Research to Practice: Social Support and Persistence

1. Research to Practice:Social Support and Persistence Indira Marie Bakshi Oregon EL/Civics Spring Meeting April 27, 2012

2. Definitions • Attendance • Number of times a students shows up for a class in a term or semester.

3. Definitions • Retention- • Keeping a student enrolled in a particular program throughout a semester or year. • Creates “drop outs” • Acts as a program statistic as proof of success • Incomplete measurement

4. Definitions • Persistence • “Adults staying in programs for as long as they can, engaging in self-directed study when they must drop out of their programs, and returning to programs as soon as the demands of their lives allow.” (Comings et.al.) • Not as easily measured • A more realistic view

5. Nature of the Adult ESL Classroom • Learners in Adult Immigrant ESL tend to come and go. Some factors contributing to this are: • Work obligations • Family obligations • Low level of elementary and secondary education in home country

6. Barriers • Transportation to class • Fear of failure • Lack of childcare • Travel back & forth to home country • Migrant employment • Unaccustomed to the school context-some may or may not have been in a classroom for over 30 years or more. • And the list goes on….

7. Why? • Research, teacher observations and common sense confirm the fact that students who attend class more often and persist show more gain in skill (i.e. learn English faster) Indalia Vasquez, enrolled in a Multilevel ESL at Lane Community College, attended 93% of classes Winter and Spring Terms 2007, gained a federal performance level and made significant improvement in writing.

8. Question? What are the factors that contribute to student persistence?

9. “Five conditions stand out as supportive of retention, namely expectation, advice, support, involvement, and learning.” Vincent Tinto, Syracuse University

10. Vincent Tinto, Syracuse University “Students are more likely to persist and graduate in settings that provide academic, social, and personal support”

11. NCSALL Research • Managing positive and negative forces • Self-efficacy • Setting goals • Making measurable progress

12. NCSALL Research • The strongest positive force mentioned by adult students was the support of people, particularly their families, friends, teacher, and fellow students, followed by self-efficacy and personal goals. • ALSO!!! • One experience that students should encounter to create a feeling of self efficacy is social persuasion.

13. Research on Social Support and Persistence • Women learning English as a second language persisted because of relationships and emotional reciprocity in the program and because of the ways in which learning supported their care-giving roles (Cuban, 2003). • Feeling respected by teachers and programs is an important persistence factor (Quigley & Uhland, 2000; Ziegler & Durant, 2001). • Social support and child care factors were the only statistically significant forces in a survey of 119 GED students (King, 2002). • Attendance improved when study groups were formed in in a Adult Literacy Center in Georgia (Pritza, 1998)

14. ORTESOL Action Research Grant • Daudt and Bakshi conducted a study with ORTESOL Action Research funds in 2007 to test the hypothesis that were were external social factors affecting student attendance. • Based on teacher observation and student reporting in class, we identified students as belonging to 3 types of social groups • Collected and analyzed attendance data for students belonging to and not belonging to social groups for three terms Fall 2006-Spring 2007. • Repeated process again the following year Fall 2007-Spring 2008.

15. Three Types of Social Groups 1) Family The Banales Family. Laura had and an average attendance of 94% Fall, Winter and Spring Terms 2007. Ana had an average of 79% Fall and Winter Terms. Joel had an average of 77% all three terms. Father Jose not shown also attended Fall term.

16. Three Types of Social Groups 2) Work Veronica Lara, Sofia Candelas and Maria Guadelupe Gonzalez all work at Western Shelter a Sewing factory located in Eugene, Oregon. All three had average attendance over all three terms of 70% or more and bring homework to each other when they are absent.

17. Three Types of Social Groups 3) Other (language, friendship, etc.) Indalia Vasquez and Imelda Naranjo (shown on the right) became friends in class and supported each other both in and outside of the classroom.

18. Membership by Group: 2006-2007

19. 2006-2007 results Average attendance for group members was greater than average attendance of non-group members.

20. 2007-2008 resultsInteresting!

21. Conclusion • Based on our observations and the data that we collected confirms our initial observation that external social factors were positively affecting student attendance in 2006-2007. • Data for 2007-2008 was not as conclusive.

22. Thank you!!

23. References • Bakshi, Indira and Diane Daudt. (2007) Effects of Social Groups and Attendance in Multilevel ESL Classroom. Unpublished Draft Submitted to ORTESOL Journal as required for Action Research Grant. Download at : http://daudtbakshiresearch.pbworks.com • Comings, J. P., Parrella, A., & Soricone, L. (1999). Persistence among adult basic education students in pre-GED classes. Cambridge, MA: National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy. Retrieved January 3, 2005 from http://gseweb.harvard.edu/~ncsall/research/report12.pdf (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 437 579) • Comings, J. P., Parrella, A., & Soricone, L. (2000) Helping Adults Persist: Four Supports.Focus on Basics, Vol. 4, Issue A, March 2000, pp. 1, 3-7 • Cuban, S. (2003). ‘So lucky to be like that, somebody care’: Two case studies of women learners and their persistence in a Hawai’i literacy program. Adult Basic Education, 13(1), 19-43. • King, C. (2002). Barriers affecting GED participation among recent high school dropouts. Adult Basic Education, 12(3), 145-156 • Millar, R., & So, J. (1998). Learning and talking together: Research investigating persistence and retention in adult Literacy programs. Winnipeg, Manitoba: Journeys Adult Education Program. Retrieved January 3, 2005 from http://www.nald.ca/fulltext/journeys/cohort.htm • Pritza, Michael. (1998) Getting into Groups. Focus on Basics, Vol. 2, Issue A, March 1998, pp. 20-22 • Quigley, B., & Uhland, R. L. (2000). Retaining adult learners in the first three critical weeks: A quasi-experimental model for use in ABE programs. Adult Basic Education, 10(2), 55-68. • Tinto, V. (1997) Classrooms as communities: exploring the educational character of student persistence. [electronic version]. Journal of Higher Education (68)6, • Tinto, V. 2006). Promoting student retention through classroom practice. Speech given at Lane Community College Fall, Eugene, Oregon Fall In-service. [electronic version]. Retrieved from www.lanecc.edu/inservice/fall06/documents/Tinto%20 • Ziegler, M., & Durant, C. (2001). Engagement: A necessary ingredient for participation in adult basic education. In R. O. Smith, J. M. Dirkx, P. L. Eddy, P. L. Farrell, & M. Polzin (Eds.), AERC 2001. Proceedings of the 42nd Annual Adult Education Research Conference, June 1-3, 2001. East Lansing: Michigan State University. Retrieved January 3, 2005 from http://www.edst.educ.ubc.ca/aerc/2001/2001ziegler.htm