might not choose to attend college to develop a vision andctch604f13.pbworks.com/w/file/fetch/70816729/Experience of CCdevstudents.pdfmight not choose to attend college to develop

might not choose to attend college to develop a vision andexpectation for children to go to college. This would align withthe support networks, bridge programs, and other interventionsmentioned by Hicks (2005), Pascarella et al. (2004), and Van T.Bui (2002). The goal of such strategies would be awareness—ofprograms, funding opportunities, and the like.

2. High school administrators, teachers, and even legislators,should continue to emphasize and support career and technicaleducation programs, especially for those students with highrisk factors. Colleges should work to collaborate with CTEcoordinators and teachers to align curriculum, offer college-level courses, and collaborate on training. This may attract morestudents to continue their training in a college environment.

3. Colleges should continue to work to align credit and noncreditworkforce programs, as recommended by Jacobs and Voorhees(2006). Such alignment would include credit for noncreditcourses and offering "mirror" courses, wherein classes may betaken as either credit' or noncredit fulfillment. This might inducemore noncredit students to consider continuing their educationtoward degree attainment.

4. College administrators of noncredit workforce educationprograms should encourage scholarly growth by selecting curriculawith high academic expectations and rigor linked to recognizedcredentials. These high standards may help students visualizeacademic excellence and encourage their desire for credentials.

5. College administrators should incorporate more integrationbetween credit and noncredit programs. They should also workto increase noncredit workforce students' knowledge of any

"bridge" programs or mechanisms such as experiential credit,credit/noncredit "mirror" courses, and other mechanisms toconvert noncredit training to credit.

This study is the result of a three-year exploration of noncredit work-force training programs and the students who enroll in them. The re-searcher discovered that what many higher education practitioners mayhold in low regard—noncredit education—may actually be a bridge to suc-cess for many people. Thousands of students transit campuses in pursuitof certifications, and by extenuation jobs, and noncredit workforce edu-cation might actually be the first, next step to more education for them.

As economies shrink and grow, employment numbers follow. There isan axiom in higher education that says that as unemployment increases.

i 8 Community College Enterprise • Spring 20 i 2

so does college enrollment. A large portion of that increase may occur

at the level of the "hidden college" of noncredit workforce training. Col-

leges that provide noncredit workforce education are opening doors of

opportunity, not only for people who need employment, but also for

people who might never set foot on a college campus. These programs

are sometimes life-changers for the students who complete them, and

should be valued by their colleges. Administrators who embrace these

programs appreciate that fact and enjoy the fruits of their success. And

in the process, they may likely lead another student to cross the bridge of

educational success.

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Crossing the bridge 19

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20 Community College Enterprise • Spring 2012

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Crossing the bridge 21

The experience ofcominunity college

for developmentalstudents: challenges

and motivationsJason VanOra

Dr.VanOra is an

Assistant Professor

of Psychology and

Faculty Development

Coordinator in the

Department of

Behavioral Sciences

& Human Services

at Kingsborough

Community College

This crticle' adds to exístíng;//teraturcs on "developmental \

studenú,"or those, placing into non<redit-bcanng reed- \

; ing and/or, writing classes, by exploring t/ieir own personal

experiences bf.atténdihg'çommunity college. The findings

ofthis'quàlitative'''siudy,,.nàsed on a set of semistructured

intenüews^with',l8f'deyélaprñental students in community

college; reveal .áXya/iety of challenges and motivations re- i

lated to ^érsister]cé..CIÍallénges included multiple demands

on studerits' time, difficúlty¿of classes and ivnt/ng assign- •

tnents, and students' perceptions of inadequate pedagogy.

Students appeared,motivate^ to persist by the opportunity

to engage new ideas and serve as a.role model for friends

and family members Implications of these findings for help-

ing developmental students persist toward their college de-

gréés'airé considered

Background and literature reviewDevelopmental students are generally consideredthose community college students lacking in ba-sic reading, writing, and/or mathematics abilities.These students are generally required to compíetea number of non-credit-bearing, basic skills coursesbefore enrolling in freshman-level English, math-ematics, and science courses. Overall, fewer than30% of community college students graduate withinsix years and these numbers are significantly lowerfor these students enrolled in developmental read-ing and writing classes (Adelman, 2002; Atte\yell,Lavin, Domina, &. Levey, 2006; Bailey, Crosta, &


Jenkins, 2007; Crosta &. Calcagno, 2005). Moreover, among communitycollege graduates, those initially assigned to developmental classes aresignificantly less likely to eventually earn a bachelor's degree (Adelman,1996). While some attribute these poor outcomes to the stigmatizationthat developmental students face from the larger college community,many believe that they are due to preexisting academic deficiencies andnot having developed adequate preparation for college-level classes inhigh school (Attewell &. Lavin, 2007; Fox, 1999; Grubb, 1999; Richard-son, 2005).

Many critics contend that the monies spent on developmental educa-tion would be better spent improving the quality of education withinurban high schools and preparing developmental students for vocationalpositions in the workforce (Bennett, 1992; Hagedorn, Siadat, Fogel, Nora,and Pascarella, 1999; Traub, 1994, 1998). Claiming that developmentalstudents' limitations are simply too severe to be assuaged, many com-munity college faculty members lament the amount of time they spendin the classroom attempting to teach students the basics of reading andwriting (Grubb, 1999).

And yet, others argue that a long-standing objective of community col-leges has been to provide developmental education for those studentswho have been failed by their secondary institutions and that there wouldbe serious class- and race-based consequences to reducing and/or elimi-nating developmental education since the vast majority of developmen-tal students are working-class students of color (Attewell, Lavin, Domina,and Levey, 2006; Grubb, 1999; Rich, 1995). These scholars, contend-ing that developmental students are entitled to access higher educationthrough the community college classroom, have articulated a number ofeffective pedagogical strategies for helping developmental students trans-late important ideas on to paper and engage college-level texts (Perl, 1994;Rose, 1989; Sternglass, 1997; Tsao, 2005). Moreover, they believe thata combination of active, engaging pedagogy, alongside appropriate sup-ports and scaffolding for major reading and writing assignments, devel-opmental students can develop basic reading and writing abilities, whileconcurrently grappling with discipline-specific content.

The current, qualitative study seeks to add to the above literatures con-cerning developmental students' poor skill levels, inadequate preparation,and rights to access by attempting to understand how community collegeis experienced by a small sample of developmental students who have yetto pass the reading and/or writing proficiency exams. Specifically, theresearch questions grounding this study include: (a) what positive experi-ences (academic and nonacademic) motivate community college students

The experience of community college for developmental students 23

in developmental classes to persist, despite the obstacles; and (b) what aca-demic and nonacademic challenges do developmental students believethwart their capacities to persist in pursuit of an associate's degree?

Methodology

A total of 18 community college students participated in the currentstudy. In the total sample, there were eight women and 10 men. Fiveidentified as White, one as Egyptian, three as Jamaican and/or Carib-bean, two as Black or African American, one as Dominican, and six asLatino. Ages ranged from 19-47 years and the mean age was 23 years. Allparticipants had placed into the lowest level of developmental readingand/or writing and were currently enrolled in at least one non<redit-bearing developmental-level class. 1 All but two students grew up speakingthe English language. All students were assigned pseudonyms, which areused throughout this paper.

I recruited for participants within classes designated for developmen-tal readers and writers and via flyers displayed outside areas of campusin which many students congregate. 2 All prospective participants wereinformed that I was interested in learning more about community col-lege students' hopes, struggles, and experiences within and beyond thecollege classroom. All participants were compensated $10 for each hourof their time.

With each of the 18 student participants, I set up a meeting date oncampus and asked them the following semistructured interview questions:

1. What classes are you taking?

2. What do you enjoy most about them?

3. Are there any struggles or challenges that you associate withattending college at this time?

4. Can you tell me about at least one positive and one negativeexperience that you have had at the college?

5. What has motivated you to keep going, despite the obstacles?

It should be noted that these questions were intended to serve as ageneral template in order to prompt a larger discussion about students'experiences. Thus, students were encouraged to adapt these questions

1. At this coiiege, developmental students are permitted to take some, but not all credit-bearing ciasses outside of English and mathematics. Generaily, classes within the physicaland natural sciences are closed off to these students until they piace completely out ofremediation.

2. Please see Appendix A for a brief chart outiining students' remediation history andplacement.


and to shape the interview in a way that felt most natural and comfort-able for them.

Through an inductive, "data-driven" strategy, I sought to identify andanalyze central themes within the data (Braun &. Clarke, 2006). The firstoverarching theme to emerge relates to "student challenges," which was di-vided into three central subthemes: (a) multiple demands on time, (b) dif-ficulty of coursework, and (c) inadequate pedagogy. The second overarch-ing theme encompassed "students' motivations for persistence," whichwas divided into the following two subthemes: (a) engaging ideas and (b)serving as a role model. Within this article, I highlight those excerpts thatmost clearly illustrated the theme (or subtheme) being discussed.

Results

Analyses of these qualitative interviews revealed five central challengesand two central motivations related to community college students' ex-periences of developmental classes. It is important to note that I did notidentify any differences based on developmental sequence (lowest levelreading, lowest level writing, lowest level reading and writing), gender,or race/ethnicity. Overall, older students seemed more motivated by thedesire to make contributions to the larger society (beyond friends andfamily) and those students in their first semester tended to speak morepositively about their college experience thus far. However, unless indicat-ed otherwise, the themes depicted below emerged across the vast majorityof participants' interviews.

Students' challenges

This first section of the results highlights those central challenges thatstudents believe make it difficult for them to persist at college and suc-ceed in their classes. These include multiple demands on time, difficultyof coursework, and inadequate pedagogy. Overwhelmingly, students af-firmed that these challenges make it less likely that they will be able tocomplete developmental coursework and earn their associate's degree.

Multiple demands on tinne

Sixteen out of 18 students described copious demands on their time,which often inhibited their capacities to focus on their developmentalcoursework. Many students reported working more than 30 hours perweek, while others serve as primary caretaker for children and other fam-ily members. For example. Ana, a 26-year-old young woman who emigrat-ed from Jamaica as a young child, describes the serious emotional costs of


studying full time when attempting to also raise a baby, complete course-work, and ultimately earn her college degree.

I have so many things to do. I am literally going crazy. I'm taking fiveclasses and I'm here from Monday to Saturday. And when I get home...then I have to feed my daughter, then make dinner, then clean up, goupstairs, pick up the mess she's made, and then start my homework.It's too much but I have to do it.

Jeannie, a 47-year-old Caribbean woman who works full time whileattempting to earn a college degree, affirms that the only way to managecoursework with other responsibilities is to sacrifice sleep and keep going,even when she feels on the verge of collapse.

...When I'm home studyiTig on my own and I, you know, [strugglingwith] the discipline to sit there, the commitment I've made, like mystudying hours are crazy... I sleep, get up at 2 o'clock in the morning [tostudy]... My body, I don't fall asleep... I could have given up, I couldhave said, 'Oh God, look, I need to sleep, I can't do this.'

Difficulty of coursework and writing assignments

Seventeen out of 18 students described the serious struggles with whichthey associate the difficulty of their coursework, as well as their strugglesto earn a passing grade. Wilma, a 31-year-old Latina woman who grew upin New York City, describes what it feels like to "study and study" but notunderstand the course material. Wilma's frustration with working hard,but not reaping the benefits, is described below:

So, when I go into a class... if it's just reading textbooks and under-standing, I don't get it. And, I don't understand why... When I haveto read textbooks, it's so hard for me to comprehend what I'm reading.It's so hard, especially if it's not multiple choice. Then I literally start tocry—I get very emotional.

Additionally, Giovanni, a 20-year-old Latino man from New York City,failed both his math and speech classes and uses words like "torture" and

"brutal" to describe the experience.

Math was a torture. First of all, it was too long, three hours. That's puretorture, I hated it... [Remedial] math, I didn't pass... I thought I wasgoing to pass because I knew everything but his test was brutal. Tlieother class I failed was speech. I failed that because I stopped going toclass. I hated it.

Students often described complex, academic writing assignmentsas their most serious impediment to succeeding in classes. Within the


current study, all but two participants placed into a non-credit-bearing,developmental writing course and all but one described writing as anextraordinarily difficult and disheartening experience. Some students de-scribed learning, unexpectedly, that they did not have the strong writingskills that they believed themselves to have before coming into the college.Others simply described writing as a "terrorizing" experience that elicitedfeelings of inferiority.

Parminder, a 25-year-old Middle-Eastern man, declares that "Writingis horrible, just horrible!" He describes agonizing over even very basicwriting assignments and does not even attempt to respond to most in-class essay prompts. He has failed a number of English classes because hecannot submit required papers and describes his fears about writing as farworse than those associated with any other academic endeavors.

I don't get nervous enough on a test, you know. I get anxiety maybe,you know, a little, a slight case of anxiety when I take other tests. Myproblem is the writing, I just get very nervous. I shut everything out andI just don't wanna do it. I wanna get up and leave. Get it over with assoon as possible. Even if I write down the worst thing, and I know I'mgonna fail, I'd rather just finish and get out of there, just so I can feellike, OK, I don't have the pressure anymore that I have to write thisessay. And that's it.

Additionally, Ramon, a 19-year-old man originally from the Domini-can Republic, proclaims, "I don't like writing... I don't get along withwriting essays. I don't know why." Moreover, Ana feels angry that thestandards held to writing seem so much higher than those required ofeveryday speech. Although confident in everyday speaking abilities. Anafeels insecure about having even a basic command of the English lan-guage (even though her native language is English) when putting pen topaper. She says, "Writing sucks... What I (write) is not proper English...1 miss certain words and cannot move my thoughts on to the page."

Perceptions of inadequate pedagogy

More than half of students in the current study lamented what they per-ceive of as inferior teaching practices among their instructors. Centralcomplaints included few opportunities to connect course material withtheir own lived experiences, inadequate delivery of course material, andan apparent disinterest in students' learning. For example, Parminder iscritical of instructors who rely too heavily on textbooks and therefore, failto tailor lectures to students' personal interests and investments.


I mean I have [a science class] right now. I barely attend class. Becauseshe just, what's in the textbook, she yaps through it, word for word...She puts slides on the computer... she just puts the textbook, page afterpage after page. So [after the professor takes attendance], I run down tothe library... what is she doing that I can't get from the book?

Similarly, Giovanni argues that instructors in developmental class-rooms often fail to prepare students adequately and demonstrate littleinterest in teaching.

Sometimes the teachers don't make the time... Some of them don'tcare. They just want the paycheck, which is unfortunate, but it hap-pens. .. [one teacher] was so lazy and so disorganized. She would forgetto bring tests to the classroom. One of the students complained abouther, and I overheard her after class saying, 'Please don't tell on me, Ineed this job to pay for my car.'

Later in the interview, Giovanni also complained about what he viewsas instructors' insensitivities to students' needs. Specifically, Giovannirelayed his experiences with a speech professor who apparently failed torecognize students' anxieties around publicly speaking and presentingwithin the classroom.

The other class I failed was speech. I failed that because I stopped goingto class. I hated it. The teacher as so intimidating. It was hard to get upin front of the class... the teacher was scary... She didn't make you feelcomfortable, she was so intimidating. So, I dropped out.

Student motivation for persistence

Despite the obstacles outlined above, students reported two central moti-vators for persisting in college and attempting to earn their degrees. First,students discussed an intrinsic yearning to learn and develop intellec-tually that has yet to be documented in previous studies of communitycolleges (Clydesdale, 2007; Cox, 2009; Grubb, 1999; Weis, 1985). Theseintrinsic motivations for learning superseded those financial and/or prac-tical motivations to attend college that have been discussed previously. Inaddition, students affirmed that they were motivated by the opportunityto make their family members proud and serve as a role model for thosefriends and acquaintances who had yet to attend college themselves.

Intrinsic desires to learn

All but one student in the current study affirmed that they were moti-vated to persist by their desires to develop intellectually and grapple withthe many interesting and challenging ideas that their college classes had


to offer. For example, Jeannie, affirms that college classes afford the op-portunity to keep her mind active and to have a "chance to live" that shehad previously been denied. Rather than feeling motivated to attend col-lege in pursuit of a career change or higher salary, Jeannie asserts that sheis driven by the desire for a lifetime of learning.

So I think being in school is, is something valuable to my life... I havelearned so much. You know, learning so much and that's why 1 use theterm 'ever-learning.'... I like the ever-learning, that you learn so much.You're learning from your peers, you're learning from your professors,you're learning and it's giving a chance to live... I think it's a livelihood,because you know your brain is calculating... I don't know how to sitand do absolutely nothing.

Similarly, Parminder affirms that he is not extraordinarily motivatedby concrete incentives such as high grades or the opportunity for a high-er paying salary. Rather, he is excited by the opportunity to engage "bigideas" and find connections with his own lived experiences. Parminderdescribes a physics course in which the instructor connected course ma-terial with the temperature of the classroom.3 Despite resistance fromfriends ("You sound like an idiot"), Parminder insists on thinking furtherabout these ideas and discussing them with friends and family.

This physics class... you really wanna go there, you're very interested...I got As, but not only was I happy about the As... it's just really in-teresting though 'cause the professor would turn around and tell youthings... like that's why the heat is always on, or the, the air conditioneris always on, it's because the heat is always attracted to the cold, so it, itgives you something to think about and enjoy and, you know, listen toit. It's interesting.

Serving as a role model

In addition to students' motivations to engage in ideas and develop in-tellectually, the majority also affirmed that they were highly motivatedby an opportunity to make friends and family members proud of themand to serve as a role model for those who were considering attendingcollege in the future. For example. Dell, a 19-year-old African Americanman, affirms that the most important element of attending college is theopportunity to bring his family with him. In fact, he envisions using hiscollege degree to improve the quality of their lives, as much as his own.

3. As mentioned earlier, deveiopmental students are generally prohibited from taking coursesin the naturai and physical sciences; Parminder was granted speciai permission to take thiscourse.


I wanna start my own career. I wanna be successful with life. I wannalike, fix computers, you know, be a computer engineer... I wanted tostart something that my family, none of my family went to college. Like,like, for my mom, my dad, my grandma. I'm the only one who wentto college, so I just wanna make them feel proud. I wanna do this, notonly for myself, but for them too. 'Cause everything I do, I do it forthem too.

Dell also describes feeling motivated by the opportunity to serve as arole model for his best friend Jessica's younger brother, who is 13 yearsold and enrolled in a public junior high school. Dell affirms that

this kid is like family to me... if I show him I'm going to college, itmight help him to do the same... right now he isn't even attendingclasses." Furthermore, Dell affirms that his ovm motivations to per-sist are enhanced by the realization that he cannot motivate Jessica'sbrother to attend college without putting forth a serious effort himself.

Similarly, Christine, a 34-year-old woman from New York City, affirmsthat she is highly motivated to remain in college so that she can encour-age her close friend Diane (who is also her sponsor in a 12-step recoveryprogram) to attend college. Christine frequently encourages Diane, whocurrently works as a waitress, to recognize the possibility of school as a ve-hicle for success and warns her that "working on your feet will get tougherwhen you get older." She often urges Diane to "give it a try" and "don'tgive up if you don't feel comfortable right away" and believes that hersuccess in classes is the best way to show Diane that she, too, is capable ofearning a college degree.

Finally, Jeannie affirms that a central motivator for attending collegeis to encourage her 21-year<ld son, Manley, to do the same. During thesemester, Jeannie often invites Manley to sit in on classes and meet with

"nice professors," who will not intimidate him. Overall, Jeannie assertsthat her persistence is inextricably linked with her hopes for Manley toeventually matriculate and earn a college degree. Interestingly, Jeanniealso discussed the benefits of attending college (and in particular, psychol-ogy classes) for helping her to be more patient with Manley, as he grappleswith the decision of whether or not to attend college. She affirms thather psychology classes have helped her to understand that "not everyonemoves at the same pace" and that "unconditional positive regard" and

"reinforcement" will be more effective motivators for her son than threatsand punishments.


Conclusions

Overall, this study highlights the importance of exploring developmentalstudents' experiences of the college classroom and the particular chal-lenges that they face. The following are a few modest implications of thesedata for allaying some of their concerns and working more effectivelywith developmental students. And yet, it is also worth noting the possi-bility that the experiences outlined above are not confined exclusively tostudents at the developmental level since almost all entering communitycollege students are basic writers who are less likely to graduate than theirfour-year counterparts. Hence, if we assume that these themes generalizeacross community college students, then perhaps the following strategiesmight be utilized to promote success among nondevelopmental studentsas well.

First, in response to students' considerable anxieties concerning ex-ams, instructors might consider carving out time early in the semesterto elucidate various studying strategies, such as developing study guidesand distinguishing main concepts from those that are less central to thecourse material. Admittedly, this takes time away from delivery of thecourse material, but I find it an effective way of teaching students how tolearn, which should serve them well throughout their academic careers.Another useful strategy involves providing some short-answer and essayquestions that will appear on exams ahead of time. This not only focusestheir studying on the more central concepts, but also allows us to be morerigorous in our evaluation. Finally, a "freshman success" course that fo-cuses on study skills and time management might also help students feelbetter prepared for college-level coursework and exams.

In response to students' concerns about writing, many teachers andscholars scaffold assignments in such a way that students have opportuni-ties to freewrite their own ideas and summarize central texts before theymove forward toward a deeper level of analysis (Danielewicz & Elbow,2009; Perl, 1994). This enables students to complete the work in stages,which not only mitigates anxieties around completing the entire paper,but also affords them a solid foundation to draw upon when they beginto engage more complex ideas. Other scholars have suggested that a largeportion of developmental students' disdain stems from their associationbetween writing and poor grades. Hence, they suggest that instructors be-gin with positive feedback (commenting specifically about what they "like"about a piece and encouraging students to "do more of that") and holdoff on assigning grades until students have had greater opportunities forrevision (Elbow, 1993; Perl, 1994).


Students' concerns about inadequate pedagogy warrant a couple ofpossible interpretations. On the one hand, some of their classes probablylack the sort of dynamic interplay and exciting exchange of ideas need-ed for students to remain engaged. Professional development meetingsthat focus on active pedagogy might ameliorate some of these problemsand help students to feel more satisfied with their classroom experiences.And yet, it is also possible that some pedagogical complaints are tied tostudents' arvxieties around exams and writing assignments. By assuag-ing those concerns through utilization of the above strategies (or others),students might articulate fewer pedagogical concerns. Finally, it is worthnoting the likelihood that many complaints about pedagogy stem fromdisparate ideas about what makes for effective teaching and learning (Cox,2009). For example, novice learners often assume that effective teachingmeans giving students the "right answers" that they need to retain, where-as veteran learners (i.e., the faculty) believe that skilled teaching requiresthat the learner reach his or her own conclusions and develop moré ab-stract understandings of difficult concepts. Thus, it might help if bothfaculty and students begin the term with a discussion of what makes, foreffective teaching and learning and decide collaboratively about the sortsof practice that will best facilitate students' mastery of the course material.Even if students and faculty do not ultimately reach the ideal agreerrient(or compromise), at least students will have greater insights into why theyoften encounter pedagogical practices with which they are unfamiliar!

Obviously, it would be considerably more difficult to help studentsmanage those additional obligations such as working full time and raisingchildren, which often impede their capacities to follow through with theirschoolwork. In fact, outside of providing weekly planners and atterhpt-ing to help students determine how they might manage study demandsalongside other obligations, these struggles might be outside of our powerto truly alter (Hagedorn, Siadat, Fogel, Nora, and Pascarella, 1999). How-ever, we might help students who contend with multiple responsibilitiesby disavowing the notion that students who take longer than six years toearn their associate's degree have somehow failed to move forward and/or succeed in the community college system. In fact, this push towarda more expeditious time-to-degree might inadvertently compel studentsto take more classes than is realistic given their real-life responsibilities.Moreover, an overabundance of classes and responsibilities probably doesnot afford students the time and energy needed to develop the sorts ofreading and writing abilities that will ultimately carry them through theircollege careers. Thus, I argue that by moving away from an emphasis onfull-time course schedules and "timely graduation rates," we might ulti-


mately set our students up for better (albeit not more expedient) long-term outcomes.

Finally, it is important to acknowledge many student complaintswere aimed at those credit-bearing classes outside of their developmentalreading and writing sequences (often referred to as "content courses").Therefore, some might suggest denying students' access to the majorityof credit-bearing content courses until after they have completed theirdevelopmental sequences. (Developmental readers and writers are al-ready denied access to the majority of mathematics and physical sciencesclasses until the completion of developmental sequences.) While stron-ger reading and writing abilities would undoubtedly help these studentsto succeed in credit-bearing "content classes," I worry that denying theiropportunity to earn some credits from the outset might further discour-age developmental students' persistence. Therefore, I argue that insteadof denying access, we need to continue sttiving for additional ways tosupport developmental students' success in credit-bearing classes fromthe outset. One possibility that has already been successful at a numberof community colleges involves the creation of "Learning Community"courses that integrate students' developmental English and credit-bearingcontent classes so that the reading and writing required within the con-tent class is supported within multiple settings (Tinto, 1997; Scriveneret al., 2008). Moreover, the social support, smaller class sizes, and indi-vidualized attention provided within learning communities appear par-ticularly helpful for developmental students attempting to earn collegecredits early on (Price, 2005).

In conclusion, it appears that developmental students in communitycollege contend with a variety of personal and academic struggles, whichmake it difficult for them to ttavel seamlessly and expeditiously towardgraduation. The above sttategies are intended to serve as a brief (non-comprehensive) proposal for supporting students through some of thesecenttal challenges. It is worth noting that we might also capitalize on thestrong motivations that students already carry with them into the col-lege, such as the desire to develop a more formidable intellectual identityand serve as a role model for friends and family members. As faculty,we might aid students by finding ways of reinforcing these motivators,especially during those most precarious and overwhelming moments ofthe semester for our students. Moreover, given the apparent importanceof others in students' efforts to persist, we might also consider invitingthose folks for whom our students serve as role models and caretakers tovisit our classes and become members of our larger community. In other


words, by finding a place for these friends and family members, we but-tress the notion of our own students' belonging.

Given the complexity of our students' lives and the fact that the cur-rent data undoubtedly reveal only the tip of the iceberg regarding ourstudents' lived experiences within and beyond the college classroom, Ihope that this study encourages other community college researchers andpractitioners to learn more about our students' lives, challenges, and mo-tivations. Ultimately, these newfound insights will be an essential stepin helping students along this arduous, oftentimes overwhelming, andultimately rewarding journey through higher education.

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windy rhetoric and simple solutions suggest. CKronicle of Higher Education, A56.

Adelman, C. (2002). The relationship between utbanicity and educational outcomes.In L. S. Hagedorn &. W. G. Tietney (Eds.), Increasing access to college (pp. 35-63).NewYotk:SUNY.

Attewell, P., &. Lavin, D. E. (2007). Passing the torch: Does higher education for the disad-vantaged pay off across the generations? New York: Russell Sage Foundation.

Attewell, P., Lavin, D., Domina, T., &. Levey, T. (2006). New evidence on collegeremediation. The Journal of Higher Education, 77, 886-924.

Bailey, T, Crosta, P., &. Jenkins, D. (2007). What can stuiJent right-to-know graduationrates tell us about community college performance? (Working Paper No. 6). New Yotk:Community College Research Center, Teachers College, Columbia University.

Bennett, W. (1992). The devaluir\g of America. The fight for our culture and our chiidren.New Yotk: Summit.

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Clydesdale, T. (2007). The first year out: Understanding American teens after high sdwol.Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Cox, R. D. (2009). The college fear factor: How students and professors misunderstand oneanother. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

Crosta, P., &. Calcagno, J. C. (2005). Improving community college graduation rates: Whatinstitutional policies make a difference. Paper presented at the Association fot theStudy of Higher Education (ASHE).

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Appendix A: Student information

Please note that all students originally placed into the lowest level reading

and/or writing developmental classes. The majority was in their first two

years at the college and remained within their original developmental

sequence. The majority of these students were also required to take devel-

opmental mathematics, but this was not recorded systematically. ;

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13

14

15

16

17

18

M

M

M

F

F

M

M

M

F

F

F

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M

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20

19

19

18

18

18

18

18

19

31

26

19

34

47

19

21

25

19

White/Russian

Latino

White

Latina

Latina

White/Israeli

White

Latino

Latina/Puerto Rlcan

Latina/Puerto Rican

Caribbean-Jamaican

African American

White

Caribbean

Dominican

Black

Egyptian

Jamaican

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

4

4

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5

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Reading, Writing

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Reading, Writinig

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36 Community Coiiege Enterprise • Spring 2012

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might not choose to attend college to develop a vision andctch604f13.pbworks.com/w/file/fetch/70816729/Experience of CCdevstudents.pdfmight not choose to attend college to develop