A Mixed-Methods Pilot Study of the Effects of Social Reconstruction Curricula for Academic Motivation with At-Risk First-Year College Students
[Thesis]
Jones, Ericka
Ragaisis, DeeAnn
Concordia University Texas
2019
196
Ed.D.
Concordia University Texas
2019
This mixed-methods pilot study investigated the self-reported effects on academic motivation with at-risk first-year college students after implementing a Social Reconstruction Curricula (SRC) in the first semester of college. Students were considered at risk by socioeconomic status and/or by deficient test scores as indicated by benchmarks on the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, and/or ACT and SAT scores. Two cohorts of first-year students received social justice lessons based in a specific instructional sequence during a 10-week period in their first year seminar classes. The SRC lessons addressed topics related to education, health, and criminal justice and all topics were relevant to the students' lived experiences. Qualitative methods included a questionnaire, interviews, and classroom observations; while quantitative methods included the use of the College Student Inventory (CSI) survey to measure academic motivational factors. The study's primary question was developed to determine whether lessons in SRC would motivate students who were considered to be at risk academically. While quantitative results were not statistically significant, qualitative results were clearly positive in terms of students' perceptions of the value of SRC and indicated that the students were intrinsically motivated after exposure to SRC lessons. This pilot study showed that students who were exposed to social justice lessons had increased awareness of their worldviews of the given topics, were more outspoken about disparities found in particular communities, and wanted to do better in college after having been exposed to the curriculum.