Year

2009

Paper Type

Doctoral Dissertation

College

College of Education and Human Services

Degree Name

Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership (EdD)

First Advisor

Dr. Katherine M. Kasten

Second Advisor

Dr. David D. Jaffee

Third Advisor

Dr. Russell O. Mays

Abstract

Student affairs administrators support student learning through interaction outside the classroom. Student affairs administrators have started to guide their work under student learning goals. In order for the student affairs professionals to work under student learning goals, it is imperative to have an understanding of which learning goals student affairs administrators perceive to be the highest priority to teach students.

This study is a descriptive study that examined student affairs professionals perceptions of specific learning goals for undergraduate education and specifically examined academic and student development learning goals. Data were gathered using the Student Learning Goals Inventory (SLGI), an instrument that was developed by Papish (1999) and later modified by Goldstein (2003) to assess how faculty, student affairs professionals, parents, and students rate specific student learning goals. This study used the SLGI to examine the perceptions of student affairs administrators at Florida public universities. A total of 170 student affairs administrators participated in the study.

The results of this study showed that student affairs administrators rated academic learning goals higher than student development goals. Results also illustrated a relationship between student affairs philosophy and institution type, educational background, and years of experience. The results may assist university personnel in creating more concrete learning experiences through collaboration within the university community. Student learning goals are the basic building blocks necessary to guide the educational path of students in college and the result of this research can assist to create a successful educational environment based on learning goals.

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