Keywords

Educational Equity, Merit Based Scholarships, Lottery, scholarships

Abstract

Despite decades of research and promising strategies to ensure educational equity for all students, a significant disparity persists between the racial majority and marginalized students in the United States. Attaining educational equity is a complex problem illustrated by state-funded merit-based scholarships, including the State of Florida Bright Futures Scholarship. Since Florida's merit-based Bright Futures Scholarship Program's (BFSP) inception, the average percentage of black scholarship recipients has been minimal compared to other races. The equitable distribution of scholarship funds is critical to investigate since attaining a post-secondary education advances social mobility consequently breaking the cycle of poverty for lower socioeconomic students and closing the wealth gap for marginalized families. The Bright Futures case study utilizes a participatory policy analysis approach to help inform Legislators about policy alternatives to attain a more inclusive distribution of scholarship recipients. Data collection includes hosting four focus groups, two for Florida high school graduates and two for parents of Florida high school graduates. Additional data were collected through a facilitated conversation to identify policy alternatives to create a more racially inclusive scholarship distribution. The research concludes with a report on findings, discussion, and implications, along with recommendations to create a more inclusive Bright Futures Scholarship Program.

Completion Date

2023

Semester

Fall

Committee Chair

Bryer, Thomas

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

College

College of Community Innovation and Education

Department

Public Affairs

Degree Program

Public Administration

Format

application/pdf

Identifier

DP0028075

URL

https://purls.library.ucf.edu/go/DP0028075

Language

English

Release Date

December 2023

Length of Campus-only Access

None

Access Status

Doctoral Dissertation (Open Access)

Campus Location

UCF Downtown

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