This is a quantitative correlational study of the relationship between adolescent extracurricular activities and college persistence within a theoretical framework of Bandura's self-efficacy theory. The study utilized a sample of 2,300 participants from a 27-year national longitudinal study of adolescent health. The study found a significant…

South Korea implemented many-pronged educational reforms, notably to transition from heavy reliance on a high-stakes standardised test to more diversified assessment for university admissions. Nonetheless, this effort created another arena of competition towards meritocratic credentials--such as academic publications. The South Korean government,…

This project examined the experiences of six Ethnic Studies students who simultaneously engaged in two youth participatory action research (YPAR) projects, one in school and one out of school. The in-school project was situated within an urban high school that had a predominantly Latinx student population. The research explored the relationship…

Although the purpose of this qualitative descriptive phenomenological study was to investigate how low-socioeconomic high school graduates describe their lived experiences in secondary schools and how their experiences influence them to graduate from high school and enroll in college. A purposeful sampling protocol was utilized to select 12…

This qualitative descriptive study explored the college preparatory experiences of African American male students who participated in a Northwest Louisiana TRiO Upward Bound program before college enrollment. Specifically, the students in this study perceived that TRiO Upward Bound programming influenced their college readiness and enrollment. The…

This qualitative case study examined the effect of writing sessions, conducted at a university literacy festival, on the construction of college admission essays. Sessions were conducted by authors of multicultural young adult literature and university writing center staff and students. Each session focused on helping 132 high school students from…

The number of students with ASD also identified as academically talented has been increasing over the last few decades. Unfortunately, little empirical research exists about this population of students. In this qualitative study, 40 college and university students with ASD who were identified as academically advanced and talented and enrolled in…

A mixed methods evaluative case study approach using an advocacy lens was used in this study to measure the college-going cultural capital of students actively involved in a college-preparatory program (active case), as compared to those who were not (passive case). Both similar and differing perspectives regarding academic and non-academic…

This study illuminates how common holistic admissions practices at so-called "elite" colleges and universities favor high-SES, high wealth applicants through the ways they define and consider "exceptional" performance in extracurricular activities. While many studies have established advantages to high-income applicants based…

This study described the lived experiences of fifteen African American male college students and their perception of their high school academics. The purpose of this qualitative study was to describe the lived experiences of African American male college students on the factors promoting and inhibiting their academic achievement. In addition, this…

This study considers whether participation in several out-of-class high school experiences increased the odds that a student would aspire to earn a bachelor's degree, whether these relationships were moderated by the student's race/ethnicity or socioeconomic status, and whether these experiences, considered together, had a cumulative influence on…

This study explores how extracurricular activities experiences affect students' leadership development outcomes. The current status of students' experiences of extracurricular activities and leadership development outcomes identified. Also, it analyzed the correlation, as well as how they contribute to the college students' leadership. Lastly, the…

A mixed methods evaluative case study approach using an advocacy lens was used in this study to measure the college-going cultural capital of students actively involved in a college-preparatory program (active case), as compared to those who were not (passive case). Both similar and differing perspectives regarding academic and non-academic…

This study examines how extracurricular activity experiences affect students' leadership development outcomes. Students' leadership development outcomes are analyzed depend on general characteristics and collegiate/pre-collegiate experiences of extracurricular activities. The correlation to the individual, group, and community values of leadership…

Leadership talent development has been identified as a priority in national and state standards for gifted education. However, leadership programs in schools are not always supported by mandates or funding in individual states and implementation is not always feasible within the constraints of local gifted service models. Although some research…