Many higher education institutions offer first-year college students the opportunity to participate in second-year retention programs in order to support the persistence of college students who seek assistance in navigating the college experience. Research regarding the traits that characterize second-year students and what the second-year experience entails is still in progress. (Braxton, 2000; Hunter et al. 2009; Schaller, 2000, 2005, 2010; Schreiner & Pattengale, 2000). While the existing research has built the foundation for research around the second-year experience, additional research is required to compose a truly holistic picture of the second-year experience. The purpose of this study is to identify the characteristics of first-year students who choose to apply to second-year retention programs and why they choose to apply to such programs. The study will address three research questions. 1. What are the characteristics of students who apply to participate in a second-year retention program? 2. What student noncognitive variables reflect which students apply to participate in a second-year retention program? 3. What factors do first-year students consider when determining whether or not they will participate in a second-year retention program? A mixed methods explanatory design (Cresswell & Plano-Clark, 2007) was implemented to investigate the research questions. The research population was composed of 337 first-year college students, primarily first generation students and students of color, eligible for participation in a second-year retention program at a large research institution in the western United States. This study hopes to contribute to a greater understanding of the characteristics of first-year students who choose to apply to participate in second-year retention programs and why they choose to apply. The findings can inform universities as to how they can offer more effective support of second-year students in a manner relevant to their needs. / text

This dissertation consists of three essays concerning the effects of human capital and health capital on the labor market. Chapter 1 presents a structural model that incorporates a health capital stock to the traditional learning-by-doing model. The model allows health to affect future wages by interrupting current labor supply and on-the-job human capital accumulation. Using data on sick time from the Panel Study Income of Dynamics the model is estimated using a nonlinear Generalized Method of Moments estimator. The results show human capital production exhibits diminishing returns. Health capital production increases with the current stock of health capital, or better current health improves future health. Among prime age working men, the effect of health on human capital accumulation is relatively small. Chapter 2 explores the role of another form of human capital, noncognitive skills, in explaining racial gaps in wages. Chapter 2 adds two noncognitive skills, locus of control and self-esteem, to a simple wage specification to determine the effect of these skills on the racial wage gap (white, black, and Hispanic) and the return to these skills across the wage distribution. The wage specifications are estimated using pooled, between, and quantile estimators. Results using the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 show these skills account for differing portions of the racial wage gap depending on race and gender. Chapter 3 synthesizes the idea of health and on-the-job human capital accumulation from Chapter 1 with the idea of noncognitive skills in Chapter 2 to examine the influence of these skills on human capital and health capital accumulation in adult life. Chapter 3 introduces noncognitive skills to a life cycle labor supply model with endogenous health and human capital accumulation. Noncognitive skills, measured by degree of future orientation, self-efficacy, trust-hostility, and aspirations, exogenously affect human capital and health production. The model uses noncognitive skills assessed in the early years of the Panel Study of Income Dynamics and relates these skills to health and human capital accumulation during adult life. The main findings suggest individuals with high self-efficacy receive higher future wages.

The purpose of this study was to integrate traditional student success models with theories which focus on nontraditional students to create a model of early community college student success. The researcher sought to understand the pre-college behaviors, attitudes, and attributes, from both cognitive and noncognitive domains, which influence the success of first-time community college students enrolled in a developmental mathematics course. First-time community college students enrolled in Elementary Algebra (N=385) were surveyed on their educational goals, prior academic achievement, anticipated interactions during the first semester, and items from the Noncognitive Questionnaire (NCQ) (Sedlacek, 2004). Institutional data supplemented the survey variables as well as provided all dependent variables. Factor analyses were conducted to reduce the number of anticipatory variables. Descriptive statistics were reported for all dependent and independent variables. Both linear regression and logistic regression were utilized to examine the six research questions. Variables were entered into the regression equations in five blocks: demographics, college plans, prior mathematics achievement, anticipated experiences and interactions, and noncognitive variables. The model proved to be statistically significant in explaining each of the six dependent measures of student success. Moreover after controlling for the first four blocks of independent variables, six of the eight noncognitive variables reached statistical significance in its relationship to at least one dependent variable, with at least one significant finding regarding the effects of noncognitive variables on each of the six outcome measures. The findings of the study suggest noncognitive variables are useful in predicting student success and persistence at least early in the community college experience. Future researchers, policymakers, and administrators will gain insights into the application of noncognitive variables with a population of community college students.

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Standardized tests such as the SAT and ACT claim to predict students' success in college. Colleges and universities place a considerable emphasis on these test scores when reviewing and deciding on applicants. However, over the years, institutional leaders and academic researchers have questioned whether the SAT/ACT tests truly measure the skills needed for success in college and throughout life. This study uses non-cognitive variables to focus to what students with strong high-school grade point averages (HSGPAs), low SAT/ACT test scores (under 1000 on the 1600 point scale for the SAT, or 21 or lower on the ACT), and who completed college in four years with an overall 3.5 or higher college GPA, attributed or perceived their abilities for college success. The study also investigated these students' perceptions and beliefs about these tests (have they hindered their abilities or potential for college success), and how these students thought non-cognitive factors should be considered in the admission's process. In addition, the study compares this group of students to the rest of the incoming freshman class. / Educational Administration

Since the reveal of the Black-White achievement gap in 1966, leaders and policymakers have attempted to close the gap to no avail. The purpose of this explanatory sequential mixed methods study was to examine the relationships between self-efficacy, grit, and academic achievement of Black and White students. For the first two research questions,I sought to determine whether there were relationships between self-efficacy, grit, and academic achievement as defined by the PSAT 10 Reading or Math results. Students were administered self-efficacy and grit surveys to establish their corresponding self-efficacy and grit levels. A Pearson correlation analysis was performed to determine the bivariate relationships between participants' self-efficacy and grit levels and their 2021 PSAT 10 Reading and Math results. Statistical significance was discovered; specifically, a positive correlation existed between Black students, grit, and their academic achievement on PSAT 10 Math. For the final two research questions, I solicited students' perspectives of self-efficacy and grit and how they perceived the two constructs were associated with their academic success. Semi-structured focus group interviews were conducted to better explain student perspectives from their Phase 1 survey responses, which produced themes associated with self-efficacy and grit. Students shared how they perceived these traits impacted their academic achievement. Themes that emerged from students that were discussed in this study were the perception of the snowball effect, the power of teacher perceptions, failure as a motivator, the importance of hard work and being careful, and more. Additionally, recommendations to further investigate grit and other noncognitive factors as viable options to increase academic student achievement are provided.

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Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-04T18:28:23Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Maristela Volpe dos Santos.pdf: 2010500 bytes, checksum: a182278cfb75a4239a90e540e619774b (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-02-17 / Pontif?cia Universidade Cat?lica de Campinas / The socio-emotional skills also called socio-emotional competencies, have been increasingly highlighted in international scientific literature, given its influence on several indicators of school, personal and professional success. Considering that in the international scientific context this issue is in evidence and that, in Brazil, studies in this area are still very incipient, this research aimed to developing a scale to identify socio-emotional skills in children and adolescents focused in rating by parents / caregivers. The research consisted of three phases. First, 83 parents / caregivers of children and adolescents aged from 10 to 14 years old responded to three open-ended questions that focused on behaviors and characteristics of children and adolescents. From the responses we sought to identify the characteristics most commonly cited by participants, which resulted in a list of 211 adjectives. Then this list was referred to analysis of five judges, four students and one teacher graduate, to assess their adequacy. This objective consisted in Study 2, which aimed to search for evidence of validity based on content.The task consisted in the classification of each of the adjectives in the model of the big five personality factors (openness to experience, extroversion, agreableness, conscientiousness and neuroticism) also judging which factor and pole (positive or negative) the adjective meant. The analysis of the percentage of agreement as well as the calculation of Kappa coefficient indicated that, in a first round of analysis, 58.3% of adjectives showed perfect agreement or substantial (over 80%), being suitable. A second round of analysis was performed as the results did not indicate five adjectives for each pole and factor as desired. A list of 50 adjectives was, thus, obtained, ten belonging to each factor of the adopted character model, five of a negative character and five of a positive one. Subsequently, the Study 3 was conducted, which consisted in preparing items for a first version of the scale. A sentence being built for each selected descriptor in Study 2 was made. A proposal for a Likert scale was prepared, and the instrumental is now ready to have their psychometric properties investigated in future studies. / As habilidades socioemocionais, tamb?m chamadas de compet?ncias socioemocionais, t?m sido, cada vez mais, destacadas na literatura cient?fica internacional, dada sua influ?ncia em diversos indicadores de sucesso escolar, pessoal e profissional. Considerando-se que, no ?mbito cient?fico internacional essa tem?tica est? em evid?ncia e que, no Brasil, estudos nessa ?rea ainda s?o bastante incipientes, a presente pesquisa teve como objetivo a elabora??o de uma escala para identifica??o de compet?ncias socioemocionais em crian?as e adolescentes voltadas a pais/cuidadores. A pesquisa foi composta por tr?s fases. Na primeira delas, 83 pais/cuidadores de crian?as e adolescentes na faixa et?ria de 10 a 14 anos responderam a tr?s perguntas abertas que versavam sobre comportamentos e caracter?sticas de crian?as e adolescentes. A partir das respostas obtidas buscou-se a identifica??o das caracter?sticas mais comumente citadas pelos participantes, as quais deram origem a uma lista de 211 adjetivos. Em seguida, a lista de adjetivos foi encaminhada para an?lise de cinco ju?zes, quatro estudantes e um professor de p?s-gradua??o, para verifica??o da sua adequa??o, cujo objetivo consistiu no Estudo 2, de busca por evid?ncias de validade baseada no conte?do. A tarefa consistiu na classifica??o de cada um dos adjetivos no modelo dos cinco fatores de personalidade (abertura a experi?ncia, extrovers?o, amabilidade, conscienciosidade e neuroticismo) julgando a qual fator e polo (positivo ou negativo), o adjetivo se referia. A an?lise da porcentagem de concord?ncia, assim como o c?lculo do coeficiente Kappa indicou que, em uma primeira rodada de an?lise, 58,3% dos adjetivos apresentaram concord?ncia perfeita ou substancial (acima de 80%), mostrando-se adequados. Uma segunda rodada de an?lise foi realizada visto que os resultados n?o indicaram cinco adjetivos para cada polo e fator, como almejado. Obteve-se, assim, uma lista com 50 adjetivos, sendo dez pertencente a cada fator do modelo de personalidade adotado, cinco com car?ter negativo e cinco com car?ter positivo. Posteriormente, o estudo 3 foi conduzido, o qual constituiu-se na elabora??o de descritores para uma primeira vers?o da escala, tendo-se constru?do uma frase para cada descritor selecionado no estudo 2. Uma proposta de escala likert foi elaborada, sendo que o instrumental encontra-se, agora, pronto para ter suas qualidades psicom?tricas investigadas em estudos futuros.

This thesis consists of four self-contained essays. The first essay concerns educational choice and the returns to college in Sweden. I apply a recently introduced econometric framework that allows for self selection and treatment effect heterogeneity. I also examine the influence of cognitive and noncognitive ability on college choice and the returns to college. Essays two through four concern different aspects of intergenerational income mobility. In the second essay, we study the impact on mobility estimates from heterogeneous income profiles and, more specifically, life-cycle bias. We use nearly career-long income measures for both fathers and sons to give a detailed account of this bias and assess recent methods to deal with it. In the third essay, we present a simple model of intergenerational transmission and use it to analyze the dynamic behavior of the intergenerational income elasticity following structural changes. We find that past structural frameworks, for example in the form of past policies or institutions, matter for current trends in mobility. The fourth essay provides a cross-country perspective on intergenerational income mobility. We construct comparable data sets for Sweden and the UK and account for country differences in the role of parental income for various productivity traits of children. Finally, we examine whether such differences can explain the country difference in intergenerational income mobility.