Literature Review #4

Article Title: FACTORS RELATED TO PERCEIVED STATUS IN THE CAMPUS COMMUNITY FOR FIRST GENERATIONSTUDENTS AT AN HBCU


Authors: Buffie Longmire-Avital; Cherrel Miller-Dyce

Citation:


Longmire-Avital, Buffie, and CHERREL MILLER-DYCE. "Factors Related To Perceived Status In The Campus Community For First Generation Students At An Hbcu." College Student Journal 49.3 (2015): 375-386. Academic Search Premier.

This article was interesting in such a way that it only analyzed FGS at a Historically Black College/University (HBCU). After going more in depth, I noticed that this article can help me, but not as much as others that I have found. The reason being is that it focus's too much on the comparison of a HBCU versus a predominately white institution (PWI). While there are somethings that can use from the study, many things are comparing it to a PWI.

A big focus in the study was the pricing of a HBCU vs a PWI. As stated by Longmire-Avital and Miller-Dyce, "The maintenance of an economic preference action plan in higher education admissions criteria for selecting students will continue to contribute to the creation of a student population that truly reflects the socioeconomic diversity within all racial groups in America" (384). This can go back to the prior topics of privatization. Because the price of an education is constantly rising, HBCU must also raise the prices in order to be able to provide the staff with a competitive pay. It seems that regardless of foundations, pricing seems to be an issue everywhere, and this can be overwhelming for FGS money tends to be an issue.

Many schools now preach an idea that there is no discrimination on their campuses, and that all students feel at home while attending the schools. The idea of feeling at home can be easily taken away when there is a split among students (FGS vs non-FGS). Longmire-Avital and Miller Dyce state that, "Overall there was a relationship between self-esteem dimensions and perceived community status for both groups[FGS, non-FGS]; however the specific dimensions differed depending on whether or not it was an FGS or a non-FGS" (381). It seems that students tend to have different views of themselves when coming from different backgrounds, when in reality they should all see themselves as students. Yes its true that the means that some had to go through to get to a institution was different, but at the end of the day, graduation is the common goal.

Both authors come from Elon university. Longmire-Avital is a psychology professor, while Miller-Dyce is a social justice advocate. Both seem very passionate about uplifting marginalized communities. Both have Ph.D's.