How student effort affects educational outcomes: The role of student agency within social structure and school context

Educational attainment is central to the process of upward mobility, since schools provide a site where young people can be rewarded for their efforts independent of family background. However, while cultural perceptions emphasize individual achievement, research shows that social structures still differentially channel human action in effective and ineffective ways. Therefore, it is unclear how important individual effort is for predicting educational outcomes. Traditional research focuses on the structural aspects of educational attainment, making assumptions about student agency, rather than empirical examinations of individual student effort. In this dissertation, I use sociological theory to examine the intersection between student behavior and social structure, and explore how families, schools and policies promote student effort. Empirically, I use student effort on homework, an institutionally located practice, to capture agency and bring student action into models of educational attainment. I consider: (1) whether effort promotes long-term educational attainment, and how the process works for students from different backgrounds; (2) the significance of effort at different time points in the high school trajectory; and (3) how effort and other achievement behaviors (e.g. discipline, attendance) are affected by high school graduation exams. This research adds to the literature by analyzing the effects of effort on educational attainment, instead of assuming that effort is represented by grades and test scores. I find that student effort significantly contributes to long-term educational attainment, independent of family background, but that this process is less effective for low-income students. I also find that there are cumulative effects of high school efforts on college persistence, but early efforts are more important than later ones. Lastly, I find that high stakes testing may not affect student achievement because these tests don't substantially increase effort, even for low-income students. Educational reforms should encourage these behavioral changes and reward them, creating conditions where students from all backgrounds understand that they can play a part in affecting their outcomes by developing effective work habits early on.