Date of Award

2024

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Psychology

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of high school programs on the success of urban graduates. The success of the graduates in this study was defined by their contribution to society, durable skill levels, and personal introspection. Specifically, this study was focused on the impact of early college programs versus traditional high school programs. The use of urban graduates as participants in this study was critical as it examined the impact of high school programs on students who are traditionally underserved in schools due to their marginalized status resulting from their ethnicity, parents educational attainment level, U.S. citizenship status, and socioeconomic status (Berkner & Chavez, 1997; Berger et al., 2010; Symonds et al., 2011; Ward et al., 2012). A lack of educational mobility and the access and success of our graduates to obtain post-secondary degrees and credentials is a direct reflection of their high school experience (Berger et al., 2010). As a result, high school programming in Indiana has shifted to focus on employability or durable skills to increase the college and career readiness of their graduates (Indiana State Board of Education, 2018). The findings of this quantitative study indicate that there is a statistically significant difference in the success of graduates based on their high school program and educational attainment level and the graduates contribution to society explains a statistically significant amount of variance in their income level.

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