Nida Rinthapol of the Gevirtz School at UC Santa Barbara was presented a 2012 Humanities and Social Sciences Research Grant from UC Santa Barbara's Graduate Division for her dissertation work "Goal Orientation and Motivational Patterns among Students in the Pathways Program."
The study focuses on the analysis and evaluation of critical transitions and critical conditions among school children from immigrant families participating in a program of academic improvement in schools in Santa Barbara, California. The study will examine the 2 x 2 pattern of achievement goal orientation (Elliot & McGregor, 2001), motivational dispositions (i.e., academic efficacy, academic self-handicapping, disruptive behavior, self-presentation of low achievement, and skepticism about the relevance of school for future success), and academic performance among middle and high school minority students from low income immigrant families participating in the college preparation program entitled Pathways.
Humanities and Social Sciences Research Grants are given to assist talented graduate students in education, social sciences, fine arts, and humanities to pursue original research. Since these disciplines traditionally have limited access to extramural funds, this program's purpose is to help redress an imbalance in funding for graduate student research.
Nida Rinthapol is currently a doctoral candidate in the Department of Education with emphases in Cultural Perspectives and Comparative Education and Quantitative Methods in Social Science under advisor Professor Richard Durán. Her research interest focuses on achievement motivation among middle and high school students from culturally diverse backgrounds and its influence on their academic beliefs and performance. She received both her B.A. in psychology and M.A. in education at UC Santa Barbara.