Higher education administrators recognize the importance of examining persistence as a means of understanding why students and have significant variability in enrollment patterns and depart from college prematurely (Braxton, 2000). One of the most common methods of evaluating student persistence is through academic achievement, measured by grade point average (McGrath & Braunstein, 1997; Tross, Harper, Osher, & Kneidinger, 2000). Previous researchers indicate academic achievement of college students can be influenced by a number of factors including academic major (Turner & Bowen, 1999). One group that has not received significant attention by researchers is the undecided population, those students who matriculate to colleges and universities without declaring an academic major. Undecided students warrant additional research as they make up one of the fastest growing populations in higher education. Anywhere from 20% to 50% of entering college students are undecided majors (Lewallen, 1995). These students are often described as a vulnerable group with a decreased probability of persisting. The purpose of the current study was to explore differences between two sub-groups of undecided students. In addition, an investigation was conducted into which factors could predict the academic achievement of first year, undecided students. Undecided students were classified as either Non-Specific Majors (NSMs, students who indicated they were not able or did not want to make a commitment to one particular major at the time they applied for admission to the university) or Specific Majors (SMs, students who indicated a particular degree granting program as their first choice of major but were not accepted to that major). Background characteristics, self-perception of abilities, degree aspirations, and academic achievement were examined using secondary analysis of institutional Cooperative Institutional Research Program (CIRP) data. Findings revealed significant differences between NSMs and SMs. In terms of their background characteristics, four significant differences were identified including sex, high school grade point average, race, and parental education. Only one measure of self-perception of abilities revealed a significant difference between the two groups: artistic abilities. No significant differences were found in terms of degree aspirations. Regarding academic achievement, NSMs tended to experience higher levels of academic success than SMs. Finally, for both the NSM and SM group, background characteristics, self-perceptions of abilities, and degree aspirations were able to explain a significant amount in variance in academic achievement, though to a greater degree within the NSM group. / Ph. D.

This study explored the factors that influence public high school students' advanced math course-taking. The factors investigated were parental involvement, peers' educational aspirations, students' own educational aspirations, and math self-concept. These factors were further examined for students in different settings as defined by school demographic variables of urbanicity, minority concentration, and poverty concentration. The study analyzed longitudinal data from the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 (NELS: 88), using structural equation modeling. Results indicated that parental involvement was much more important than peer influence for students' educational aspirations, and in turn, for their advanced level mathematics course-taking. Parental involvement had a larger effect for students in high-minority, high-poverty urban schools, who, on the average, had taken the smallest number of advanced mathematics courses, compared to students in other settings. Results from the study indicated that African-American students' math self-concepts were not affected by their previous math achievement, suggesting the lack of feedback about their mathematics performance. Recommendations based on the findings included improving parental involvement for all students, especially for students in high-minority, high-poverty urban schools, and providing more feedback to African-American students about their level of performance in mathematics and its consequences in terms of advanced math course-taking. / Ph. D.

First generation students face significant challenges with respect to college enrollment (Choy, 2001) and remain disproportionately underrepresented in certain segments of American higher education particularly in graduate education (Callan, 2001). Among those individuals who shape the educational plans of first-generation students are their parents (Hossler & Stage, 1999; McDonough, 1997). Researchers operationalize parental influence as the transmission of various forms of capital (Bourdieu, 1977). The purpose of this study was to determine if there was a relationship between various forms of capital parents transmit to their children and graduate school aspirations of first generation and non-first generation students attending highly selective institutions. Three dimensions of capital were explored in this study: (a) human, (b) cultural, and (c) social. Additionally, this study was designed to determine whether there are differences in the degree of these forms of capital among groups classified by race, gender and institution type. Data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Freshmen (NLSF) (Massey et. al, 2003) which included a sample of Asian, Black, Hispanic and Caucasian first year, first generation and non-first generation students from 28 highly selective colleges and universities were used for this study. The findings suggest that human, cultural, and social capital transmitted to students by parents are marginally related to graduate school aspirations regardless of generation status. Also, graduate school aspirations differ by race/ethnicity and gender, but do not differ substantively between first generation and non-first generation students in this sample. Finally, the type of institution students attend does not relate to their graduate school aspirations. / Ph. D.

Québec Université Laval, Bibliothèque 2014

Québec Université Laval, Bibliothèque 2015

Bien qu'il existe plusieurs recherches examinant la motivation scolaire des étudiants au niveau postsecondaire, très peu se concentrent sur les étudiants internationaux. En conséquence, de nombreuses politiques et pratiques éducatives généralisent les expériences éducatives des étudiants nationaux aux étudiants internationaux sans prendre en compte les différences entre les systèmes éducatifs et les problèmes d'adaptation auxquels sont confrontés les étudiants internationaux, ce qui diminue la qualité de leurs aspirations et entrave leurs besoins psychologiques. Cependant, des études démontrent que des aspirations intrinsèques facilitent la satisfaction des besoins et la motivation autonome tandis que des aspirations extrinsèques contribuent à la frustration des besoins et à la motivation non autonome. Ainsi, cette étude transversale teste un modèle explicatif de la motivation des étudiants internationaux, basé sur la théorie de l'autodétermination. Ce modèle propose que les aspirations prédisent les besoins psychologiques, qui à leur tour, prédisent la qualité de motivation. L'étude examine également les différences au niveau des aspirations, des besoins psychologiques et des motivations selon le sexe et le niveau d'études (premier cycle et cycles supérieurs) pour élargir la compréhension du sujet. Ainsi, 144 étudiants internationaux provenant de 33 pays ont été interrogés. Les résultats d'analyses acheminatoires indiquent que plus les étudiants ont des aspirations intrinsèques élevées, plus leurs besoins psychologiques sont satisfaits. Ensuite, plus leurs besoins sont satisfaits, plus ils sont motivés de manière autonome. En revanche, plus ils valorisent les aspirations extrinsèques, plus leurs besoins psychologiques sont frustrés. Conséquemment, plus leurs besoins sont frustrés, plus ils sont motivés de manière contrôlée ou sont amotivés. De plus, les résultats ne montrent pas de différences substantielles selon le sexe et le niveau d'éducation. Ainsi, les résultats suggèrent que, pour favoriser la motivation autonome, il faut encourager les étudiants internationaux à privilégier les aspirations intrinsèques et les établissements à soutenir leurs besoins psychologiques fondamentaux. / Although there is a great deal of research examining the academic motivation of postsecondary students, very little of it focuses on international students. As a result, many educational policies and practices generalize the educational experiences of domestic students to international students without taking into account the differences between educational systems and the problems of adaptation and integration faced by international students, thereby diminishing the quality of their aspirations and hindering their psychological needs. However, studies show that intrinsic aspirations facilitate need satisfaction and autonomous motivation, while extrinsic aspirations contribute to need frustration and non-autonomous motivation. Thus, this cross-sectional study tested an explanatory model of international students' motivation, based on self-determination theory. This model proposes that aspirations predict psychological needs, which in turn predict motivational quality. The study also examined differences in students' aspirations, psychological needs, and motivations as a function of gender and level of study (undergraduate and graduate) to broaden our understanding of the subject. A total of 144 international students from 33 countries were surveyed. The results of path analyses indicate that the higher students' intrinsic aspirations were, the more their psychological needs were satisfied. In turn, the more their needs were satisfied, the more autonomously motivated they were. Conversely, the more they valued extrinsic aspirations, the more their psychological needs were frustrated. Consequently, the more their needs were frustrated, the more they were motivated in a controlled way or were amotivated. Furthermore, the results did not show any substantial differences according to student gender or level of education. Thus, the results suggest that, to be autonomously motivated, international students need to be encouraged to focus on intrinsic aspirations, and institutions need to support their basic psychological needs.

STEM identity, a disciplinary identity that reflects an individual's self-understanding in connection with science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), impacts students ' integration into and retention within STEM fields. This study aimed to develop a STEM identity model, called the BioCheM-ID, to measure STEM identity across biology, chemistry, and mathematics among students enrolled in an introductory-level biology course at a large post-secondary public institution in Texas, United States. The study explored how student-centered factors, such as gender, race, student major, and pre-college informal STEM learning experiences, influence STEM identity. Additionally, the study investigated the relationships between students' educational aspirations, expectations, and STEM identity, and the connections between STEM identity and how undergraduates process, use, and interpret the slope-intercept concept of a simple linear graph (y = mx + b). The BioCheM-ID model comprised five latent factors: biology perceived competence and interest, chemistry perceived competence and interest, mathematics perceived competence and interest, biology and chemistry beliefs, and mathematics beliefs. Students' major and pre-college informal STEM learning experiences, particularly mentoring and tutoring, were significant factors of STEM identity. Positive correlations were observed between educational aspirations, expectations, and STEM identity. Students with high STEM identities demonstrated proficiency in providing productive responses regarding the slope-intercept concept of a simple linear graph, showcasing high graphical literacy.

Thesis (MEd)--Stellenbosch University, 2011. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The shaping of students. educational aspirations in their school and neighbourhood context is a complex process of confluence, and largely depends on their context-specific perceptions and conceptualisation. From a sociological perspective, this study focuses on how high-school students at a working-class school in a working-class neighbourhood shape their educational aspirations amidst their particular community dynamics. The study uses the analytical lens of space in order to investigate the underlying relationship between youth development and the youth.s educational aspirations in their neighbourhood context. It emphasises students. life experiences in two spaces, namely their residential space (the neighbourhood) and their institutional space (the school). This is an important focus in order to explore the dynamic relationship between students. spatial living dynamics and how they navigate within these to shape their educational aspirations. The study focuses on how the students experience the neighbourhood and school in relation to their educational aspirations, and how these aspects manifest in the shaping of their aspirations. Also key to the study is the students. prior socialisation processes with regard to their educational aspirations. The study.s primary point of departure is that there is a unique relationship between these students. living contexts and how they construct and position their educational aspirations within these contexts. The study belongs within the qualitative interpretative paradigm, as I attempt to describe and understand how these students consciously draw from practices and interactions in their living contexts to shape their educational aspirations. Qualitative research instruments, such as field notes, participatory and non-participatory observations as well as formal and informal interviews, were used to answer the research question and achieve the research objectives of the thesis. The findings are presented in narrative format according to relevant themes, and are also analysed on a narrative basis. The research shows how the students . based on their own resources, networks and interactions as well as their own agency . position themselves in relation to their educational aspirations in order to shape their aspirations. In this way, the study reveals how the participating students dualistically draw from the practices of both their living spaces . school as well as neighbourhood . in order to give content to their educational aspirations; how they navigate the shaping of their educational aspirations .in parallel., as it were, in line with both the aforementioned living contexts. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Studente se opvoedkundige-aspirasievorming in hul skool- en woonbuurtkonteks is 'n komplekse proses van samevloeiing, en hang grootliks van hul konteksspesifieke opvattings en konseptualisering af. Uit 'n sosiologiese perspektief konsentreer hierdie studie op hoe hoërskoolstudente by 'n werkersklasskool in 'n werkersklaswoonbuurt aan hul opvoedkundige aspirasies gestalte gee te midde van hul besondere gemeenskapsdinamiek. Die studie gebruik die analitiese lens van ruimte ten einde ondersoek in te stel na die onderliggende verwantskap tussen jeugwording en die jongmense se opvoedkundige aspirasies in hul woonbuurtkonteks. Die klem val op studente se lewenservarings in twee ruimtes, naamlik hul omgewingsruimte (die woonbuurt) en hul institusionele ruimte (die skool). Dit is 'n belangrike fokuspunt ten einde die dinamiese verwantskap te ondersoek tussen studente se ruimtelike leefdinamiek en hoe hulle daarin hul weg baan ten einde aan hul opvoedkundige aspirasies gestalte te gee. Die studie konsentreer op hoe die studente die woonbuurt en skool met betrekking tot hul opvoedkundige aspirasies beleef, en hoe hierdie aspekte in hul aspirasievormingsprosesse na vore kom. Nog 'n belangrike faktor in die studie is die studente se vorige sosialiseringsprosesse met betrekking tot hul opvoedkundige aspirasies. Die hoofuitgangspunt van die studie is dat daar 'n unieke verwantskap bestaan tussen hierdie studente se leefkontekste en hoe hulle hul opvoedkundige aspirasies daarin konstrueer en plaas. Die studie hoort tuis binne die kwalitatief-vertolkende paradigma, aangesien ek probeer beskryf en verstaan hoe hierdie studente op beredeneerde wyse uit praktyke en wisselwerkings in hul leefkontekste put om hul opvoedkundige aspirasies te vorm. Kwalitatiewe navorsingsinstrumente soos veldnotas, deelnemende en niedeelnemende waarnemings sowel as formele en informele onderhoude is gebruik om die navorsingsvraag te beantwoord en die navorsingsdoelwitte van die tesis te bereik. Die bevindings word in 'n narratiewe vorm aan die hand van tersaaklike temas aangebied en ook op 'n narratiewe grondslag ontleed. Die navorsing toon hoe die studente hulle - op grond van hul eie bronne, netwerke en wisselwerking sowel as hul eie agentskap - in verhouding tot hul opvoedkundige aspirasies plaas ten einde daaraan gestalte te gee. Sodoende onthul die studie hoe die deelnemerstudente op dualistiese wyse uit die praktyke van albei hul leefruimtes - skool en woonbuurt - put om hul opvoedkundige aspirasies te vorm; hoe hulle hul opvoedkundige-aspirasievorming as't ware 'parallel' in pas met albei voormelde twee leefkontekste navigeer.

by Josephine Shui-fun Law. / Includes questionaire in Chinese. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1994. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 46-62). / ACKNOWLEDGEMENT --- p.i / TABLE OF CONTENTS --- p.ii / LIST OF TABLES --- p.iii / LIST OF APPENDICES --- p.iv / ABSTRACT --- p.1 / Chapter CHAPTER I -- --- Introduction --- p.2 / Sociological Factors Socioeconomic Status --- p.5 / Psychological Factors Achievement Motivation --- p.6 / Self-Esteem --- p.7 / Sex Role Orientation --- p.8 / Gender differences on Aspirations Educational Aspiration --- p.11 / Career Aspiration --- p.12 / Purpose of the Study --- p.14 / Chapter CHAPTER II -- --- Method Subjects and Data Collections --- p.15 / Instruments --- p.16 / Chapter CHAPTER III -- --- Results --- p.23 / Chapter CHAPTER IV -- --- Discussion --- p.34 / REFERENCES --- p.46

The thesis "Sibling Constellation Effects on Learning and Career Aspirations of Pupils" is aimed at the description of a relationship between birth order and personality development. It also deals with the general characteristics of sibling constellation and its historical development. It points out the importance of sibling constellation in human life and presents the personality description with regard to birth order in relation to parents, siblings, peers, education and occupation. The thesis also involves the research results of birth order effects on learning and career specialization of grammar school pupils. This main part is enriched with the information about the aspiration rate of secondary school and university students. The data were obtained through three similar questionnaires distributed on above-mentioned educational levels during February and March 2012.