Providing Hope For Another Generation: The Effect Of Federal Pre-College Outreach Programs On Disadvantaged Students’ Educational Aspiration, College Preparedness, and College Access

Authors

Newsoul DeusFollow

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Major/Program

Higher Education

First Advisor's Name

Dr. Mido Chang

First Advisor's Committee Title

Committee chair

Second Advisor's Name

Dr. Norma Goonen

Second Advisor's Committee Title

Committee member

Third Advisor's Name

Dr. Andy Pham

Third Advisor's Committee Title

Committee member

Fourth Advisor's Name

Dr. Charmaine DeFrancesco

Fourth Advisor's Committee Title

Committee member

Keywords

success, program evaluation

Date of Defense

10-2-2020

Abstract

ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION

PROVIDING HOPE FOR ANOTHER GENERATION:

THE EFFECT OF FEDERAL PRE-COLLEGE OUTREACH PROGRAMS ON DISADVANTAGED STUDENTS’ EDUCATIONAL ASPIRATION, COLLEGE PREPAREDNESS, AND COLLEGE ACCESS

by

Newsoul Deus

Florida International University, 2020

Miami, Florida

Professor Mido Chang, Major Professor

The United States has long been recognized as the land of opportunity. However, one of the major problems that plague the nation is the disparity in educational opportunities (Pfeffer & Hertel, 2015). It is crucial that all students—regardless of their race/ethnicity, family socioeconomic status, and geographic location—have an equal opportunity to higher education (Baker, Klasik, & Reardon, 2018). Unfortunately, students from disadvantaged backgrounds (i.e., first-generation college students, those from low-income households, and those from historically underrepresented racial/ethnic groups) have lower rates of college enrollment, retention, and completion compared to their counterparts (Baker et al., 2018). This gap in enrollment and success is indicative of inequitable distribution of educational opportunities.

Precollege outreach programs were created to address the educational opportunity gap. Talent Search, Upward Bound, and Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP) programs were created to serve students of disadvantaged backgrounds. However, more than 50 years since the inception of such program, the effect of the programs on educational attainment remain largely theoretical and program results are mixed (Thomas et al., 1998). To add to the body of knowledge about the effects of these programs, this dissertation evaluated the effects of precollege outreach programs on the student success measures of educational aspiration, college preparedness, and college access.

Using data from the Educational Longitudinal Study of 2002 of the National Center of Education Statistics (NCES), these three educational outcomes of program participants were compared to those of non-program participants. In evaluating the causal effect of the above precollege outreach programs on student educational outcomes, Propensity Score Matching (PSM) was used to treat preexisting imbalances in baseline characteristics (Lingle, 2009) that could impact the outcomes.

Participation in these pre-college programs had a significant statistical impact on college access. After matching, program participation caused a .5% increase in college enrollment. There was no direct impact on educational aspiration and college preparedness. The results of this study are relevant for the current discourse on the effectiveness of pre-college programs and aid the efforts of practitioners, researchers, and policymakers looking to close the educational opportunity gap in their sphere of influence.

Identifier

FIDC009188

Recommended Citation

Deus, Newsoul, "Providing Hope For Another Generation: The Effect Of Federal Pre-College Outreach Programs On Disadvantaged Students’ Educational Aspiration, College Preparedness, and College Access" (2020). FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 4599.
https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd/4599