High school counselors support students across three areas or domains: academic, socioemotional, and college and career development. Growing confusion and tensions around the time and responsibilities of school counselors have accompanied ever-evolving changes with their roles and coincided with continual efforts to address the K-12 and potential…

High school counselors support students across three areas or domains: academic, socio-emotional, and college and career development. Growing confusion and tensions around the time and responsibilities of school counselors have accompanied ever-evolving changes with their roles and coincided with continual efforts to address the K-12 and potential…

The purpose of this quasi-mixed methods study was to explore how African American males' psychosocial factors impacted their motivation to pursue a postsecondary education and if differences existed between the demographic variables and external psychosocial factors of African American males who pursued a postsecondary education and those who did…

Academic tracking has long been a subject of debate due to its potential impact on educational equity, with students who are tracked highly receiving a higher quality education in comparison to students tracked lowly. These disparities in education quality may be affecting students' outcomes, as it has been demonstrated that the short-term…

This intrinsic case study investigated the experiences of select low-income and first-generation students who participated in the Upward Bound program throughout high school to understand how participation influenced enrollment at a postsecondary institution. Two theoretical frameworks guided this research study: Astin's (1984) I-E-O model and…

The low number of California Native American students, both rural and urban, graduating A through G ready prompted this study. Using a qualitative and Indigenous research approach, the research questions that guided this study were: (1) What are the perspectives and beliefs about postsecondary education among a group of Native American students at…

An insufficiency of research exists concerning active-duty enlisted soldiers pursuing education beyond a high school diploma. Although Army leaders and the American people support higher education, only 15.9% of active-duty enlisted soldiers have an education past a high school diploma. The purpose of this study was to explore the interpretations…

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,…

In the United States, African-American men are dominant in the entertainment industry mainly in sports and music. However, their success in entertainment does not translate to education. Many Black men grow up not having a positive experience in education, thus they do not see its value. However, many see the value in striving after a false sense…

Purpose: The purpose of this ethnographic study was to investigate and describe the secondary school supports, experiences, and exposures of students with intellectual disabilities participating in post-secondary education settings in southern California, that were designed based on the Think College Standards-Based Conceptual Framework for…

The continual rise of student loan debt seems to show the world that students are willing to do whatever it takes to become successful in life. However, when they have completed the requirement for the degree many question if the whole journey was worth it. The purpose of this quantitative causal-comparative study was to examine the potential…

In the 1970s, a person could obtain employment in the United States with little to no high school education, but in 2007, most jobs started to require some form of postsecondary education. This trend continues today. Fewer students are pursuing postsecondary education after graduating from high school. Those without some postsecondary education…

Women remain underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) at all levels of higher education, which has become a concern in the competitive global marketplace. Using both quantitative and qualitative analysis, this dissertation sought to learn more about how the campus climate and self-concept influence the degree…

While there have been steady increases in postsecondary education attendance by students with learning disabilities (LD), limited research has examined secondary schooling factors that may affect and promote their postsecondary educational aspirations and enrollment. Drawing on a sample of 370 students with LD from the National Longitudinal…

While the growth of the Hispanic population in the United States is outpacing other ethnicities, college enrollment and graduation rates of Hispanic students continue to lag behind other groups. This longitudinal, qualitative case study explored when, how, and why a sample of Hispanic high school seniors at a large high school in North Central…