Abstract
In the United States, the Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP) fosters relationships between racial-ethnic and low-income adolescents and adults and peers who help them and their families take formal steps toward pursuing a college degree. However, the extent to which GEAR UP students seek teachers, counselors, parents, or friends to prepare for college during program participation is underexplored in the literature. Using the Theory of Reasoned Action as a guiding framework, this study examined the extent to which GEAR UP participant attitudes, subjective norms, and intentions influenced whether participants sought academic support from teachers, counselors, parents, or friends during an academic semester. Strong direct and indirect effects were found in structural equation models examining GEAR UP student subjective norms, intentions, and behaviors regarding seeking academic support from friends. The data on students seeking academic support from school personnel and parents were less conclusive. Participation in GEAR UP activities influenced these relationships. Implications for how practitioners and researchers support the college readiness of adolescents in GEAR UP are discussed.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ajzen, I. (2005). Attitudes, personality, and behavior. New York: Open University Press.
Ajzen, I., & Fishbein, M. (1980). Understanding attitudes and predicting social behavior. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Antonio, A. L. (2004). The influence of friendship groups on intellectual self-confidence and educational aspirations in college. The Journal of Higher Education, 75(4), 446–471. https://doi.org/10.1353/jhe.2004.0019.
Armitage, C. J., & Conner, M. (2001). Efficacy of the theory of planned behaviour: A meta-analytic review. British Journal of Social Psychology, 40(4), 471–499. https://doi.org/10.1348/014466601164939.
Asha Cooper, M. (2009). Dreams deferred? The relationship between early and later postsecondary educational aspirations among racial/ethnic groups. Educational Policy, 23(4), 615–650. https://doi.org/10.1177/0895904807312467.
Babbie, E. R. (1990). Survey research methods. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Pub. Co.
Babbie, E. R. (2010). The practice of social research. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage.
Balz, F. J., & Esten, M. R. (1998). Fulfilling private dreams, serving public priorities: An analysis of TRIO students’ success at independent colleges and universities. The Journal of Negro Education, 67(4), 333–345.
Bausmith, J. M., & France, M. (2012). The impact of GEAR UP on college readiness for students in low income schools. Journal of Education for Students Placed at Risk, 17(4), 234–246. https://doi.org/10.1080/10824669.2012.717036.
Beer, G., Le Blanc, M., & Miller, M. J. (2008). Summer learning camps: Helping students to prepare for college. College Student Journal, 42(3), 930–938.
Bowman, N. A., Kim, S., Ingleby, L., Ford, D. C., & Sibaouih, C. (2018). Improving college access at low-income high schools? The impact of GEAR UP Iowa on postsecondary enrollment and persistence. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 40(3), 399–419. https://doi.org/10.3102/0162373718778133.
Burnett, P. C., & Fanshawe, J. P. (1997). Measuring school-related stressors in adolescents. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 26(4), 415–428.
Byrne, B. M. (2013). Structural equation modeling with Mplus. New York, NY: Routledge.
Cabrera, A. F., Deil-Amen, R., Prabhu, R., Terenzini, P., Lee, C., & Franklin, R. (2006). Increasing the college preparedness of at-risk students. Journal of Latinos and Education, 5(2), 79–97.
Ceja, M. (2006). Understanding the role of parents and siblings as information sources in the college choice process of Chicana students. Journal of College Student Development, 47(1), 87–104.
Coleman, J. S. (2000). Social capital in the creation of human capital. In E. Lesser (Ed.), Knowledge and social capital: Foundations and applications (pp. 17–41). Boston, MA: Butterwork-Heineman.
Conley, D. T. (2008). Rethinking college readiness. New Directions for Higher Education, 2008(144), 3–13. https://doi.org/10.1002/he.321.
Conley, D. T. (2013). Proficiency approaches for making more students college and career ready. In L. W. Perna & A. P. Jones (Eds.), The state of college access and completion: Improving college success for students from underrepresented groups (pp. 57–76). New York: Routledge.
Conley, D. T., McGaughy, C. L., Kirtner, J., Valk, A., & Martinez-Wenzl, M. T. (2010). College readiness practices at 38 high schools and the development of the CollegeCareerReady diagnostic tool. Paper presented at the American Educational Research Association, Denver, Colorado.
Creswell, J. W. (2014). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. London: SAGE Publications.
Durlak, J., & DuPre, E. (2008). Implementation matters: A review of research on the influence of implementation on program outcomes and the factors affecting implementation. American Journal of Community Psychology, 41(3), 327–350. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10464-008-9165-0.
Dusenbury, L. (2003). A review of research on fidelity of implementation: Implications for drug abuse prevention in school settings. Health Education Research, 18(2), 237–256. https://doi.org/10.1093/her/18.2.237.
Ellis, J. M., & Helaire, L. J. (2018). The effects of adolescent self-regulated learning on engagement in a college access program: An exploratory study. AERA Open, 4(1), 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1177/2332858418756051.
Enders, C. K., & Bandalos, D. L. (2001). The relative performance of full information maximum likelihood estimation for missing data in structural equation models. Structural Equation Modeling, 8(3), 430–457.
Fishbein, M., & Ajzen, I. (2010). Predicting and changing behavior: The reasoned action approach. New York: Psychology Press.
Foster, K. C. (2008). The transformative potential of teacher care as described by students in a higher education access initiative. Education and Urban Society, 41(1), 104–126. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013124508321591.
Gibbs Grey, T. (2018). Reppin’ and risin’ above: Exploring communities of possibility that affirm the college-going aspirations of Black youth. Urban Education. https://doi.org/10.1177/0042085918804020.
Gibson, D. M., & Jefferson, R. N. (2006). The effect of perceived parental involvement and the use of growth-fostering relationships on self-concept in adolescents participating in GEAR UP. Adolescence, 41(161), 111–125.
Glennie, E. J., Dalton, B. W., & Knapp, L. G. (2015). The influence of precollege access programs on postsecondary enrollment and persistence. Educational Policy, 29(7), 963–983.
Gutowski, E., White, A. E., Liang, B., Diamonti, A.-J., & Berado, D. (2017). How stress influences purpose development: The importance of social support. Journal of Adolescent Research, 33(5), 571–597. https://doi.org/10.1177/0743558417737754.
Haskins, R., & Rouse, C. E. (2013). Time for change: A new federal strategy to prepare disadvantaged students for college. In S. McLanahan (Ed.), Postsecondary education in the United States (Vol. 23). Princeton: The Future of Children Princeton-Brookings.
Hill, N. E., & Wang, M. T. (2015). From middle school to college: Developing aspirations, promoting engagement, and indirect pathways from parenting to post high school enrollment. Developmental Psychology, 51(2), 224–235. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0038367.
Horn, L., Chen, X., & Chapman, C. (2003). Getting ready to pay for college: What students and their parents know about the cost of college tuition and what they are doing to find out. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education. Retrieved from https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2003/2003030.pdf.
Horvat, E. (1996). African-American students and college choice decision-making in social context. (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global. http://proxy.lib.umich.edu/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/304278464?accountid=14667(04278464).
Hossler, D., Schmit, J., & Vesper, N. (1999). Going to college: How social, economic, and educational factors influence the decisions students make. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press.
Howard, T. C., & Reynolds, R. (2008). Examining parent involvement in reversing the underachievement of African American students in middle-class schools. Educational Foundations, 22(1–2), 79–98.
Kline, R. B. (2015). Principles and practice of structural equation modeling (4th ed.). New York: Guilford Publications.
Lin, N. (2001). Building a network theory of social capital. In N. Lin, K. Cook, & S. R. Burt (Eds.), Social capital: Theory and research. New Brunswick: Transaction Publishers.
Madden, T. J., Ellen, P. S., & Ajzen, I. (1992). A comparison of the theory of planned behavior and the theory of reasoned action. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 18(1), 3–9. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167292181001.
McDonough, P. M. (1997). Choosing colleges: How social class and schools structure opportunity. Albany: State University of New York Press.
Morgan, Y., Sinatra, R., & Eschenauer, R. (2015). A comprehensive partnership approach increasing high school graduation rates and college enrollment of urban economically disadvantaged youth. Education and Urban Society, 47(5), 596–620. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013124514536437.
Muhammad, C. G. (2006). African Americans and college choice: The influence of family and school. Review of Higher Education, 29(2), 247–248. https://doi.org/10.1353/rhe.2005.0085.
Muhammad, C. G. (2008). African American students and college choice: A consideration of the role of school counselors. NASSP Bulletin, 92(2), 81–94.
Museus, S. D., & Neville, K. M. (2012). Delineating the ways that key institutional agents provide racial minority students with access to social capital in college. Journal of College Student Development, 53, 436–452.
Musoba, G., & Baez, B. (2009). The cultural capital of cultural and social capital: An economy of translations. In J. C. Smart (Ed.), Higher education: Handbook of theory and research (Vol. 24, pp. 151–182). Dordrecht: Springer.
Nagaoka, J., Farrington, C. A., Roderick, M., Allensworth, E., Keyes, T. S., Johnson, D. W., et al. (2013). Readiness for college: The role of noncognitive factors and context. Voices in Urban Education, 38, 45–52. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1525-1446.2011.00945.x.
Nichols, L., & Islas, Á. (2016). Pushing and pulling emerging adults through college: College generational status and the influence of parents and others in the first year. Journal of Adolescent Research, 31(1), 59–95. https://doi.org/10.1177/0743558415586255.
Perez, P. A., & McDonough, P. M. (2008). Understanding Latina and Latino college choice: A social capital and chain migration analysis. Journal of Hispanic Higher Education, 7(3), 249–265.
Perna, L. W. (2002). Precollege outreach programs: Characteristics of programs serving historically underrepresented groups of students. Journal of College Student Personnel, 43(1), 64–83.
Perna, L. W., & Jones, A. P. (2013). The state of college access and completion: Improving college success for students from underrepresented groups. New York: Routledge.
Perna, L. W., Rowan-Kenyon, H., Bell, A., Thomas, S. L., & Li, C. (2008a). A typology of federal and state programs designed to promote college enrollment. The Journal of Higher Education, 79(3), 243–267.
Perna, L. W., Rowan-Kenyon, H. T., Thomas, S. L., Bell, A., Anderson, R., & Li, C. (2008b). The role of college counseling in shaping college opportunity: Variations across high schools. The Review of Higher Education, 31(2), 131–159.
Perna, L. W., & Titus, M. A. (2005). The relationship between parental involvement as social capital and college enrollment: An examination of racial/ethnic group differences. Journal of Higher Education, 76(5), 485–518.
Pitre, P. E., Johnson, T. E., & Pitre, C. C. (2006). Understanding predisposition in college choice: Toward an integrated model of college choice and theory of reasoned action. College and University, 81(2), 35–42.
Pit-ten Cate, I. M., & Glock, S. (2018). Teachers’ attitudes towards students with high- and low-educated parents. Social Psychology of Education, 21(3), 725–742. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11218-018-9436-z.
Rowan-Kenyon, H. T., Bell, A. D., & Perna, L. W. (2008). Contextual influences on parental involvement in college going: Variations by socioeconomic class. The Journal of Higher Education, 79(5), 564–586.
Ryan, A. M. (2000). Peer groups as a context for the socialization of adolescents’ motivation, engagement, and achievement in school. Educational Psychologist, 35(2), 101–111.
Savitz-Romer, M., & Bouffard, S. M. (2012). Ready, willing, and able: A developmental approach to college access and success. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education Press.
Schumacker, R. E., & Lomax, R. G. (1996). A beginner’s guide to structural equation modeling. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Skinner, E. A., Pitzer, J. R., & Steele, J. S. (2016). Can student engagement serve as a motivational resource for academic coping, persistence, and learning during late elementary and early middle school? Developmental Psychology, 52(12), 2099–2117. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0000232.
Sokatch, A. (2006). Peer influences on the college-going decisions of low socioeconomic status urban youth. Education and Urban Society, 39(1), 128–146. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013124506291783.
St. John, E. P., Hu, S., & Fisher, A. (2011). Breaking through the access barrier: How academic capital formation can improve policy in higher education. New York: Routledge.
Stanton-Salazar, R. (1997). A social capital framework for understanding the socialization of racial minority children and youths. Harvard Educational Review, 67(1), 1–41.
Stanton-Salazar, R. D. (2004). Social capital among working-class minority students. In M. A. Gibson, P. C. Gandara, & J. P. Koyama (Eds.), School connections: US Mexican youth, peers, and school achievement (pp. 18–38). New York: Teachers College Press.
Swail, W. S., & Perna, L. W. (2002). Pre-college outreach programs. In W. G. Tierney & S. L. Hagedorn (Eds.), Increasing access to college: Extending possibilities for all students (frontiers in education). Albany: State University of New York Press.
Thomas, W., & Webber, D. J. (2009). Choice at 16: School, parental and peer group effects. Research in Post-Compulsory Education, 14(2), 119–141.
Van Maele, D., & Van Houtte, M. (2011). The quality of school life: Teacher–student trust relationships and the organizational school context. Social Indicators Research, 100(1), 85–100. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-010-9605-8.
Ward, N. L. (2006). Improving equity and access for low-income and minority youth into institutions of higher education. Urban Education, 41(1), 50–70.
Ward, N. L., Strambler, M. J., & Linke, L. H. (2013). Increasing educational attainment among urban minority youth: A model of university, school, and community partnerships. The Journal of Negro Education, 82(3), 312–325.
Wentzel, K. R., & Caldwell, K. (1997). Friendships, peer acceptance, and group membership: Relations to academic achievement in middle school. Child Development, 68(6), 1198–1209.
Wentzel, K. R., Muenks, K., McNeish, D., & Russell, S. (2018). Emotional support, social goals, and classroom behavior: A multilevel, multisite study. Journal of Educational Psychology, 110(5), 611–627. https://doi.org/10.1037/edu0000239.
Wimberly, G. L., & Noeth, R. J. (2005). College readiness begins in middle school. ACT policy report. American College Testing ACT Inc.
Xerri, M. J., Radford, K., & Shacklock, K. (2018). Student engagement in academic activities: A social support perspective. Higher Education, 75(4), 589–605. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-017-0162-9.
Xiao, J. J. (2008). Applying behavior theories to financial behavior. Handbook of consumer finance research (pp. 69–81). New York, NY: Springer.
Yamamoto, Y., & Sonnenschein, S. (2016). Family contexts of academic socialization: The role of culture, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. Research in Human Development, 13(3), 183–190. https://doi.org/10.1080/15427609.2016.1194711.
Yamamura, E. K., Martinez, M. A., & Saenz, V. B. (2010). Moving beyond high school expectations: Examining stakeholders’ responsibility for increasing Latina/o students’ college readiness. The High School Journal, 93(3), 126–148.
Acknowledgements
This work was made possible by an American Education Research Association Minority Research Fellowship. The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the sponsors.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
Dr. Ellis was employed as a researcher for the college readiness program at the university when this study was conducted. This study adhered to ethical standards of conducting research with human subjects and approved by the author’s university institutional review board. Informed consent was obtained from all study participants.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Ellis, J.M., Helaire, L.J. A Theory of Reasoned Action Approach to Examining Academic Help-Seeking Behaviors Among Adolescents in a College Readiness Program. Urban Rev 53, 164–191 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11256-020-00549-z
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11256-020-00549-z