Intersecting Qualities Affect College Progress And Performance

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Introduction The purpose of this study was to answer several questions. Do members in the target group feel their intersecting qualities affect their college progress/performance? If so, how and why? Are the categories in which they are placed and/or identify give them a positive or negative outlook in college? Does the lack of representation in their major of choice impact their drive to succeed? What is the relationship between the target group and college persistence, retention, degree completion, and time in which the degrees were completed? If unique challenges were faced, what were they? And what can be done to close ethnic and racial achievement gaps in the future? This study investigated these issues carefully by conducting …show more content…

Forty-five percent of participants said yes, they felt excluded in college because of their ethnicity, 28% of participants said they felt excluded due to socioeconomic status, and 20% of participants said they felt excluded due to gender. Only 13% percent of participants felt excluded due to socioeconomic status, ethnicity and gender combined. According to the online survey, participants felt ethnicity was the primarily reason for exclusion in higher education. However, according to the phone interviews, participants felt finances were the main hindrance to college access and progression. The findings indicate that aside from STEM fields, gender was a factor that did not significantly impact or hinder college access or progression. In the phone interviews, four women expressed the difficulty they faced in science courses and shared how the lack of institutional support in form of advisement, office hours, tutoring, were not sufficient in helping them successfully pass their courses. The results from the study align with works mentioned in the literature review. The study by Bielby et al. (2014) revealed institutional prejudice against women pursing STEM fields in the admission process and bias towards women pursing STEM …show more content…

For some participants, the lack of representation actually fueled their desire to succeed by proving others wrong and being a trendsetter. Several participants were first, second, or third-generation college students. However, participants strongly suggested more representation could inspire others to pursue a postsecondary education. It could also encourage more women of color to lead by example through mentorship opportunities and leadership roles. Several participants felt the lack of mentors and guidance from their predecessors and parents left them feeling adrift. When asked if they felt prepared for college their freshman year of college, 45% of participants selected no on the online survey. In addition, 73% stated their parents did not prepare them for college and about 47% of participants shared their high schools did not prepare them for college. These findings echo the findings of Jacob and Ludwin (2008), who express how the lack of preparation will make it more like for students to fall behind, especially those in underserved school districts. They also align with Bryant’s (2015) findings, which state Black students “are far less likely to be ready for college, with those in high-poverty schools being the least prepared” (p. 1). As mentioned previously, his data also shows Hispanic/Latino, Black/African

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