This study explored differences between career decision-making self-efficacy (CDMSE) and career barriers of students enrolled in applied technology programs compared to those enrolled in college transfer. Participants in the ex post facto cross-sectional survey included 787 students at a community college. The following research questions were…

School counselors should focus on helping underrepresented students access higher education in efforts to close achievement gaps. Limited information is available regarding how first-generation and ethnic minority students view school counseling efforts to promoting post-secondary opportunities. Participants in this study indicated school…

In recent years, community colleges have come into the spotlight nationally in terms of their potential to assist in the revitalization of the economy. This has resulted in an increased need for community colleges to understand more fully the factors that influence student persistence. The purpose of this quasi-experimental study was to…

Interventions such as the Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program (McNair Scholars Program) are among the national strategies for promoting doctoral degree attainment amongst first-generation college students from low socioeconomic backgrounds or groups underrepresented in graduate education. This study aimed to understand how…

This research study was specifically designed to examine the relationship of a learning communities program, as a standard treatment effect, on the academic performance and retention of college freshmen during the Fall 2008 through Fall 2011 academic semesters, and specifically for a university comprised of higher levels of underrepresented…

Limited research has been conducted on how students' experiences at the colleges in which they initially enroll factor into the decision of where to transfer once a decision to leave the initial institution is made. This study addresses the issue in a context of mattering and belonging among college students. The data analyzed for this qualitative…

This dissertation examines how eight urban high schools responded to mandates to raise graduation requirements in mathematics. The change process was complicated by challenges such as the conditions of poverty, lack of adequate financial support for schools, and large numbers of students who come to high school with inadequate preparation in…

The purpose of this quantitative research study was to observe if students' levels of Mathematics Self-Efficacy (MSE) had any effect on how they used resources available to them through an academic intervention and retention program. The sample size consisted of 81 students admitted to a four year university under the special criteria of…

A quantitative, correlational design was utilized in this study to examine the relationship between academic self-efficacy, racial identity, and the academic success of first-generation African American male college students at Predominantly White Institutions of higher education. The study comprised 89 first-generation African American male…

Only about 59 percent of full-time, first-time students at four-year institutions complete such a degree within six years at the same school. Completion rates are even lower for those starting part-time, or at less than four-year schools (and planning to transfer). Which social indicators--such as student engagement, enrollment status, and family…

Student persistence continues to be a topic of much research and discussion in higher education. Based on Bean and Eaton's (2000) psychological theory of persistence for its theoretical framework, this study examined the effect of students' demographic and background characteristics and students' self-perceptions on their…

Administrators at 4-year, public institutions of higher education commonly negotiate a balance between the oft-competing goals of access and excellence. This is heightened within minority-majority campuses, such as Hispanic-serving institutions (HSIs), serving substantial numbers of first-generation degree seekers and low-income students.…

This quantitative study explores the relationship between student perceptions of teacher nonverbal immediacy and student course retention as well as the relationship between student perceptions of teacher misbehaviors and student course retention within the context of an urban community college. Additionally, this study investigates the mediating…

This paper explores the possibilities of working with White, working-class teacher education students to explore the "complex social trajectory" (Reay in Women's Stud Int Forum 20(2):225-233, 1997a, p. 19) of class border crossing as they progress through college. Through analysis of a course that I have developed, "Education and the American…

The authors examined the effectiveness of a course designed to assist students in transitioning into a business major in achieving its learning outcomes in three areas: knowledge of the curriculum, utilization of the career center, and an appreciation of the value of and involvement in cocurricular activities. We collected data from 361 students…