First-Generation College Students and Academic Advising

207 Pages·2012·0.69 MB·English

FIRST-GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENTS AND ACADEMIC ADVISING:
WORDS OF WISDOM FROM ACADEMIC ADVISORS

A Dissertation
by
ANGELA DAWN MEAD

Submitted to the Graduate School
at Appalachian State University
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of
DOCTOR OF EDUCATION

December 2012
Educational Leadership Doctoral Program
Reich College of Education
FIRST-GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENTS AND ACADEMIC ADVISING:
WORDS OF WISDOM FROM ACADEMIC ADVISORS

A Dissertation
by
ANGELA DAWN MEAD
December 2012

APPROVED BY:

Jim Killacky, Ed.D.
Chairperson, Dissertation Committee
Director, Doctoral Program in Educational Leadership

Alecia Youngblood Jackson, Ph.D.
Member, Dissertation Committee

James Lancaster, Ed.D.
Member, Dissertation Committee

Edelma D. Huntley, Ph.D.
Dean, Cratis Williams Graduate School
Copyright by Angela D. Mead 2012
All Rights Reserved
Abst ract

FIRST-GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENTS AND ACADEMIC ADVISING:
WORDS OF WISDOM FROM ACADEMIC ADVISORS

Angela D. Mead
B.A., University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
M.A., Appalachian State University
Ed.D., Appalachian State University

Dissertation Committee Chairperson: Jim Killacky, Ed.D.

Prior research has demonstrated unequivocally that first-generation college
students do not enroll, persist or graduate from four-year institutions at comparable
rates as students from more educated families. With almost half (47%) of all students in
American higher education as first-generation college students, and with their college
attendance, persistence and graduation rates lower than those of their peers from more
educated homes, it behooves institutions to pay close attention to this special
population of student.
A great deal of research has focused on explaining the reasons behind first-
generation college students' decreased college attendance and graduation rates. Much
of the research points towards using academic advising as a strategy to assist first-
generation college students, but there is a gap in exactly what academic advisors should
do to assist first-generation college students. In this study, intensive qualitative
interviews with 10 academic advisors who are also first-generation college students
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themselves, and who can therefore see both sides of the issue, addressed how academic
advising can help first-generation college students. Transcripts from interviews, notes
from the interviews and documents collected from the participants were coded using
thematic analysis to arrive at three major themes.
Main themes from the research were the characteristics associated with being a
first-generation college student, the role of an advisor with first-generation college
students and the relationship to the conceptual framework for the study, cultural
capital model. These themes and attendant subthemes are explored in depth, and the
best practices and implications for advisors, institutions and graduate programs are
discussed in relation to prior research on first-generation college students and
academic advising. Suggestions for further research are also presented.
v
Acknowle dgments

I would like to acknowledge my committee members for their support and
assistance on my long journey. Dr. Jim Killacky, Dr. Alecia Jackson and Dr. Jim Lancaster
all provided tireless support and guidance through this arduous process, and I would
not be here, at the conclusion of this journey, without them. Thank you for your
unflagging and unswerving dedication to getting me through this, despite the times
when I had to pause to take care of other issues in my real life that demanded my
attention.
My co-workers were also invaluable. My supervisor and friend, Dr. Leslie
Sargent Jones, always supported me and encouraged me to reach my goals for both
professional and personal reasons. There were times when I had to be away from work
or was distracted, but she was always unflinching in her support. My colleagues in the
Honors College at Appalachian State University were my personal cheerleaders when I
needed them, and I will be forever grateful. Other colleagues and friends across the
university stopped by with a kind word of encouragement and asked about my progress,
and I am indebted to them for their support.
My family, especially my husband, Gary, and my father, Joe, had to put up with
long nights and weekends when I stayed locked in my office working on my research. I
couldn’t have done this without your quiet support and steadfast encouragement, and I
appreciate it more than words can ever express.
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I am also grateful to the National Academic Advising Association (NACADA) for a
research grant that allowed me to travel to the physical locations of the 10 advisors in
this research to meet with them face-to-face. Being able to meet with the advisors in
person contributed greatly to my understanding of their advising practice by allowing
me to see their space and context. It also allowed me to hire a transcriptionist to help
speed the pace of this project.
Finally, I must thank the participants who allowed me into their offices and their
pasts to learn about their experiences and their advising practices. I made new friends
and contacts, and I learned more than I ever thought possible through the interviews I
conducted with these 10 academic advisors. Thank you for allowing me the privilege of
learning more about you and what you do.

vii
Dedic ation

This dissertation is dedicated to all of the first-generation college students, like
myself, who are striving to beat the odds by being the first in their families to go to
college. We may be breaking our family tradition, and hopefully we’ll start a new one
for the future.

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Table of C ontents

Abstract ...................................................................................................................................................... iv
Acknowledgments ................................................................................................................................. vi
Dedication .............................................................................................................................................. viii
List of Tables ........................................................................................................................................... xv
List of Figures ........................................................................................................................................ xvi
Chapter 1: Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 1
Introduction To/ Definition to the Issue ......................................................................... 1
Problem Statement and Context ......................................................................................... 3
Research Questions.................................................................................................................. 3
Methodology ............................................................................................................................... 4
Significance of the Issue ......................................................................................................... 5
In the field ..................................................................................................................... 5
Meaning to student (personally) .......................................................................... 6
Definition of Terms .................................................................................................................. 6
Organization of Study ............................................................................................................. 7
Chapter 2: Literature Review and Conceptual Framework.................................................... 9
First-Generation College Students ..................................................................................... 9
Definition of terms ..................................................................................................... 9
Summary of classical and research literature .............................................. 10
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Numbers in higher education ............................................................... 10
Characteristics ............................................................................................ 11
Educational aspirations .......................................................................... 12
Persistence and graduation rates ....................................................... 12
Financial challenges ................................................................................. 12
Suggested strategies to retain and graduate FGCS ...................... 13
Research literature on first-generation college students ........................ 15
Comparison to other students ............................................................. 16
Explaining and understanding the experiences of FGCS ........... 22
Persistence and graduation rates ....................................................... 29
Strategies to support first-generation college students ............ 32
Academic Advising Literature .......................................................................................... 34
Definition of terms .................................................................................................. 34
History of academic advising .............................................................................. 34
Academic advising models................................................................................... 35
Research in academic advising .......................................................................... 36
Advising at-risk students ....................................................................... 37
Conceptual Framework ....................................................................................................... 38
Cultural capital ......................................................................................................... 38
Chapter 3: Methodology .................................................................................................................... 45
Methodological Approach and Rationale ..................................................................... 45
Research Questions............................................................................................................... 46
Interview Questions ............................................................................................................. 47
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