Date of Conferral

2015

Degree

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)

School

Education

Advisor

Douglas Bailor

Abstract

High dropout rates for minority students require additional educational research to understand and implement changes that will increase graduation rates. The purpose of this nonexperimental study was to examine factors that may be associated with graduation for Latino male students. Guided by Tinto's work, which holds that students remain in school when they feel academically or socially connected to an institution, this study addressed the impact of social factors, academic factors, and small learning communities (SLCs) on graduation rates. The research study used archival data and bivariate logistic regression to analyze the data for Latino male participants (n = 208) at an urban southern California high school. Results indicated that grade-point average (GPA), the number of suspensions, and Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) may be significant factors associated with graduation rates of the Latino male students. Implications for social change include an increase in support for programs such as AVID, a greater number of tutoring and mentoring programs to help students increase their GPA, and school policies that address discipline without increasing the number of suspensions. Students benefit most from obtaining a high school diploma. Graduation can assist students to have more opportunities in their own lives. Increasing student-graduation rates increases self-reliance and the ability for students to contribute to their own communities.

Download

Share

 
COinS