Purpose: Student motivation for positive academic outcome and persistence at school is significantly affected by personal and environmental factors. Anchored in self-determination theory, this study tested a motivational model which looked at how support in terms of perceived teacher autonomy and from school administration constituted the key…

To explore the divergent academic experiences and outcomes of U.S.-origin and immigrant-origin Black Americans, we drew on Tinto's (1993) model of persistence to test a 3-wave longitudinal model of college persistence using path analysis. Our sample comprised 101 ethnically diverse Black students who were randomly selected from 9 public high…

The study presented in this document was designed to test, through path analysis, a modified version of the Bean and Metzner (1985) model of nontraditional student attrition in an effort to understand why older students frequently dropped out of a large public university in the Midwest. Four variables from Bean and Metzner's model were deleted and…

The influence of financial aid on college student persistence was studied using causal modeling. The study population was 227 full-time freshmen, who enrolled in fall 1982 at a liberal arts college at a large commuter institution. All the students received financial aid. The model, which included background and academic variables, accounted for…

This study extended the knowledge of the explanatory power of Tinto's theoretical model of college persistence/withdrawal through a multi-institutional validation. Path analysis was used to test the model overall and at three different groupings of postsecondary institutions: four-year, predominantly residential; and four-year, and two-year,…

The validity of Tinto's model of college withdrawal was investigated with 100 4-year public college women and 165 2-year private college women. Institutional commitment was most directly affected by social integration. This commitment was seen as pivotal to retention. (IAH)

The factors that determine course completion and achievement in college distance education were investigated using a sample of 25 courses offered through the Independent Learning Program at the Pennsylvania State University. The main objective was to develop a multivariate model to explain and predict outcomes of distance education. Additional…

Path analysis was used to explore the relationships among a number of variables related to student persistence. The subjects were freshmen in the College of Liberal Arts, University of Minnesota. Variables that showed the largest total effects on persistence were college grade-point average and high school rank. (Author/MLW)

Characteristics and attendance patterns of persisters and dropouts from college and vocational/technical schools were studied, and a model of the persistence process was tested using data from the National Longitudinal Study (NLS), which surveyed high school seniors in 1972, with followup surveys in 1973 and 1974. Student persistence was defined…

Data from the National Longitudinal Study of the High School Class of 1972 (NLS) including the 1976 follow-up were used to examine the effects of interrupting or delaying school attendance on the eventual educational attainment of white male students. Background variables include socioeconomic and other family characteristics. Achievement test…

To track student progress and develop a model of the total academic process at Prince George's Community College (PGCC), the Office of Institutional Research and Analysis acquired 5 years of background, behavioral, and outcome data for a cohort of first-time students entering the college. The academic process was broken down into three divisions:…

Researchers used cross-sectional survey research to reexamine the problem of adult persistence within undergraduate degree programs. They identified a variable--perceived stress--that permitted a richer explanation of the process of student persistence. A model was presented that examined the attitudinal and behavioral impacts of unmet need,…