Factors associated with social work student satisfaction with field placements in child welfare

This study was conducted during the 1994-1995 academic year. Seven social work education programs in the state of Florida, all accredited by the Council on Social Work Education, participated in this study. Graduate and undergraduate social work students in child welfare field placements, and their field instructors, were surveyed during the Spring 1995 semester to assess their satisfaction with field placements in this area and the relationship of this satisfaction to employment interests and field placement recommendations.^ The majority of social work students responding to this survey were generally satisfied with several aspects of their field placements--the learning, field work program, field instructor, child welfare agency, and overall field experience. The field instructors were generally more satisfied than the students, but only statistically different from the students in the areas of satisfaction with the field work program and the child welfare agency. Multiple regression analysis revealed that learning assignment opportunities, field instructor relationship characteristics, placement preference, and pre-placement interview contributed to the prediction of student satisfaction.^ Student satisfaction in field placement was significantly related to the acceptance of employment, if offered, and the recommendation of the field placement to other students. Logistic regression analysis revealed that satisfaction with the child welfare agency was the greatest contributor to the prediction of acceptance of employment, and satisfaction with the field work program was the greatest contributor to the prediction of field placement recommendation. ^

Factors associated with social work student satisfaction with field placements in child welfare by Diane Elias Alperin.

This study was conducted during the 1994-1995 academic year. Seven social work education programs in the state of Florida, all accredited by the Council on Social Work Education, participated in this study. Graduate and undergraduate social work students in child welfare field placements, and their field instructors, were surveyed during the Spring 1995 semester to assess their satisfaction with field placements ii this area and the relationship of this satisfaction to employment interests and field placement recommendations. The majority of social work students responding to this survey were generally satisfied with several aspects of their field placements--the learning, field work program, field instructor, child welfare agency, and overall field experience. The field instructors were generally more satisfied than the students, but only statistically different from the students in the areas of satisfaction with the field work program and the child welfare agency. Multiple regression analysis revealed that learning assignment opportunities, field instructor relationship characteristics, placement preference, and pre-placement interview contributed to the prediction of student satisfaction. Student satisfaction in field placement was significantly related to the acceptance of employment, if offered, and the recommendation of the field placement to other students. Logistic regression analysis revealed that satisfaction with the child welfare agency was the greatest contributor to the prediction of acceptance of employment, and satisfaction with the field work program was the greatest contributor to the prediction of field placement recommendation.

The relationship between student characteristics, computer literacy,technology acceptance, and distance education student satisfaction

The purpose of this study is to identify the relationship between the characteristics of distance education students, their computer literacy and technology acceptance and distance education course satisfaction. The theoretical framework for this study will apply Rogers and Havelock's Innovation, Diffusion & Utilization theories to distance education. It is hypothesized that technology acceptance and computer competency will influence the student course satisfaction and explain the decision to adopt or reject distance education curriculum and technology. Distance education delivery, Institutional Support, Convenience, Interactivity and five distance education technologies were studied. The data were collected by a survey questionnaire sent to four Florida universities. Three hundred and nineteen and students returned the questionnaire. A factor and regression analysis on three measure of satisfaction revealed significant difference between the three main factors related to the overall satisfaction of distance education students and their adoption of distance education technology as medium of learning. Computer literacy is significantly related to greater overall student satisfaction. However, when competing with other factors such as delivery, support, interactivity, and convenience, computer literacy is not significant. Results indicate that age and status are the only two student characteristics to be significant. Distance education technology acceptance is positively related to higher overall satisfaction. Innovativeness is also positively related to student overall satisfaction. Finally, the technology used relates positively to greater satisfaction levels within the educational experience. Additional research questions were investigated and provided insights into the innovation decision process.

The efficacy of the Ellison model as a retention initiative for first semester freshmen

The freshman year is the most critical year of matriculation for students in higher education. One in four freshman students drops out of higher education after the first year. In fact, the first two to six weeks of college represent a very critical transition period when students make the decision to persist or depart from the institution. Many students leave because they are unable to make a connection with the institution. Retention is often profoundly affected by student involvement in the academic environment, satisfaction with the campus climate and the institution's response to diversity. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine and evaluate an effective institutional response that promotes freshman retention and academic success. The tenets (diversity training, conflict management, and community building) of a mentoring model were applied to the freshman experience seminar class (experimental group) as a pedagogical method of instruction to determine its efficacy as a retention initiative when compared with the traditional freshman experience seminar class (comparison group). ^ The quantitative study employed a quasi-experimental research design based on Astin's (1993) I-E-O model. The model examined the relationships between the characteristics students bring with them to college, called inputs, their experiences in the environment during college, and the outcomes students achieved during matriculation. Fifty-two students enrolled in the freshman seminar class participated in the study. ^ Demographic data and input variables between groups were analyzed using chi-square, t-tests and multivariate analyses. Overall, students in the experimental group had significantly higher satisfaction (campus climate) scores than the comparison group. An analysis of the students' willingness to interact with others from diverse groups indicated a significant difference between groups, with the experimental group scoring higher than the comparison group. Students in the experimental group were significantly more involved in campus activities than students in the comparison group. No significant differences were found between groups relative to the mean grade point average and re-enrollment for fall semester 2001. ^ While the mentoring model did not directly affect re-enrollment of students, the model did promote student satisfaction with the institution, an appreciation for diversity of contact and it encouraged involvement in the campus community. These are all essential outcomes of a quality retention program. ^

Users Acceptance of Online Enrollment Processes in a Higher Education Institution

Little is known about students’ perceptions of online enrollment processes. Student satisfaction is part of the assessment required for accreditation, but evidence suggests that college administrators are oriented to retention and graduation rates rather than to consumer perception. The purpose of this descriptive quantitative study was to develop and validate a model that enables the measurement of online enrollment processes by the analysis of the students’ perceptions. The theoretical framework used to support this study was the process virtualization theory while the conceptual framework was based on Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). TAM is the most valid framework for studying user acceptance of technology and virtual processes. The model was modified, adding a new variable to fit this study. Research questions were used to determine if an institution knows how its students perceive online enrollment processes and how they can become more efficient and effective, improving usage and satisfaction. Descriptive data were collected and analyzed in phases: the pilot study phase, data collection phase, and analysis phases. Inferential statistics were used to draw information from sampled observations of the population; a Cronbach Alpha was conducted to determine the reliability and validity of the model. The study demonstrated that the modified TAM is valid, reliable, and fit to assess the perceptions of the users of online enrollment processes. This study will effect positive social change by providing enrollment managers and administrators information on how to analyze the acceptance their online enrollment processes from the perspective of their students as customers of an institution of higher learning.

A study of the effects of a service-learning experience on student success at an urban community college

The purpose of this study was to explore the effects of a service-learning experience on student success as measured by class attendance, course completion, final course grades, and end-of-term evaluation data.^ Though many outcomes of service-learning experiences have been studied, including ethical values, self-esteem, student personal development, and career preparation, relatively few studies have been conducted on the effects of such experiences on academic achievement, and the studies that have been done have primarily studied students at traditional, four-year, residential universities.^ The study consisted of 286 students enrolled in six paired courses taught by five instructors at a community college in the Fall term 1996. One section of each pair (the control group) was taught using traditional subject matter and course materials and the other section of each pair (the treatment group) participated in a 20-hour required service-learning activity in addition to the regular course curriculum. The courses in the study included American History, Sociology, College Preparatory English, and Introduction to English Composition.^ The results of this study indicate that, overall, students who participated in a class in which service-learning was a requirement, achieved higher final course grades and reported greater satisfaction with the course, the instructor, the reading assignments, and the grading system, and the treatment section of one course pair had fewer absences. In addition, the faculty members reported that, in the treatment sections, class discussions were more stimulating, the sections seemed more vital in terms of student involvement, the students seemed more challenged academically, more motivated to learn, and seemed to exert more effort in the course. ^

The effects of cultural distance on student socialization and departure decisions

Organizational socialization theory and university student retention literature support the concept that social integration influences new recruits' level of satisfaction with the organization and their decision to remain. This three-phase study proposes and tests a Cultural Distance Model of student retention based on Tinto's (1975) Student Integration Model, Louis' (1980) Model of Newcomer Experience, and Kuh and Love's (2000) theory relating cultural distance to departure from the organization. ^ The main proposition tested in this study was that the greater the cultural distance, the greater the likelihood of early departure from the organization. Accordingly, it was inferred that new recruits entering the university culture experience some degree of social and psychological distance. The extent of the distance correspondingly influences satisfaction with the institution and intent to remain for subsequent years. ^ The model was tested through two freshman student surveys designed to examine the effects of cultural distance on non-Hispanics at a predominantly Hispanic, urban, public university. The first survey was administered eight weeks into their first Fall semester and the second at the end of their first year. Student retention was determined through their re-enrollment for the second Fall semester. Path analysis tested the viability of the hypothesis relating cultural distance to satisfaction and retention as suggested in the model. Logistic regression tested the model's predictive power. ^ Correlations among variables were significant, accounting for 54% of variance in students' decisions to return for the second year with 96% prediction accuracy. Initial feelings of high cultural distance were related to increased dissatisfaction with social interactions and institutional choice at the end of the first year and students' intention not to re-enroll. Path analysis results supported the view that the construct of culture distance incorporates both social and psychological distance, and is composed of beliefs of institutional fit with one's cultural expectations, individual comfort with the fit, and the consequent sense of “belonging” or identifying with the institution. ^

Development of a new student evaluation instrument of instructor effectiveness in online courses

The purpose of this study was to (a) develop an evaluation instrument capable of rating students' perceptions of the instructional quality of an online course and the instructor’s performance, and (b) validate the proposed instrument with a study conducted at a major public university. The instrument was based upon the Seven Principles of Good Practice for Undergraduate Education (Chickering & Gamson, 1987). The study examined four specific questions. 1. Is the underlying factor structure of the new instrument consistent with Chickering and Gamson's Seven Principles? 2. Is the factor structure of the new instrument invariant for male and female students? 3. Are the scores on the new instrument related students’ expected grades? 4. Are the scores on the new instrument related to the students' perceived course workload? ^ The instrument was designed to measure students’ levels of satisfaction with their instruction, and also gathered information concerning the students’ sex, the expected grade in the course, and the students’ perceptions of the amount of work required by the course. A cluster sample consisting of an array of online courses across the disciplines yielded a total 297 students who responded to the online survey. The students for each course selected were asked to rate their instructors with the newly developed instrument. ^ Question 1 was answered using exploratory factor analysis, and yielded a factor structure similar to the Seven Principles.^ Question 2 was answered by separately factor-analyzing the responses of male and female students and comparing the factor structures. The resulting factor structures for men and women were different. However, 14 items could be realigned under five factors that paralleled some of the Seven Principles. When the scores of only those 14 items were entered in two principal components factor analyses using only men and only women, respectively and restricting the factor structure to five factors, the factor structures were the same for men and women.^ A weak positive relationship between students’ expected grades and their scores on the instrument was found (Question 3). There was no relationship between students’ perceived workloads for the course and their scores on the instrument (Question 4).^

A study of the effects of a service-learning experience on student success at an urban community college

The purpose of this study was to explore the effects of a service-learning experience on student success as measured by class attendance, course completion, final course grades, and end-of-term evaluation data. Though many outcomes of service-learning experiences have been studied, including ethical values, self-esteem, student personal development, and career preparation, relatively few studies have been conducted on the effects of such experiences on academic achievement, and the studies that have been done have primarily studied students at traditional, four-year, residential universities. The study consisted of 286 students enrolled in six paired courses taught by five instructors at a community college in the Fall term 1996. One section of each pair (the control group) was taught using traditional subject matter and course materials and the other section of each pair (the treatment group) participated in a 20-hour required service- learning activity in addition to the regular course curriculum. The courses in the study included American History, Sociology, College Preparatory English, and Introduction to English Composition. The results of this study indicate that, overall, students who participated in a class in which service-learning was a requirement, achieved higher final course grades and reported greater satisfaction with the course, the instructor, the reading assignments, and the grading system, and the treatment section of one course pair had fewer absences. In addition, the faculty members reported that, in the treatment sections, class discussions were more stimulating, the sections seemed more vital in terms of student involvement, the students seemed more challenged academically, more motivated to learn, and seemed to exert more effort in the course.

Relevance of the community college curriculum to the international student

The purpose of this study was to ascertain the perception of the level of satisfaction that international students have regarding the services and the relevance of the curriculum offered at Miami-Dade Community College. Trends and issues at universities and community colleges in providing services and an international curriculum for foreign students are outlined. Focus is on characteristics, personal and career needs as well as needs of national development for the students' countries. A sample of students from four developing nations was selected to qualitatively and quantitatively determine their level of satisfaction. The nations are the Bahamas, Colombia, Haiti and Pakistan. Students responses were recorded through group interviews, four personal interviews, an open ended questionnaire and a Likert scaled survey questionnaire. Matrix charts, mean calculations and one way analysis of variance were used to analyze data collected. Country of origin and major program of study were the variables used for statistical analysis. Information gathered through qualitative research presented a variety of perspectives and responses, both positive and negative. Students supplied specific examples of experiences and insights to help explain their various perceptions. Statistically, there were no significant differences between the variables of country of origin and major program of study regarding program services and relevance of the curriculum. Implications and recommendations for community college programs were outlined.