“What are the pervasive barriers that prevent students in rural America from valuing and pursuing a college education?”

 

Marcel Montane

Sociology of Higher Education

College of William and Mary

Summer 2011

• “Male students knew more about building a deer blind than they did about going to college”. (Kentucky H.S. school superintendent) (Chronicle of Higher Education, 2006).

•  “Many students come from families with little or no experience in higher education, some of whom have a deep reluctance to encourage, or even tolerate, learning beyond your station”. (Chronicle of Higher Education, 2006).

•   “The belief that rural schools should prepare students to leave the community to pursue educational and career opportunities in metropolitan areas is not uncommon. Those who hold this position fail to see the bleak future it offers for rural communities. A rural communities greatest asset is its youth”.(Ley et al., 1996).

• “When rural youth migrate from their hometowns, rural communities are deprived of talent and vitality that contribute to the development of a desirable future for these communities” (Ley et al., 1996).

• “Teachers must also be involved in developing programs and curricula that look broadly at a variety of options for rural youth, and that they avoid reinforcing the stereotype that rural youth who remain in their community after graduation have somehow failed” (Rojewski, 1999).

Key Quotes:

Student Initiative

Does the student feel they aresmart/mature enough to go to college?

Logistics

Does the student need to go to college? Are they better offpursuing a certificate? (e.g.plumberor electrician).

How can we engage students to insure they stay in school and graduate?

How will the student pay for school?Will the student qualify for financial aid?What type of grants are available for the student?Who can help the student find out what is available?

If a parent/caregiver-Who will watch the students kids/family member while they are in school?

What program of study will the student pursue in college?

Does the student have enough confidence in themselves to invest the time and moneyto go to college?

Is there a school close enough to where thestudent lives that has the program they want? If not, will they be able to transfer credits from thelocal CC or college to another school?

Can the student go to school full-time, or if part-time, will they be able to schedule classesaround work (or vice-versa)?Are on-line classes an option (are the classes available/Is good internet service available)?

Is the student willing to move awayto find a job? Is the student willing to move away from family and friends?

What happens if the student graduates and then cannot find a job in their field- will they feel like they just wasteda lot of time and money? Will they see the value of their education in other ways?

Are the students grades good enoughto get into college?

Student’s Future

The economy is prettybad right now. How willthe student feel about quit-ting a job to go to school?If the student does not succeed in school, can they get their old job back?

Student Progress/Retention

Are adequate services available to insure student success (tutoring/work-study/child care)?

How will the student get to school?

“WHAT ARE THE PERVASIVE BARRIERS THAT PREVENT STUDENTS IN RURAL AMERICA FROMVALUING AND PURSUING A COLLEGE EDUCATION?

Route to College for Rural Youth

• “Professional managerial youths” tended to follow the traditional path from parent’s educational and other resources and support to their own academic involvement and aspirations for higher education.

• “Successful farm youths”, in lieu of parental educational advantages, drew on parents community ties.

• “Resourceful lower status youth” in the absence of family background advantages, generated educational attainment through early educational ambition and varied community and school involvements.

• What does these three groups of students all have in common? They believe in themselves and they feel they have the abilities (intellect, maturity, etc.) to succeed in college.

McGrath, D. J., Swisher, R. R., Jr, G. H. E. & Conger, R. D. (2001).

Theme: Student Initiative:

• Rural youth are more likely to have conflicting aspirations than non-rural youth as their feelings about the importance of living close to family come in conflict with their feelings about leaving home for educational and career opportunities (Hektner, 1995).

• Most rural students may lack knowledge of post-high school opportunities available to them (Farmer et al., 2006), which may contribute to their angst.

• Teachers often viewed student motivation and effort as the most important basis for success.

• But even if a student is motivated, can they still traverse the other barriers they face by virtue of living in a rural community?

• Family and peer contexts were important predictors of college aspirations for males, while individual academic preparation and external barriers (college prep, application and financial aid process) to college attendance were most important for females (Chenoweth & Galliher, 2004).

• Talking with family and non-family members during high school about education and jobs were positive predictors of educational attainment (Dyk & Wilson, 1999). Any study of this kind should therefore include family and peers in the study group.

• Mothers who establish norms and expectations that emphasize the importance of education are providing social capital for their children’s future school and job decisions (Dyk &Wilson, 1999).

• In general, most rural students with college aspirations had been working toward that goal since elementary and junior high school (Chenoweth & Galliher, 2004).

• It is also important to stress to the parents and family members that there are probably more opportunities now for their kids than what might have been available to them when they were the same age.

Student Initiative (cont.)

• Student’s aspirations provide insight into what the students think and feel about themselves, their schools and the roles they have within the school community (Ley et al., 1996).

• The single-minded focus on pushing the most motivated students into four-year colleges must be balanced by efforts to match young people not headed for bachelors degrees with training, vocational and assorted associate degree programs (Carr & Kefalas, 2009).

• Rural educators and counselors need to offer guidance to their students and allow them to realize their choices do not need to be mutually exclusive (career vs. hometown) and compromises can be made such as ride share and commuting to jobs in larger towns (Hektner, 1995). Telecommuting a few days a week, or having satellite offices closer to home may be other options.

• Are programs available (local, state or federal level) that would encourage youth and other professionals to return to the rural area to work and live?

Theme: Student’s Future

Proposed Methodology• Does the student feel they are smart/mature enough to go to college?

Source 1: Open-ended interviews with students, teachers, parents and peers.

Source 2: Structured interviews with guidance counselors, student college entrance exam scores. Is what the guidance counselors tell the students truly in line with what they perceive the students abilities and aspirations to be?

Source 3: Grade reports from the school registrar.

• Will the student be able to find work in their chosen field of study?Source 1: Researcher examine Dept. of Labor statistics.

Source 2: Researcher contact local Chamber of Commerce, local business leaders.

Source 3: Researcher examine local colleges strategic plans.

• If incentives (loan repayment, jobs with decent pay) were provided, would the student return home upon graduation? Are any such programs in place (local, state, federal level) and would the student in this locale be eligible to participate?Source 1: Open-ended interviews with students, teachers and parents.

Source 2: Researcher contact local Chamber of Commerce, local business and community government leaders.

Source 3: Researcher examine Dept. of Labor statistics.

A preliminary study will be conducted on a small rural community and then expanded. Future research will also include the themes of logistics and student progress/retention, which are not addressed here due to time constraints. As we mentioned in class, we as individuals have our own sociological perspectives on education. The perspectives of our study group may be entirely different and it is paramount to understand their sociological perspectives prior to beginning the study.

• Alliance for Excellent Education (2011). Current challenges and opportunities in preparing rural high school students for success in college and career: What federal policymakers need to know. Retrieved from: http://www.all4ed.org/files/Rural_FactsAtaGlance.pdf

• Carr, P. J. & Kefalas, M. J. (2009, September). The rural brain drain. Chronicle of Higher Education . Retrieved from: http://web.ebscohost.com.proxy.wm.edu/ehost/external?sid=4362af66-e6cd-4668-91ac-4225c6376d6b%40sessionmgr13&vid=7&hid=25

• Chenoweth, E. & Galliher, R. V. (2004). Factors influencing college aspirations of rural West Virginia high school students. Journal of Research in Rural Education: 19(2):1-14.• Chronicle of Higher Education (2006, November). Rural students: Common obstacles, different settings. Retrieved from:

http://web.ebscohost.com.proxy.wm.edu/ehost/external?sid=4362af66-e6cd-4668-91ac-4225c6376d6b%40sessionmgr13&vid=7&hid=25 • Diprete, T. A. & Buchman, C. (2006). Gender specific trends in the value of education and the emerging gender gap in college completion. Demography 43(1):1-24. • Dyk, P. H. & Wilson, S. M. (1999). Family-based social capital considerations as predictors of attainments among Appalachian youth. Sociological Inquiry 69(3):477-503.• Farmer, T. W., Dadisman, K., Latendresse, S. J., Thompson, J., Irvin, M. J., & Zhang, L. (2006). Educating out and giving back: Adults’ conceptions of successful outcomes of African

American high school students from impoverished rural communities. Journal of Research in Rural Education, 21(10):1-12. • Farmer, T. W., Irvin, M., Thompson, J. H.,Hutchins, B. C. & Leung, M-C. (2006). School adjustment and academic success of rural African American early adolescents in the

Deep South. Journal of Research in Rural Education, 21(3):1-14. • Hektner, J. M. (1995). When moving up implies moving out: Rural adolescent conflict in transition to adulthood. Journal of Research in Rural Education 11(1):3-14.• Johnson, M. K., Elder, G. H., Jr. & Stern, M. (2005). Attachment to family and community and the young adults transition of rural youth. Journal of Research on Adolescence,

15(1):99-125. • Ley, J., Nelson, S., & Beltyukova, S. (1996). Congruence of aspirations of rural youth with expectations held by parents and school staff. Journal of Research in Rural Education

12(3):133-141.• McGranahan, D. A. (1994) Rural America in the global economy: Socioeconomic trends. Journal of Research in Rural Education 10(3):139-148.• McGrath, D. J., Swisher, R. R., Jr, G. H. E. & Conger, R. D. (2001). Breaking new ground: Diverse routes to college in rural America. Rural Sociology, 66: 244–267. • Roanoke-Chowan Community College (2007). Roanoke-Chowan Community College Long Range Plan, 2007-2012. Roanoke-Chowan Community College, Ahoskie, NC. 95 pp. • Retrieved from: http://www.roanokechowan.edu/planning-docs/R-CCCLRP07-12.pdf• Rojewski, J. W. (1999) Career- related predictors of work-bound and college-bound status of adolescents in rural and non-rural areas. Journal of Research in Rural Education

15(3):141-156.• Rural Community College Initiative. (2001). Expanding economic and educational opportunity in distressed rural areas. MDC Inc., Chapel Hill, NC. 29 pp. • Smith, M. H., Beaulieu, L. J. & Seraphine, A. (1995), Social capital, place of residence, and college attendance. Rural Sociology, 60: 363–380.

References Cited:

For further information, please contact Marcel Montane at:

mmmont@email.wm.edu or montanem@roanokechowan.edu• I am a part-time EPPL Higher Education Ed.D student

about half-way through the program. • In my day job, I am Science Dept. Chair/Biology

Instructor at Roanoke-Chowan Community College, located in rural southeastern North Carolina. I am particularly interested in rural student success at the community college level and beyond and the various impediments they face in attempting to enter and succeed in college.