Date of Award

9-20-2010

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Department

Educational Leadership

First Advisor

Diane Gilleland

Abstract

The Hispanic population in the United States is the fastest growing ethnic group. It is also one of the least-educated and poorest groups and one of the least researched nationally. The purpose of the study was to identify the variables that affect the persistence of Hispanic college students who begin their postsecondary educations at community colleges. The study used data from the 2004/06 Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education. Persistence was defined as either graduating from or being enrolled in any Title IV postsecondary institution three years after the beginning of the study. Community college was defined as a two-year degree-granting public institution of higher education. Path analysis and model generation in IBM SPSS Statistics 18.0 and Amos 18.0 were used to test a theoretical model and to develop a revised model. Eight variables were found to be the primary factors affecting persistence among Hispanic students who began their postsecondary education in community colleges: (a) highest level of education expected, (b) cumulative grade point average, (c) importance of having steady work, (d) single parent status, (e) marital status, (f) hours worked each week in the last semester of college attendance, (g) income quartile, when recoded to place the high-income quartile below the low-income quartile, and (g) the parents' highest education level.

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