This dissertation, titled "Families, Culture, Community: Expanding Understanding of What Catalyzes Student Success in a Pre-College Upward Bound Program," investigates the critical factors influencing student success in the Upward Bound program through a funds of knowledge framework (Moll et al., 1992; Rios-Aguilar & Kiyama, 2012).…

Students from rural communities undertake postsecondary education at rates lower than their counterparts from urban and suburban communities, and mathematics is a known gatekeeper along the pipeline toward a college degree. This study investigated the mathematics identity formation of students from a rural school who were college-bound to…

The purpose of this study was to explore the rural schooling experience of ten high school students attending a small high school located in a rural county in Indiana regarding college and postsecondary aspirations. Specifically, do they have a positive, negative, or neutral view of college? Who or what is influencing their perceptions, values,…

Previous studies on correctional education have focused on recidivism. There is limited research from a qualitative perspective on the perceptions of education prior to incarceration. This constructivist narratological case study sought to explore the lived experiences of six former inmates, four African American and two Mexican American from a…

Ensuring smooth transitions to college may be difficult for the children of immigrants since their families are likely unfamiliar with the U.S. system of higher education, which is horizontally stratified and requires a number of steps before admission. Bridging social science literature on immigrant assimilation, cultural, social, and human…

This study describes the college choice experiences of high school students eligible for the Pittsburgh Promise, a place-based merit-aid scholarship. The Pittsburgh Promise provides scholarships of up to $10,000 to eligible students graduating from Pittsburgh public and charter schools who enroll at postsecondary institutions within the…

Compared to urban/suburban secondary school students, traditionally underrepresented students in rural areas often do not enroll or attend 4-year colleges and universities because of limited high school resources. To address this problem, higher education experts have suggested that high school faculty may serve as catalysts to encourage increased…

The purpose of this body of work was to examine barriers that lead to high school non-completion for African-American males and to propose strategies to better support this group. Specifically, it examined how African-American male high school graduates vary from African-American male non-graduates. Across personal and environmental factors, this…

Many educators believe that the path to a better future is a college education. Initiatives that promote college-going cultures are quite commonplace in many public high schools with some offering elective college-prep support programs like Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID). Yet, certain groups of students are not taking advantage of…

Native American Nations have perpetually had the highest rates of poverty and unemployment and the lowest per capita income of any ethnic population in the United States. Additionally, American Indian students have the highest high school dropout rates and lowest academic performance rates as well as the lowest college admission and retention…