<p> First-generation, low-income, and disabled college students are an increasing population (Tinto, 2012). TRIO Student Support Services (SSS) is an academic support program funded by the U.S. Department of Education that seeks to support this demographic to overcome challenges and thrive while in college (Coffman, 2011). Utilizing a mixed methods approach, the goal of this study was to examine the student success outcomes of retention and grade point average of TRIO SSS students compared to students who are similarly qualified but not being served by TRIO SSS at a Midwestern, large, public, four-year institution. In addition, TRIO SSS seniors were interviewed during focus groups. During focus groups, students reflected on their overall programmatic experiences in TRIO. A total of 1,913 students were involved in the quantitative analysis, and 16 TRIO seniors participated in the focus groups. Data analysis resulted in the emergence of four major themes: (a) relationships, (b) loyalty, (c) trust, and (d) transformation. These findings were consistent with other studies conducted within the scope of Tinto&rsquo;s (2012) theory of student retention. All of the interview participants identified a profound and personal emotional connection to their time in TRIO SSS. This study was significant due to the lack of previous research that couples the experiences of students with quantitative data. Implications for practice included, but were not limited to, stronger support for first-generation students through a range of campus partnerships and initiatives. Recommendations for future research included expanding this study by examining TRIO programs at other institutions and gathering perceptions of first-generation students through multiple focus groups.</p>

<p> This quantitative study examined the experiences of first-generation college students and the influence of cultural wealth capital on their college outcomes. The study analyzed secondary data from The Educational Longitudinal Study of 2002 (ELS:2002), a nationally representative data set capturing the high school, college and early post-secondary education experiences and outcomes of high school sophomore students in 2002 over a 10-year span, including college and early career outcomes. The scope of the data was narrowed to only examine students that indicated they were first-generation college students. </p><p> Using Tara Yosso&rsquo;s (2005) Community Cultural Wealth model as the conceptual framework, and, using factor analysis, the study operationalized two forms of capital from the model: aspirational capital and navigational capital. Both linear and logit regression analysis were used in examining this relationship between the capital constructs and college pipeline outcomes (enrollment, persistence and graduation) for first-generation college students. </p><p> The study found that for every one standard deviation increase of aspirational capital, first-generation college students were found to be 28.5% more likely to enroll in college. Additionally, for every one standard deviation of aspirational capital, first-generation students were 25.6% more likely to persist through to their fourth semester college, a time when first-generation college students are found to be most likely to drop out of college. The dissertation includes a robust discussion of outcomes and related recommendations for theory, practice and policy.</p><p>

<p> Higher education institutions continue to struggle with encouraging retention for first-year students. Prior research has shown that establishing social integration during the first-year of college is a crucial component of a successful transition and has a positive influence on student persistence and academic success (Astin, 1993; Chapman &amp; Pascarella, 1983; Tinto, 1993). Social integration has historically been defined in terms of peer connections and involvement (Tinto, 1993); however, recent research has explored the importance of sense of belonging as an important psychosocial component in the transition to college (Strayhorn, 2012a). Sense of belonging focuses on feelings of fit, perceptions of social support, and feeling as though one matters to the community. The current study sought to explore the conceptual framework in which sense of belonging was included as a component of social integration. Moreover, this study explored whether institutional action could influence first-year students&rsquo; overall social integration through a focus on peer connections, involvement, and sense of belonging. </p><p> This quasi-experimental, quantitative study analyzed the influence of a campus intervention focused on social integration, called the Belonging Reinforcement Intervention (BRI). The BRI program was delivered to first-year students at a small, private institution during the first three weeks of their collegiate experience. The Belonging Reinforcement Intervention included researched components related to social belonging and normalizing students&rsquo; not feeling an immediate sense of fit (Walton &amp; Cohen, 2011a), reinforcing institutional commitment and belonging through communications (Hausmann et al., 2007), and research focused on peer mentoring as a way to encourage campus involvements (Peck, 2011). The study used a national instrument, the Mapworks Transition Survey, to determine if this intervention could influence the various components of social integration. </p><p> The findings from the study support a comprehensive view of social integration that includes sense of belonging. The findings further indicate that students who participated in the BRI program showed statistically significant increases in peer connections, involvement, and the current study&rsquo;s social integration scale which included sense of belonging. Furthermore, the findings suggest that the BRI program was particularly beneficial for Hispanic students with their intent to become involved and for female students for their overall social integration. The results of this study have implications for future institutional interventions and developing lasting programs that will help first-year students to succeed and persist in their college experience. The conclusions presented suggest that a broader definition of social integration can allow institutions and researchers to better understand and support the challenges students face during the transition to college.</p><p>

<p> The purpose of this study is to understand how social class background plays a role in student experiences on selective campuses. This study centers the experience of low-income students and extends the work of Ostrove and Long (2007). Previous research has indicated that race, gender, and social class status have each, respectively, been demonstrated to have statistically significant relationships to sense of belonging. This research affirms existing research, but also finds that there are more positive relationships than previously theorized. Minoritized students had higher mean scores related to personal-emotional adjustment and social adjustment. Students from the lowest social class also reported higher scores on the same two adjustment scales than their peers. </p><p> Based in the theory of critical quantitative analysis (Stage, 2007), the research uses the Student Adaptation to College Questionnaire (Baker &amp; Siryk, 1999) in order to assess sense of belonging. This survey measures overall sense of belonging, academic adjustment, social adjustment personal-emotional adjustment and institutional attachment. Examining these measures in an intersectional way revealed results that were more nuanced than was previously found in the literature. The data was analyzed using simple linear regression, analysis of variance, and hierarchical multiple regression. The survey was conducted among undergraduate students at The George Washington University, a private, urban institution in Washington, D.C. </p><p> In demonstrating that minoritized and economically and educationally challenged students may be adjusting better than has been previously stated, this study emphasizes the need to affirm students in the identities they hold for themselves rather than studying them through deficit models. Reinforcing the cultural and social norms of marginalized groups aids in their personal growth and development, which often leads to a university&rsquo;s desired outcome, which is retention and graduation.</p><p>

The purposes of this study were to provide an historical overview of the development of post-secondary technical education in Puerto Rico within the framework of the expansion of higher education; and to examine the implications and consequences of the development of technical education as it relates to social stratification, social division of labor, and social class conflict. During the 1940s, Puerto Rico began, for it, an unprecedented economic development program with the objective of industrializing the Island. This industrialization process brought about a rapid transformation of the occupational structure of the labor force on the Island. This process also influenced changes in the structure, orientation, and curriculum of public post-secondary education. In the 1960s, the University of Puerto Rico underwent a rapid and remarkable transformation. An important part of this process was the establishment and development of a system of regional colleges that became responsible for the development of two-year technical programs. The apparent shortage of technical personnel necessary to sustain the process of industrial development, and the high unemployment rate among four-year college graduates were two of the most influential arguments that sparked the establishment and development of these programs. The findings show an imbalance in the social demographic composition between regional college students and those in the more prestigious campuses. Students from the higher social class are over-represented at the main institutions, while the lower social class is better represented throughout the regional college system. Data used in this study do not support the claim of a technical personnel shortage nor the allegation that technical education yields economic success, facilitates upward social mobility, and helps to alleviate unemployment among four-year college graduates. Finally, the data do not support the existence of a social-class tracking system within the regional college institutions.

<p> There are approximately 28,000 to 55,000 undocumented enrolled in postsecondary institutions in the United States (Passel, 2003). In order to achieve their educational ambitions despite the structural social, socioeconomic, political, and legislative barriers facing them, undocumented students utilize various resources they have at their disposal. Minoritized populations, specifically undocumented Latino students, have employed individual and collective agency in overcoming structural racism and barriers enacted to maintain the status quo. This study of eight undocumented Latino student activists in Virginia and Washington reveals the various forms of resources available undocumented Latino student activists and documents how these students utilize them to navigate the barriers they encounter, shape the undocumented student social movement, and achieve their educational aspirations. This study seeks to uncover what resources undocumented Latino student activists have at their disposal and how the usage of said resources impacts policy formation on an institutional, state and national level. </p><p> The study seeks to uncover whether undocumented students utilize their available funds of knowledge to achieve their educational goals and navigate through the barriers they encounter. The study finds that undocumented Latino student activists utilize their funds of knowledge in agriculture, business, construction, mechanics, music, and religion to develop strategies to navigate through educational, financial, institutional, and intrapersonal barriers they encountered. This application of funds of knowledge and community cultural wealth to student activism moves the debate from a deficiency narrative that has long permeated higher education research to an agency narrative. </p><p> This study provides valuable insight into the increase of undocumented Latino students&rsquo; participation in activism and how one can best aid undocumented Latino student activists. Through the thematic narrative analysis, the lived history and stories of undocumented Latino student activists from Washington and Virginia are woven together to unveil individual and collective routes to educational attainment and activism on behalf of undocumented students. </p><p>