Retention, Persistence, and Writing Programs

Ruecker, Todd; Shepherd, Dawn; Estrem, Heidi; Brunk-Chavez, Beth L

doi:10.7330/9781607326021

Cited by 4 publications

(2 citation statements)

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“…Indeed, of all the students who drop out of university in Latin America and the Caribbean, 65% do so during the first 2 years in the system (Fiszbein & Stanton, 2018). However, research shows that low income, underrepresented students are at higher risk, as they tend to be affected by motivational problems, stigmatization, and low expectations (Ruecker et al, 2017).…”

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confidence: 99%

“…Giving the structuring character of academic writing as the only legitimate practice, agency in writing emerges through dynamics of resistance, negotiation of identity and meanings, and validation of students’ stance and positioning in writing (Ávila Reyes et al, 2020; Zavala, 2011). Student agency also plays a more general role in student persistence (Ruecker et al, 2017) and emerges as an alternative framing to deficit thinking.…”

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confidence: 99%

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“My abilities were pretty mediocre”: Challenging deficit discourses in expanding higher education systems.

Reyes¹,

Navarro²,

Ladino³

2023

Journal of Diversity in Higher Education

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Perceiving new student populations as underprepared is a common response to the expansion of university systems and the diversification of the student body. Latin America, as other developing regions, has increased its university enrolment of underrepresented, historically excluded students, through a variety of policies. This study analyzes the experiences of the first cohort of a national inclusive admissions program in Chile. Drawing from 45 in-depth interviews, it aims to understand how students perceive themselves and the obstacles they face, using academic literacy as a lens. Results show a recurring reproduction of dominant deficit discourses by the students, as they feel at a disadvantage and blame their previous education; additionally, negative self-perceptions are more frequent in students from the most competitive programs. Nevertheless, these perceptions contrast with student agency, resilience, and self-sponsored strategies that emerged in the interviews as resources for making sense of university, an unforeseen environment for the participants and their families. Furthermore, interviews reveal that these students face additional challenges pertaining to adverse material conditions that shape their university experience, such as commuting extremely long distances or working for a living. Overall, this research depicts a complex picture of intertwined factors that challenges the deficit framework and should be considered in developing equitable admissions policies. Both the structural disadvantages and the varied forms of agency found in this study offer insights for policy implementation and student support mechanisms, moving them away from the simple idea of individual underpreparedness toward institutionalized inclusive practices in expanding higher education systems.

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confidence: 99%

“My abilities were pretty mediocre”: Challenging deficit discourses in expanding higher education systems.

Reyes¹,

Navarro²,

Ladino³

2023

Journal of Diversity in Higher Education

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Literacy histories and talk around texts

Reyes

2021

Research Methods in Applied Linguistics

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This chapter discusses the value of emic research methods and techniques for studying the academic writing of underrepresented students. In a global context of growing university enrolment, academic writing is seen as one of the main challenges that historically underrepresented students face when admitted to higher education. Studying academic writing in this context calls for a critical stance on language and an emic perspective on research to counteract deficit models that prevail in this kind of research. An ethnographic approach responds to the ontologies and epistemologies needed for this endeavour. Drawing on two research projects, this chapter exemplifies the power of tools such as literacy histories and talk around texts to unveil multiple forms of agency enacted by student writers.

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Learner experience in artificial intelligence-scaffolded argumentation

Kim

Heidari

2022

Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education

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Retention, Persistence, and Writing Programs

Cited by 4 publications

References 50 publications

“My abilities were pretty mediocre”: Challenging deficit discourses in expanding higher education systems.

“My abilities were pretty mediocre”: Challenging deficit discourses in expanding higher education systems.

Literacy histories and talk around texts

Learner experience in artificial intelligence-scaffolded argumentation

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