Is a University Degree Necessary to Success? Annotated Bibliography Example

Cox, R. D. (2009). “It was just that I was afraid”: Promoting success by addressing students’ fear of failure. Community College Review, 37(1), 52–80.

Cox discusses the fear that many college students have of failing because society places such high standards on obtaining a college degree. Cox interviewed various students from universities and colleges across the United States that were enrolled in English courses. He noted that many of the students that he interviewed would be considered failures by society because they did not obtain a college degree or enrolled and dropped-out for various reasons. He discussed some of the self-undermining behaviors that college students have that hinders them from completing college. Many of them cannot commit to goals or miss too many class meetings. He feels they do this in order to down play how challenged they feel to complete college and obtain a degree. As a result, if they do fail they will be able to say that they just didn’t apply themselves. He also examined the views of people who about community colleges. He argues that colleges should address the fear factor that students face.

Barrow, L., & Rouse, C.E. (2012). Financial Incentives and Educational Investment: The Impact of Performance-based Scholarships on Student Time Use. Retrieved from https://irsedit.princeton.edu/sites/irs/files/event/uploads/Barrow%20%26%20Rouse%20Nvember%202012.pdf

The authors examine how financial incentives can motivate students to work more diligently in class. They noted that females tend to be more enticed by financial benefits; however, male students were less motivated by financial benefits. The authors insist that this rule is true for adult life and success too. They believe that students who equated money with success were more apt to do well if the reward was monetary. While for most males, success is equated with self-efficacy and personal satisfaction.

Bower, B. L., & Wolverton, M. (2009). Answering the call: African American women in higher education leadership. Sterling, VA: Stylus.

The author’s discuss how African American women view success and leadership. The book focuses on women who have reached great heights in their careers and how the credit a college degree with making their successful life possible. They discuss how difficult it is to be accepted as successful in a male oriented arena. For them, the measure of success is when they are able to acquire jobs that are usually dominated by men.         .

Dietz, J.(2010). The Myth That Colleges and Major Choices Decides Johnny’s Future. College Student Journal,  44(2), 234.

This article discusses the debate over whether or not certain major guarantees the success of a particular student. With the costs of college degrees gradually increasing nearly every year, parents, students, and counselors are trying to make sure that college graduates degrees are worthwhile in the future. Consequently, researchers are trying to determine if the choice of college major has any bearings on the success of the student or if any one major is more likely to be more successful than another. Finally, they are trying to determine if there is a correlation between parent’s success and child impending success or failure.