Sponsor
Portland State University. Social Work and Social Research Ph. D. Program
First Advisor
Thomas Keller
Term of Graduation
Summer 2022
Date of Publication
7-11-2022
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Social Work and Social Research
Department
Social Work
Language
English
Subjects
High school graduates -- Statistics, Alternative education, Motivation in education, Transfer students
DOI
10.15760/etd.7966
Physical Description
1 online resource (ix, 130 pages)
Abstract
In response to a "dropout crisis," over the past decade much effort was made to retain high school students. Recent years' trends indicated an overall increased level of graduation rates; however, there has been a largely overlooked student population, persisters, who did not earn a high school diploma by the expected graduation date but remain engaged and continue to work towards graduation into their fifth or even sixth year of high school.
Using exploratory CART analysis, this study examined what individual-level and school-level factors were most effective in distinguishing students who were persisters versus on-time graduates. Given that persisters disproportionately attended alternative schools, this study also examined the factors that could help identify students who transferred to alternative schools. In follow-up analyses, students' demographic and academic characteristics were compared across nodes to understand complex interactions between individual-level and school-level factors that affect students' educational experiences.
Implications of the findings in this study are discussed to address educational policies and practices as well as to provide insight for school staff to help identify potential persisters and provide tailored support towards students with different needs.
Rights
In Copyright. URI: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).
Persistent Identifier
https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/38309
Recommended Citation
Clark-Shim, Hyuny, "High School Persisters and Alternative Schools" (2022). Dissertations and Theses. Paper 6106.
https://doi.org/10.15760/etd.7966