17 Sep Reflect on the overall data-gathering process, including insights for improving the efficacy of the questions and prompts. Did the interview questions elicit thoughtful, in
- Reflect on the overall data-gathering process, including insights for improving the efficacy of the questions and prompts.
- Did the interview questions elicit thoughtful, in-depth responses or did interviewees give simple answers?
- What did you hear that you did not expect to hear?
- Did respondents tell you what you wanted to hear?
- Reflect on outcomes of specific aspects of the data gathering such as listening, body-language interpretation, depth of responses to questions, and analysis of these dynamics.
- Were you asking the right questions about the issue?
- How would you word a question differently next time?
- Did people’s body language indicate they were at ease? Or did body language suggest anxiety or defensiveness?
- What would you do differently in terms of setting the stage for a comfortable exchange of ideas, thoughts, feelings?
- How well did you listen? Were there moments when you did not listen as well as you might have?
- Reflect on personal bias and how it was overcome.
- What have you done to eliminate bias as much as you possibly can?
- Did you gain a better sense of awareness of your assumptions about the issue, stakeholders, or organization? If yes, explain changes in your awareness.
- Did you engage in member checking, participant debriefing, or respondent validation strategies? If yes, explain your strategies and how they worked for you in reducing personal bias.
- Reflect on self-development and improvement of practitioner researcher skills.
- How did you collaborate with others?
- What did you do well and what could you have done differently?
- Support main points, assertions, arguments, conclusions, or recommendations with relevant and credible evidence.
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Running head: GUIDED IMAGERY AND PROGRESSIVE MUSCLE RELAXATION |
6
Attrition of Nontraditional Single-Parent Students
Attrition of Nontraditional Single-Parent Students
Many students in the state university are nontraditional students, and approximately a quarter are single parents. The institution has been plagued by increased attrition of nontraditional single-parent students over the past decade. It is speculated that the factors contributing to the outcome are numerous. Interviews were conducted to ascertain the specific contributing factors from the students' tutors to formulate possible solutions. The data was collected through individual or one-on-one interviews with professors because the tutors are more likely to know the students' problems better than the administration (Kamer & Ishitani, 2021). The students are unlikely to be forthcoming participants in the research. In addition, the tutors are more likely to provide unbiased information and practical solutions. This paper tells the story of this data collection effort and explains the factors contributing to the attrition of single-parent nontraditional students in the state university.
Context and Background
People assume that the ignorance of single-parent students leads to dropping out. They think that it is their lack of time management skills and grit to utilize the resources availed to them by the department of nontraditional students. However, the individuals who make such assumptions are unaware that even the tutors do not know the resources available and often have to send them to the department. In addition, the individuals do not know the numerous challenges single parents face. The department of nontraditional students has organized to research the matter in-depth.
The single parent students also face several institutional barriers. For example, some tutors grow weary of handing out incompletes that are never completed, and the tutors are unaware of the resources available to nontraditional students. Some tutors also believe that complacency should not be tolerated in a state university and that complacent students should enroll in a community college. The students are the ones who pay a hefty price because without advancing their education, they have to do menial work due to a lack of skill. In coordination with the department of nontraditional students, the school administration can implement effective and practical systemic solutions to decrease or eliminate attrition. Other barriers to change are the funding.
The tutors have been handing out incompletes and are willing to reschedule deadlines for the benefit of the single-parent students. The institution for nontraditional students also offers online classes to earn credit. In addition, the tutors offer remedial classes even though the classes are often at inconvenient times for the students, who have multiple conflicting roles. However, the incompletes are often uncompleted at the end of the semester, and the tutors speculate that the cause of most delays is complacency. The professors also offer night classes to nontraditional single-parent students because they are often in their jobs or caring for their children in the daytime.
Existing Data
The existing data on the identified issue was collected from nontraditional single parents reporting to the department of nontraditional students. An increase in the number of students reporting to the department led to identifying the problem. The students above were directed to the department by their professors to inquire about their resources. The tutors must be notified of the resources available for nontraditional students (Vyskocil, 2018). Furthermore, some tutors suggested improvements that should be made to reduce the attrition rate, thereby increasing the data available for review. However, the professors agree that a systemic approach to the issue would provide results quicker that last in the long run. Also, the different professors provide solutions from different angles.
Interview Methodology
Increased absenteeism and attrition of nontraditional students in the institution helped identify the problem. The tutors were selected as participants because they are informed of the challenges nontraditional students face. The students could not be appropriate participants because they lack objectivity, in addition to the difficulty in articulating themselves. Moreover, the problem is personal and requires a sensitive approach and emotional reactions skew the data. In addition to objectivity, the tutors can provide practical suggestions on the strategies that can be implemented to decrease the attrition of the students.
The interview was semi-structured, and participants were five professors selected from the causes that most nontraditional students record the highest level of absenteeism. The interviews were recorded with a video camera, and the duration of each interview was 30 to 45 minutes. The guiding questions are; what are the most significant obstacles for single-parent nontraditional students? What resources have been availed to the students by the school administration or the department of nontraditional students? The interview questions are; what are you doing to help the struggling nontraditional students transition smoothly into the institution curriculum? What factors do you think play the most significant role in increasing attrition and absenteeism? The interview and guiding questions help identify the students' existing support structures, providing a foundation for building strategies for implementing the solutions.
Data Analysis Methodology
The semi-structured interview was conducted as qualitative research; hence the data is coded by looking for the common themes identified. The patterns and commonalities in the answers provided about the issue ought to be coded for analysis to help develop strategies for improving the retention rate. Deductive qualitative coding is selecting a preexisting set of codes and assigning them to the new qualitative data (Williams & Moser, 2019). The qualitative coding used is deductive because additional information on the issue was attained due to building on already existing data at the department of nontraditional students. Therefore, there was no need to begin coding from scratch, saving time. Examples of codes are; conflicting roles, poor background, daycare facilities, hybrid, online, and night classes, scholarships, and application for motivation.
Transcripts were made from the videos, analyzed systematically, and the recurring themes were grouped through coding. Detailed transcription is time-consuming. However, the department uses coding software because translation is not required. The produced transcripts from the videos are to be compared to the notes taken during the interviews to check if there is missing information. Transcribing was conducted immediately after the interview to ensure that the data collected was accurate and intelligible. Consultation was not required as the data collected was clear and easily understandable. The analyzed data and results are sent back to the participants for validation after being categorized thematically through synthetic member checking.
Ethical Considerations
The ethical considerations considered during the research were; protecting the rights of participants, enhancing research validity, and maintaining scientific integrity. The professors were given an option to participate voluntarily and were informed of the research's benefits, risks, and purpose. The participants' identities were kept secret and fake names were used to protect personally identifiable data and prevent the data from linking to a participant. The results are counterchecked for plagiarism, and the results are sent back to the participants to check for accuracy. The data was kept safe in the department, and copies of the results were personally handed to the participants for review.
Results and Reflection
Discoveries about the issue were that several factors contribute to the increasing attrition of single-parent nontraditional students. For example, the students have multiple conflicting roles that leave them little time to study or attend classes, there is a lack of a daycare facility close to the campus grounds, the location of satellite campuses is in wealthy suburbs, the tutors do not provide opportunities to incorporate student experiences in studies, there are few night and hybrid classes, and the campus does not offer scholarships to students with financial difficulties. It was viewed that a systemic approach to the issue would have a more significant impact on the organization in ensuring the retention of the students.
Summary and Next Steps
The main challenge to addressing the problem is the acquisition of funds. A systemic approach requires cooperation with different organizations and forming partnerships to ensure implementation. Also, coordination might be challenging because organizations have different objectives and resources. Coordination is required to ensure no duplication of responsibilities or tasks (De Oliveira et al., 2021). The strategies that can be implemented are building a childcare facility on the campus grounds or providing scholarships for single-parent nontraditional students struggling to pay fees.
Private organizations will provide scholarships, and the federal government will also be notified. Payment of school fees will likely reduce the amount of time spent by the students working and free time for attending classes and studying. The alternative is building a daycare facility. This project will take longer than the first solution but is more feasible because income can be generated from the daycare facility to fund other resources required by nontraditional students after covering the expenses (Remenick, 2019). The preferred strategy is building the daycare facility because a more significant percentage of nontraditional students only suffer from a lack of time and can cover their tuition on a timely basis.
Conclusion
Qualitative research was conducted on the increasing attrition of single-parent nontraditional students on the state campus to come up with possible solutions to the issue. Deductive qualitative coding was conducted to categorize the problems thematically because a reference was made to existing data that contributed to identifying the issue. The interview was semi-structured and lasted for approximately 30 minutes. The interviews were recorded by a video camera, and transcription was done by coding software. The problems were lack of motivation, lack of time, lack of knowledge of available resources, and lack of finances. Some ethical considerations were using fake names, presenting information for validation, and giving informed consent. The proposed solutions were building a daycare on the campus grounds and providing scholarships, but the preferred strategy was building the facility.
Reference
De Oliveira, C. F., Sobral, S. R., Ferreira, M. J., & Moreira, F. (2021). How Does Learning Analytics Contribute to Prevent SStudents'Dropout in Higher Education: A Systematic Literature Review. Big Data and Cognitive Computing, 5(4), 64. https://doi.org/10.3390/bdcc5040064
Kamer, J. A., & Ishitani, T. T. (2021). First-year, nontraditional student retention at four-year institutions: How predictors of attrition vary across time. Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory & Practice, 23(3), 560-579. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F1521025119858732
Remenick, L. (2019). Services and support for nontraditional students in higher education: A historical literature review. Journal of Adult and Continuing Education, 25(1), 113-130. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F1477971419842880
Vyskocil, G. M. (2018). Challenges needs and experiences of single parent student mothers in higher education. https://scholar.googleusercontent.com/scholar?q=cache:g3l1P6uQEfsJ:scholar.google.com/+attrition+of+single+parent+students+in+campuses&hl=en&as_sdt=0,5&as_ylo=2018
Williams, M., & Moser, T. (2019). The art of coding and thematic exploration in qualitative research. International Management Review, 15(1), 45-55. http://scholar.googleusercontent.com/scholar?q=cache:xqmBMMw7uYYJ:scholar.google.com/+qualitative+coding&hl=en&as_sdt=0,5&as_ylo=2018
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Week 10 Assignment: Reflection and Critique
Your Name Goes Here
Insert the Due Date Here (Month, Day, Year)
[Important Writing Instructions]
[This assignment can be written entirely in the first-person voice (I . . .) as it will include your reflections, insights, and critiques. However, keep in mind that all other expectations for scholarly writing remain. For example, do not write in the second person voice (writing that uses the language you or your). The word data are plural thus we write like this: data are . . . data involve . . .]
[Scholarly writing is meant to be read and interpreted literally. Therefore, please avoid slang, colloquialisms, anthropomorphisms, and conversational writing (refer to APA 7th ed. pp. 113-125). Instead, be clear, precise, and accurate in your writing.]
[Apply APA formatting rules and adhere to APA writing style guidelines. For example, do not additional spaces between sections or paragraphs. Review the example student paper starting on p. 61 of your APA publication manual to see what a completely double-spaced paper looks like.]
[Support main points, assertions, arguments, conclusions, and or recommendations with relevant and credible evidence and appropriate references.
[Combine correct source citations with a perceptive and coherent synthesis of the evidence.]
Reflection and Critique
[Introduce your reflection and critique assignment. Briefly describe the contents.]
The Data Gathering Process
[Reflect on the overall data-gathering process, including your insights for improving the efficacy of the questions and prompts.]
[Did the interview questions elicit thoughtful, in-depth responses or did interviewees give simple answers? Describe your perceptions and insights regarding how the participants responded.]
[What did you hear that you did not expect to hear?]
[Did respondents tell you what you wanted to hear? If so, how might you avoid such responses if you interviewed your same participants or other participants?]
Outcomes of the Data Gathering Process
[Reflect on outcomes of specific aspects of the data gathering such as listening, body-language interpretation, depth of responses to questions, and analysis of these dynamics.]
[How would you word your questions differently next time, if you were to repeat the interviews with the same or other participants?]
[Did people’s body language indicate they were at ease? Or did body language suggest anxiety or defensiveness? Describe your impressions of your participants’ body language. What about your own body language?]
[What would you do differently, if given an opportunity, in terms of preparing for a comfortable exchange of ideas, thoughts, feelings?]
[How well did you listen? Were there moments when you did not listen as well as you might have? How might you improve your listening skills?]
Personal Bias
[Reflect on personal bias and how it was overcome or how you attempted to overcome bias. What was your personal bias? Cite sources supporting your discussion or approach.]
[What have you done to eliminate bias as much as you possibly can if you were to conduct the interviews again with the same or different participants?]
[Did you gain better awareness of your assumptions about the organizational issue, stakeholders, or organization? Describe your assumptions and gains in awareness.]
[Did you engage in member checking, participant debriefing, or respondent validation strategies? Describe your strategies for ensuring credibility. If you were to conduct the interviews again with the same or other participants, what strategies might you use to ensure credibility?]
Practitioner Research Skills
[Reflect on self-development and improvement of practitioner researcher skills.
How did you collaborate with others?
What did you do well and what could you have done differently?]
References
[References go on a separate page. Ensure references are in the hanging indent format and are properly APA formatted; refer to APA Publication Manual 7th edition (2020) Chapters 9 and 10 for guidance and examples.]
