Advisory as an ecological asset: the role of advisory in fostering the positive youth development of adolescents transitioning to high school

Research has shown that adolescent students' sense of connection to adults and peers and sense of belonging to school are important for academic achievement, social-emotional growth and well-being, and overall success at school. One key mechanism schools have implemented to foster such relationship building is advisory. Much of the advisory research has focused on advisory programming and best practices. While some scholarship has found advisory programs to improve students' sense of connectedness to their advisor and peers and to increase students sense of belongingness to their school, the advisory literature also indicates that a number of schools and educators have experienced challenges to making advisory work for them and their students. The purpose of this mixed-methods study is to explore how and to what extent enhanced advisory fosters ninth grade students' development, as characterized by the Five Cs of positive youth development. The sample was comprised of 55 ninth grade students participating in enhanced advisory (EA), seven EA advisors, and a previous cohort of 96 ninth grade students who participated in traditional advisory (TA). Pre-post surveys were used to measure the development of students in EA over the course of one academic year and end-of-year surveys were used to compare the positive development of students in EA to that of a previous cohort of ninth grade students in TA. Interviews with EA students and advisors were used to investigate and illuminate the quantitative data on students' sense of connectedness to each other, their advisory groups, and their advisors. Major findings revealed that enhanced advisory (EA) students' end-of-year mean scores on 12 of 16 positive development measures surpassed those of students in traditional advisory (TA), indicating that enhanced advisory played a role in fostering students' positive development. Qualitative data revealed that almost all interviewed students built a positive relationship with their advisors and benefitted academically, socially, and psychologically from that relationship. Many--but not all-- students also described the role of advisory in strengthening their connections to peers and sense of belonging to their advisory group

A Structural Equation Model Analysis of Computing Identity Sub-Constructs and Student Academic Persistence

This dissertation explores the impact of computing identity sub-constructs on the academic persistence of computing students. This research provides models, quantified relationships, and insights to increase the number of graduates with the intention of pursuing a career in computing. Despite the growing significance of computer science and all the projected new jobs in computer science, many university and college programs suffer from low student persistence rates. One theoretical framework used to better understand persistence in other STEM disciplines is disciplinary identity. Disciplinary identity refers to how students see themselves with respect to a discipline. This study examines the effects of computing identity sub-constructs (performance/competence, recognition, interest, and sense of belonging) on the academic persistence of computing students. A quantitative analysis with three phases was performed for this study. First, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and structural equation model (SEM) analysis were performed to validate and explore the relationship between sub-constructs in the computing identity model. Second, a multigroup SEM was performed to estimate the impact of the identity sub-constructs on persistence for students with diverse demographics in this case by gender and level of education. Third, a time-series SEM were used to investigate the impact of identity development on computing persistence over time. The findings indicated that students\u27 academic persistence was directly influenced by their interest as the most significant factor. In addition, performance, competence, recognition, and sense of belonging contributed to students’ identity development and academic persistence. Results of the second analysis indicated identity sub-constructs contributed differently to academic persistence among freshman and senior students; however, no significant differences were found between male and female students. Ultimately, the last analysis with time-series data indicated that interest and competence/performance, as individual factors had the strongest direct impacts on persistence over time. Considering student identity in understanding academic persistence in computing programs may provide a meaningful lens of analysis for institutes and their curriculum and extracurricular planning methods. In addition, the development of students’ self-beliefs provides ways for increasing the number of graduates with increased likelihood of pursuing computing careers

Understanding The Role of a Regional Magnet School in Creative Identity Development of Ethnically and Culturally Diverse Adolescents: A Case Study

The purpose of this dissertation exploratory case study was to examine the creativity-supportive practices at an innovative regional magnet school shaping Ethnically & Culturally Diverse (ECD) students’ creative identity development as perceived by different stakeholders including ECD students enrolled in the first three cohorts, teachers, and school administrators of RichTech Regional Magnet High School [RRMHS] (pseudonym). This single qualitative case study employed a small component of a quantitative survey, the results of which guided in part the design of interview protocols and sampling procedures for recruiting qualitative participants. Using a pragmatic research lens, I obtained and analyzed the diverse qualitative data including interviews with ECD students, teachers, and school administrators, open-ended qualitative survey responses, my field notes, and reflective memos. The findings of this dissertation study demonstrated that the creative identity development of ECD students can be supported in the context of an innovative regional magnet high school in three ways: (a) through facilitation of creative learning opportunities encompassing open-endedness and flexibility, non-linear synergy, student-centered future orientation as well as productive interactions of diverse perspectives; (b) through augmenting unique strengths of an innovative regional magnet school entailing limited size of student enrollment, intentional design of integrated diverse learning environment, as well as formulation of an innovative curricular and pedagogical model; and (c) through the promotion of teacher autonomy, the sustainable rapport between teachers and school administrators, development of sound beliefs by teachers and school administrators about student creativity as well as through leveraging teachers’ prior practical experiences of teaching ECD adolescent students. These key findings, recommendations, and implications for practice and future research are discussed in light of the limitations of the present study. With the limited research on the role of unique learning environments such as an innovative magnet school in promoting ECD adolescents\u27 creativity, this study is a small first attempt to better understand the magnet school-based salient opportunities for and experiences of ECD students’ creative identity development

Factors That Contribute to Lower Enrollments of Underrepresented Minority and Female Graduate Students in Computer Science and Engineering (CSE) at Bay Area California State University Campuses and Mitigating Factors From Student Perspectives

Over the last decade the Bay Area region has witnessed a lack of diversity in Silicon Valley technology professions, a subject of current political and popular discourse. The California State University (CSU) system provides accessible higher education; the CSU system approach to accessible higher education affirms the distinctness of regions, prepares graduates for professions in these distinct regions, and affirms the diversity in the state and the world. The CSU fall 2019 - 2021 enrollment dashboard data indicated there was a decrease in enrollment of underrepresented minority (URM) in graduate programs across three Bay Area campuses. Public fall 20119 - 2021 enrollment data disaggregated by degree program indicates URM participation in Computer and Information Sciences decreased to less than 10% of the graduate student body across the three Bay Area campuses; URM enrollment levels a decrease to approximately 10% at the graduate level in Engineering. Graduate education is a lever of social mobility, professional advancement, and provides opportunities to access knowledge economy professions.The Bay Area CSU campuses are situated at the nexus of the knowledge economy. The decrease in URM student participation in related disciplines at the graduate level is a problem of practice that raises questions of the role and mission of the CSU. Equity in opportunity in a regional economy dominated by technology professions intersects with CSU graduate education as a lever of social change and social mobility. Underrepresentation of minorities in technology professions and in graduate education is not without social consequences. A homogenous Bay Area knowledge economy workforce may result in new layers of digital infrastructures and applications that reinforce dominant cultural perspectives and biases. This qualitative research study explores the experiences, perceptions, and attitudes of URM graduate students in Computer Science and Engineering (CSE) disciplines at three public universities situated in the Silicon Valley knowledge economy. A transformative worldview and critical theory guide case study data collection and analysis of semi-structured interviews, a focus group, and qualitative textual analysis of related CSE policy, research, and graduate community content at the three Bay Area CSU campuses. This exploratory research study attempts to uncover the sense making and meanings URM graduate students construct through the graduate student lifecycle. This study focuses on graduate students who succeed in academic cultures that are selective, competitive, homogenous, and that may be unwelcoming. This research may guide higher education reform to recognize inherent assets, talents, and aspirations URM students bring into academic culture and thus reshape campus cultures toward diversity and inclusion

(Social) class is in session: Examining the experiences of working-class students through social class identity, class-based allyship, and sense of belonging

Working-class students experience numerous barriers in accessing and persisting within higher education. These barriers are often amplified at public research institutions that facilitate greater social class diversity, career opportunities, and degree completion, but cater to middle- and upper-class students. The result is a contrast for working-class students in which higher education can serve as a tool for social mobility while also reinforcing barriers that reproduce class inequality. In this dissertation, I used narrative inquiry to conduct 44 interviews with 24 working-class students regarding their social class meaning-making, perceptions of class-based allyship, and sense of belonging. All three concepts have been empirically explored as ways to promote the development and retention of other marginalized groups, but rarely applied to social class. Understanding of these concepts illuminates strategies to better support students on campus while challenging systems of classism broadly. Findings from this study fall into three categories. First, obstacles that working-class students encounter prior to and during the transition to college facilitate an internal meaning-making process. Through this process, students are able to challenge stigmatized views of social class to frame their working-class backgrounds as asset-filled. Second, working-class students define the goals of class-based allyship as sustaining students already within college rather than challenging classism on campus. Allyship thus was perceived as affinity spaces, financial resources, and navigational support. Third, working-class students viewed sense of belonging as something that they created rather than provided by institutions. While participants experienced varying degrees of connectedness, support, and belonging, they rarely felt valued on campus. Implications of this research suggest a need to re-evaluate traditional concepts used within higher education to better understand the variance within working-class identity, allyship, and sense of belonging. Participants’ experiences emphasize the importance of shared values, particularly related to work ethic, responsibility, and social justice, in creating communities and relationships. Results also suggest that institutions should do more to celebrate working-class students and the assets they bring to campus while infusing cultural competency into existing resources to make them more accessible

Exploring Student Decisions at Various Stages of the Covid-19 Pandemic

The purpose of this study was to explore how students who began college in the fall semesters of 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021 explain and reflect on their decisions about college. These decisions included students’ choice of school, living situations, courses, co-curricular involvement, and working part- or full-time during college. Exploring students’ decisions about college before and during different phases of the Covid-19 pandemic deepens higher education professionals’ understanding of how students make decisions during this important time of transition. This deeper understanding allows college administrators, faculty, and staff to better understand if and how the pandemic impacted students’ decisions about college. Many individuals in education assume that it did, but it is important to do research to determine if the data validates the assumptions. The results of this study provide new information that can benefit college administrators, faculty, and staff in determining the choices they offer to college students and developing in- and out-of-classroom experiences for future students

Pre-service Teachers’ Reflective Writing and Learning in Early Field Experiences

As cultural and linguistic diversity (CLD) in schools increases so does the demand for more qualified teachers. Enrollment declines in teacher preparation programs and national teacher shortages, particularly teachers prepared to work with CLD students, further exacerbate the situation. As teacher preparation programs seek to meet the demands for teachers, this study addresses a gap in research and practice that examines pre-service teacher (PST) reflections conducted as part of a non-credit very early field experience (EFE). The study addresses two questions:1) How does participation in EFE shape PST learning and professional identities as expressed in written reflections? 2) In what ways does participation in EFE impact PST beliefs, attitudes, and learning about cultural and linguistic diversity? Participants in this exploratory mixed methods study were six first year pre-service teachers, engaged in early field experiences at a public university. Data in the form of written reflections was collected twice during the first semester. A qualitative content analysis coded levels of reflections as descriptive, empathic, analytic, and metacognitive (Chabon & Lee-Wilkerson, 2006), and for evidence of 4Cs P21 professional skills: creativity, critical thinking, communication, and collaboration. A quantitative analysis explored differences in the frequency, examined relationships across reflection types and skills, and compared first and second journals. The most frequent strategies were analytic, critical thinking, and descriptive. PSTs documented creating supportive classrooms, promoting academic and linguistic success, and relationship building as relevant to their professional identities. Implications include a need to increase EFE and promote student learning through non-credit bearing opportunities and reflective writing in teacher preparation

Female computer science and engineering undergraduates: reflections on participation in the academic landscape

Women continue to be underrepresented in computer science and technology related fields despite their significant contributions. The lack of diversity in technology related fields is problematic as it can result in the perpetuation of negative stereotypes and closed-minded, unchecked biases. As technology tools become integral to our daily lives it is essential that a diverse group of people contribute to the sociocultural environments where we participate and live. This dissertation is a phenomenological, interview-based, study designed to investigate the lived experience of women in undergraduate computer science and engineering programs. The purpose of this study was to better understand the factors that might encourage or discourage the participation women in the major and in the field. In order to grow the number of women in technical fields it is important to first understand what attracts them to the field and what supports they find helpful or not helpful. This study illuminated some recommendations that might guide the work of practitioners in secondary schools as well as higher education. Among other things, participants appreciated being challenged by the content and assignments, feeling support from faculty and peers, feeling a connection to the culture, effective encouragement to persist, and engaging interactions. All of the participants described having gone into their field to make a positive impact on society and they also all described the importance having at least one supportive female mentor. Participants described the importance of having spaces where they felt included and appreciated their professors and peers who pushed back against the historical CS-world stereotypes. While the experience of each participant was unique, and there were some very negative experiences, all six participants reported having mostly positive experience in their undergraduate programs

A Developmental Perspective on College & Workplace Readiness

Reviews research on and identifies the physical, psychological, social, cognitive, and spiritual competencies high school graduates need to transition into college, the workplace, and adulthood. Includes strategies for meeting disadvantaged youths' needs

Integrated Support Strategies for Promotion of Students’ Retention and Achievement During First Years of College

Persistence and increased retention is a major focus in higher educational administration. The first-years of transition to college is a multi-dimensional new academic experience, noncognitive, and social challenges, often a disorienting period which can lead to academic difficulties. This review examines the literature for strategies, institutional policies and approaches for effective retention and first-year students’ success programs supported by evidence that contributes to satisfactory student performance, persistence and retention in post-secondary education. This review aim to develop a knowledgeable perspective on higher educational integrated and collaborative guiding principles for refining student learning and success efforts for improvements in student performance, persistence, and retention. The implications for practice are discussed and recommendations for of institution-wide collaborative critical strategies supported by data proven effective for the promotion, retention and success of first-year students’ success is provided