Student Success in Developmental Reading in Community Colleges

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (Ed.D)

Department

Curriculum and Instruction

Date of Award

Spring 2020

Abstract

Developmental education is the foundation that students need so they can be successful in their college courses. Developmental education is beneficial for the non-traditional student who has not attended school in a while. Developmental education students make up almost half of the community college population in the United States (Bettinger & Long, 2005). Approximately 42% of first-time freshmen at community colleges must enroll in at least one developmental education course in English, reading, or math (Schak, Metzger, Bass, McCann, & English, 2017).Development reading is one-out-of-three developmental courses that are offered in higher education institutions; this proportion has become a true concern since students are having a difficult time exiting the developmental courses. Developmental reading courses assist students in learning reading strategies that will prepare them to read academic materials assigned by their instructors in a college setting. All community college have different structures for their developmental education program such as centralized or decentralized, these two organizational programs are used by 2- and 4-year institutions to administer developmental education courses.The research cannot overemphasize that developmental education is a necessary means for helping students in bridging the gap for promoting academic success. The purpose of this research was to examine student success in developmental reading in a centralized or decentralized developmental education program in community colleges.In this study, the researcher used a causal-comparative research design to determine if there was a causative relationship between the independent variable and the dependent variables. This method enabled the researcher to compare the organizational model to determine if there was a causative relationship between the independent variable and the dependent variables.The researcher selected two community colleges located in Louisiana to inquire about which organizational structure is currently being implemented in the developmental program, and to study the passing and failing rate of students in developmental reading as well as their success in attending different organizational systems. Additionally, the researcher gathered data by requesting permission from the Office of Institutional Research at each community college to collect data of 100 students per year for the last 3 academic years beginning with 2015 and ending with 2018.

Advisor

Madeline Justice

Subject Categories

Education | Higher Education

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