Understanding Persistence Using a Phenomenological Variant of Ecological Systems Framework

• In Event: Understanding Student Persistence Factors

Abstract

Expanding on existing research of high-risk students’ achievement and persistence obstacles, this study applies the Phenomenological Variant of Ecological Systems Theory (Spencer, DuPree, & Hartmann, 1997) framework to investigate the persistence experiences of institutionally identified high-risk college students in order to fully understand how person-environment relationships and self-organization together contribute to the persistence decisions these students made. The findings suggest that the decision making process of persisting in school, as well as returning to school, ultimately was influenced by students’ perceived negative feedback about their abilities to fulfill key roles in their microsystems and/or exo- and macro-systems. Findings also demonstrate how students coordinate and cope with environmental feedback regarding the intersection of their personal characteristics and contexts.

Authors

• Jane Elizabeth Pizzolato, University of California - Los Angeles

• C. Casey Ozaki, University of North Dakota

• Marc P. Johnston, University of California - Los Angeles

• Avery B. Olson, University of California - Los Angeles