Conceptual Models of Student Veteran College Experiences

Abstract

Increases in the student veteran population on college campuses since 2005 spurred a new era of scholarly activity and research on this population. The first wave of studies drew important initial attention to veterans while demonstrating that the field needs more salient conceptual models to understand and study the student veteran experience more holistically and evolve from concepts that only address transitions from the military to higher education (Hammond, 2015;Vacchi & Berger, 2014). A new wave of student veteran scholars (e.g., Downs, Hammond, Hullender, Jones, McBain, Minnis, Phillips, Vacchi) aims to explore beyond the area of veteran transitions into higher education and to examine the success of veterans in college from a more holistic perspective. Although these scholars agree that transitions are only the beginning to understanding student veteran success, they challenge the status quo by endorsing a worldview that avoids deficit modeling, not only for student veterans, but for all student populations.Frequently cited literature on student veterans (e.g., DiRamio, Ackerman, & Mitchell, 2008; Rumann & Hamrick, 2010) connects with traditional models of student retention, such as Tinto' s interactionalist theory (Tinto, 1975(Tinto, , 1993, which may be inappropriate given that veterans are nontraditional students. Tinto' s theory implies that students must adapt and integrate socially with a campus context in order to avoid departure, which may not be what is happening with student veterans. Tinto' s theory, being "near paradigmatic" (Braxton et al., 2013), struggles with psychometrically valid measures for his constructs (Smart, 2005); it is arguably most appropriate for traditional students (Berger, 2000) and of less value for exploring nontraditional student experiences in higher education, such as veterans. The nontraditional student retention model developed by Bean and Metzner (1985), which evolved from Tinto' s theory, has been successfully validated at the model level by further empirical research by Cabrera, NEW DIRECTIONS FOR INSTITUTIONAL RESEARCH, no. 171

Invisible Disabilities, Stigma, and Student Veterans: Contextualizing the Transition to Higher Education

“…The stigmatization of disability often follows veterans as they transition to civilian life (Rudstam et al, 2012), and into higher education. Given that there is a growing body of scholarly literature pertaining to student veterans (Albright, Fletcher, Pelts, & Taliaferro, 2017;Pelts & Albright, 2015;Vacchi, Hammond, & Diamond, 2017), there exist opportunities to expand literature pertaining to the discussion of student veterans and invisible disabilities (Gerber, 2001;Jones, 2017). Because many veterans experience invisible disabilities such as PTSD, anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues, there is a need to better understand student veterans within the context of invisible disabilities and stigma.…”

Social Integration of Student Veterans: The Influence of Interactions with Faculty on Peer-Group Interactions

“…After-effects of deployment like physical health concerns (Elliott, 2014), feelings of isolation, and trouble acclimating to a campus (Griffin & Gilbert, 2015) can affect relationships on campus. Serious or unpleasant events during active duty may result in hardened personalities that do not mesh with the attitudes and values of peers (Jones, 2013;Vacchi et al, 2017). Support from faculty may help to mitigate some of the difficulties student veterans face with their undergraduate peers in higher education.…”

“…Unfortunately, this act of blending in only serves as a temporary fix and does not enhance social integration. Vacchi et al (2017) found that veterans felt more comfortable in the presence of other veterans, providing support and encouragement they were used to. Notwithstanding the differences in age, maturity level, and experience, the relationships with peers are crucial to earning a higher education degree (Gilardi & Guglielmetti, 2011).…”

“…Student veterans experience additional challenges that may affect their social integration like faculty perceptions of military personnel, institutional policies, finances, and mental or physical disabilities (Osborne, 2014). One major issue affecting student veteran social integration is the perception of having little in common with their undergraduate peers (DiRamio et al, 2008;Griffin & Gilbert, 2015), and many would prefer to associate with other veterans (Vacchi et al, 2017). Not only do veterans feel isolated from their peers, but also struggle with not being supported by faculty and staff who do not understand military culture (Osborne, 2014).…”

“…Previous research has looked at the transitional process of both traditional students (Tinto, 1975) and nontraditional students (Ellis, 2019;Gilardi & Guglielmetti, 2011;Markle, 2015). Additional studies have looked at the complex transition of student veterans (Blackwell-Starnes, 2018;DiRamio et al, 2008;Elliot, 2014;Griffin & Gilbert, 2015;Jones, 2013;Osborne, 2014;Vacchi et al, 2017;Wilson et al, 2013), while some research looked at women veterans and the transition to civilian and student (DiRamio & Jarvis, 2011; Heineman, 2017;Pellegrino & Hoggan, 2015), but no research has been done to concurrently trace the differences in men and women student veterans' transitions during their college careers.…”