dc.contributor.author	Griswold, Emmett L, III
dc.coverage.spatial	United States	en_US
dc.coverage.temporal	2007-2014	en_US
dc.date.accessioned	2015-05-22T16:17:39Z
dc.date.available	2015-05-22T16:17:39Z
dc.date.issued	2015-05
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10428/1942
dc.description.abstract	The objective of this research study was to determine if attributes of displaced workers such as education, income, and work status and experience influenced their level of program completion at a technical college. The Great American Recession of 2007- 2009 produced 6.9 million displaced workers from long-term jobs (Greenstone & Looney, 2011), and provoked many displaced workers to enroll into post-secondary education institutions seeking to acquire new skills or refine their current skills, in order to expedite their return to the workforce. This study was designed to reveal the possible influence that displaced workers’ attributes may have had on their level of program completion. Findings from the study may assist technical colleges in their endeavors to develop and implement effective practices and strategies that would best serve the displaced worker population. Archival data gathered for the study was collected from Albany Technical College’s Admission and Financial Aid offices, and a survey instrument was created for this research purpose. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the archival data and responses from the closed-ended survey questionnaire. The study’s population consisted of 421 displaced workers, who were students at Albany Technical College during the Fall 2009 through Summer 2014 academic terms. There were 163 participants selected from the archival group to participate in the survey phase of the study, in which 82 (50%) of the participants provided responses to the survey questionnaire. Frequency and percentage were reported for archival and survey data, and Independent t test and ANOVA analysis were used to examine the relationship between displaced workers’ attributes and their level of program completion. The findings of this study revealed that attributes such as prior income level, prior education level and work experience were unlikely to influence the displaced worker’s level of program completion. However, findings did suggest that those displaced workers who had an income level of less than $10,000 or within the $31,000 to $50,000 range and poor quantitative literacy level, had a relationship with program completion level. Additionally, findings suggested that those individuals with some college and those with a high school diploma upon entrance into college were more likely to complete a program of study at a higher level than those with a general education diploma (GED), or those individuals with the work status of full-time or full-time/part-time employment were more likely to complete a program of study at a higher level than those who were unemployed.	en_US
dc.description.tableofcontents	I. INTRODUCTION 1 \| Worker Displacement 2 \| Skills and Literacy Gap 4 \| Background of Albany Technical College and its Service Delivery Area (SDA) 6 \| Theoretical Framework 8 \| Pragmatic Worldview 9 \| Human Capital Theory 9 \| Problem of the Study 10 \| Purpose of Study 11 \| Research Questions 11 \| Significance of Study 12 \| Definition of Key Terms 13 \| Summary 15 \| II. REVIEW OF LITERATURE 16 \| Displaced Workers 16 \| Skills and Literacy Gap 18 \| Educational Experiences & Barriers for Adult Students 21 \| Adult Student Persistence 24 \| Summary 27 \| III. METHODOLOGY 29 \| Research Questions 29 \| Research Design 30 \| Definition of Variables 32 \| Description of Population 32 \| Research Procedures 33 \| Instrumentation 34 \| Data Collection Procedures 36 \| Data Analysis 37 \| Assumptions of the Study 40 \| Limitations of the Study 40 \| Approvals 41 \| Researcher Controls 41 \| IV. RESULTS 42 \| Research Questions 44 \| Findings 44 \| Data Analysis 71 \| Summary 105 \| V. DISCUSSION 110 \| Conclusions 111 \| Recommendations for Practice 114 \| Recommendations for Further Research 118 \| Final Significance 120 \| REFERENCES 122 \| APPENDIX A: COMPASS/ACT/SAT Scores 134 \| APPENDIX B: ASSET and COMPASS Scores 136 \| APPENDIX C: Technical Programs 138 \| APPENDIX D: Survey Instrument 141 \| APPENDIX E: Instituional Review Board Exemption Approval 147 \| APPENDIX F: Approval Letter 149 \|	en_US
dc.language.iso	en_US	en_US
dc.subject	Displaced Worker	en_US
dc.subject	Technical College	en_US
dc.subject	Program Completion	en_US
dc.title	An Institutional Study of the Relationships between Displaced Workers' Attributes and the Level of Program Completion in a Technical College	en_US
dc.type	Dissertation	en_US
dc.contributor.department	Adult and Career Education	en_US
dc.description.advisor	Martinez, Reynaldo L.
dc.description.committee	Archibald, James
dc.description.committee	Ellis, Iris
dc.description.committee	Hilgert, Larry
dc.description.degree	Ed.D.	en_US
dc.description.major	Education	en_US