Challenging Cultures? Student Conceptions of 'Belonging' and 'Isolation'

Andrew Simmons published his article for The Atlantic, “The Danger of Telling Poor Kids that College is the Key to Social Mobility” on January 16, 2014, which raises his concerns that higher education is only being promoted as an opportunity to increase their economic status, when it should be an opportunity to experience an education (Simmons). Through the use of students such as Isabella, Simmons disagrees with the way students now look at higher education and blames the educators through the students’ lives for this view. Instead, Simmons views education as an intellectual opportunity rather than a way to elevate ones economic class which is all people see when they see “higher education.” He believes that education, ambition and work ethic is how you have a satisfying life, not with how much you make. He makes the point that when economics becomes the main goal of education it’s all children begin to think about and they might not pursue something that they are truly passionate about or what they want to learn about, which then does not create an intellectually awakening experience (Simmons).

With today’s changing world and the economy the way it is, it is not uncommon for people of all ages to enter the college setting. In fact, two-thirds of students entering the college setting are classified non-traditional (Brown, 2007). Bill (2003) found that there was an 11% increase of non-traditional student enrollment from 1991-1998 displaying 35% in 91 and 46% in 1998. These numbers have since increased according to Jacobson & Harris (2008) showing that half to 75% of undergraduates consist of the non-traditional student sitting the reasons for reentering the college setting to be economic. What exactly defines a non-traditional student and what services may they need in comparison to the traditional student.

When an individual’s sense of identity is corrupted through prejudicial attitudes they are left exposed and vulnerable allowing a sense of isolation and displacement in society. An individual’s ability to promote change within is largely influenced by the hardships they experience in their struggle to conform and the connectedness of identity that stems from acceptance. Tara June Winch’s novel Swallow the air, adapts the core concept that the perceptions and ideas of belonging are shaped within personal, cultural, historical and social contexts defining who we are resulting in a true understanding and

Higher education has a vast history; beginning in the early colonial period and spanning ten generations. With its wide range of history, aspects of higher education have changed as the ideals and reforms of society adjusted. Albeit, the missions and purposes of college have remained the same. In this paper, I will clarify the three main missions and purposes of higher education. Then, I will shift the focus of the paper to the area I would like to pursue in higher education and how it reflects those purposes.

Non-traditional students of color are often faced with obstacles that make life that much more challenging as compared to traditional students. Rendon (1994) labeled “non traditional students as those that attend affordable community colleges and minority serving institutions, and traditional students are those whose families have a history of college attendance, come from middle and upper class families, and typically feel confident about attending college”

As I went through the research process for this paper I conducted many interviews with former classmates who are now either attending a four-year university or a local community college. The original intent was to find out their reasons for attending the institution they chose to attend. As I accumulated information I began to see a glaring trend in the relationship between the social group the individual was a member of and the college they ended up attending. This then drove me to further examine the influencing factors in these students’ social lives, in a hope of identifying the degree to which they are influenced by each other. Thus, the first part of the paper explores

A non-traditional student is defined as a student that has one or more of the following qualities: delayed enrollment after high school, full-time employment, part-time college attendance, financial independence, and/or does not have a high school diploma (Cox 7). The National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES) estimated in a 1999 report that almost 75 percent of all undergraduates possessed one or more nontraditional characteristics. However, according to the 2012 studies of research studies in higher education, just 17 percent of college students are considered traditional (Harpe and Kaniuka 250). With the overwhelming amount of non-traditional undergraduates in America comes three major challenges: institutional, situational, and dispositional.

The term “non-traditional” has been coined to describe and categorize students from non-traditional backgrounds. Non-traditional student diversity may include “age, color, ethnicity, gender, national origin, physical, mental and emotional ability, race, religion, language, sexual orientation and socio-economic status” (Taylor and House 46). From the age perspective, non-traditional students exceed the normal age range of college students. The normal age range for students attending higher education institutions is 18-24 years of age. “The rise of non-traditional-age students – that is, students who are either coming to college or retuning to it” has been increasing for the past several decades (Lang 188).

Rhoades, G. (2014). The Higher Education We Choose, Collectively: Reembodying and Repoliticizing Choice. Journal Of Higher Education, 85(6), 917-930.

The essay, "Should Undergraduates Specialize?" was written by Patrick N. Allitt and published in Reading For Writers in 2013 discussing the ability for students having the right to choose from the American education system versus the British education system. Mr. Allitt reviews various details regarding both college systems while including entrance processes, costs, and mindset about educated populists. Furthermore, the author examines the criteria for the entrance of the two systems; specifically stating that British university held their own entrance exams, interviewed students, and chose the best interviewees while the American university chose between those who held high academic records as well as extracurricular participation.

Every university campus tries to foster a sense of community among its inhabitants. Whether it is through official colors or a mascot label, the hope is to encourage “school pride.” But is there a sense of pride and identity among students? College education is no longer cheap nowadays and students are probably under a lot of stress due to intense work load. Thus, I expect a lot of negativity among university students as a researcher. I regard this research to be very much relevant and important. This is because if a university fails at fostering school pride and loyalty, this may lead to unhappy alumni. Unhappy alumni can be a real problem if my high school is any indication, where almost everyone considers UCR (University of California, Riverside) to be a “joke.” This research paper will deal with “Anteaters,” the inhabitants of University of California, Irvine. The research will consist of four areas of inquiry and they are reasons for choosing to attend UCI, thoughts regarding the campus as a whole, role of parents, and possible existence of school pride. Ultimately, I want to know if Anteaters identify positively with their campus of choice based on those areas of inquiry.

On the one hand, I feel this sense of belonging to my profession, to the field of higher education management, to this as the field of investigation in my research, but also to the English culture and language. On the other hand, the sense of non-belonging seems more often associated with my country, and overall with my native culture and also with the struggle in understanding the native context of higher education. However, this sense of non-belonging to the HE national context may even be the result of the lack of research into the sector nationally, this made worse

In today 's world where the population, especially of the United States, is growing gloriously diverse, institutions of higher education must also reflect this aspect in their student body. The purpose of colleges and universities is to provide students with the education and experience they need to succeed after graduating as well as expand their thoughts and perspectives. Thus, they must create and maintain a similar environment in which students will live and work in the future. Although diversity has been emphasized as a priority for many schools, socioeconomic diversity is often disregarded. However, socioeconomic diversity plays an important role in developing the perspectives and minds of students. Thus, it is essential for the admission offices, especially of prestigious universities like the University of Pennsylvania, to recruit and admit more economically disadvantaged students as well as for the schools to meet the needs of and maintain those students.

First, I must said that my college represents me and it is a degree of social activism and how well I respect my peers and others in the campus community because Education is a basic right for all and not just for the priviledged ones. Therefore, to my sense of reasoning about my purpose of going to college is to acquire skills and knowledge, gaining access to core components in order to foster my critical thinking, communication skills, and commitment to lifelong learning. According to the Unversity of the people, it is of their believes that access to higher education is a key ingredient in the promotion of world peace and global economic development. (P. 13). The Uopeople sees and views higher education as a basic right, and believes that

A student who was studying at a University in China had a annoying problem that many other college students have had to deal with. He had a roommate who was always stealing his food. The student stated that he would buy and cook food, and his roommate would always eat it. He did not even ask if he could eat the food. One day, the student got fed up with it and decided he was going to get his roommate back.