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Abstract
The Great Recession of 2008 and the COVID-19 global pandemic, which sparked a linked economic recession, are global, asymmetric events that have had vast, life-altering consequences for people in the United States (U.S.), with communities of color and those persons residing in low-resourced areas enduring the most acute negative effects due to pre-existing, endemic inequality in the U.S. Situating postsecondary education as a critical site of identity-building tasks associated with young adults’ development, this dissertation investigates how diverse young adults in the U.S. make meaning of exogenous shocks and the implications for positive identity development. Specifically, this study examines alterations made, or not made, in postsecondary education planning as a form of coping that contributes to stable identity development. Erik Erikson’s Eight Stages of Psychosocial Development (Erikson, 1968), Urie Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory (1993) and Margaret Beale Spencer’s Phenomenological Variant of Ecological Systems Theory (PVEST; Spencer, 2006) are the primary theoretical frameworks motivating this research. Three research questions guide this dissertation:
• How were the postsecondary education and working patterns for low income, high achieving young adults shaped by the Great Recession in comparison to their high income counterparts?;
• How did the Great Recession impact education planning for young adults between the ages of 18 and 20, the key age range for college going?; and
• Nine years after the declaration of the end of the Great Recession, which coincides with the COVID-19 pandemic, have there been any changes in the key factors that inform education planning for diverse young adults between the ages of 18 and 20?
This mixed methods study addresses the first two research questions by analyzing data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics’ Transition into Adulthood (2015) module. The qualitative component addresses the third research question through semi-structured interviews with enrolled 18 to 20 year old’s to ascertain study participants’ education planning during the COVID-19 global pandemic and associated recession. The study reveals that enrolled young adults remained engaged in and sustained commitment to their education plans when these shocks occurred. The qualitative component further highlights the importance of the presence of proximal supportive relationships in coping with the risks and challenges encountered by young adults.
The dissertation is comprised of six chapters. Chapter One, the introduction, is an overview of the nature and significance of exogenous shocks. Chapter Two provides a linked literature review, emphasizing the governing theories and key concepts germane to the study. Chapter Three summarizes the study’s methods, and a presentation of the quantitative and qualitative findings constitutes Chapter Four. Chapter Five is a discussion of the mixed method findings vis-à-vis the research questions. Chapter Six concludes the dissertation with a review of the implications of the study’s findings, limitations and considerations for future research.