Date of Conferral

2018

Degree

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)

School

Education

Advisor

Peter Kiriakidis

Abstract

Roughly 60% of first-year community college students attending a community college in

Idaho need to take remedial courses. Such a high percentage of first-year community

college students in remedial courses indicates that students are not being properly

prepared for collegiate studies. The purpose of this study was to understand college

readiness through the perception of first-year community college students who were

taking remedial courses. The framework for this study builds on Conley's

multidimensional model of college readiness. Data from 10 semi structured interviews

conducted with community college students taking remedial courses provided

information about the opinions and ideas about college readiness, in addition to

evaluations regarding what was missing in their K-12 education to prepare them for

collegiate studies. Through open-ended data coding, interrelated themes were analyzed,

and the interpreted meaning was shared through a qualitative narrative. The findings from

this study suggest that college readiness is more than academic knowledge and

understanding. The K-12 education system shall help students to focus on specific skills

such as time management and note taking and to seek out their passions and goals. The

findings also suggest that the K-12 education system within the United States needs to be

restructured to incorporate a system that encourages and supports student success through

more individualized learning that places focus on student passions. When students are

given the opportunity to seek after their passions, they gain more interest and motivation

to learn and build a strong sense of self-efficacy.

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