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The not-so-lazy days of summer: Experimental interventions to increase college entry among low-income high school graduates
Abstract
Despite decades of policy intervention to increase college entry among low-income students, substantial inequalities in college going by family income remain. Policy makers have largely overlooked the summer after high school as an important time period in students' transition to college. During the post-high school summer, however, students must complete a range of financial and informational tasks prior to college enrollment, yet no longer have access to high school counselors and have not engaged yet with their college community. Moreover, many come from families with little college-going experience. Recent research documents summer attrition rates ranging from 10 to 40 percent among students who had been accepted to college and declared an intention to enroll in college as of high school graduation. Encouragingly, several experimental interventions demonstrate that students' postsecondary plans are quite responsive to additional outreach during the summer months. Questions nonetheless remain about how to maximize the impact and cost effectiveness of summer support. This chapter reports on several randomized trials to investigate the impact of summer counselor outreach and support as well as the potential roles for technology and peer mentoring in mitigating summer attrition and helping students enroll and succeed in college. The authors conclude with implications for policy and practice.
... Although the increase of the online sources of information and the application of electronic media in regard to HEI recruitment are found to be responsible for increased ef ciency of institutional communication, the printed material remains an important source of information (Gifford, Briceño-Perriott, & Mianzo, 2005;Hossler, 1999). One of the clear advantages of the electronic versus printed media is the ability to personalise the content, and at the same time facilitate the connection between student and the HE institution, and the immediacy of response (Donehower, 2003;Page, & Castleman, 2013). The recent emergence of handheld, mobile technology, combined with the increasing affordability and subsequent accessibility of these devices, provides current and future students with broad access to a range of electronic communication platforms that include web content, email and social media communication, and texting. ...
... The three goals that underpin the acceptance of social in uence identi ed by R. B. Cialdini and N. J. Goldstein (2004) provide a valuable framework for investigation of motivations that drive behaviour through processes of compliance and conformity. Behaviour and opinions of peers have been previously identi ed as having a strong in uence on students (Castleman, & Page, 2013;Page, & Castleman, 2013), especially in the context of shifting perceptions of social norms. H. Kelman's processes that allow for the identi cation of effects of social in uence offer an important perspective as it allows for distinguishing between the effects of social in uence that are oriented towards external rewards and intrinsic rewards. ...
... The three goals that underpin the acceptance of social in uence identi ed by R. B. Cialdini and N. J. Goldstein (2004) provide a valuable framework for investigation of motivations that drive behaviour through processes of compliance and conformity. Behaviour and opinions of peers have been previously identi ed as having a strong in uence on students (Castleman, & Page, 2013;Page, & Castleman, 2013), especially in the context of shifting perceptions of social norms. H. Kelman's processes that allow for the identi cation of effects of social in uence offer an important perspective as it allows for distinguishing between the effects of social in uence that are oriented towards external rewards and intrinsic rewards. ...
This conceptual paper discusses changes in higher education sector, growing competition as a result of new private education providers and the adoption of student-as-customer perspective in recruitment and marketing of higher education institutions. The paper reviews numerous models of student choice and identifies inconsistencies in the role of social factors in the student choice. These inconsistencies are of special importance in current higher education landscape and growing prominence of peer-to-peer communication via social media. Consequently, a thorough understanding of influences that effect student choice of higher education institution is imperative. This conceptual paper puts forward a conceptual framework that integrates Kelman’s processes of social influence and Cialdini-Goldstein’s goals that underpin the acceptance of that influence to examine the effects social context has on student choice of higher education institution.
... Meanwhile, social capital is defined as the value of a relationship that provides support and assistance in certain social situations (Bourdieu, 1977). FGCS often come from families lacking institutionalized cultural capital or knowledge of college degrees and credentials, and therefore lack the experience of the college selection and application process (Castleman & Page, 2013). ...
... Financial concerns and related familial stress were challenges faced by the participants. According to Castleman and Page (2013), FGCS often struggle to understand college-related processes and tasks. These challenges were echoed by Means et al. (2016) who suggested FGCS are uncertain about financial aid and how they will pay for college. ...
A plethora of educational research suggests that first-generation college students (FGCS) are at a distinct disadvantage when attempting to access college. Much of the research on this population examines the struggles these students face. Using a phenomenological approach, this qualitative study investigated lived experiences of ten "successful" FGCS enrolled at an historically Black university in southeastern United States. Themes emerged related to the participants' pre-college circumstances, decision to attend college, and experiences accessing college. The results of the study serve as a guide for professional school counselors who aim to develop preventative measures and promote social and cultural capital for prospective FGCS.
... The multitude of confusing matriculation tasks that need to be completed and the sheer complexity and unclear explanation of the required paperwork often deters students from progressing onto enroll in college (Castleman and Page, 2013). Leaders in higher education and student affairs professionals who work with incoming students can chip away at this problem for students trying to navigate the enrollment process by making the entire process and each step within it less confusing. ...
... In addition to the systemic causes of summer melt, the literature suggests that developmental and psychological factors internal to the student may also contribute. At the time these students are navigating the path over the summer from high school to college, they are also experiencing a stage of substantial cognitive development that influences self-awareness, logical reasoning, and decision-making abilities (Castleman and Page, 2013). Some students may have all of the information and resources to successfully transition from high school to college, but they may not be intrinsically, cognitively, or emotionally prepared. ...
... Time spent struggling to access resources or being shuffled from one office to another diverts students' focus from pressing academic tasks and from building new social ties (Plass et al., 2010). The frustrations of navigating complex systems represent a cognitive load on students, requiring them to hold many tasks and concepts in mind, which can lead to stress, procrastination, and reduced motivation (Castleman & Page, 2013;Feldon et al., 2019). Navigating complex university resources may be a particular challenge for first-generation, underrepresented, and marginalized populations. ...
Unlabelled:
COVID-19 forced college administrators to reassess how they provide students with the most effective methods of support. This project examined the first year of a novel digital peer mentoring program with the goal of connecting diverse students to campus resources they needed to navigate the transition to and through their first year of college. MentorHub, a referral and supportive accountability mobile application, was implemented with first-year undergraduates at a large, private university in the northeastern region of the USA. MentorHub tracked students' current challenges and connected them with trained peer mentors who provided students with support and referrals to campus resources (e.g., mental health, financial, academic). Analyses were not hypothesis-driven, but instead were exploratory and intended for improving the platform. In the first year of the program (August 2021 to June 2022), 47% (N = 3141) students logged onto the platform at least once. Patterns of self-reported challenges revealed that career concerns were the most challenging at the beginning of the fall semester, and that academic habits were most challenging over the course of the year. Referrals (N = 756) were made by mentors, 13% of which were for health and well-being. First-generation and underrepresented minority students showed distinct patterns in referrals. Findings revealed distinct patterns in self-reported challenges across the academic year. Students' use of MentorHub and responses to in-app questions allowed for a real-time understanding of student challenges and patterns of engagement with peer mentors. Implications for a stepped-care approach to addressing student challenges are discussed.
Supplementary information:
The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s41347-023-00303-8.
... Byun et al., 2012;Erickson et al., 2009). Perceived behavioural control: Pupils from less privileged social backgrounds perceive their academic performance to be weaker than pupils from privileged backgrounds (even if performance is controlled for, Schindler & Reimer, 2010), they know considerably less about application requirements, available funding and degree programmes at universities (Barone et al., 2017;Castleman & Page, 2013;Constantine et al., 2006;Ehlert et al., 2017), and they perceive the (direct and indirect) costs of HE to be beyond their means (Barone et al., 2018;Peter & Zambre, 2017;Schindler & Lörz, 2012). Less favourable attitudes, subjective norms and perceived behavioural control of pupils from lower social strata compared to pupils from higher social strata will lead to weaker intentions to study and finally to lower transition rates to HE after graduation from upper secondary education. ...
In this paper we investigate whether and if so why different pathways to higher education (HE) have an effect on the development of the intention to study and its motivational factors of pupils from different social backgrounds. In Germany as well as in many other countries, non-traditional pathways—mostly vocational oriented schools, but also comprehensive schools—lead to eligibility for HE. Drawing on the theory of planned behaviour (Ajzen in Organ Behav Human Decis Process 50:179–211, 1991); Fishbein and Ajzen (Belief, attitude, intention and behaviour. An introduction to theory and research, Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, Reading, MA, 1975) and empirical results, we assume that the intention to study and motivational factors (= attitudes towards HE, the perceptions of expectations of relevant others, control beliefs) of pupils in vocationally oriented pathways develop less favourably than those of pupils in comprehensive schools, and that for pupils in vocationally oriented pathways the effects of social backgrounds on intentions and motivational factors become stronger due to school-type specific college-going cultures. Our database consists of the responses of 7133 pupils in comprehensive schools and vocationally oriented two-year and three-year pathways to HE at the beginning (t1) and the end (t2) of upper secondary education. We use Propensity Score Matching to disentangle selection and socialization effects. Our results show that among vocationally oriented pathways, only two-year pathways divert pupils from HE, partly due to decreasing expectations of relevant others and attitudes towards HE. In contrast, the intention to study and the motivational factors among pupils in direct as well as in three-year vocationally oriented pathways remain stable during upper secondary education. No differential effects of the pathways on pupils from different social backgrounds could be observed. Thus, vocationally oriented pathways do not in general divert their pupils from HE, but if they do so, all pupils are affected regardless of social background.
... FGCS in this study reported confusion about academic policies, degree requirements, and the financial aid process. Castleman and Page (2013) reported that many FGCS have difficulty understanding how to complete these tasks and processes. Means et al. (2016) also described the uncertainty FGCS face related to financial aid and paying for college. ...
This qualitative study explored the high school to college transition experiences of ten successful first-generation college students (FGCS). Participants were college seniors at an historically black university in the United States. A generic qualitative research design was used, including in-depth, semi-structured interviews to collect and analyze data. Participants reported that the transition experience led to confusion with academic and financial procedures, various emotions including anxiety and fear, the realization that they had deficits in academic skills, and the receipt of support from family members and others. Cultural and social capital appeared to play key roles in their success. Student affairs professionals are encouraged to explore targeted, individualized strategies that meet the needs of FGCS as they transition to college.
... During the same observation, I watched and listened as the juniors encouraged the sophomores to join the student council because it will look good on their resume and will strengthen their college application (Fieldnotes, April 15, 2019). The interactions between students are crucial, because positive upperclassmen, especially those in peer mentoring programs, can have a powerful effect on younger high school students, help them graduate and gain entrance to college (Castleman & Page, 2013;Johnson, Simon & Mun, 2013). One of the primary goals of the program is certainly to connect high achieving students so they can learn from each other and share information. ...
Much of the research on Black males in education focuses on their underachievement, low graduation rates, and below average standardized test scores. At the same time, researchers often view urban neighborhoods where African Americans live from a deficit perspective. The present study aims to uncover how Black male high school students make use of neighborhood-based capital to succeed in school and explore how Black churches influence their academic trajectory. Drawing on Yosso's (2005) Community Cultural Wealth Model as a framework, the strengths-based qualitative study takes place in an urban neighborhood located in a mid-sized Northeastern city. Geographic Information System (GIS) technology is employed to provide context for the study and pinpoint the residential locations of participants. Based on interviews and participant observations in a variety of contextual settings, participants identified ten neighborhood-based resources, including recreation centers, parks, and churches. They also describe their neighborhood level experiences and make clear how they leverage social, aspirational, family, and navigational capital. The findings from the study shed light on their educational and social realities and suggest that urban neighborhoods can be places of possibility. Implications discuss strategies that educators, administrators, and churches can employ to increase the academic engagement and performance of Black male students.
... A key bottleneck to providing counseling services over the summer involves scaling out these personalized, mentoring interactions to students in an efficient way, particularly given that students do not tend to have regular access to the supports that are in place during the school year. Technology provides one possible means of scaling interventions, and prior technology-based interventions succeeded in providing informational supports via text messaging (Castleman & Page, 2013, 2016. To be successful, however, an intervention may need to go beyond the informational and include socioemotional support for collegebound students. ...
... Recently Castleman and Page (2013) developed a text-messaging-based initiative to increase college matriculation for low-income and first-generation college students. The text-based application sends reminder texts with information about individual college deadlines, financial aid form reminders, and opportunities to meet with a student peer and/or college counselor. ...
... Positive Individualeffekte für Beratungs-und Informationsmaßnahmen wurden auch in einer Reihe von (quasi-)experimentellen Studien gefunden (vgl. Peter & Zambre, 2017;Ehlert, Finger, Rusconi & Solga, 2017;Carell & Sacerdote, 2015;Castleman & Page, 2013;Bettinger, Long, Oreopoulos & Sanbonmatsu, 2012;Stephan & Rosenbaum, 2013; keine Effekte allerdings bei Bergin, Cooks & Bergin, 2007). ...
This paper is based on the assumption that an individual school's characteristics and the particular track in upper secondary education represent contextual conditions within which a 'university going culture' develops (e. g. study-related expectations of teachers, offers for study orientation). This paper examines to what extent different upper secondary school tracks and individual school characteristics structure a university going culture, which in turn has an impact on the development of pupils' intention to study. A representative survey of 5560 pupils, 989 teachers and 78 head teachers at comprehensive schools and vocationally oriented schools in Northrhine-Westphalia is used. The results show that the university going culture is strongly structured by the school track and only slightly by individual school characteristics. However, the university going culture does not seem to meditate the effects of school track and individual school characteristics on the development of the intention to study. There are only effects on the perception of teacher expectations and offers of study orientation at the individual level.
... Positive Individualeffekte für Beratungs-und Informationsmaßnahmen wurden auch in einer Reihe von (quasi-)experimentellen Studien gefunden (vgl. Peter & Zambre, 2017;Ehlert, Finger, Rusconi & Solga, 2017;Carell & Sacerdote, 2015;Castleman & Page, 2013;Bettinger, Long, Oreopoulos & Sanbonmatsu, 2012;Stephan & Rosenbaum, 2013; keine Effekte allerdings bei Bergin, Cooks & Bergin, 2007). ...
Zusammenfassung: Im Beitrag wird angenommen, dass die einzelschulische Schülerzusammensetzung sowie der Bildungsgang in der Sekundarstufe II Kontextbedingungen darstellen, innerhalb derer sich eine "Kultur der Studienorientierung" (z.B studienbezogene Erwartungen von Lehrkräften, Angebote zur Studienorientierung) entwickelt. Es wird geprüft, inwieweit Bildungsgang und Schülerzusammensetzung mediiert über eine Kultur der Studienorientierung die Entwicklung der Studienabsicht in der Sekundarstufe II beeinflussen. Verwendet wird eine repräsentative Befragung unter 5560 Schülerinnen und Schülern, 989 Lehrkräften und 78 SchuleiterInnen an Gesamtschulen und berufsbildenden Schulen in NRW. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass die einzelschulische Kultur der Studienorientierung stark durch die Bildungsgänge strukturiert ist. Allerdings scheint sie die Effekte von Bildungsgang und Schülerzusammensetzung auf die Entwicklung der Studienabsicht nicht zu mediieren. Effekte bestehen für die Wahrnehmung von Erwartungen und Angeboten der Studienorientierung nur auf der Individualebene.
... Broadly, mentoring has been shown to be effective in student development in a variety of contexts (DuBois, Portillo, Rhodes, Silverthorn, & Valentine, 2011). Mentoring serves as a way for college-preparation programs to provide individualized attention and assistance to students; increase standardized test scores; improve grades; retain students majoring in science, technology, math, and engineering; and increase college attendance, retention, and graduation rates (Bettinger & Baker, 2011;Castleman & Page, 2013;Freeman, 1999;Good, Aronson, & Inzlicht, 2003;Gullatt & Jan, 2003;Larose et al., 2011;Levine & Nidiffer, 1996). ...
Many college and SAT preparation programs are designed to improve the postsecondary success of traditionally marginalized students. In addition to academic preparation, students’ social and emotional preparation is important for the transition from high school to college. Mentors can serve as role models and supports to aid students in this development. Using student survey data and hierarchical linear modeling, this study examines the influences of student-mentor relationships within an SAT program setting on students’ college attitudes. Results indicate that these relationships can positively influence students’ college attitudes, particularly for students who have lower baseline SAT scores. Recommendations for future research and practice are provided.
... Lowering tuition costs did not affect college plans but allowed students who had a stated interest in college attendance to enroll. This result builds on a growing body of work that suggests interventions in a student's high school career can affect student enrollment behavior (Castleman and Page, 2013). ...
I examine the effect of reduced community college tuition on enrollment patterns of students. I also track the effect of attending a community college on long term educational outcomes.
This special issue of American Behavioral Scientist focuses on college preparation, access, and success for individuals impacted by carceral systems and practices in K-12 and higher education. Carcerality is (in)formal rules that center discipline, punishment, and control of individuals. Most recently, the embodiment of carceral practices has become more visible throughout the educational system, particularly for students of color. Attitudes, practices, and policies shape how K-12 and higher education students are perceived and treated as risks. In turn, these attitudes and policies lead to decisions about whether students merit investments that increase the likelihood of success in the education system. In the face of these structural barriers, students resist and overcome these policies and the systemic underinvestment in their education. This volume of articles centers the interconnection between education and criminal (in)justice to understand how both fields interact and position minoritized students in the social, academic, and behavioral margins. Articles explore the experiences of system-impacted students in K-12, higher education, theoretical application of risk, the impact of carceral laws and policies on educational access, and response to practices and policies that can counter carceral efforts in education systems.
Careers advisers in schools are of great importance. In order for the counselling to be effective, a social capital-intensive relationship must be built up between adviser and student, characterised by trust and shared understanding of roles and expectations. The aim of this quantitative study is to investigate the influence of a student’s immigration status on the judgement of counselling by both adviser and student as well as its influence on the concordance between these judgements and on the development of this concordance over time. The results show that in general the judgement of counselling by both advisers and students was positive. However, there was a lower level of concordance between advisers and first-generation students than between advisers and native students.
Often without guidance in completing college-related tasks, first-generation students face unique challenges during the summer before college. This case study investigates this critical time period by studying a cohort of 33 newly graduated students from the same urban, public high school. Guided by social capital, college readiness, and nepantla frameworks, results shed light on students’ barriers and pathways to transitioning to postsecondary education. The authors call for an extension of college readiness frameworks to the summer before college and also problematize the notion of a college-ready student.
This study investigates how a network of New York City public schools use texting to increase enrollment and persistence in college. Text messages include tips and reminders to fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid as well as college tips. Our multiple regression results suggest that although when the texting began did not appear to matter, the texting program increased enrollment and persistence in college. In addition, response rates were positively associated with enrollment and persistence. Finally, we find that the content of the messages themselves as well as individual characteristics affected response rates.
Social media has transformed the communication landscape for higher education institutions with students being the key driver of change. Higher education institutions understand that they need to keep up and embrace social media. Over 90 percentages of institutions now use social media to market to, and recruit, top talent. The present study aims to understand the importance of social media in higher education. The study also attempts to define the drivers of social media adoption among students. Social Media has contributed significantly towards the management research in higher education. It has the "Insert Citation" button to add citations to this document.As aided the students towards strategic decision making with regard to their career objectives and has been a dynamic source for streamlining the choices in their area of interest. The study has been proposed to disclose the current state of penetration of social media among students of higher education institutions and analyse its contribution towards management research.
College student-athletes often meet additional challenges and stressors compared to their nonathlete peers. Because of their training and skills in academic, personal, and career development, high school counselors can help facilitate a smoother transition to college athletics for their athletes. This article reviews current literature related to college athletes and school counselors. Recommendations are provided for high school counselors when working with their athletes transitioning to college sports.
Amidst growing public concern in the United States over college access and affordability, federal policymakers have implemented many low‐cost, behaviorally‐informed strategies aimed at simplifying the college‐going process and reducing informational barriers. Our paper reviews recent U.S. federal policies and interventions that draw on insights from the behavioral sciences to help students navigate various stages of the college‐going process and summarizes empirical evidence of these efforts on college outcomes, highlighting variations across interventions and for various student populations. We conclude with up‐to‐date discussions of policy proposals and opportunities for behavioral science applications in postsecondary education.
The College Ambition Program (CAP) is designed to encourage low-income and minority students to enroll in college. The following analysis presents updated results from my AERA presidential talk in 2014. Results indicate that CAP, which is a schoolwide intervention, increased college attendance for low-income and minority students in seven treatment high schools compared to 31 control schools by 8%. The 8% increase is largely concentrated in students who would have not attended college but instead enrolled in 2-year institutions. The modest effects of CAP should be viewed as positive and encouraging, especially providing direction for replication and scale-up.
In 2006, the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) launched its Global Engagement Initiative and began developing a set of curricular tools for faculty to use in educating globally competent citizens. A national blended-model course was developed in 2011 and has now been delivered to more than 1,200 students on 15 campuses across the country and abroad. The blended-model course is the first in what AASCU hopes will be a series of National Blended Course Consortium (NBCC) courses. In this article, the authors share the AASCU NBCC model for the Global Challenges curriculum and offer case studies on how that curriculum has been successfully delivered on two campuses. Keywords: global engagement, AASCU, global citizenship, first year, general education
Every day, we make decisions on topics ranging from personal investments to schools for our children to the meals we eat to the causes we champion. Unfortunately, we often choose poorly. The reason, the authors explain, is that, being human, we all are susceptible to various biases that can lead us to blunder. Our mistakes make us poorer and less healthy; we often make bad decisions involving education, personal finance, health care, mortgages and credit cards, the family, and even the planet itself. Thaler and Sunstein invite us to enter an alternative world, one that takes our humanness as a given. They show that by knowing how people think, we can design choice environments that make it easier for people to choose what is best for themselves, their families, and their society. Using colorful examples from the most important aspects of life, Thaler and Sunstein demonstrate how thoughtful "choice architecture" can be established to nudge us in beneficial directions without restricting freedom of choice. Nudge offers a unique new take-from neither the left nor the right-on many hot-button issues, for individuals and governments alike. This is one of the most engaging and provocative books to come along in many years. © 2008 by Richard H. Thaler and Cass R. Sunstein. All rights reserved.
A model of the decision-making process for college choice that has three phases (predisposition, search, and choice) is proposed, and the implications of this model for college and government policy formation are examined. (MSE)
College enrollment rates vary systematically based on income and socioeconomic status (SES), with lower enrollment rates for lower-income students and students with lower SES than for their higher-income and SES peers (Cabrera & La Nasa, 2001). Although college enrollment rates increased for all groups over the past three decades, the gap in these rates between students from low-income families and those from high-income families was the same size in 1997 as in 1970 (32 percentage points; Fitzgerald & Delaney, 2002). Using data from the National Educational Longitudinal Study (NELS), Cabrera and La Nasa (2001) found that, after controlling for relevant variables, college application rates were 26 percentage points lower for students with low socioeconomic status than for those with high socioeconomic status. These differential application and enrollment rates are especially disconcerting at a time when there are widening gaps in income and health insurance benefits between high school and college graduates (Baum & Ma, 2007).
We describe changes over time in inequality in postsecondary education using nearly seventy years of data from the U.S. Census and the 1979 and 1997 National Longitudinal Surveys of Youth. We find growing gaps between children from high- and low-income families in college entry, persistence, and graduation. Rates of college completion increased by only four percentage points for low-income cohorts born around 1980 relative to cohorts born in the early 1960s, but by 18 percentage points for corresponding cohorts who grew up in high-income families. Among men, inequality in educational attainment has increased slightly since the early 1980s. But among women, inequality in educational attainment has risen sharply, driven by increases in the education of the daughters of high-income parents. Sex differences in educational attainment, which were small or nonexistent thirty years ago, are now substantial, with women outpacing men in every demographic group. The female advantage in educational attainment is largest in the top quartile of the income distribution. These sex differences present a formidable challenge to standard explanations for rising inequality in educational attainment.Institutional subscribers to the NBER working paper series, and residents of developing countries may download this paper without additional charge at www.nber.org.
We review the experimental and quasi-experimental research evidence on the causal relationship between college costs and educational attainment, with a particular focus on low-income populations. The weight of the evidence indicates that reducing college costs can increase college entry and persistence. Simple and transparent programs appear to be most effective. Programs that link money to incentives and/or the takeup of academic support services appear to be particularly effective.
Influenza infection results in substantial costs, morbidity, and mortality. Vaccination against influenza is particularly important in children and adolescents who are a significant source of transmission to other high-risk populations, yet pediatric and adolescent vaccine coverage remains low. Traditional vaccine reminders have had a limited effect on low-income populations; however, text messaging is a novel, scalable approach to promote influenza vaccination.
To evaluate targeted text message reminders for low-income, urban parents to promote receipt of influenza vaccination among children and adolescents.
Randomized controlled trial of 9213 children and adolescents aged 6 months to 18 years receiving care at 4 community-based clinics in the United States during the 2010-2011 influenza season. Of the 9213 children and adolescents, 7574 had not received influenza vaccine prior to the intervention start date and were included in the primary analysis.
Parents of children assigned to the intervention received up to 5 weekly immunization registry-linked text messages providing educational information and instructions regarding Saturday clinics. Both the intervention and usual care groups received the usual care, an automated telephone reminder, and access to informational flyers posted at the study sites.
Receipt of an influenza vaccine dose recorded in the immunization registry via an electronic health record by March 31, 2011. Receipt was secondarily assessed at an earlier fall review date prior to typical widespread influenza activity.
Study children and adolescents were primarily minority, 88% were publicly insured, and 58% were from Spanish-speaking families. As of March 31, 2011, a higher proportion of children and adolescents in the intervention group (43.6%; n = 1653) compared with the usual care group (39.9%; n = 1509) had received influenza vaccine (difference, 3.7% [95% CI, 1.5%-5.9%]; relative rate ratio [RRR], 1.09 [95% CI, 1.04-1.15]; P = .001). At the fall review date, 27.1% (n = 1026) of the intervention group compared with 22.8% (n = 864) of the usual care group had received influenza vaccine (difference, 4.3% [95% CI, 2.3%-6.3%]; RRR, 1.19 [95% CI, 1.10-1.28]; P < .001).
Among children and adolescents in a low-income, urban population, a text messaging intervention compared with usual care was associated with an increased rate of influenza vaccination. However, the overall influenza vaccination rate remained low.
clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT01146912.
Two experiments were conducted to test predictions derived from social identity/self-categorization theory concerning the role of group norms in attitude-behavior consistency. In Experiment 1, 160 students who could be classified as having a more or less certain target attitude, were exposed to attitude congruent versus incongruent normative support from a relevant reference group (own university) under conditions of low versus high group salience. Experiment 2 was very similar in design and methodology (N = 180), but a different correlate of attitude accessibility was used (an experimental manipulation of repeated expression), the target attitude was changed, and the reference group was gender. Across the two experiments there was consistent support for the hypothesis that participants would behave more in accordance with their attitudes when they received normative support for, rather than opposition to, their original attitude from a relevant reference group (i.e., their ingroup, not an outgroup). There was slightly weaker support for the second hypothesis that this effect would be stronger under high than low salience conditions. The third hypothesis (see Fazio, 1986), that attitude certainty and repeated expression of the attitude would strengthen attitude-behavior consistency, was well supported, as was the expectation that accessibility effects would be independent of reference group norm effects on attitude-behavior consistency.
The American Psychological Association's (APA's) stance on the psychological maturity of adolescents has been criticized as inconsistent. In its Supreme Court amicus brief in Roper v. Simmons (2005), which abolished the juvenile death penalty, APA described adolescents as developmentally immature. In its amicus brief in Hodgson v. Minnesota (1990), however, which upheld adolescents' right to seek an abortion without parental involvement, APA argued that adolescents are as mature as adults. The authors present evidence that adolescents demonstrate adult levels of cognitive capability earlier than they evince emotional and social maturity. On the basis of this research, the authors argue that it is entirely reasonable to assert that adolescents possess the necessary skills to make an informed choice about terminating a pregnancy but are nevertheless less mature than adults in ways that mitigate criminal responsibility. The notion that a single line can be drawn between adolescence and adulthood for different purposes under the law is at odds with developmental science. Drawing age boundaries on the basis of developmental research cannot be done sensibly without a careful and nuanced consideration of the particular demands placed on the individual for "adult-like" maturity in different domains of functioning.
This review covers recent developments in the social influence literature, focusing primarily on compliance and conformity research published between 1997 and 2002. The principles and processes underlying a target's susceptibility to outside influences are considered in light of three goals fundamental to rewarding human functioning. Specifically, targets are motivated to form accurate perceptions of reality and react accordingly, to develop and preserve meaningful social relationships, and to maintain a favorable self-concept. Consistent with the current movement in compliance and conformity research, this review emphasizes the ways in which these goals interact with external forces to engender social influence processes that are subtle, indirect, and outside of awareness.
Educational sociologists have paid relatively little attention to children in middle childhood (ages 6 to 12), whereas developmental psychologists have emphasized factors internal to the child much more than the social contexts in explaining children’s development. Children, Schools, and Inequality redresses that imbalance. It examines elementary school outcomes (e.g., test scores, grades, retention rates) in light of the socioeconomic variation in schools and neighborhoods, the organizational patterns across elementary schools, and the ways in which family structure intersects with children’s school performance. Adding data from the Baltimore Beginning School Study to information culled from the fields of sociology, child development, and education, this book suggests why the gap between the school achievement of poor children and those who are better off has been so difficult to close. Doris Enwistle, Karl Alexander, and Linda Olson show why the first-grade transition?how children negotiate entry into full-time schooling?is a crucial period. They also show that events over that time have repercussions that echo throughout children’s entire school careers. Currently the only study of this life transition to cover a comprehensive sample and to suggest straightforward remedies for urban schools, Children, Schools, and Inequality can inform educators, practitioners, and policymakers, as well as researchers in the sociology of education and child development.
Low-educated employed mothers have a higher prevalence of working nonstandard hours and days, nonfixed daytime schedules, and weekends than do their more educated counterparts; thus, welfare reform will have to consider improving the fit between the availability of child care and these working mothers' schedules.
The 1958 publication in North America of Inhelder and Piaget's classic work, The Growth of Logical Thinking from Childhood to Adolescence (following its 1955 publication in France as "De la logique de l'enfant à la logique de l'adolescent: Essai sur la construction des structures opératoires formelles") is widely recognized as having launched the systematic study of adolescent cognitive development. The introduction to an English-language audience of a comprehensive model for understanding the cognitive transition from childhood to adolescence inspired a generation of researchers to undertake intensive investigations. The echoes reverberate still, even though direct assessment of Piaget's theoretical claims regarding formal operations has become less frequent (Bond, 1998; Keating, 1990a; Moshman, 1998).
Piaget's theory of formal operations launched empirical work on adolescent cognitive development, with two major outcomes: a lack of confirmation of the key claims of scaling, age of acquisition, and specification of logical requirements; and initiation of further research seeking to identify underlying mechanisms. Important shifts were found in adolescent processing, including speed, working memory capacity, increased inhibitory control, and strategic planning capabilities, all of which continue under the rubric of executive functions. Research on expertise showed it to be an essential component, including the finding that executive functions show improvement in domains where individuals have strong knowledge. More recent is a focus on the context on adolescent cognition, in dual process models that make a distinction between heuristic and more effortful analytic thinking, and also between "hot" and "cool" executive function that varies with the degree of emotional or social investment. Increasing convergence among executive function, dual process models, and developmental neuroscience has focused on the role of myelination in speed of processing, the prominence of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) in judgement and in governance of other neural systems, and the accelerated development of the limbic system, all of which have counterparts in experimental cognitive science. Future work is likely to focus even more directly on the relationship of cognitive and brain development, as imaging technologies rapidly improve.
Despite decades of policy intervention to increase college entry and success among low-income students, considerable gaps by socioeconomic status remain. To date, policymakers have overlooked the summer after high school as an important time period in students’ transition to college, yet recent research documents high rates of summer attrition from the college pipeline among college-intending high school graduates, a phenomenon we refer to as “summer melt.” We report on two randomized trials investigating efforts to mitigate summer melt. Offering college-intending graduates two to three hours of summer support increased enrollment by 3 percentage points overall, and by 8 to 12 percentage points among low-income students, at a cost of $100 to $200 per student. Further, summer support has lasting impacts on persistence several semesters into college.
Objectives
The object of this study was to examine whether college-intending, low-income high school graduates are particularly susceptible to having their postsecondary education plans change, or even fall apart, during the summer after high school graduation. College access research has largely overlooked this time period. Yet, previous research indicates that a sizeable share of low-income students who had paid college deposits reconsidered where, and even whether, to enroll in the months following graduation. We assess the extent to which this phenomenon—commonly referred to as “summer melt”—is broadly generalizable. Methods
We employ two data sources, a national survey and administrative data from a large metropolitan area, and regression analysis to estimate the prevalence of summer melt. ResultsOur analyses reveal summer melt rates of sizeable magnitude: ranging from 8 to 40 percent. Conclusions
Our results indicate that low-income, college-intending students experience high rates of summer attrition from the college pipeline. Given the goal of improving the flow of low-income students to and through college, it is imperative to investigate how to effectively intervene and mitigate summer melt.
Growing concerns about low awareness and take-up rates for government support programs like college financial aid have spurred calls to simplify the application process and enhance visibility. We present results from a randomized field experiment in which low-income individuals receiving tax preparation help were also offered immediate assistance and a streamlined process to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) for themselves or their children. Treated participants were also provided with aid estimates that were compared against tuition cost amounts for nearby colleges. The combined assistance and information treatment substantially increased FAFSA submissions and ultimately the likelihood of college attendance, persistence, and aid receipt. In particular, high school seniors whose parents received the treatment were 8 percentage points more likely to have completed two years of college, going from 28% to 36%, during the first three years following the experiment. Families who received aid information but no assistance with the FAFSA did not experience improved outcomes. The findings suggest many other opportunities for using personal assistance to increase participation in programs that require filling out forms to become eligible. JEL Codes: I2, H4, J24. Copyright 2012, Oxford University Press.
Adolescent cigarette smoking remains a serious public health problem. Recent preventive efforts have concentrated on the social influences which encourage smoking onset. They appear more effective than earlier efforts which considered primarily the long term health risks of smoking. In spite of this progress, it has not been possible to identify the necessary or sufficient conditions for the reported treatment effects due largely to issues of research design. We report data from two consecutive studies designed to address this problem. In each study, four treatment strategies were compared for their effectiveness in deterring smoking onset and in minimizing future smoking levels. In the second study, an untreated reference condition was also included. Approximately 7000 students participated in the two studies. Baseline data were gathered in September of the seventh-grade year, interventions were conducted during the full year, and post-test and followup data were collected annually beginning in May of that year. These data suggest that a program which teaches specific skills to resist social pressures to begin smoking and which teaches students about the short term physiological consequences of smoking is more effective than a program which concentrates on long term health consequences. Perhaps most important, the use of same-age peer leaders as teachers appears to be a necessary condition for successful use of this intervention program.
Adolescence is a developmental period often characterized as a time of impulsive and risky choices leading to increased incidence of unintentional injuries and violence, alcohol and drug abuse, unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. Traditional neurobiological and cognitive explanations for such suboptimal choices and actions have failed to account for nonlinear changes in behavior observed during adolescence, relative to childhood and adulthood. This review provides a biologically plausible conceptualization of the mechanisms underlying these nonlinear changes in behavior, as an imbalance between a heightened sensitivity to motivational cues and immature cognitive control. Recent human imaging and animal studies provide a biological basis for this view, suggesting differential development of subcortical limbic systems relative to top-down control systems during adolescence relative to childhood and adulthood. This work emphasizes the importance of examining transitions into and out of adolescence and highlights emerging avenues of future research on adolescent brain development.
Women continue to receive fewer doctoral and first-professional degrees than men, even though women receive more bachelor’s degrees. The underrepresentation of women holds even after allowing for time to complete an advanced degree. For example, women received 55% of the bachelor’s degrees that were awarded in 1994–95 but only 44% of the doctoral degrees and 45% of the first-professional degrees that were awarded five years later in 1999-00 (NCES,2002).1 African Americans also represented smaller shares of doctoral and first-professional degree recipients in 1999-00 than of bachelor’s degree recipients in 1994–95 (5.0% and 6.9% versus 7.5%, NCES, 2002). Hispanics represented a smaller share of doctoral degree recipients (2.9%) but a comparable share of first-professional degrees (4.8%) in 1999-00 than of bachelor’s degrees in 1994–95 (4.7%, NCES, 2002).
This paper analyzes the impact of automatic enrollment on 401(k) savings behavior. We have two key findings. First, 401(k) participation is significantly higher under automatic enrollment. Second, a substantial fraction of 401(k) participants hired under automatic enrollment retain both the default contribution rate and fund allocation even though few employees hired before automatic enrollment picked this particular outcome. This "default" behavior appears to result from participant inertia and from employee perceptions of the default as investment advice. These findings have implications for the design of 401(k) savings plans as well as for any type of Social Security reform that includes personal accounts over which individuals have control. They also shed light more generally on the importance of both economic and noneconomic (behavioral) factors in the determination of individual savings behavior. © 2001 the President and Fellows of Harvard College and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
This article proposes a framework for theory and research on risk-taking that is informed by developmental neuroscience. Two fundamental questions motivate this review. First, why does risk-taking increase between childhood and adolescence? Second, why does risk-taking decline between adolescence and adulthood? Risk-taking increases between childhood and adolescence as a result of changes around the time of puberty in the brain's socio-emotional system leading to increased reward-seeking, especially in the presence of peers, fueled mainly by a dramatic remodeling of the brain's dopaminergic system. Risk-taking declines between adolescence and adulthood because of changes in the brain's cognitive control system - changes which improve individuals' capacity for self-regulation. These changes occur across adolescence and young adulthood and are seen in structural and functional changes within the prefrontal cortex and its connections to other brain regions. The differing timetables of these changes make mid-adolescence a time of heightened vulnerability to risky and reckless behavior.
The federal system for distributing student financial aid rivals the tax code in its complexity. Both have been a source of frustration and a focus of reform efforts for decades, yet the complexity of the student aid system has received comparatively little attention from economists. We describe the complexity of the aid system, and apply lessons from optimal tax theory and behavioral economics to show that complexity is a serious obstacle to both efficiency and equity in the distribution of student aid. We show that complexity disproportionately burdens those with the least ability to pay and undermines redistributive goals. We use detailed data from federal student aid applications to show that a radically simplified aid process can reproduce the current distribution of aid using a fraction of the information now collected.
Analysis of decision making under risk has been dominated by expected utility theory, which generally accounts for people's actions. Presents a critique of expected utility theory as a descriptive model of decision making under risk, and argues that common forms of utility theory are not adequate, and proposes an alternative theory of choice under risk called prospect theory. In expected utility theory, utilities of outcomes are weighted by their probabilities. Considers results of responses to various hypothetical decision situations under risk and shows results that violate the tenets of expected utility theory. People overweight outcomes considered certain, relative to outcomes that are merely probable, a situation called the "certainty effect." This effect contributes to risk aversion in choices involving sure gains, and to risk seeking in choices involving sure losses. In choices where gains are replaced by losses, the pattern is called the "reflection effect." People discard components shared by all prospects under consideration, a tendency called the "isolation effect." Also shows that in choice situations, preferences may be altered by different representations of probabilities. Develops an alternative theory of individual decision making under risk, called prospect theory, developed for simple prospects with monetary outcomes and stated probabilities, in which value is given to gains and losses (i.e., changes in wealth or welfare) rather than to final assets, and probabilities are replaced by decision weights. The theory has two phases. The editing phase organizes and reformulates the options to simplify later evaluation and choice. The edited prospects are evaluated and the highest value prospect chosen. Discusses and models this theory, and offers directions for extending prospect theory are offered. (TNM)
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