his research addressed educational persistence among first-generation, low-income college students. The educational paths of 22 first-generation, low-income undergraduate students attending a large, urban university in the Northwest region of the United States were examined through a narrative framework. Half of the participants had persisted from year one to year two, and the other half left the university after their first year. Analytic procedures consisted of thematic qualitative coding, an analysis of student trajectories over educational histories, and the reconstruction of narrative stories. Data were used to examine: (1) How first-generation, low-income students understood and described their journey through their first year, (2) Reasons some students gave for leaving the university, (3) Meanings students gave to their experiences in college and how those meanings influenced future decisions, and (4) Differences between the stories of students who persisted versus those who left. The first-generation, low-income students who participated in this study were individually diverse and took various paths through college. After prolonged contact, evidence of interrupted enrollment and transfer among colleges was shown for approximately half of the participants. The descriptive codes most frequently discussed were financial issues, aspects of self, and family. Students described motivations for college in terms of themes related to family, gaining practical skills, existential discovery, desire for the college adventure, and affirmation of personal attributes. Students left the institution as a result of academic challenges, external life events, financial difficulties, dissatisfaction with the college process, unclear goals or reasons for continuation, and a need to stay near family. Students who persisted in college indicated adequate pre-college academic preparation, social connection to the university, family support for continuation, adequate financial resources, and support from social and cultural brokers that helped them navigate college. Findings from this study suggest social class, financial, individual and family contextual variables be added to Tinto's (1975, 1993) classic model of student departure. Higher education policies suggested by data include partnering with families, reducing social class barriers and providing better information to students about the hidden costs of transfer and interrupted enrollment.

Repeated inquiries and statements are made about the number of American Indian students who drop out or are pushed out of school. The Waxes noted that while drop-out rates are difficult to calculate because of a shifting population and absence of centralized, accurate records, current figures indicate that about one-half of those who enter the primary grades drop out before entering high school. Furthermore, only about a third of those entering school actually graduate. A study of Pima and Papago schools revealed much the same trends. Seven percent of the children ages six to eighteen are not enrolled in any school. The researchers estimated a drop-out rate of twenty percent for the teenage group. This was compared to a three and one-half percent drop-out rate for high schools in the surrounding areas. It was also noted that those Indian children who were in school were very likely to be behind their grade placement. The primary purpose of this study is to examine the Chemawa Indian School drop-out rate.

Advanced Placement (AP) courses engage high school students with college curriculum taught by trained high school teachers, with an opportunity for students to earn college credit by passing the end-of-course AP exam. AP has evolved into an indicator of school quality, instructional rigor, and a consideration in the college admissions process. AP enrollment and exam performance outcomes for White students disproportionately surpass those for Black students. This study attempts to inform practice, policy, and programming toward more equitable enrollment outcomes for Black students through a single case study. The selected case school was the only high school among 38 in central Virginia serving a significant proportion of both Black and White students demonstrating proportional AP enrollment between the Black and White student populations. Evidence gathered in the single case study through interviews and document review was analyzed to answer the research question: how do school-level practices and policies influence proportional AP enrollment for Black and White students at a central Virginia high school? Coding and narrative analysis were used to assess the case school’s practices, policies, and characteristics in the context of the four categories of school-based factors associated with equitable AP enrollment established by prior literature: curriculum characteristics, teacher training and awareness, family engagement and outreach, and student identification and recommendation processes. Equity was defined using overlapping social, racial, and educational equity frameworks within education and public administration. Findings showed that course recommendation processes, teacher training, unique school-based programming, course scheduling, instructional techniques toward increased rigor, and parent outreach are among the most significant school-level factors distinguishing the case school in its achievement of equitable AP enrollment between Black and White students, but that those school-level factors must be administered, executed, and nurtured in a school characterized by positive and encouraging relationships among students, staff, and leadership. It is recommended that equitable outcomes become a clear feature and requirement of local, state, and federal policy to prompt school personnel to work toward equity between Black and White students in AP enrollment and in the various processes and outcomes within public education. It is further recommended that policies and practices place an explicit premium on the power of relationships among stakeholders in each school in achieving equitable outcomes.

Despite a significant drop in the number of pregnant adolescents and reforms to fight gender discrimination under Title IX, teen pregnancy and risk factors including poverty, stigma, and substance abuse, which may lead to different negative outcomes, such as depression, social isolation, and lowered self-esteem remain a persistent problem in the United States. Due to these factors, pregnant and parenting teens have been noted to drop out of high school prematurely. Using incrementalism as a theoretical framework, the purpose of this qualitative exploratory case study was to explore and describe Title IX compliance and local policies and practices of educators as well as their role in the lives of pregnant and parenting teens pursuing secondary education. As a public policy, the purpose of Title IX is to protect students regardless of gender. Data were collected through in-depth interviews of 4 policy makers and 16 educators from public school districts across a northeastern state. To analyze the data, interviews were transcribed, inductively coded, and subjected to a thematic analysis procedure. Regardless of the existence of Title IX, the findings show it is incrementally enforced, coming into play slowly or even ignored. The themes included stigma, discriminatory segregation, funding gaps, support of programs largely outside of school, accountability for programs, denial of educators' voices on policy and practices, and recommendations of real life skills for pregnant and parenting students. This study provides relevant information to use as a basis for Title IX compliance and local educational policy modifications. This study suggests compliance and modifications may contribute to positive academic progress for pregnant and parenting adolescents.

The criminal justice program in a community college located in the southwestern United States had experienced an increase in student plagiarism. However, the current teaching practices of criminal justice instructors to prevent and manage the increased student plagiarism have not been effective. The purpose of this study was to explore criminal justice college instructors' experiences, perceptions, and teaching strategies related to undergraduate student plagiarism using Goleman's emotional intelligence theory and Daloz's mentoring theory. Employing a qualitative instrumental case study design, data were collected through semistructured interviews with 10 criminal justice college instructors. Member checking and reflective journaling ensured accuracy and credibility with initial findings from the interview data. The interview data were coded and analyzed using matrix and thematic analysis. Findings revealed 6 categories: professional development, instructor-student relationships, Turnitin reports, policy enforcement, instructor discretion, and mentoring students. To address the findings, a department plagiarism policy was proposed through a position paper to key stakeholders at the community college. The implementation of the department plagiarism policy has the possibility to create positive social change by promoting ethical writing standards and providing support for students' future academic success.

The effects of the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) and the Free Secondary Education Policy (FSEP) on access to secondary school education in Kenya's Yatta sub-county have not been adequately explored in available public policy literature. Hence, this qualitative multiple-case study was designed to understand the effects of the 2 policies on both enrollment and dropout among secondary school age children in Yatta. The study was conducted in 1 mixed-boarding secondary school and 1 secondary day school in Yatta. The study was built on an adapted Huisman and Smits' theoretical model on dropout among students in developing countries. The data were gathered through semi-structured interviews with 14 purposefully selected participants: 2 principals, 2 deputy principals, and 10 parents whose children had benefited from the CDF bursary scheme. Interview data were inductively coded and then subjected to Braun and Clarke's thematic analysis procedure, which aided in identification, analysis, and reporting of patterns (themes) in the data. Results showed that the CDF had contributed significantly to the improvement of enrollment with the establishment of new day schools that are more affordable, hence making secondary school education less costly and thus more available to low income families. The study's findings also showed that student dropout had declined with both the CDF and FSEP. The positive social change implications of this study are that it provides evidence for advocacy among policy makers for increased allocation of resources to the education sector through the CDF and FSEP. Increased allocations will contribute to Kenya's progress toward universal access to secondary education.

An Evaluation of Math Assessment Policy Process in a Southwestern School District by Alicia Taber O'Brien EdS, Walden University, 2011 MA, Western Governors University, 2004 BS, New Mexico State University, 1994 Doctoral Study Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Education Teacher Leadership Walden University September 2015 This project study addressed the lack of evaluation of a math assessment policy in a rural elementary school district in the southwestern United States. This district implemented a math assessment policy in the spring of 2005, yet no evaluation had been conducted to determine whether the policy and its continued implementation were meeting the intended outcomes. Two conceptual frameworks that drove the study were Sabatier's theories of policy process and Bardach's eightfold path to policy analysis. Using interviews of the district's 3 K-12 math teachers and 5 administrators who had proximity to the math assessment policy, this case study explored how the math assessment policy was implemented, as well as whether the policy had met the goals it was originally created to address. Data were deconstructed by coding and then reconstructed in order to create a thick description of the findings. A review of local media documents was also used to illustrate the community's response and reaction to the local district's assessment policies. The 5 themes that developed from analysis of the interview data focused on uncertainty in the ranks, sharing power, collaborating among the mathematics disciplines, policy evolution, and policy outcomes. The results presented in the evaluation report showed that administrators believed the policy was achieving its goals but teachers did not. The evaluation included an executive summary with recommendations to facilitate better communication about the policy throughout the district. Positive social change implications resulting from the evaluation of the math assessment policy include changing the decision-making process at the local district from a top-down model to include more input from practitioners in order to create policies that maximize student success and teacher support.

The Advanced Placement program allows high school students who pass an end of course Advanced Placement exam to receive college credit for college level courses completed during high school. The problem addressed by this project study is that, in the school under study, there is low enrollment in Advanced Placement classes even though many students qualify for these courses. Using a case study research design and collecting qualitative data, this study examined the influence parents have on student course selection. This study followed the theories of Epstein which indicate that involved parents positively influence their children's academic achievement. The research questions centered on the level of parental involvement in their child's course selections and their knowledge of Advanced Placement courses. Parents identified ways the school could help them be more aware of student academic choices available to their children. Data for these questions was gathered from 9 face-to-face interviews and 1telephone interview. An analysis schema, including theme coding and trend analyzing of the data, answered the questions and revealed the parents had no knowledge of the Advanced Placement courses, and they need direct communication from the school. The research led to the development of a Parental Learning Community. The project emanating from this study is a 3-part workshop. In part 1, parents learn how important their involvement is in their child's academic success. Part 2 informs parents about Advanced Placement classes. Part 3 obtains parent commitment to join the Parental Learning Community and keep it active. Positive social change may include increasing graduation rates, identifying ways schools can better support parental involvement, and preparing graduates for successful post-secondary education.

Discipline is of increasing concern to school stakeholders in districts around the world. It is especially concerning in a district of a southern U.S. state, where a zero tolerance policy calls for the removal of disruptive students from the classroom. Students, teachers, administrators, and other district officials may benefit from effective implementation of Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS), a positive discipline program that includes educators using data for instructional and discipline decision making. In the local district, little is known about the teachers' opinions regarding the PBIS implementation. The purpose of this project study was to gain insight on the teachers' assessment of the implementation of PBIS at Middle School A (MSA) and Middle School B (MSB) to benefit the PBIS program at MSA. The research questions addressed teachers' assessments of the PBIS implementation. Based on the theory of operant conditioning, a quantitative cross-sectional survey design was used to collect data using the PBIS Self-Assessment Survey. Survey data were analyzed descriptively and inferentially using an 1-way ANOVA. Applying the appropriate subscales of the survey instrument, MSA teachers scored the Classroom Setting System as in place and each of the other three systems (i.e. School-wide, Non-Classroom, and Individual Student Systems) as partially in place. MSA teachers (n = 22) also scored their PBIS systems higher than the teachers did at MSB (n = 22). Through the application of the resulting policy recommendation that indicates positive changes for MSA's PBIS program, student academic achievement and behavior may improve. In addition, through policy implementation, stakeholders in other districts may improve the implementation fidelity of their PBIS program with the objective of positively influencing students.

This study was an examination of the minority student retention rate in a year-long bridge program. The retention rate of these students is 25%. University administration was concerned about the retention rate and its impact on future enrollment. Using Jack Mezirow's transformative learning as a framework of understanding, the purpose of this study was to identify successes and challenges that minority students experienced in the bridge program and how those experiences affected future decisions on retention. A qualitative case-study design was implemented and 9 of the 140 bridge students were purposefully selected for individual interviews. Data analysis was conducted using open coding procedures with iterative recategorization to identify the themes. Key findings indicated that students found peer mentoring, flexibility in lab schedules, and speakers to be successes. Challenges that students faced included efforts associated with self-regulation and self-efficacy. Based on these findings, a policy recommendation was developed for the local site that suggested developing a mentoring program and continued use of Student Support Services beyond the first year. The results of this study will help university administration make informed and strategic decisions to revise and enhance the bridge program towards a focus upon the improvement of minority student retention. Further, this study promotes social change by serving as a model for other institutions in similar situations and continues the conversation in the literature regarding minority student retention rate.