GEAR UP Research Articles

Exploring Cultural Capital in the College and Financial Aid Decision Process for the GEAR UP Federal Grant Program

This qualitative study investigates the relationship between cultural capital and financial aid in college decision-making through use of an updated model based on Perna’s (2006) cultural capital model, focusing on decision-making influences within the habitus layer. Researchers conducted focus groups and interviews, yielding (N=15) GEAR UP scholarship recipient participants. Findings from this study evidence the importance of personal and social networks, individual intuition, and trust in college decision-making, with these components often cited more frequently than traditionally cited factors beyond the habitus layer. This study serves as a model for investigating student decision-making, highlighting the importance of uplifting student voice, and as an initial investigation into the ways in which college-going students’ decision-making practices are changing.

Educational outcomes of GEAR up over two decades: A systematic review

Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP) is a federally funded college readiness program developed to minimize the inequalities in pursuing postsecondary education. This is a systematic review that analyzed 13 studies on the educational outcomes of GEAR UP and identified activities that are positively correlated with educational outcomes. The results showed that included among the studies observed were positive contributions of GEAR UP on academic, behavioral, social, and employability outcomes. Further, academic and community activities such as tutoring and college tours were positively associated with college-going expectations, college-readiness assessment scores, and high school grade point average (GPA). Additional studies are urgently needed to include different subgroups of historically underrepresented groups and to investigate how GEAR UP continues to influence college persistence.

Gleaning into the Aspirational-Pursuit Gap of GEAR UP Students

The purpose of this study was to conduct a quantitative, exploratory analysis of key variables at transition grade levels (i.e., 7th, 9th, 12th) toward retention and completion in postsecondary education among Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP) students. The exploration included variables that were retrieved from existing data on 65 students from one of the state's GEAR UP subawards in order to conduct correlations, t-tests, sign tests, and binomial regression to explore the variables across the transition years in relation to GEAR UP participation and postsecondary outcomes. Students represented by the data were GEAR UP participants since their 7th-grade year, having engaged in twice monthly peer-mentoring and summer programming activities within a university partnership. Importantly, most students were of Latinx heritage backgrounds, and the majority enrolled in postsecondary education; notably, the 4-year postsecondary completion rate was 84%. A discussion and conclusion of this exploratory analysis are provided.

Supporting Urban School Students’ Preparedness for Post-Secondary Study Through Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP)

Supporting Urban School Students’ Preparedness for Post-Secondary Study Through Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP)

Self-Efficacy, Subjective Norms, Self-Regulated Learning: An Application of the Theory of Planned Behavior With GEAR UP Students

Racial-ethnic and low-income youth have differential access to key educational resources that promote learning and college readiness. College readiness programs provide activities, resources, and experiences that support learning. Yet little is known about the influence of adults and peers in shaping students’ beliefs and expectations as learners. This study examined the extent to which GEAR UP adolescent self-regulated learning was influenced by perceptions of adult and peer behavioral expectations. Among the 118 adolescent participants, perceived behavioral expectations of a parent or guardian was found to be the strongest determinant of self-regulated learning. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.

Narrowing the College Readiness Gap: Assessing GEAR UP Iowa's Intermediate Impact on Underserved Students

Earning a postsecondary degree or credential is increasingly important for individuals to succeed in the rapidly changing, global economy. College access programs like Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP) serve to increase high school graduation and college readiness for underserved youth. This quasi-experimental study examined intermediate GEAR UP outcomes for GEAR UP Iowa 2.0 students (N = 4,845) and non-GEAR UP comparison students (N = 25,926). Among students who had participated in the program from 7th through 10th grade, GEAR UP students demonstrated higher attendance rates and increased standardized test scores with more impact shown among individuals from lower socioeconomic families. The implications and avenues for future research are discussed.

A Theory of Reasoned Action Approach to Examining Academic Help-Seeking Behaviors Among Adolescents in a College Readiness Program

In the United States, the Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP) fosters relationships between racial-ethnic and low-income adolescents and adults and peers who help them and their families take formal steps toward pursuing a college degree. However, the extent to which GEAR UP students seek teachers, counselors, parents, or friends to prepare for college during program participation is underexplored in the literature. Using the Theory of Reasoned Action as a guiding framework, this study examined the extent to which GEAR UP participant attitudes, subjective norms, and intentions influenced whether participants sought academic support from teachers, counselors, parents, or friends during an academic semester. Strong direct and indirect effects were found in structural equation models examining GEAR UP student subjective norms, intentions, and behaviors regarding seeking academic support from friends. The data on students seeking academic support from school personnel and parents were less conclusive. Participation in GEAR UP activities influenced these relationships. Implications for how practitioners and researchers support the college readiness of adolescents in GEAR UP are discussed.

Promoting Educational Success: Which GEAR UP Services Lead to Postsecondary Enrollment and Persistence?

Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP) is a federal program designed to promote postsecondary readiness and success among low-income students. Some evidence suggests that this program promotes college enrollment and persistence, but GEAR UP may include a wide variety of services, and it is unclear which ones actually contribute to these apparent overall effects. The present study investigates this issue using doubly robust propensity score analyses to provide stronger causal conclusions. Four general service types and seven specific services were examined; the results provide important implications for GEAR UP and other programs designed to promote postsecondary attainment.

Improving College Access at Low-Income High Schools? The Impact of GEAR UP Iowa on Postsecondary Enrollment and Persistence

GEAR UP (Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs) is a federal program designed to promote college access and success for students from low-income backgrounds. Although some literature has examined K–12 outcomes, little research has explored the extent to which GEAR UP achieves its intended postsecondary objectives. The present study used a difference-in-differences design with a sample of 17,605 students to explore the impact of GEAR UP Iowa on college enrollment and persistence. The findings indicate that GEAR UP Iowa promotes the college enrollment of high school graduates by 3 to 4 percentage points, whereas it appears to have no effect on college persistence. Results are similar regardless of students’ socioeconomic status, race/ethnicity, sex, and K–12 special education status.

The Effects of Adolescent Self-Regulated Learning on Engagement in a College Access Program: An Exploratory Study

College access programs (CAPs) aim to promote college readiness for adolescents, particularly those who may be the first in their family to go to college. Self-regulated learning is a critical component of college readiness. There is limited information about how self-regulated learning beliefs or intentions influence adolescent engagement in CAPs. Using the theory of planned behavior as a guiding framework, the purpose of this study was to examine direct and indirect effects of adolescent self-regulated learning beliefs (i.e., attitudes, norms, and perceived behavioral control) and intentions on participation in activities offered by a regional, federally funded CAP program (Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs; GEAR UP). Structural equation modeling was the analytic technique. We found positive relationships between self-regulated learning beliefs (perceived behavioral control), intentions, and GEAR UP participation. Implications and directions for future research on self-regulated learning within the context of CAP initiatives are discussed.

Helping Students Succeed in High School and on the Post-secondary Pathway: A Report on the USU STARS! I GEAR UP Program

Helping Students Succeed in High School and on the Post-secondary Pathway: A Report on the USU STARS! I GEAR UP Program

The relationship between GEAR UP program involvement and Latina/o students’ performance on high-stakes tests

ABSTRACTTo assess the impact of a college preparation program, district-wide changes in high-stakes test pass rates are examined, followed by an examination of specific program elements that are associated with students’ score changes. Changes in pass rates for districts with and without services are compared for the Latina/o and overall student populations. This study also examines the relationship between hours of participation in various elements of the college preparation program and changes in test scores of low-income Latina/o students. Results indicate that key program elements related to improvements in test scores include participation in mentoring and summer programs.

Washington Hotline

In March, the President submitted his budget outline to Congress recommending elimination of LSTA and IAL funding for FY2018, as well as significant cuts in research funding. The budget also proposed deep cuts to TRIO, GEAR UP, and other work-study programs, which would impact libraries that rely on student employees. (Many libraries use TRIO and GEAR UP funds to help students get prepared to attend college.) The budget also called for these major cuts in education funding: $3.9 billion in Pell Grants, $732 million in student grant aid, and elimination of Supplemental Education Opportunity Grants for low-income college students.

Engaging Underrepresented High School students in Data Driven Storytelling: An Examination of Learning Experiences and Outcomes for a Cohort of Rising Seniors Enrolled in the Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Program (GEAR UP)

Background: Upward trends in data-oriented careers threaten to further increase the underrepresentation of both females and individuals from racial minority groups in programs focused on data analysis and applied statistics. To begin to develop the necessary skills for a data-oriented career, project-based learning seems the most promising given its focus on real-world activities that are aimed at engaging student interest and enthusiasm. Method: Using pre and post survey data, the present study examines student background characteristics, learning experiences and course outcomes for a cohort of 33 rising high school seniors involved in a two-week, accelerated version of a project-based data analysis and applied statistics curriculum. Results: On average, students rated the experience as rewarding and the vast majority (78.1%) felt that they had accomplished more than they had expected. Based on responses to both the pre and post course surveys, roughly half of the students reported increases in confidence in applied skills (i.e. developing a research question, managing data, choosing the correct statistical test, effectively presenting research results, and conducting a statistical analysis of data), while more than 80% reported increased confidence in writing code to run statistical analyses. Fully 84.4% of students reported interest in one or more follow-up courses with interest in computer programming being endorsed by the largest number of students (53.1%). Conclusions: These findings support previous research showing that real-world, project-based experiences afford the best hope for achieving the kind of analytic and statistical literacy necessary for meaningful engagement in research, problem solving and professional development.

Gearing up in psychodrama: Using psychodrama to support education in diverse communities and building teams to deliver support

This paper describes a group work training offered in 2011 for 60 highly diverse staff members to a GEAR UP (Gaining Early Awareness of and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs) educational grant for the San Jose, CA area. Multiethnic, multi-aged trainees with varying educational levels and backgrounds were brought together as a cohort, for the first time, for training purposes. In 4 full days of experiential, active engagement training, they were instructed in the application of psychodrama and sociometry techniques with which to engage low income and minority students and their families in middle school, high school and to promote college accomplishment. The use of psychodrama and sociodrama to support education in diverse communities is reviewed and explained. The advantages of using experiential learning and action methods to enhance learning, engage low performing students and build social cohesion are discussed.

Performance and Persistence Outcomes of GEAR UP Students: Leveling the Playing Field in Higher Education

Given the major investment in the Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP) grant, rising postsecondary access, trends in poor persistence and retention rates, and the ongoing accountability measures in higher education, it is critical to examine factors related to postsecondary performance and persistence of GEAR UP students in comparison to their peers. College performance and persistence of 298 State GEAR UP students were compared with other first-time, first-year students (1,841) who entered a moderately selective, medium-sized public research university in Fall 2012. The GEAR UP students were more likely to be from disadvantaged, underrepresented backgrounds; despite less advantageous beginnings, they entered college with similar high school grade point average and Scholastic Assessment Test scores, though lower American College Test scores. Also, students’ first-term grade point average and credit loads served as predictors of persistence. Most importantly, GEAR UP students were just as likely to perform and persist as their peers.

Educational and Financial Institutions Partnering to Implement CSAs: Evaluation of Financial Partners’ Perspectives from the 2011 GEAR UP Invitational Priority

Educational and financial institutions are increasingly partnering to open Children’s Savings Accounts (CSAs); however, little is known about these partnerships’ effectiveness for planning and implementing CSAs. A 2011 invitational priority from the Department of Education encouraged partnerships between Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP) programs and financial institutions to open CSAs for low-income students, which provided an opportunity to evaluate these partnerships. In-depth interviews with 10 personnel from 6 financial institutions who partnered with 4 GEAR UP programs revealed that partnerships with stakeholders, time spent on planning, and strategies for overcoming barriers were important for implementing CSAs. Lessons for practice and policy are discussed.

Does the Sustainability of Comprehensive Intervention Programs Depend on Parent Involvement?

In this research, the importance and sustainability of one of the components of Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP), parent involvement, was studied identifying the importance placed on parent involvement determined the programs’ capacity for sustainability. Results show parent involvement activities, which may provide the most beneficial outcome for parents and their children, are activities that include parents in the planning, decision making, and recruitment of other parents, and that parents need to be considered an important part of GEAR UP services from the beginning of program development. The importance placed on parent involvement was found to have a strong positive effect on the capacity for sustainability of partnership type programs, which draws attention to the way partnership programs are created, and programs that best meet the needs of the community are created by those in the community in which services are provided.

A Comprehensive Partnership Approach Increasing High School Graduation Rates and College Enrollment of Urban Economically Disadvantaged Youth

Described is a 4-year model of a Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Program (GEAR UP) offered to 294 academically and economically disadvantaged students and their parents during in- and out-of-school time activities through partnerships forged with school personnel and community-based agencies. In an urban high school where the annual graduation rate was below 60%, the graduation rate of the GEAR UP students of whom 60% were Hispanic and African American was 95%, while 58% enrolled in a postsecondary institution soon after graduation. Regardless of the time spent in three participatory conditions in the out-of-school time activities, 12th graders commonly believed that the program significantly helped them complete high school, prepared them for college, and showed them that adults cared about their future. A five-item survey completed by parents also revealed a number of highly significant findings. Quantitative, focus group, and interview findings corroborated and supported each other.

Overcoming Barriers to College Enrollment, Persistence, and Perceptions for Urban High School Students in a College Preparatory Program

Although research shows college preparatory programs’ effectiveness regarding academic achievement and college awareness, much less is known about whether programs affect college attendance and persistence. GEAR UP (Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs) and other college preparatory programs claim that this is a primary outcome, yet very few studies on persistence in higher education have been done. Through the use of an explanatory sequential mixed methods design, our study found that significantly more students (including low-socioeconomic background) from a GEAR UP college preparatory program showed greater college attendance and persistence outcomes over those who did not participate and also provides potential explanations why this may be the case. Mixing quantitative and qualitative data allowed for meta-inferences about the isolation of poverty, goal setting, resilience, and program impacts on minorities to be drawn.