Date of Conferral

2016

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Psychology

Advisor

John Meis

Abstract

Community college instructors are responsible for creating learning opportunities for all students, including adult students affected by emotional disorders (ED). Concerns in the literature have grown over how invested part-time instructors are in their teaching; however, limited data were available regarding instructor knowledge of ED, instructor-efficacy, and the impact of employment status. The purpose of this study was to address the gap in the literature and analyze relationships between instructor knowledge of ED strategies (as assessed by Teaching Students with Emotional Behavior Disorders scale) and instructors' efficacy beliefs (as assessed by the Ohio State Teaching Self-Efficacy Scale). It also evaluated the impact of employment status (part-time versus full-time) on instructor-efficacy beliefs and knowledge of classroom management strategies for adult students affected by ED. A convenience sample of 104 community college instructors across 2 colleges in the Midwestern United States with a population of 201 instructors chose to complete either paper or online surveys. This study was guided by Bandura's self-efficacy theory. The data analysis included Pearson correlation, ANOVA, linear regression, Kruskal-Wallis, and LSD post hoc tests. Key findings included a statistically significant association between knowledge and instructor-efficacy scores and a statistically significant difference in ED knowledge between part-time and full-time instructors. The study findings promote positive social change by providing information for use by community college administrators for professional development programs to improve ED instructional practices, improving the quality of instruction and experience for community college instructors, students affected by ED, and the community at large.

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