Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Educator pipeline'

Degree completion has been a topic of debate in higher education institutions. Although efforts have been made to raise the rate of completion, the number of students completing college remains low. Low rates may lead to wasted time and money as students often take unnecessary coursework as a result of not having a well-developed plan for completion. To combat this problem, programs have been implemented at community colleges that are designed to meet student needs, develop tailored educational plans, and help students set goals. One such program is the Central Valley Promise (CVP) program, which offers a solution that could meet the specific needs students of the Central Valley of California. Upon meeting the entrance requirements, students are eligible to receive free tuition for one semester and the promise of support to completion for all students. Because CVP has the potential to affect many incoming students, it was important to examine whether it is achieving its goal. This study sought to gain understanding of student transition and career readiness. A survey was given to 402 CVP students during their first semester of college. A comparison group of 112 students also received the survey. All participants were incoming community college freshmen. Also, observations were conducted during three CVP events. Findings included an increased satisfaction and confidence level in academic performance, social life, and choosing a college major among CVP students. Recommendations include continued support for students, adding a mentorship component, and hiring faculty to exclusively work with CVP students.

This quantitative study examined the transfer and degree aspirations of African-American and Latino males enrolled in California community colleges. Carter's (2002) theoretical and conceptual framework on the degree aspirations of African-American and Latino students was utilized to frame this study. Using secondary data from CCSSE, t-tests, factor analyses and logistic regression analyses were completed to compare the experiences of African American and Latino males and predict their transfer and degree aspirations. Findings include that self-reported data on GPA, obtaining or updating job skills, changing careers, and institutional size were predictors of associate degree aspirations. For the outcome transfer aspirations, predictors were race, sources used to pay for their tuition, and experiences that contributed to their academic, cognitive, and technical skills at the community college. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.

Latinas/os represent the largest ethnic group in California and are under-represented in higher education. Latina/o student college completion rates are the lowest of any racial or ethnic group, including Whites. This study used a critical race theoretical lens to explore the experiences of 14 Latina/o community college students who were pushed out of the transfer path. Storytelling served as the foundation of this study to understand and give voice to Latina/o students' transfer path experiences. Interview data from all participants were analyzed to extract codes and develop themes within the stories. Demographic surveys were evaluated to identify student characteristics.

Findings revealed that Latina/o students were pushed out of the transfer path at four critical points: Students were pushed out as they found themselves on academic or progress probation, resulting in conditional financial aid suspensions. Some students became discouraged as they figured out the amount of courses necessary to become transfer ready. Other students attempted to transition to transferable coursework, but they were unable to pass developmental math courses. Students also reported being pushed out as they learned about the immense amount of transfer requirements, program options, and costs, which created transfer information paralysis.

Latina/o students reported feeling emotional relief after being pushed out of the transfer pathway. Earning an associate's degree or certificate was an achievable goal and students felt a sense of academic accomplishment. Students also believed that an associate's degree was a "stepping stone" on their journey through the educational pipeline.

Students noted race, class, and gender stereotyped experiences that adversely affected their transfer path experiences. Negative perceptions about their race impacted their academic performance. Erratic and limited resources-including suspension from financial aid-proved harmful to their ability to remain on the transfer path. Gender role expectations obstructed Latina women and propelled Latino men on the transfer pathway.

The findings suggest that Latina/o students were disadvantaged by community college policies and procedures. Yet, they remained committed to their educational goals. Further investigation of Latina/o student community college experiences is necessary to develop policies, procedures, and practices that will serve to strengthen their educational pathways.

Although women obtain degrees in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) at lower rates than their male counterparts, this difference does not alone account for the similarly large disparity of men and women working in STEM jobs. Using data from the American Community Survey for 2015, I run a survey of models, including linear and logistic regressions as well as propensity matching, to investigate the extent to which women are underrepresented, even after accounting for education. The results show that for women, the benefit of a STEM degree on STEM job placement rates is significantly lower than it is for their male counterparts; in some estimates, the effect is halved. The models diverge somewhat on the extent to which this is correlated with a lower baseline of women without STEM degrees working STEM jobs (compared to similar men), but all provide grounds to reject the notion that workforce disparity is attributable solely or even primarily to education.

This study applies self-efficacy theory from research on career-decision making to understand what influences underrepresented students' decision to enter the student affairs profession. The purpose of the study was to determine how underrepresented students choose student affairs as a profession. The study focused on undergraduate students who participated in the NASPA Undergraduate Fellows Program (NUFP). This mixed methods study used data from previously collected by NASPA and conducted individual interviews of Fellows who participated in the program between the years of 2008 through 2012. Explanatory research methodology was used to analyze what influences and factors contributed to underrepresented students entering student affairs. Findings from this study indicate that involvement in co-curricular activities, participation in NUFP, and influence from mentors act as socialization to effect underrepresented students to enter the student affairs profession. Further analysis reveal that cultural agents who affirm student's cultural heritage have a significant impact on students' choosing student affairs. The study provides insight into closing the gap between the number of underrepresented students attending higher education and the ethnic diversity of the student affairs profession.

Researchers are learning how to prevent the projected United States shortage of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) professionals by retaining more undergraduates in STEM majors. Specifically, since undergraduates generally want to give back to their communities, they experience heightened science career motivation once they "fit" their communal goals with their views of science careers. However, testing the quality of fit is challenging because individuals differ in communal goals and views of science. For the present study, therefore, a person-centered analytical approach was used to identify groups of STEM undergraduates defined by combinations of communal goal endorsement and perceived communal goal affordances. Four groups were identified: Low Incongruent, Moderately Low Incongruent, Average Congruent, and Moderately High Incongruent. Results showed that undergraduates were optimally motivated when both communal goal endorsement and perceived communal goal affordances were moderately high and incongruent. Results also showed that gender and cultural identity could predict group membership.

Poor academic performance and low academic aspirations can lead to involvement with the criminal justice system. Therefore, schools play an important role in mitigating risk factors as they create a supportive, accessible opportunity for intervention delivery. The population impacted most by academic zero-tolerance punishments are African-American students, whose current suspension rate is two to five times that of their White counterparts. This disproportionate representation also exists within the juvenile justice system, with African-American youths almost five times more likely to be detained than White youths. Therefore, finding effective school-based treatment interventions is essential to reducing disproportionate minority punishment and confinement. In order to address this need, a randomized controlled trial was conducted to examine the effectiveness of Rational Emotive Education (REE), a REBT school-based intervention, on the reduction of disruptive behavior amongst at-risk, male, African-American adolescents. Nineteen participants were assigned to either the treatment or the control condition. Data measuring disruptive behavior, anxiety, depression, anger, self-concept, and school engagement was collected for both groups pre-and post-intervention. Overall the results of the study revealed contradictory findings. Although participants assigned to the REE intervention saw a larger reduction in disruptive behavior over the course of treatment than the control group, on self-report measures they reported an increase in symptoms related to depression, anxiety, anger and a decrease in self-concept and school engagement. Treatment implications are discussed.

Focusing on Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) literacy is a national priority for the United States. As competition increases internationally for scientific and technological innovations, the United States is concentrating on building its STEM capacity (Stephens, 2011). Despite the numerous STEM reform efforts there continues to be a decline in STEM graduates and STEM competencies (McNally, 2012; Langdon, Mckittrick, Beede, Doms, & Khan, 2011; Herschback, 2011). With attention focused on increasing STEM college majors and occupations among the student population, the current research investigation centered on the role of parent aspirations, student self-beliefs, and activities outside the classroom to determine the outcome of middle and high school students choosing a STEM college major. Research suggested that students formulate their degree attainment during their middle and high school years, and even earlier (Roach, 2006; Maltese & Tai, 2011); therefore, it was logical to investigate STEM persistence during middle and high school years.

The study analyzed NELS:88, a longitudinal national public data set created by the National Center for Educational Statistics that used 12,144 participants. The students' self-reported data spanned over a 12-year period. Students completed five surveys in the NELS:88 data collection (NCES, 2011). Binary and multivariate logistical regressions determined if activities outside the classroom, parent aspirations, and student self-beliefs influenced STEM college majors. Conclusions of the study found significant relationships between the variables and STEM persistence. Individuals who participated in STEM activities after school were more likely to major in STEM (p<.001,Exp(B)=1.106). There was a significant positive relationship between parent aspirations and increased odds of choosing a STEM major (p<.0001, Exp(B)=1.041). There was a significant relationship between student self-beliefs and choosing a STEM major as students with higher self-beliefs had a decreased odds of choosing a non-STEM major (p<.05, Exp(B)=.988). When all three variables were considered together, self-beliefs were no longer significant (p<.166) but parent aspirations, (p<.0001, Exp(B)=1.034) and activities outside of the classroom (p<.0001, Exp(B)=1.097), both significantly predicted STEM participation.

The results of the research inform policy makers in regard to funding decisions and the development of programs, especially ones that occur outside of the school day. The analysis may guide decisions for school administrators on how to influence student retention within the STEM pipeline. The findings add to existing research and provide a better understanding of predictors affecting student persistence in STEM.

This research investigates science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) high school opportunity structures, including student experiences with math and science course sequences and progress, college guidance and counseling, and STEM extracurricular activities (Weis and Eisenhart, 2009), specifically related to STEM fields and career and college choice, for top-performing math and science students. Differences in these structures and processes as they play out in two representative high schools that vary by social class and racial/ethnic makeup are examined. This comparative ethnography includes 36 school and classroom observations, 56 semi-structured individual interviews, and a review of relevant documents, all gathered during the focal students' junior year of high school.

Three data chapters are presented, discussing three distinct, yet interconnected themes. In the first, I examine the ways in which chronic attendance problems and classroom distractions negatively impact math and science instruction time and lead to an instruction (time) deficit. In the second, I compare the math and science course and extra-curricular offerings at each school, and discuss the significant differences between sites regarding available STEM exposure and experience, also known as "STEM educational dose" (Wai, et al., 2010). In the third, I investigate available guidance counseling services and STEM and college-linking at each site. Perceived failures in the counseling services available are discussed.

This dissertation is grounded in the literature on differences in academic achievement based on school setting, the nature/distribution of knowledge based on social class, and STEM opportunity structures. The concepts of "social capital" and "STEM capital" are engaged throughout.

Ultimately, I argue through this dissertation that segregation by race, and most importantly social class, both between and within districts, damages the STEM pipeline for high-performing math and science students located in high-poverty, low-performing schools. I further argue that both federal and state accountability-based school reform efforts are failing to improve outcomes for students with proficiency and interest in STEM learning and STEM fields, and in fact, these reforms are harming top performing students and high school STEM opportunity structures. Recommendations for changes in policy and practice, and for further research, are provided.

The workforce gap remains for women and underrepresented minorities in science technology, engineering, and mathematics careers. There are several program initiatives to help address this gap especially long-term STEM enrichment programs. There is a vast amount of literature on STEM enrichment programs, but limited information on the long-term impacts. The purpose of this qualitative, phenomenological study was to understand the experiences of young women and URMS who participated in long-term STEM enrichment programs and the impact those programs had on their STEM path. The 11 adult female participants were at various stages of their STEM journey from entering college to STEM careers. The phenomenological approach was used to gain a rich contextual understanding of their lived experiences. This study was framed through Bronfenbrenner’s (2005) bioecological model by identifying the macro- and microsystems of the participants’ experiences and then exploring the impact of those systems. Through the qualitative analysis 10 themes emerged that represent the participants’ experiences: (1) STEM enrichment programs and staff created a place where participants felt welcomed and valued; (2) STEM enrichment programs challenged and supported participants to move outside their comfort zones; (3) STEM enrichment programs provided opportunities for both cognitive and non-cognitive skills development; (4) Family involvement of STEM enrichment programs ranged from low to high engagement (5) Participants experienced non-supportive educators along their journey while STEM enrichment programs countered those experiences; (6) Participants reflected that K-12 early exposure to STEM is critical for a STEM career path; (7) STEM enrichment program involvement provided both short-term and long-term benefits; (8) STEM enrichment programs’ role models and mentors were seen as heroes and provided inspiration, which created a pipeline of giving back; (9) Participants did not seek out STEM programs but pursued STEM involvement because of external encouragement; (10) Issues related to gender and race still prevalent, but STEM enrichment programs provided support and confidence for participants in non-diverse settings. Implications, recommendations, and suggestions for future research are also presented.

The purpose of this study is to understand how African-American males enrolled in middle school in Los Angeles County experienced and understood the application of the California educational code regarding discipline. Disproportionate numbers of African-American students are being suspended and expelled from public schools. This overreliance on exclusionary punishment has led to the School-to-Prison Pipeline, and the statistics related to suspension rates from school mirror that of the criminal justice system. This study captures the voices of students who are consistently referred to the office by classroom teachers in order to understand how they perceive and articulate their experiences with the school disciplinary process and how those experiences impact their academic and personal lives. Findings indicate that participants want to do well in school. The participants described many of the behaviors that triggered an office referral as trivial, such as being tardy to class, talking, or not doing their work. When their infractions were more serious, students stated that they acted out because the teacher had been disrespected or antagonized them. More than anything, participants want teachers to listen to them and to respect them, and they want to be active participants in their learning.