Education Commons^™

"Makin' It": A Study Of First Generation College Graduates Lives Out Of Poverty, Sharla Benson-Brown

Theses and Dissertations

Scholars across various disciplines concur that poverty , especially when experienced generationally, is difficult to escape (MacLeod, 2009; Bowles & Gintis, 2002; Nieto, 2005; Corak, 2006; Sawhill & Haskins, 2008). Yet, while much is known about the existence and persistence of poverty, we know less about how and why those individuals who successfully escape poverty are able to do so (Hardaway & McLoyd, 2009).

Guided by critical social and institutional theory this qualitative study, examined the experiences of individuals who grew up in generational poverty (with parents who had no high school diploma), yet became first-generation college graduates, and entered …

The Impact Of Poverty, School Enrollment, And Ninth-Grade Transition Programs On Promotion To Tenth Grade In Thirty South Carolina High Schools, Mark Shannon Hopkins

Theses and Dissertations

This study attempted to determine the impact of poverty, school size, and the presence of a ninth grade transition program (independent variables) upon promotion to tenth grade (dependent variable). Three sets of ten South Carolina high schools were purposefully selected for the study: one from high, one from medium, and one from low poverty index ranges. Poverty information was gathered from SCDE Poverty Index lists, and school size and tenth grade promotion rate were calculated from enrollment data supplied by the SCDE. A ninth grade transition was defined by identifying eight common transition practices in current literature and sample school …