| Title: |
Structuring First-Year Retention at a Regional Public Institution: Validating and Refining the Structure of Bowman's SEM Analysis |
| Language: |
English |
| Authors: |
Collier, Daniel A. (ORCID 0000-0002-3164-0815); Fitzpatrick, Dan (ORCID 0000-0002-9095-0370); Brehm, Chelsea (ORCID 0000-0002-1808-8405); Hearit, Keith; Beach, Andrea |
| Source: |
Research in Higher Education. Dec 2020 61(8):917-942. |
| Availability: |
Springer. Available from: Springer Nature. One New York Plaza, Suite 4600, New York, NY 10004. Tel: 800-777-4643; Tel: 212-460-1500; Fax: 212-460-1700; e-mail: customerservice@springernature.com; Web site: https://link.springer.com/ |
| Peer Reviewed: |
Y |
| Page Count: |
26 |
| Publication Date: |
2020 |
| Sponsoring Agency: |
Department of Education (ED) |
| Contract Number: |
P116F140353 |
| Document Type: |
Journal Articles; Reports - Research |
| Education Level: |
Higher Education; Postsecondary Education |
| Descriptors: |
College Freshmen; School Holding Power; Public Colleges; Structural Equation Models; Academic Persistence; Student Characteristics; Financial Problems; Security (Psychology); Food; Social Adjustment |
| DOI: |
10.1007/s11162-020-09612-w |
| ISSN: |
0361-0365 |
| Abstract: |
Structural equation modeling (SEM) considering how students' non-cognitive attributes influence first-year college student persistence remain extraordinarily rare--as are studies that test and expand upon published structural models or studies that include college student food security. This study addresses each. We surveyed "Beginner" Freshmen, capturing eight non-cognitive measurements and using institutional data on performance and fall-to-fall persistence measures, we then tested the structure of Bowman et al.'s (Res High Educ 60:135-152, 2019) SEM model. In Model 1, we mimic the Bowman model's financial variable by only including financial stress. We confirm that Bowman is a good structural model of student persistence, although our data were collected for another purpose, using different scales for non-cognitive elements and even one different non-cognitive measurement. We found students' non-cognitive attributes remain importantly influential to social adjustment (r=0.65), commitment to persist (r=0.40), college GPA (r=0.25), and fall-to-fall persistence (r=0.30). In Model 2, we generated a latent financial security variable incorporating financial stress and food security. Including food security generated a direct influence from the financial security variable to high-school GPA (r=0.25), not found in the Bowman model or Model 1, and a direct significant relationship from financial security to social adjustment (r=0.11)--not found in Model 1. Further changes are observed in the indirect relationship from financial security to college GPA from Model 1 (r=0.29) to Model 2 (r=0.51). We highlight the robustness of the Bowman model and that the inclusion of food security brings increased strength to several relationships without sacrificing optimal fit. |
| Abstractor: |
As Provided |
| Entry Date: |
2020 |
| Accession Number: |
EJ1273896 |
| Database: |
ERIC |