The choices available to high school seniors for post-secondary higher education are numerous. Each choice and destination providing a different education element and outcome for the potential student. Numerous choices exist outside of the standard traditional four-year university recommendation option that is often provided. This quantitative…

Youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) aspire to participate in a variety of activities after high school, such as attaining paid employment, enrolling in postsecondary education, being involved in their communities, living independently, and building friendships. However, complex and longstanding transition barriers require…

Rural students graduate from high school at higher rates but go to college at lower rate than their urban and suburban peers. To take on the educational attainment challenge for rural students, we need to know more about postsecondary encouragement programs. This study examined a pilot postsecondary encouragement program in 11 rural high schools…

Recent federal legislation mandates that college and career readiness be integrated into the curriculum for all high school students (National Center for Education Achievement, n.d.). To support economic growth, educated individuals must be available within an industry and local area (Harvey et al., 2019). Therefore, "[t]he essence of college…

Background: Some education programs' early positive effects disappear over time. Other programs have unanticipated positive long-term effects. Foundations have warned of the dangers of putting too much weight on in-program effects, which "often fade over time." The U.S. Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences (IES) even…

Efforts to increase educational attainment are supported by federal, state, and local policy, practice, and support; national non-profits; and the business sector as it strives to fill labor gaps. In North Carolina, myFutureNC is working to ensure that by 2030, 2 million North Carolinians have a high-quality credential or postsecondary degree.…

Students with disabilities have been shown to be less ready for college and career when they leave high school than students without disabilities. Secondary transition is the process of a student with disabilities moving from school to post-school settings. Research has shown that participation in career and technical education (CTE) while still…

The post high school transition for males with a specific learning disability (SLD) can be challenging. Unemployment among persons with disabilities was markedly higher than those without. There was also mounting evidence that showed that persons with disabilities had difficulties adjusting to post-secondary environments. For male students with…

This brief is the first in a series of three that report the findings of a study examining promising practices for college and career access providers working in North Carolina (NC) high schools. This brief will focus on how these different organizations communicate, collaborate, and share information when working in the same school. The Belk…

States have introduced a range of strategies and legislative policies aimed at increasing college matriculation through readiness strategies and initiatives that offer strong collaboration between secondary and postsecondary education. Early college high school (ECHS) models are one-way that colleges, primarily community colleges, can serve…

The education pipeline is characterized by a series of well-defined and extensively documented transitions. From preschool to kindergarten, elementary to middle to high school, and college to work, students at multiple stages of human development experience transitions that shape their downstream outcomes. In this dissertation, I use…

We use detailed survey data linked to administrative records from secondary schools in England to investigate potential channels contributing to the socio-economic gap in post-compulsory educational aspirations. We investigate the role of experiences and attitudes including the provision of information, advice and guidance (IAG), bullying…

A significant percentage of youth are not pursuing any form of post-secondary education (PSE). Using a mixed-method approach, I sought to understand what barriers youth experienced to access PSE. My research confirmed that barriers to access PSE for youth from family income groups of less than $80,000, identified in early research by Corak (2013),…

First-generation college students, who are often low-income or from minoritized backgrounds, face many challenges when they enter college. As they begin the college search process, they may seek support from spaces outside of their families to understand and find information. This study used in-depth interviews with first- and second-year…

Researchers and practitioners within the context of higher education are charged with the responsibility of providing comprehensive support programs and facilitating multifaceted growth of student-athletes as they develop and prepare for a meaningful life and career roles after sport. This research places an emphasis on understanding the career…