The purpose of this study was to explore the engagement levels among entering and returning Hispanic community college students. This study provides needed data focused specifically on Hispanic student engagement. Limited data exist on the persistence of community college students in general, and Hispanic students in particular. The data were collected using the Survey of Entering Student Engagement (SENSE). SENSE was administered as a pilot test to students at volunteer community colleges during the fourth and fifth weeks of the fall 2007 semester. These 22 colleges are located in eight states. This study consisted of two research questions: Are there significant differences in the engagement levels of entering and returning Hispanic community college students? Are there significant differences in engagement levels of entering Hispanic students when analyzed in terms of the following breakout variables: enrollment status (full-time and part-time); age (traditional and nontraditional; 18-19 years old and 20 years old and older); first-generation and non-first-generation status; developmental education status (enrollment in developmental writing course; developmental reading course; developmental math course); sex (male and female); academic goal aspiration (degree seeking and non-degree seeking). The results show that when there are significant differences in levels of engagement between entering and returning Hispanic students, returning students are consistently more engaged. This study also identifies the importance of collaborative learning in Hispanic student engagement. Full-time students reported higher engagement levels than part-time students. Nontraditional age students reported higher engagement levels than traditional age students. Students 20 years and older reported higher engagement levels than students 18-19 years old. First-generation students reported higher engagement levels than non-first-generation. Students enrolled in developmental reading reported higher engagement levels than students not enrolled in developmental reading. Students enrolled in developmental writing reported higher engagement levels than students not enrolled in developmental writing. Students enrolled in developmental math reported higher engagement levels than students not enrolled in developmental math in regards to use of skill labs. Females were more likely to report that they would prepare at least one draft of an assignment before turning it in. Degree-seeking students reported higher engagement levels than non-degree seeking students. / text

The focus of this study was to examine the relationship between principal ethnicity and other chosen demographics (community type of the school, average years of teacher experience, and percent of students qualifying as economically disadvantaged) and student achievement as measured by the Texas Education Agency?s (TEA?s) accountability rating system in predominantly Hispanic public high schools in Texas. The study sought to identify causal factors in relation to campus accountability rating and principal ethnicity in an effort to determine if principal ethnicity had an impact on student achievement in predominantly Hispanic public high schools in Texas. The study examined data obtained from the Texas Education Agency for the 2007-2008 school year. There were 335 schools that met the criteria set forth for the study. The findings of the study stated there was no statistically significant relationship between principal ethnicity and student achievement as measured by the TEA?s accountability system. There were some significant statistical findings in relation to principal ethnicity, accountability rating and indicators of community type of school, years of teacher experience, and percent of students qualifying as economically disadvantaged. Moderate relationships were found between community type and accountability rating and between community type and ethnicity of the principal. There were also significant relationships found between accountability rating and average years of teacher experience as well as principal ethnicity and percent of students qualifying as economically disadvantaged. There was no significant finding between principal ethnicity and average years of teaching experience. There was also no significant finding in relation to accountability rating and percent of students qualifying as economically disadvantaged. The growing number of Hispanic students entering schools is leading to more campuses becoming predominantly Hispanic in student population. The achievement gap between Hispanic students and White students has continued to be an ongoing problem and important issue. The findings of this study show that ethnicity of the principal does not have an impact on student achievement in predominantly Hispanic public high schools in Texas. Hiring administrators should focus on hiring school leaders who possess identified characteristics that lead to improved student achievement.

The research was designed to test the hypothesis that significant differences exist between Hispanic and non-Hispanic students respecting background characteristics and reasons for enrollment in selected two-year colleges. The findings led to firm conclusions regarding the need for educational institutions to provide remedial and tutorial services, liberal financial aid, culturally sensitive institutional ambience, diversity in faculty, counselors, and staff, and instructional and student development programs responsive to the cultural diversity of all students.

There are two main portions to this study. In the first portion (Chapters I-III) we identify policies, procedures, programs, and pedagogical practices in public school districts in Texas that increase levels of college preparation among black and Hispanic students across a range of educational settings (rural, suburban, and urban). We identify these practices by interviewing school administrators at twenty-two school districts throughout the state. The school districts were selected by using education production function models to identify the highest and lowest performing school districts on a variety of college preparation measures. The first portion of the study is largely descriptive and qualitative in orientation. In the second portion of the study we identify high college preparation levels among minority students as a positive externality. Because college attendance benefits students as individuals, regardless of the beneficial aspects of college attendance for society at large, students, parents, and others will request that school districts increase college preparation levels to some degree. However, given the nature of positive externalities, we explore the possibility that the reason why some school districts have higher college preparation levels among minority students than others is that they are led by an official policy-maker (the superintendent) who is committed to acting in the long-term interests of society (in other words, whose representational style is to act as a trustee). The second portion attempts to extend the causal chain back one link by exploring the possibility that superintendent representational style affects the types of policies, procedures, programs and pedagogical practices adopted and the district’s commitment to implementing them, which in turn affects college preparation levels among minority students. The relationship between superintendent representational style and minority student preparation for college is tested using two data sources: a survey of public school superintendents throughout Texas gathered by the Texas Educational Excellence Project and college preparation measures gathered by the Texas Education Agency for all public schools in Texas.

As the United States and Texas become increasingly dependent on the success of Hispanics in higher education based on degree attainment, decision-makers and policy-makers are looking for strategies for addressing the education attainment needs of the Hispanic population. The purpose of this naturalistic inquiry was to understand 1) the barriers experienced by successful first year (fall to fall) first-time-in-college Hispanic students at a predominately Hispanic student community college on the South Texas/Mexico Border Region, 2) the expertise/knowledge required to successfully overcome these barriers during the first year (fall to fall) in college, and 3) based on these findings, offer suggestions and recommendations for addressing the barriers experienced by Hispanic students enrolled in such community colleges. More specifically, the researcher examined the barriers experienced by students during the first year of college, and based on their experiences, the expertise required to overcome those barriers. The study utilized Padilla‘s (1991) Student Success Model as the primary theoretical framework for the study. The data analysis led to the identification of six barrier categories, which included: 1) transition from high school to college; 2) personal and family commitments; 3) institutional support; 4) student accountability; 5) instructor issues; and 6) developmental studies/college readiness. In the findings, I include the role of general college knowledge and academic college readiness in students successfully completing the first year (fall to fall) of college. The researcher utilized the results of the study to develop the Community College Student Success Model for First-Time-in-College Students, which was adapted from Padilla (1991, 2001) and Padilla, Treviño, Gonzalez, and Treviño (1996). The researcher recommends utilizing Lynham‘s (2002) General Method of Theory-Building to move towards the development of a theory for Hispanic student success in predominately Hispanic community colleges. The researcher also recommended the development and implementation of collaborative programs and services between the public school districts and the community college for facilitating the acquisition of general college knowledge by high school students before they graduate from high school.

There are two main portions to this study. In the first portion (Chapters I-III) we identify policies, procedures, programs, and pedagogical practices in public school districts in Texas that increase levels of college preparation among black and Hispanic students across a range of educational settings (rural, suburban, and urban). We identify these practices by interviewing school administrators at twenty-two school districts throughout the state. The school districts were selected by using education production function models to identify the highest and lowest performing school districts on a variety of college preparation measures. The first portion of the study is largely descriptive and qualitative in orientation. In the second portion of the study we identify high college preparation levels among minority students as a positive externality. Because college attendance benefits students as individuals, regardless of the beneficial aspects of college attendance for society at large, students, parents, and others will request that school districts increase college preparation levels to some degree. However, given the nature of positive externalities, we explore the possibility that the reason why some school districts have higher college preparation levels among minority students than others is that they are led by an official policy-maker (the superintendent) who is committed to acting in the long-term interests of society (in other words, whose representational style is to act as a trustee). The second portion attempts to extend the causal chain back one link by exploring the possibility that superintendent representational style affects the types of policies, procedures, programs and pedagogical practices adopted and the district’s commitment to implementing them, which in turn affects college preparation levels among minority students. The relationship between superintendent representational style and minority student preparation for college is tested using two data sources: a survey of public school superintendents throughout Texas gathered by the Texas Educational Excellence Project and college preparation measures gathered by the Texas Education Agency for all public schools in Texas.

The present study explored the direct influences of contextual social support, including parental involvement, perceived teacher support, and peer influence, on 11th-grade students' math achievement. The study also examined the indirect influences of these contextual social support factors on students' achievement through their math motivation in math courses. The first follow-up year data of High School Longitudinal Study of 2012 (HSLS: 09) was used for this study. Structural equation modeling (SEM) served as the main statistical technique to examine the relationships among variables. The results of this study showed three sets of important findings. The first set showed that students' perception of teacher support and peer influence were significantly and directly related to students' math achievement, with the relationship between peer influence and math achievement being positive and the relationship between perceived teacher support and math achievement being negative. Controlling for other variables in the model, parental involvement was not significantly related to student math achievement. The second set of findings demonstrated that math motivation indeed plays a significant role in mediating the relationships of social support (from teachers and peers, but not from parental involvement) and student math achievement in high school. The third set of findings indicated that both family SES and prior math achievement influenced student social support and math achievement. Furthermore, two main deviations were found between White/Asian and African-American/Hispanic student models. Perceived teacher support negatively and significantly influenced White/Asian students' math achievement, but it had no significant influence on African-American/Hispanic students. In addition, math motivation had a stronger influence on the math achievement for White/Asian students than African-American/Hispanic students. The present study makes significant theoretical and practical contributions to the body of knowledge on the role of parental involvement, perceived teacher support, and peer influence on math achievement at the high school level using nationally representative data. / PHD

This quantitative study examined relationships of attending a new student orientation program related to student retention and academic success. A research group of 464 students of Tarrant County College Northwest, a community college campus in Fort Worth, Texas, who voluntarily attended a 2-hour pre-semester new student orientation program was compared to a group of 464 students on the same campus who did not attend the program. Comparisons were made with regard to retention and GPA. Ethnic ratios of both groups are 4% Black, 26% Hispanic, 66% White, and 4% other ethnicities. Chi square data analysis was utilized to determine if statistically significant differences relating to student retention existed between the groups. The independent t-test was used to compare means of calculated GPAs between groups. A one-way ANOVA was used to compare the means of GPAs for ethnic sub-groups. The total group and the Black sub-group showed statistically significant higher levels of second-semester retention (total group p = .018; Black sub-group p = .008) and higher calculated GPAs (total group p = .016; Black sub-group p = .019). No statistically significant results were found among Hispanic students.