Fulfilling the Promise: A Mixed-Methods, Deweyan Analysis of the 21st Century Scholars Program at Ivy Tech

Abstract

This dissertation examines the structural fit between the 21st Century Scholars (TFCS) program’s eligibility requirements and the lived realities of student Scholars at Ivy Tech Community College in Muncie, Indiana. Drawing on John Dewey’s pragmatist philosophy, particularly his concepts of education, democracy, and vocational development, the study explores how program rules intersect with students’ work obligations, family responsibilities, and community involvement. Employing an explanatory sequential mixed-methods design, the research begins with a student experience survey administered to all 21st Century Scholars who attended Ivy Tech Muncie between 2016 and 2024. The survey identifies statistical relationships between eligibility compliance and key variables such as employment hours, caregiving duties, and access to campus resources. Qualitative interviews with a subset of respondents follow, offering narrative insights into how students experience, interpret, and navigate those structural tensions. Findings reveal significant misalignments between policy expectations, particularly the 30-credit annual requirement, and students’ lived experiences, often shaped by economic precarity and competing obligations. These misalignments not only threaten eligibility but also undermine the broader goals of higher education as defined by Dewey: to cultivate democratic participation, personal growth, and vocational purpose. Ultimately, the study shows that while the TFCS program aims to expand access to college for low-income students, its increasingly restrictive compliance model creates barriers that disproportionately affect the very students it intends to support. The dissertation concludes by recommending targeted policy changes and institutional interventions—grounded in Deweyan educational theory—that promise to better support student success, foster shared interests, and realign the program with its democratic ideals.