What Influences Appalachian Student Success? PDF Download

Author: Brad T. Pulcini
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Academic achievement
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Rural students, especially rural Appalachian students, remain underrepresented in higher education (ARC, n.d.). Enrollment declines continue to exist at a majority of institution types across the country as traditional sources of students continue to dry up. Universities and colleges are rediscovering rural areas in order to try to bridge gaps in enrollment goals (Gettinger, 2019). Increasing the number of college graduates from rural Appalachia can be important to the prosperity of the region and the nation. Research suggests that individuals from rural areas are twice more likely to feel marginalized and powerless than those in suburbs and cities, and lower levels of education in the area correlates to higher levels of alienation (Hunter & Bowman, 2016). As more students from rural Appalachia gain access to higher education, it will be important for universities and colleges to understand what Appalachian assets and institutional factors Appalachian students rely on to successfully navigate college so they can create structures and programs to fully support Appalachian student success. This study utilized Shaun Harper's (2012) anti-deficit achievement framework to study Appalachian student success. This framework is appropriate since like other marginalized groups, Appalachians continue to fall below general society on a number of key performance indicators and are "othered" by mainstream media. The findings of this study show that participants from rural Appalachia relied on the Appalachian assets of familyism, self-reliance, community, independence, hard work, and neighborliness to successfully access and graduate from college. All participants were able to identify interpersonal relationships they formed on campus that were important to their ability to successfully navigate the culture of higher education. A number of institution types in higher education have disinvested in human capital as they have faced budget challenges associated with enrollment declines. This study's findings suggest that marginalized groups, like Appalachian students, rely on and find the interpersonal relationships they form on campus as being vital to their success. To increase enrollment and retention rates, institutions will need to reinvest in human capital and promote a university culture that is centered in and values the development of relationships if Appalachian students are to succeed. In response to the findings, this study presents implications to influence higher education's recruitment and support of rural Appalachian college students. The implications leverage the Appalachian assets participants identified as being important to their college success. Additionally, implications leverage how colleges and universities can cultivate and develop relationship rich cultures on campus that promote the interpersonal relationships that participants identified as being salient to their success. Creating relationship rich campuses is important as an increasing number of students from marginalized identities gain increase access to higher education. This work additionally supports the findings of an evolving body of scholarship that demonstrates the centrality of relationships to student success.