The Undergraduate in the “New Urban University”: Recognizing the Role of Agency and its Correlates in the Student’s Academic Life Story

<p>According to the U.S. Department of Education (2016), only 36% of first time college students enrolled at broad-access institutions graduate within six years, compared to 60% at all universities. The vital role of academic agency is universally accepted; however, debate remains over a shared definition. The purpose of this study is to determine which combination of non-academic attributes generate, grow, and support academic agency for undergraduate students at a broad-access, minority-serving “New Urban University.” Three questions are examined:</p> <ol> <li>Which attributes define academic agency, and how do they relate to conceptually similar variables?</li> <li>Assuming academic agency exists along a continuum over time, is growth affected by age, pivotal life experiences, or both?</li> <li>What role can institutions of higher learning play in creating pivotal life experiences to foster growth of students’ academic agency?</li> </ol> <p>This research study utilizes a mixed-methods design divided into: Study 1, a quantitative examination, and Study 2, a qualitative methodology based on the life story method. In Study 1, a survey examining grit, self-efficacy, ethnic identity, leadership, fair academic opportunity, academic self-appraisal, and family support was administered to 63 undergraduate students. A new domain emerged for academic agency comprised of leadership, academic familiarity, and fair academic opportunity. All domains, except for ethnic identity, demonstrated significant increases in age, suggesting emergence of a continuum of growth for academic agency and other non-academic attributes. Study 2, using a qualitative design with 12 undergraduates, is guided by McAdams’ (2001) life story model of identity adapted for the context of education.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D. Doctor of Philosophy

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation - Public Access

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Community Psychology

Year dc:date.available

2017

Author dc:creator

• Galea, Karen

Contributors dc:contributor

• Bradley Olson

• academic agency
• undergraduate
• urban university
• life story
• growth continuum
• multi-ethnic identity
• self-efficacy
• Community-Based Research
• Community Psychology
• Educational Sociology
• Higher Education
• Race and Ethnicity

Repository record dc:identifier

https://digitalcommons.nl.edu/diss/292

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:digitalcommons.nl.edu:diss-1304