Date of Award

2015

Degree Name

Curriculum and Instruction

College

College of Education

Type of Degree

Ed.D.

Document Type

Dissertation

First Advisor

Ron Childress

Second Advisor

Louis Watts

Third Advisor

Edna Meisel

Fourth Advisor

Sue Hollandsworth

Abstract

This study examined the level of school college-going culture as perceived by teachers and counselors in selected West Virginia high schools. This study also investigated the differences in the level of implementation of a school’s college-going culture based on selected independent variables. Finally, the study investigated the relationship between the level of college going culture and the school college enrollment rate as reported by the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission. A quantitative research design was used to study a population of high school teachers and counselors from 36 West Virginia high schools. The high schools with 18 highest and 18 lowest college enrollment rates averaged from the graduating classes of 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012 were selected using college-going data from the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission. A researcher developed survey based on the Nine Principles of a College-going Culture Theory by McDonough (1997) was used to collect data from educators.

Study findings indicated that teachers and counselors described their perception of the level of college-going culture in their school to be sometimes true to usually true. Statistically significant differences were found between teachers and counselors for four of the nine principles and the total. Overall, counselors reported higher levels than teachers. Although some statistically significant differences were found in high- and low-performing schools based on the attributes selected for a few of the nine sub-categories and total, all but one had no effect on perceived levels of college-going culture. Finally, this study also found there is no relationship between college enrollment rate and perceived levels of college-going culture in high- or low-performing schools.

Subject(s)

Education, Secondary -- Aims and objectives -- West Virginia.

Education, Secondary -- West Virginia.

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