The Impact of Social Integration on Subsequent Institutional Commitment Conditional on Gender

Abstract

Social Integration has been found by several scholars to have a significant impact on the subsequent institutional commitment and retention of college students. Few of these scholars, however, have attempted to examine whether social integration has a different impact on female students as compared to male students. This paper presents the results of a study which examined whether the impact of social integration on subsequent institutional commitment is conditional on gender. Findings suggest the need to slightly revise how higher education scholars and practitioners think about social integration and its impact of student retention.