UUnniivveerrssiittyy ooff TTeennnneesssseeee,, KKnnooxxvviillllee TTRRAACCEE:: TTeennnneesssseeee RReesseeaarrcchh aanndd CCrreeaattiivvee EExxcchhaannggee Masters Theses Graduate School 12-2012 TThhee AAcccciiddeennttaall CCoolllleeggee SSttuuddeenntt Phyliss Dubinsky Shey [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_gradthes Part of the Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education Commons, and the Other Education Commons RReeccoommmmeennddeedd CCiittaattiioonn Shey, Phyliss Dubinsky, "The Accidental College Student. " Master's Thesis, University of Tennessee, 2012. https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_gradthes/1406 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in Masters Theses by an authorized administrator of TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. For more information, please contact [email protected]. To the Graduate Council: I am submitting herewith a thesis written by Phyliss Dubinsky Shey entitled "The Accidental College Student." I have examined the final electronic copy of this thesis for form and content and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science, with a major in Education. Barbara Thayer-Bacon, Major Professor We have read this thesis and recommend its acceptance: Robert Kronick, Allison Anders Accepted for the Council: Carolyn R. Hodges Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School (Original signatures are on file with official student records.) The Accidental College Student A Thesis Presented for the Master of Science Degree The University of Tennessee, Knoxville Phyliss Dubinsky Shey December 2012 ii Copyright © 2012 by Phyliss Dubinsky Shey All rights reserved. iii Dedication I dedicate this thesis to the best college roommate and friend anyone could hope for, Gail Spalding. Gail befriended a depressed and lonely girl who was floundering amid family drama and academic ambivalence and taught her how to study, manage her time, and most importantly, think critically. Gail was also really good at playing pool, swaggering into honky-tonks and biker bars, and dancing in gay bars. She was a good influence on me because she taught me how to approach and accept other people for who they are. I still miss her even though she has been gone more than twenty years. I think of her on her birthday, July 11, each year. My children have been supportive of me on my educational journey from the very beginning of this endeavor to earn my Bachelor’s and then my Master’s degree. We began this long journey together when Lauren was a freshman and Ben was in high school. I dedicate this thesis to them. They know how much I love them. I also wish to dedicate this thesis to the other women in my life, both past and present. My grandmothers Selma and Rose, may their memories be a blessing. Both provided that most needed ingredient in any young person’s life, unconditional love. My aunts Adele and Charlotte, may their memories also be a blessing, were both supportive of my second career in college. I wish they were still here to share this with me. My aunts Shirley and Elaine have been cheering me on for years. I’m so glad they are a part of my life. To my girlfriends, Mimi, Michelle, Cindy, and Kathy, thanks for understanding many, many “I can’t” excuses over the years. iv My father, Sid, has come a long way since I was in high school and he didn’t think it was necessary for a girl to earn a degree. Since beginning the Master’s program, without fail, each phone conversation begins with a question about classes or writing. He is so proud of me, and I am so proud of him. I dedicate this thesis to you and to Ann. And finally, I dedicate this thesis to my mother, Janice. I am truly blessed to have such a strong role model as my mother. Mom never kow-towed to societal norms when I was growing up if she believed they were wrong. She fought long and hard to ensure my sister and I received the kind of education she felt we deserved. I am so grateful that she is here with me. v Acknowledgements This thesis would not be complete without the encouragement and guidance of three professors, Allison Anders, Bob Kronick, Barb Thayer-Bacon, and one graduate teaching assistant, Katharine Sprecher. I can remember my first class with Dr. Barb, Contemporary Philosophy of Education. I was so lost, and Dr. Barb patiently drew out my inner philosopher until I was able to critique articles and write a cohesive response. Many courses later, I look back and realize how far I have come in my critical thinking about education in our schools. Thank you, Dr. Barb. I’ve known Bob for years outside academia. It was a real pleasure to experience one of his classes early in my graduate school career. I was thinking of exploring the high school to college experience for a paper and he responded with, “Sounds like a dissertation topic to me.” I about fell on the floor! At that beginning stage of my education, I wasn’t seeing any light at the end of the tunnel and Bob helped me to do that. Thank you, Bob, for all of your encouragement. Katharine’s class on Teachers, Schools, and Society in the summer of 2009 was the genesis of my thesis; the beginning of my thinking about Odessa’s schooling. And this was when I really began to critique the state of education in the United States. Thank you, Katharine, for being a wonderful teacher. Allison has been cheering me on and guiding me for so long I’m sure she thinks this is the never-ending thesis. Thank you for being my teacher and my friend. vi Abstract This narrative study began as a retrospective of an in-depth interview study with a young woman who navigated the move from a large, suburban school system in the mid- Atlantic region before the fifth grade to a small, isolated rural school in Southern Appalachia in the 1990s. She graduated from the only high school serving the county in which she lived. Over the course of two formal interviews, hundreds of informal conversations for more than ten years, and particularly through writing this analysis (Goodall, 2000), I realized that even though there were vast differences between our ages, cultural backgrounds, and current lives, we walked in tandem through similar experiences along the convoluted path to college; even if at different times and locations. The purpose of this thesis is to represent both my production of her story and mine in order to share the experiences of two female first-generation non-traditional college students (page 71). vii Table of Contents Chapter 1 Introduction: Odessa, Big Southern, and Me ..................................................... 1 Odessa and Me ................................................................................................................ 1 Both of Our Stories: Working and Studying at Big Southern ........................................ 2 Big Southern and Me: ..................................................................................................... 4 Thesis Road Map ............................................................................................................ 7 Chapter 2 Method .............................................................................................................. 9 Narrative Inquiry ............................................................................................................. 9 Data Sources and Analysis............................................................................................ 12 Visual Ethnography ...................................................................................................... 14 Promises to Odessa ....................................................................................................... 17 Chapter 3 Odessa’s story ................................................................................................. 18 Introducing Odessa ....................................................................................................... 18 Odessa’s Family Background ....................................................................................... 19 Introducing Kyleton: Isolation at the Top of the Ridge ................................................ 20 A Move from Big Atlantic to Kyleton .......................................................................... 24 “I Felt a Little Cheated” ............................................................................................ 24 Partial Closure to Odessa’s Story ................................................................................. 57 Chapter 4 My Story .......................................................................................................... 61 Introduction: Who am I and Where do I Come From? ................................................. 61 My Family Background ................................................................................................ 65 Introducing The Wonder Bread Years: Growing up in Suburban County ................... 67 The High School and College Years ............................................................................. 70 Taking a Break from College ........................................................................................ 74 Going Back to School ................................................................................................... 75 Becoming a Graduate Student ...................................................................................... 75 Partial Closure of My Story .......................................................................................... 77 Chapter 5 ........................................................................................................................... 78 Reflections: Who Do I See in the Mirror? ........................................................................ 78 Differences: Odessa vs. Me .......................................................................................... 79 Educational Differences ............................................................................................ 79 Educational Enrichment ............................................................................................ 80 Family Differences.................................................................................................... 80 Generational Differences and College Aspiration Differences ................................ 81 Place Differences ...................................................................................................... 82 Cultural Differences .................................................................................................. 83 Socio-Economic Status ............................................................................................. 84 Similarities: Odessa and Me ......................................................................................... 85 Outsiders ................................................................................................................... 85 Plans After High School ........................................................................................... 87 First-Generation and Part-Time College Students .................................................... 88 Determination and Persistence .................................................................................. 88 Concluding Thoughts on Access and Retention ............................................................... 89 viii Access: Can You Go to College if You Can’t Get to College? ................................ 89 College Retention and College Completion ............................................................. 91 Works Cited ...................................................................................................................... 93 Appendix ........................................................................................................................... 95 Vita .................................................................................................................................... 99