Determinants of course withdrawal and subsequent term enrollment of adult women in a community college : a cross-cultural comparison /
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| Other Authors: | , , |
| Format: | Thesis Book |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
1991.
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| Online Access: | Link to OAKTrust copy |
| Abstract: | The two purposes of this study of adult women enrolled in community college coursework were: (1) to investigate the determinants of course withdrawal during a given term of enrollment, and (2) to investigate the determinants of subsequent term enrollment and then comparatively analyze these results with those found for course withdrawal, The sample for this study came from the total population of adult women (25 years of age or older) who were officially enrolled in courses carrying academic credit during the Fall Term 1988 at a single community college in the state of Texas. The final sample used in this study consisted of 191 Anglo women, 138 Black women, and 126 Hispanic women. Data were collected through information provided directly by the community college and through a mailed questionnaire. Variables were selected for use in the questionnaire based on Bean and Metzner's (1985) model of nontraditional student attrition. As in Metzner and Bean's (1987) empirical study of their own model, the statistical methodology employed in this study was multiple regression in a path analytic framework and analyses of interaction effects were not included. The overall results for course withdrawal indicated that the 26 variables in the model only accounted for 16.8% of the variance. When controlling for all variables in the model, the single best predictor of course withdrawal for these women was level of stress. The academic variable of study skills and the environmental variable of family problems were found to significantly influence level of stress. These results did not compare favorably with those of Metzner and Bean (1987). The overall results for subsequent term enrollment indicated that the 28 variables in the model accounted for 27.1% of the variance. When controlling for all variables in the model, the best predictors of subsequent term enrollment were, in order of significance: the academic outcome variable of semester GPA, intent to leave, and the academic variables of study skills and goal certainty. These findings agreed, to a large extent, with those of Metzner and Bean (1987). Thus, one conclusion of this study is that Bean and Metzner's (1985) model for nontraditional student attrition is more appropriate for a longitudinal study of dropout, as originally intended, than for a study of course withdrawal during a given term of enrollment. |
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| Item Description: | Typescript (photocopy). Vita. "Major subject: Adult and Extension Education." |
| Physical Description: | xi, 227 leaves : illustrations ; 29 cm |
| Bibliography: | Includes bibliographical references. |