This dissertation consists of three essays on adolescents' post secondary education choices and labor market returns. The first chapter analyzes returns to selectivity of four-year colleges by different post-bachelor's degree schooling paths. The second chapter documents the role of family income in college application and enrollment…

This study examines motivations to quit smoking within the theoretical context of self-theories (Dweck, 2000). It investigates whether self-theories play a significant predictive role in motivating adults to quit smoking. A convenience sample of 197 adult current smokers and ex-smokers in northeast Ohio completed on line or paper versions of the…

The number of students entering universities in Lebanon has steadily increased in the past ten years. This trend makes it imperative that the different stakeholders, like students, parents, schools, universities, and education officials, understand what influences the decision of a student to choose a specific college. Understanding these factors…

First generation college students are a diverse group of students who enter college with unique challenges and varying abilities. Understanding the college experience for first generation students involves an examination of their background characteristics as well as the barriers and supports that impact their college success. This study explores…

While college campuses nationwide continue to grow in diversity with increased enrollment of students from minority backgrounds, national patterns continue to reveal educational inequities in the retention rates of racial/ethnic minorities. Additionally, socioeconomic factors of family income and parental educational level further complicate…

The purpose of this mixed methods study was to explore salient nonacademic factors related to social, economic, and cultural aspects together with traditional academic factors that influenced college retention. The study design employed a mixed-methods sequential explanatory method design, collecting quantitative data for correlation and…

This dissertation examines two related questions. First, it estimates the effect of growth in the demand for skilled and unskilled labor on rural household incomes and the rural wage structure. Second, it examines the effect of growth in household incomes and in labor market returns to education on household educational investment. The…

Only recently have school districts across the nation begun to offer Algebra I to all eighth grade students. Currently, most eighth grade Algebra I curriculum does not have a national consistent focus of topics or level of rigor. A key issue of implementing Algebra I in eighth grade is defining national Algebra I concepts and skills that students…

This quantitative study examined the association between classroom instruction and students' attitudes towards mathematics at the secondary level. Data were collected through a Likert-type survey of Hope High School students and then analyzed for statistical significance by utilizing descriptive statistics, tests of significance, and correlation…

Peer victimization is a serious social problem that can negatively affect a child's psychosocial development and school adjustment, and may have lasting effects for victims. Previous studies on peer victimization have suggested that children with disabilities (CWD) are likely to be more frequent targets of peer victimization. This longitudinal…

Studies that have investigated college choice factors for high-achieving students repeatedly cite academic reputation as one of the top indicators of choice but have not indicated why some high-achieving students choose to attend universities with a less prestigious reputation than the more highly prestigious options available to them. The purpose…

The purpose of this study was to analyze the impact of the socioeconomic factors of parent education level and family income on the academic achievement of students of Hispanic and white ethnicities. Scaled scores from the 2009 administration of the California Standards Tests in English language arts and mathematics and matched demographic…

Healthful living has been a cornerstone of Seventh-day Adventist belief and practice almost from the very beginning of the church's history. The problem was that no one had studied the role healthful practices play in Seventh-day Adventist education using the entire Seventh-day Adventist student population. The correlations between four aspects of…

The purpose of this study is to develop a preadmission predictive model of student success for prospective first-time African American college applicants at a predominately White four-year public institution within the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education. This model will use two types of variables. They are (a) cognitive variables (i.e.,…

What are the socioeconomic implications of the time allocation decisions made by low-income adolescents? The way adolescents allocate their time between schooling, labor and leisure has important implications for their education attainment, college aspirations, job opportunities and future earnings. This study focuses on adolescents and young…