Basics of qualitative research: Grounded theory procedures and techniques

To Dwell Among Friends: Personal Networks in Town and City.

/pdf/educational-attainment-in-the-united-states-march-1977-and-1j0zlytaod.pdf

Educational Attainment in the United States: March 1977 and 1976. Current Population Reports, Population Characteristics, Series P-20, No. 314.

U.S. schools are experiencing rapid demographic change due to high levels of immigration, while they at the same time they are implementing the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act. NCLB holds schools accountable for the performance of limited English proficient (LEP) children and other groups that include many children of immigrants. This report describes the demographics of children of immigrants, and the considerable overlap among NCLB's protected groups: LEPs, low-income students, blacks, Hispanics and Asians. The report describes variations in characteristics among children with parents born in different countries, and discusses implications for NCLB implementation in high-LEP schools and districts. [View the corresponding press release ]

/pdf/the-new-demography-of-america-s-schools-immigration-and-the-2i8tp43gww.pdf

The New Demography of America's Schools: Immigration and the No Child Left Behind Act.

Qualitative coding procedures emanating from grounded theory were limited by technologies of the 1960s: colored pens, scissors, and index cards. Today, electronic documents can be flexibly stored, ...

Flexible Coding of In-depth Interviews: A Twenty-first-century Approach:

This report offers a detailed picture of elementary schools educating limited English proficient (LEP) students. Analysis reveals that LEP students are largely segregated: nearly 70% of LEP children are enrolled in only 10% of schools. Compared to Low- and No-LEP schools, High-LEP schools are predominately urban, have mostly low-income and minority students, and face challenges in staff recruitment. The remaining 30% of LEP students are in schools with fewer LEP peers, where they are less likely to receive services tailored to their educational needs. Because the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act holds schools accountable for the performance of LEP children, the report discusses the findings' implications for implementing NCLB in High- and Low-LEP schools. [View the corresponding press release ]

/pdf/who-s-left-behind-immigrant-children-in-high-and-low-lep-1pb3evrk4q.pdf

Who's Left Behind? Immigrant Children in High and Low LEP Schools

This paper explores the causes behind the severe under-representation of women in engineering. Based on national data on undergraduate engineering programs, this study presents cross-sectional estimates of male and female student retention. Contrary to widespread beliefs, the study found that overall and in most disciplines there is no differential attrition by gender. Instead, results suggest that gender disparities in engineering are largely driven by inadequate enrollment (not inadequate retention) of women. The paper concludes that outreach—within institutions of higher education, across institutions (into two-year colleges, middle and high schools), and into K-12 curricular reform—are needed to address what is, at its very core, a recruitment problem.

Widening the Net: National Estimates of Gender Disparities in Engineering

The emotional cost of distance: Geographic social network dispersion and post-traumatic stress among survivors of Hurricane Katrina.

Nearly all young people in the United States aspire to a college degree, but many fail to complete college in a timely manner. Does this lack of attainment reflect abandoned college plans? I analyze mixed-methods data from a five-year study of 700 low-income mothers at two Louisiana community colleges. Hurricane Katrina displaced respondents and interrupted their college educations; respondents had to decide whether, how, and why to return to school. Few women earned degrees during the study, but survey data indicate that the rate of reenrollment and intentions to complete were high. Interview data reveal the cultural logics supporting continued plans for a return to college. Instrumentally, respondents believed education would result in better employment. Expressively, the moral status afforded students supported respondents’ narratives of upward mobility despite the difficulties they faced. The logic of human capital investment dominates policy and academic discussions of education’s value, but I find t...

Nicole M. Deterding

Papers

Flexible Coding of In-depth Interviews: A Twenty-first-century Approach:

Who's Left Behind? Immigrant Children in High and Low LEP Schools

Widening the Net: National Estimates of Gender Disparities in Engineering

The emotional cost of distance: Geographic social network dispersion and post-traumatic stress among survivors of Hurricane Katrina.

Instrumental and Expressive Education: College Planning in the Face of Poverty