Date of Award

Spring 4-12-2019

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctorate of Education, Ed.D.

College

College of Education

Department

Education

First Advisor

Donna Graham, Ph.D.

Second Advisor

Dana Shelton, Ph.D.

Third Advisor

Deborah Smith, Ph.D.

Abstract

A key concern in education today is the overwhelming number of students who leave high school unprepared for college in the core courses of English and Math. As a result of student unpreparedness, more and more students are entering college having to take developmental courses. A high number of those students are students in the state of Mississippi. The purpose ofthis qualitative case study was to explore how educational stakeholders perceive the need for implementation of college preparedness and developmental education courses for students with developmental deficiencies in urban high schools in Mississippi. In the study, the researcher used Tinto’s (1993) theory of integration and retention, Astin’s (1993) theory of student involvement, and Bandura’s (1993) theory of self-efficacy to outline the conceptual framework that supported the assumption that educators would perceive that a collaborative means for remedial and developmental education prior to high school graduation (e.g. grades 9-12) will result in a positive and significant impact on student college success and retention. The study consisted of 20 educators from three high schools and two community college branches in urban Mississippi. The researcher conducted research using three data collection tools: Phase I Qualtrics Survey, Phase II Face-to-Face Interviews, and Phase III Focus Group Sessions. The results of the study indicated that educators from both the community colleges and high schools perceived the need for identification and intervention early in student’s academic career in order to reduce the lack of college readiness. The findings also indicated the need for a revamping of high school curriculums to mirror college expectations, in addition to a closer collaboration between the two institutions of learning to reduce the number of students who graduate underprepared.

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