered not college-ready due to inadequate preparation regarding reading, writing, and mathematics. This aspect necessitates colleges to enroll students lacking college readiness in one or more subjects into developmental education. The program comprises a series of subject-based courses that learners complete before joining college-level classes. Regarding strength, the study utilizes data from Community College Research Center to confirm high enrolment rates in at least one developmental education course. However, the authors discovered that traditional approaches to the program are not yielding positive results for most participating students. The study examines five common types of corequisite models to identify unique features like the use of single instructors or mixed-ability peer groups as necessary for enhancing effectiveness. These features face challenges with scheduling, advising, and institutional buy-in. Therefore, the study findings guide states and higher education institutions to rethink the appropriate strategies for addressing college readiness and enacting policies to facilitate experimentation and continuous improvement.
Ganga, E. C., Mazzariello, A. N., & Edgecombe, N. D. (2018). Developmental education: An introduction for policymakers.
Ganga, Mazzariello, and Edgecombe (2018) explore developmental education to identify its importance and challenges surrounding the program. For instance, the report compares student progression through developmental reading and math sequences and suggests strategies policymakers can employ to overcome the challenge of low outcomes. The article derives its strength from Community College Research Center’s data to identify remediation as the best traditional approach that enhances outcomes for students entering college with weak academic skills. The authors also analyze different strategies that various states have adopted to make developmental education a success. Therefore, the resource gives insight to higher education leaders to advocate for policies that balance goals and expectations and allow room for institutions to adopt policies to local contexts and innovate for local solutions. This report also identifies legislation as the most effective strategy to set a reliable policy alleviating the challenge. However, legislation may leave education experts to implement recommendations when continually evolving innovations might develop ineffective solutions due to limited faculty training and support.
Goodlad, K., Cheng, S., Sears, J., Diaz, M., Satyanarayana, A., & Freniske, P. (2019). “Our Stories”: First-year Learning Communities Students Reflections on the Transition to College.
This study analyzes diverse reflective narratives from first-year and first-generation learning communities students. According to the authors, this student population faces hurdles transitioning into college. The project examines how the program structure and an open digital structure help community building. Moreover, the authors analyze the potential of learning community factors to create positive influence as learners identify and make sense of the social, emotional, and bureaucratic problems of transitioning into college. The project also discusses the roles of peer mentors, faculty, and administrators in developing learning communities. Regarding strengths, the study utilizes raw data to identify the need for consistent advocacy and funding for building learning communities for students entering college. Therefore, the study gives higher education leaders the insight to develop better networking opportunities for new students. The results also guide higher education leaders to evaluate how students and peer mentors engage within learning communities to ensure a smooth transition into college. Creating deliberate and targeted opportunities to enhance student experiences can ensure effective college transitioning.
Harkins, D. A., Kozak, K., & Ray, S. (2018). Service-Learning: A Case Study of Student Outcomes. Journal of Service-Learning in Higher Education, 8.
This study explores service-learning practice by analyzing learners’ perceived outcomes within a medium urban university in England. According to the authors, using origins as a critical pedagogy identifies the potential of service-learning to facilitate students’ development as active citizens. The study findings indicate that service learning hours, instructors, and primary service settings correlate with academic and civic outcomes. This study derives its strength from using raw data to show that using service learning as pedagogy has significant potential for learners and communities as students demonstrate perceived advantages of traditional service learning. However, the efficacy of this strategy remains unclear. The study findings have vital implications for the development and maintenance of service-learning programs as the data reveal student enjoyment due to a myriad of benefits. Moreover, the results guide higher education leaders to explore variables like service-learning program duration, course instructors, and primary service sites to adequately understand and inspire transformative civic learning while inspiring students to become active citizens.
Kropp, J., Arrington, N. M., & Shankar, V. (2015). Developing a service-learning student facilitator program: Lessons learned. Journal of Community Engagement and Scholarship, 8(1), 6.
According to Kropp, Arrington, and Shankar (2015), the service-learning student facilitator program was an idea of an author who undertook the program and aimed to develop a sustainable project that institutions could reproduce every year. The program sought to train and certify learners toward helping faculty members implement service-learning experiences in diverse college courses. This article provides an overview of service learning to demonstrate the advantages that students and communities get when institutions implement the program. Additionally, the authors explore the history of using student leaders in higher education and examine the effectiveness of training them to co-serve as facilitators with faculty mentors during projects. The study derives its strength from the experts’ authorship and publication by an authoritative source in higher education. Moreover, the project utilized raw data to establish a service-learning program that students implemented in their courses. Therefore, the study findings can guide higher education leaders to develop strategies for expanding awareness and understanding of service-learning while encouraging implementation in every institution.
Lee, J. A., & Barnes, A. R. (2015). Predominately White institutions: Transition programs to address academic underpreparedness and experiences of discrimination. Translational Issues in Psychological Science, 1(4), 401.
Despite a steady increase in the enrollment and retention of black students in predominantly white institutions, they continue having high attrition than white students. Lee and Barnes (2015) explore high-school-to-college transition programs that mostly white institutions have employed to respond to the attrition. According to the study, students increase their likelihood of achieving academic success during their first-year studies and completing their undergraduate education successfully if they participate in transition programs. The study’s strength lies in investigating the perceptions toward predominantly white institutions and suggesting recommendations for integrating culturally sensitive program aspects into the transition program curriculum. Additionally, the authors recommend strategies for enhancing black student retention and promoting inclusivity within predominantly white institutions. Therefore, the study findings inform higher education leaders to identify approaches for increasing critical awareness of undesirable beliefs and practices that hinder effective student transition. This aspect can help predominantly shite institutions to recognize the impact of systematic discrimination on student outcomes and implement supportive programs for underrepresented student experiences.
Mitchell, C., & Sickney, L. (2019). Sustainable improvement: Building learning communities that endure. Brill.
This book advocates for wholeness in school improvement by emphasizing the need for sustainability in all societal aspects. According to the authors, the conventional implementation in managed systems has tarnished the promise of learning communities. However, learning communities have evolved from genuine caring interactions within curiosity-driven communities. The study derives its strength from the deep ecology framework and living systems to encourage reciprocity, mutuality, interconnectivity, and relationships. Moreover, the authors conceive schools as living systems rather than emphasizing the historical mechanistic worldview. The authors also recommend that educators need to engage more deeply in transforming teaching and learning within institutions. Using the principles of deep ecology advocates for more meaningful connections through collective responsibility and health considerations that learning communities create. Therefore, the study gives higher education leaders the insight to document learning journeys and build bridges toward enacting sustainable learning communities that students require to prosper. The study findings also encourage higher education leaders to share the renewed promise of learning communities and increase implementation in every institution.
Montgomery, K. A. (2019). Supporting Chinese undergraduate students in transition at US colleges and universities. J. Int. Stud, 7, 963-989.
Montgomery (2019) conducts a phenomenological study of the Chinese undergraduate student population in the United States (US) to understand their experiences during their first year in college. The author identifies academic, social, and linguistic transition types while examining student preparations, institutional support, and coping strategies during the transition to achieve this objective. According to the study findings, opportunities to engage in transition programs and activities supporting culturally relevant knowledge create a cultural familiarity that improves Chinese student outcomes during first-year education. Moreover, transition programs create humanizing education environments and the holistic support necessary for developing meaningful relationships. The study derives its strength from a conceptual framework that includes Schlossberg’s Transition Model to explore diverse transition types and their impact on student outcomes. The study is also published by an authoritative source in the higher education field. Therefore, higher education leaders can use the findings to implement multi-faceted and mandatory orientation programs while improving residential life opportunities and experiences necessary for enhancing learning outcomes among international students.
Paras, A., Carignan, M., Brenner, A., Hardy, J., Malmgren, J., & Rathburn, M. (2019). Understanding How Program Factors Influence Intercultural Learning in Study Abroad: The Benefits of Mixed-Method Analysis. Frontiers: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad, 31(1), 22-45.
According to the authors, the proliferation of short-term study abroad programs in higher education necessitates a critical assessment of impacts on intercultural learning. The study compares intercultural learning experiences among students undertaking short-term study abroad programs in Canada and the US. According to the study findings from intercultural development inventory scores and students’ writing, enrolling in programs with a service-learning component creates meaningful intercultural growth for students. This study derives its strength from quantitative and qualitative approaches that combine intercultural development survey scores with student writing analysis to understand the impact of study-abroad program features on intercultural learning. This strategy also enhances the understanding of how students make sense of their experiences in foreign countries. Therefore, the study findings can guide higher education leaders in identifying processes and program factors that determine the success of transformational learning in study abroad. The authors recommend mixed-methods analysis as the most effective strategy to establish the contribution of diverse study-abroad program factors to intercultural growth among students.
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