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 and/or math (NCES, 2010). Many developmental education students are unsuccessful in passing a developmental education course in their first and second attempts and retake the course sometimes five times before passing. There is substantial research on persistence among college students, but the research fails to link persistence to developmental education repeaters. My study sought to explore community college developmental education repeaters’ experiences with and stories about repetition in a reading course. My study was framed around developmental education and its students, course repeaters, and persistence.
I used qualitative research methods with a narrative research design. Two methods of data collection included multiple one-on-one interviews and document collection. Four participants were selected from one community college in the New Orleans area, two who repeated and completed developmental reading upon their third attempt and two who were in the process of completing developmental reading a third time. Data analysis revealed six themes. The information gleaned from the inquiry may inform community college faculty practice with regard to not only reducing and preventing course repetition but also increasing persistence and retention of developmental education students.
","abstract_html":"<p>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 and/or math (NCES, 2010). Many developmental education students are unsuccessful in passing a developmental education course in their first and second attempts and retake the course sometimes five times before passing. There is substantial research on persistence among college students, but the research fails to link persistence to developmental education repeaters. My study sought to explore community college developmental education repeaters’ experiences with and stories about repetition in a reading course. My study was framed around developmental education and its students, course repeaters, and persistence.</p> <p>I used qualitative research methods with a narrative research design. Two methods of data collection included multiple one-on-one interviews and document collection. Four participants were selected from one community college in the New Orleans area, two who repeated and completed developmental reading upon their third attempt and two who were in the process of completing developmental reading a third time. Data analysis revealed six themes. The information gleaned from the inquiry may inform community college faculty practice with regard to not only reducing and preventing course repetition but also increasing persistence and retention of developmental education students.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["O'Dell, Jade J"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Ph.D.","degree_level":"Dissertation","degree_discipline":"Educational Leadership, Counseling, and Foundations","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Dr. Marietta Del Favero (deceased)","Dr. Tammie Causey-Konate","Dr. April Bedford"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2012,"date_issued":"2012-05-18T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2012-05-18T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:29:36Z","subjects":["college readiness","community colleges","persistence","social integration","academic integration","validation","motivation","Adult and Continuing Education and Teaching","Community College Education Administration","Community College Leadership","Curriculum and Instruction","Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research","Higher Education Administration","Higher Education and Teaching"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://scholarworks.uno.edu/td/1470","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Dr. Marietta Del Favero (deceased)","Dr. Tammie Causey-Konate","Dr. April Bedford"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["O'Dell, Jade J"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Educational Leadership, Counseling, and Foundations"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Ph.D."]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["college readiness","community colleges","persistence","social integration","academic integration","validation","motivation","Adult and Continuing Education and Teaching","Community College Education Administration","Community College Leadership","Curriculum and Instruction","Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research","Higher Education Administration","Higher Education and Teaching"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://scholarworks.uno.edu/td/1470"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["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 and/or math (NCES, 2010). Many developmental education students are unsuccessful in passing a developmental education course in their first and second attempts and retake the course sometimes five times before passing. There is substantial research on persistence among college students, but the research fails to link persistence to developmental education repeaters. My study sought to explore community college developmental education repeaters’ experiences with and stories about repetition in a reading course. My study was framed around developmental education and its students, course repeaters, and persistence.
I used qualitative research methods with a narrative research design. Two methods of data collection included multiple one-on-one interviews and document collection. Four participants were selected from one community college in the New Orleans area, two who repeated and completed developmental reading upon their third attempt and two who were in the process of completing developmental reading a third time. Data analysis revealed six themes. The information gleaned from the inquiry may inform community college faculty practice with regard to not only reducing and preventing course repetition but also increasing persistence and retention of developmental education students.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Developmental Education Repeaters: Stories About Repetition"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Dr. Marietta Del Favero (deceased)","Dr. Tammie Causey-Konate","Dr. April Bedford"],"dc:creator":["O'Dell, Jade J"],"dc:description.abstract":["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 and/or math (NCES, 2010). Many developmental education students are unsuccessful in passing a developmental education course in their first and second attempts and retake the course sometimes five times before passing. There is substantial research on persistence among college students, but the research fails to link persistence to developmental education repeaters. My study sought to explore community college developmental education repeaters’ experiences with and stories about repetition in a reading course. My study was framed around developmental education and its students, course repeaters, and persistence.
I used qualitative research methods with a narrative research design. Two methods of data collection included multiple one-on-one interviews and document collection. Four participants were selected from one community college in the New Orleans area, two who repeated and completed developmental reading upon their third attempt and two who were in the process of completing developmental reading a third time. Data analysis revealed six themes. The information gleaned from the inquiry may inform community college faculty practice with regard to not only reducing and preventing course repetition but also increasing persistence and retention of developmental education students.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://scholarworks.uno.edu/td/1470"],"dc:subject":["college readiness","community colleges","persistence","social integration","academic integration","validation","motivation","Adult and Continuing Education and Teaching","Community College Education Administration","Community College Leadership","Curriculum and Instruction","Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research","Higher Education Administration","Higher Education and Teaching"],"dc:title":["Developmental Education Repeaters: Stories About Repetition"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Educational Leadership, Counseling, and Foundations"],"thesis:degree_level":["Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_name":["Ph.D."]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:29:36Z"}