Engaging Low-income

students
Chapter 15
By Dean Martin & Savannah Matherly
Characteristics
Less likely to attend college

Less likely to persist (stay enrolled and graduate)

Less likely to earn a higher degree (this is true even

here at WCU according to 2015 NSSE data)

Only 12% of low SES students obtain their Bachelors

within 6 years of HS graduation, compared to 73% for
higher SES
Characteristics (cont.)
Typically choose lower cost and less
selective(prestigious) institutions

More than 55% attend public two-year colleges

Work more hours at jobs while in college, less

engaged on campus (WCU low SES students
typically work ~30 hours on and off campus per
week)

More dependent on financial aid

Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs (1943, 1954)
● Typically conceptualized as a pyramid, with
the most substantial and basic needs at the
bottom
○ Once basic needs are satisfied, an
individual will then pursue higher-order
needs
○ Progress from most physiological
needs, to safety and security needs, to
more social and psychological needs
○ At the very top is self-actualization
● For low-income students, engagement is a
higher-order need
Human capital Theory
● Assumes that students weigh the benefits
and costs of different alternative courses
of action and then select the option that
maximizes their utility
● Trading-off time spent in paid
employment versus time spent engaged in
college-related activities
● Raises questions about what low-income
students know about the benefits and
costs of allocating their finite time
Cultural Relevancy
Programs, services, activities should be accessible
and engaging to students from various
backgrounds, including family income levels

Non-relevant engagement creates additional

barriers for success and engagement

Things such as plays, sports, and other cultural

events, perpetuate class bias for low SES students
Post-structuralism
Low SES students face barriers which the
university should help address

Evaluate structures and cultures of the

institution

Institution structures have tended to favor

the elite and upper class students

Requires deconstruction and

reconstruction of the structures
Post- Structuralism (cont.)
3 Stages:

Revelation - Expose practices that privilege

one group over others

Deconstruction - Examine impact of current

structures, policies, practices on low SES
students

Reconstruction - providing ideas for

new/revised structures, policies, practices
Student Engagement Strategies
● General Recommendations for Improving
Engagement:
○ Ensure that Students’ Basic Financial Needs
are Met
○ Focus on Engagement in the Classroom
○ Encourage and Support Students Who Work
○ Create Culturally Relevant Engagement
Experiences
Student Engagement Strategies (COnt.)
● Improving Engagement in Educationally-Effective
Practices:
○ Enable Low-Income Students to Engage in
Academically Challenging Experiences
○ Enable Low-Income Students to Participate in
Active and Collaborative Learning Experiences
○ Provide a Range of Opportunities for Students to
Interact with Faculty
○ Enable Participation in Enriching Educational
Experiences
○ Provide a Supportive Campus Environment
Article Review
Low SES students often rely on education as their “ticket out of poverty”

This idea is often the only strong bond keeping them going forward and being
committed to succeed

When this idea is broken, student attrition rates for low SES increase

Ideas to address, support, and encourage students from low SES?

Activity
● Break up into 6 groups of 2
● Role playing time!!
● One of you will be a low-income student,
while the other will place the role as a
student affairs practitioner/administrator
● Read your role and then respond how you
think is best!
● How do you help the student in need??
● Discuss afterward!