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"Scary but a Little Bit Motivating": Understanding the Lived Experiences of Academic Probation and Deciding to Participate in an Academic Intervention Program

Rivera, Marcos D.
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5995-3717
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu155500243951416

Abstract Details

2019, Doctor of Philosophy, Ohio State University, Educational Studies.
The purpose of this hermeneutic phenomenology study was to understand what it is like to be placed on academic probation and faced with the decision to participate in an academic intervention program. Retention is a continued issue in higher education with only 60% of four-year college students attaining a degree within six years (McFarland et al., 2018). Students leave institutions for multiple considerations including academic and social challenges. Students are often placed on academic probation before departing because of academic difficulties, the most ubiquitous form of academic intervention in higher education (Fletcher & Tokmouline, 2010; Moss & Yeaton, 2015). Paired interventions to help students academically recover from probation are most often voluntary. Academic difficulty and probation are potentially confusing, emotional, and complex situations in which students may find themselves deciding to participate in a paired intervention. However, the research on the lived experiences of students on academic probation is limited and even less is known about the experiences of students deciding to participate in intervention programs while on probation. Through a critical-interpretivist perspective and with consideration to expectancy-value theory (Eccles et al., 1983), this study sought to fill a gap in the current research by answering the research questions of (1) What is it like experiencing academic difficulty and being placed on academic probation?; (2) What is it like deciding to participate in an academic intervention program while on academic probation? Hermeneutic phenomenology (Moules et al., 2015; Vagle, 2018; van Manen, 1990, 2014) served as the primary methodology used in this study. Data consisted of 20 semi-structured interviews and were analyzed with suggested hermeneutic phenomenology methods (Moules, McCaffrey, Field, & Laing 2015; van Manen, 1990, 2014) Descriptive narratives and stacked quotes (Van Manen, 2003) provided examples and contextual factors that illuminate and frame what it is like to be placed on academic probation and faced with the decision to participate in an academic intervention program. Findings of this study include three main organizing concepts: (1) academic preparation and expectations; (2) isolation; and (3) regulatory compliance after being placed on probation. During academic difficulty and the time students were deciding to participate, their expectations of multiple aspects of college, overall challenges, and varied sentiments of difficulty further contributed to the complex context of their experiences. Research and practical implications, limitations of the study and recommendations for future research are also presented.
Marc Johnston-Guerrero (Committee Chair)
Susan R. Jones (Committee Member)
Matthew J. Mayhew (Committee Member)
224 p.
Higher Education; Higher Education Administration
Academic probation; probation interventions; student success; help-seeking; academic decisions

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Rivera, M. D. (2019). "Scary but a Little Bit Motivating": Understanding the Lived Experiences of Academic Probation and Deciding to Participate in an Academic Intervention Program [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu155500243951416

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Rivera, Marcos. "Scary but a Little Bit Motivating": Understanding the Lived Experiences of Academic Probation and Deciding to Participate in an Academic Intervention Program . 2019. Ohio State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu155500243951416.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Rivera, Marcos. ""Scary but a Little Bit Motivating": Understanding the Lived Experiences of Academic Probation and Deciding to Participate in an Academic Intervention Program ." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University, 2019. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu155500243951416

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

osu155500243951416
477
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This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.