How can Developmental Education be revised to retain more students

1. 3) Qualitative research is an inductive process. "Researchers gather data to build concepts, hypotheses, or theories" (Merriam, 2002, p. 5).

1.1. I am a huge believer in Developmental Education. Many students do not have the knowledge to pass college course work despite gaining their high school diploma. Developmental Education needs to be revise in order to maintain college students. Many students are quitting because they fail to follow protocol. Should students be forced out of college because they can not keep their notebook organized? Colleges need to determine what skills are important and what skills are not in order to maintain more students.

2. 4) Qualitative research is richly descriptive emphasizing pictures and words (Merriam, 2002, p. 5).

2.1. I will use direct quotes from the interviews to create rich descriptions.

3. 5) Collecting data is flexible for qualitative researchers. In addition, researchers are limited because they may not be persuaded to adopt the worldview of the people they are studying (Bryman, 2004, p. 282).

3.1. As an instructor in Developmental Education, I understand why students are frustrated and quit college due to the layout of the Developmental Education program. The people I interview may have a different perspective because they are looking at the "big picture" instead of the "small picture".

4. 1) Researcher must understand the meaning. According to Merriam, the aim of the researcher is to understand someone's experiences based on their environments and interactions (p. 5).

4.1. I want to provide background on Developmental Education including the purpose and issues regarding the program. As a teacher in Developmental Education, I see some strengths and weaknesses with the program. I would like to explore suggestions to improve the program with research and interviews.

5. 2) "The researcher is the primary instrument for data collection" (Merriam, 2002, p. 5). A researcher can collect data through verbal and nonverbal forms of communication (Merriam, 2002, p. 5).

5.1. As a researcher, I will interview two experts in the field of Developmental Education. I have chosen Dr. Boylan from Appalachian State University because he has worked in the Developmental Education area for a long time. He has published many articles regarding the topic. In addition, I would like to interview the Dean of Developmental Education at Catawba Valley Community College. Catawba Valley Community College has a successful Developmental Education program.

6. 6) Qualitative research focuses on a process explaining a topic over time (Bryman, 2004, p. 281).

6.1. Developmental Education has changed from sixteen week classes to eight week classes. Students in the Developmental Education program are struggling students. I believe the quick pace nature of the classes are hurting students in the long term.