Thesis (Ph.D.)--Ohio University, June, 2007. / Title from PDF t.p. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2006. / Title from title screen (site viewed on Mar. 9, 2007). PDF text: vii, 151 p. UMI publication number: AAT 3225795. Includes bibliographical references. Also available in microfilm and microfiche format.

The purpose of this study is to understand why some children of teachers, who, having been brought up in an environment where education is highly valued, nevertheless, choose not to pursue a college education right out of high school. The study focuses on young adults who have at least one parent who is a teacher and who, when they graduated from high school, either chose not to attend college right away or enrolled in college then left within the first few semesters. Through open-ended interview questions, constant comparative qualitative analysis, and narrative analysis, the study examines what impact having a teacher as a parent has had on young adults’ construction of formal education and their decision to forego higher education immediately after high school. The interviewer also asks the teacher-parents what response they had to that decision. The research questions of this study are as follows: (1) What experiences of education do these young adults, who are teachers’ kids, have? (2) How has their family shaped their understanding of education and their attitudes toward it? (3) How did they choose not to pursue a college degree right out of high school and what meaning do they give to this decision? and (4) What is/was the teacher-parent’s response to this decision? This study illuminates the college decision-making process that young adults go through when they are in an environment in which education is a prominent feature. Two major findings emerge. For the young adults, all valued education but they had no sense of urgency about pursuing formal education immediately. Their decisions were shaped by particular life circumstances and, for many, a belief that a college education was irrelevant at that point in their lives. The second finding concerns the teacher-parents. These educators assumed that their children would go on to college, but they did not pressure them to do so; their primary concern was that their children be happy.

The purpose of this study is to understand why some children of teachers, who, having been brought up in an environment where education is highly valued, nevertheless, choose not to pursue a college education right out of high school. The study focuses on young adults who have at least one parent who is a teacher and who, when they graduated from high school, either chose not to attend college right away or enrolled in college then left within the first few semesters. Through open-ended interview questions, constant comparative qualitative analysis, and narrative analysis, the study examines what impact having a teacher as a parent has had on young adults’ construction of formal education and their decision to forego higher education immediately after high school. The interviewer also asks the teacher-parents what response they had to that decision. The research questions of this study are as follows: (1) What experiences of education do these young adults, who are teachers’ kids, have? (2) How has their family shaped their understanding of education and their attitudes toward it? (3) How did they choose not to pursue a college degree right out of high school and what meaning do they give to this decision? and (4) What is/was the teacher-parent’s response to this decision? This study illuminates the college decision-making process that young adults go through when they are in an environment in which education is a prominent feature. Two major findings emerge. For the young adults, all valued education but they had no sense of urgency about pursuing formal education immediately. Their decisions were shaped by particular life circumstances and, for many, a belief that a college education was irrelevant at that point in their lives. The second finding concerns the teacher-parents. These educators assumed that their children would go on to college, but they did not pressure them to do so; their primary concern was that their children be happy.

The goal of this study was to learn how Mississippi’s society, culture, and politics influenced college choice for college bound African American women in Mississippi from 1962 to 2002. In this context, the researcher elected to interview mother and daughter pairs who attended college in Mississippi after James Meredith integrated the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) in 1962. To achieve its goals, this study traced the political history of the Civil Rights Movement in Mississippi, the enrollment patterns of African American women in Mississippi colleges, and captured, through individual interviews, the mothers’ and daughters’ motivating factors in choosing a college. This qualitative research design study compares and analyzes the differences in the mothers’ and daughters’ choices and illustrates how outside influences affect college choice. The researcher used archival records, focus groups, and individual interviews to capture the data. The common themes that emerged from this study for the mothers’ generation were the power of community capital, strong family ties, extreme poverty, and personal sacrifice. The common themes that emerged from this study for the daughters’ generation were the power of family capital and individual ambition, fueled by a desire for a comfortable life. Because of the intense nature of the individual interviews the researcher captured a glimpse into the participants’ thought process in choosing to go to college as well as choosing which college to attend. / text

Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Auburn University, 2007. / Abstract. Vita. Includes bibliographic references.

Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Auburn University, 2006. / Abstract. Vita. Includes bibliographic references (p.117-125).

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Ohio University, June, 2009. / Title from PDF t.p. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--UCLA, 2008. / Vita. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 258-267).

Thesis (PhD (Marketing Management))--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Synopsis in English. Includes bibliographical references.