Kristina Neuhart The College of William and Mary EPPL 751: Sociology of Higher Education

Proposal Background  Through the Roy R. Charles Center, Monroe Scholars have access to a range of academic and social opportunities that are suited to their abilities and accomplishments. Scholars have access to resources such as faculty mentors and funding through summer research projects and have the opportunity to immerse themselves in the social life of other scholars by living in the honors program dormitory, Monroe Hall. Yet, academic records and counseling sessions at the Dean of Students office demonstrate that these specialized programs are not effective to all Monroe Scholars. The college currently has a number of scholars on academic warning and probation for the upcoming fall semester.  While programs for student scholars are meant to enhance their abilities, many students may find that the structural and cultural aspects of these programs are disengaged. Certain institutional resources may be available to scholars, but their effectiveness is not so encouraging when they are negatively affecting students’ cultural attitudes and adaptations. While there are many aspects of the Monroe Scholars program that sustain student achievement and postsecondary success, this research will offer an examination of program issues which contribute to failure among gifted students and suggest strategies for improvement. While research regarding this hypothesis is scarce, the following literature review will attempt to synthesize resources to demonstrate and support the theory.

Themes (from the action research umbrella) Theme 1: Student Disposition Expectations, motivations, value of activities Desire of engagement Theme 2: Precollege Experiences Type of school attended and resources available Social and academic activities Theme 3: Institutional Resources Costs and availability Faculty and staff support Current program effectiveness Subtheme 1: Environment and Society Expectations vary based on demographics of students and type of program Subtheme 2: Resources Available Prior college prep classes available or taken Subtheme 3: Expectations of Higher Education Held by constituencies such as government, parents, media, and special interest groups

Questions (from the action research umbrella)  How do students value academic honors programs and how do students use these programs to form social groups?  How is a student’s academic self-concept influenced by the academic levels of students in the same social group and how is this influence increasingly negative as the class average size increases?  How does the creation of social groups within an honors program create a sense of seclusion among the members from the rest of the campus and does the university unintentionally create a culture of segregation through these programs?

Preliminary Analysis  Structural While resources are available, they are not being implemented in the most effective ways ○ Faculty Mentors ○ Monroe Lunch Series  Cultural Honors participation enhances faculty-student relationships, but may isolate students from their peers outside of the honors program While it is important in honors programs, to create communities within their students, it is also essential that institutions encourage students to look beyond their academic group to form relationships for a means of individual academic comparison *Limitations: Research regarding this topic is scarce, therefore the literature review attempts to synthesize resources to demonstrate and support the theory. As the action plan is designed to focus on the Monroe Scholars at William and Mary, one limitation of the research would be the ability to take the findings to other institutions and make suggestions useful somewhere else. Not all honors programs are the same and the socialization process will differ depending on the campus culture.

Preliminary Analysis  University-created scholar programs are designed to have a wealth of benefits to student success through the creation of learning communities, faculty mentors, and academic assistance resources. With further development of the action research plan, I believe that results would show cultural and structural program issues that contribute to the academic failure of honors students. While these issues are unintentional, they are nonetheless important to address to make university- created honors programs as effective as possible.  The goal of these programs should be to design a socialization process into the culture of the student scholars that assists the students in finding the commonalities that they have with other students, while at the same time allowing the students to retain the characteristics of their cultural, economic, or linguistic diversity. By allowing students to simultaneously become members of different cultures when on campus, programs do not eliminate the importance of any one culture.

Methodologies (from the triangulation matrix) Overarching Question Data Source 1Data Source 2Data Source 3 How do students value honors programs and how do students use these programs to form social groups? Individual open ended interviews with honors students and program directors Survey sent out to honors program students Observation of honor student social groups during program activities How is a student’s self-concept influenced by the academic levels of students in the same social group and how is this influence increasingly negative as the class average ability increases? Survey sent out to honors program students to collect data on level of self- concept precollege versus college Individual interviews with honors students. Open ended using students in the same social group Academic records of honors students and records of Dean of Students office and Counseling Center visits from scholars How does the creation of social groups within an honors program create a sense of seclusion among the members from the rest of the campus and does the university unintentionally create a culture of segregation through these programs? Survey sent out to honor and non honors students Individual interviews with students and administration (including residence life and student affairs) and group interview sessions with honors and non honors students. Sources from previous studies on how theme housing and program specific activities unintentionally allow segregation

References Astin, A. (1999). Student Involvement: A Developmental Theory for Higher Education. Journal of College Student Development, 40 (5), Cross, P. (1998). Why Learning Communities? Why Now? About Campus, July-August 1998, Gonzalez, J. (2011). Gains for Students in Learning Communities Do Not Persist, Researchers Say, The Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved from Hammond, D. (2007). Motivational Aspects of Giftedness. The Roeper Review, 29 (3), Hill, M. (1996). Do Theme Dorms Sanction Self-Segregation? Christian Science Monitor, 12. Kuh, G. (2008). Why Integration and Engagement are Essential to Effective Educational Practice in the Twenty-first Century. Association Colleges & Universities: Peer Review, Fall 2008, Marsh, H. (2003). Big-Fish-Little-Pond Effect on Academic Self-Concept: A cross-cultural test of the negative effects of academically selective schools. American Psychologist, 58 (5), National Association for Gifted Children. (2008). Frequently Asked Questions. Retrieved from Rinn, A. (2004). Academic and Social Effects of Living in Honors Residence Halls. Journal of the National Collegiate Honors Council, Fall/Winter, Seaton, M. (2009). Big-Fish-Little-Pond Effect: Generalizability and Moderation – Two Sides of the Same Coin. American Educational Research Journal, The College of William and Mary. (2011). Cool Facts. Retrieved from

Kristina Neuhart My name is Kristina Neuhart and I am a first-year student in the M.Ed. Program in Educational Leadership. I currently work at William and Mary as a public relations coordinator for the Roy R. Charles Center and intern at the Dean of Students office. My focus currently lies in undergraduate research and honors programs, but I have an interest in institutional development and donor relations as well.