Developmental Education Repeaters: Stories About Repetition

<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>

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Educational Leadership, Counseling, and Foundations

Year

2012

Author dc:creator

• O'Dell, Jade J

Contributors dc:contributor

• Dr. Marietta Del Favero (deceased)
• Dr. Tammie Causey-Konate
• Dr. April Bedford

• 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

Repository record dc:identifier

https://scholarworks.uno.edu/td/1470

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:scholarworks.uno.edu:td-2471