Date on Senior Honors Thesis

5-2018

Document Type

Senior Honors Thesis

Degree Name

B.A.

Department

Psychological and Brain Sciences

Author's Keywords

urbanicity; Kentucky; rural; urban; academic achievement; academics

Abstract

When studying urbanicity, there is a large belief that rural students lag behind their urban counterparts in academics, both in preparation and success. This belief emerges as early as kindergarten and follows students up through secondary education. However, previous research has shown inconsistent results in how these students perform. The objective of this study was to determine if differences occurred in urban and rural students in their preparation for college, their perceptions of college, and academically once coming to college. Students from the Cardinal Covenant program at the University of Louisville (N = 54) were studied using information from the Beginning College Survey of Student Engagement (BCSSE) and grade point averages (GPA). The results showed that there were no significant differences between urban and rural students.

Lay Summary

When studying urbanicity, there is a large belief that rural students lag behind their urban counterparts in academics, both in preparation and success. This belief emerges as early as kindergarten and follows students up through secondary education. However, previous research has shown inconsistent results in how these students perform. The objective of this study was to determine if differences occurred in urban and rural students in their preparation for college, their perceptions of college, and academically once coming to college. Fifty-four students from the Cardinal Covenant program at the University of Louisville were studied using information from the Beginning College Survey of Student Engagement (BCSSE) and grade point averages (GPA). The results showed that there were no significant differences between urban and rural students.

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