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Program completion in proprietary schools: A phenomenological case study

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Date Issued:
2000
Summary:
This phenomenological case study was designed to examine factors that relate to student persistence in proprietary schools. The goals were to gain new understandings about retention in proprietary schools, to describe students who persist, and to explain the personal and institutional factors that contribute to a student's decision to persist or leave. Data were collected by (a) interviewing fourteen students and eight employees who were involved in the school during a two-year time frame, (b) conducting formal and informal observations of activities in which the student could participate from the time of application through the time of graduation, and (c) examining appropriate documents. Data were analyzed and findings developed using qualitative methodology. The findings were presented to student and staff focus groups for feedback. There were fourteen findings that clustered around four themes: Students, The School Selection Process, The Training Program, and The Influence of the Institution. The specific findings were: (1) Core commonalities of students and applicants. (2) Selection process and the intentional marketing plan. (3) Program length and the reality of program completion. (4) Negative outcomes of an abbreviated decisionmaking process. (5) The gap between students' expectations and the training experience. (6) Built-in academic and social integration. (7) Built-in retention and intervention strategies. (8) Built-in formal and informal job readiness and job placement activities. (9) Changes in students' lives as a result of training. (10) The effects of a warm and caring work environment. (11) The effects of staff background on relationships with students. (12) The effects of owners' interests and beliefs on school policies. (13) The challenge of predicting student success. (14) The school experience as a rite of passage. From these findings, the Proprietary Student Passage Model was developed. This model describes students' experiences from the time of enrollment to the time of departure. The findings also supported previous research studies. Included are recommendations that can be put in place by postsecondary proprietary schools offering programs other than massage training and by postsecondary vocational schools in the public sector. The dissertation concludes with ideas for further study on persistence and retention and recommendations to policy makers.
Title: Program completion in proprietary schools: A phenomenological case study.
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Name(s): Schulz, Susan Folkman.
Florida Atlantic University, Degree grantor
Guglielmino, Lucy M., Thesis advisor
Type of Resource: text
Genre: Electronic Thesis Or Dissertation
Issuance: monographic
Date Issued: 2000
Publisher: Florida Atlantic University
Place of Publication: Boca Raton, Fla.
Physical Form: application/pdf
Extent: 170 p.
Language(s): English
Summary: This phenomenological case study was designed to examine factors that relate to student persistence in proprietary schools. The goals were to gain new understandings about retention in proprietary schools, to describe students who persist, and to explain the personal and institutional factors that contribute to a student's decision to persist or leave. Data were collected by (a) interviewing fourteen students and eight employees who were involved in the school during a two-year time frame, (b) conducting formal and informal observations of activities in which the student could participate from the time of application through the time of graduation, and (c) examining appropriate documents. Data were analyzed and findings developed using qualitative methodology. The findings were presented to student and staff focus groups for feedback. There were fourteen findings that clustered around four themes: Students, The School Selection Process, The Training Program, and The Influence of the Institution. The specific findings were: (1) Core commonalities of students and applicants. (2) Selection process and the intentional marketing plan. (3) Program length and the reality of program completion. (4) Negative outcomes of an abbreviated decisionmaking process. (5) The gap between students' expectations and the training experience. (6) Built-in academic and social integration. (7) Built-in retention and intervention strategies. (8) Built-in formal and informal job readiness and job placement activities. (9) Changes in students' lives as a result of training. (10) The effects of a warm and caring work environment. (11) The effects of staff background on relationships with students. (12) The effects of owners' interests and beliefs on school policies. (13) The challenge of predicting student success. (14) The school experience as a rite of passage. From these findings, the Proprietary Student Passage Model was developed. This model describes students' experiences from the time of enrollment to the time of departure. The findings also supported previous research studies. Included are recommendations that can be put in place by postsecondary proprietary schools offering programs other than massage training and by postsecondary vocational schools in the public sector. The dissertation concludes with ideas for further study on persistence and retention and recommendations to policy makers.
Identifier: 9780599667471 (isbn), 12637 (digitool), FADT12637 (IID), fau:12616 (fedora)
Collection: FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection
Note(s): Thesis (Ed.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2000.
College of Education
Subject(s): Proprietary schools--Case studies
Dropouts--Prevention--Case studies
Massage schools--Case studies
Held by: Florida Atlantic University Libraries
Persistent Link to This Record: http://purl.flvc.org/fcla/dt/12637
Sublocation: Digital Library
Use and Reproduction: Copyright © is held by the author with permission granted to Florida Atlantic University to digitize, archive and distribute this item for non-profit research and educational purposes. Any reuse of this item in excess of fair use or other copyright exemptions requires permission of the copyright holder.
Use and Reproduction: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
Host Institution: FAU
Is Part of Series: Florida Atlantic University Digital Library Collections.