Success of Two-Year Technical College Students in Manufacturing Programs: The Role of Interpersonal Interaction Motivations

• In Event: Roundtable Session 3
  In Roundtable Session: Enhancing Community College Student Success: Influence of Psychosocial Factors in Achievement, Persistence, and Degree Pursuit

Abstract

The role of interpersonal interaction with faculty, staff, and peers in students’ cognitive and psychosocial development has garnered substantial scholarly interest (Astin, 1999; Chickering & Reisse, 1993; Tinto, 1975). Regardless of where, with whom, and how formally interaction occurs, empirical studies have generally confirmed interaction’s positive link with learning and academic success in college (Jones, 2010; Kuh & Hu, 2001; Nora et al., 1996). However, these approaches obscure a deeper dimension underlying interaction behaviors: individuals’ motives, which arguably guide their behaviors and goals, and are critical to adults' learning experiences and outcomes (Merriam, 2001; Pintrich, 1999; Rubin et al., 1988).

Although two-year colleges enroll nearly half of the undergraduates in public postsecondary institutions in the U.S. in 2013 (National Center for Education Statistics, 2014) and serve a diverse student population who pursue equally diverse educational goals, their students are largely ignored in research on interactions and their associated motivations, with a few recent exceptions (Deil-Amen, 2011; Lundberg, 2014; Wang, 2013). Given that two-year college students tend to adopt a practical or utilitarian approach to their postsecondary experience (Cox, 2009), it is particularly pertinent to tackle interaction as a construct that is driven by underlying motives among these students.

Thus, our study explored the relationship between different types of interpersonal interaction and college success among students in manufacturing programs at two-year colleges. We center our research on students enrolled in manufacturing programs because these programs are significant in national and local economies (Carnevale et al., 2013). It is essential for two-year colleges to promote educational success of students in manufacturing programs. One promising practice is to engage students in purposeful interaction.

We analyzed the Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCSSE) data and administrative records of 242 manufacturing program students enrolled in four public two-year technical colleges in Wisconsin. All study participants matriculated in fall 2011 and completed the CCSSE instrument in spring 2012. The outcome variables were the cumulative GPA and the retention/graduation status as of spring 2013. A number of demographic background variables and academic distractors were controlled for. Multiple OLS regression and logistic regression analysis were applied to analyze the data.

Results indicate that interaction can be grouped into three categories that represent different underlying motivations: interaction as a response to curricular demand, interaction for broader educational purposes, and diversity-related interaction. Interaction for broader educational purposes was positively associated with GPA, but interaction as a response to curricular demands had a negative relationship with GPA. Diversity-related interaction moderated the relationship between college under-preparedness and retention/graduation.

This study provides a new framework regarding the nature of interaction and additional nuance to previous categorizations of interpersonal interactions. Those who enter two-year colleges to pursue a variety of educational and career goals tend to achieve better academic outcomes than those who only set their mind on completing coursework. Frequent interactions that solely serve as a response to curricular demands may be an academic alert to practitioners and instructors. Workshops or activities that highlight diversity-related interactions or future career plans are encouraged.

Authors

• Hsun-yu Chan, University of Wisconsin - Madison

• Xueli Wang, University of Wisconsin - Madison