Promoting Equitable Engagement for Students of Color: Mixed-Methods Exploration of a Comprehensive Transition Program

• In Event: Taking Responsibility for Real College Support

Abstract

Students’ college engagement has long been linked to their learning, development, and success. However, institutions often lack the environments, programs, and practices to promote equitable engagement among students with diverse racialized identities. Comprehensive college transition programs (CCTP) provide multi-pronged approaches to improve engagement and success. Using longitudinal mixed methods data from a multi-campus, two-year CCTP, this study uses a sequential explanatory approach to examine students’ engagement in CCTP academic courses, and with program staff, instructors, and peers, finding that students across racialized identity groups report similar engagement. We then explore students’ explanations for these findings, with the compositional diversity of the CCTP, opportunities for interactions across differences, and the identity-conscious program design emerging as important mechanisms that promote equitable engagement.

Authors

• KC Culver, University of Southern California

• Rosemary J. Perez, University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

• Joseph Kitchen, University of Southern California

• Darnell G. Cole, University of Southern California