This study examines the experiences that 10 Latino recent undergraduate students reported having at a large midwestern university. Five persisted through graduation, and five stopped out. Both groups described similar home environments, a lack of social integration, and feelings of academic unpreparedness. Differences among groups were academic…

This article deals with the effect of multiculturalism on diversity outcomes among students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities. This investigation examines the multiculturalism literature, as well as the literature specific to HBCUs, in an attempt to answer the question: What is the effect of multiculturalism on diversity outcomes of…

As interest in expanding the number of high quality charter schools available to parents and students has grown, policy makers have increased their focus on identifying and providing support to new charter programs that have the potential to improve student outcomes and satisfy parent and student needs. Since 1994, the U.S. Department of Education…

This paper explores the concepts, and highlights the similarities, of the freshman and senior year experiences, applies these to theoretical transition and socialization models, discusses frameworks, and presents enhancement interventions. A section on freshman and senior year experiences looks at the common focus currently on the entering student…

A study with 101 college freshmen indicates that freshman experience promotes increasing intellectual complexity for both sexes, but more for males than females. Analysis of student expectations and perceptions of environments shows subtle differences that may account for differential growth, suggesting some approaches to creating equitable…

A study of data from 4,784 1971 college freshmen tests partially supports the hypothesis that college origins and college experiences are more likely to be influential on later occupational status for students entering law than for the student population as a whole. (MSE)

Uses interviews with approximately 200 middle school students to describe the instructional differences they face each day and the effects of these differences on what they learn. These observations suggest that reform efforts will be more successful if they take advantage of staff within the system ("scaling within") to create…

Examines the relationship of feeder patterns, or transition between levels of schooling, students follow from middle to high school with their academic success as freshman. Finds that students who excelled in middle school benefited from attending the same high school as their eighth-grade classmates, while those struggling benefited from…

A study investigated the experience of being a gifted student at a public residential high school by using ethnographic and phenomenological inquiry. The social system that emerged, one that the students judged as atypical, is described. Contextual factors are presented in an effort to understand the students' experience. (Contains references.)…

Examines the effects of school size on 945 middle school students' perception of school satisfaction, teacher support, and school safety using data from a national probability sample. Findings suggest that the negative relationship between school size and student outcomes may be from the effect of high enrollments on the school environment.…

The primary objective of this article is to examine and synthesize the research literature conducted on the factors that influence African-American students' retention in higher education. Recommendations for future research were discussed. Programmatic implications of this integrative review for higher education personnel and student affairs…

Drawing on six years of historical research, this article presents a theoretical representation of the social mechanisms at work in the 30-year history of an ethnically diverse, public, magnet arts high school in an urban U.S. school district. Students' sense of belonging has been a significant factor in creation and maintenance of social capital…

This paper draws on Matthew's story to illustrate the conflicting discourses of being a boy and being a student. Matthew is 12 years old and in Grade Six, his final year at Banrock Primary (a K-6 Australian State School). School is far from a happy place for Matthew--his tearful accounts of his combative relationships with his peers and his…

A sample of 3,484 incoming first-year students at a large, mid-Atlantic University were surveyed to assess a variety of attitudinal and behavioral variables pertinent to the college experience. The current study focused on how student value system orientation, or the degree to which values are open or closed, related to key aspects of college…

In this article, the author pursues to answer the query whether the impact and relevance of HBCUs has diminished over the past thirty years or not. He examines two research questions: (1) How do four African-American professors who self-identify as mentors at a highly-selective PWI describe and understand their formative experiences as they relate…