Browsing by Subject "high school"

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    Bridging Black and White: The Influence of a Large Latino Student Population on Interracial Interaction in North Carolina
    (2011-12-20) Glencer, Nathan
    Using data from four high schools in North Carolina, this study examines the impact of growth in Latino enrollment since 2000 on interracial interaction in cafeterias, extracurricular activities, and classrooms. From 1990-2000 North Carolina’s Latino population increased by 394 percent. Since that time student populations across the state have continued to grow more diverse. Gordon Allport’s Contact Theory asserts that under certain circumstances increased interaction between students from different backgrounds positively influences achievement and tolerance. However, as student diversity has increased, many North Carolina schools have demonstrated a trend towards increasing segregation. Of the four schools considered in this paper, those with increasing Latino enrollment tend to exhibit increasing exposure rates between black and white students, while those with small and relatively constant Latino enrollment tend to demonstrate decreasing exposure rates between black and white students. Dynamics of interracial interaction are highly complex, but this study’s results suggest that greater student participation in structured programs encourages interracial contact and effectively reduces segregation at schools with diverse student populations.
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    Effects of High School Athletic Participation on the Educational Aspirations of Male Student-Athletes: Does Race Matter?
    (2013-04-17) Rogers, Sarah
    With 55.5% of the nation’s high school students participating in athletics, it is valuable for educators to understand how athletics affect students’ educational aspirations. Educational aspirations are the strong desires to further one’s education after high school, and are a strong predictor for educational attainment. Three separate analyses contributed to the findings, specific to males. 1. Data from the Education Longitudinal Study of 2002 revealed a statistically significant correlation between interscholastic athletic participation and students’ educational aspirations. 2. Interviews with six soccer and basketball coaches at middle-sized high schools in Durham, North Carolina provided a more in-depth look at the role of coaches and demonstrated that every coach implements measures to encourage his players’ educational success. 3. Questionnaires from 94 student-athletes indicated that, of those surveyed, 92% planned to obtain a college or postgraduate degree, showing very high educational aspirations. Also, 90% of the student-athletes considered or planned to play their sport in college, with higher percentages of blacks and Hispanics desiring this as compared to whites. Race and social mobility also played important factors in the findings. Social mobility is when an individual moves from one socio-economic level to another, providing the individual with increased opportunities for further advancement in society. A larger percentage of white student-athletes prioritized their academics while a larger percentage of black and Hispanic student-athletes prioritized their athletics. Social mobility seemed to have a strong correlation with the minority students’ priorities and plans to play their sport in college.
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    The Negative Effect of Residential Broadband Availability on Educational Attainment in the US
    (2011-12) Kang, Polly
    A student’s decision to drop out of high school has repercussions for the individual and society. Broadband availability, which has become ubiquitous in the US since the late 1990s, can dramatically affect a student’s willingness to attend school. This study attempts to understand how broadband availability affects a student’s disengagement from school, which may lead to dropping out. I use data from two sources: the American Community Survey (ACS) regarding school enrollment and educational attainment on an individual level, and Federal Communication Commission (FCC) information on broadband availability. By using an application of difference-in-difference (DID) modeling and fixed effects, I compare trends in dropout behavior between areas that received full service by 2000 and those that acquired it in later years. The introduction of broadband correlates positively with an individual’s dropout choice. However, there are threats to causal interpretation.