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A Longitudinal Analysis of Student Retention Using Neighborhoods as Socioeconomic Proxies

Hallmark, Tyler
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9191-6967
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1624982558188411

Abstract Details

2021, Doctor of Philosophy, Ohio State University, Educational Studies.
In recent years, higher education researchers and practitioners have increasingly recognized that socioeconomic gaps in degree attainment are of utmost concern. Yet, despite the rise in attention relating to these socioeconomic gaps, the field of higher education continues to face challenges in assessing college access and success for students from less-privileged socioeconomic backgrounds, often relying on narrow socioeconomic metrics such as the Pell grant status, first- generation status, and school lunch status. Additionally, scholars must contend with the challenge of generating more accurate socioeconomic metrics while using data which is already available. In other disciplines, such as sociology, psychology, and public health, numerous studies have examined the use of neighborhood-based variables as proxies for socioeconomic status, demonstrating that they may serve as reliable indicators for individuals' backgrounds. However, in the field of higher education, neighborhood-based variables are rarely utilized, and considerations of place and space are only recently being given their due acknowledgement. This study attempts to fill this gap by examining the use of neighborhood-based socioeconomic variables as predictors of individuals' retention, success, and status changes in higher education. This study draws on theories that seek to explain factors that impact college student retention/attrition for understanding any possible differences between individuals from different type of neighborhoods. Additionally, sociological theories pertaining to segregation and capital accumulation underlie key assumptions of this study. The site for this study included a large, public, four-year state flagship institution, referred to as Midwest University. This study utilizes the incoming Autumn 2012, in-state undergraduate cohort -- a sample of nearly 6,000 individuals -- and a series of analyses -- including binomial regression and survival analyses -- in order to examine how students' neighborhood-based socioeconomic variables may be correlated with their retention, success, and status changes over a six-year period. As a result of these analyses, I demonstrate neighborhood socioeconomic context (as measured at the census tract and block group levels) to be a valuable indicator of students' retention and success after enrolling in college and provide implications for future research, policy, and practice.
Anne-Marie Núñez (Committee Chair)
Matthew Mayhew (Committee Member)
Vincent Roscigno (Committee Member)
326 p.
Higher Education
socioeconomic status; social class; neighborhoods; higher education; college; university; retention; completion; student success

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Hallmark, T. (2021). A Longitudinal Analysis of Student Retention Using Neighborhoods as Socioeconomic Proxies [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1624982558188411

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Hallmark, Tyler. A Longitudinal Analysis of Student Retention Using Neighborhoods as Socioeconomic Proxies. 2021. Ohio State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1624982558188411.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Hallmark, Tyler. "A Longitudinal Analysis of Student Retention Using Neighborhoods as Socioeconomic Proxies." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University, 2021. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1624982558188411

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

osu1624982558188411
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