Symposium Session, AERA Annual Meeting, 2013 Presenters: Garcia, Glassett, Pearl and Prange Chair: Erika Daniels Discussant: Gloria Crisp

1. EXPLORING SUPPORTIVE
RELATIONSHIPS
IN THE ACADEMIC LIVES OF
UNDERREPRESENTED STUDENTS
Symposium
AERAAnnualMeeting,2013

2. JOEL GARCIA
SUSAN GLASSETT FARRELLY
DOMENICA CIMARUSTI PEARL
BEVERLY PRANGE
UniversityofCalifornia,SanDiego
CaliforniaStateUniversitySanMarcos
ERIKA DANIELS, CHAIR
CaliforniaStateUniversitySanMarcos
GLORIA CRISP, DISCUSSANT
UniversityofTexasatSanAntonio

3. INTRODUCTION
ERIKADANIELS,ED.D.
ASSISTANTPROFESSOR
SCHOOLOFEDUCATION
CALIFORNIASTATEUNIVERSITYSANMARCOS

4. A POVERTY OF SOCIAL CAPITAL:
STUDENT EXPERIENCES IN
ALTERNATIVE SCHOOL
SusanGlassettFarrelly,ED.D.
teacher
Northcountytechnologyandscienceacademy
SanMarcos,CA

5. RESEARCH QUESTIONS
* Who attends alternative school?
* What is the lived student
educational experience before,
during, and after attending
alternative school?

6. PARTICIPANT SELECTION VARIANT x
AN EXPLANATORY SEQUENTIAL DESIGN
* Grounded in Critical Theory
* Phase One: Self-Determination
Theory (SDT)
* Survey of 187 alternative education students
* Assessed students’ perceived basic psychological
needs (autonomy, competency and relatedness)
* Student records
* Phase Two: Student Voice Narrative
Inquiry
* Audio narrative analysis
* Analysis of narratives
CRESWELL & PLANO-CLARK (2011)

7. CONTEXT
* County Community School (CCS)
* Regionally distributed over 8 sites and 17
classrooms
* Operated 245 school days
* Serves 300 to 450 students in 2010-2011
enrollment was 336
* High (70%) mobility rate - 1024 different
students were enrolled

8. PARTICIPANTS
SAMPLE POPULATION
Latino 81% 81%
White Non-Hispanic 11% 11%
African American 6% 4%
Special Education 18% 19%
Limited English Proficient 47% 64%
Free or Reduced Lunch 86% 79%
Female 17% 20%

9. CLUSTER ANALYSIS
Cluster#1
Cluster#2
Cluster#3
Cluster#4
-2.0
-1.5
-1.0
-.5
.0
.5
1.0
1.5
Autonomy
Competency
Relatedness

10. NARRATIVE ANALYSIS
*Cluster#1
* Oscar fulfilled all graduation requirements
except state exit exam, was attending
community college
* Rainman graduated and is employed fulltime
*Cluster#2
* Eddie was going back to traditional high
school but got arrested
* Jacob was still attending alternative school
sporadically due to homelessness

11. NARRATIVE ANALYSIS
*Cluster#3
* Kyle graduated and was employed full time
* Raul returned to traditional school for
senior year currently has a 3.8 GPA
*Cluster#4
* Leo returned to traditional school for 9th
grade year and is struggling
* Güero was still attending alternative school
but has since dropped out

12. ABOVE THE LINE
* Named specific teachers by name with
whom they had a special relationship
* There was evidence in each story of
teachers having high expectations

13. BELOW THE LINE
* Did not describe a specific relationship
with a teacher
* Did not identify a single positive
educational experience

14. CAREER OBJECTIVES
* Oscar – Army
* Rainman – Marines
* Kyle – Police Officer or Game Warden
* Raul – Probation Officer
* Eddie – Probation Officer
* Jacob – Chef
* Leo – Police Officer
* Güero – Probation Officer
“Gottoenforce
somelaws.
Iwanttocarrya
gun”
(Kyle)

15. “[I] seriously thought like I wasn’t going
to graduate high school. I was just going
to drop out and just go to juvenile hall…But
right here they work with you to improve,
you know… [Name deleted] doesn't take
crap, but if you're serious about school he'll
try to work with you, you know? Because
[name deleted] is a good teacher. I've
seen him help...my family have gone, other
family has gone to his class too, and he's
helped them go to college. He helped them
sign up for college and everything. But
that's only if you're serious about school”
(Raul)

16. CONCLUSION
The student voices in this study show the
heart of alternative education success lies
in the development of a caring and
supportive environment grounded in positive
student-teacher relationships that embrace
high expectations. These relationships need
to not only support students academically
but also to empower them with “rich social
capital and resource generating networks”
(Stanton-Salazar, 2010, p. 1097) that will alter their
destinies.

17. EXPLORING RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN
HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS
EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS AND
THEIR EDUCATORS
JoelGarcia,ED.D.
Principal,MonarchSchool
JuvenileCourtandCommunitySchools
SanDiegoCountyOfficeofEducation

18. OVERVIEW
* Background
* Statement of the Problem
* Conceptual Framework
* Research Questions
* Research Design
* Results
* Implications for Research and
Professional Practice

19. BACKGROUND
* 2.3 to 3.5 million Americans experience
homelessness each year
(National Center on Family Homelessness, 2009)
* Nationally, a record 1,065,794 homeless
children attended schools in the 2010-2011
school year
(National Center for Homeless Education, 2012)
* In San Diego County, there are 18,093
homeless K-12 students
(M. Lustig, San Diego County Office of Education, personal communication, 10.8.2012)

20. STATEMENTxTHE PROBLEM
* Although some literature exists
regarding the resilience of homeless
students, little is known about the
relationships between these youth and
their educators
* Little is known about the school
structures and climate and their effect
on these relationships

21. CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
* Risks
* Resilience
* School Structures
* School Culture and Climate
Risks Resilience
Student-Educator
Relationships

22. RISKS
* Family Breakdown
* Social Emotional

23. RESILIENCE FRAMEWORK
Resilience
Stress and
Risks
Family
Breakdown
Social
Emotional
Mediating
Mechanisms
Temperament
Relationships
School
Experience
Coping/
Protective
Mechanisms
Positive
Self-Esteem
Family Cohesion
Availability of
External
Support
(Garmezy, 1985; Rutter 1987)

24. RESILIENCE-PROMOTING SCHOOLS
Theoretical
Model High Expectations
Caring Relationships
Meaningful Participation and
Contribution
(Benard, 2004)

25. SCHOOL STRUCTURES
* Student Support
* Staff Awareness and Development

26. SCHOOL CULTURE yCLIMATE
* Safety
* Staff Attitudes
* Adult and Peer Relationships

27. RESEARCH QUESTIONS
Are caring relationships available for homeless
youth at a traditional school and a modified
comprehensive school specifically designed
for students experiencing homelessness?
1. In what ways do the institutional
structures support or constrain these
relationships?
2. How does a school’s culture and climate
influence these relationships?

28. METHODOLOGY
* Comparative Case Study
* Sample and Population
*City High and Bayview Schools
*24 students total; Purposeful,
homogenous sampling
*12 staff members total ;Teachers,
Counselors, Administration

29. METHODOLOGY
* Data Collection
* Document Analysis, Semi-Structured
Interviews, Classroom Observations
* Within and Cross-Case Data Analysis
* Conceptual framework informed initial code
development
* First cycle: In vivo coding
* Second round of pattern coding used to
further analyze and organize data

30. FINDINGS: CITY HIGH SCHOOL
* 75% of student participants reported having a
supportive relationship
* Having a “normal conversation”
* Empathy yields relatability
“I know they care because they have normal
conversation that’s not about school stuff. They ask
about how work is going and stuff like that”
(Steven, 12th grade)
“I was having a tough time and it was close to
homecoming and I couldn’t go to the homecoming
dance. My parents [said] ‘no you need to focus on
helping us get through what we’re going through.’ And
Ms. Jacobs was telling me she went through the same
thing. Her parents were really hard on her and didn’t
really want her to do anything and put too much
responsibility on her too”
(Layla, 12th grader)
* Emotionally Safe

31. FINDINGS: CITY HIGH SCHOOL
* Homeless students go unidentified
“We have these little markers on our student profiles
that, I don’t know what they all mean. They are like
coded. I don’t know if we even have a code for that,
but if we do I don’t know what it is”
(Mr. Jones, Science Teacher)
* “You’re on your own”
“[The teachers] are putting up a front so that’s what we
have to do too. We have to put up a front. Like, oh,
since you don’t care, I don’t care. I’m not going to do it
because you’re not going to teach me that. So all
around, I feel like if we just all help each other, then
there’ll never be a reason for any student to feel that
they can’t do anything”
(Yolanda, 9th grader)

32. FINDINGS: BAYVIEW SCHOOL
* Supportive and Warm Environment
* For all student participants
* “Like a family”
* Wide network of support
“[Bayview] is like my second family and seriously I have
moms, I have dads, I have sisters and brothers”
(Molly, 12th grader)
* Individualized Support
Because we're so small, we know the students. We know just
from observing what's normal behavior and what's not normal
behavior for a particular student. We know if somebody is
usually really loud and boisterous at lunch, and now they're
sitting on a bench and not talking to anybody, that's unusual.
So, we need to figure out what’s going on that’s making them
behave differently”
(Vice-Principal Terry Norris)

33. IMPLICATIONS FOR RESEARCH
y PRACTICE
* Continuum of Homelessness
* Identification is Critical
* Focus Beyond Academics
* Balance of Institutional Context
(Murphy and Tobin, 2011)

34. !THANK YOU

35. EXPLORING SUPPORTIVE RELATIONSHIPS
BETWEEN HIGH SCHOOL EDUCATORS
/AND LATINA O STUDENTS
ON THE ROAD TO COLLEGE
BEVERLYPRANGE,ED.D.
PROGRAMSPECIALIST
MIGRANTEDUCATION
SANDIEGOCOUNTYOFFICEOFEDUCATION

36. IMPROVING ACADEMIC OUTCOMES
FOR LATINO STUDENTS
* Students of Latino origin comprise the
majority of public school students in
California and are the fastest growing
group nationwide
89
41
71
32
94
43
0
20
40
60
80
100
HighSchoolorGED CollegeEnrollment
AllStudents
LatinoStudents
WhiteStudents
U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics , 2012

37. PROBLEM
Latino students
comprise the
majority
Low academic
achievement
What contributes
to Latino student
success?
Relationships
with educators
are a key
How do
supportive
educators build
and maintain
these
relationships?

38. PURPOSE
* Explore supportive relationships between
students and educators from the
student perspective to identify the
characteristics, dispositions, and
behaviors of school adults who
successfully offer empathic
understanding and support to Latina/o
students who are striving to be the first
in their families to graduate from high
school and attend college

39. RESILIENCY Strengths-
Based
Theory
Protective
Factors
Internal
Protective
Factors
External
Protective
Factors
Opportunity
for
Participation &
Contribution
High
Expectations
Caring
Relationships
Alfaro, Umaña-Taylor, & Bámaca, 2006; Alva, 1991; Gándara, 2002

40. SOCIAL CAPITAL
* Access to resources obtained through
interpersonal relationships
* Historically underserved groups have
less access to social capital due to
societal and school structure
* Educators are uniquely situated to
increase Latino students’ access to
social capital: information, resources,
networks (“empowerment agents”)
(BOURDIEU, 1986; COLEMAN, 1988; CRONINGER & LEE, 2001; KLEM & CONNELL, 2004; STANTON-SALAZAR, 2001, 2011)

41. EMPATHY
* Basis for interpersonal relationships
* Humans are hard-wired for empathy
* Empathy can be taught and developed
(Carr, Iacoboni, Dubeau, Mazziotta, & Lenzi, 2003; Hoffman, 2000; Ramachandran, 2010)

42. EMPATHY
* Empathy is the process of understanding
others that in turn helps them
understand themselves. The quality of
empathy involves valuing and caring
about the person; having a non-
judgmental attitude; listening; working to
understand another’s perspective; and
helping the other person achieve his or
her potential.
Rogers (1975); Cooper (2004)

43. RESEARCH QUESTION y
SUB-QUESTIONS
In what ways does empathy play a role in
the relationships educators form with
Latino first generation college-bound
students?
In what ways does empathy play a role in
the relationships educators form with
Latino first generation college-bound
students?
QUANTITATIVE
a) Relationships?
b) With whom?
c) Empathy?
d) Does race affect
empathy?
QUANTITATIVE
a) Relationships?
b) With whom?
c) Empathy?
d) Does race affect
empathy?
QUALITATIVE
e) Educator
behaviors,
attitudes and
attributes?
f) How?
QUALITATIVE
e) Educator
behaviors,
attitudes and
attributes?
f) How?

44. TRANSFORMATIVE
MIXED-METHODS
DESIGN
Phase I: QuantitativePhase I: Quantitative
Phase II: QualitativePhase II: Qualitative
SurveySurvey
Latina/o First-Gen
students
Latina/o First-Gen
students
Interviews
Written
Responses
Interviews
Written
Responses
EOP StudentsEOP Students

45. PHASE I: QUANTITATIVE
In what ways does empathy play a
role in the relationships educators form with
Latino first generation college-bound
students?
a) Do Latina/o first generation college-bound
students experience supportive relationships with
educators in high school?
b) For those Latina/o students who experience a
supportive relationship, is this adult more likely to
be a teacher, counselor, or other educator?
c) To what degree do Latina/o students perceive
these educators as empathic?
d) Does the race/ethnicity of the educator affect
how Latina/o students rate them on empathy?

46. QUANTITATIVE PARTICIPANTS
* EOP students (n=184)
* 77% (n=141) Latina/o
* 81% female

47. QUANTITATIVE INSTRUMENTATION
* Demographic information
* Information regarding supportive
educator
* Modified Jefferson Scale of Patient
Perception of Physician Empathy
(Kane, Gotto, Mangione, West, & Hojat, 2007)
* e.g. “This person can view things from my
perspective (see things as I see them)” and
“This person asks about what is happening in
my daily life”

48. QUANTITATIVE FINDINGS
* Do Latina/o first generation college-bound
students experience supportive
relationships with educators in high school?
88% YES
* For those Latina/o students who
experience a supportive relationship, is this
adult more likely to be a teacher,
counselor, or other educator?
74% teacher, 49% AVID teacher, 15%
counselor

49. QUANTITATIVE FINDINGS
* To what degree do Latina/o students
perceive these educators as empathic?
High Empathy
High Non-Judgmental Attitude
* Does the race/ethnicity of the educator
affect how Latina/o students rate them on
empathy?
No difference in empathy based on
race/ethnicity

50. PHASE II: QUALITATIVE
* What attitudes/attributes/behaviors do
Latina/o first generation college-bound
students experience as supportive of
their academic and life goals?

51. QUALITATIVE METHODOLOGY
* Phenomenology
* focuses on the meaning of lived experience
(Van Manen, 1990)
* seeks to describe the essence of a group
of individuals’ experiences of a phenomenon
(Creswell, 2007)
* Data Sources
* Responses to open-ended survey questions
* Written responses to prompts
* Interviews

52. 22 STUDENT PARTICIPANTS
* Volunteers from survey
* Referred by colleagues
* First and second-year undergraduates
* 13 females
* 9 males
* 100% first generation college
* 64% first generation high school grads
* 16 high schools in 13 school districts
* 4 undocumented students

53. THEMES
BUILDING
RELATIONSHIPS
SAFE SPACE
PERSONAL
ISSUES
TRUST
HUMOR
OFFERING A
PERSONAL
RELATIONSHIP
PERSPECTIVE
TAKING
ASKING
QUESTIONS AND
LISTENING
UNDERSTANDING
STUDENT
EMOTION
NON-
JUDGMENTAL
ATTITUDE
EDUCATOR USING
PERSONAL
EXPERIENCE
CULTURAL
EMPATHY
EDUCATOR
ETHNICITY
IMPORTANCE OF
FAMILY
UNDOCUMENTED
STUDENTS
HIGH
EXPECTATIONS
STUDENT BELIEF
IN POTENTIAL

54. EMPATHY
FOR EQUITY
DEVELOP
EDUCATOR
EMPATHY
EMPATHY + EXPECTATIONS
Educator
SkillsyAttitudes
BUILDING
RELATIONSHIPS
PERSPECTIVE
TAKING
HIGH
EXPECTATIONS
CULTURAL
EMPATHY
Implications

55. :SUPPORT AND RETENTION
EXPLORING THE ROLE OF
MENTORING RELATIONSHIPS AND
SOCIAL CAPITAL BETWEEN
FIRST-GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENTS
AND STUDENT AFFAIRS PROFESSIONALS
DomenicaCimarustiPearl,ED.D.
AssociateDirector
Undergraduateadvisingservices
CaliforniaStateUniversitySanMarcos

56. 45%
DROPPEDOUT
BACKGROUND
* In more than fifty years, the college
graduation rate in the United States has
only increased by 3%.
National Center for Higher Education Management Systems, 2011; Hout, 2009
6-yearaveragegraduationrate,2009
55%
GRADUATED

57. ?WHY ARE STUDENTS LEAVING
* Academic difficulty
* Adjustment issues
* Lack of clear goals or commitment
* Rising costs
* Poor integration into community
Tinto, 1993; Moore, Offenstein & Shulock, 2011

58. PROBLEM
Parker, Summerfeld, Hogan & Majeski, 2004; Tinto, 1993; Qualter, Whiteley, Morley & Dudiak, 2008
Students are failing to acclimate to
university life
Integration into the campus community
helps students to be more successful
Relationships with academic staff &
peers assist in this connection
Mentoring enhances relationships
College student retention

59. PURPOSE
* Explore the contribution of relational
factors or the impact of personal
characteristics of mentors
* Provide empirical and theoretical insight
student affairs practitioners might
consider when establishing mentoring
programs to promote student retention
Jacobi, 1991; Bernier, Larose & Soucy, 2005

60. RESEARCH QUESTIONS
* In what ways do mentoring relationships
between student affairs professionals and
students support or constrain the
retention of college students?
* To what degree do mentoring relationships
foster social capital?
* In what ways do students use “mentoring social
capital” to persist toward degree?
* Do students perceive a relationship between a
mentor’s emotional intelligence and the quality
of the mentoring relationship?

61. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
* Parallels with mentoring
* both are structures in which individuals benefit
from a relationship
* provides students with the social capital
needed to better navigate the university
* Illuminates knowledge about relationships
and the way individuals interact with one
another
SOCIAL
CAPITAL
“Asetofresourcesrootedin
relationships”or,theadvantagesan
individualacquiresthroughthe
socialnetworkinwhichtheybelong”
Nahapiet & Ghoshal, 1998, p.243; Bourdieu, 1986; Hezlett & Gibson, 2007

62. LITERATURE
Social
Capital
* The heart of social
capital is the
relationship
* Significant positive
effects on the
persistence of
college students
* Stronger predictor
of success than
academic
preparation and
other personal
factors
Mentoring
* Advocate for
students
* Connects students
to the university
* Less likely to drop out
* Promotes goal and
career achievement
* Provides support,
reinforcement &
emotional
sustenance
* Helps students
recognize they are
capable of
succeeding
Emotional
Intelligence
* The manner in which
individuals perceive,
express, manage and
understand emotion
in both themselves
and others
* Internal mechanism
necessary for
healthy relationships
* Enhances the ability
to support and
connect with
students on a more
personal level

63. CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

64. Creswell, 2008; Creswell and Plano Clark, 2011; Rudestam & Newton, 2007; Denzin & Lincoln, 2005
Phase 1 {Quantitative}
• Original survey
• SPSS data analysis
• Phase 2 student
participant selection
Phase 2 {Qualitative}
• 6 student interviews
• 5 identified mentor
interviews
• Content & cross-case
analysis
Phase 2 {Qualitative}
• 6 student interviews
• 5 identified mentor
interviews
• Content & cross-case
analysis
Site: Mid-size public university in
California (n = 10,276)
SEQUENTIAL EXPLANATORY
MIXED METHODS DESIGN

65. PHASE 1 PARTICIPANTS
* Senior-level non-probationary students
(n = 3487)
* 18% response rate (n = 628)
* 46% of respondents had
a mentor
* Only 11% indicated a
mentor in Student Affairs

66. PHASE 2 PARTICIPANTS
* 6 undergraduate students
* 5 mentors employed in Student Affairs

67. FIRST-GENERATION STUDENTS
Frances
First-generation
college student
Connie
Both parents
college
educated
Beatrice
Both parents
have BA
Mike
First-generation
college student
Gail
First-generation
college student
Jack
First-generation
college graduate
Luca
First-generation
college student
Patricia
First-generation
college graduate
Dylan
First-generation
college student
Marie
First-generation
college graduate
Chrissy
Both parents
have AA
* 4 out of 6 students
* 4 out of 5 mentors
* Reported mentoring relationship to be the
catalyst of their success

68. From the both the quantitative and
qualitative data,
3 MAIN CONCEPTS
influencing college student retention emerged:
Emotional
Support
MENTOR
COMMITMENT
Relational
Capital

69. * Emotional factors influence academic
performance and affect a student’s
decision to remain in school
* Emotional health is one of the only self-
rated personal characteristics to have a
positive effect on degree completion
Astin, 2006
Emotional
Support
* Emotionally supportive
mentors help acclimate
students to college life

70. ELEMENTS
Trust
Empathy
Rapport
Parent-like Support
Emotional
Support

71. ELEMENTS
Parent-like Support
“I’m not a counselor, I’m not a doctor,
I’m not a police officer. I’m just a window…
Because sometimes, these kids, they know so many
people and they still could be the loneliest people
around, or it’s their first experience away from mom
and dad. They don’t make the right choices or they
feel so lonely, or they can’t go to their parents
for anything, or even their best friend.
So, I make myself available to them–
to be able to come in for whatever,
and then I just point them in the right direction”
(Frances)
Emotional
Support

72. * Particularly for first-generation student
participants, who described mentor
commitment as instrumental in providing
a path to college graduation
* Provided students with security and
reinforcement needed to excel
academically and socially
MENTOR
COMMITMENT
* “Your success is my
success” mentality
empowered students

73. ELEMENTS
Dependability & Availability
“A mentor is someone
who you know is there for you
whenever you need her…
Beatrice is the one who’s
been there for me
from start to finish”
(Mike)
Motivation
MENTOR
COMMITMENT

74. * Contributed to a comprehensive and
meaningful mentorship
* Assisted students in navigating the
university, and what to do post-
graduation
Relational
Capital
...Having the aptitude to
manage relationships and
build connections with others
in order to cultivate social
ties to improve academic
outcomes

75. ELEMENTS
Role Modeling
“I need someone who can
inspire me to choose a career path
and not just, a career”
(Dylan)
Belonging and Mattering
Relational
Capital

76. ELEMENTS
Connections
Reciprocity
“The most rewarding part of the relationship
that you build with students
is their success…
I think when you talk to them and you see
them succeed in any fashion of life,
that’s very rewarding”
(Jack)
Relational
Capital

77. FIRST-GENERATIONSTUDENTSyMENTORS
* Vital way to gain access to information
and opportunities
* Success was facilitated by supportive
interpersonal relationship with their
mentor
* Mentors intervened to assist students
navigate the university and facilitate
academic success
* Ability to empathize
* Understood potential adversity
* Helped avoid common obstacles

78. “I was a first-generation student, so was
Jack, and because he’s already been there
and done that, he kind of helped me along
the way...Even though I have a family who
supports me. My mom doesn't speak
English, she’s working day by day. She never
went through it. It’s nice to have somebody
here, where I can go, and he’s always
available or he’ll make time. If I email him,
he emails me right away. It’s nice to have
that support here on campus. I have it at
home, which is great, but I can’t go to my
mom and ask what classes I should I take.
It’s just nice to have it here”
LUCA

79. INTERSECTIONAL
MODEL

80. IDEAL MENTOR CONDITION

81. “I love my job. It’s really all about the
relationships that I have and building those
relationships with students. I think I just love
being in an environment where I see that
growth. College is such a great setting to see
that happen” (Beatrice)
“I have met many young adults, and have
hired many of them throughout the years,
and they have all respected me on a level that
I hadn’t thought I was even worthy of. It was
amazing. And, somehow I have impacted their
lives” (Frances)

82. DISCUSSION
GLORIACRISP,ED.D.
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR
EDUCATIONALLEADERSHIPANDPOLICYSTUDIES
UNIVERSITYOFTEXASATSANANTONIO