Standing on the Outside Looking in: Under‐represented Students' Experiences in Advanced Degree Programs

Citation

Nevin, A.I. and McNeil, M.M. (2010), "Standing on the Outside Looking in: Under‐represented Students' Experiences in Advanced Degree Programs", Journal of Educational Administration, Vol. 48 No. 3, pp. 416-419. https://doi.org/10.1108/09578231011041099

In the book Standing on the Outside Looking in: Under‐represented Students’ Experiences in Advanced Degree Programs, the editors (and contributing authors of various chapters) embarked on their research journey with the expressed purpose of informing faculty, administrators, staff, and researchers who want to recruit, retain, and graduate students from under‐represented populations in advanced degree programs. This is an ambitious project, undertaken by a unique group of editors (comprised of professionals in higher education administration who are serving a variety of roles – full professor, a dean, a research analyst, an assistant professor). The editors are joined by a unique array of 22 other authors – eight doctoral candidates and 14 professionals at various career stages in higher education (chair of a department, assistant‐associate‐full professor).

The book adds an important dimension – the voices of under‐represented students in advanced degree programs – to the relatively meager literature on the academic experiences of these students. Using personal narratives and other forms of empirical research to provide a comprehensive account of the actual lived experiences of graduate students of color and their perception of the campus climate, the authors examine issues of access, retention, and transition. The book identifies and discusses factors that influence under‐represented students' decisions to pursue advanced‐degree programs and their choices of programs and institutions, and enable graduate students of color to persist so that colleges and universities can increase their persistence and matriculation. The ten chapters and summary address a host of issues: financial aid; the culture, mission and racial climate at doctoral granting institutions; the transitional challenges Science‐Technology‐Engineering‐Mathematics (STEM) undergraduates face on entering graduate programs; mentoring; the distinct concerns and challenges encountered by African American, Asian and Latina/o students in doctoral and professional programs; and the need to acknowledge and support the role that spirituality plays in their success. All chapters are richly sprinkled with data and explicit recommendations for faculty, administrators, and graduate students that will (p. 4) “protect and promote graduate students of color”.

The first four chapters anchor the book with detailed data (both quantitative and qualitative). The voices of ethnic/racially diverse graduate students (Asian Americans, Latinas, and African American male and female graduate students) are featured in Chapters 5‐10 where authors interpret their data through a variety of non‐traditional lenses: critical race theory, critical pedagogy, and grounded theory. Taken as a whole, the resulting balance between emic and etic perspectives helps readers to understand a complex array of factors including shifts in policy at national and state levels towards financial aid, cultural and linguistic competence of faculty to meet the unique needs of under‐represented populations, academic preparedness of the graduate students, and mentorships that match the commitment to social justice orientation of the majority of graduate students from under‐represented populations.

In the final chapter, Frank Tuitt (an EdD graduate of Harvard and an Assistant Professor and Director of Higher Education Programs at the University of Denver) reminds readers about the scope of the problem – in spite of increased enrollment of racially and ethnically diverse graduate students, 80 percent of all earned doctorates went to Whites in 2004. An unfortunate underlying institutional assumption that permeates higher education is that the “under‐representation of students of color is attributable to students' characteristics […] that the deficit approach assumes that institutions have no responsibility in contributing to persistent problems” (Tuitt, 2009, p. 206). To promote and achieve inclusive excellence, four dimensions must be addressed: access and equity (i.e. the compositional representation and success of students of color), campus climate (particularly a supportive psychological and behavioral climate, free of harassment, stereotyping), diversity in the curriculum (especially culturally sensitive pedagogy aimed at increasing the participation of students of color), and student learning and development (focusing on increasing all students' and faculty knowledge about diverse groups and cultures).

This book is especially important, as noted by Sulé (2009, p. 148), given “the need to understand the experiences of under‐represented graduate students during an era when diversity and affirmative action practices are under attack”. In fact, Gose (2009) asserts that in light of the current financial crises, not only do graduate students tend to limit their aspirations for higher education, diversity initiatives at universities and colleges often are scaled back. Equally important is the documentation (through studies reported by González et al.) of course content (Tuitt, 2009, p. 218) “that promotes ideologies and discourse that negatively portray the communities of students of color as deficient”. The good news is that this book describes pedagogies that can mitigate the marginalization, discrimination, racial microagrressions and stereotype threat that permeate predominantly White institutions. Classrooms grounded in cooperation, high expectations, fairness, and less reliance on competition can enhance the academic engagement of students of color (see especially Aronson and Patnoe, 1997). The importance of the supportive pedagogies reflected in this book is showcased by Kafele (2009, pp. 3‐4), an educational consultant, teacher, and principal who describes how professors connected to him as an individuals from under‐represented population and influenced his career path by pointing out he was well spoken, wrote in a way that connected to a variety of audiences, and that he led others in a way that was transformational.

Graduate students who are members other marginalized populations can also benefit from this book. In fact, the data reported in several chapters match what is happening on a national level with special education doctoral preparation where there exists a critical shortage (Smith et al., 2003). For example, among Black, Hispanic, and White doctoral students in education programs, Black doctoral students achieved the smallest percentage (31 percent) of research productivity (e.g. conference presentations, research, and publications) when compared to Asian or White doctoral students (Nettles and Millet, 2006). We believe that the research and recommendations described in this book have a lot to offer because faculty and administrators in higher education do not represent the diversity that exists in the USA, and nor do the doctoral students who will become future leaders at the university or district levels (Cochran‐Smith and Zeichner, 2005). For example, although full‐time minority faculty increased from 12.3 percent to 14.9 percent in the ten years between 1991 and 2001 (TIAA‐CREF Institute, 2005), the minority population in the USA increased at a higher rate. Programs to prepare doctoral students from under‐represented populations can make important contributions to preparing new members of the professoriate as well as future leadership personnel for K‐12 public schools. What can institutions of higher education do to recruit, retain, and graduate students from under‐represented populations? Key findings include:

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  Facilitate access by creating holistic baccalaureate summer experiences and graduate admission financial packages given the research that shows financial challenges are one of the greatest barriers to access to higher education for students from under‐represented populations.

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  Create an environment that introduces, promotes, and sustains interest in graduate school and research.

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  Assess the impact of perceived institutional and departmental diversity on admissions and recruiting efforts given that students from under‐represented populations appreciate having mentors from those under‐represented populations.

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  Clarify the impact of faculty socialization on students of color in comparison with their White peers (research collaborations, teaching assistantships, graduate assistantships, field placements, summer intern opportunities and so on (Howard‐Hamilton et al., 2009, pp. 19‐21).

After reading and critiquing this book, the reviewers gained a deep sense of satisfaction about the conclusions that complete the book. We believe that readers will be empowered with ideas for how administrators, faculty, and students themselves can remove the barriers that keep marginalized students standing on the outside looking in.