Date of Award
5-1991
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Abstract
The validity of Tinto's model of college student attrition has been the focus of recent research, but few studies have focused on attrition of minority student populations. It was the intent of this study to (1) examine the effect that academic and social integration had on persistence/withdrawal behavior of freshman American Indian and non-Indian students, and (2) compare the degree of academic and social integration of American Indian and non-Indian students. This study involved the entire population of freshman American Indian students and a random sample of five hundred non-Indian freshman students who were enrolled at the University of North Dakota during the 1988-89 academic year. A questionnaire was mailed to enrolled students during the spring semester of 1989, and 348 usable responses (329 non-Indians and 19 American Indians) were received. In the fall semester of 1989, students' records were reviewed to determine voluntary withdrawals and enrollment. The questionnaire contained a list of twenty-four items that assessed academic and social integration.
The t-test examined the differences between academic and social integration for American Indian and non-Indian students who persisted and withdrew. A binomial test examined whether overall responses to the questions gauging integration differed between groups. The dropout rate was found to be higher for American Indian students than for non-Indian students. Contradictory to the expectations of this study it was found that (1) the direction of higher integration was toward American Indian students who withdrew rather than to those who persisted, and (2) the direction of higher integration was toward American Indian students rather than toward non-Indian students. Consistent with the expectations of this study, non-Indian students who persisted were found to have a higher degree of integration than those who withdrew. A small sample size of American Indian students and data from a single-year sample were major limitations to the study
Recommended Citation
Colwell, Tammie J. L., "The effect of academic and social integration on second-year attrition: A comparison of american indian and non-indian students" (1991). Theses and Dissertations. 7397.
https://commons.und.edu/theses/7397