Date of Award
2024
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
English
First Advisor
Katie Owens-Murphy
Second Advisor
Matthew Price
Third Advisor
Jason Price
Abstract
Despite efforts to improve college access and develop college readiness skills, students are graduating high school unprepared for college. Each year, fewer students choose to enroll or drop out within their first semester of a post-secondary institution after high school graduation. The figures are even more dire for students who are from low-income and first-generation backgrounds. Furthermore, data shows that college-bound participants from federal pre-college TRIO programs are underserved in the most critical time of their high school journey. There is an educational gap in the services that pre-college programs, such as Talent Search, provide students. Educators and college counselors are not implementing enough college readiness curricula in an effective manner. College-bound students need discussion and interpersonal awareness as they tackle the transition period between high school graduation and the first college fall semester. Statistics show that first-generation and low-income students are most susceptible to experiencing the “summer melt” where they are forgotten and fall off track from college enrollment. This research examines the circumstances disadvantaged students face. In particular, the study focuses on college-intending Talent Search participants and the adversities that obstruct a college-ready mindset. The reality is that even though students in pre-college programs receive college preparation materials and four-year plans throughout the academic year, they miss a critical opportunity to further develop the interpersonal skills that they will need to successfully integrate into collegiate society. The purpose of this research is to develop an initiative for a Talent Search program that will further propel participants to college enrollment. With the combination of social theory, critical literature pedagogy, a complete program design featuring Erika Sanchez’s contemporary novel I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter, and an evaluation logic model, this study presents the need for a summer reading program for Talent Search and develops it in a way that can be integrated, approved, and measured by TRIO federal regulations and objectives.
Recommended Citation
Dominguez, Tania, "Summer Critical Reading Initiative Helping Talent Search Students Redefine Their College Potential Through Literature" (2024). Theses. 29.
https://roar.una.edu/theses/29
