Exposure to Effective Instruction and College Student Persistence: A Multi-Institutional Replication and Extension

Abstract

This study analyzed a multi-institutional and longitudinal data set to determine the impact of exposure to effective instruction on first-year persistence—defined as reenrolling for the second year of college at the same institution. Net of important confounding influences, exposure to effective instruction significantly increased the likelihood that the student would reenroll for the second year of college. The effect was mediated primarily through student satisfaction with the quality of the overall educational experience at the institution. These findings have implications for the role of the classroom experience in student persistence in higher education.