■对于许多学生来说,社区学院是迈向学士学位的方便的第一步。然而,尽管80%以上的社区学院学生打算转到四年制大学,不到35%的人在6年内这样做。定量数据显示存在转移差距,并且对高中生的大学选择进行了广泛的研究,但是很少进行定性研究来检查社区大学生的转移过程,以确定驱动他们决策的因素。
■在本文中,我们利用对德克萨斯州58名社区大学生的采访来研究他们是如何做出转会决定的。
■我们发现他们的决策和转移途径是复杂和非线性的,这对于社区大学环境的不确定性是特别的。对于一部分学生来说,我们发现了可能破坏他们决策的小障碍,延长他们转移的时间表,或导致无法转移。
■通过定性研究阐明学生的转学途径,我们的工作确定了政策和实践可以加强转移以改善学生成绩的潜在领域。
UNASSIGNED: For many students, community college is a convenient first step toward a bachelor\'s degree. Yet, although more than 80% of those who enroll in community colleges intend to transfer to a 4-year institution, fewer than 35% do so within 6 years. Quantitative data reveal the presence of a transfer gap and there is extensive research on college choice for high school students, but little qualitative research has been done to examine the transfer process for community college students to identify what drives their decisions.
UNASSIGNED: In this article, we draw on interviews with 58 community college students in Texas to examine how they made transfer decisions.
UNASSIGNED: We find that their decision-making and transfer pathways were complex and nonlinear in ways that were particular to the uncertainty of the community college context. For a subset of students, we identify minor hurdles that could derail their decision-making, lengthen their timelines to transfer, or lead to a failure to transfer.
UNASSIGNED: By illuminating student pathways to transfer using qualitative research, our work identifies potential areas where policy and practice could strengthen transfer to improve student outcomes.