It has been reported that former foster care alumni aspire to attend college and graduate. However, the intent of those aspirations and the reality of those aspirations differ greatly. Many former foster care alumni do not make it to graduation. The purpose of this case study is to explore how an exemplar support program helps their former foster…

Texas has been declining compared to many other states and foreign nations in supplying an educated workforce needed to compete in a global economy. The 60x30TX plan, if successful, is expected to reverse Texas' decline and prevent a future of diminished incomes, opportunities, and resources. The present study evaluates steps a medium-sized…

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the factors that influence the college choice process for first-generation, low-income, and academically at-risk students in a TRIO Upward Bound program. The literature review theoretically explores the multi-level factors with Perna's college choice model, social construction theory, and Bourdieu's social,…

The purpose of this research was to examine the relationship between early career and college interventions and college-going self-efficacy of suburban fourth and fifth grade students. This study further explored how a suburban school district addressed challenges and evaluated the perceptions of the system's strategies and implementation of a…

An increasing number of high needs high school students (defined as students with little or no parent support, first generation potential college students, or students living with someone other than their biological parents) are graduating from high school, but not attending a post-secondary institution. This study focused on the effects that a…

The purpose of this study was to examine the experiences of students enrolled in a basic skills math class at a California community college and the role of the peer model in informing their college-going behaviors. There is significant interest in increasing the number of students who complete basic skills courses and make progress towards a…

This dissertation consists of three chapters that examine the effects of school and students improvement interventions. The first chapter investigates whether, for whom, and under which conditions high school mathematics and science course graduation requirements (CGRs) affect student achievement and educational attainment. Drawing on data from…

The Texas Statewide Youth Leadership Forum (TXYLF) provides self-advocacy training to high school youths with disabilities. TXYLF is an enhanced version of the Youth Leadership Forum (YLF) that is comprised of an initial five day training, a nine month support phase, regional YLFs, and the opportunity for participants to return to the five day…

Poverty in the US is growing at an alarming rate. The current economic climate demands higher education to embrace the economic diversity of all students and to prepare them, regardless of economic class, for a globally competitive workplace. Unfortunately, the higher education community is not as adept at serving low-income students, as it is…

A study of "at risk" high school youth revealed how student participation in the Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) program positively affected student achievement and increased college aspirations and entrance rates. The experiences of the students, teachers, and administrators were examined using a case study approach…

Domestic violence is a prevalent occurring phenomenon not only within the United States but in other countries as well. Research has just begun to explore the impact domestic violence has on the career paths of survivors and has made limited exploration of the impact domestic violence, in general, has on ethnic minorities. The purpose of this…

The school accountability movement has led to a marked increase in the use of standardized test scores to measure school and teacher productivity, yet little is known about the correlation between test score gains and improvements in long-term outcomes. In the first chapter of my dissertation, I study the impact of a school choice policy in…

This study examined the relationship between state policies mandating increased mathematics credits for high school graduation and access to postsecondary education. The purpose of this study was to determine if the state policy intervention of increasing high school mathematics requirements was related to a higher likelihood that students would…