Despite high college expectations and enrollments among young people, their trajectories through higher education have become increasingly complex. Even after initially starting as "traditional" students, many college graduates are only able to complete a bachelor's degree after a series of stops and starts across multiple institutions.…

While the number of individuals in the United States between the ages of 25-44 with a bachelor's degree has been increasing, so too has the number of individuals who have started college and dropped out. Higher education has numerous societal and individual benefits that are not being actualized because there are simply not enough individuals with…

The purpose of this study was to understand the motivating factors behind U.S. Army Signal Corps senior noncommissioned officers' decisions to pursue or not pursue a college education. This study also explored how senior leaders throughout the command perceived the roles and organizational benefits of college education to U.S. Army Signal Corps…

Despite the shift from elite to mass education, the odds of accessing university remain stacked in favour of those with a university-educated parent. Not only are first-generation students less likely to engage in higher education, but the dominant narrative surrounding their enrolment emphasises cultural deficiency, constructing individuals as…

This paper examines two contrasting creative methods; a drawing task and a LEGO building task used in a study exploring the gap between policy and practice in widening participation to higher education across two different types of university in England. These creative methods were used within 16 semi-structured interviews in seven universities to…

Across the United States, students have the opportunity to earn a Seal of Biliteracy (SoBL) when they graduate from high school. Awarded to students who demonstrate proficiency in two or more languages, the SoBL originated to confront English-only ideologies and promote multilingualism. But critics question the impact of the policy on students and…

Concerns of equity with respect to the community college model in East Asia persist in educational research. In this study, we described and analysed students' "lived experience" in community colleges in Hong Kong in terms of the "warming up" or "cooling out" of their educational desire. Semistructured interviews with…

Many students engage in cocurricular involvement experiences in college, and research on student involvement has suggested benefits for students in terms of college outcomes. Involvement has been positively associated with academic self-confidence (Berger & Milem, 2002), academic success and satisfaction (Webber, Krylow, & Zhang, 2013),…

Culturally Responsive Pedagogy (CRP) has become an emerging strategy for improving low-income communities' educational outcomes. This school-community-based ethnographic case study investigates CRP strategies for improving education outcomes in a Ghanaian rural Basic School. The data collection included student assignments, focus group…

Background: The transition of high school students to higher education can be an overwhelming experience which may impact on academic outcomes. Despite increases in access, course completion rates remain problematic in Chile. Students' expectations of higher education can play an important role in their decision-making, especially in terms of…

The purpose of this study was to examine veterans' educational intentions as well as the factors influencing their college choices. Individual interviews were conducted with 30 veterans separating from military service who were eligible for military educational benefits. Results indicated 80 percent of veterans planned to utilize their military…

This study draws from interviews of baby boomers (born between 1946 and 1965) enrolled in a traditional university programme. Interviews focussed on the mental, social and physical benefits of university education, exploring the aspirations of baby boomers as well as the social and academic barriers and costs they encountered. This qualitative…

What do students stand to gain from high-stakes, standardized testing? We consider answers to this question from the perspective of urban district leaders tasked with designing and overseeing the implementation of standardized testing policies. Results revealed variation in leaders' framing of and rationale for standardized testing with respect to…

College 101 is powerful Pre-College Opportunity Program (PCoP) designed to expose at-risk high school students to the benefits of post-secondary education, to motivate them to stay in school, and to help them envision a future that includes post-secondary education. The unique features of College 101 include that it is grounded in the pedagogical…

Many older learners are choosing to return to school to meet varying learning needs; some are returning to satisfy a lifelong desire to earn a college degree. The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine the motivation and experiences of adults aged 65 years or older who earned a bachelor's degree in retirement and their perceptions…