Basic mathematics education and graduation from community college: An interpretative study
Item
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Title
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Basic mathematics education and graduation from community college: An interpretative study
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Identifier
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d_2009_2013:4bcfbefd4f13:10726
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identifier
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10958
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Creator
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Fuchs, Eric,
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Contributor
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Kenneth Tobin
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Date
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2011
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Mathematics education | Higher education | Community Colleges | Graduation Rates | Teaching | Technology in Education
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Abstract
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This research examines the relationship between basic mathematics courses and educational attainment at a City University of New York (CUNY) community college in the Bronx, where graduation rates hover at 25% or less even after students have attended classes for seven or eight years. Three-quarters of students leave college within the first three years after their original enrollment. This research examines the extent to which failure in mathematics basic courses is associated with the high dropout rate, low graduation rate, and length of time-to-degree.;The students in this study are primarily low-income Hispanics or Blacks. This research documents that the failure in basic mathematics contributes significantly to failure to graduate from a CUNY community college and offers a critique of the system that maintains this state of affairs. It also presents concrete steps for changing this situation. This research is an interpretive study that employs mainly qualitative data and descriptive analyses, though quantitative data are also used as part of the overall analysis. The fields of investigation included my practice in a basic arithmetic course at Highland (a pseudonym) Community College, other basic mathematics courses at the college, and mathematics achievement data from several CUNY community colleges.;The theoretical framework encompasses sociocultural theory, the sociology of emotions, and educational psychology. The data resources included college and CUNY retention and graduation rates, autoethnography, students' autobiographies, questionnaires, and interviews with students and faculty. The research also examines community college structures, including policies, mathematics curriculum and mathematics pedagogy, and sociocultural and socioaffective factors that potentially mediate the graduation rate.;The study finds that quality teaching and implementing innovative structural changes in community colleges will increase the retention rate, improve the graduation rate, and shorten the time-to-degree without diluting the quality of academic content.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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2009_2013.csv
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degree
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Ph.D.
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Program
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Urban Education
