<p>The purpose of this mixed methods study was to explore salient nonacademic factors related to social, economic, and cultural aspects together with traditional academic factors that influenced college retention. The study design employed a mixed-methods sequential explanatory method design, collecting quantitative data for correlation and regression analyses with qualitative data for content analysis. The sample included students with various SES backgrounds who graduated from North Philadelphia secondary schools since 2009. A predictor equation explained 60% of the variance college retention using 13 predictors: household income, college preparatory curriculum, competency based instruction, academic self-confidence and commitment, academic skills, academic integration, social integration, parents&rsquo; educational attainment, parents&rsquo; occupation, high school GPA, undergraduate GPA, and SAT scores. The predictors were found to be independently associated with college retention and interrelated with low SES variables, which may reduce the chances of earning a college degree. The qualitative findings indicated lack of skills, levels of academic engagement, and time allocation as major themes. Future research should explore underlying psychological processes driving the college retention relationship, using a cohort research method. A recommendation for practice was to identify students with skill deficiencies at the ninth and tenth grade levels to provide remediation of requisite skills to ensure college readiness and retention. Despite limitations, this study offered reasons low SES variables may influence college retention. </p>

<p> No Child Left Behind (NCLB), the 2002 reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) of 1965, was the signature education legislation of the George W. Bush administration. NCLB was but the latest evolution of at least two previous reauthorizations of the ESEA. In 1988 continued receipt of Title I funds to schools was first linked to increased student achievement scores (LeTendre, 1991). The1994 ESEA reauthorization under Bill Clinton saw the federal government go further by tying Title I funds to standards-based curriculum reform (DeBray, 2005). What has made NCLB so different was the punitive approach it took toward Title I schools. The law guaranteed that parents would have the option of opting out of schools that were deemed failing under the law. Failing was defined as a school that had not reached its annual yearly progress goals or, AYP, for two consecutive years. </p><p> This study compared two sets of Title I middle school students: students who remained in their home school, and a matching group of students who chose to opt out of their Title I school and into another school that was not under federal sanctions. Results indicated that students who chose to opt out of their home school did show academic growth. However that growth was similar to their peers who remained in their home school with regard to reading. However, growth was significantly less than their peers with regard to mathematics; thus casting doubt as whether the federal mandate of using school choice as means of improving student achievement was having its intended effect. Implications for future research and practice will also be provided.</p>

<p> The College Union is a campus facility that is part of the campus ecology. It provides a place where all can feel a sense of inclusion, safety, involvement, and community. Through a comparative research approach I will present how both students and professional staff perceive the College Union, the programs that are part of the facility, and how it impacts the retention of students. This investigation draws upon psychology, behavioral sciences and the liberal arts disciplines as they relate to learning spaces, campus ecology, and the building of community through involvement. </p><p> This study is a two phased mixed method research design with the primary data collection conducted electronically using web-based survey tools for both professional staff (N=562) with a response of 113 individuals, and 50 student respondents (N=1,971). Follow-up interviews were conducted with two participants at schools that were randomly selected from the survey participants who completed a construction or renovation project in their College Union in the past five years (N=21). </p><p> There is a synergy that became evident between Boyer's 6 Principles of Community (1990), the ACUI Core Competencies (2005), and common themes that came out of my literature review, survey results, and the interviews conducted as a follow-up to the surveys. Through the application of a grounded theory approach, this study presents the Six Principles of College Union Efficacy that support retention on college campuses. Tierno's 6 Principles of College Union Efficacy The College Union: 1. Supports the academic mission of the institution 2. Enhances communication of community values 3. Is a diverse space on campus 4. Is a Community Center 5. Is a Welcoming Place 6. Celebrates Traditions (Tierno, 2013)</p>

<p>This study focuses on the relationship between students' social backgrounds and their occupational aspirations (in terms of becoming an authority, financial success and recognition in the workplace). By applying the status attainment theory and segmented assimilation theory, this study examines the significance of parental socioeconomic status, race/ethnicity, and social capital in predicting college freshmen's occupational aspirations using multivariate analysis. Interaction effects between the main predictors as well as control variables such as immigrant status, gender, school performance, motivations and skills are tested in the analysis. Results suggest that socioeconomic status is not statistical significance in predicting individuals' occupational aspirations in all models. African Americans and Asians have the highest level of occupational aspirations, while Native Americans have the lowest level of occupational aspirations without introducing interactions into the model. All three social capital variables are positively related to students' occupational aspirations, especially the effects for mentors/role models. Strong interaction effects between parental socioeconomic status and race/ethnicity variables have been found in the study as well. Results of interaction effects indicate that although Native Americans have the lowest levels of occupational aspirations at lower levels of parental SES, their levels of occupational aspiration increase radically with the increase of their parental SES levels. However, groups such as African Americans and Asians experience a decrease in their occupational aspirations with an increase of parental SES. The interactions between parental SES and social capital variables are weak. The interaction effects between race/ethnicity and social capital variables suggest that Asian students' occupational aspirations are benefited from their parents' expectations, while other races and other Latino students' occupational aspirations are promoted by studying with peers. </p>

<p> Most schools are not safe environments for lesbian, gay, and bisexual students or for individuals who are questioning their sexual orientation. Harassment and victimization of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and questioning (LGBQ) students is pervasive. The harassment and victimization result in these students having higher rates of absenteeism and lower academic achievements than their peers. To date, most research has focused on primarily high school lesbian, gay, and bisexual students. Very few studies have included students questioning their sexual orientation. This quantitative descriptive study utilized an anonymous survey to gather information about middle school LGBQ students' experiences with harassment. The study included 208 middle school students. The results were compiled into three groups (lesbian/gay/bisexual, questioning, and straight) and compared. Findings indicated that LGBQ students experience significantly more harassment than straight students and questioning students are more likely to experience victimization than lesbian, gay, bisexual, and straight students. The findings support the need for middle school administrators and staff members to take steps to create more inclusive school climates for LGBQ students.</p>

<p> This mixed methods research investigated how young adult alumnae from a Catholic female high school perceive the impact of their high school service experience concerning their "beliefs" about the importance of service, current "engagement" in service, and their beliefs about and engagement with four Catholic Social Teaching principles (life and dignity, care for the poor, solidarity and common good, and rights and responsibilities) related to social justice.</p><p> This research draws data from young adult alumnae from a Catholic female single-sex high school in a metropolitan city of the United States. The data collection included a web-based survey (N=131), individual interview (n=9), and school documents review. Catholic theology of the human person, and Catholic social teaching principles served as the conceptual framework for data analysis. </p><p> The quantitative data revealed that Catholic high school service program experience positively impacts participants' "beliefs" about the importance of service (65%), and the importance of four Catholic social teaching principles (73%). The qualitative data corroborates with the quantitative findings. However, participants lacked translating their beliefs in to action with only 42% reporting as "engaged" in service. Although a majority of participants (60%) reported as engaged in activities related to four CST principles, in reality only 25% are significantly engaged in service in the past 12 months. Catholic educators are invited to examine their service pedagogy and address factors that contribute to low level of service engagement. Further research is suggested to identify factors that would raise the level of service engagement in alumnae's young adult life.</p>

<p> The purpose of this study was to explore the subjective perceptions held by students of their interactions with faculty members in college, especially as those interactions relate to the integration and membership of students in the academic community. Academic integration, resulting primarily from student-faculty interactions, has been theorized as one element that affects students&rsquo; decisions to stay in or leave college (Tinto, 1993). This study, employing a phenomenological research design, collected data through 13 interviews with junior and senior college students attending a small, private college in northwestern Pennsylvania. Interviewees were selected from three majors (English, Psychology, and Hospitality Management). Analysis of the data followed the hermeneutical phenomenological approach described by Max Van Manen (1997). Data were analyzed by adopting three phenomenological writing &ldquo;lenses&rdquo;: the existential lens, the thematic lens, and the theoretical lens. Two themes emerged from this: Care and Boundaries. These themes are discussed in terms of Tinto&rsquo;s (1993) integrationalist theory of student departure. The theme of care (the recognition by students that faculty are attending to their personal and academic situations) was found to be present in Tinto&rsquo;s theory while the theme of boundaries (recognitions of the differences between students and faculty) is not. It is suggested that the theme of boundaries represents a separate value system held by students of their faculty. Implications of the study and future research are presented. </p>

<p>This explanatory mixed-method study explored the dropout phenomenon from an ecological perspective identifying the school organizational (academics, activities, structure) and social relationship (teachers, peers) factors that most significantly influence students&rsquo; decisions to leave school prior to graduation at a rural high school in south central Pennsylvania. </p><p> The quantitative phase of the study utilized a 40 question, forced choice survey to isolate the school organizational and social relationship factors that had the most influence on students&rsquo; dropout decision making, as well as to determine what, if any, correlation existed between the perceptions of students who are not at-risk, those who are at-risk but are still in school, and those who had already formally dropped out of school. The survey respondents included 80 students in school and 10 students who had dropped out of high school. The qualitative phase was composed of in-depth interviews of nine students who had formally dropped out of the rural high school in the study. </p><p> The results of the quantitative analyses revealed the following key findings: (1) there was no single predictor factor category which statistically and significantly influenced student persistence; (2) there was no statistically significant difference in the way students who were at-risk, but still enrolled in high school, and those that had already dropped out perceived any predictor category; and finally, (3) the responses of students at-risk (whether enrolled or who dropped out) were statistically and significantly different from the responses of students who were not at-risk in the predictor categories of school structure and teacher relationships. </p><p> The patterns that emerged from the interviews revealed that these students: (1) viewed the school structure as a barrier to diploma attainment; (2) believed the lack of content relevancy lead to detachment from school and justified the decision to quit school; and (3) shared that had an adult within the school intervened at the beginning of his or her divergence from the path to graduation, the results of his or her high school experience would have been different. </p><p> Several implications for practice emerge given these findings. First, proactive strategies such as multiple curricular pathways and the use of transition academies should be applied systematically for all students enrolled in school. These structural elements of the school&rsquo;s organization should be paired with instructional strategies that promote student engagement. Second, targeted interventions should be designed to meet the needs of students who are at-risk for dropping out of high school. Targeted intervention should include the: (1) use of an instrument that identifies students who are developing or who possess negative perceptions of the school and school staff; (2) at-risk students being assigned an education advocate to promote meaningful and sustainable relationships; and (3) school leaders&rsquo; efforts to creatively develop personalized learning for all students who are considered at-risk for early school departure. </p>

<p> Catholic colleges and universities in America have significantly changed philosophically, demographically, legally, and financially during the past 5 decades. Since the conclusion of the Second Vatican Council in 1965, there has been considerable focus on attempting to accurately describe the Catholic identity for institutions affiliated with the Roman Catholic Church. Called to embrace the modern world, Catholic institutions of higher learning have been challenged to retain their distinctiveness even as they have become more closely aligned with secular institutions within the academy. Because of this convergence of institutional similarities, how does a potential student come to understand institutional Catholic identity during the search process? With over 230 Catholic degree-granting institutions to choose from in the United States alone, the task of determining a &ldquo;best-fit&rdquo; for the student can be challenging. It is important to have a framework for independently determining the strength of institutional Catholicity for a student seeking a uniquely Catholic undergraduate experience.</p><p> Specifically, this research identifies a set of 15 signal features for identification of a distinctively Roman Catholic institution of higher education within a framework for understanding institutional positioning with respect to the Roman Catholic Church from an external, or off-campus, perspective. In addition to the exploration of public documentation and the campus environment, select faculty and student leaders were interviewed at &ldquo;Holy Catholic College&rdquo; (a pseudonym) to understand their perspectives on the strength of Catholicity of their particular institution in the development of the framework and associated signal features.</p>

<p> Florida has been a leader in the K-20 educational reform in an effort to ensure the seamless transition into postsecondary education for all students, but specifically improving preparation for, and access to, higher education for populations traditionally marginalized and underrepresented in higher education. The purpose of this study was to examine the demographic composition of students participating in dual enrollment programs in Florida, and the relationship between dual enrollment participation and postsecondary success, as measured by student persistence and degree attainment, moderated by race, gender, and Pell status. Alexander Astin&rsquo;s (1993) I-E-O student involvement theory was chosen as the theoretical lens with which to guide the design and analysis of the study.</p><p> A quantitative analysis of archived student records retrieved from the Office of Institutional Research and Effectiveness at a large urban state college in Florida was used in this study. The analytical sample included 2614 first-time-in college students in the fall 2009 semester. Data was analyzed via SPSS, version 20, using descriptive statistics, Chi-square tests, and discriminant analysis. The analysis revealed that students who were dual enrolled were more likely to persist in college and more likely to earn a degree than their non-dual enrolled peers. A discussion of the findings and conclusions in relationship to earlier studies are enumerated followed by recommendations for K-20 school leaders and future research.</p>