The problem investigated in this study is that U.S. minority and low socioeconomic status (SES) student participation in advanced academic classes continues to lag behind that of Caucasian and economically advantaged students. The purpose of this project study was to investigate the participation gaps between minority and low SES students compared with non-minority and high SES students in advanced mathematics courses in the study district's middle school. The theoretical framework for the study was gap-analysis theory. A quantitative gap analysis of existing student test score data was conducted, utilizing a secondary analysis of existing Iowa Test of Basic Skills data from 347 middle school students, with 196 students classified as low SES and 129 as minority. Descriptive statistics and 2 one-sample chi square tests were used to examine differences by ethnicity and SES subgroups and to test whether the distributions of students who met the district's 70th-percentile cut-score were different than the hypothesized distribution of equal proportions. The results demonstrated significant enrollment gaps between minority and low SES students versus non-minority and high SES students. The study findings informed a policy recommendation project that offered suggestions for the current mathematics testing and enrollment program at the study site. Implications for social change include providing research-based findings to the administration at the local site on the enrollment gaps for minority and low SES students which may inform future decisions about enrollment policies for advanced mathematics courses.

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Due to an impending STEM shortage facing the United States, it is critically important that students of color are recruited to scientific disciplines. This STEM shortage affects agricultural fields, as many agricultural disciplines are scientifically based. There is currently a lack of students of color within agricultural disciplines when compared to the increasingly diverse make-up of the United States. This qualitative study utilizes the path-goal theory of leadership (House, 1971) and reasoned action theory (Fishbein and Azjen, 2010) to examine the perceptions of administrators regarding the barriers that students of color face within colleges of agriculture at 1862 land-grant institutions. Another important purpose of this study is to identify strategies that department heads, deans, and administrators within colleges of agriculture can use to increase the recruitment and retention of students of color. The study utilized phenomenology, as this method focuses on participants' subjective experiences and interpretations of the world. Eighteen participants at 17 institutions were interviewed about their perceptions of diversity, the barriers that students of color face within colleges of agriculture, and strategies for success. The findings of this study reveal that (1) diversity is a multifaceted and evolving concept that varies from individual-to-individual, (2) students of color face barriers to access, (3) successful recruitment and retention strategies for students of color require investments from administrators, and (4) data validates program success. / Ph. D.

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Affirmative action in higher education is a necessary component for ethnic minorities to be afforded postsecondary educational access and opportunities to improve their socioeconomic status. The ban of affirmative action in undergraduate admissions, wherever instituted, has decreased the undergraduate enrollment of ethnic minorities. The broad objective of this research is to demonstrate how the elimination of affirmative action has lessened postsecondary educational access for minorities, who presently account for the majority or near-majority population in several states and will soon account for a much larger segment of the national population. This study will use two series of multiple regression models with scale-level variables to note the effect of the removal of affirmative action and the effectiveness of the Talented Twenty Program in maintaining student diversity at the University of Florida and the Florida State University. The major finding of this research is that the minority enrollment at UF and FSU was significantly related to the change in policy from affirmative action to the Talented Twenty Program. This study and the prior literature strongly suggest that the current diversity levels at these public universities are most likely a result of the university recruitment and outreach programs and population change.

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The aim of the study was to identify the factors that have an influence on the completion rates of undergraduate students in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). Using Tinto's retention rate theory as the theoretical foundation, data were collected from freshman who were enrolled in the years 2005 to 2008. Results showed gender and first-generation status were significant predictors of STEM completion and time taken to complete the degree. Institutional bias played a role in race/ethnicity not being a factor affecting completion rates, as this study was conducted at a Predominantly White Institution. SAT scores and first and second-year college GPA showed to have the most prominent influence on both STEM completion rate and time taken to complete the degree. Females with higher first-year college GPA and higher high school rank finished faster. Similar results were found with first-generation students as well. Students belonging to ethnic minority groups with higher SAT scores and college GPA had greater success in STEM fields as well. The study results can be used to increase completion rates of underrepresented students in the STEM fields, given what we know about the interactions between underrepresented student groups and the most important predictors.