Exploring the Relationship Between College Student Engagement, Socioeconomic Status, and Persistence
Author : Paul Shepherd
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 133 pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (11 download)
Book Synopsis Exploring the Relationship Between College Student Engagement, Socioeconomic Status, and Persistence by : Paul Shepherd
Download or read book Exploring the Relationship Between College Student Engagement, Socioeconomic Status, and Persistence written by Paul Shepherd and published by . This book was released on 2017 with total page 133 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Completion of a baccalaureate degree is positively associated with economic independence and upward mobility in an increasingly competitive world. Student success, through persistence to graduation, is a central goal for institutions of higher education, but only a fraction of students who begin college will graduate with a degree. Despite decades of exploration, student retention hovers at a consistent percentage, leaving the goal of degree completion unattained for many college students. Research shows college retention and degree completion vary across different sociodemographic characteristics such as race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and first-generation status. Research also indicates student engagement in educationally purposeful activity, both inside and outside of the classroom, increases the likelihood of student success across sociodemographic lines. Foundational theory as well as historic and contemporary research provides promising direction for higher education faculty, staff, and administrators to create institution specific plans to increase the chances of student success by increasing student retention in college through improved student engagement (Kinzie & Kuh, 2004). The present study seeks to explore the relationship between college student engagement, socioeconomic status, and persistence. National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) data is used to measure student engagement behaviors among first year college students at a small public residential university in the upper-Midwest. Parent income is used to define socioeconomic status and is matched with student engagement scores defined by the NSSE. Institutional data is used to determine the persistence behaviors of the students participating in this study. Results indicate a small positive relationship between student engagement and persistence suggesting high levels of student engagement increases the likelihood of persistence. No relationship is found between parent income and persistence or parent income and student engagement, suggesting parent income alone may not sufficiently explain socioeconomic differences in student engagement and persistence. Exploring these relationships assist faculty, staff, and administrators develop specific interventions to increase student engagement in experiences shown to improve the likelihood of persistence to degree completion.