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Prior studies have shown that students who are the first in their families to attend college fail to persist in college more so than their continuing-generation (CG) counterparts do. Prior research on this phenomenon has helped to identify various factors that contribute to the lower college persistence of first-generation (FG) students. For example, social capital has been identified as a factor that improves student persistence in college. Prior studies have shown that FG students tend to enter college with lower social capital than their CG student counterparts do. Additionally, while in school, FG students tend not to engage in behaviors that can help them in the creation of social capital. There has been growing research on how Internet communication technologies (ICTs) may be used as a resource in the creation of social capital. Specifically, there have been several studies that have examined how the Internet has provided opportunities for the creation of both bonding (relationships with persons inside one's cultural network, like family and close friends) and bridging (persons outside one's cultural network) forms of social capital. This study used a non-experimental design approach to compare the differences in technology-enabled bonding (TEBD) and technology-enabled bridging (TEBR) behaviors of FG and CG students. This study also used a predictive design approach aimed at predicting the persistence in college of first-year students based on the contributions of TEBD and TEBR behaviors, as well as socioeconomic status (SES) and high school grade point average (GPA). Finally, this study sought to develop and validate an instrument that could reliably measure the TEBD and TEBR behaviors of college students for use in future studies. A sample of 316 full-time first- to second-year students at a small, private, college in the Midwestern United States were surveyed on the dimensions of their TEBD (emotional support, access to resources, and sociability behavior) and TEBR (involvement in campus activities, contact with others unlike themselves, sociability behaviors, and academic activities) behaviors, as well as three dimensions of SES (parental education, parental income, and parental occupations) and high school GPA. Findings of this study showed there was no significant difference in the TEBD and TEBR behaviors of FG and CG students, which in itself is significant. Additionally, this study found high school GPA and one dimension of SES (parental income) to be positive predictors of student persistence in college. This study also found one dimension of TEBD (access to resources), one dimension of TEBR (contact with others unlike themselves), and one dimension of SES (parental occupation), to be negative predictors of student persistence in college. This study made the following three important contributions: 1) the development of an instrument for measuring TEBD and TEBR behaviors of college students; 2) an investigation of the differences in TEBD and TEBR behaviors of FG and CG students; and, 3) an investigation of key constructs that contribute to student persistence from their first-to-second year of college. Recommendations for future research were made which included extending this research to 1) include other types of technology communication devices, such as cell phones; 2) examine the contributions of TEBD and TEBR to persistence in college between semesters; 3) improve the methodology for collecting survey data; and 4) investigate if there are significant differences between FG and CG students on the amount of time spent online engaged in social and academic activities, as well as examine if time spent online is a predictor of student persistence in college.

This study examines the Hispanic Scholarship Consortium (HSC), a scholarship program in Central Texas that serves Hispanic college students. This study analyses trends in awarding and persisting with the program. A better understanding of what influences persistence rates can help scholarship programs in implementing policies to increase college completion rates. The findings can assist programs identify needed changes to improve scholarship application and award processes. These results can also help programs assist scholars during their college careers by identifying at-risk students early on and developing supportive practices to promote student persistence. Additionally, scholarship organizations can utilize metrics to identify long-term trends among their scholarship recipients for ongoing program evaluation and enhancement. This mixed method study utilizes both quantitative and qualitative research methods by analyzing student focus group data along with HSC program data. Quantitative analysis is used to determine predictors of persistence in the HSC program. The qualitative analysis results are used to find themes regarding students’ perception of HSC offerings. The study focuses on college students who receive scholarships from the HSC. It examines the relationship between persistence in HSC with student factors such as high school and college grade point average (GPA), gender, college major, college type, first generation status, low-income status, citizenship, high school graduates from schools with more than 35% free and reduced lunch (F&RL) population, and scholarship award amount. Additionally, it examines the relationship between scholarship award amount and student factors. Ultimately, this study provides insights for best practices in scholarship programs. The findings will contribute to a better understanding of scholarship programs and their potential for influencing persistence and college graduation rates. The knowledge gained should not only benefit HSC, but also provide recommendations for other scholarship programs and possibly a state supported initiative. / text

This study examines how community was created in a community college FYE 105 Achieving Academic Success course and the impact of classroom community on students’ perceptions of transition and persistence. Community colleges increasingly are focusing on student success as measured by persistence and goal completion such as transfer or attainment of credentials. The classroom learning environment is critical to student success but is a neglected area in retention research. Therefore, it is important to expand the research on initiatives that support students in their quest for success and educational goal completion. This research focused on one course section of FYE 105 taught at a community college; the students and the professor of the class are the participants for the study. New insight and understanding into classroom sense of community was gained through classroom participant-observations throughout the duration of a semester (16 weeks), faculty and student interviews, and review of materials related to the course. The data generated from the study were analyzed using thematic analysis. In order to explore how community is constructed and the role it plays for students, McMillan and Chavis’s sense of community theory and the academic communities component of Braxton, Hirschy, and McClendon’s conceptual model of student departure in commuter colleges and universities were used as the theoretical and conceptual frameworks for the study. Study results reveal that the professor concentrated efforts during the first class sessions on communicating the classroom rules, engaging in active learning, establishing emotional safety and belonging, and facilitating student interdependence, which were critical elements in establishing a sense of community in the classroom. Additionally, the findings show that students perceive the professor, classmates, classroom environment, active learning, and course content as components that contribute to a sense of community that impact their transition. Students were less clear of the role that sense of community played in their college persistence. Findings suggest that faculty would benefit from professional development to enhance their pedagogical skills. Suggestions for future research include a focus on students’ external and campus support systems,electronic technology, classroom diversity, and longitudinal and departure data collection.

Students transitioning into college from public school require more than just academic readiness; they also need the personal attributes that allow them to successfully transition into a new community (Braxton, Doyle, Hartley III, Hirschy, Jones, & McLendon, 2014; Nora, 2002; Nora, 2004; Tinto, 1975). Rural students have a different educational experience than their peers at schools in suburban and urban locations (DeYoung & Howley, 1990; Gjelten, 1982). Additionally, the resources, culture, and educational opportunities at rural schools also vary among different types of rural communities. Although some studies have examined the influence of rural students' academic achievement on college access and success, little research has analyzed the relationship between students of different types of rural communities and their persistence in post-secondary education. This study examined the likelihood for college-going students from three different types of rural communities to successfully transition into and persist at a four-year residential college. Multilevel logistic modeling was used to analyze the likelihood for students to persist in college for up to two academic years based on whether they were from rural tourist communities, college communities, and other rural communities. The analysis controlled for a variety of student and high school factors. Findings revealed that student factors related to poverty and academic readiness have the greatest effects, while the type of rural community has no significant influence on college persistence.

Thesis advisor: Laura M. O'Dwyer / Students who take postsecondary remedial courses graduate from college at lower rates than other students, but the relationship between remedial education and college outcomes is not well understood. This study analyzes the association between remediation and the odds of degree attainment in two- and four-year colleges, after controlling for other student and institutional factors related to persistence. Using generalized multilevel mixed modeling, it examines variation in these relationships across institutional contexts. Data are drawn from the Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study (2004/2009), a nationally representative sample that tracked students through interviews and transcript data for six years from their first enrollment. Additional institutional variables are incorporated from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS). Comparisons are made among remedial course subjects, higher and lower numbers of remedial courses taken, and different postsecondary credentials. For students who first enroll at a four-year college, this analysis finds that remediation has a negative association with completing a Bachelor's degree or higher, particularly among students who take remedial Mathematics or three or more remedial classes. While students at two-year institutions who take three or more remedial courses have lower odds of completing a certificate or Bachelor's degree, English as a Second Language coursework emerges as a positive factor for Bachelor's attainment in this population. By contrast, remediation has a positive relationship with attaining an Associate's degree but no higher for two-year college students. This relationship varies significantly across two-year institutions, but institutional factors are not predictive of the variation. No other significant cross-college variation is found in the relationships between remedial variables and outcomes. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2014. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Educational Research, Measurement and Evaluation.

<p> Students who achieve their long-term goal of graduating from college are models of persistence and grit. Grit is the self-regulatory construct defined as “passion and perseverance for long-term goals despite setbacks, failures, and competing pursuits” (Eskreis-Winkler, Gross, Duckworth, 2016) and has been associated with both academic and workplace success (Eskreis-Winkler, Duckworth, Shulman, & Beal, 2014). Unfortunately, 37% of freshmen drop out of college by the end of their freshmen year (Almeida, 2016; Snyder, de Brey, & Dillow, 2018). The college classroom provides an optimal environment for institutions of higher learning to foster the grit-to-graduate<i> </i>in college freshmen, to enhance learning and academic success, and to increase goal commitment to graduation, degree achievement, and career readiness.</p> <p> The purpose of this study was to investigate whether six pedagogical interventions and project adaptations would increase student grit in an entry-level communication class heavily comprised of freshmen. Four class sections were administered the 12-item grit scale (Duckworth, 2019) during the first and last week of first semester at a Midwestern University (<i>N</i>=79). The experimental group received the pedagogical grit interventions throughout the semester; the control group did not. A repeated measures ANOVA computed the variance of grit scores between the groups. Students in the experimental group also provided quantitative and qualitative data about which pedagogical instruments they found most effective.</p> <p> While the hypothesis was not supported, student feedback on the six grit interventions was largely positive. Ideas for improving the interventions and for fostering grit and college persistence in freshmen are included.</p> <br>

Laotian American students attending universities across the U.S. are first-, second-, and third-generation American. This generation status, along with their families' unique immigration experiences, likely impacts their adjustment to college. Data from the 2000 U.S. Census indicates a very low representation of Laotian Americans (7.6%) in the cluster of Asian Americans who have attained at least a Bachelor?s degree (42.7%). This low representation calls for further research on the Laotian American population to discover ways to increase these numbers. This study examines the mediating effect of campus connectedness on ethnic identity and college persistence attitudes and on other-group orientation and college persistence attitudes. It also examines mean group differences on campus connectedness by cultural orientation, among 82 low-land Laotian American college students. Results reveal that campus connectedness does not mediate the relationship between ethnic identity and college persistence attitudes. A mediation effect exists for campus connectedness on: 1) ethnic identity cognitive clarity (EI-clarity) and persistence and 2) other-group orientation and persistence. Mean group differences on campus connectedness by cultural orientation appear in the results.

An under representation of Latino/as in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) still persists. In Rising Above the Gathering Storm , the National Academies sounded an alarm in response to data indicating a "troubling decline" in the number of U.S. citizens trained to become scientists and engineers at a time when the number of technical jobs is outpacing the rate of the U.S. workforce. The shrinking technical talent pipeline threatens the country's future in technology innovation, energy alternatives, national security, and education. This study purported to contextualize resilience and discern the cultural capital and persistence behaviors of STEM Latino/a students succeeding in two adverse environments--higher education and science and engineering. Through a critical race perspective the student cuentos were thematically analyzed. Student narratives were then triangulated with the narrative of the researcher--a Mexican American, first-generation college student, who pursued a life science bachelor's degree through the two institutions in this study. The theoretical framework was guided by Critical Race Theory, Resiliency, Persistence Theory, and Social Construction of Technology. The study consisted of a pilot survey and narrative inquiry. The survey contained pilot questions on the use and perception of information technologies in STEM education. The narrative inquiry was guided by critical race that enabled both positionality and storytelling through narratives and counter-narratives. Twenty-two Latino/a graduating seniors majoring in the biological sciences or engineering/engineering technology at a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) and a Predominantly-White Institution (PWI) in Texas were recruited. The narratives of these students were collected through one-time, semi-structured interviews during the last semester of their studies. Results from the study indicate that these Latino/a STEM students are conscious of their ethnicity; however, they are not critically conscious of the master narrative of what it means to be a Latino/a in a STEM discipline. These students have bought into the master narrative of colorblind science and engineering. The students understood that to succeed in STEM, they had to survive based on their proficiency with institutional norms, practices and cultures and then maintain a sense of self through a respect for their Latino culture.

This study seeks to explore the relationship between intercultural communication experiences and college persistence in first-generation college students from the Central Appalachian region. Because Appalachia has a rich and unique culture, which is often misunderstood, the literature review seeks to establish a basis for studying this relationship as a way to understand the multi-dimensional nature of low-educational attainment in the Appalachian region, particularly Eastern Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. Using a survey-based quantitative method this study examines Appalachian first generation students attending college as an intercultural communication process through the frame of acculturation theory. Specifically, the study seeks information about the students’ previous intercultural communication experiences, cultural identity, intercultural sensitivity, and college persistence. This study attempts to predict first generation, Appalachian students’ college persistence with their previous intercultural communication experiences, cultural identity, and intercultural sensitivity.