Investigating the Relationship between Academic Persistence and Age, Gender, Ethnicity and Transfer Credits - Dissertation Example

Investigating the Relationship between Academic Persistence and Age, Gender, Ethni and Transfer Credits This paper is a proposal for a research that is titled, ‘Investigating the Relationship between Academic Persistence and Age, Gender, Ethnicity and Transfer Credits”. It provides a brief background on the issue along with a problem statement on the issue. This paper provides the hypothesis that will be tested in the research while identifying the dependent and independent variables that will be considered in the research. The assumptions and limitations that the study will encounter have also been highlighted in addition to the research plan which has also been detailed. The paper finally offers a conceptual framework that will guide the research and the methods that will be utilized when performing a data analyses and result presentation. CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION Background According to a report published in the associated press in the year 2011, a total of 54% of the students who enter four year colleges within the US do successfully complete their studies (2011). In addition, the reports from the National Centre for Statistics show that the number of adult learners who were entering post secondary education in the country is on the increase. The reports show that the number of adult students who were joining the system had risen from 27.3 to 30.6 million adults between the years 2000 to 2010 which represented an increase of 8% (2011). Consequently, Ziegler & Durant explain that for adult learners to achieve success, they require to first and foremost recognize their reason for getting instructions and their involvement in the designing along with the assessment of their instructions (2007). However, Tinto reports that in the traditional courses offered in various universities approximately 40% of the adult learners who enroll for higher education in the universities eventually failed in the achievement of their desired academic goals (2008). In the year 2008, Jones suggested that adult learners can be affected by various barriers which could range from the situational, dispositional along with institutional barriers. According to him, the situational barriers come about due to the learner’s situation which may include issues like inadequate time, their work responsibilities along with childcare. On the other hand, the author describes the institutional barriers as the issues that affect the students within an institution. This includes issues like the number of hours they are required to be operating, the inadequacy of resourceful information. Finally, the author describes the dispositional barriers as internal barriers that result from the feelings of alienation that a person may be suffering from (2008). In light of these barriers, Ziegler & Durant come out to suggest that adult education mostly encounters situational barriers due to the inadequacy of time (2007). Jones additionally suggests that these barriers have in turn made the universities and colleges to introduce programs which have not previously been a part of their past curriculums. The programs are flexible and enable adult located in far away distances to acquire education (2008). This research study will aim at ascertaining the relationship that exists between the student’s age, gender, transfer credits along with their ethnicities and their persistence in achieving their set academic goals. Problem Statement The research problem will mainly aim at establishing the relationship that exists between age, gender, transfer credits and ethnicity and the academic persistence among adult learners. Previous researches like Cook and King, did study the existing relationship between the characteristics of adult learners along with their involvement in the pursuit of higher education (2009). However, the researcher’s studies only dealt with the high school students who had cleared school and were in the first years of post secondary education. The studies did not also indicate the existing patterns that concern academic persistence among the adult learners (Comings, Parrella & Soricone, 2009). However, according to some recently conducted quantitative studies in a nonprofit making university, the existing academic persistence patterns in the context of some specific demographics have been indicated (Chen, 2010). Consequently, another similar study was carried out at certain secular college that offered adult programs that were accelerated at undergraduate level. The research will explore the factors that make the adult students persist in the pursuit of their academic goals because the number of adult learners who are seeking higher education is on the increase. In addition, this research will aim at ascertaining how demographic factors affect the adult learners who enroll into colleges that specifically offer delivery methods that are accelerated and nontraditional (Cook and King, 2009). The research will mainly be geared towards examining the relationship between the adult learner demographic factors and their academic persistence in the accelerated learning programs that are offered by nonprofit making universities (Jones, 2008). Purpose Statement The major purpose for undertaking this research will be to ascertain the relationship that exists between the demographic factors among adult learners like age, ethnicity along with gender and their academic persistence in the accelerated learning programs. The programs under consideration are mainly offered in the nonprofit making Christian Liberal Arts University. In order to accomplish this task, the persistence of adult learners will be compared to their continuous enrollment between the years 2008 and 2011 (Comings, Parrella & Soricone, 2009). The institution under consideration is a nonprofit making college that is located in area that is highly demographically dissimilar (Jones, 2008). The variables to be included in the research will include age, ethnicity, gender and the required transfer credits along with academic persistence (which implies the continued participation of the adult learners in their academic work). Significance of the study The study will be vital for the administrators of post secondary institutions in helping them to comprehend what actually enables the adult learners in their institutions to persist in the attaining their academic goals. This will be achieved through the use of the literature review conducted during the research studies (Wlodkowski & Westover, 2009). The literature however shows a deficiency in the available literature pertaining to the issues of age, ethnicity along with gender in relation to the academic persistence of adult learners who have been enrolled into the accelerated learning programs in the nonprofit making institutions (Cook and King, 2009). In addition, this research will provide vital information concerning the relationship that exists between ethnicity, gender, age and academic persistence in the programs that utilize the accelerated learning concepts within these types of institutions (Chen, 2010). The research will also prove to be a vital tool in comprehending the relationship that exists between academic persistence and adult learners in the institutions offering accelerated learning formats (Comings, Parrella & Soricone, 2009). The study will be vital since it will help the future grown-up learners to make conscious and educated decisions that concern their entry into the accelerated learning programs that are on offer. The activities that will be performed during the research will be expanded or replicated through further research which will help in adding to the existing body of knowledge that concerns this topic (Jones, 2008). Research Questions The research will mainly focus on a single research question that is related to the topic to guide the study which is correlated and quantitative. The development of a research question takes place so that it can give more insight into the relevant and quantifiable information available and that concerns the topic under investigation (Cook and King, 2009). The following research questions will be used for guiding this study: Research Question: Is there a significant correlation that exists between the adult learners academic persistence and their demographics in the accelerated learning programs that are offered in the nonprofit making Christian Liberal Arts University? Research Hypothesis A null hypothesis is usually assumed to be true unless experimental evidence from the study’s hypothesis declines it. Research hypothesis can be classified as either directional or non directional. In this research, research hypothesis one will be non directional since it will be used to show quantifiable results (Comings, Parrella & Soricone, 2009). The null and non directional hypothesis that will be tested by the study will be as follows: HO- Is there a noteworthy correlation between the demographics of adult students and their academic persistence at a nonprofit making Christian Liberal Arts University? H1-There exists a noteworthy correlation between the age of adult learners and their academic persistence. H2- There exists a noteworthy correlation between the different genders of adult learners and their academic persistence. H3- There exists a noteworthy correlation between the ethnicities of adult learners and their academic persistence. H4- There exists a noteworthy correlation between the transfer credits of adult learners and their academic persistence. Identification of Variables The research will be interested in several variables which include academic persistence, transfer credits, gender and age along with ethnicity. These variables will be further subdivided into the independent along with dependent variables (Jones, 2008). In our case, the dependent variable will be the adult learners’ academic persistence whereas the independent variables include age, transfer credits, gender and ethnicity. Dependent Variables Academic Persistence Academic persistence can be defined as the period of time that the adult learners attend classes or their tutoring sessions in various learning institutions. This implies that when the adult learners drop out of school they lack persistence in the achievement of their academic goals (Tinto, 2008). The adult learners academic persistent will mainly be dependent on the learners demographic characteristics which include age, ethnicity, transfer credits and gender. For the purpose of this research, the operational definition will be explained through the examination and interpretation of the university student’s database that contains their individual records. The records in turn reflect their enrollment along with completion rates in their respective studies (Jones, 2008). Independent variables Age The research will include adult learners who are over twenty one years of age and have attended an accelerated learning program at the nonprofit making Christian Liberal Arts University. The age of the adult learners will be ascertained after examining the student’s enrolment database at the institution. Their ages will again be confirmed by checking out their birth dates in their birth certificates that were deposited with the institutions management when they were being enrolled into it. Adult leaners are defined as those individuals who perform the roles that are preserved for adults (Cook and King, 2009). Gender An individual’s gender can be defined as either a male or a female. The different genders among the adult learners who have enrolled for higher learning will be ascertained by examining the student’s enrollment records. This is mainly because these records are able to reflect their respective gender for each student who has been admitted into the Christian Liberal Arts University (Comings, Parrella & Soricone, 2009). Ethnicity The term ethnicity refers to people who are united by common languages, religious beliefs or a common heritage. It also refers to a self conscious group of people who can be said to be united. The research will consider adult students from the Hispanic, African American and Caucasian origins. In order to obtain information concerning the personal ethnicities of the adult learners who have been enrolled into the institution, the student’s records that have been used to record their different ethnicities will be utilized (Jones, 2008). Transfer Credits These are measures that are used by universities or colleges for awarding credit to their students to show the educational experience that they may have attained from other learning institutions. The transfer credits awarded usually display a list of the courses that a student has previously undertaken, the grades attained along with any other attributes they may have attained from these institutions (Wlodkowski & Westover, 2009). However, these credits are not yet official till they have received verification in written form from an official within the institution giving consent to its contents. The research will rely on the transfer credits that the adult learners have presented from the other institutions they had previously attended to determine their persistence levels and the factors that influence them (Cook and King, 2009). This information will be acquired from their enrolment files which contain any documents that detail their previous achievements like their transfer credits (Trinity International University, 2011). Study Assumptions and Limitations. Assumptions The research will assume that all the records that it intends to utilize are free from any data entry errors. The research will additionally assume that all the students who were attending the nonprofit making Christian Liberal Arts University were adult learners and all the courses studied had reached their desired levels (Cook and King, 2009). The research will additionally assume that all the accepted transfer credits for adult learners who are transferring from other institutions have all met the minimum desired levels. This will come from the assumption that all the programs follow similar guidelines when accrediting their students thereby encompassing similar academic strictness (Tinto, 2008). Limitations The adult learners who do not attend their learning sessions in the nonprofit making Christian Liberal Arts University will not be included in the research. The study will additionally only utilize the student’s records that were available from the year 2008 to 2011. The accuracy of the data will depend on the data input and presented by the universities administration. The research will be disadvantaged in that it will only utilize data acquired from the university’s database focusing on a specific population of students (Cook and King, 2009). The limitation that the study will experience out of acquiring information from a fixed period of time will also be disadvantageous to the research. This is mainly because the research will not be allowed to make comparisons with the trends that may have been witnessed during different times within the same institutions (Sociology Guide, 2011). Research Plan The research will mainly be a quantitative one in order to facilitate the analysis of data. A qualitative type of study will be vital for the research since the raw data collected will be measureable, detailed and will have the capacity of yielding numerical data (Comings, Parrella & Soricone, 2009). According to Jones, qualitative research can be utilized for the purpose of expounding on the different features of numerical data. This data will be collected from the adult learner’s observable behaviors and will later on be subjected to a statistical analysis (2008). The approach will further enhance the research’s ability of establishing the relationship that exists between age, gender, ethnicity, transfer credits and their academic persistence in nonprofit making institutions (Wlodkowski & Westover, 2009). A correlation design will be applied in the research because it will assist in establishing the relationships that exist between the different variables which are under consideration in the research. It is also helpful when the research intends to establish the nature of changes that occur to the variables under consideration (Cook and King, 2009). The approach on quantitative correlations will be utilized for the purpose of analyzing the available data so as to determine whether there are relationships that exist among the variables being researched (Tinto, 2008). Conceptual or theoretical Framework The research will mainly be based on the conceptual model by Metzner & Bean’s of non-traditional student attrition which was introduced back in the year 1987 (Carey, 2008). The model supports Tinto’s model which stipulates that the successful integration of adult students into institutions offering higher learning opportunities does determine their persistent behaviors (Cook and King, 2009). The research will not use the model proposed by Tinto because it only applies to institutions that offer the traditional programs in contrast to Metzner & Bean’s model which applies to the non-traditional and accelerated adult learning programs (Sociology Guide, 2011). The latter model will enable the research to come up with a better understanding of the reasons why adult students are able to persist in achieving their academic goals within these types of institutions (Tinto, 2008). According to previous studies, the model greatly helps in expounding on the relationships that exist between different variables that are found in the study (Sociology Guide, 2011). According to Becker & Andrew, adult students do encounter various barriers in the pursuit of their academic goals beyond high school education (2009). They suggest that these barriers may be classified as being situational, dispositional or institutional. Further research stipulates that several university and college administrations in various parts of the world have introduced learning programs that are different from their traditional ones. This has been done in order to increase adult enrolment into their institutions (Cook and King, 2009). These programs utilize techniques like distance learning, accelerated delivery of learning materials and the conduction of learning sessions during weekends (Wlodkowski & Westover, 2009). Previous studies have indicated that institutions offering adult education have encountered many challenges concerning retaining of the adult learners till they have satisfied their academic goals (Cook and King, 2009). The adult student’s emotional and demographic factors have also been identified in previous researches as affecting their persistence in academic institutions (Comings, Parrella & Soricone, 2009). This research will utilize Metzner & Bean’s model with the aim of establishing how these factors affect the academic persistence of the adult students who attend the nonprofit making learning institutions (Chen, 2010). Previous research also indicates that the first period of three weeks since an adult joins an institution of higher learning are vital for determining their academic persistence. These researches will additional aim at establishing the problems that affect them during this period and how they can be solved (Millar & So, 2008). Methodology Introduction The major purpose for carrying this research will be to determine whether there exist any correlations between the adult learners age, transfer credits, gender along with ethnicity and their academic persistence in the nonprofit making Christian Liberal Arts University. Target Population The research will target the adult learners who have joined the nonprofit making Christian Liberal Arts University between the years 2008 and 2011. The institution under consideration offers courses through learning programs that are accelerated in the fields of Business, Sociology, Psychology and Engineering courses. The institution additionally admits students who are above twenty three years of age into their leaning programs. For the purpose of organizing the data collected into a meaningful form, the research will cluster the adult learners into age groups that will range from 23-32 years, 33-42 years, 43-52 years, 53-62 years and so forth. The adult student’s information that will be obtained from the university’s database will then be reviewed for the purpose of determining their academic persistence patterns. The records to be utilized should provide information concerning the continuous enrolment of the adult students into the institution from the year 2008 to the year 2011 (Cook and King, 2009). Research Setting The nonprofit making Christian Liberal Arts University which is a satellite campus was established back in the year 1993 and offers their undergraduate degrees by utilizing the accelerated learning format to their adult learners. In the learning programs, the adult learners study for a period of four hours every day for a whole week with the institutions learning semesters lasting for eight to ten weeks. This however depends on the particular type of course that an individual is undertaking in the institution. The University was accredited by the commission on higher learning as a regional institution and licensed to operate by a commission created by Florida’s Department Of Education (Kleiner & Lewis, 2010). Types of instruments to be utilized in the research The research will mainly utilize spreadsheets for the purpose of clearly displaying the data that will be collected concerning the research topic. The data for the topic under investigation will mainly be obtained from the institutions database and the analysis will then be carried out using statistical software that has been approved by the statistics industry (Wlodkowski & Westover, 2009). The data to be collected will mainly concern the adult learners’ ages, gender, their ethnicities and their transfer credits for those who possess them. This data concerning the enrolment of adult students into the institution for the period from the year 2008 to 2011 will then be cross checked for accuracy then later recorded for any future analysis that may be carried out (Millar & So, 2008). All these information concerning the adult students will be obtained from their university database. It will eventually be utilized for the purpose of creating reports regarding the relationship of their ages, transfer credits, genders along with their ethnicities and their academic persistence. For the purpose of creating anonymity, the research will utilize chronological identification numbers (Cook and King, 2009). Procedures to be utilized First of all, a letter seeking for permission to collect data concerning the adult learners in the Christian nonprofit making university will have to be obtained. Contact will then be made with the Board on institutional review (IRB) and the university’s dean of students to additionally obtain the consent on conducting the research among their students (Comings, Parrella & Soricone, 2009). An inquiry into the stipulated protocols within the institution for collecting research data will then be learnt and adhered to before the actual data collection activity can commence (Peter & Cataldi, 2009). The archival data that will be found in the university’s database concerning the adult students who have been enrolled into the institution between the years 2008 and 2011 will then be accessed to facilitate the research (Millar & So, 2008). The collected information will then be later on downloaded from the university’s database for the purpose of analyzing it using the statistical data obtained earlier on. The data collected during the research will be presented using pie charts, graphs and tables containing the analyzed data. The analyzed data will also be represented in the form of percentages along with other statistical formats (Walberg, 2008). Research Design This research will adopt both the quantitative and qualitative methods of carrying out data analysis. This will be utilized for the purpose of ensuring that the research is successful through the analysis of accurate data (Millar & So, 2008). However, the research will utilize a correlative design because it aims at establishing the relationship that exists between the adult learners’s ages, transfer credits, ethnicities along with gender and their academic persistence. This is because utilizing a correlative design will help the researcher to effectively establish the relationship that exists between the studies’s dependent along with independent variables (Peter & Cataldi, 2009). Using the design of causal comparisons in the study will only help the researcher in establishing the relationship between the causes and effects of academic persistence among the adult learners in the institution. This design will therefore not be used in this research since it will not be beneficial (Wolfe, 2008). Data Analysis The process of data analysis will be investigative and will allow the researcher to examine, divide or evaluate the data collected during the research (Carey, 2008). The analysis of the data collected will be carried out using statistical software that conforms to the industry’s standards. The types of spreadsheets that will be utilized during the analysis of data will be the Microsoft excel and the windows version 10.0 for social sciences (Sociology Guide, 2010). In order to determine the relationship that exists between the dependent along with independent variables, descriptive statistics and an analysis of their variances will be performed. The activity will enable the researcher to determine the existing relationships after all the variables have been analyzed (Walberg, 2008). An analysis of the variances (ANOVA) is a process that will be carried out for the purpose of determining if the mean scores between two dependent variables are statistically noteworthy (Chen, 2010). The ANOVA process will be beneficial for the research because he will be able to utilize simpler fields in appropriately presenting the data collected (Cook and King, 2009). For instance, the researcher will be able to utilize fields titled True/False to indicate the adult students who persisted in attaining their academic goals along with those who did not (Millar & So, 2008). The use of descriptive statistics will also be important for enabling the organization, summarizing along with the display of the numerical data that may have been collected during the research (Horn and Berger, 2011). Among the methods of descriptive statics that the researcher will utilize in his activities of data analysis will include variability measures and the correlation coefficients that were previously utilized for the purpose of analyzing the variables in the study (Kleiner & Lewis, 2010). The use of logic regressions will also beneficial to the research. This is because they will enable the researcher to examining the how these independent variables predict the probabilities of the variables which are dependent in the study (Carey, 2008). The logistic regressions will be the most preferred method of carrying out the data analysis because it will allow for the easy building of models especially if the dependent variables will be dichotomous (Tinto, 2008). The method could also be vital in handling any dichotomous variables that may be present in the study. For the purpose of determining the correlation that exists between the variables in the research, the Pearson R and R statistic correlation coefficients will be utilized (Horn and Berger, 2011). The R statistic will be utilized for the determination of the degree which the independent variables account for the changes in the dependent variables in the research (Peter & Cataldi, 2009). Data Results After carrying out an analysis on the data collected, the results of the research will be provided based on the results observed for each of the variables under consideration. The results will be presented to the university’s administration and any other interested parties (Kleiner & Lewis, 2010). This will be done for the purpose of demonstrating the relationship that exist between the adult learner’s academic persistence and their ages, gender, transfer credits along with their ethnic backgrounds. The results from the data analysis will also be utilized for the purpose of determining whether the research hypothesis is either true or false (Walberg, 2008). The data collected for each variable will be presented in tabular form for easier interpretation. The research questions will then have to be addressed by examining the available data to determine the existing relationships between the dependent and independent variables (Peter & Cataldi, 2009). Details that concern the research population will be described using descriptive statistics which will help in expounding on the differences in the variables. The trends in the data collected will be compared to establish the difference between the different periods that it was collected. This is because the research will cover the adult learners who have been continuously admitted into the institution from the year 2008 to 2011 (Wolfe, 2008). This trends will then be represented graphically so that the trends to give the reader a vivid picture of the changes caused by the variables. The student profiles will also be clearly laid out in tabular form along with the other demographic factors that they possess (Horn and Berger, 2011). The results of this research will be beneficial for the administrators of the universities who since it will help in highlighting the factors that affect the adult learners within their institution (Peter & Cataldi, 2009). They will also be beneficial since they will help the university administration in formulating policies that will help the adult learners to achieve their academic goals. Finally, the data results will be vital for the university administration since it will enable them to determine the efficiency of their accelerated learning programs in delivering education to adult learners within their institution (Tinto, 2008). References Associated Press. (2011). U.S. College Drop-Out Rate Sparks Concern: Educators Turn Attention To Getting Students All The Way To Graduation. Retrieved from http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10053859/[Accessed on 10/07/2012] Baum, S. & Payea, K. (2009). Education Pays 2004: The Benefits of Higher Education for Individual and Society. New York: The College Board. Becker, W. E. & Andrews, M. L. (2009). The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education: Contributions of Research Universities. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press. Carey, K. (2008). 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(2008). “How A For-Profit University Can Be Invaluable To The Traditional Liberal Arts.” The Chronicle Of Higher Education. New York: SAGE. Ziegler, M. & Durant, C. (2007). Engagement: A Necessary Ingredient For Participation In Adult Basic Education. London: Cengage Learning. Read More