Date of Award

Fall 12-19-2025

Document Type

Dissertation (799 registration)

Degree Name

Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership

Department

Graduate Studies

Committee Chair

Kristen Carlson

Keywords

Developmental Education, Accelerated Learning Programs, Self-Efficacy, Faculty Perception, ALP

Abstract

Many students attending community colleges are required to enroll in developmental education classes prior to enrolling into college-level classes. Students who need developmental education have a lower success rate within the college-level class than those students allowed to enroll directly into the college-level class (Pruett & Absher, 2015). Many colleges have attempted accelerated learning programs (ALP), and students utilizing the ALP route have demonstrated higher success rates than traditional developmental education students (Adams et al., 2009, Cho et al., 2012, and Ihara, 2010). Traditionally, the developmental class is taught the semester prior to enrollment into the college-level class. The ALP pathway utilizes the student taking the developmental class at the same time as the college-level class. As many researchers have demonstrated that student self-efficacy is correlated with higher academic success (Chemers et al., 2001, Sothan, 2019, Shih, 2019, and Uchida et al., 2018), this study aimed to distinguish if there was a perceived difference in self-efficacy between students in traditional developmental education and ALP. This study attempted to understand, from faculty member perspectives, the differences between student self-efficacy in traditional developmental education and ALP, and how these differences were perceived by faculty to affect student success. This study was conducted using a social constructivist paradigm. This was an exploratory phenomenological study with semi-structured interviews of faculty members who have taught both traditional developmental education classes and ALP classes. Findings showcase the faculty members’ experiences, their perceptions of higher student self-efficacy within the ALP classes, and the factors they attribute to this difference.

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