Publication Date
2024
Degree Name
EdD in Global Education
Primary Advisor
Professor Alla Korzh
Second Advisor
Professor Melissa Whatley
Third Reader
Professor Deepa Srikantaiah
Abstract
This qualitative case study explored the partnerships of the Public Education Foundation, a community-based organization (CBO), and how the CBO’s educational public private partnerships (ePPPs) affected the postsecondary education experiences of socio-economically disadvantaged students from a local public school district in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The research took a critical approach to understand the CBO’s role through partnerships and programs focused on creating access and opportunity to postsecondary education.
My study, informed by the neo-Marxist, socio-cultural reproduction, theory of fields, and cultural production theories, situates the CBO in a pivotal space in ePPPs to explore students’ postsecondary education experiences and demonstrates the ways in which students use their agency and identities to navigate postsecondary education pathways. Derived from individual interviews with students, educators, and CBO staff, observations, and critical discourse analysis, this study’s findings revealed the importance of critical relationships in CBO partnerships and programs. Students highlighted familial relationships and mentor relationships with CBO staff, and educators noted the crucial role CBO staff played in supporting educators’ work on postsecondary pathways. Findings also uncovered the necessity of exploring the equity gaps in students’ high school experiences as part of the discussion on CBO partnerships in postsecondary education. Additionally, findings highlighted system-level supports such as college and career advisor staffing, along with technical assistance that included data sharing and wrap-around services. CBO weaknesses such as high CBO staff turnover and a lack of advocacy work were challenges noted and areas for growth in the context of ePPPs, postsecondary education, and socio-economically disadvantaged students.
Disciplines
Community-Based Learning | Inequality and Stratification | International and Comparative Education | Other Education | Secondary Education
Recommended Citation
Labs, Kristin, "Community-Based Organization (CBO) Partnerships and their Role in the Postsecondary Education Experiences of Socio-Economically Disadvantaged Students from one Public School District" (2024). Dissertation Collection. 7.
https://digitalcollections.sit.edu/dissertations/7
Included in
Community-Based Learning Commons, Inequality and Stratification Commons, International and Comparative Education Commons, Other Education Commons, Secondary Education Commons