Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Secondary college'

College application behaviors among students who are similarly prepared vary by socioeconomic status. Recent research suggests that undermatching is a growing trend, especially among low-income students. Undermatching has detrimental consequences for students who possess the potential to succeed at a selective college, but fail to apply, leading to reduced student success and poor economic outcomes. While literature about factors that affect a student’s decision to attend college is abundant, a focus on the selection of college is still limited. A literature review examined how college choice changed over time, and how future trends in students’ college application behaviors might develop.

This quantitative study used a cross-sectional survey design. Demographic variables were collected along with the results from the Aspects of Identity Questionnaire (AIQ-IV). A paper-and-pencil survey was used to collect data about participants’ race, gender, academic achievement, socioeconomic status, identity orientation, and college choices. In this study, college choice was measured by college selectivity scores, which are annually assigned by the U.S. News & World Report. Surveys were administered to 341 twelfth grade students in a California public high school.

Results revealed that both race and academic achievement are significant predictors (R² = .422) of college selectivity. Inferential analysis reported that Asian participants (M = 2.75) had a higher mean college selectivity score than Filipino ( M = 1.91) and Latino/a (M = 1.99) participants. These findings suggest that Filipino students require support systems that may be different from those available to Asian students.

The findings also suggest that academic achievement is associated with participants’ college choices. Participants who reported high academic achievement levels had higher college selectivity scores, regardless of socioeconomic status, concluding that undermatching was not found for low-income participants at this research site. This is noteworthy because it is different from what literature reports is a negative outcome among low-income students. This suggests there may be external factors that can have a positive impact on college choices in order to overcome the typical effects of social class on college attainment. Future research can investigate policies and practices at high college-matching schools to explain how to improve college application behaviors.

American high schools must graduate more students who are college-ready. The employment market for adults with only a high school diploma is rapidly shrinking (Parikh, 2013). The United States is facing a shortage of educated adults who will be needed to fill the estimated 60% of jobs that will require a four-year degree by year 2025 (Conley, 2014; Dyce, Albold, & Long, 2013; Schaefer & Rivera, 2012; Varee, 2008). Studies have shown that educational programs exist on the high school level that can increase the academic achievement of underperforming students and effectively prepare them for college (Beer, Le Blanc, & Miller, 2008; Bernhardt, 2013: Bosworth, Convertino, & Hurwitz, 2014; Campbell, 2010; Ghazzawi & Jagannathan, 2011; Mendoza, 2014). But how do these students fare once they get into college? Do they persist? Do they complete a 4-year degree? If yes, how long does it take them to complete their degree and graduate? The purpose of this study was to answer these questions by comparing the college enrollment and degree completion rates of students who participated in AVID, GEAR UP, Upward Bound, or both GEAR UP and Upward Bound, and students who did not participate in a college preparatory program during high school. Data from the Education Longitudinal Study of 2002 was used for this study and tracked students up to eight years post-high school graduation. Results from this study show that AVID students attain their 4-year degree eight years post high school graduation at a higher rate than students in all other groups. This finding was statistically significant and contributes to the growing pool of research that suggests that AVID is an effective program for increasing the likelihood that first-generation college-going students, students from lower-socio economic families, and students from subgroups traditionally underrepresented in higher education are better prepared for the rigors of a college education and complete their 4-year college degrees in a timely manner.

Providing students at risk of becoming long-term English learners (LTELs) with the instruction and support they need to reclassify as fluent English proficient before entering high school increases their access to grade-level or advanced placement curriculum that will satisfy college entrance requirements and, presumably, postsecondary academic success. The purpose of this study is to determine whether the support provided through College Success Path by the Students First Unified School District (a pseudonym) to its seventhand eighthgradersat risk of becoming LTELs has the potential to lead to university matriculation.

Descriptive (mean, median, mode, and standard deviation) and inferential (independent measure t-test) statistical analyses of student learning outcomes revealed nonsignificant results at the .05 level.

Notable findings emerged after looking at score distributions and frequencies (cross-tabulations) for the District Writing Assessments and California Standardized Tests, English Language Arts learning outcomes. The treatment group experienced greater numbers of students moving from lower proficiency levels to higher proficiency levels in terms of the posttests than the control group did.

Descriptive and inferential statistical analyses of identified student learning outcomes did not yield significant results at the .05 level. Cross-tabulations conducted to analyze score distributions on the same student learning outcomes revealed results in favor of the treatment group. However, A-G completion rates and academic GPA data revealed results in favor of the control group.

The reality regarding the English learner (EL) population in California is changing as the number of LTELs increases in our public schools. In light of current state legislation, providing equal educational opportunities for ELs, especially LTELs, is vital to their success. This relates to the theoretical foundation of this study because it hearkens back to Paulo Freire's idea of actively participating in one's current reality and working to transform rather than conform to the world around them.

This project examined the college-going culture at David Starr Jordan High School, an urban high school in North Long Beach, California. Drawing from two conceptual frameworks, Joyce Epstein's six elements of school-family-community partnerships and Patricia McDonough's nine elements of a college:.going culture, a new conceptual framework was developed: school-family-community partnership collegegoing culture. This new conceptual framework emphasizes the three C's: (a) communication, (b) college-information, and (c) collaboration, bridging schoolfamily- community partnerships and college-going culture.

To increase the college-going rate at David Starr Jordan High School, two community events were implemented at the school utilizing this new conceptual framework-providing a link between theory and practice. As a result, the project helped build school-family-community alliance, disseminated college information to students and families to debunk myths about college-related options, and promoted David Starr Jordan High School as a safe and caring high school.

The inclusion of college preparation programs promote and forecast academic success in postsecondary studies among individual at-risk, African American urban high school students. Past research has shown ongoing, college acceptance, performance, and graduation gaps between at-risk, African American urban high school students when compared to affluent, Caucasian suburban high school students. The College Summit program is designed to help close this gap.

The study compared two models of the College Summit Program in one urban school setting. The study evaluated the effect that pre-college preparation activities had on these dependent variables: completion of postsecondary planning activities, end-of-year GPA, awards of individual scholarships, and acceptance at their initial top-three choice colleges. The evaluation focused on two groups of students, College Summit Program students who received academic credit for the program through calculating a student's grade based on percentage and College Summit Advisory students whose grade was determined as either a pass or fail. In addition, the study focused on a third group of students who were not enrolled in the College Summit Program known as the Non-Program Students (NPS).

This study analyzed the relationship between the independent variables, College Summit Program Graded Model, College Summit Advisory Pass/Fail Model, and the Non-Program Students (NPS) Model and the dependent variables mentioned previously. Z-tests determined if any of the independent variables predicted college-readiness outcomes of at-risk, African American students. Z-tests for difference in means and proportions determined if any differences in measurement of dependent variables were significant. Z-Tests for difference in means determined significant difference when comparing the CSP model to the CSA model for the dependent variables progression towards completion of postsecondary planning milestones, cumulative grade point averages, individual scholarship awards, and acknowledgements of initial top-three top choice colleges. Z-tests for difference in proportions determined significant difference when comparing the CSP model to the CSA model for the dependent variables full completion of postsecondary milestones and acceptance at the student's initial top-three choice colleges when testing the difference in proportions.

The study found that the graded College Summit Program is more effective when preparing at-risk, African American urban high school students for college.

Supportive relationships between teachers and their students help create an environment for student success, but there remains a need for additional understanding about how to effectively promote positive teacher-student relationships in order to support stronger policy and practice in modern schools. In this qualitative analysis, I seek to deepen the research about supportive teacher-student relationships by analyzing how students, teachers, and principals described their experiences in early college high schools (ECHS) in North Carolina. Early college high schools represent a relatively new school model in which high school students earn college credits while working toward their high school diplomas. Quantitative analyses of the performance of ECHS students suggest students in early college high schools outperform their peers from comprehensive schools on a variety of measures. One important design element of these schools suggests that teachers must know students well to help them achieve academically and it is my assertion that supportive teacher-student relationships may contribute to ECHS students’ success.

For this study, I analyze qualitative data previously collected as part of a larger longitudinal study from students, teachers, and principals studying and working in 19 early college high schools in North Carolina. I employ Giddens’ theory of structuration as a lens for understanding the relationships between the agents (students, teachers, and principals) and the social structures that influence the experiences of those in the schools. I consider the leadership practices of the principals to promote supportive teacher-student relationships as well as teacher practices, and compared the adults’ claims to the students’ perceived experiences with their teachers. My findings reveal three elements in the social systems of the ECHS contribute to supportive teacher-student relationships which include the following: (1) the beliefs of teachers, students, and principals; (2) deliberate actions of principals and teachers; and (3) programs that create social spaces for such relationships to grow.

The purpose of this mixed methods study was to explore salient nonacademic factors related to social, economic, and cultural aspects together with traditional academic factors that influenced college retention. The study design employed a mixed-methods sequential explanatory method design, collecting quantitative data for correlation and regression analyses with qualitative data for content analysis. The sample included students with various SES backgrounds who graduated from North Philadelphia secondary schools since 2009. A predictor equation explained 60% of the variance college retention using 13 predictors: household income, college preparatory curriculum, competency based instruction, academic self-confidence and commitment, academic skills, academic integration, social integration, parents’ educational attainment, parents’ occupation, high school GPA, undergraduate GPA, and SAT scores. The predictors were found to be independently associated with college retention and interrelated with low SES variables, which may reduce the chances of earning a college degree. The qualitative findings indicated lack of skills, levels of academic engagement, and time allocation as major themes. Future research should explore underlying psychological processes driving the college retention relationship, using a cohort research method. A recommendation for practice was to identify students with skill deficiencies at the ninth and tenth grade levels to provide remediation of requisite skills to ensure college readiness and retention. Despite limitations, this study offered reasons low SES variables may influence college retention.

The racial classification of Armenian American college students as White leads to the lack of ethnic-specific data on their educational outcomes and experiences. This qualitative study explored the perceptions of Armenian American college students of their campus climate. The study used an interview approach to examine the conditions that supported or inhibited their college experience. Campus Climate was used as a conceptual lens to guide this study. The study revealed four themes: family influence, mainstream campus culture, Armenian campus culture, and hidden minority status. Impersonal campus conditions inhibited Armenian American students’ experience; conversely, personable campus conditions, supported their college experience. The findings demonstrated that these students constantly negotiate between their Armenian ethnic identity and American student identity while finding ways to connect to their campus environment. Policy and practice recommendations include increasing awareness, presence, and inclusion of this population on college campuses.