Unstack the Odds: Help All Kids Access College—and Graduate!
by
by
Joe Rottenborn
Executive Director, Mahoning Valley College Access Program (MVCAP)
16. Access Programs, Part 3
Accessing college and succeeding there can be a family affair. Indeed, there seems to be an association between family involvement and students’ matriculation—and graduation. Hence, it is understandable that the fourth criterion of college access programs reviewed by Jennifer Lee Schultz and Dan Mueller is Involve and encourage parents/family. [emphasis in original] As those authors indicated, “Students with parents who are knowledgeable about college are more likely to attend college. Effective outreach programs address this predictor by involving parents and other family members, providing college information to parents, and teaching parents how to support their children’s education (Perna, 2002; Corwin et al., 2005; Swail & Perna, 2002).” (Jennifer Lee Schultz and Dan Mueller, Effectiveness of programs to improve postsecondary education enrollment and success of underrepresented youth: A literature review, NorthStar Education Finance, November 2006. p. 10.) http://www.mncollegeaccess.org/sites/b862decd-72ee-44b5-80f8-4f0ac42e8716/uploads/NorthstarLitReviewWithoutRICFSum_11-06.pdf
In their study of culture and outreach initiatives, Octavio Villalpando and Daniel G. Solorzano noted that “For students of color, parent involvement in a college preparation program represents an important way of maintaining a connection with their culture.” Furthermore, they stated: “As Gandara (1995) noted in her longitudinal study of educational mobility among Chicanos, the families and parents of students of color symbolize a powerful cultural representation that often enables students to shape their attitudes and aspirations around a sense of responsibility and commitment to their community.” (Octavio Villalpando and Daniel G. Solorzano, “The Role of Culture in College Preparation Programs: A Review of the Research Literature,” in William G. Tierney, Zoe B. Corwin, and Julia E. Colyar, editors, Preparing for College: Nine Elements of Effective Outreach, Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, 2005, p. 20.) http://www.sunypress.edu/pdf/61028.pdf
Laura J. Horn, Xianglei Chen, and Clifford Adelman used logistic regressions to quantify the importance of parental involvement, stating that “Students whose parents frequently discussed school-related matters with them had more than double the odds of enrolling in a 4-year college (odds ratio=2.17) than students whose parents had little to no discussion with them. Parent discussions—even some discussion—also had a strong effect on increasing the odds of a student attending any postsecondary education (odds ratios 1.57 and 2.45, respectively, for some and much discussion).” (Laura J. Horn, Xianglei Chen, and Clifford Adelman, Toward Resiliency: At-Risk Students Who Make It to College, Office of Educational Research and Improvement, p. 16.) http://www.mprinc.com/products/pdf/toward_resilency.pdf
But involving parents can be challenging—particularly, when a child comes from a low-income family or otherwise underrepresented group. As Laura W. Perna and Michelle Asha Cooper commented in their study, “Nonetheless, although virtually all parents want to promote their children’s educational attainment, low-income parents often are unable to become involved in their children’s education because of economic, social, and psychological barriers (Perna 2005a).” (Laura W. Perna and Michelle Asha Cooper, “Intervening Early and Successfully in the Education Pipeline,” in Reflections on College Access & Persistence: In Honor of the 40th Anniversary of the Higher Education Act, Advisory Committee on Students Financial Assistance, September 2006, p. 47.)
Indeed, Perna and Cooper concluded that “Despite the high apparent prevalence of parental involvement components in early intervention programs, Tierney (2002; Tierney and Auerbach 2005) suggests that parents are only superficially involved, likely because programs often lack the time, funding, staffing, and other resources that are required for more substantial involvement.” In fact, they state that “. . . little is known about the most effective ways to promote parental involvement in early intervention programs (Perna and Titus 2005).” (Laura W. Perna and Michelle Asha Cooper, “Intervening Early and Successfully in the Education Pipeline,” in Reflections on College Access & Persistence: In Honor of the 40th Anniversary of the Higher Education Act, Advisory Committee on Students Financial Assistance, September 2006, p. 48.)
Nonetheless, it seems that if parents are generally supportive of a student’s learning, however, family involvement can occur through other family members—like older brothers or sisters. As Pedro Noguera, a professor of education at New York University, said, “My learning story is this: my parents were by far my most important teachers. They taught me the value of hard work, of honesty and of discipline. They taught me that it is more important to be responsible than to seek honor or recognition. They never understood the workings of college, so they never pressured us about where to apply or what to study. In fact, they could help us very little as we navigated school and undertook the complex process of applying to college (the older siblings did that for the younger ones).” (Pedro Noguera, “My Parents, My Teachers,” in Valerie Strauss, “A story on the power of parents as teachers,” The Washington Post: The Answer Sheet, April 19, 2001.) http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/a-story-on-the-power-of-parents-as-teachers/2011/04/19/AFnWzk2D_blog.html
The fifth characteristic of college access programs that Jennifer Lee Schultz and Dan Mueller reviewed was to Help students navigate the college admissions process. [emphasis in original] As the authors succinctly put it, “Research has shown that helping students complete college applications and helping students prepare for entrance exams are important predictors of enrollment (Horn & Chen, 1998).” (Jennifer Lee Schultz and Dan Mueller, Effectiveness of programs to improve postsecondary education enrollment and success of underrepresented youth: A literature review, NorthStar Education Finance, November 2006. p. 10.) http://www.mncollegeaccess.org/sites/b862decd-72ee-44b5-80f8-4f0ac42e8716/uploads/NorthstarLitReviewWithoutRICFSum_11-06.pdf
From the student’s perspective, Horn, Chen, and Adelman indicated “Similarly, getting help with college applications and preparing for entrance exams also remained important predictors of enrollment.” (Laura J. Horn, Xianglei Chen, and Clifford Adelman, Toward Resiliency: At-Risk Students Who Make It to College, Office of Educational Research and Improvement, p. 19.) http://www.mprinc.com/products/pdf/toward_resilency.pdf
In their review of literature, Perna and Cooper indicated “Research suggests that African American students and students with lower incomes are more dependent than other students on high school personnel for college-related knowledge and information (Furstenberg, Cook, Eccles, Elder, and Sameroff 1999; Lareau 1987). The 2004 National Association for College Admissions Counseling (NACAC) Counseling Trends Survey reveals that school counselors are often the primary providers of information about financial aid (Hawkins and Lautz 2005). (Laura W. Perna and Michelle Asha Cooper, “Intervening Early and Successfully in the Education Pipeline,” in Reflections on College Access & Persistence: In Honor of the 40th Anniversary of the Higher Education Act, Advisory Committee on Students Financial Assistance, September 2006, p. 46.)
I know from our 10 years of work with high school advisees in the Mahoning Valley College Access Program (MVCAP) how students can benefit from this assistance. Indeed, helping students file applications by deadlines facilitates their accessing of higher education. In addition, preparing students for the ACT (by taking its practice tests in the allotted time) exposes them to working faster—to say nothing of acquiring “test-wiseness” as they learn the ACT’s format.
In their study of culture and outreach initiatives, Octavio Villalpando and Daniel G. Solorzano noted that “For students of color, parent involvement in a college preparation program represents an important way of maintaining a connection with their culture.” Furthermore, they stated: “As Gandara (1995) noted in her longitudinal study of educational mobility among Chicanos, the families and parents of students of color symbolize a powerful cultural representation that often enables students to shape their attitudes and aspirations around a sense of responsibility and commitment to their community.” (Octavio Villalpando and Daniel G. Solorzano, “The Role of Culture in College Preparation Programs: A Review of the Research Literature,” in William G. Tierney, Zoe B. Corwin, and Julia E. Colyar, editors, Preparing for College: Nine Elements of Effective Outreach, Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, 2005, p. 20.) http://www.sunypress.edu/pdf/61028.pdf
Laura J. Horn, Xianglei Chen, and Clifford Adelman used logistic regressions to quantify the importance of parental involvement, stating that “Students whose parents frequently discussed school-related matters with them had more than double the odds of enrolling in a 4-year college (odds ratio=2.17) than students whose parents had little to no discussion with them. Parent discussions—even some discussion—also had a strong effect on increasing the odds of a student attending any postsecondary education (odds ratios 1.57 and 2.45, respectively, for some and much discussion).” (Laura J. Horn, Xianglei Chen, and Clifford Adelman, Toward Resiliency: At-Risk Students Who Make It to College, Office of Educational Research and Improvement, p. 16.) http://www.mprinc.com/products/pdf/toward_resilency.pdf
But involving parents can be challenging—particularly, when a child comes from a low-income family or otherwise underrepresented group. As Laura W. Perna and Michelle Asha Cooper commented in their study, “Nonetheless, although virtually all parents want to promote their children’s educational attainment, low-income parents often are unable to become involved in their children’s education because of economic, social, and psychological barriers (Perna 2005a).” (Laura W. Perna and Michelle Asha Cooper, “Intervening Early and Successfully in the Education Pipeline,” in Reflections on College Access & Persistence: In Honor of the 40th Anniversary of the Higher Education Act, Advisory Committee on Students Financial Assistance, September 2006, p. 47.)
Indeed, Perna and Cooper concluded that “Despite the high apparent prevalence of parental involvement components in early intervention programs, Tierney (2002; Tierney and Auerbach 2005) suggests that parents are only superficially involved, likely because programs often lack the time, funding, staffing, and other resources that are required for more substantial involvement.” In fact, they state that “. . . little is known about the most effective ways to promote parental involvement in early intervention programs (Perna and Titus 2005).” (Laura W. Perna and Michelle Asha Cooper, “Intervening Early and Successfully in the Education Pipeline,” in Reflections on College Access & Persistence: In Honor of the 40th Anniversary of the Higher Education Act, Advisory Committee on Students Financial Assistance, September 2006, p. 48.)
Nonetheless, it seems that if parents are generally supportive of a student’s learning, however, family involvement can occur through other family members—like older brothers or sisters. As Pedro Noguera, a professor of education at New York University, said, “My learning story is this: my parents were by far my most important teachers. They taught me the value of hard work, of honesty and of discipline. They taught me that it is more important to be responsible than to seek honor or recognition. They never understood the workings of college, so they never pressured us about where to apply or what to study. In fact, they could help us very little as we navigated school and undertook the complex process of applying to college (the older siblings did that for the younger ones).” (Pedro Noguera, “My Parents, My Teachers,” in Valerie Strauss, “A story on the power of parents as teachers,” The Washington Post: The Answer Sheet, April 19, 2001.) http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/a-story-on-the-power-of-parents-as-teachers/2011/04/19/AFnWzk2D_blog.html
The fifth characteristic of college access programs that Jennifer Lee Schultz and Dan Mueller reviewed was to Help students navigate the college admissions process. [emphasis in original] As the authors succinctly put it, “Research has shown that helping students complete college applications and helping students prepare for entrance exams are important predictors of enrollment (Horn & Chen, 1998).” (Jennifer Lee Schultz and Dan Mueller, Effectiveness of programs to improve postsecondary education enrollment and success of underrepresented youth: A literature review, NorthStar Education Finance, November 2006. p. 10.) http://www.mncollegeaccess.org/sites/b862decd-72ee-44b5-80f8-4f0ac42e8716/uploads/NorthstarLitReviewWithoutRICFSum_11-06.pdf
From the student’s perspective, Horn, Chen, and Adelman indicated “Similarly, getting help with college applications and preparing for entrance exams also remained important predictors of enrollment.” (Laura J. Horn, Xianglei Chen, and Clifford Adelman, Toward Resiliency: At-Risk Students Who Make It to College, Office of Educational Research and Improvement, p. 19.) http://www.mprinc.com/products/pdf/toward_resilency.pdf
In their review of literature, Perna and Cooper indicated “Research suggests that African American students and students with lower incomes are more dependent than other students on high school personnel for college-related knowledge and information (Furstenberg, Cook, Eccles, Elder, and Sameroff 1999; Lareau 1987). The 2004 National Association for College Admissions Counseling (NACAC) Counseling Trends Survey reveals that school counselors are often the primary providers of information about financial aid (Hawkins and Lautz 2005). (Laura W. Perna and Michelle Asha Cooper, “Intervening Early and Successfully in the Education Pipeline,” in Reflections on College Access & Persistence: In Honor of the 40th Anniversary of the Higher Education Act, Advisory Committee on Students Financial Assistance, September 2006, p. 46.)
I know from our 10 years of work with high school advisees in the Mahoning Valley College Access Program (MVCAP) how students can benefit from this assistance. Indeed, helping students file applications by deadlines facilitates their accessing of higher education. In addition, preparing students for the ACT (by taking its practice tests in the allotted time) exposes them to working faster—to say nothing of acquiring “test-wiseness” as they learn the ACT’s format.
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