Can They Always Transfer to a Four-Year College Later? Examining U.S.-High-School-Educated English Learners' Community College Transfer Pathway

• In Event: Community Colleges and English Learners: Perspectives on Transfer, Structure, and Equity

Abstract

Just like their native-speaking peers, many high school ELs aspire to earn a bachelor’s degree. However, while almost half of native-speaking students enroll in four-year colleges upon high school graduation, only 19% of ELs do so (Kanno & Cromley, 2015). ELs are often encouraged to attend community colleges with an assurance that they can always transfer to a four-year college later (Kanno, 2018; Kanno & Cromley, 2015, 2016). Unfortunately, this future transfer assurance is not backed up by corresponding empirical evidence (Kanno & Cromley, 2016), especially given that the overall four-year-college transfer rates at community colleges are low (Jenkins & Fink, 2015). Since we know very little about ELs’ experiences at community colleges in general (Núñez et al., 2016; Oropeza et al., 2010), and even less about how they navigate the process of transferring to a four-year college, this study examined the transfer planning and educational trajectories of baccalaureate-aspiring EL-USHS once they enrolled in community colleges.
We draw from two complementary theories: Iloh’s model of college-going decisions and trajectories (2018, 2019, & 2020) and Bourdieu’s (1977) notion of linguistic capital. Iloh’s model provides a useful lens through which to examine the impact of dimensions of information, opportunity, and time on students’ progress along their transfer paths, while Bourdieu’s conceptualization of linguistic capital can shed light on how being an EL may further complicate these three dimensions and impact ELs’ four-year-college transfer.
Adopting a qualitative multiple-case approach (Yin, 2014) and a staggered longitudinal design (Park & Schallert, 2019), we purposefully chose nine EL-USHS who were at different points along their transfer paths at a medium-sized, suburban community college in Massachusetts, and we followed them longitudinally over 13 months. Data sources included 17 in-depth interviews with students, 46 school observations, 200 pages of bi-weekly check-in emails/messages with students, and relevant documents (e.g., students’ high school and community college transcripts). We used Saladaña’s (2013) coding manual to analyze data.
We found that EL-USHS’ transfer was far from assured. Only one of the nine participants persisted through to accomplish his original transfer plan; the others changed their trajectories downwards: Five students lagged behind their envisioned progress along their transfer paths, two reset their entire transfer pathways, and one stopped out. Students’ late arrival in U.S. high schools, limited academic preparation in high school, requirements to take ESL and math remedial courses upon entering community college, delayed access to their first major-specific course, and a lack of college knowledge are among the barriers to their transfer we identified. Challenges associated with ELs’ transfer found in this study suggests that when high school educators recommend ELs attend a community college and give an overly optimistic picture of students’ transfer prospects, it does a disservice to ELs. Our analysis of what barriers thwarted ELs’ transfer process also identifies what kind of academic preparation and college planning need to be in place in high school and what support needs to be provided at community colleges in order to make ELs’ transfer a reality.

Authors

• Kuang Li, Boston University

• Yasuko Kanno, Boston University