Gender differences and retention characteristics for first generation college students.

The purpose of this study were to determine if any significant differences existed between:a)the retention rate of first generation men and first generation women,b)first generation males and first generation females as measured by the SIQ,c)first generation men who persisted and first generation men who did not persist as measured by the SIQ.d)first generation women who persisted and first generation women who did not persist as measured by the SIQ.The participants of the study were 1026 first generation students who were enrolled at a midwest public university and completed a questionnaire.Additional information was supplied by the university research and testing office.A chi-squared analysis determined there was no difference in retention rates for first generation women and men.A stepwise discriminant analysis was used for the remaining hypotheses.Results showed First generation women and men attend college for different reasons,and men are more tied to financial,occupational and economic goals.Differences existed in what men women viewed as what college is supposed to help you accomplish.The single best predictor of whether a student would be retained or not retained for both the male and female groups was the high school grade point average.Ralph Stephen ManuelWhitaker, ToddOsmon,William DrDoctor of PhilosophyDepartment of Educational Leadership, Administration, and FoundationsCunningham Memorial library, Terre Haute,Indiana State UniversityILL-ETD-059DoctoralTitle from document title page. Document formatted into pages: contains 124 p.: ill. Includes abstract and appendi