College Choice Decisions: An Evaluation of Perna's Conceptual Model Across Populations and Cultural Contexts

Abstract

Understanding the factors that influence college choice decisions is critical for broadening participation in engineering programs and STEM education broadly. Studies have shown that college choice can be impacted by a host of factors beyond just interest, including socioeconomic status, contextual factors, institutional features, availability of resources, and cultural knowledge, to name a few. The conceptual model of college choice proposed by Perna is valuable in understanding the layers of choice, which can vary based on context and population. Perna's model outlines four major contexts that frame college choice decisions for the individual: 1) social, economic & policy, 2) higher education, 3) school and community, and 4) habitus, which is at the center. Studies that utilize Perna's model employ one of these contexts or a combination of them. This work reviews eleven studies that draw on Perna's model for understanding college choice decisions based on three research questions centered on both population and cultural context. These studies range from a host of contexts and populations to understand college choice, including K-12 students, undergraduate students, and historically underrepresented populations in engineering. Through our review of case studies and applied research, we compare constructs used in Perna's model, such as layers of habitus, school/community, higher education, and socioeconomic status to analyze studies according to a targeted population. We take a critical lens of the implementation of Perna's model for college choice and the ways in which particular populations as the focus of study highlight how minority and non-minority populations can be affected in their decisions to pursue a college degree. From our analysis, we encourage the readers to evaluate and consider elements from case studies to seek potential transferability or generalizations that this model brings based on context. Therefore, we recommend continuing to explore several lenses and factors using this model and complementing wherever possible with other frameworks or theories to deepen the perspective of college choice decisions and resultant conclusions and implications that can be drawn for certain populations.