Deciding to Pursue a College-Going Possible Self in a High-Poverty High School
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Virginia Commonwealth University VCU Scholars Compass Theses and Dissertations Graduate School 2017 One in Eight: Deciding to Pursue a College-Going Possible Self in a High-Poverty High School David B. Naff Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/etd Part of the Educational Psychology Commons © The Author Downloaded from https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/etd/5114 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at VCU Scholars Compass. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of VCU Scholars Compass. For more information, please contact [email protected]. One in Eight: Deciding to Pursue a College-Going Possible Self in a High-Poverty High School A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Virginia Commonwealth University. by David Naff Bachelor of Science, Appalachian State University, 2008 Master of Arts, Wake Forest University, 2010 Director: Kathleen Cauley, PhD Associate Professor, Foundations of Education School of Education Virginia Commonwealth University Richmond, Virginia October, 2017 Acknowledgement This is a paper about the critical role that context plays in motivation and student outcomes, and having been a student for most of my life I must acknowledge that my context has everything to do with where I am today. I first want to thank my family, in particular my mom, Sue Naff, who taught me how to be passionate and my dad, George Naff, who taught me how to be compassionate. I also wish to thank each member of my committee for their incredible guidance throughout this process: Dr. Kathleen Cauley for your honest feedback and persistent advocacy since before I even joined this program, Dr. Genevieve Siegel-Hawley for showing me how to write about poverty the right way, Dr. Avril Smart for making it apparent in the brief time we worked together at The Friday Institute that your perspective on advocating for equity was one I had to have on my committee, and Dr. Jesse Senechal for walking me through the design of rigorous qualitative research and for being such a transformative part of my experience at Virginia Commonwealth University. I am forever better to have known each of you. I also want to acknowledge the various support systems I have been so fortunate to have in my time at VCU and in Richmond. To my incredible cohort of fellow educational psychology students, I am grateful for your friendship and inspired by your work. What a thrill it will be to see where the world takes you from here. I am also grateful for the city of Richmond with rich culture and local pride beyond any place I have previously lived. To the incredible people at UPHS who have guided me through ii the mission of working in a high-poverty school, I am grateful not only for your partnership in this project but also for the many ways you have opened my eyes and transformed my research over the past three years. Our work together has always been about sharing your story, and I hope this project serves that mission well. I am forever grateful to Jan Stanley, Michelle Boisclair, Chuck Bowling, Clinton Marsh, and Matt Ruble at Appalachian State University for introducing me to the world of K-12 education and expanding college access for low-income students. To Dr. Donna Henderson, Dr. Samuel Gladding, and everyone in the Department of Counseling at Wake Forest University, thank you for teaching me the power of unconditional positive regard and for your continued support over the years. To my colleagues at Mount Tabor High School, thank you for showing me the relentless, messy, and triumphant work of school dropout prevention. Finally, to all of my students that I have come to know in various roles over the past ten years, you have given me much more than I ever gave you. The hardest decision I ever made was leaving you to come to this program, and you have remained in everything that I have done since. Our plan was always to do big things, and I hope I have made you proud. iii Dedicated to Traci It turns out, with you, anything is possible. iv Table of Contents Acknowledgement ............................................................................................................. ii List of Tables .................................................................................................................. viii List of Figures ................................................................................................................... ix Abstract .............................................................................................................................. ii Chapter 1 ........................................................................................................................... 1 Conceptual Framework and Terminology .............................................................................. 5 Poverty and Education ............................................................................................................ 7 Possible Selves........................................................................................................................ 8 Expectancy Value Theory ....................................................................................................... 9 Research Contributions .......................................................................................................... 11 Methodological Overview ....................................................................................................... 15 Goals of the Study ................................................................................................................... 17 Intellectual Goals .................................................................................................................. 18 Practical Goals ...................................................................................................................... 18 Personal Goals ...................................................................................................................... 19 CHAPTER 2 .................................................................................................................... 21 Literature Search Method ...................................................................................................... 22 Poverty and Education .......................................................................................................... 22 Possible Selves...................................................................................................................... 23 Expectancy Value Theory ..................................................................................................... 23 Poverty and Education ........................................................................................................... 24 Background ........................................................................................................................... 25 Components of Poverty ........................................................................................................ 26 Poverty and Educational Outcomes ...................................................................................... 30 High Poverty Schools ........................................................................................................... 33 Possible Selves ......................................................................................................................... 36 Identity .................................................................................................................................. 37 Possible Selves...................................................................................................................... 39 Exemplary Studies ................................................................................................................ 49 Expectancy Value Theory....................................................................................................... 55 History .................................................................................................................................. 55 Modern EVT Structure ......................................................................................................... 57 Sociocultural Context ........................................................................................................... 64 Conceptual Model ................................................................................................................... 68 Conclusion................................................................................................................................ 71 CHAPTER 3 .................................................................................................................... 74 Researcher Stance ................................................................................................................... 74 Study Design ............................................................................................................................ 79 Case Studies .......................................................................................................................... 80 v Naturalism............................................................................................................................. 80 Constructivism .....................................................................................................................