COLLEGE ACCESS: FIRST GENERATION COLLEGE COUNSELORS OF COLOR AND FIRST GENERATION STUDENTS OF COLOR Neena Agnihotri July 23rd, 2015 Dissertation Defense.

COLLEGE ACCESS: FIRST GENERATION COLLEGE COUNSELORS OF COLOR AND FIRST GENERATION STUDENTS OF COLOR

Neena AgnihotriJuly 23rd, 2015Dissertation Defense – CSUN ELPS

A Closer Look

RoadmapThe Role of the College Counselor

Research Questions

Definitions

Literature review

Theory

Methodology

Results

Implications

What Counselors Do

Quick Facts: School and Career Counselors

2012 Median Pay $53,610 per year $25.77 per hour

Entry-Level Education

Master’s degree

Work Experience in a Related Occupation

None

On-the-job Training

None

Number of Jobs, 2012

262,300

Job Outlook, 2012-22

12% (As fast as average)

Employment Change, 2012-22

31,200

Types of Counselors:

Academic and Guidance Counselors

Dropout Prevention Advisers

Intervention Counselors

Attendance Counselors College Counselors

(Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2015)

Average Student to Counselor Ratio

Average Numbers Counselor Ratio

National 471:1

California 1016:1

LAUSD 790:1

ASCA Recommendation

250:1

Source:American School Counselor Association, 2011

California Department of Education, 2012

Student to Counselor Ratio

Research Questions

In what ways do first-generation college counselors of color advise first-generation

students of color about college access?

How do first generation college counselors of color foster and promote social capital in first

generation students of color?

How do first generation college counselors of color see themselves in the role of

institutional agents as they build on the cultural capital that students bring?

DefinitionsFirst-generation students (FGS) are defined as students who are enrolled in higher education

and whose parents haven’t attended college or received a college degree in the United States

(NCES, 1998).

First generation college counselors of color (FGCCOC) are those who received a college

degree in the United States and whose parents haven’t completed a college degree in the

United States.

First generation students of color (FGSOC) come from historically underserved

communities in higher education such as Latina/o, African American, Asian American,

and Native American students.

Literature Review Major Themes

History of counselin

gEmergenc

e of counselin

g in education

(Gysbers & Henderson,

2001)

Changing role of

counselors

(ASCA 2003, 2004)

Types of counselor

s

High school

counselors

(Jones, 2001; Borders & Drury,

1992; Corwin, Venegas, Oliverez,

& Colyar, 2004)

College counselors (González,

Stoner, & Jovel, 2003;

McDonough, 1997, 2004,

2005)

College access

College-going

culture (Gandara, 2005,

2007; Rosenbaum,

2001; Luna De La Rosa, 2007)

College aspirations (Vargas, 2004; Bryan,

Holcomb-McCoy, Moore-Thomas, & Day-Vines, 2009)

First generation students of

color

Counselors as social and

cultural capital

(Farmer-Hinton, 2008;

McDonough, 1997; Hill, 2011)

Counselor and

student interactions (Radcliffe &

Bos, 2011; McClafferty & McDonough,

2002)

First generation

college counselors of

color

(Gap in Literature)

Social Capital Theory

Human Capital theory

includes skill

formation,

education, values,

and personal attributes

. (Becker, 1964)

Cultural Capital theory refers to the cultural assets and status of the students and their families. (Bourdieu, 1986)

• Community cultural wealth refers to familial, linguistic, navigational, aspirational, resistant, and social capital (Yosso, 2005)

Social Capital theory refers to the access and information to resources and the people that provide these resources. (Coleman, 1988)

Home-based capital• Peer

Influence (Gandara, 2002, 2005)

• Parent Influence (Ceja, 2004; Auerbach, 2001)

School-based capital• Counselors

as “Institutional agents”

(Stanton-Salazar, 2010)

• Availability of resources at the school site (McDonough, 1997; Vega, 2011)

Methodology

Research Setting,

Data Sources, &

Sample

• Setting:• Los Angeles Unified School District

• Data Sources:• Semi-structured interviews (30-

60min)• Documents (CDE, school websites)

• Data Sample• Sampling strategy: Ethnographic

Critical case study (Glesne, 2011)

• 10 participants & 10 schools – • multi case study (Creswell,

2012)

• First-generation college counselors of color

Table 2: Demographic Information of School Sites

2013-2014School 1

School 2

School 3

School 4

School 5

School 6

School 7

School 8

School 9

School 10

Counselor Julia Annie Ariel Cindy Karin Disha Sean JayneSoojun

gGiancarl

o

API 680 700 650 730 690 750 660 640 670 680

SchoolPopulation

1800 315 1000 1200 1100 1300 750 1300 1700 800

SOC 1750 315 990 1080 1096 1150 745 1290 1685 795

# ofGraduates

500 70 55 300 275 400 200 250 520 90

Grad Rate 80% 75% 65% 84% 75% 89% 77% 58% 80% 73%

UC/CSU Ready

30% 45% 60% 50% 52% 37% 38% 29% 32% 55%

LocalDistrict

AreaNorth West

Central

Central

East North East South North West

Title I school Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

College office

Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

Physical Environ-

mentOld New New New Old Old Old Old Old New

High #First Gen

Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

Table 1: Demographic Information of Counselor Participants

Name Julia Annie Ariel Cindy Karin Disha Sean Jayne Soojung Giancarlo

Age 30’s 40’s 50’s 20’s 40’s 60’s 40’s 30’s 30’s 40’s

Gender F F F F F F M F F M

Ethnic Identity

Latina Latina Latina Latina Latina Latina AsianAfrican

AmericanAsian Latino

Position CC CC CC CC CC CC CC CC CC CC

School 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10Local

DistrictArea

North West Central Central East North East South North West

Years of college

counselor experienc

e

>5 10+ 10+ <5 >5 10+ 10+ <5 <5 10+

First Gen Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes YesProduct

of LAUSDYes Yes No Yes No No No Yes Yes Yes

K-12 Teaching Backgrou

nd

No Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes No No No

Guidance Counselin

g Backgrou

nd

Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes

BA/BS out of state

No No Yes No No Yes Yes No No No

Additional roles

Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

Data Analysis Procedures

Data • 200 pages of

transcribed interview data

• 100 hours of document review

Thematic Data Analysis• Dedoose (to code)• Categorized 34

codes• 15 family codes and

child codes

Interpretation• 6 major themes that

emerged• Created Sub-themes• Formulated conclusions

Results/Thematic Findings

RQ 1

First generation counseling methods

Common struggles of first

generation students

RQ 2,3

Transfer of Social capital

Building on Cultural capital

Additional Findings

Impact of budget cuts

Counselor preparation

Counselor Insight

Yes, I share my own personal experiences with my students quite a bit.

And you know what’s funny is, they’re curious anyway; they’re going

to ask me those questions, and I’m not one to hold back, because I

think that’s what connects us is, they also need to understand like,

“Hey, I totally get what you’re going through, because I was in

the same place. And I’m here to service you basically, because I

know what it feels like to be from that place where it’s like you have so

many responsibilities, but yet you want to strive for more.”

> Soojung, School #9

First Generation Counseling Methods

First is to convince them that it’s for them…see all these

requirements, you’ve met all these requirements. You’ve got the

GPA, you’ve done a fabulous job, you absolutely can go to

college. You’re prepared. And they look at me like I’m from

another planet [laughing] and I say “You're going to humor me

and you’re going to apply, OK.”

> Disha, School #6

Common Struggles of First Generation Students

It’s the issues related to the whole first generation kids

going to college and some of those changes are going to

occur, right, like, leaving your family behind, which is normally

not done, separation because you’re traveling, an hour away or

to another state. So, I think, talking to them about that

and preparing them for that; these are some of the things

that we are adding to the mix because, otherwise, they might

not go to college.”

> Julia, School

#1

Transfer of Social Capital

What happens in the 12th grade is the kids learn how to -- the

word I use with them is they learn how to navigate red

tape. “You're looking in your portal. They're saying they didn't

get your test scores or they didn't receive your residency

questionnaire. What should you do?" I get a blank stare. I say,

"We're going to call them…” What happens is they learn

these skills. Like this is how you help yourself. “You have

to call to check if they received the fax. You've got to manage

every detail.”

> Annie, School #2

Building on Cultural Capital

For instance, if they’re first generation and their first language

is not English, it’s important that they mention it [in their

college essay] because being bilingual is something very

important. Many colleges and work places are looking for

students that are able to speak another language. I was able

to get a job on campus that worked with English Learners

which was great. I never thought that knowing my home

language was an asset. All through my school years, I

never perceived it as an asset.

> Cindy, School

#4

Impact of Budget Cuts

I am the coordinator for AP testing, PSAT testing, help with

other testing, graduation ceremony, senior awards, serving

on school committees, supervision, whatever they need me

to do. These additional duties take my time away from

college counseling of students. The ones that suffer the

most from budget cuts are the first generation students.

>Ariel, School #3

College Counselor Preparation

Yeah, there was one diversity class in college, I mean,

honestly, I think, it’s just more and more out of my own

experiences. Very little training from the district. The

thing I was very fortunate with is that there was a college

counselor here before me and she helped me learn a lot of

the duties I needed to learn before I started this position

> Sean, School #7

Limitations of the Study

Data • Transparency

Generalizability

• Schools & districts

Implications

Policy

1 College Counselor/HS

College Counseling Certificate

Practice

PD for College Counselors

University and District

Counselor Prep Programs

ResearchShared

Generational status study

College counselor role in College access

QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS

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