Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Generation
College Students
American College Counseling Association
2015 Annual Conference
Jonathan Ricks, MA, NCC, LPCA
Academic Advisor, NC Central University
Doctoral Candidate, NC State University
Introduction
Personal Experience
Work Experience
Strengths-based approach
Learning Goals
Theory of Cultural and Social Capital
Tintos Theory of Attrition
Pre-college characteristics of first-generation college
students (FGCS)
Persistence and college completion trends in FGCS
Strengths of FGCS
Support systems that have proven to help FGCS
The role of belonging and mattering
Survivors Guilt and Logotherapy
Outreach Suggestions
Cultural/Social Capital
First proposed by Bourdieu
Cultural Capital
Embodied dispositions of the mind
Objectified cultural goods
Institutionalized academic qualifications
Social Capital
Network of relationships
Membership in a group
Hidden Rules
First-generation college students learn different things
than people who grow up with parents who attended
college.
Most colleges operate with middle class norms, and
most professionals grew up learning the hidden rules of
middle class culture.
Analyze the type of taken-for-granted information found
in each section of the questionnaire
1. pre-college characteristics
2. persisting
3. graduating/ post-college
Knowledge of higher education
Pre-college Characteristics
Decreases in=
academic preparedness
HS GPA, college test scores
SES
family support, understanding about college
Degree expectations, planning
Self-efficacy beliefs
financial resources
Increases in=
minority
ESL
female
Increases in=
work hours
developmental coursework
Strengths
proactivity= willingness to take first steps
goal direction= mission-driven
optimism= hopefulness
reflexivity= personal insight
Educators are like gem cutters
Garrison & Gardner (2012)
First Generation
Students
challenges
obstacles
social capital
cultural capital
Goal Directed
Optimistic
Effective Supports
Retention= increase academic and social
integration (Tinto, 1993)
Proactive academic advising
Assessment and appropriate course placement
First-year programs
First-year seminar
Tutoring, academic support
Learning communities
Summer bridge
Mentoring
FG College Success
First generation students are nearly 4 times more
likely to leave higher education after the 1st year
than non-first generation students (Engle & Tinto,
2008)
Six years later, nearly half first generation
students have left college without earning a
degree (Stebleton, Soria, & Huesman, 2014)
Group Discussion
1. What obstacles did the FGCS students in this video face?
2. What role did family play in the success and difficulties these
students faced?
3. What mental health issues could arise from consistently facing
these obstacles?
Sense of Belonging
FGCS often face family, cultural, social, and
academic transition challenges
Living in two cultures but really not belonging to
either
Feel less like they belong on campus
Mattering
Mattering is a motive
The feeling that others depend on us and are interested
in us
Others are concerned with our fate
Powerful influence on our actions
Survivor Guilt
Excessive worrying about being in a better position than others
Leaving family and friends behind in difficult contexts and lived
experiences
SG Feelings have negative effects on all aspects of well-being
Normal progression through life
Academic success
Developing positive relationships
Logotherapy
Assumes that the search for meaning is the primary human
motivation
Awareness and a longing to understand the meaning of life are
unique to the human condition
FGCS have to come to grips with the fact that they are breaking
family traditions by attending college
Embrace the tension between FGCSs two realities and struggle
through it
Steps in Logotherapy
Interventions
1. Contextualizing the Struggle
2. Discovering Values
Use Socratic dialogue to facilitate a deeper understanding
of values and how they apply to the tension FGCS may be
feeling
Simultaneously support the student while challenging them
to come to terms with the conflicting values associated
with their transition to college
What does this conflict between those worlds tell you about
yourself and the situation you are in?
How are these two worlds alike and /or different from each
other?
Person-centered approach
Empathy
Sincerity
Authenticity
Validation
FGCS may be skeptical that college counselors
are willing/able to help them
First impression is extremely important with FGCS
(Stebleton, Soria, & Huesman, 2014)
Appreciative Approach
Outreach
Activities to help engage FGCS
Educate students about mental health issues
Collaborate with key faculty members who may
serve as allies for the counseling center
Classroom presentations captive audience
Providing professional development and training for
staff and instructors
Hold walk-in hours across campus
(Stebleton, Soria, & Huesman, 2014)
Promotional Considerations
Help shape messages within promotional materials
(flyers, handouts, websites) about counseling services
Positive, prevention focused messages may help
reduce stigma
Emphasizing how taking advantage of counseling
center services could lead to greater student
achievement and success
Student-led promotion mentoring initiatives or other
similar programs
(Stebleton, Soria, & Huesman, 2014)
References
Avery, C. (2010). The effects of college counseling on high-achieving low income students (NBER Working Paper No. 16359).
Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research.
Bloom, J., Hudson, B, and He, Y. (2008). The Appreciative Advising Revolution. Champaign, IL: Stipes Publishing, LLC
Bourdieu, P. (1986). Handbook of theory of research for the sociology of education. J. E. Richardson (Ed.) Greenwood Press.
Choy, S. (2001). Students whose parents did not go to college: Postsecondary access, persistence, and attainment. In J. Wirt, et al.
(Eds.), The condition of education 2001 (pp. XVIII-XLIII). Washington, DC: NCES.
Darling, R. A., & and Smith, M. S. (2007). First-generation college students: First-year challenges. In M. Stuart Hunter, B. McCallaWriggins, and E. White (eds.), Academic Advising: New Insights for Teaching and Learning in the first year. NACADA
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The Pell Institute.
Farmer-Hinton, R. L. (2008). Social capital and college planning: Students of color using school networks for support and guidance.
Education and Urban Society, 41(1), 127-157.
Garrison, N. J., & Gardner, D. G. (November 15, 2012). Assets first generation college students bring to the higher education setting.
Paper presented at the ASHE annual conference, Las Vegas, NV.
Hand, C., & Payne, E.M. (2008). First Generation College Students: A Study of Appalachian Student Success. Journal of
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References
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counseling: A historical proposition. Professional School Counseling, 8(2), 124-131.
McDonough, P. M. (2005). Counseling and college counseling in Americas high schools. Alexandria, VA: National
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