Date
4-26-2024
Department
School of Education
Degree
Doctor of Philosophy
Chair
Veronica Sims
Keywords
noncredit homeless students, retention model program, hierarchy of needs, barriers to retention, basic needs, safety, motivation to stay enrolled
Disciplines
Adult and Continuing Education | Higher Education
Recommended Citation
Rubalcaba, Maureen C., "Understanding Their Journeys: A Hermeneutic Phenomenological Study on the Lived Experiences of Noncredit Homeless Students" (2024). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 5429.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/5429
Abstract
The purpose of this hermeneutic phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences of noncredit homeless students enrolled in a retention model program at a noncredit community college institution. The lived experiences of noncredit homeless students were generally defined as homeless adult learners enrolled in a noncredit community college institution participating in a retention model program. Retention was generally defined as keeping students enrolled each term or term to term. The research examined noncredit homeless students’ basic needs, barriers to retention, and motivation to stay enrolled. The theory guiding this study was Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, which provided a holistic approach to students’ motivation by meeting physiological, emotional, social, and intellectual needs. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs provided a theoretical context for retention model program coordinators to design and implement best practice programs. The central research question was what are the lived experiences of noncredit homeless students enrolled in a retention model program? This hermeneutic phenomenological study was conducted through interviews, focus groups, and document review of anecdotal writings with 18 noncredit homeless students enrolled in a retention model program. Qualitative data analysis procedures were used to understand, contextualize, theorize, and synthesize data to interpret the basic needs, barriers to retention, and motivation to stay enrolled of noncredit homeless students. Thematic findings for this study are basic needs insecurities, safety, and social-emotional attributes of motivation that describe and interpret the lived experiences of noncredit homeless students enrolled in a retention model program.
