Doctoral Dissertations

Date of Award

8-2019

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Major

Psychology

Major Professor

Jacob J. Levy

Committee Members

Erin E. Hardin, Joseph R. Miles, Melinda M. Gibbons

Abstract

High school students in rural Appalachia typically face a high degree of obstacles to college going and, because a large number of adults in this region have no postsecondary education, many high school students are prospective first-generation college students (PFGCSs). Using the tenets of social cognitive career theory (SCCT) and psychology of working, I investigated college-going volition among a sample of 453 high school students in rural Appalachia. As predicted, PFGCSs reported significantly lower college-going volition than non-PFGCSs. I also investigated this construct in relation to other key SCCT variables. College-going volition was moderately negatively correlated with perceived educational barriers and it provided unique prediction of college-going self-efficacy when controlling for barriers. Contrary to my hypothesis, these two predictors did not interact in the prediction of college-going self-efficacy. Implications for an inclusive understanding of college-going are discussed.

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