Transgender and/or Nonbinary populations in the United States experience significant rates of harassment, discrimination, victimization, and psychological distress in nearly all aspects of life due to systemic stigmatization against those who violate societal gender norms. Such social disparities are often enacted through the environmental and…

The first goal of this study was to better understand the differences between rural and urban students' selection of academic program upon entering a public university in Pennsylvania. The second goal of this study was to better understand if particular academic programs impacted rural to urban migrations after graduating from the university. The…

Literature exploring first-generation college students is evolving to include the often-missed lived postsecondary experiences of first-generation immigrant college students of color. Research delving further into the nuanced postsecondary aspirations and experiences of those college students of color who are both first-generation and from an…

In this dissertation, I use data from Chile to study the determinants of schooling trajectories. Chapters 1 and 2 focus on higher education, Chapter 3 on secondary education, and Chapter 4 on teachers. Chapter 1 explores the role of a socio-emotional ability, self-efficacy, in understanding why students with comparable qualifications transit…

This qualitative study analyzed the attitudes and perceptions of Latino migrant students who were enrolled in the Project Based Research course, towards post-secondary STEM degrees. This study centered around ten Latino migrant students, 18-21 years of age who attended a Title I high school in South Texas. All participants took the Project Based…

At no other time in American history has the need for post-secondary educational attainment been so pervasively necessary. Since 2007, three in every four jobs created has required a bachelor's degree or higher. Such a prerequisite to fiscal viability occurs parallel with rising costs of college attendance, a nebulous financial aid process,…

In the United States, a postsecondary education is significant for economic success. The future job markets require advanced certifications in order to compete in the global market. The federal government emphasizes this importance with the completion goal to increase the number of college graduates by the year 2020. Community colleges have been…

This qualitative study, which uses a narrative research approach informed by Riessman's (2008) work, explores the "college choice" experience of seven adult students, age 25 and older, who pursue postsecondary education at a non-degree granting, less-than-two-year private for-profit institution in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. My…

The purpose of this narrative study is to understand the educational experiences of academically resilient, first-generation students from low-income backgrounds who demonstrate first-year success in college. Through a framework based on academic resilience, this study aims to provide a strengths-based exploration of the contributing factors that…

Although there has been legislation that has improved access for students with disabilities, many students are choosing not to pursue postsecondary education. The rate of postsecondary attendance for students with learning disabilities and attention disorders has increased, but they are still enrolling in postsecondary education less frequently…

Undocumented students' access to higher education has been an understudied topic, not due to lack of interest but because of difficulties in obtaining institutional approval for research and institutional concerns about student disclosure. While the exact number of undocumented persons in the United States is not known, it is estimated at 11.6…

The purpose of this study was to determine what opinions Gateway Technical College instructors had toward secondary and postsecondary program alignment. Student transition is critical to supporting the mission and vision of Gateway Technical College. The impetus for this study was twofold. First, the quality improvement process established at…

This study examines the critical role that teachers and institutional agents play in increasing access to college for low-income students. The study is an analysis of 23 student interviews of seniors from an urban high school. The researcher interviewed students at the end of their senior years who did not plan on going to college, planned on…

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…

An important number of high-school graduates start their post-secondary educational careers at academic 2-year colleges even though returns to graduation are negligible. However, the returns to transferring to 4-year colleges are large: academic 2-year colleges act as a "stepping stone" in which agents learn about themselves in a cheaper and less…