Determining factors that shape students’ successful completion at university has been a prevalent topic in the higher education sector to address attrition issues. The aim of this paper is to focus on the impact of socio-cultural factors of student’s lives on university expectations, success and completion. Through qualitative methodology; focus group, interview and ethnography, this paper explores the role of social environment on university aspirations and what social-cultural factors influence success. The findings indicate that university success is influenced by parental expectations and conflicting priorities; and university success is a consequence of family and friends supportive role. The findings implicate that although prior research focuses on individual characteristics of students’ higher education aspirations and success, the social structure resources students rely on plays a critical role in understanding student engagement and attrition at university.
Although it is well documented that individual attributes such as motivation and academic ability influence success at university, recent research highlights that a complex set of socio-cultural factors influence student engagement and attrition (Lobo, 2012). In a recent study by Hobson APAC (2014), on Australian university student’s engagement and attrition, majority of participants listed ‘personal reasons’ as the reason for leaving university. These personal reasons included difficulty of fitting study in with family and work commitments and finances. In another study on student attrition, student expectations and perceptions of university were identified as a factor influencing success (Lobo, 2012). This paper will explore how socio-cultural elements of student’s lives impact their studies to better understand the realities of student life and their path to success at
The author believes that students in the current generation are under more pressure than preceding ones. “William Alexander, director of Penn’s counseling and psychological services stated, ‘A small setback used to mean disappointment…’ Now? ‘For some students, a mistake has incredible meaning.’” The specialists that the author chooses to cite are all credible, which helps to build her view on this subject. The research that Scelfo uses also illustrates the fact that a student’s family plays a big role in their overall mindset. For example, Alice Miller, a famous psychologist, observed that “…some especially intelligent and sensitive children can become so attuned to parents’ expectations that they do whatever it takes to fulfill those expectations- at the expense of their own feelings and needs.” Being able to support her argument with the findings of psychologists and doctors avails Scelfo in swaying the reader’s
Some freshman students might lack the motivation to do well in school because they do further the lack of appropriate role models or mentors in the Academic environment. These difficulties can be tied to lack of support at home the parents might not be concerned about their child education, maybe the parent lacks the ability to guide through college, the parent might not process having not navigated it themselves. The parents might feel embarrassed that they don’t have any knowledge to help them
In today’s society there is a lot of pressure on students to make this huge payment to go to college, and due to an ungodly amount of money being thrown into universities students feel as though they will be handed a degree in return but that’s not the case at all. In the article “Let’s clarify the ‘College Worth It’ Conversation” by Andrew Kelly he gives the statistics that 45% percent of college students do not finish their degree. High schools need to better inform students interested in furthering their education with these statistics. This can be extremely eye opening to students who think college will be an easy journey with low expectations. I have learned that the more effort and participation I put into my education the more enjoyable and worth the money it seems to
As I went through the research process for this paper I conducted many interviews with former classmates who are now either attending a four-year university or a local community college. The original intent was to find out their reasons for attending the institution they chose to attend. As I accumulated information I began to see a glaring trend in the relationship between the social group the individual was a member of and the college they ended up attending. This then drove me to further examine the influencing factors in these students’ social lives, in a hope of identifying the degree to which they are influenced by each other. Thus, the first part of the paper explores the community colleges of the surrounding area and the programs that they have to offer to students. Meanwhile, the second part of the paper is more of a sociological investigation into peer groups and the factors that lead kids into choosing their institution of higher education. I chose to focus on the institution that is the community college due to the fact that a large number of my former classmates are enrolled in community colleges.
According to current estimates approximately 75 percent of college students are now nontraditional students – older than 25, attending school part time, and having delayed entry or reentry into college for a variety of personal reasons. Post secondary education is needed by such students to develop their careers and to acquire new skills and knowledge in a global society where they are likely to have longer life spans than did workers in the past. This trend is not restricted to North America; it is a worldwide phenomenon.
The stereotypical version of the normal life of a teenager proceeding to college would include high academic standards met throughout their high school career and outstanding outside testing scores resulting in automatic entry into the institution of their choice. Many of these individuals have the support of their accomplished family members in the form of financial support. There are those who have not had the luxuries of any easy upbringing but forced to decide between a life with a college degree or full-time employment. For myself I want to have it all and to achieve that I have taken on both.
Mark Edmundson, published the essay “Who Are You and What Are You Doing Here” on August 22, 2011 in the Oxford American. Edmundson received his education at Yale University and is currently a professor of English at Virginia University. In the beginning of the essay, He describes the initial feelings of a new college student and explains what is expected throughout the process. He adamantly expresses the need to find oneself, which he feels is the true meaning behind achieving higher education. He describes sources of pressure students face when trying to get an education, which include expectations from society, family, and even the university the student is attending. The institutions are pressuring students to avoid making an impact on society and only getting a degree for the purpose getting a job.
Since the early 70s theorists have pondered the causes of college dropout. Generally referred to as “student attrition,” this problem has spurred numerous causal theories and theoretical models. Vincent Tinto led the research with his revolutionary 1973 study, which he later revised (1987) amid criticism from other luminaries in the field, most notably Bean, Astin, Terenzini, and Pascarella. It is on the work of these scholars (including also Tinto) that all modern research in the student attrition field is based. I found and will review in brief some of the extensive research from Tinto to the present, including the basic criticisms therein. I will further explain the steps some colleges are currently taking to counteract this increasingly important issue.
Shoup, Rick. Kinzie, Julian. “Unmasking the Effects of Student Engagement on First-Year College Grades and Persistence.” Journal of Higher Education. Sep/Oct2008, Vol. 79 Issue 5, p540-563. Web. 29 April 2014.
It seems as though the majority of college students these days aren’t looking to further their education because it’s what they really want, they do it to please their parents, to be accepted by society, or because there’s nothing else for them to do (Bird, 372). These expectations have led to students being unhappy and stressed, and have pushed them into a school or a job that they don’t particularly care for.
The key motive for students to attend college is not because it is a want, but they have to. Furthermore, most high school graduating seniors are under pressure by their school counselor(s) and their parents to go enroll in college because it is “the best thing for your future.” In an essay written by Caroline Bird, called “College is a Waste of Time and Money”, she states that students go to college because “. . . Mother wanted them to go, or some other reason entirely irrelevant to the course of studies for which college is supposedly organized” (217). A student may have a different direction on where and what they want to do for their life, but since students contemplate whether their “supporters” identify what is...
When we are young, we all have our own unique dreams and aspirations for what we wish to do when we are “older.” As we grow older, we begin to realize that some of our dreams are unattainable, while others are able to achieve their dreams. Whether one is the first person or the latter, we are spoon-fed the idea of attending college. We all hear how college is our “gateway to success,” and how “our entire lives depend on college.” Pressures bear down on high school students, telling them that they must attend college to be capable of anything in life. But people do not realize the detriments that are also associated with attending college. Students should not be pushed to attend colleges as there could be several factors that play in a student’s
College for an incoming freshman is exciting, however, it is often focused on the social aspect such as the connections that can be attained through Greek life, parties and independence. Due to the social interactions, freshmen tend to drop out of college after their first year. Focusing on what college is meant for can prevent these situations. The pressures of college such as impressing parents, and maintain a high standard GPA-wise can lead to stress and freeze a student from achieving the proper academic performance. During the mid 1900s, college was considered more of a luxury than anything; people would attend college exclusively to acquire knowledge in hopes of obtaining a career after graduation. People in the twenty-first century, however, attend college to get away from home and enjoy freedom at parties. Education is taken lightly, and those who feel that education isn’t the main focus of college should not apply for sakes of the greater good.
In conclusion, many factors determine the success a student has at the collegiate level. However, students are dropping out of college because they will likely run into a casual chain of events that give them every reason in the world to dropout. Starting with the wrong choice of college and relying on their families, then, leading to stressful financial situations and lack of support from the school; It can be even worse for first generation students to deal with. Finally, if those factors have not caught up to a student, then the lack of course material that interest a student may be the final
Changing can be the biggest obstacle many student will have to face while attending a University. Students will have to learn how to be on their own, and on top of that learn around what people to associate them self with. In Alfred Lubrano essay “The Shock of Education: How College Corrupts”, he explains how many students struggle with parents and friends while attending college. However, Lubrano goes on to say that depending on cultural ethnicity will determine how the years at college will change a person. Parents have spent about 18 years to mold their children the way they want, but the moment they enter college it seems to deteriorate into pieces, because of all the new material the students are learning.