Masters Thesis

Perceptions of college students regarding the effects of their high school AVID program

Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) is one of many high school programs that prepare students for college. In 1980, the AVID program began as a support class to help struggling students. Over the years, the strategies developed by Mary Swanson, transformed the program which has been adopted by school districts throughout California to help underrepresented, first generation minority, and low socio-economic high school students realize the dream of going to college. Many other states and countries have also adopted the AVID strategies into their schools. The AVID program offers three components. In the first component, AVID offers students the opportunity to learn Cornell note-taking strategies, participate in weekly tutorials, and Socratic seminars. Secondly, students have an opportunity to volunteer time to work with community organizations. Lastly, students learn about career opportunities available to them. Several themes emerged from the analysis of the interview data. The participants, in this study, use the strategies taught in their high school AVID program to successfully complete college courses. They are more confident speaking in public because AVID required them to take part in community service. Participants appreciate that their high school AVID program provided opportunities to visit college and university campuses and to learn about career choices.

Items in ScholarWorks are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.