The previous research on student debt indicates that the financial concerns associated with being in debt have a significant effect on the individual's academic performance. In the present study, a sample of 328 current students at the University of Canterbury was questioned to identify the effects of student debt on students' course selection, motivation, happiness and academic performance. Students' debt levels increased with the level of university study, and the largest form of student borrowing was from the Student Loan Scheme. While students with no debt performed better academically than those with debt, students' attitudes towards debt were found to influence the relationship between debt level and academic performance. Students who were tolerant towards debt performed better as they accumulated more debt while students who were intolerant performed worse. In general, there is little indication that student debt has a direct effect on students' course selection, motivation, happiness and academic performance. Implications of current findings are mentioned. Limitations and directions for future research are discussed.

The previous research on student debt indicates that the financial concerns associated with being in debt have a significant effect on the individual's academic performance. In the present study, a sample of 328 current students at the University of Canterbury was questioned to identify the effects of student debt on students' course selection, motivation, happiness and academic performance. Students' debt levels increased with the level of university study, and the largest form of student borrowing was from the Student Loan Scheme. While students with no debt performed better academically than those with debt, students' attitudes towards debt were found to influence the relationship between debt level and academic performance. Students who were tolerant towards debt performed better as they accumulated more debt while students who were intolerant performed worse. In general, there is little indication that student debt has a direct effect on students' course selection, motivation, happiness and academic performance. Implications of current findings are mentioned. Limitations and directions for future research are discussed.

This exploratory case study investigated the role secondary school guidance counsellors believed they played in the course selection process, especially regarding the continuation of French as a second language (FSL). As new initiatives have been recently introduced to increase retention in all FSL programs throughout Ontario (OME, 2013a), this study also sought to identify the factors guidance counsellors believed contributed to students continuing (or not continuing) the study of FSL past the mandatory Grade 9 credit. The following research questions guided this study: (1) How do guidance counsellors describe the process of course selection, with regards to FSL in particular?; (2) How do guidance counsellors view their role in the course selection process?; and (3) What do guidance counsellors identify as factors that contribute to students continuing (or not continuing) the study of FSL past Grade 9? Individual semi-structured interviews were conducted with 14 guidance counsellors from 12 schools across one school board in Ontario. Analysis of the insights shared by guidance counsellors highlight the complexities of the course selection process, as well as the strategies and tools they each used to prepare students to make the most informed decisions regarding their course selection. When counselling students about continuing optional FSL courses after Grade 9, participants expressed that they would encourage the pursuit of FSL courses, if the topic was student initiated. Emerging evidence showed that core French and French immersion students were counselled differently, with the latter receiving more attention if they expressed a desire to leave the program. Finally, guidance counsellors identified a wide variety of reasons they believed affected retention and attrition rates at their schools, with the most common being for future employment purposes and not seeing the value in learning French.

This study examines social structural effects on student mathematics preparation and identification with a science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) field, as well as the social psychological factors that may mediate those effects. Using demographic, academic, attitudinal, and school policy data from the Educational Longitudinal Study of 2002 (ELS: 2002) for over 14,000 students from a nationally representative sample, this research tests a model of mathematics course taking and selection of a STEM field linking social identity and self processes with academic decision making. Using structural equation modeling (SEM) to assess the relationships between the latent and observed variables, specifically examining mathematics self-efficacy and social support variables and how they mediate the effects of background variables and prior mathematics achievement on mathematics course taking and subsequent choice of a STEM major, the initial model tests the use of advanced mathematics course taking as a proxy to a college major in a STEM field. This study further develops a second model linking social identity and mathematics course taking using the nested structure of the data to consider the role of school grouping policies on mathematics course taking. Hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) is employed to measure the effects of individual socio-economic level, race, gender, and coping resources within schools with different course selection and ability grouping policies on high school mathematics course taking. The results of structural equation modeling supported most formulations of the conceptual model and showed significant effect of coping resources on mathematics course taking and subsequent STEM matriculation. Furthermore, females showed lower mathematics self-efficacy and were less likely to enter a STEM field of study than males although they experienced higher levels of social support and math course taking. Findings from the hierarchical linear models suggested that students’ mathematics course taking was related to coping variables, but it varied by course enrollment policy at the school level. The effects of school policy were not consistent across racial groups. The study had both theoretical and practical significance, providing insights for increased diversity in STEM majors as well as policy implications at the high school level. / Ph. D.

The purpose of this study is to develop and evaluate a comprehensive program for the elementary schools of Texas in which industrial arts is correlated with the other subjects in the elementary curriculum.

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This dissertation examines the course-enrollment behavior of first-year students at a public Midwestern university. Using the student choice construct, modern college choice theory, and the constructs of habitus, human capital, financial capital, social capital, cultural capital, along with background variables such as gender and locus of control, a course selection theory is proposed to explain students' voluntarily enrollment in a seminar designed to assist with the academic and social transitions to college. The literature review shows numerous studies have been done examining the impacts these courses may have on first-year students' academic performance, retention, and graduation rates. In many of these studies, however, subsets of students were targeted for enrollment and participation in the seminars was not voluntary. In others, students self-select into the first-year transition seminars, raising questions about whether or not their subsequent success is attributable to their participation in these courses. Prior to this study, few, if any, studies have examined enrollment in these first-year seminars as the dependent variable and attempted to explain how various factors impact whether or not students voluntarily choose to enroll. This quantitative research looked at 7,561 first-year students enrolling in 2006-2007 and 2007-2008 and, using logistic regression, attempted to explain whether or not students chose to enroll in a transition seminar. Data was gathered from institutional offices (Admissions, Registrar, and Student Financial Aid) and through an Entering Student Survey completed by 99% of each entering cohort. Of the 52 independent variables included in the model, 17 were significant in one or more steps (or blocks) of the model. This study found that students more advantaged in their individual or family college-going resources (e.g., higher ACT-Composite scores or a higher self-evaluation of their ability to appreciate fine arts, music, and literature) are less likely to enroll in the college transition seminar than students that could be described as more disadvantaged in terms of their college-going resources (i.e., an external locus of control, receiving a Pell Grant, and less access to various forms of capital). There is also evidence that students with past experiences where they may have learned the value of community or teamwork through in- and out-of-class experiences may see the first-year transition seminar as a way to begin creating these same types of connections or communities on the college campus. The dissertation concludes with a consideration of implications for future research, theory development, and institutional policy and practice.