Date of Conferral

2019

Degree

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)

School

Education

Advisor

Chrissy Jameson

Abstract

The problem in a suburban school district in a northwestern state is that fewer socioeconomic disadvantaged and minority students are graduating high school and attending post-secondary education than their White and economic middle-class counterparts. The disparity continues to expand the achievement gap between minorities and Whites within the education system and continues a cycle of poverty for the poorest and minority students. Bandura’s self-efficacy theory guided the study. The purpose of this bounded qualitative exploratory case study was to explore the advancement via individual determination (AVID) instructional strategies high school graduates used in their transition to post-secondary education. The research questions addressed which instructional strategies the AVID graduates learned and how they used the strategies in post-secondary education. The participants were 13 AVID high school graduates from a suburban northwestern school district who entered post-secondary education in 2014–2018. Data collected through one-on-one interviews were analyzed thematically using descriptive and axial coding to allow themes to emerge using the constructs of the framework. AVID students suggested that focused notetaking, collaboration, and self-regulatory behaviors assisted them in their academic success. Based on the findings, a 3-day professional development was created for high school teachers to design content area lessons featuring student collaborative groups, self-reflection, and notetaking strategies. This endeavor may contribute to positive social change when administrators provide teachers with grouping, social emotional, and instructional strategies for AVID enrollees, which may result in increased AVID graduates and post-secondary students.

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