Monday, June 10, 2013

Becki Broadbent's Reflection on UAOA 2013 Conference

Susan Madsen (Keynote #1)– She discussed her research findings regarding women in Utah and completion of higher education. I found her research findings interesting.  One in particular that caught my attention was that if a young woman indicated she had no leadership roles from grades 9-12 then likelihood of graduating from college was very low.  Also, if she worked while in high school it also lowered the likelihood of graduating from college.  A few things weren’t a surprise like the younger a girl was when college discussions began happening, the more likely she would go.  Also, the earlier a girl started saving money as a child for college, the more likely she attended.  There was a distinction made between attendance and finishing college in her research.  Many of the female students said they planned to attend college, but less said they actually planned to finish. We need to start having the discussions with young ladies about not only attending but completing a college education.  She talked about transformational moments (that could be very small), but could change a student’s trajectory.