ERIC Number: EJ1243722
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2020-Apr
Pages: 26
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0091-5521
EISSN: N/A
Where to Go from Here? Toward a Model of 2-Year College Students' Postsecondary Pathway Selection
Wickersham, Kelly R.
Community College Review, v48 n2 p107-132 Apr 2020
Objective: Empirical work explaining student mobility, particularly postsecondary pathways among 2-year college students, remains limited. This study examines the underlying process that drives 2-year college students into one or more pathways as they navigate higher education. Method: Drawing upon survey, transcript, and interview data from one transfer-focused and two comprehensive community colleges in a Midwestern state, this study uses a grounded theory approach to develop a conceptual model to understand college students' decision-making process when choosing among competing postsecondary pathways. Results: The resulting College Pathway (Re)Selection Model Among Beginning 2-Year College Students contained two categories--lifetime decision-making and short-term decision-making--that defined the purposes of students' decisions as they navigate postsecondary education. Within the categories, 2-year college students described the role of payoff, fit, transferability, place, flexibility, and mobility in their decision-making process. Contributions: This study offers a new model that explains what shapes 2-year college students' decisions and challenges notions of postsecondary pathways, student progress, success, and completion in the context of 2-year college students' fluid lives and goals.
Descriptors: Two Year College Students, Community Colleges, Decision Making, College Transfer Students, Student Mobility, Occupational Mobility, Dual Enrollment, Educational Benefits, Reverse Transfer Students, Postsecondary Education
SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2814
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Two Year Colleges; Postsecondary Education; Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: National Science Foundation (NSF)
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: DUE1430642