Promoting the Educational Attainment of Adults

Abstract

This study draws on data collected from case studies of four precollege outreach programs and a survey of program administrators to explore the ways that youth-oriented precollege outreach programs may promote the educational attainment of the parents of participating students. The results suggest that precollege outreach programs may expand the “worldview” of participating students’ parents to include enrollment in an educational program as a realistic option and provide parents with information required for this enrollment. The results also suggest that, despite the potential role of precollege outreach programs in promoting the educational attainment of participating students’ parents, low current educational attainment and insufficient financial resources are substantial deterrents to enrollment.

A fourth generation approach to transition in the first year in higher education: First year in higher education community of practice (FYHECoP)

“…At the pre-enrolment stage, access and outreach programs are also common and generally take the form of scholarships and support programs for under-represented minority students who may enter via ways other than the normal direct-from-school entry (Perna, Walsh, & Fester, 2011). Examples includes Auckland University of Technology's government-funded scholarship-style program, Pathways to University that "covers tuition and course fees for up to one year of study …, and provides pastoral care with administrative support" (Terrell, 2004, p. 427) and Victoria University's Access and Success in the West program that aims to improve educational experiences for young people in the low socioeconomic western suburbs of Melbourne, Australia "as well as increas[e] the capacity of their teachers and families to support this improvement" (Williams & Cherednichenko, 2007, p. 7).…”