Minority Students Perceptions of their Second-Year in College

1. Minority Students Perceptions of their Second-Year in College Dena Kniess and Dr. Pamela A. Havice SACSA Conference November 5, 2012

2. Outline of Presentation • Background of the Study • Purpose of the Study • Research Questions • Review of the Literature • Theoretical Framework • Summary

3. Background of the Study • Gaps in literature for second to third year retention (Nora, Barlow, & Crisp, 2005) • Difference in persistence rates for minority students from second to third year (Smith, 1995) • Issues of retention and persistence for minority students are viewed similar to those of majority students (Rendon, Jalomo, & Nora, 2000)

4. Purpose of the Study The purpose of this study is to build upon the existing base of research pertaining to the second-year experience in college. The goal of the study is to better understand the experiences of minority college students in their second-year of college and to discover ways to improve their in- and out-of-class learning experiences.

5. Research Questions • Primary research question • What are the experiences of minority college students during their second- year at a college or university? • Secondary research questions • How do minority students experience the in-classroom and out-of classroom environments during their second-year? • What relationships are important for minority students during their second-year?

6. Review of the Literature • Second-Year Student Needs • Student Development Theory • Second-Year Student Development • Identity Development Theories • African American Identity Development • Latino/a Identity Development

7. Second-Year Student Needs • Career and major decisions (Gardner, 2000) • Students have not had an opportunity to take classes in major (Graunke & Woosley, 2005) • Mentoring relationships • Fewest encounters with faculty outside the classroom (Gardner, 2000) • Intellectual engagement • Reduced motivation or “sophomore slump” (Anderson & Schreiner, 2000)

8. Student Development Theory • Chickering’s Psychosocial Identity Development Theory • Struggle with developing competence, moving through autonomy toward interdependence, establishing identity, and developing purpose • Perry’s Theory of Intellectual and Ethical Development • Still in dualistic position were there are definite right and wrong answers (Boivin, Fountain, & Baylis, 2000)

9. Research Institution • Large, residential, public, four-year research institution in the Southeast • 14,000 undergraduate students • 2,700 undergraduate students in second-year of study

10. Pilot Study • Conducted during Spring semester 2011 • Three undergraduate African American students in their junior year • Two themes emerged from data • Academic adjustment • Relationships • Significance of pilot study

11. Academic Adjustment • “I mean, freshman year, is general ed and kinda you have to put in effort, but not that much effort and sophomore year you had to put in ten times more effort and so learning how to actually put forth effort was that.” Carl, Junior

12. Academic Adjustment • “Well, I think that first semester my grades falling, um, like that was a hard hump to get over because I saw it as, okay so this is my second year so I could either pick it up or give it up and I chose to pick it up because I was like well, failure isn’t an option.” Lisa, Junior

13. Relationships • Described apartment living as “… you were farther away from your friends, but I had friends in my apartment … I could say the friends in my apartment were my friends, but it separated me a little bit from some, but drew me closer to others …” Casey, Junior

14. Relationships • Learning who were their “true friends” • Talked about forming relationships with professors • Either were mentored or mentored others

15. Additional Findings • Friends not returning for the second year had one individual questioning their place at the institution • “… like as a minority it helps to see more minorities like me that have made it, you know. Because, you know to be honest, nobody really expects for a minority to rise to the occasion, …” Lisa, Junior

16. Group Discussion • Get into groups of 4-5 with individuals around you • Talk about the second-year experience at your institution: • How would your student population describe their second year? • Do you think it would be similar or different for underrepresented groups? • What support structures are in place to help students through their second-year at your institution?

17. Thank you! Dena R. Kniess Associate Director, New Student and Family Programs Clemson University dkniess@clemson.edu Dr. Pamela A. Havice Associate Professor, Leadership, Counselor Education, and Human and Organizational Development Clemson University havice@clemson.edu

18. References • Anderson, E.C. & Schreiner, L.A. (2000). Advising for sophomore success. In L.A. Schreiner & J. Pattengale (eds.), Visible solutions for invisible students: Helping sophomores succeed (Monograph No. 31) (pp.55 – 65). Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina, National Resource Center for The First-Year Experience and Students In Transition. • Baldwin, J.A., Duncan, J.A., & Bell, Y.R. (1992). Assessment of African self consciousness among Black students from two college environments. In A.K.H. Burlew, W.C. Banks, H. P. McAdoo, and D. Azibo (Eds.), African American psychology, Theory, research, and practice (pp. 283-299). Newbury Park, CA: Sage. • Boivin, M., Fountain, G.A., & Baylis, B. (2000). Meeting the challenges of the sophomore year. In L.A. Schreiner & J. Pattengale (Eds.), Visible solutions for invisible students: Helping sophomores succeed (Monograph No. 31) (pp.1 – 18). Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina, National Resource Center for The First-Year Experience and Students In Transition. • Bourdieu, P. (1971). Systems of education and systems of thought. In M.K.D. Young (ed.), Knowledge and control: New directions for the sociology of education, pp.189-207. London: Collier Macmillan. • Bourdieu, P. (1973). Cultural reproduction and social reproduction. In R. Brown (ed.), Knowledge, education and cultural change, pp. 487-510. London: Tavistock.

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