Stakeholders’ Perspectives on Motivational Support for Economically Disadvantaged High School Students

A discrepancy in high school graduation rates for low socioeconomic students has been a historical trend. Despite evidence that reduced high school completion rates limit these students' career options and earning potential, state and national data consistently show a higher failure-to-graduate rate for them despite government interventions to reduce it. Studies have investigated various contributing causes for the gap in completion rates, but few studies have focused on schools that have filled that gap. The purpose of this study was to explore stakeholders’ perspectives on motivational support in schools that have successfully created graduation equality for economically disadvantaged students and analyze documents that support those practices. The conceptual framework was based on the theory of instruction and the theory of motivation to explore motivational factors that influence low socioeconomic students. Interviews were conducted with 10 teachers in high schools with lower failure-to-graduate rates for low socioeconomic students to examine their perspectives on motivational influences and administrative support required to maintain educational equality for these students. Pre-existing stakeholder reviews and relevant documents were also analyzed to triangulate data and determine common themes. Stakeholder perspectives provided evidence that administrator support of teachers and student encouragement from educators and communities positively impact student success. The findings can be used for positive social change to develop best practices for other high schools to decrease the completion gap for disadvantaged students, thereby increasing students' contributions to their communities after graduation.