Glenda Droogsma Musoba

Aptitude Vs. Merit: What Matters in Persistence

Edward P. St. John is Professor and Program Chair in the Higher Education and Student Affairs Program, Indiana University at Bloomington, and is Director of the Indiana Education Policy Center. His research focuses on equity and related policy issues in both K-12 and higher education. His current books include Reinterpreting Urban School Reform: A CriticalEmpirical Review (coedited with Louis Miron for SUNY Press) and Refinancing the College Dream: Affordability in the New Higher Education Market (coauthored with Eric Asker for Johns Hopkins University Press). Ada Simmons is the Associate Director of the Indiana Education Policy Center and Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Higher Education and Student Affairs Program at Indiana University. Her research focuses on student persistence in higher education with emphasis on financial factors, student involvement, and study patAptitude Vs. Merit: What Matters in Persistence

The Cultural Capital of Cultural and Social Capital: An Economy of Translations

Scholars of higher education in the United States have embraced the theories of cultural and social capital. Bourdieu’s writing illuminates our understanding of social structures that limit opportunity for oppressed groups but is sometimes mistranslated as a theory of social mobility. We argue that the translation of his theory of classes into one of individuals obscures the ways class structures get formed and re-formed in the United States, and how individuals, while not determined by such structures, are constrained by them. We summarize James Coleman’s articulation of social capital, and speculate whether Coleman’s theory grounds the uses of the theory of cultural and social capital in the United States as a theory of individual mobility. Coleman’s theory errs in emphasizing individual agency while ignoring the covert and “natural” functioning of oppressive structures. We critique Bourdieu’s theory as being too deterministic; a good misappropriation of Bourdieu makes room for some form of agency.

The First Year Just Surviving or Thriving at an HSI

Minority retention models have identified student needs that may or may not be addressed by institutional first-year experience (FYE) programming at Hispanic-serving institutions (HSIs). Qualitatively, this study examined Hispanic and Black first-year experiences in an HSI context. Identified themes included sense of belonging, career and major selection, and being held accountable for what they do not know.

Accountability Policies and Readiness for College for Diverse Students

Following a national trend, state policy has focused on accountability measures such as high-stakes high school exit exams, standards-based reforms, and graduation curriculum requirements. Yet the effect of these accountability policies on students’ readiness for college is relatively untested. In a multilevel model (students within states), the study asked, “Are accountability school reform policies positively or negatively associated with readiness for college for students from different ethnic and income groups?” Exit exam policies and degree of implementation of state standards were not significantly related to academic readiness as measured by composite SAT scores. Math graduation numeric curriculum requirements were negatively related to SAT score for Whites.Following a national trend, state policy has focused on accountability measures such as high-stakes high school exit exams, standards-based reforms, and graduation curriculum requirements. Yet the effect of these accountability policies on students’ readiness for college is relatively untested. In a multilevel model (students within states), the study asked, “Are accountability school reform policies positively or negatively associated with readiness for college for students from different ethnic and income groups?” Exit exam policies and degree of implementation of state standards were not significantly related to academic readiness as measured by composite SAT scores. Math graduation numeric curriculum requirements were negatively related to SAT score for Whites.

Early Coursework and College Experience Predictors of Persistence at a Hispanic-Serving Institution

Utilizing survival analysis, we examined two key first year courses, mathematics and English, and tested whether they were predictive for long-term student success as measured by persistence to graduation at a Hispanic-serving research university. While first math and first English courses were significant, SAT score was not for Hispanic and Black students. High school grade point average (GPA) was significant for Hispanic students but not for White or Black students.

Transfer Student Persistence at a Hispanic-Serving University

Success after transfer has been understudied, particularly with Hispanic students. This study examined the persistence of Associate of Arts transfer students at a senior Hispanic-Serving Institution. Using data from institutional records, multinomial logistic regression analyses demonstrated that loans predicted persistence and that grant recipients did not persist at a significantly different rate from nonrecipients. Grant dollar amounts were associated with persistence but loan dollar amounts were not. Precollege demographic factors such as age and income as well as academic factors such as grade point average and enrollment intensity appear to play a similar role for transfer students as they do for traditional students.