Date of Graduation

1986

Document Type

Thesis

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate possible relationships among selected psychological, sociological, and economic characteristics of doctoral students and compare these characteristics to the completion or noncompletion of EdD degrees in the College of Human Resources and Education at West Virginia University. In addition, academic departments within the college were compared on eight variables to see if differences within departments contributed to completion or noncompletion of the EdD. A questionnaire, specifically designed for this study, was mailed to 254 EdD recipients and 287 nongraduates. A response rate of 82.98% of the graduates and 63.40% of the nongraduates was received. A total of 31 null hypotheses were tested. After computer tabulation, chi-square and t test statistical procedures were utilized to test for significant differences at the .05 level. Results from the study indicate that EdD recipients were more likely than nongraduates to have: (a) grown up outside of West Virginia; (b) spent more time in full-time study; (c) lived closer to the university during course work; (d) decided on his/her major field of study before receiving the undergraduate degree; (e) had a stronger commitment to his/her career; (f) had a higher financial subsistence level; (g) had different sources of financial subsidy, primarily assistantships; (h) had more positive relationships with faculty, other students, doctoral committees, faculty advisors, and doctoral committee chairs; (i) perceived course work to be of high quality and value; (j) had a better orientation to academic expectations and support services from both departments and WVU sources; (k) had less difficulty with the dissertation; and (l) perceived the value of the doctorate to be a definite asset in material and nonmaterial rewards. Variables which were not significant in explaining completion or noncompletion of EdD degrees were: (a) sex; (b) race; (c) marital status; (d) number of dependent children; (e) age when beginning or terminating the doctorate; (f) number of family members pursuing postsecondary education; (g) educational level of parents; (h) distance from the university during the dissertation; (i) physical and emotional health; (j) number of hours employed; (k) motive for beginning doctoral study; (l) second and third sources of financial subsidy; and, (m) student's perception of doctoral study when first enrolled.

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