ELL

Technical college transition
experience from ELL through
graduation
Debra J. Solomon, PhD
Gateway Technical College; Kenosha, WI
Effective Transitions in Adult Education
November 8, 2012
One of my hobbies
This study described what helps and
hinders technical college students who
persist from ELL through graduation
hinders
helps
36.7 million in the US (12%) were
foreign-born, and another 33 million
(11%) were native-born with at least
one foreign-born parent in 2009.
http://www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/archives/foreignborn_populati
on/cb10-159.html
Many ELL students do not continue
in postsecondary education and
even fewer reach graduation (Chisman &
Crandall, 2007; Chung, Cociña, & Dresser, 2012; Spurling, Seymour &
Chisman, 2008).
?
The literature review included the
theory of margin (McClusky, 1963),
college transition and college
persistence.
Howard McClusky, PhD
(1900-1982)
The theory of margin (McClusky,
1963) states that margin equals load
over power
load
margin
=
power
Power is composed of all the
personal assets, resources and
support that help a person to carry
their load.
Load includes personal,
professional and community
obligations and responsibilities, as
well as the ability to handle the
unexpected.
An adult who operates with a certain
degree of autonomy and makes
choices from a set of alternatives is
described as having margin
available to them.
The literature on college transition
yielded three themes.
3. curriculum
changes
1. transition
programs
2. institutional
environment
The literature on college persistence
yielded five themes.
1. organization & motivation
2. language, linguistics, & culture
3. roles & perceptions
4. academic & social integration
5. support
The research question was:
What helps and hinders technical
college students who persist from ELL
through graduation?
hinders
helps
Sub-question one was: How do technical
college alumni describe and interpret
their transition from noncredit ELL to
college level credit-bearing coursework?
developmental
noncredit classes
college level
credit-bearing classes
Sub-question two was: How do technical
college alumni describe and interpret the
experience of persisting to college
graduation?
developmental
noncredit classes
college level
credit-bearing classes
• Levels 1-6
ELL
• 1. pre-technical reading, writing, math
• 2. pre-college reading, writing, math
• 3. introduction to college reading,
developmental
writing, math
noncredit • ABE/GED/Indep. Lab Study/Tutoring
college
credit
• take classes
• enroll in a program
The data collection methods
included document analysis,
interviews and a focus group from
January – June 2012.
Descriptive statistics are measures
such as mean, median and mode
that help to interpret meaning from
the data.
Constant comparison (Glaser &
Strauss, 1967) is a method to code
and analyze qualitative data.
The researcher collected descriptive
data from 52 academic transcripts.
Transcripts
January-February 2012
Interviews
March 2012
Focus group
May 2012
The ELL department was the first
stop at MTC for most of the
participants (88%).
• Levels 1-6
ELL
• 1.
pre-technical reading, writing, math
• 2. pre-college reading, writing, math
• 3. introduction to college reading,
developmental
writing, math
noncredit • ABE/GED/Indep. Lab study/Tutoring
college
credit
• take classes
• enroll in a program
30
27
Number of participants
25
20
16
15
14
11
10
5
4
0
Pre-technical, pre-college and introduction to college
reading and writing classes
3
Participants were enrolled 4-34
terms (mean=13.5 terms), over 2-20
years (mean=9.09 years).
10
Number of participants
9
8
8
7
6
6
6
5
4
3
3
0
3
2
2
1
3
1
2
1
3
2
1
2
1
2
1
1
1
1
0
0
1
1
0
4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 33 34
Number of terms enrolled at MTC
Number of participants
Participants were persistent high
achievers across the college in
many different fields.
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
10
3
3
2
1
1
1
2
1
2
2
1
1
1
Associate degrees earned by participants
1
2
1
Number of participants
Participants earned technical
diplomas in 8 different program
areas.
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
9
4
3
3
2
1
1
1
Airframe Bar/cos Dental Drafting Med asst Off asst Prac nurs Welding
Technical diplomas earned by participants
The researcher collected descriptive
data from 11 interviews.
Transcripts
January-February 2012
Interviews
March 2012
Focus group
May 2012
Among the 11 interview participants
were 6 from Mexico, and one each
were from Venezuela, Guatemala,
Italy, China and Ukraine.
A timeline graphic supported the
analysis for each interview
participant.
1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
ELL
Dev
Coll
A few timeline graphics were linear.
Most of the timeline graphics were
not linear. Participants described
their MTC experience as a whole.
Nineteen prominent power themes
included time, money, people and a
variety of internal strengths.
And something
that for me was
good…I was
working third
shift, and I was
going to school
during the day,
so it was good
for me.
--Carla
They just, every time,
they just showed me what
to do. --Olivia
I cleaned houses during
the week, and that’s to
pay day care. --Michelle
I’m the kind of person
who likes challenges.
--Gabriel
Ten prominent load themes included
continual struggles with the English
language and college knowledge.
I had to read my chapters
twice before I got an idea of
what they were talking
about. --Julieta
We’re afraid to do something
rude... cannot figure out
which situation we should
more aggressive … which
situation I should be waiting
for my turn. --Farra
Six factors displayed dual
characteristics of power and load.
LOAD
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
College staff
Close associates
Family
Money
Time
Subject areas
POWER
The researcher collected descriptive
data from one focus group.
Transcripts
January-February 2012
Interviews
March 2012
Focus group
May 2012
The focus group consisted of 6
participants; 1 man and 5 women.
1. The path of persistence from
ELL to college graduation was not
necessarily a linear path.
developmental
noncredit classes
college level
credit-bearing classes
ELL
Enrollment in a
college degree/
diploma program
GED
College
graduation
Developmental
noncredit
COMPASS test
College credit
2. Although each participant faced a
unique set of power and load
factors, they also shared some
common power and load themes.
3. The utility of McClusky’s (1963)
theory of margin, while useful for
individuals, breaks down in its
practical application across the lives
of a group of people.
margin
=
load
power
Colleges should acknowledge and
support ELL students’ primary goals
of learning English.
ELL
Students
Personal
goals
Professional
goals
Educational
goals
Colleges should provide ELL
support to students throughout their
entire college experience through
graduation.
load
power
Multiple avenues for sharing college
knowledge with students should
provide explicit teaching and
learning opportunities.
load
power
Colleges should provide multiple
opportunities to guide and mentor
students as they transition from ELL
through graduation.
load
power
New and updated training for college
teachers and staff should highlight
the strengths and weaknesses of
English language learners and how
they experience college.
Colleges should seek out knowledge
and advice from students and
alumni who have lived experience as
English language learners in the
college classroom.
Leaders should change their mental
models (Senge, 2006) by listening to
the human resources that drive their
institutional success, students.
Learning about multiple dimensions
of an experience by taking the
balcony view is essential for leaders
in learning organizations (Heifetz &
Linsky, 2002).
Listening and witnessing are at the
core of service and being part of a
diverse community as described by
Wheatley (2009).
Opportunities for authentic
communication and research among
faculty, students and alumni could
benefit English language learners,
first generation college students and
the whole student body.
load
power
These voices are critical for the
future success of other students like
them who are transitioning to higher
education.
Carla
Elia
Farra
Gabriel
Hirlanda
Joel
Julieta
Maricela
Michelle
Olivia
Saul
Contact Information
Debra J. Solomon, PhD
[email protected]
Complete dissertation expected to
be available on
ProQuest by January, 2013