The Study of Institutional Practices Related to Student Persistence
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
8-2009
Publication Source
Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory & Practice
Abstract
Using literature and illustrations drawn from a pilot study, this article explores the theoretical and methodological challenges entailed in the study of student retention. We center the discussion around two important efforts to expand the theoretical base and scope for research in this area: Berger's (2000) concept of colleges and universities as optimizers of cultural capital and Bensimon's (2007) recent critique of the narrowness of the frames that predominate student retention research. By way of exploring these issues through a concrete example, the article presents an overview of processes and findings from a funded pilot study of institutional policies and practices surrounding student retention. This exploration—part essay, part research report—leads us ultimately to pose two central questions on which, we suggest, future research should build: What are institutions doing to improve student retention? and How do institutions intervene in the workings of cultural capital in higher education?
Inclusive pages
101-121
ISBN/ISSN
1521-0251
Publisher
Sage Publications
Volume
11
Issue
1
Peer Reviewed
yes
eCommons Citation
Ziskin, Mary; Hossler, Don; and Kim, Sooyeon, "The Study of Institutional Practices Related to Student Persistence" (2009). Educational Leadership Faculty Publications. 227.
https://ecommons.udayton.edu/eda_fac_pub/227
