Date Awarded

1989

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)

Department

Education

Advisor

James M. Yankovich

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the factors that affect the persistence of re-entry women over age twenty-five at an urban state university using Vincent Tinto's academic-social fit theory of retention and persistence which posits that once this fit is achieved, persistence and retention will be positively affected.;The re-entry women's population at Urban State University, an historically black university, was studied. It was chosen because of its mission of serving special populations, its size, its historical prominence, and its location in an urban community.;Urban State University had an available pool of eighty-eight women over age twenty-five who were academically classified as "seniors" for the 1988 fall semester. They were sent surveys containing academic and social adjustment factors found in the literature that may affect persistence. Forty-six re-entry women responded to the survey.;The survey contained demographic data, academic factors (prior educational experiences, orientation, class attendance, class assignments, study habits, tutorials, counseling, advising and career plans), and social factors (younger classmates, classmates their ages, family members, husband/mate, campus organizations, university-sponsored cultural activities, employment, day care and transportation.).;Based on the data, it was concluded that the academic and social factors had no effect on the population of re-entry women who responded to the survey; however, orientation and classmates twenty-five years and older were the responses with the highest percentages in the academic and social adjustment factors. Data were inconclusive as to what factors other than perhaps self-motivation and determination positively affects persistence. Further study is needed to evaluate what specific factors positively affect re-entry women's persistence.

DOI

https://dx.doi.org/doi:10.25774/w4-j8qp-q964

Rights

© The Author

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