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.
Recommended Citation
Graham, Danielle, "Conceptualizing College-Going Volition: Investigating Relationships with Barriers and Self-Efficacy in Rural Appalachia. " PhD diss., University of Tennessee, 2019.
https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss/6774