Thesis advisor: Lisa Dodson / Thesis advisor: C. Shawn McGuffey / Non-traditional students are quickly becoming a statistical majority of the undergraduate student population. Furthermore, nearly one-quarter of contemporary undergraduates is a student parent. Emergent imperatives shaped by technological changes in the economy, deindustrialization, credential inflation, the continuing feminization of poverty and the diminished safety net for low-income families have created a mandate for postsecondary education for anyone hoping to move from poverty into the middle-class. Yet, welfare reforms of the past 17 years have de-prioritized, discouraged, and disallowed post-secondary education as a meaningful pathway for low-income parents to achieve economic mobility, even despite a large body of research demonstrating the connections between higher education and: income, occupational prestige, access to employer sponsored benefits, positive intergenerational outcomes, community development, and broader societal gains. While previous research has focused on the impact of welfare reform on access to post-secondary education for participants within the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) cash assistance program, declining overall TANF participation rates indicate that low-income families are largely turning to more diverse strategies to support their families and pursue higher education. Despite both the recent growth of the population of student parents as a significant minority of the undergraduate population, and the rise of governmental initiatives promoting the expansion of post-secondary education and training to traditionally underserved student populations, very little is known about the comprehensive experiences of contemporary low-income mothers as they navigate college while simultaneously working to balance these endeavors with motherhood and family labor, paid employment and public assistance requirements. This dissertation presents the findings of a multi-method institutional ethnographic research process through which the author collected data regarding the experiences of low-income mothers across the country. This process included conducting in-depth interviews with 31 low-income mothers who were currently enrolled in college or who had been enrolled in college within the past year. Additionally, research journals were collected from an additional 20 participants documenting their experiences across an academic term. In total these participants represented 10 states in three regions of the United States: The West Coast, Mid-West, and Northeast. Secondary data were collected through: institutional interviews with student parent program coordinators, collection of primary materials from programs serving student parents throughout the country, and review of primary policy documents regarding higher education and federal and state welfare policies. As a feminist participatory action research project, participatory methods were employed at all stages of the research process and included the use of two interpretive focus groups within campus-based programs serving student parents that both added to the research findings and to the process of analysis and interpretation. The findings of this dissertation begin by painting the picture of the complex lifeworlds of low-income mothers and their simultaneous experience of role strain and material hardship as they work to balance the responsibilities of college enrollment with mothering, work, and the labor involved in researching, applying for and maintaining multiple public assistance benefits. Next, the author argues that conflicts between higher education policies and public assistance policies as experienced by participants shape the strategies through which they attempt to make ends meet and finance their education and ultimately exacerbate their experiences of role strain and material hardship. The author then moves to explore the impact that these policies have on academic outcomes for this sub-set of students. The dissertation concludes with a discussion of the broader social context in which this takes place: one in which policies have been structured on meritocracy rather than equal opportunity for higher education. This presents a dual-edge sword scenario however in that the American Dream both drives the motivation of low-income mothers to persevere in college despite tremendous hardship and personal sacrifice, while it also serves to frame the very policies that make their quest for higher education so grueling. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2013. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Sociology.

Thesis advisor: Ana Martinez-Aleman / College student engagement has been linked to a host of positive educational outcomes including academic performance and persistence. Problematically, many low-income college students are not able to get involved within the social system of higher education due to the costs associated with participation in the co-curricular events and activities that comprise so much of the full college experience. This mixed methods study explored the effect on student engagement of the Pinnacle Alliance (PA) - an intervention program designed to remove these cost barriers for low-income students at Lakefield University (LU), a private, highly selective, religiously-affiliated institution located in the Northeast United States. An electronic survey was administered to a sample of Lakefield undergraduate students concerning their involvement in co-curricular activities. Multiple regression analysis was conducted to examine the relationship between participation in the Pinnacle Alliance and student engagement. While the quantitative findings indicate a non-significant relationship, subsequent focus groups were conducted to further examine and contextualize the effects of the Pinnacle Alliance on low-income students. Qualitative findings from the focus group suggest that the Pinnacle Alliance is an extremely important resource for many low-income LU students. The PA allowed these students to make participation choices free of the financial barriers they often face. In addition, PA-participating students reported feeling a greater sense of community and that they fit in more at LU. However, these students made clear that fitting in and belonging were not the reasons they chose to participate in the program; rather the elevated feelings of fitting in and belonging were the result of their participation. Finally, findings from focus groups conducted with students who were eligible for the Pinnacle Alliance but chose not to participate revealed that beyond financial constraints, motivational constraints can also inhibit engagement. Non-participating students cited lack of time, lack of interest, lack of awareness, and social stigma as the four major reasons behind their decisions to not be more involved with the Pinnacle Alliance. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2017. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Educational Leadership and Higher Education.

Since the implementation of the 2012 fee and funding regime in England, that notably increased the maximum undergraduate tuition fees to £9000, the focus of policymakers and those in the higher education sector has been on student participation rates. Thus, to date little is known about the extent to which the 2012 fee and funding changes have affected students’ higher education decision-making. The purpose of this research was to explore students’ study mode, subject and institution choices under the 2012 fee regime, with the aim of contributing new knowledge in this area. To this end, a comprehensive approach to mixed methods was used to generate quantitative and qualitative data on students’ decision-making (Hesse-Biber, 2010a). Two methods were used to generate the data, which were questionnaires completed by 550 students and follow-up interviews with a sub-sample of 30 students. The students, aged 17 to 21, were from six schools and colleges across Greater London and in the final year of their level 3 qualifications (NQF/QCF). The timing of the fieldwork was pivotal to the research and generated data at a specific moment in students’ decisionmaking, after they had submitted a UCAS application (January 2013) and prior to the publication of their level three qualifications (August 2013), which has provided new knowledge of students’ responses to the increased costs of higher education. Informed by Hodkinson and colleagues’ theory of pragmatically rational decision-making (Hodkinson, Sparkes and Hodkinson, 1996), this research provides evidence that the 2012 fee and funding regime has altered and constrained students’ higher education choices. In terms of students’ study mode choices, despite policymakers expectations of increased diversification, the traditional mode of three years of full-time study towards a bachelor degree qualification in a face-to-face teaching and learning environment remains as highly, if not more highly, favoured, with some students avoiding four year courses (typically sandwich courses) to minimise costs. Over half of the students in this research reconsidered and altered their subject choices to those they perceived as improving their graduate employability. This decision was taken by students to ensure that the costs of participating in higher education were beneficial to their future career. The increased costs of higher education has also caused students to live at home whilst studying to reduce their debt and expenses, which was a decision disproportionately made by black and minority ethnic students from all social classes. The findings from this research provide new insights into students’ decision-making that contrast with prior literature, particularly in relation to trends by social class (Bates, Pollard, Usher and Oakley, 2009; Callender and Jackson, 2008; Reay, David and Ball, 2005; Usher, Baldwin, Munro, Pollard and Sumption, 2010). The research argues that the 2012 fee and funding ‘reforms’ have been counterproductive; as opposed to putting financial power into the hands of learners” (BIS, 2010, p.5), the ‘reforms’ have disempowered students by limiting their choices to those that are perceived as affordable.

Magister Educationis - MEd / Over the past few years researchers have been studying access reforms, as well as uncovering challenges related to systems with low participation rates; Examples of this type of work are Teferra and Altbach (2003), Maharasoa (2003) and World Bank (2008). A key factor often addressed are various reforms related to access policies, often merely descriptions of access reforms in general or the status quo of systems are given, particularly those with low participation rates or needing access reforms (Weber, 2005). The relationship between participation rates, access policies and the governance of higher education has however not yet been thoroughly examined. The purpose of this qualitative study is to present the results of an analysis carried out to investigate the research question: Is there a relationship between participation rates, access policies and the governance of higher education access in Malawi? The access-policygovernance theory whose proponents are Tapper (2005), Ball (1990), Bunting et al (2005) and Clark (1983), among others, formed the basis for a proposed framework of evaluating the governance of higher education access in Malawi. The data involved in this study are national educational policies and institutional policy. The second data set are interviews with fourteen personnel who are involved in formulation and implementation of higher education access policies and the governance of higher education, both at a national level in Malawi and institutional level at the University of Malawi. A conclusion is drawn that the policies which were utilised and the governance structure created from them generated the limited nature of access which characterises Malawi’s higher education sector. The policies belonging to the University of Malawi, for example, generated proposed growth in student numbers without drastic changes in the general governance structure of the university. Thus the University of Malawi was unable to maintain the growth that the institutional policies intended. This research is of significance to the domain of governance of access as it extends the knowledge base that currently exists in the field of higher education studies. The concept of linking participation rates, access policies and the governance of higher education is relatively under-researched in this field. It is hoped that this study has added to the understanding of this relationship by addressing the significance

Rumberger (2020) observed that "dropping out of school has economic and social consequences both for dropouts themselves and for the country as a whole" (p. 151). Every year, many Brazilians drop out of school due to work, early pregnancies, marriage, drug consumption, crime, etc. Dropping out of school can occur due to learning challenges, poor attendance, discipline problems, or a lack of access to high school institutions. Dropouts can experience depression and anxiety and are more likely to attempt suicide. The present dissertation includes two different papers about dropouts. The first paper uses fixed effect regression to show the main characteristics of dropouts who both left high school before completing it and registered for the Brazilian National Exam (ENEM). The results demonstrate that dropouts who take the ENEM are males, hail from low-income families, are younger (less than 17 years old), and are less likely to possess computers. When analyzing the 2015 and 2016 data set, which included dropouts who took the ENEM to receive high school certification, the results show that thew are more likely to have dropped out of school during their basic education (1st to 9th grade). In the second paper, I evaluated differences in achievement "between dropout registrants and current students, and dropout registrants and graduates" each comparison using the same data set (ENEM), but restricted to 2015 and 2016, due to the availability of a larger number of predictive variables of dropouts. The results indicate that dropout registrants did worse than all groups in essay writing but performed similarly to current students in math and language in 2016. When comparing the achievement of dropout registrants and graduates, the results show more pronounced differences, but in essay writing, the effect size varied from 0.22SD to 0.35SD.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-12-17T14:36:33Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 ClaudiaPL_TESE.pdf: 2841707 bytes, checksum: 03308b908bd53a4d7c680344f2909244 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-09-10 / Coordena??o de Aperfei?oamento de Pessoal de N?vel Superior / On the beginnings of the XXI century the brazilian universities was claimed by the Government and by the society to rebuild your ways of selecting students. Many questions are behind this theme, that goes since the concernings of the higher education institutions about select and graduate students, and now also students from disadvantaged sectors of the society; but also about personal issues, like concerns of the everyday of millions of youngs that integrates the brazilian society and that need to decide about your professional future after the finish of the Basic Education. The present thesis has as objective analyse the processes of the transition between the Basic Education and Higher Education on the point of view of students that achieved a place on the public university. This study was accomplished on the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte [UFRN on the original language], that implemented an Access and Social Inclusion Policy (PAIS [on the original language]) on the year of 2003, and since than a series of social actions had been developed. Among the main, we highlight the Inclusion Score action, an adicional score [on the entrance selection exam] for graduated students from public schools, which considers social and economic criteria and the academic development of these candidates on your Basic Education. Through quizzes and interviews with the graduated university students from public network, we could know the social, economic and academic profile of the students that entered on the UFRN by the time of the development of your PAIS, your schools and university trajectories, revealing some of the dilemmas, strategies, difficulties and personal cost of those that try to remain on the educational system besides the adversity conditions of schooling. For the theory foundation, we use authors like Bourdieu (1992, 1996, 2003); Coulon (1993, 2008); Ramalho (2004, 2007, 2008, 2010); Ramalho, et al (2011); Charlot (2001, 2003, 2005); Zago (2011); Nogueira, Romanelli e Zago (2011), among others, that contributed for a better analysis and understanding of thought and actions of the students in your own formative trajectories. Although we know that the educational inequalities are many, we found that the UFRN policy brought and is bringing many significant results, on the perspective of contribute with the increase of access for graduated students from the public network, and with the inclusion of these on the university / No in?cio do s?culo XXI as universidades brasileiras foram convocadas pelo poder p?blico e pela sociedade a redimensionar suas formas de selecionar estudantes. Muitos dilemas est?o por tr?s desta tem?tica, que v?o desde a preocupa??o das institui??es de ensino superior em selecionar e formar estudantes, e agora tamb?m estudantes provenientes dos setores menos favorecidos da sociedade; como tamb?m dilemas pessoais, como preocupa??es que fazem parte do cotidiano dos milh?es de jovens que integram a sociedade brasileira e que precisam decidir sobre o seu futuro profissional ao t?rmino da Educa??o B?sica. A presente tese tem como objetivo analisar os processos de transi??o entre a Educa??o B?sica e o Ensino Superior do ponto de vista de estudantes que conquistaram uma vaga na universidade p?blica. O estudo foi realizado na Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, que implantou uma Pol?tica de Acesso e Inclus?o Social (PAIS) no ano de 2003, e a partir da? uma s?rie de a??es foram desenvolvidas. Dentre as principais, destacamos o Argumento de Inclus?o, um mecanismo de pontua??o adicional para estudantes egressos de escolas p?blicas, que considera crit?rios s?cio-econ?micos e de desempenho dos candidatos ao longo de sua Educa??o B?sica. Atrav?s de question?rio e entrevistas com os estudantes universit?rios egressos da rede p?blica, pudemos conhecer o perfil social, econ?mico e acad?mico dos estudantes que ingressaram na UFRN no per?odo de desenvolvimento de sua PAIS, suas trajet?rias escolares e universit?rias, revelando alguns dos dilemas, estrat?gias, dificuldades e o custo pessoal daqueles que procuram permanecer no sistema de ensino apesar das condi??es adversas de escolariza??o. Para a fundamenta??o te?rica, trabalhamos com autores como Bourdieu (1992, 1996, 2003); Coulon (1993, 2008); Ramalho (2004, 2007, 2008, 2010); Ramalho, et al (2011); Charlot (2001, 2003, 2005); Zago (2011); Nogueira, Romanelli e Zago (2011), entre outros, que contribu?ram para uma melhor an?lise e compreens?o do pensamento e a??es dos estudantes em suas trajet?rias formativas. Embora saibamos que as desigualdades educacionais ainda s?o muitas, constatamos que a pol?tica da UFRN trouxe e vem trazendo resultados significativos, na perspectiva de contribuir com o aumento do acesso de estudantes egressos da rede p?blica, e com a inclus?o dos mesmos na universidade

In the United States, some states and higher education institutions allow undocumented students to pay in-state resident tuition at public colleges and universities. Yet, when undocumented youth apply and seek to qualify for in-state tuition, they find bureaucratic procedures and rules that may discourage them from applying at all, delay, or hamper their access to higher education. The study explores how such bureaucratic requirements impose learning, compliance, and psychological burdens on undocumented youth. Building upon administrative burdens scholarship and using qualitative and quantitative analyses of admissions applications at the institutional level, undocumented students reports' of their experiences, and surveys of college admissions officers, this study examines the admissions requirements and other factors that may shape the applications of undocumented students to colleges in the states providing ISRT benefits for undocumented youth. The findings suggest that undocumented youth navigate multifaceted institutional contexts across and within states, including requirements and rules at different organizational levels and interactions with admissions officers whose discretion may facilitate or obstruct access. Variations in ISRT requirements reflect states' patterns of immigration, demographics, political (sub) cultures, narratives about the deservingness, organizational factors as well as the discretion that college personnel has in applying the requirements. Findings suggest that factors associated with residency, notarized affidavits, tax forms, and lack of clear information and guidance from college personnel substantially increase burdens when undocumented youth seek to benefit from ISRT. Certainly, when states, institutions, and admissions officers establish and shape ISRT requirements, they implicitly influence the sense of belonging and membership of undocumented applicants and mediate intergovernmental tension surrounding legalization and inclusion of this population in society. / Doctor of Philosophy / Bureaucratic requirements and rules at some public colleges and universities in the United States may hamper the ability of undocumented immigrants to apply for admission and qualify for in-state resident tuition in the states and colleges that allow it. This study explores how such bureaucratic requirements impose learning, compliance, and psychological burdens on undocumented youth and the factors associated with such burdens. The study examines admissions applications in community colleges in the states where the benefit is available, interviews and surveys with undocumented youth as well as surveys of colleges admissions officers. The findings show that the administrative burdens that undocumented youth faces result from requirements and rules that overlap at different organizational levels, several policy interpretations, the intertwine between immigration and higher education policies, perceptions of such population's deservingness, and the discretion of admissions officers. Through these requirements, states and colleges shape the sense of belonging of immigrant youth and chart their legal and social inclusion.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-12-17T14:36:31Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 RidalvoMAO_TESE.pdf: 3012875 bytes, checksum: f4ffef2e215903a0c0f94266c9f9e251 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-08-30 / Coordena??o de Aperfei?oamento de Pessoal de N?vel Superior / Access is a problem of higher education in Brazil that has existed since the formalization of this has occurred since the installation of the Portuguese court in Brazil in 1808. Only 10% of young people between 18 and 24 years of age attending this level of education in 2000, arriving in 2010 just 15%, far from that determined the National Education Plan in 2001, triple that percentage by the year 2010. In addition, a majority of seats of public HEIs is populated by students from the private network, especially in high-demand courses. In this context, this study aims to identify the costs related to the trajectories of students who were successful in the vestibular UFRN editions from 2006 to 2010. Presents an overview of higher education in Brazil, a brief history of vestibular, as well as new forms of access, and some of the policies to expand such access, highlighting the argument Inclusion UFRN. Focusing on the theme of the paper presents the concepts of opportunity costs and social. After collecting data through a questionnaire and consultation of databases COMPERVE was developed to search for a descriptive and analytical, with the participation of 3,995 students, of whom 1642 (41.1%) had completed secondary education in schools public, and 2,078 (52%) in private schools. The profile indicates that 90% are single, about 50% are 21 years of age, are white and female. In the course of preparation for college entrance exams, 80% chose the course during or after completion of the last year of high school, and almost 70% said they had started preparing at that time. Findings related to the costs involved with this preparation indicate that, in most cases there were school fees and disbursements and workshops, and the purchase of books and other materials, with parents primarily responsible for this cost, the amount disbursed each month was up $ 300 for 64% of respondents and only 7% of them exceeded $ 1,000, the major non-financial costs were characterized by the following resignations: job opportunities (24%) or temporary work (20%) courses of languages (26%), leisure activities (48%), leisure travel (43%), and parties and / or shows (54%). Of social investments by the government, stand out in the tax waiver scholarships for study in private institutions, grant exemption from the registration fee of vestibular, the preparatory courses UFRN, and seminars by COMPERVE / UFRN with networks of high school. From the junction of the opportunity costs (private costs) and social costs (public costs), a new concept: the social opportunity cost, which measures the combined efforts of families and government to finance the opportunity to access higher education of an individual. This concept can and should be incorporated as a strategic vector for the sake of democratic university, which reflects the social model that is sought / O acesso ? um problema do ensino superior no Brasil que existe desde a formaliza??o deste, ocorrida ap?s a instala??o da corte portuguesa no pa?s, em 1808. Somente 10% dos jovens entre 18 e 24 anos de idade frequentavam esse n?vel de ensino no ano 2000, chegando em 2010 a apenas 15%, muito distante do que determinava o Plano Nacional de Educa??o em 2001: triplicar aquele percentual at? o ano 2010. Al?m disso, a maioria das vagas das IES p?blicas ? preenchida por alunos provenientes da rede privada, principalmente nos cursos de alta demanda. Nesse contexto, o presente estudo objetiva identificar os custos relacionados com as trajet?rias dos estudantes que obtiveram sucesso no vestibular da UFRN nas edi??es de 2006 a 2010. Apresenta uma retrospectiva do ensino superior no Brasil, um breve hist?rico do vestibular, bem como das novas formas de acesso, e algumas das pol?ticas de amplia??o desse acesso, destacando o Argumento de Inclus?o da UFRN. Focando o tema central do trabalho, s?o apresentados os conceitos de custos de oportunidade e sociais. Os dados dessa pesquisa, de car?ter descritivo e anal?tico, foram coletados por meio de um question?rio eletr?nico e de consultas aos bancos de dados da COMPERVE, com a participa??o de 3.995 alunos, dos quais 1.642 (41,1%) cursaram o ensino m?dio em escolas da rede p?blica, e 2.078 (52%) em escolas da rede privada. O perfil indica que 90% s?o solteiros; cerca de 50% tem at? 21 anos de idade, s?o de cor branca e do sexo feminino. Na trajet?ria de prepara??o para o vestibular, 80% escolheram o curso durante ou ap?s a conclus?o do ?ltimo ano do ensino m?dio, e quase 70% afirmaram ter iniciado a prepara??o nessa mesma ?poca. Descobertas relacionadas aos custos envolvidos com essa prepara??o apontam que: na maioria dos casos houve desembolsos com mensalidades escolares e cursinhos, e com a aquisi??o de livros e outros materiais, sendo os pais os principais respons?veis por esse custeio; o valor desembolsado mensalmente foi de at? R$ 300 para 64% dos respondentes e, para apenas 7% destes ultrapassou R$ 1.000; os principais custos n?o financeiros se caracterizaram pelas seguintes ren?ncias: oportunidades de empregos (24%) ou trabalhos tempor?rios (20%); frequentar cursos de idiomas (26%); atividades de lazer (48%); viagens de lazer (43%); e festas e/ou shows (54%). Dos investimentos sociais por parte do governo, destacam-se a ren?ncia fiscal na concess?o de bolsas de estudo em IES privadas, a concess?o de isen??o de taxa de inscri??o do vestibular, os cursinhos preparat?rios da UFRN, e a realiza??o de semin?rios pela COMPERVE/UFRN com as redes de ensino m?dio. A partir da jun??o dos custos de oportunidade (custos privados) com os custos sociais (custos p?blicos), surge um novo conceito: o de custo social de oportunidade, que mede o esfor?o conjunto das fam?lias e do governo para o financiamento da oportunidade de acesso ao ensino superior de um indiv?duo. Esse conceito pode e deve ser incorporado como um vetor estrat?gico para a causa da universidade democr?tica, que reflete o modelo de sociedade que se busca