Date of Award
2006
Degree Type
Dissertation
First Advisor
Paul Florin
Abstract
Blacks and Hispanics have the highest high school drop out rates in the United States. The purpose of this study was to explore variables derived from "social capital" theory for their potential impact on Black and Hispanic students' intention to graduate high school. This study hypothesized that, beyond academic ability alone, Black and Hispanic adolescents respond to the level of "social capital" they perceive and experience from their families and school environments. Three "social capital" variables, parental educational encouragement, school responsiveness and extracurricular engagement, were examined for their contribution to intention to graduate among these populations. The participants were 181 Black and Hispanic 9 th grade adolescents. Results indicated that indicated that, beyond perceived academic ability, school responsiveness contributed significant variance to intention to graduate. Connections to previous research literature and directions for future research are discussed.
Recommended Citation
Conners, Erica E., "Social capital and the intent to graduate among Black and Hispanic high school students" (2006). Open Access Dissertations. Paper 2113.
https://digitalcommons.uri.edu/oa_diss/2113
Terms of Use
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