Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Among Inner City Commuter College Students

Inner city commuter college students differ from their more traditional college student peers in terms of age, backgrounds and life experiences. Embarking on a liberal arts education, however, requires a journey through self discovery which is similar to the experience of traditional students. Because many of our students present histories of traumatic events, and because the inner city campus itself is often surrounded by violence prone city streets, our students represent a population who are particularly likely to have had to deal with traumatic stress. The educational process, which calls into question prior ways of handling and understanding life, may make the emergence of post-traumatic stress disorder more prevalent among these students. Treatment for this disorder by college student counselors, within the context of the college campus, offers a unique opportunity to help our students master past events within the framework of their new college student identity.     

Student identity construction in online teacher education: a narrative life history approach

This paper explores student identity construction through the narrative life history of one non-traditional student, engaged in teacher education in a non-traditional way – a fully online university degree course. The students within this course are all mature-aged. Most are female, and have already developed personal identities as partners, friends and mothers, as well as professional identities such as teacher aides. Adding the new identity of “student” to these already established roles has an impact on these participants’ actions, beliefs, experiences and hence on their identities. Further, the notion that they are now “pre-service teachers” forces students to consider their professional identity in new and sometimes uncomfortable ways. This paper explores the challenges for one student created by the need to negotiate this complexity. Through this exploration using narrative life history methods, the paper considers the implications of the experience of becoming a student and a teacher.     

大学生村官政策实施中存在的问题调研

设置大学生村官是我国新农村建设的重要举措,也是促进大学生就业的创新之举。多年来,已经产生了积极的社会效益和教育效应。但是,问题也逐步地暴露出来。通过调研,越来越感受到这些问题的解决对进一步完善和深化大学生村官制度具有重要的意义:在群体特征上,无论性别、学历、专业知识结构和户籍等,都带有鲜明的共性;在村官的个体层面上,实际知识和具体工作经验缺乏、心理负担较重,以至于缺乏工作主动性等,也是不可否认的现实;在社会层面上,认同程度偏低、工作环境复杂等,制约着大学生村官事业的拓展;从管理者———政府的角度看,大学生村官身份定位模糊、经济待遇偏低、持续性培养力度不够、未来前途不明朗等,也是必须关注的。     

Establishing a Framework for Successful Social Network Site Use in the Community College

ABSTRACT

Many colleges and universities have created college-sponsored communities on Facebook and Twitter as a means to interact, connect, and build community online (Center for Community College Student Engagement, 2009; Wankel & Wankel, 2011). However, the literature provides no clear picture of how community college students use social network sites (SNS) or whether the use of SNS is associated with student outcomes as social integration into the campus environment, institutional commitment, and persistence (Davis, Deil-Amen, Rios-Aguilar, & González Canché, 2012; Junco, 2012). The purpose of this quantitative research investigation was to examine the relationship between Social Networking Site use and social integration, institutional commitment, and persistence among students at a suburban community college. Findings revealed a significant relationship between SNS and social integration and institutional commitment; there was no significant relationship between SNS use and persistence. Recommendations for policy, practice, and future research are offered.     

Integrating Identities: Facilitating a Support Group for LGBTQ Students on a Christian College Campus

College can be a challenging time for young adults, as many are experiencing life on their own for the first time, adjusting to new lifestyles, new social groups, and new ways to express themselves. For lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) college students, the challenges are increased as they face harassment, discrimination, and struggles with identity. For LGBTQ students on a Christian campus, the integration of spiritual and sexual/gender identities can pose even more challenges. Research has shown that LGBTQ individuals are at a higher risk for mental health issues, as are those who fail to integrate spiritual and sexual/gender identities. This article will use a review of the current literature to address the need for LGBTQ support groups on Christian college campuses as a means to help these students resolve internal identity conflicts. This article also will demonstrate a rationale for why these groups are needed, identify specific interventions that can be effective, provide implications for counselors, and offer suggestions for future research.     

“Why am I here?”: A phenomenological exploration of first-generation college student experiences in STEM majors within a predominantly white institution

First-generation college students (FGCSs) are a growing population in undergraduate education. Research on FGCS primarily focuses on the challenges and barriers they encounter in college. While important, this literature offers a limited view of FGCS as learners. Moreover, minimal literature has examined these students' lived experiences within sciences, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). This study explores the learning experiences of FGCS (N = 17) in undergraduate STEM programs at a mid-sized, private, predominantly white institution. Guided by the frameworks of intersectionality and social cognitive career theory, the researchers utilized a qualitative, phenomenological research methodology to hear the perspectives of FGCS to and to identify problematic higher educational structures in STEM. Findings point to an elitist stance underlying STEM programs based in general disciplinary norms that restricted FGCS access to STEM majors and careers across social, academic, and professional elements of the academic experience. FGCS who were multiply minoritized based upon race, gender, and social class experienced the compounding of marginalization, and academic success and persistence came at a personal cost. Students also reported relying predominantly on personal strengths and motivations to overcome elitism in STEM rather than on institutional supports. Findings also highlight the variation in the first-generation experience and identify the unique barriers FGCS encounter within STEM fields. Implications for dismantling inequitable structures for higher education in STEM attending to the social, academic, and professional inclusion of FGCS.     

College Media in the Classroom: An Innovative Approach to College Preparation

College preparation programs are ubiquitous among secondary schools, ranging from bridge programs and summer camps to STEM competitions. High school students have many options in preparing for the academic pressures of higher education. However, an area often neglected in college preparation programs is the teaching of interpersonal customs and norms of university life. High school students, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds, may enter college with little to no understanding of the social and organizational expectations of being a college student. This study tests a college preparation approach that utilizes college-themed media as a way to educate students on college life that is unintimidating and enjoyable. Six high school students were presented with various forms of fictional college story plotlines, including a movie, two television shows, and a novel. Through observational data and semi-structured interviews, findings showed that the students identified some valuable personal lessons about what it means to be a college student after consuming the media. The findings suggest that incorporating college media into college preparation programs in high school may provide a more holistic college preparation experience by demystifying college stereotypes and relieving some of the pressures that high school students face about what is waiting for them in college.     

A Guide to Setting Up a College Bereavement Group: Using Monologue,Soliloquy, and Dialogue

Childhood grief disrupts and reshapes a developing child’s primary attachments, emotional regulation system, and identity formation. Bereft college students have to build their grief identity simultaneously with their social, academic, vocational, and sexual identities. This article describes a bereavement group to help students work on these developmental tasks. Providing long-term conversationally structured grief groups in a college counseling center provides support for college students’ adjustment and identity development.     

基于职业体验视角的高职学生职业生涯规划

职业生涯规划是每个学生面对的人生课题。本文探讨了高职学生职业生涯规划融入职业体验的基本路径,学校要加强与企业的合作,鼓励师生参与职业体验。同时提出职业体验的实施步骤。     

西方大学生身份研究及其启示

西方大学生身份研究已有半个多世纪,取得了丰硕的研究成果。不同学科领域从不同视角对大学生身份加以诠释,提出了各自的理论模式,其中心理学、社会学、社会心理学、个体与环境理论以及最新研究法在大学生身份研究方面成果尤为突出,这些研究对大学生、大学管理人员和教育工作者具有重要的指导意义。     

大学生学习动力缺失成因分析与对策探讨

大学生学习动力问题是大学生学习中的核心问题,是影响其学业成绩的重要因素。当前部分大学生学习动力缺失主要表现为学习主动性不足、学习盲目无序、学习易受干扰等问题,成因在于其学习目标不明确、学习自信心不足、专业学习兴趣不够。加强学习责任教育、提升专业认同感、实施职业生涯规划、强化学习实践活动、建立学生科研激励、营造良好的学习环境等有助于提升大学生学习动力。     

Mapping participation in situated language learning

Research on the international student experience in Australia has highlighted the challenges that international students face when obtaining tertiary qualifications in an Australian university [AEI. (2012). Student voices: Enhancing the experience of international students in Australia. Canberra, Australia: Australian Education International]. Specifically, international students are reported to have difficulties achieving their stated goals of making connections, forming friendships and improving their oral English language skills during their sojourn [AEI. (2013). International student survey 2012 overview report. Canberra, Australia: Australian Education International; Yates, L., & Wahid, R. (2013). Challenges to Brand Australia: International students and the problem with speaking. Higher Education Research & Development, 32(6), 1037–1050]. This paper investigates the interactions of five male Saudi Arabian international students in the local English-speaking community and considers how they participate in it. Diary records and interview conversations are used to examine the nature and extent of participation, drawing on the linguistic concept of register or analysis of situation. The findings indicate that quality interactions for the purpose of language learning are derived from casual conversations and those without pre-defined social roles which afford opportunities for identity negotiation and interactional benefits.     

论职业生涯规划教育对独立学院校园文化建设的促进

当前独立学院学生具有学习目的功利化、缺乏学习自信心、自我表现和自我实现欲望强烈等新特征,这使得学生管理和校园文化建设工作面临新挑战。将职业生涯规划教育与校园文化建设相互融合,在就业工作中融入思政教育,可以促进学生管理和校园文化建设,提升独立学院的教育教学和管理效率。     

Autobiographical Counternarratives from the Community College to the PhD

ABSTRACT

Historically, community colleges and those they serve have been relegated to the margins of academe. Community colleges’ critics argue that students starting at two-year institutions are less likely to earn bachelor’s degrees and have lower student outcomes. This CCJRP Exchange Article draws upon counternarratives in highlighting multiple truths of the community experience through use of scholarly personal narratives (SPN) of those that moved in, through and out the community college to the PhD. The faculty member and doctoral students reflect on how their community college experiences influenced their career trajectories. Further, implications for community college practice, policy, and research are shared as the authors make a case for applying SPN in an effort to see community colleges as sites of deep growth that have lasting effects on the personal and professional lives of their students.     

Community College Student Dropouts from Higher Education: Toward a Comprehensive Conceptual Model

ABSTRACT

Historically, higher education research has focused on traditional students (i.e., recent high school graduates at a residential, 4-year institutions), but community college students are quickly becoming the new traditional student (Jenkins, 2012). In the fall of 2011, more than one third (36%) of all students enrolled in postsecondary education and almost half (46.7%) of all students enrolled in a public postsecondary institution were enrolled at a community college (Knapp, Kelly-Reid, & Ginder, 2012). However, community colleges have struggled to match the persistence rates at other institutional types. The 2011 2-year public community college national 3-year persistence-to-degree rate was 26.9% (American College Testing [ACT], 2011). The purpose of this paper is to review the literature regarding the most prominent theoretical frameworks for community college student persistence and suggest a new theoretical construct. The resultant framework is termed the Collective Affiliation Model because it views the student’s sense of belonging with the college as only one of many senses of belonging in the student’s life (e.g., family, work). The Collective Affiliation Model does not view student dropout as the student’s inability to integrate into the life of the institution; rather, it views it as the institution’s inability to collectively affiliate with the student. This model’s strength is that it does not work from a student deficit model. Instead, it provides a new framework for researchers and practitioners to better understand and address student drop-out at community colleges.     

“Our Leaders Are Just We Ourself”: Black Women College Student Leaders’ Experiences With Oppression and Sources of Nourishment on a Predominantly White College Campus

This article offers a theoretical analysis and phenomenological study of the leadership experiences of black women college students at a predominantly white higher education institution. Existing literature argues that leadership development is vital to the college experience as an opportunity to empower and engage students in social change. However, the implementation of these leadership development models fail to consider how the racial and gender identities of students influence leadership development or student peer interactions (Byrd, 2009; Kezar & Moriarty, 2000). Through black feminist standpoint theory, I present a theoretical framework that highlights the historical traditions of black women's leadership. These historical traditions grounded my qualitative study, which explores the experiences of contemporary black women's student leadership. Participants reported interpersonal interactions with oppression, more specifically: stereotypes, microaggressions, racialized and gendered self-presentation expectations, along with negotiating voice and silencing. A number of social factors were cited as sources of nourishment where women drew from historical traditions of black women's leadership to persist through oppressive challenges. Additional sources of nourishment included mothering, mentorship, allyship from white peers, and the formation of social networks.     

大学生灵性现状调查研究

运用自编《大学生灵性问卷》对大学生被试的灵性现状进行调查,调查结果表明:大学生的灵性总体上处于较高水平;大学女生、文科生、来自城市的学生灵性水平较高;独生子女和来自城市的大学生具有更强的生活乐趣感;具有宗教信仰的大学生超越性体验较多。     

Troubling identities: teacher education students' constructions of class and ethnicity

Working with diverse student populations productively depends on teachers and teacher educators recognizing and valuing difference. Too often, in teacher education programs, when markers of identity such as gender, ethnicity, ‘race’, or social class are examined, the focus is on developing student teachers' understandings of how these discourses shape learner identities and rarely on how these also shape teachers' identities. This article reports on a research project that explored how student teachers understand ethnicity and socio‐economic status. In a preliminary stage of the research, we asked eight Year 3 teacher education students who had attended mainly Anglo‐Australian, middle class schools as students and as student teachers, to explore their own ethnic and classed identities. The complexities of identity are foregrounded in both the assumptions we made in selecting particular students for the project and in the ways they constructed their own identities around ethnicity and social class. In this article we draw on these findings to interrogate how categories of identity are fluid, shifting and ongoing processes of negotiation, troubling and complex. We also consider the implications for teacher education.     

Armed with real guns: student unions,student identity,and violence in Côte d’Ivoire

ABSTRACT

African higher education has been the site of repeated contestations over identity. Higher education institutions, as spaces made up of individuals claiming a diversity of identities, are susceptible to conflict when identities are influenced by politicians and paramilitary groups seeking to advance their political agendas on campus through the use of ethnic, religious, and nationalist rhetoric. This qualitative case study of a university in Côte d’Ivoire explored how students engaged in violent political student union activities on campus constructed and enacted their identities through the lens of self-authorship. Findings suggest that student identities are context-dependent and change according to the observer; that self-authorship is difficult due to highly politicized external formulas and social structures; and that, without student support services, vulnerable students may succumb to violent identity enactment and discourse mechanisms.     

New teachers’ identity shifts at the boundary of teacher education and initial practice

As teachers enter the school communities of their initial practice, they experience identity shifts that reflect their learning. Throughout teacher education they have constructed an identity informed by their previous school experiences, the ideas and approaches promoted by their teacher education programs, and an ideal of the teachers they hope to become. The complex set of influences at the boundary between their lives as students and their lives as professionals causes them to confront their identities in new and sometimes disruptive ways (Flores & Day, 2006). New teaching situations introduce them to the thinking of experienced teachers, and to the needs of their first groups of learners, challenging the notions they have so far developed about who they are as teachers (Smagorinsky, Cook, Moore, Jackson, & Fry, 2004). This paper reports on interviews with 35 new teachers as they graduate from teacher education programs and enter the profession, and details their learning about agency and role in community resulting in identity changes within this boundary space.