Beating the odds: The role of resilience in nurturing community college student success

• In Event: Higher Education SIG Highlighted Session: Beyond individual grit: Social conditions, educational resilience, and Ubuntu

Abstract

More than half (53%) of all college students in the United States are enrolled at public, two-year institutions, commonly known as community colleges. For more than a century, these non-selective, open access institutions have served as entry points for millions of low-income and first-generation college students. While community colleges continue to provide access to a more diverse and historically marginalized student population than other postsecondary institutions, they also have lower persistence and completion rates. The psychological concept of “grit” has been suggested as a way of understanding what makes some students successful and others not. However, student success results from a constellation of academic, social, economic, and personal factors; grit alone may be a too limited concept to explaining individual student success. This research paper examines the usefulness of the psychological concept of “grit” to understanding community college student success based on semi-structured interviews with 40 individuals enrolled at one community college located in the American Southwest. Two visual elicitation techniques and a participatory ranking exercise were used to enhance the interviews. Findings, which were interpreted through the lens of the capability approach, suggest that family and institutional relationships are crucial to shaping students’ aspirations and commitment to long-term goals. Individual motivation, while important, is supported through the relationships students forge with their college and their broader community.

Author

• Amelia Marcetti Topper, Arizona State University