Faculty and First-Generation College Students E-Book

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Bildung
• Serie: J-B TL Single Issue Teaching and Learning
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 212

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2011

Beschreibung

Gain a greater understanding of the academic, cultural, and socialexperiences of first-generation college students (FGS).Fascinating, heart-touching, and important, the research and thestories presented here enlighten what FGS often have to overcome tosuccessfully complete their degrees. With an emphasis on improving FGS' college success, retention,and graduation rates, this volume first covers common obstacles andthe trend of FGS continuing on for graduate degrees. Section Twodiscusses the complex interplay of social, academic, emotional, andfinancial influences on academic performance. The chapterscollectively affirm that the commitment of university resources iscritical to college success. This is the 127th volume of the Jossey-Bass higher educationquarterly report New Directions for Teaching andLearning, which offers a comprehensive range of ideas andtechniques for improving college teaching based on the experienceof seasoned instructors and the latest findings of educational andpsychological researchers.

Leseprobe

Table of Contents

Cover

Title page

Copyright page

From The Series Editor

Foreword: Faculty and First-Generation College Students: Bridging the Classroom Gap Together

Chapter 1: Introduction: Shall We Gather in the Classroom?

SECTION ONE: The New Pattern: First-Generation College Students As Graduate Students

Chapter 2: When First-Generation Students Go to Graduate School

Contemplating Graduate School

Applying to Graduate School

Preparing for Graduate School

Conclusion

Chapter 3: First-Generation Latina Graduate Students: Balancing Professional Identity Development with Traditional Family Roles

Chapter 4: Learning a New World: Reflections on Being a First-Generation College Student and the Influence of TRIO Programs

SECTION TWO: First-Generation Students Join The Undergraduate Ranks

Chapter 5: Faculty Perceptions of the First-Generation Student Experience and Programs at Tribal Colleges

Tribal Colleges

Method

Findings

Programs for FGS at Tribal Colleges

Recommendations and Conclusions

Chapter 6: Understanding the First-Generation Student Experience in Higher Education Through a Relational Dialectic Perspective

The FGS Experience

Method

Results

Discussion

Chapter 7: First-Generation Issues: Learning Outcomes of the Dismissal Testimonial for Academically Dismissed Students in the Arts and Sciences

Method

Results

Findings

Applications for Faculty and Staff

Implications for Future Research

Chapter 8: A Social Constructionist View of Issues Confronting First-Generation College Students

Race and FGS

Lower Educational Aspirations

Poor Choices

Social Class and FGS

Academic Preparation

Strong Social Network

Upward Social Mobility and Meaningful Work

Conclusion

Chapter 9: Critical Compassionate Pedagogy and the Teacher’s Role in First-Generation Student Success

Compassionate Communication

Critical Compassionate Pedagogy and FGS

Observation

Feeling

Need

Request

Conclusion

Chapter 10: Gathering Ourselves and Our Students: Concluding Remarks

Index

Other Titles Available in the New Directions for Teaching and Learning Series

FACULTY AND FIRST-GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENTS: BRIDGING THE CLASSROOM GAP TOGETHER

Vickie L. Harvey, Teresa Heinz Housel (eds.)

New Directions for Teaching and Learning, no. 127

Catherine M. Wehlburg, Editor-in-Chief

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ISBN: 978-1-1181-4214-1

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From The Series Editor

About This Publication

Since 1980, New Directions for Teaching and Learning (NDTL) has brought a unique blend of theory, research, and practice to leaders in postsecondary education. NDTL sourcebooks strive not only for solid substance, but also for timeliness, compactness, and accessibility.

The series has four goals: to inform readers about current and future directions in teaching and learning in postsecondary education, to illuminate the context that shapes these new directions, to illustrate these new directions through examples from real settings, and to propose ways in which these new directions can be incorporated into still other settings.

This publication reflects the view that teaching deserves respect as a high form of scholarship. We believe that significant scholarship is conducted not only by researchers who report results of empirical investigations, but also by practitioners who share disciplinary reflections about teaching. Contributors to NDTL approach questions of teaching and learning as seriously as they approach substantive questions in their own disciplines. They deal both with pedagogical issues as well as the intellectual and social context in which these issues arise. Authors deal on the one hand with theory and research and on the other with practice, and they translate from research and theory to practice and back again.

About This Volume

This volume focuses on first-generation college students. These students often have to overcome many obstacles to successfully complete their degree program. Providing faculty with resources and answers to questions about first-generation students is essential. The research and the stories shared by the authors within this volume are fascinating, heart-touching, and important and will provide information and understanding to all who read it.

Catherine M. Wehlburg

Editor-in-Chief

CATHERINE M. WEHLBURG is the assistant provost for Institutional Effectiveness at Texas Christian University.

Foreword Faculty and First-Generation College Students: Bridging the Classroom Gap Together

Janice Wiggins

This volume is dedicated to Vickie L. Harvey’s mother, Mary Ann Bertucci Plumley. She is the mother of a first-generation college student who earned a Ph.D. and full professorship with the heart of a working-class background.

Drawing on her thirteen years of experience as director of Indiana University-Bloomington’s Groups Program, which serves first-generation and low-income students, the author details the challenges facing first-generation college students (FGS). She argues for the need for sourcebooks such as this one to educate higher-education personnel about the academic, cultural, and social experiences of FGS. Educating college and university personnel is the first step toward improving FGS’ college success, retention, and graduation rates.

I have been the director of Indiana University-Bloomington’s (IUB) Groups Program for more than thirteen years. I was also first in my family to attend college in the early 1960s, when I had little knowledge about what college would be like. I have worked with first-generation college students (FGS) and know intimately of the factors influencing their college preparation and success.

The first year of college is a crucial point for all students, but the transition to college can be particularly difficult for at-risk populations (Tinto, 1993). Tinto found that low-income, FGS experience the highest dropout rates and are more likely to leave after the first year. Pascarella and Terenzini (1991) suggest that the lower college performance and retention rates of low-income FGS are as likely to result from experiences during college as experiences students have before they enroll.

I recall a student’s essay for admission to our program that showed the emotional challenges often encountered by FGS. She was concerned about leaving her family to attend a predominately white institution. She said:

“Students with parents who can navigate the uncharted territory which college holds have an advantage that is difficult for us who are low income and first generation. We tend to straddle two cultures, that of the college community and that of our home environment. It is hard to stay positive when you feel you are unprepared or somehow feel inferior to your peers when you work just as hard as they do. It is hard to feel as though my education is comparable to that of those students from private and township schools. It’s hard to stay positive in school when you know your parents could lose their job or home and you feel you are being selfish in neglecting family responsibility to pursue an education.”

Emotional challenges are just one barrier to success for FGS. Our support program thus addresses the diverse challenges that FGS encounter in the areas of academic performance, learning, engagement, emotional well-being, and retention. Our Groups Program is a federal initiative of the U.S. Department of Education’s Student Support Services Program, one of the Federal TRIO Programs that provide educational support for FGS. Our mission is to support, retain, and increase the graduation rates of first-generation, low-income, and disabled students. The Groups Program began as a pilot program in 1968 with forty-three students to address our low minority enrollment. Four decades later, more than 10,000 students from Indiana have participated, with more than 250 students enrolled every year.

What makes our program successful is its focus on the “whole student.” Our holistic approach begins with the mandatory Summer Experience Program (SEP) component and continues with year-round support services. These services include intrusive academic advising, academic tutoring services, one-on-one and group mentoring, financial aid advising, peer instruction, psychological counseling, small learning group communities, arts exposure, and international travel experiences. Our recent endeavors include a male initiative providing support for cultural and social issues to address male retention, and a female initiative with mentoring for greater support and stability in an academic environment. We hope our program serves as a model for other FGS program initiatives.

This coedited volume greatly extends the scholarship on FGS. It is an honor to be asked by Teresa Heinz Housel, associate professor of communication at Hope College, and Vickie Harvey, professor of communication studies at California State University, Stanislaus, to write this foreword. Teresa taught FGS in our program’s Summer Experience Program component in 2002. The experience vastly contributed to her growth and expertise as a professor, mentor, and advocate for FGS.

This volume’s valuable research about the academic, cultural, and social experiences of FGS applies to a broad audience including faculty who teach and advise FGS, graduate students in higher education, university administrators, academic and student support services staff, high school teachers, and high school and college counselors.

In Chapter One, the editors discuss obstacles facing FGS and how the book’s chapters address them. Section One (Chapters Two through Four) details how the trend of more FGS attending college is leading some to continue on to graduate school. However, the decision to pursue graduate study brings a new set of challenges as students navigate the unfamiliar maze of graduate school applications and adjusting to graduate academic culture. Section Two (Chapters Five through Nine) extends the existing FGS-related literature and uses original research such as surveys and qualitative interviews to discuss the complex interplay of social, academic, emotional, and financial influences on FGS’ academic performance. The important influences include the impact of critical compassionate communication and pedagogy on student success; the impact of race and class on students’ potential for college success, level of support networks, and college retention; barriers to success for Native American FGS, a first-generation demographic that has barely received scholarly attention; and reasons why FGS are dismissed from college and strategies for engaging readmitted students and preventing dismissals in the first place.

The chapters collectively affirm that the commitment of university resources is critical to college success. Institutions must fund programs promoting the continued retention and graduation success of first-generation and low-income students. Institutions should identify alternatives or develop creative funding to continue FGS support. Funding examples include department grants and fellowships, fundraising campaigns through university foundation and fundraising partners to provide scholarships and fellowships, and community partnerships providing resources to help finance the education and improve the college experiences of FGS.

As suggested by this volume’s chapters, I believe more can be done to improve college retention and graduation rates of FGS at American colleges and universities. The chapters detail effective ways to accomplish this goal. Removing all barriers that deter underrepresented students is required to promote and accomplish the goals of student access, retention, and graduation. When we fulfill the mission to increase retention and graduation to support the long-term success of FGS, we will all win.

Janice Wiggins

Director/Groups Student Support Services

Indiana University, Bloomington

JANICE WIGGINS has been an administrator at Indiana University-Bloomington for more than twenty-five years. For the past thirteen years, she has been director of Groups Student Support Services at Indiana University. The Groups Program began in 1968 to increase the number of IU minority students. Partially funded by the federal government, each year it admits about 300 first-generation college students from Indiana without a parent who completed a four-year degree. About two-thirds of Groups students are black or Hispanic. Wiggins has also served on the Midwest Association of Education Opportunity Personnel Programs (MAEOPP) and the MAEOPP Education Foundation Board. In February 2009, Wiggins was honored as a Living Legend by the City of Bloomington for Black History Month.

References

Pascarella, E. T., and Terenzini, P. T. How College Affects Students. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1991.

Tinto, V. Leaving College: Rethinking the Causes and Cures of Student Attrition. (2nd ed.). Chicago: The University of Chicago, 1993.

1

Introduction: Shall We Gather in the Classroom?