Theses and Dissertations

ORCID

https://orcid.org/0009-0007-5933-7539

Issuing Body

Mississippi State University

Advisor

Cutler White, Carol

Committee Member

Oswalt, Katie

Committee Member

King, Stephanie B.

Committee Member

Fincher, Mark E.

Date of Degree

12-13-2024

Original embargo terms

Complete embargo 2 years

Document Type

Dissertation - Open Access

Major

Community College Leadership

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

College

College of Education

Department

Department of Industrial Technology, Instructional Design, and Community College Leadership

Abstract

Understanding student college choice is a daunting prospect. Students’ choices start long before college application and are influenced by many variables. This study is grounded in Perna’s (2006) college choice model, Bourdieu’s (1986) theory of social capital, and the concept of trust reducing myopia in future decisions of low socio-economic status (SES) individuals in Jachimowicz et al. (2017) and Farah and Hook (2017). This study examined the narratives of low SES community college students located in south Mississippi to gain a better understanding of the role of trust in the decision-making process, particularly ways trust plays a role in the financial decision to attend community college, how students decide who or what is trustworthy in searching college information, and how the source of information influences their college decisions. The study focused on 6 Pell Grant-eligible participants currently enrolled in their first year of community college: 5 females and 1 male, comprised of 4 white students, 1 black student, and 1 Hispanic student. The students were interviewed in person through semi-structured interviews lasting up to 1 hour, part of the qualitative narrative inquiry research design. The interviews were recorded, transcribed, edited for accuracy, deleted, and all student names changed to provide anonymity. The interviews were analyzed organically, the analysis based on the three-dimensional narrative inquiry space set forth by Clandinin and Connelly (2000). This study found that trust plays many roles in the financial decision to attend a community college for low SES students: trusting information they receive, trusting they would receive their financial aid, and trusting the college credential will pay off for them financially through higher quality jobs. The study showed that these students were most influenced by those in their lives with whom they had deep relationships or college employees with whom they felt a connection. These findings support the assertion that trust is significant to the college decision-making process among community college students. Understanding their decision-making process could help colleges understand more clearly how to reach these students and give them the support they need so their college decision yields positive results.

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