Graduate Theses & Dissertations

Experiences of Five Undergraduate Academic Advisors in Ontario Universities
This study used qualitative research methods to develop an understanding of the landscape of undergraduate academic advising in Ontario universities as well as deeply explore the experiences and practices of five full-time academic advisors. Phase one of the study consisted of a document analysis of Ontario universities' public-facing websites. Phase two of the study consisted of five interviews with five undergraduate academic advisors from four Ontario institutions. The findings of the study demonstrated a variable landscape of academic advising across universities with responsibilities of advising ranging from solely course selection to a much broader role inclusive of helping students navigate their educational journey. Additionally, a relationship between external influences including institutional mission and organizational structure, and internal influences including advisors’ values, beliefs, and theoretical knowledge was identified. This relationship informed current advising strategies. These findings were used to develop a praxis of academic advising as well as five promising practices. Author Keywords: Academic Advising, Practice of Advising, Strategies of Advising, Universities
Reconceptualizing a Post-Secondary Program for Students with Intellectual Disabilities
The number of post-secondary programs for students with intellectual disabilities has been on the rise since the early 1990’s (Plotner & Marshall, 2015). However, research focused on student experiences within these programs has been predominantly from faculty, mainstream students and parent’s perspectives without accounting for what the students themselves are experiencing. This thesis however utilizes critical narrative inquiry as a methodology to listen the stories of students with disabilities, in conjunction with the researcher’s personal and professional experiences to reconceptualize the CICE program at Fleming College in Peterborough Ontario in order to provide students with more responsive and inclusive educational experiences. Six themes emerged from interviews conducted in the research: friendship/social opportunities, career/goals, supports, barriers/challenges, independence/freedom and finally identity/inclusion. A critical exploration of these themes is provided to develop programmatic, college and community level changes that forward a reconceptualized view of post-secondary education for adults with disabilities. Author Keywords: Critical disability theory, Critical narrative inquiry, Post-secondary programs for students with disabilities, Student voice
History Majors During the Humanities Crisis
This qualitative case study explored the experience of members and associates of one university history department in order to examine the phenomena of choosing and working within the history major in the context of current declines in humanities enrolment. Drawing on interviews with 7 professors, 8 student majors, and 10 professional staff, it analyzed beliefs about how students should choose their majors, benefits of historical thinking, the current climate of crisis in history, and resources to support history students. Participants agreed that students should choose a major based on intrinsic factors and shared a common vision of the meaning and importance of historical thinking. However, participants experienced tension between these intrinsic values and extrinsic pressures regarding the humanities crisis and the efficacy of student-support resources. These results have implications for understanding pressures felt by current humanities students and for developing new resources to better support history majors. Author Keywords: case study, choice of major, historical thinking, history department, humanities crisis, student affairs

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