Understanding Persistence Through University Climate Assessment: First-year Students’ Experiences at Chilean Universities and their Plans of Re-enrolling for the Next Academic Term
Restricted (Penn State Only)
Author:
De Los Rios, Maria J
Graduate Program:
Higher Education
Degree:
Doctor of Philosophy
Document Type:
Dissertation
Date of Defense:
February 09, 2023
Committee Members:
Karen Paulson, Major Field Member Leticia Oseguera, Chair & Dissertation Advisor Kevin Kinser, Program Head/Chair Gilberto Conchas, Outside Field Member Eric Plutzer, Outside Unit Member
Keywords:
Diversity University Chile Persistence Climate Students
Abstract:
The purpose of this study was, first, to provide a portrait of first-year students’ perceptions of the university climate at two Chilean universities located in Santiago Metropolitan area; and, second, to examine the relationship between these perceptions and students’ plans to enroll at their institutions for a second year of studies. As little to none research on students’ perceptions of the university climate in Chile has been conducted, this study presents an effort to start filling that gap in the Chilean higher education research. This work builds upon Hurtado et al.’s (2012) Multicontextual Model for Diverse Learning Environments (MMDLE), which is a multidimensional and multicontextual approach to analyzing college climate. Additionally, this research endeavor includes the adaptation, translation, and administration of the Diverse Learning Environments (DLE) survey assessment instrument based on the MMDLE framework. The survey was administered to first-year students at two Chilean universities, and it provides new data about students’ perceptions of college climate in Chile.
This study offers new insights into the relationship of first-year students’ perceptions of university climate and first-to-second-year persistence in the Chilean context. Further, since the DLE measures were disaggregated by social identity groups, this study also offers a portrait of how students perceive university climate during their first year of studies depending on their sex and LGBTQ, indigenous, and social class identities.