Complicating College-Transition Stories: Strengths and Challenges of Approaches to Diversity in Wise-Story Interventions

2021 ◽  
pp. 174569162110060
Author(s):  
Rebecca Covarrubias ◽  
Giselle Laiduc
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Low Income ◽  
College Transition ◽  
Students Of Color ◽  
Student Outcomes ◽  
First Generation ◽  
Rigorous Theory ◽  
Perspective Drawing ◽  
Multicultural Perspective

In response to the growing numbers of minoritized students (e.g., low-income, first-generation, students of color) transitioning into U.S. systems of higher education, researchers have developed transition-assistance strategies, such as psychologically wise-story interventions. Through a rigorous, theory-driven approach, wise-story interventions use stories to encourage students to develop adaptive meanings about college-transition challenges, subsequently allowing students to persist. Yet there is one critical distinction between existing wise-story interventions. Well-known examples endorse a color-evasive message that all students, regardless of their demographic backgrounds, share similar struggles when adjusting to college. One variation in wise-story interventions ties transition struggles explicitly to students’ identities, adopting more of a multicultural perspective. Drawing from diversity frameworks, we offer in this article a comparative analysis of these variations; we outline under what conditions, for whom, and through which processes these varying approaches to identity affect student outcomes. In this discussion, we reflect on both the strengths and challenges of wise-story interventions and offer considerations for extending these approaches. Specifically, we ask whether integrating critical perspectives into wise-story interventions better addresses the experiences of minoritized students as they navigate institutions historically built for dominant groups.

A Modest Proposition

2021 ◽  
pp. 339-360
Author(s):  
Clint-Michael Reneau ◽  
Ioakim Boutakidis
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Students Of Color ◽  
First Generation ◽  
College Completion ◽  
Policy Agenda ◽  
Low Income Students ◽  
Access And Equity

In an era when college completion dominates the policy agenda, matters of access and equity are critically important. Throughout higher education there are entrenched practices that reinforce inequities—leading to vastly different outcomes for first-generation, low-income students and for students of color. This chapter explores equity-minded practices educators can utilize in both the curricular and co-curricular while also exploring the concept of aligning behavioral goals and actions.

scholarly journals Linked Coding: A Qualitative Investigation of the Impact of a College Transition Program

2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Coleman-Tempel ◽  
Meghan Ecker-Lyster
Keyword(s):  
Minority Students ◽  
Low Income ◽  
College Transition ◽  
First Generation ◽  
Underrepresented Students ◽  
Qualitative Evaluation ◽  
Transition Program ◽  
Cultural Mismatch ◽  
College Ready ◽  
The Impact

Limited college knowledge often impacts underrepresented students’ ability to navigate the college setting, creating institutional barriers for these students once arriving on campus. Students who are first-generation, low-income, and/or minority students have been shown to be less “college ready” than their peers. This discrepancy in preparedness can be conceptualized as a cultural mismatch between the student’s background knowledge and the higher education institution's expectations and norms (Lohfink & Paulsen, 2005). This qualitative evaluation provides an in-depth investigation into first-generation, low-income, and minority students’ perceptions and experiences with a yearlong college transition program. The study explores how a college transition program can impact students’ social development.

Sense of Belonging and Mattering Among Two Cohorts of First-Year Students Participating in a Comprehensive College Transition Program

2019 ◽  
Vol 64 (3) ◽  
pp. 276-297 ◽  
Author(s):  
Darnell Cole ◽  
Christopher B. Newman ◽  
Liane I. Hypolite
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
College Transition ◽  
Sense Of Belonging ◽  
First Generation ◽  
First Year ◽  
Financial Barriers ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Public College ◽  
Care And Support ◽  
Comprehensive College

For first-year students who carry traditionally marginalized identities, comprehensive college transition programs (CCTPs) can offer key wraparound services to help address some of the major academic, social, and financial barriers they may encounter. This article looks at one such CCTP implemented at three public college campuses serving a range of students, including those from low-income, first-generation, and racial/ethnic minority backgrounds. More specifically, this study uses regression analyses to look at two cohorts of first-year students’ experiences related to sense of belonging and mattering to their CCTP. The findings suggest that when considering students’ experiences in the CCTP, staff care and support and perceptions of grade check meetings were experiences that were significantly related to both sense of belonging and mattering.

The Impact of Wyman’s Teen Leadership Program on College Achievement and Retention

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Postsecondary Education ◽  
Low Income ◽  
First Generation ◽  
Retention Rates ◽  
Leadership Program ◽  
Grade Point ◽  
Teen Leadership ◽  
Postsecondary Access ◽  
The Impact

Low-income, first-generation college students face a host of obstacles on their journeys toward degree completion. Providing effective supports for these students as they navigate their postsecondary experiences is an important determinant of success, the implications of which can be far-reaching. The purpose of the current study discussed in this article was to examine the impact of Wyman’s Teen Leadership Program (TLP) on positive college outcomes for low-income, first-generation students pursuing higher education at Missouri State University (MSU). TLP is a community-based, postsecondary access and success program comprising three developmentally progressive phases that begin when teens are ninth graders and ends after their second year of postsecondary education. During the postsecondary phase of the program, TLP works in close partnership with higher education institutions like MSU to effectively support students through caring relationships and coordinated services. Using a mixed-methods approach, the authors analyzed the college retention rates and grade point averages (GPAs) of 39 TLP participants attending MSU and 82 comparison students with similar background characteristics. Findings revealed statistically higher retention rates and GPAs for TLP participants compared to non-participants. Focus groups were also conducted to better understand the perceptions of TLP participants (n = 15) and TLP staff members (n = 6). Using Schlossberg’s (1989) theory of marginality and mattering as a framework, the authors analyzed focus group responses, from which three overarching themes emerged: relationships, intentional experiences, and self-efficacy. The study findings suggest that postsecondary access and success programs are most effective when their curricula and program experiences are supported by strong and consistent student-adult relationships.

The Multiple Dimensions of Transfer: Examining the Transfer Function in American Higher Education

2017 ◽  
Vol 45 (4) ◽  
pp. 273-293 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jason L. Taylor ◽  
Dimpal Jain
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Transfer Function ◽  
Low Income ◽  
First Generation ◽  
Transfer Policy ◽  
American Higher Education ◽  
Multiple Dimensions ◽  
State Transfer ◽  
Policy Argument ◽  
The Impact

Purpose: This article examines the literature on the transfer function in American higher education, and it reviews three primary dimensions of transfer: (a) the transfer function and pathways, (b) transfer access and experiences, and (c) state transfer policy. Argument: This literature review engages core transfer concepts and we argue that the literature is dominated by the vertical transfer pathway, despite multiple transfer pathways and definitions. The research also suggests that students’ transfer experiences and outcomes are not equal, institutional cultures and policies are not designed to support diverse students, and the inadequate transfer structures and policies need to be reformed to improve transfer outcomes for students of color, low-income students, and first-generation students. Finally, we argue that the nature and distribution of state transfer policies is uneven and the impact of state transfer policies on student outcomes is mixed, so we know little about their efficacy. Conclusion: We conclude the article with a set of priorities for future transfer research that address gaps and limitations of the existing literature.

scholarly journals Every Learner Everywhere and Lighthouse Institutions: First-Year Experiences

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Students Of Color ◽  
Adaptive Learning ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
First Generation ◽  
First Year ◽  
Low Income Students ◽  
Gateway Courses ◽  
Improving Teaching And Learning ◽  
First Year Experiences

In this report, Every Learner Everywhere & Lighthouse Institutions share first-year experiences of 2- and 4-year colleges piloting new versions of gateway courses incorporating adaptive learning in an effort to address achievement gaps for first-generation students, low-income students, and students of color by improving teaching and learning with the support of adaptive tools.

scholarly journals Turning Adversity into Capitals among Low Income First Generation Students of Color: Exploring Interdependence of Multiple Capitals

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (6) ◽  
pp. p13
Author(s):  
Marcelle Jackson ◽  
Jung-ah Choi
Keyword(s):  
Social Networks ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Students Of Color ◽  
Parental Support ◽  
First Generation ◽  
First Generation College Students ◽  
Community Cultural Wealth ◽  
First Generation Students ◽  
Cultural Wealth ◽  
Higher Education System

Much literature have documented that low income, first generation college students tend to contend with challenges and hardships such as financial constraints, low parental support, lack of college information, and lack of social networks. However, a growing number of the studies reverse such “deficit” view on first generation students of color, and assert that resources of traditionally disadvantaged students become a community cultural wealth for accessing privilege. This study collects the experiences of low income students of color who graduated from PWIs in the U.S. higher education system. In so doing, the study uses Yosso’s Community Cultural Wealth as a theoretical framework, and analyzes the experiences in terms of how they transform their resources into capitals. The analysis of the data shows that each participant leverages Yosso’s six capitals in the way to gain successful educational attainment. Unfulfilled parental dream and pitying parents turn to valuable family and aspirational capitals; lack of clear goals and lack of guidance compelled the participants to be able to navigate through possible social networks. The data also shows how one capital reinforces and intersects with other capitals.

Concluding Thoughts

2019 ◽  
Vol 64 (3) ◽  
pp. 370-373
Author(s):  
Adrianna Kezar ◽  
Joseph A. Kitchen
Keyword(s):  
Learning Community ◽  
Low Income ◽  
College Transition ◽  
First Generation ◽  
Underrepresented Students ◽  
Transition Programs ◽  
Comprehensive College ◽  
Future Work

This issue has explored the efficacy of two comprehensive college transition programs: CSU STEM Collaboratives and the Thompson Scholars Learning Community. Both studies identify similar issues that merit further exploration and point to key findings that practitioners should consider to guide their future work with first-generation, low-income, and underrepresented students.

Career Self-Efficacy: A Mixed-Methods Study of an Underexplored Research Area for First-Generation, Low-Income, and Underrepresented College Students in a Comprehensive College Transition Program

2019 ◽  
Vol 64 (3) ◽  
pp. 298-324
Author(s):  
Adrianna Kezar ◽  
Liane Hypolite ◽  
Joseph A. Kitchen
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
College Transition ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
First Generation ◽  
Transition Program ◽  
Mixed Methods Study ◽  
College Completion ◽  
Underrepresented Minority ◽  
Underrepresented Minority Students ◽  
Comprehensive College

This mixed-methods study explored whether and how participation in a comprehensive college transition program serving low-income, first-generation, and underrepresented minority students is linked to the development of career self-efficacy in light of the latter’s link to persistence and college completion. Findings suggest that program participation is linked to career self-efficacy, and program participants report significantly higher levels of confidence in their major and career path compared with a control group. Qualitative results indicate that major and career support from college transition program staff and being connected to an ecology of major and career-related activities contributed to the development of program participants’ career self-efficacy. Results hold significance for college transition program design and call attention to an underexplored area of research in the quest to boost college completion for low-income, first-generation, and underrepresented minority students.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document