appalachian stereotypes and the impact on student success dr. sarah beasley, director of retention,...
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Appalachian Stereotypes and the Impact on Student
SuccessDr. Sarah Beasley, Director of Retention, Concord University
Appalachian Higher Education NetworkJune 25, 2015
I can do it!
Why Rural?
Urban bias
25% of public school children in rural school districts (12 million+)
Only 17% of rural adults have a college degree
Rural students (18-24 yr olds) less likely to attend college than their suburban and urban counterparts (31% vs. 42% vs. 46%)
Rural community decline
Rural poverty
Live in counties with no college
Have little access to college information
Have lower educational aspirations
Have parents who did not attend college
Have parents that are less likely to encourage higher education (rural student perception)
Have fewer highly educated role models
Have less confidence in their academic ability
Rural youth more likely to…
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Findings: Family
Attachment to Family Four-year/two-
year Pressure to stay
Mingo County native, Bob Maguire (on left), visiting family cemetery in Newtown, WV.
Findings: Family cont. Family Legacies
Gender norms Increased
pressure to carry on legacies
Mountain top removal site near Gilbert, WV.
Parental Encouragement and Support
Financial Encouragement Help with Applications Education as a Priority Cultural Capital
Findings: Family cont.
• Do Better Than Parents
• Success for Others
Findings: Family cont.
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Findings: Leaving & Returning/Staying
I think most of ‘em sticking around here, like the guys, you’ll see them going off [inaudible] and going in the coal mines and going in the ground [inaudible] or doing something like timber and stuff. That’s pretty much all that’s open around here. And then the girls that normally don’t go to college from up around here pretty much after a few years you see ‘em married off, and have families, which is not a bad thing, you know? But that’s normally how [the] pattern. It’s kinda like if you don’t take your chance and get out when you can, you never find the opportunity again. It’s like once you get sucked in, you’re here for good (student interview).
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Additional FindingsCommunity, High
Schools, and PeersHigh School
EncouragementExtracurricular
InvolvementPeer Support
Gilbert, WV, Gilbert High School 2009 homecoming parade.
Additional Findings cont.
Other College Success Factors and BarriersStudent
Worries/Concerns
Negative Stereotypes Matewan, WV
What can we do?
Have the tough conversations
Include Families
Replicate family supports (intrusive and appreciative advising)
Provide peer support (learning communities, study groups, cohorts, etc.)
West Virginia/Appalachian
StereotypesHillbillyRedneck
IgnorantHick
What is Stereotype Threat? (Steele & Aronson, 1995)
Increased anxiety; decreased task self-efficacy;
increased negative thinking; lowered expectations; decreased working memory
Negative stereotype
Image from http://www.npr.org/2012/07/12/156664337/stereotype-threat-why-women-quit-science-jobs cognition
Effects of Stereotype
Threat• Underachieveme
nt on academic tasks
• Self-handicapping• Limit options/alter
aspirations• Decreased
performance in non-academic tasks
• Disengagement/disidentification
• Risk averse/task avoidance
When might it be worse?
Group identity salience
Numerical minority/solo
Stereotype salience
Evaluation of domain
Self- Efficacy
Academic Achievement
College Adjustment
Student Persistence
Students with high self-efficacy: o Set high goalso Have high task
persistenceo More likely to use
heuristics/short cuts in problem solving
• “The belief in one’s capabilities to organize and execute the courses of action required to manage prospective situations” (Bandura, 1994)
GRIT (Duckworth)
“Perseverance and passion for
long-term goals”
How gritty are you?—Short Grit Scale
Positive Academic Mindset
PositiveAcademicMindset
Self-Efficacy
GrowthMindset
Sense of Belonging
Work has Value
Mindset (Dweck)
Fixed Mindset
It’s fixed or something you’re born with (inherent/natural).
Avoids
Gives up easily
Fruitless or worse
Ignores useful negative feedback
Threatened by
Intelligence/Skills/Talent
Challenges
Obstacles
Effort
Criticism
Success of Others
Growth Mindset
Hard work and effort can improve.
Embraces
Persists in the face of setbacks
Path to mastery
Learns from criticism
Finds lessons and inspiration in
Fixed Mindset
Why bother?
I’m just n
ot
good at
math!
You’re smarter than me…
This is too
hard. I give
up!W
hat if I
fail?
It’s n
ot my
fault…
“There is no substitute for hard work.” Thomas Edison
“Genius is 1% talent and 99%hard work…” Albert Einstein
“Failure is only the opportunity to begin again, only this time more wisely.” Henry Ford
Growth Mindset
Provide Positive Role Models
Reframe the task as non-evaluative
Increase Self-Efficacy (modeling, praise)
Encourage Growth Mindset
Self-affirmation
Rich History and Culture
You’re so smart!
You worked so hard!
http://www.khanacademy.org/youcanlearnanything
“Why I’ll Never Tell My Son He’s Smart”
Salman Khan,
founder of Khan Academy
Growth Mindset
You belong here! All students
worry about belonging in
college…over time everyone
comes to feel at home.
SUCCESS = Effort + Strategies + Help from Others
Yeager, Walton, & Cohen (2013)
Questions
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