The departure of large numbers of students from college before degree completion can have far reaching consequences for the institution, the students, and ultimately, for society. The retention rate of black and other minority students enrolled in predominantly white institutions is significantly lower than it is for majority race students. Further, many of the students who depart do so within the first year of attendance. Colleges have responded with a variety of measures designed to retain their students and to assist them towards degree completion. The purpose of this study was to get a better understanding of how students who transitioned into a predominantly white, suburban, community college perceived the transition process from high school; i.e., what and/or who facilitated or impeded their transition into college and in what ways. Five female minority students (four black and one Hispanic student) who had transitioned into the college via a Summer Transition Program (STP) and had persisted at the college participated in the study. A loosely structured interview format was used to gather data from the students regarding their transition experiences. The interviews were transcribed into the Ethnograph format, coded, and analyzed, using the basic premises of Glaser and Strauss' (1967) grounded theory approach. Additionally, five other informants were interviewed or observed for the study. They were either named directly by the students as having an impact on their transition experience, or the informants' positions in the educational system placed them in contact with transitioning students. The informants included a parent of one of the students, a professor who taught the students in the STP, two high school counselors, and a high school teacher. The analysis of their data added depth and knowledge to the investigation. Using data from the students and the informants, the findings: (a) indicated that the high school-to-college transition process is a highly individualized one involving many complex relationships and interactions; (b) helped the researcher to identify people, processes, and roles that affected the transition process; (c) assisted the researcher in seeing how a mechanism (STP) set up to aid in the students' transition was perceived by the students, and (d) affirmed that the students' desire and decision to enroll and stay in college were the major factors in their persistence. / Ed. D.

The purpose of this study was to identify and examine the roles and functions of parent advisory councils serving Spanish-English bilingual projects funded under ESEA Title VII. It was also the intent of this study to determine if there existed signif icant differences on the ranking of roles and functions by the participants with respect to the specified variables of: position of participant, sex, age level, education level, bilingualism and ethnicity. The roles and functions under the program areas of planning, implementation and evaluation were identified through an extensive review of the literature. Twenty-one Spanish-English bilingual projects with grades Kindergarten through eight, funded under ESEA Bilingual-Bicultural Programs 1976-1977 were randomly selected from <ul>Guide To Title VII ESEA Bilingual-Bicultural Programs 1976-1977</ul>. The participants from these bilingual projects were advisory council chairpersons, and project directors. The research instrument developed was a questionnaire which solicited from the participants demographic information on the advisory councils and also asked participants to rank, according to primacy, roles and functions under the program areas of planning, implementation and evaluation. The data were analyzed by the Kendall Coefficient of Concordance W and Multivariate Analysis. The .05 level of significance was chosen for both tests. The results indicated that there existed a high degree of agreement within each group of respondents on the ranking of roles and functions. The only exception was a low degree of agreement by chairpersons ranking functions under evaluation. The results also showed that the independent variables identified made no difference on the ranking of roles and functions. The only exception was the sex variable on the ranking of roles. Male respondents ranked the roles of advisor, supporter and director first, second and third respectively, while female respondents ranked the roles of supporter, director and advisory first, second and third respectively. / Ed. D.

Zoning, as a public land-use tool, has several important goals. As zoning accomplishes these goals, however, zoning has had the unintended outcome of guiding high numbers of minorities into certain areas in which multi-family housing is permitted. This study attempts to understand the connection that zoning has with racial and ethnic distribution within and across jurisdictions in the Washington, D.C. MSA. By using GIS to spatially connect zoning districts to Census data, I analyzed correlations between minority populations and zoning district regulations. For all locations studied, I found that proportions of minority population generally increase as zoning districts permit higher-intensity residential uses. Minority populations often increased as the density permitted by zoning districts increased, although there were many exceptions to this trend, most notably in the central city where minority populations did not directly correlate with zoning density. In all cases, however, low-density, single-family zoning districts had higher white populations than other, higher-density zoning districts. Zoning was shown to have the greatest correlation with minority populations in jurisdictions undergoing significant population growth, particularly minority population growth. The study shows that racially-segregated neighborhoods exist across a variety of zoning types, including low-density, single-family districts, but that segregation is more abundant within zoning districts that permit higher-intensity uses and higher-densities. White isolation was found to be greatest in low-density, single-family zoning districts. Although there is a clear connection between zoning regulations and minority population settlement, zoning density does not perfectly correlate with minority population and racially-segregated areas. Many higher-density zoning districts throughout the study area have high white populations and high levels of white clustering. Conversely, high minority populations and minority clustering occur to significant extents in parts of single-family zoning districts, particularly in Washington and Prince George's County. / Master of Urban and Regional Planning

This qualitative research study inquired about the literacy experiences of language minority students in a middle school language arts classroom using the scripted program High Point. In addition, the study inquired about the ideology present in the curricular program High Point. Using qualitative methodology and an inductive analysis approach to the data, the findings of this study were alarming. The study found that there was no literacy or learning occurring in the classroom. There was not even functional literacy occurring in the classroom. On the contrary, students were being assimilated into a dominant culture different than their own, leading to resistance on the students’ behalf as they were clearly tracked for a life in high school that did not prepare them for academic success.

Teachers want to be in schools where their identities are authentically affirmed. However, some educators in predominantly Black schools perceive that they are not always afforded the same level of value and respect as their colleagues in mostly White or mixed schools. Instead, teachers in predominantly Black schools seem to have experiences associated with frustrations that often go unheard of or dismissed for various reasons. Schools with predominantly Black student populations are often associated with challenges in retaining teachers, commonly referred to as teacher retention or teacher turnover. This turnover can have an impact on the academic progress of the students due to a lack of consistency in keeping qualified teachers. After working in a predominantly Black school for 3 years, I began to question the influence of teacher experiences in these areas and how they relate to the retention rate. Conversations with fellow staff members about perceived inequities and muted concerns prompted an interest in this study. There is a commonly held belief that schools with predominantly Black student populations face challenges in achieving consistent academic success compared to their counterparts. This study will examine the factors that influence teacher retention in predominantly Black schools by reviewing the experiences of those who teach in these schools. I used Narrative Inquiry to help understand the factors that play a role in encouraging or discouraging teachers from predominately Black areas.

The Strumpel Behavioral Economic Model (1976) provided the conceptual framework for this study, along with the use of qualitative methodology proposed by McCracken (1988). Qualitative interviews were conducted with nine black small business owners in non-metropolitan central and southwestern Virginia. Analysis of the data revealed a common definition among the respondents. Retirement was viewed as a time when one could no longer work due to physical or mental impairments--not a time of voluntary removal from the workforce. Few formal arrangements had been made to provide for income during the period when these business owners could no longer work, while all had made plans for the disposition of the business upon their deaths. Social and cultural factors might have contributed to these small business owners’ failures to adequately plan for retirement. These factors were expressed in four themes which emerged from the interviews: a definition of retirement, interracial prejudice, intra-racial prejudice, and mentors. Prejudice by both whites and blacks within their communities had a negative effect on business earning. Mentors had an indirect relationship on retirement planning for these respondents. Contrary to the literature on minority small business owners, these respondents discussed the positive influence of mentors on their individual business practices and ethics -- if not retirement planning. The need exists for financial planning educators and practitioners to assist this population in accepting retirement planning as a future goal, in view of their self-definition of retirement. Planning is necessary to ensure accumulation of wealth and a means for that wealth to become retirement. income. By recognizing the definition of retirement as stated by the respondents, financial planning educators have a unique opportunity to educate this population as to the need for retirement planning. Lastly, financial counseling and planning practitioners have a opportunity to enter a truly untapped market for their expertise by serving the black community, in general, and small business owners, in particular. / Master of Science

The present study evaluated the effectiveness of a program instituted at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (VPI&SU) in 1984 to help Black students adjust academically to the university. This project focused on five categories of criteria according to which strengths and weaknesses of this program were evaluated. These included: (1) Effort, (2) Performance, (3) Adequacy of Performance, (4) Efficiency, and (5) Process. The five evaluative questions were assessed by conducting three within university comparisons and one between university comparison. The measures included retention rates, graduation rates, quality credit averages. program costs, and responses to the Student Satisfaction Questionnaire (SSQ), Perceived Changes Checklist (PCC), Program Effectiveness Questionnaire (PEQ), and the University Alienation Scale (Burbach, 1973). The results indicated that V-TASP provided services to Black freshmen and sophomore students. The within university comparisons suggested that the services provided to black students decreased alienation, meaninglessness, and powerlessness of participants as compared to nonparticipants. Qualitative measures suggested that the three components of V-TASP differentially affected program participants reported alienation, meaninglessness, and powerlessness. The students were also satisfied with the services received. The findings of the university comparisons across time were unclear, although the program may have had a positive impact upon students' grades and the percentage returning for the sophomore year. The results of the between university comparisons suggested that VTASP was more effective in graduating participants, moderately effective in terms of costs per student, and less effective for year to year retention than the two comparison programs. The overall pattern of results are discussed in terms of future evaluative studies. contextual variables, and limitations of the study. / Ph. D.

Yes / Postwar migrants from the Caribbean and Indian subcontinent (Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan) to the UK are now experiencing the onset of age-related diseases such as dementia. Our evidence base, both quantitative and qualitative, documenting the experiences of family caregivers of people with dementia is largely drawn from studies undertaken with white European, North American, and Australasian populations. Consequently, there is a need for research in the field of dementia caregiving to reflect the increasing diversity in ethnic identities of the older adult population of the UK. Using semistructured interviews, we investigated the experiences of 18 caregivers of people with dementia in Black Caribbean, Black African, and South Asian (Indian, Pakistani, and Bangladeshi) communities in England. Participants were recruited from the Join Dementia Research platform and were predominantly female intergenerational carers. We identified the following three themes: motivation to care (spending time with the care recipient and reciprocity), positive and negative consequences of caregiving (rewards and consequences), and the cultural context of caregiving (cultural norms and values supporting caregiving and negative attitudes towards dementia). Our findings develop existing literature by identifying (a) the importance of spending time with the person they care for, (b) the absence of faith as a caregiving driver, and (c) the challenge of watching the declining health of a parent. We highlight how the different motivations to care are intertwined and dynamic. This is illustrated by the linking of obligation and reciprocity in our dataset and positive and negative experiences of caregiving. / Alzheimer's Society. Grant Numbers: 348, AS-PR2-16-001. National Institute for Health Research

Despite an increase in research regarding the healthcare outcomes and experiences of diverse groups, some significant gaps in the literature remain. Among the most understudied and underserved groups are those with intersectional identities. Although researchers have made significant efforts to increase research regarding health care experiences of people of color, older adults, and rural populations, less is known about the health care experiences of older rural African Americans. Due to the lack of research focusing on the unique experiences of this intersectional group, qualitative research was an important first step towards broadening this research base. This study utilized a cultural safety perspective of older rural African Americans to provide insight into several factors that influence their healthcare experiences. Prior to this study, no qualitative research utilizing the cultural safety framework has been conducted to examine the unique challenges that older rural African Americans face within the United States healthcare system or how their experiences may impact later treatment-seeking behavior and treatment adherence. To address this gap in the literature, this study examined the lived experiences of a sample of 47 African American participants, aged 55 and older, living in rural Mississippi. Participants completed semi-structured interviews regarding their health care experiences and attitudes. Thematic analysis was used to identify common themes. Some of the most prevalent themes were related to the importance of good communication, the importance of positive experiences in creating trust, and patients advocating for their own health. Specific implications and future research directions are discussed.

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