Jaime Duran

Date

8-2016

Department

School of Education

Degree

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Chair

Joseph Fontanella

Keywords

First Generation, First Year, Higher Education, Latino, Persistence, Retention

Disciplines

Curriculum and Instruction | Curriculum and Social Inquiry | Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research | Higher Education | Other Education | Social and Philosophical Foundations of Education

Abstract

The purpose of this causal-comparative quantitative study was to examine the relationships between the efficacy of a Summer Bridge Academy (SBA) and the impact on students by measuring the Grade Point Averages (GPAs), retention rates, and persistence rates of first-generation, first-year, Latino college students who participated in a SBA at Central Valley Community College against like students who did not participate in same program. The independent variable was participation in a 6 week long SBA, which took place during the summer of 2011. The dependent variables were GPAs, retention rates, and persistence rates, and the control and intervening variables, students who are first-generation, first-year, Latino college students were statistically controlled in this study. This study was guided by the following research questions: (RQ1) Is there a significant difference in academic performance; (RQ2) Is there a significant difference in retention rates; (RQ3) Is there a significant difference in persistence rates of Summer Bridge Academy (SBA) participants against nonparticipants? The data analysis revealed a statistically significant difference in combined Summer and Fall 2011 mean GPA scores between SBA participants and the comparison group. There was no statistically significant difference in Retention and Persistence rates. College success can be defined as the ability for students to continue and persist towards their academic goals and the 2011 SBA failed to bridge the achievement gap.

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