Community colleges are increasingly recognized as providing an accessible
and affordable pathway to STEM occupations, particularly for underrepresented racial and ethnic, first-generation, and low-income students. There
are several institutional and academic factors that influence transfer outcomes. But one of the most central factors that can either help students
successfully navigate the two-to-four-year pathway or cause significant roadblocks and cost students considerable delays – is advising. In this study, we
investigate how advising practices at three institutions – two community
colleges and one university – contribute to the success of underrepresented
students on the transfer pathway in STEM disciplines. We conducted interviews with 39 near-transfer or recently transferred students in STEM. Most
students experienced at least some good advising (n = 28); however, 21
students reported poor advising experiences, which in some cases created
undue challenges and barriers. Positive advising experiences contributed to
students’ sense of trust with their advisors, departments, and the institution.
Early positive relationships with advisors also contributed to students being
more likely to seek future help from advisors (including at other institutions);
conversely negative advising relationships contributed to students being
more likely to seek help elsewhere, like from friends or family, and sometimes
giving up and not receiving any help at al
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Moving toward stronger advising practices: How Black males’ experiences at HPWIs advance a more caring and wholeness-promoting framework for graduate advising
Background:
Graduate education provides students with specialized skills needed to advance science and discovery and prepares future educators and role models for future generations of learners. Given the importance of graduate education, the estimate that more than half of the students who begin it do not complete their degrees is troubling. Existing scholarship suggests that this substantial attrition from graduate school is in part due to inadequate advising. To address this concern, it is important to examine students’ experiences with graduate advising.
Purpose:
This article presents a new model—the Model of Wholeness in Graduate Advising (MWGA)—that characterizes a range of students’ advising experiences. In so doing, it encourages faculty to move toward a more caring and wholeness-promoting framework in graduate advising.
Research Design:
To better understand the complexities of graduate advising and the various types of experiences—and relationships—that students have, desire, expect, and need to thrive both professionally and personally, this study included interviews with 42 Black male graduate students attending historically and predominantly White institutions (HPWIs). Thematic analysis revealed that students’ advising experiences included aspects of “ethics of care” (or degrees of care: whole, partial, empty). Iterative analysis of data led to the creation of the practice-informing model: the Model of Wholeness in Graduate Advising (MWGA).
Findings:
Although some students described experiencing positive interactions and teachable moments with their advisors, others painted pictures of demoralizing encounters and public shaming practices. Still others described advising experiences they did not have but would want. Accounting for this range, the MWGA denotes an upwardly moving relationship between degrees of care (i.e., empty, partial, whole) and students’ perceptions of their advising experiences and relationships (i.e., weak, basic, strong) in part shaped by students’ expectations for their advising experiences and relationships, and their lived experiences.
Conclusions and Recommendations:
The findings from this study, represented in the MWGA, illustrate theoretical linkages between students’ expectations of advising, the levels of their advising experiences and relationships, and degrees of care demonstrated by their advisors. Most notably, more elements of care tend to result in better lived advising experiences and relationships. For current and future faculty, moving toward a more caring and wholeness-promoting framework might start with recognizing the needs of students as whole people. Creating more caring advising experiences and developing more caring relationships may better assist students in progressing through degree completion, and doing so more fully whole.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2016440
- PAR ID:
- 10546350
- Publisher / Repository:
- Sage journals
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Teachers College Record: The Voice of Scholarship in Education
- Volume:
- 123
- Issue:
- 10
- ISSN:
- 0161-4681
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 31 to 58
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
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Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Journal Article:
- https://doi.org/10.1177/01614681211059018
