Year

2018

Season

Fall

Paper Type

Doctoral Dissertation

College

College of Education and Human Services

Degree Name

Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership (EdD)

Department

Leadership, School Counseling & Sport Management

NACO controlled Corporate Body

University of North Florida. Department of Leadership, School Counseling & Sports Management

First Advisor

Dr. Daniel Dinsore

Second Advisor

Dr. Amanda Pascale

Rights Statement

http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

Third Advisor

Dr. Lucy Croft

Fourth Advisor

Dr. Matthew Ohlson

Department Chair

Dr. Elizabeth Gregg

College Dean

Dr. Diane Yendol-Hoppey

Abstract

This study investigated the effect of the integrated learning environment fostered by Living-Learning Communities on students’ self-efficacy towards their social and academic transition to college at a large regional institution in the Southeast. Grounded in a theoretical framework guided by Schlossberg's Model for Analyzing Human Adaptation to Transition and Bandura's Triadic Reciprocal Determinism, a two-part structural equation model analysis was conducted with SkyFactor survey data from 427 first-year students. The first analysis, which compared outcomes for LLC participants with non-participants, demonstrated a small statistically significant positive effect for LLC-participants perception of their housing environment. Regardless of LLC participation, the general housing environment had a positive direct effect on students' perception of their social and academic transition to college. Furthermore, the perception of social transition had a greater effect on students’ academic transition as a mediating factor, when compared to the direct effect of the general housing environment. The second analysis, which only used data from LLC-participants, investigated the relationship between the LLC environment and perceived transition outcomes. The results showed the LLC environment did not have a statistically significant direct effect on students’ perception of their academic transition. However, the support fostered by LLCs had a relatively large and significant effect on social transition and an indirect positive effect on academic transition. Implications for program structure, student outcomes, methods to cultivate meaningful relationships for shared leadership, and future research are discussed.

Share

COinS