ERIC Number: EJ1248501
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2020
Pages: 20
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: EISSN-2332-8584
EISSN: N/A
Experimental Evidence on the Effects (or Lack Thereof) of Informational Framing during the College Transition
AERA Open, v6 n1 Jan-Mar 2020
Technology-facilitated interventions following high school graduation have shown promise for increasing the likelihood of college matriculation, but we know little about how to fine-tune these tools. I conducted an experiment in which college-intending Tennessee high school graduates received informational messages in distinct behavioral frames: business-as-usual, in which they received the same messages as the prior cohort; loss aversion, which emphasized what students would lose if they did not act; reduction of ambiguity, which provided details on necessary actions and anticipated completion times; and peer support, which encouraged students to work with friends on enrollment tasks. There was no main effect of the treatment frames. Heterogeneity analyses suggest that, at certain eligibility checkpoints, a loss aversion frame may negatively affect men and the peer support frame may negatively affect first-generation and Black participants. I situate the findings in the literature and recommend future directions for research on informational intervention delivery.
Descriptors: College Bound Students, Males, First Generation College Students, African American Students, Intervention, Postsecondary Education, State Aid, Eligibility, Transitional Programs, High School Graduates, Telecommunications, Handheld Devices, Academic Achievement, Student Characteristics, Program Effectiveness, Tuition Grants, Vocational Schools, Community Colleges, Cost Effectiveness, Public Education, College Entrance Examinations, Summer Programs, Prompting, Access to Information, Enrollment Influences
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: High Schools; Secondary Education; Higher Education; Postsecondary Education; Two Year Colleges
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Tennessee
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: ACT Assessment
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A