School Advisory Programs and Student Transition Theories

Introduction

As fresh student groups enroll in education, constant evolution in student affairs systems is needed to meet students' unique requirements. Student affairs practitioners must make student transitions easier through adoption of programs and policies that aid transition. Students face challenges when moving between educational levels. Recent literature has focused greatly on this topic, as transition is apparently related to "mental health crises" among students (Eisner, 2011). Students unable to cope with such transitions find it hard to complete their degrees or diplomas and achieve the educational requirements necessary for civic and economic security (Bonanni, 2015, pp. 1–2; Conley, Kirsch, Dickson, & Bryant, 2014; Mattanah, Ayers, Brand, & Brooks, 2010; Eisner, 2011). Generally, educational institutions' environment, culture, expectations, and structure differ across the nation, but implementation of transition initiatives in schools can promote student success. College and high school leaders can collaborate to aid student success. Systems and programs have been developed by educators to assist students with transitions from middle school to high school and from high school to college.

Numerous school advisory initiatives have been introduced across America to aid students with transition. McClure, Jones, and Yonezawa (2010), however, have described typical program-related issues. Researchers have highlighted, in particular, many reasons for teacher resistance to advisory initiatives and for their eventual failure. They have revealed that some administrators may show disinterest; a majority of teachers lack adequate professional development or formal preparation to serve as advisors; and teachers have little time to make advisory plans, preferring to devote their time to lesson preparation (Tocci, Hochman, & Allen, 2005). Other challenges to program success include: preparing teachers for the advisor role; creating time blocks for advisories; balancing teacher workload; describing and communicating the advisory program to parents; cultivating parent, student, and teacher input; and constructing program models on the basis of scholarly reports and research (Brown & Anafara, 2001; Johnson, 2009). This paper discusses transition-related issues, reviews related literature, and provides recommendations.

Literature Review: Transitional Theories and School Advisory Programs

School advisors benefit from transitional theories in several ways. For example, Myrick (1990) observed three guidance approaches: (a) a prevention approach, whose basis is providing high-risk groups of students with special services; (b) a developmental approach, whose basis is individual needs as a response to cognitive development and stages of growth; and (c) a crisis approach, in which advisors deal with problems as they surface. The developmental strategy must be adopted to formulate advisory programs. Using this approach, teachers meet needs that emerge as students grow and progress (cited in Ornum, 2014, p. 2).

Among numerous relevant transitional theories, the Role Acquisition Model is most applicable to the area of higher education. College provides students several opportunities to acquire strategies for successfully navigating the dynamic role acquisition process. Nardi and Thornton's model, which comprises four steps — anticipatory socialization, informal role expectation acquisition, formal role expectation acquisition, and personal role expectation development — can ease transition as well. Magolda's self-authorship theory is also applicable for comprehending role acquisition. The author studied developmental tasks of individuals in their twenties, concentrating on ascertaining one's way across life and value exploration. She delineated four phases in defining the self between the external and internal: formula adherence, crossroads, authoring one's own life, and building one's internal foundation. Self-authorship and role acquisition theories may be applied to transition and career counseling in colleges and universities (Kraus, 2012, pp. 15–17).

Similarly, the socialization theory presented by Twale, Stein, and Weidman builds on Nardi and Thornton's model. It proposes a four-step professional and graduate student socialization theory: anticipatory, personal, formal, and informal. At each step, students integrate further into college culture, assuming increasing responsibility through faculty involvement, research, and mentoring other graduate students. The theorists address key socialization aspects linked to each phase. Beatrice Neugarten's work also helps inform transition-related assistance. She scrutinizes the significance of age and how age constitutes a key societal organizational dimension. People whose actions and behaviors do not conform to societal expectations and norms are regarded as "off-time," whereas conformists are "on-time" (Kraus, 2012, pp. 17–21).

Each of the aforementioned examples portrays practical models and theories applicable to student transition experiences, including very crucial and sensitive transitions to the post-education phase, often overlooked by higher education advisors. These works indicate that student transition represents a process, and that everyone must prepare for future transitions (Kraus, 2012, p. 25).

Issues in Applying Transitional Theories

While the aforementioned models are relevant to student transition, they do not completely apply to the subject of interest. Nardi and Thornton's theory also eases transition to the career phase of life. Students can benefit from reflecting on their new roles and recognizing that, though preparation is essential, it will not necessarily further transition or role acquisition. Likewise, self-authorship theory explains young adult experiences (ages 20–40) and is therefore suitable for understanding students about to move out of university or college, or non-traditional students who choose to switch career or educational paths (Kraus, 2012, pp. 15–17).

In the application of the socialization model, Twale, Stein, and Weidman's dynamics — namely, the effects of diversity, technology access, international students' experiences, and cultural impacts on professionalization, ethics, and professionalism — must be considered during critical thinking about socialization. These factors may differ and lead to conflict between student groups, thereby obstructing transition. Likewise, Neugarten's model applies aptly to non-traditional students, since where most higher education students traverse similar paths to graduation, Neugarten's theory carries unique implications for student parents, adult college-goers, and individuals with a disrupted high school-to-college path — for example, students who may have suffered a traumatic life event or student veterans (Kraus, 2012, pp. 17–21).

On the other hand, Schlossberg's model devoted to understanding transition has garnered considerable regard and is employed in fields such as higher education, counseling, and rehabilitation. The theorist describes transition as an event or non-event leading to changes in relationships, roles, practices, and assumptions (Kraus, 2012, p. 20).

For making sense of student transition, Schlossberg recommends understanding its context, type, and impact. Transition may be unanticipated (e.g., a parent's death) or anticipated (e.g., college graduation), and may also involve non-events. Both examples initiate transition; however, the preparation and expectations for each differ drastically. Non-events may be anticipated events that fail to occur (e.g., a student applies for a job but does not get it). Events like graduating, applying to college, getting hired, or relocating when switching jobs are what truly define and shape the complex post-college transition process (Kraus, 2012, p. 20). Schlossberg and colleagues (2006) have noted that transition extends over a period of time, during which a person moves from the preoccupation phase to the phase of integration with transition. Terms like "moving through," "moving out," and "moving in" benchmark this progression (Patton & Davis, 2014, p. 8).

Analysis of Schlossberg's Transitional Theory Through Peer-Reviewed Studies

Davis and Patton's research, "Expanding Transition Theory: African-American Students' Multiple Transitions Following Hurricane Katrina," considers how transition theory reflects the way individuals make sense of extraordinarily complex transitions — in particular, the manifold transitions African American students experienced during and after Hurricane Katrina. As noted previously, Schlossberg and colleagues (1995) identified three kinds of transitions: unanticipated, non-event, and anticipated. The foremost stage in transition involves recognizing how it appears in a person's life. Anticipated transitions — such as childbirth and marriage — encompass normative losses and gains, or significant role alterations that take place predictably as one's life unfolds. Unanticipated transitions represent unscheduled and unpredictable events, normally negative and considered painful, crisis-like, or unsettling (e.g., job loss, divorce, premature death in the family). Hurricane Katrina embodies an unanticipated kind of transition. Non-events constitute the third kind of transition; these denote anticipated changes that did not occur (for instance, a cancelled wedding) (Patton & Davis, 2014, pp. 8–9).

Study findings arose from a larger data set examining African Americans' experiences with Hurricane Katrina. Selecting a new institution — that is, the "moving in" phase — constituted the foremost transition. Affected students described this phase as encompassing leaving their home institutions and seeking another. For instance, one student talked about his decision to enroll in a college near his home and family (Patton & Davis, 2014, pp. 8–9).

Adjusting to the new educational institution — "moving through" — constitutes the next phase of transition. Three themes emerged as vital to interviewees' adjustment experiences in the colleges they transferred to: (1) the feeling of being "dropped in"; (2) racial support and tensions; and (3) below-par living conditions. Transfer students were "thrown into" institutional culture and systems with no assistance or orientation. Lastly, adjustment back to original institutions — "moving out" — constitutes the third transitional phase. As interviewees began moving out of these transitions post-Hurricane Katrina, they simultaneously "moved into" adjustments of return to familiar territory. They mostly hold positive memories about their experiences upon returning to their original institutions. One student reported deciding to return to his original college rather than remain at the transfer college mainly because he was tired of feeling lonely (Patton & Davis, 2014, pp. 10–12). Key themes are developed in sequential order of participant experiences with the three transitional phases post-Hurricane Katrina. The impact and context of transitions, together with student reliance on the 4S system — situation, support, strategies, and self — have been woven throughout the analysis (Patton & Davis, 2014, pp. 9–10).

Gilbert and Griffin's work, "Better Transition for Troops: An Application of Schlossberg's Transition Framework to Analyses of Barriers and Institutional Support Structures for Student Veterans," reviews Schlossberg's transition theory for evaluating institutions' influence on veteran students' transition to college or university. The work discusses that, in Goodman and Schlossberg's view, various forces impact a person's ability to cope with transition. Besides transition type, the process's nature, context, assets, and available resources all play a role (Griffin & Gilbert, 2015, p. 72).

Study findings indicate three themes emerged from the data as the authors analyzed how educational institutions aim to ease veteran student transitions. First, institutional agents and veterans described the significance of services, professionals, and offices that recognize and fulfill the unique doubts and problems of veteran students (services and personnel). Second, they outlined a need for special institutional procedures and policies for administering veteran services, benefits, and information (institutional structures). Third, they addressed the significance of veteran student representation in student bodies, veteran-specific services and groups, and the quality of their relationships with faculty and fellow students (cultural and social support). In each area, colleges offer requisite transition facilitation resources (Griffin & Gilbert, 2015, p. 80).

Meanwhile, DeVilbiss sought to understand the transition experiences of first-time, conditionally enrolled, traditional-age, full-time students attending a four-year, medium-sized Southeastern public university, through the lens of Schlossberg's theory. The researcher aimed to understand the high school-to-college transition during the first semester of college. Study scope and her researcher role disallowed her to aid students directly in strengthening resources and taking control of their own situations (DeVilbiss, 2014, p. 180).

Consequently, she made several appraisals of transition and participants' stage in that transition. Schlossberg's theory proved highly valuable in finding meaning in participant data and was notable in themes evolving across participants' entire transcript corpus. Significant student stress was associated with transition, resulting from greater workload, responsibility, and demands on their time (DeVilbiss, 2014, p. 180).

In spite of increasing focus on veteran issues, astonishingly few empirical studies examine veteran transition experiences into community colleges. Hoggan and Pellegrino addressed this gap through qualitative research involving the transition of new veterans into community colleges, applying the 4S framework and Schlossberg's theory. Findings include short biographical accounts of the first collegiate year of two female veterans (Pellegrino & Hoggan, 2015, p. 124).

The authors concluded that their findings are important for community college faculty, staff, and administrators for several reasons. First, veterans who have children — especially women — have unique needs. The married veteran women in the study faced difficulties balancing domestic demands and finding childcare while attending school. This constituted a key factor influencing their personal and academic trajectories. These findings correspond to the 2010 findings of Rankin, Hardy, and Katsinas, who analyzed community college leaders' perceptions regarding key student retention issues. Their study revealed that affordable childcare or daycare services and transportation were the biggest issues influencing student retention (Pellegrino & Hoggan, 2015, p. 129).

Several leaders, unfortunately, acknowledged a lack of resources for adequately addressing these issues. It may be reasonably hypothesized that single veteran mothers face considerable challenges when seeking daycare and balancing their parent and student roles. Both married female participants in the study also demonstrated a need for more inclusive school counseling. Females may benefit from stronger academic planning support (Pellegrino & Hoggan, 2015, p. 129).

Cossy's research on transition aimed to gather data on the transitional experiences and needs of new entrants at the study institution, examining student concepts of success and formulating a basic transition and success model for university students (p. 5). Study outcomes corroborated several assumptions outlined by Schlossberg concerning different kinds of transitions, but did not validate every assumption. Additionally, Schlossberg's model is based on single transitions, whereas study data indicate that multiple simultaneous student transitions occur — a dimension Schlossberg did not account for. Findings also reveal that first-year university students experience as many as three anticipated, ten unanticipated, and two non-event transitions (Cossy, 2014, p. 210).

Cossy's non-event student transitions include failure to cultivate a broad friend base and failure to develop a satisfactory, active social life. These events do not transpire for a number of students, leading to discouragement and disappointment. Cossy's anticipated transitions are: moving to university from high school, leaving home to live on campus, and switching from family financial support to self-sufficiency. Students experience numerous unanticipated transitions for which they are unprepared — for instance, moving from independent study to teacher-supervised study, and from structured to less structured environments, among other unforeseen changes. Typically, such transitions are negative, crisis-like, and disruptive. Schlossberg has observed that with greater transition impact, students take longer to move through the transition phase. This perhaps accounts for why several students remain in the transition phase until nearly their final year of college, and why some never reach the thriving phase (Cossy, 2014, pp. 211–213).

Conclusion

Students face challenges when moving between educational levels. Numerous school advisory initiatives have been introduced across America to aid students with transition. Student affairs practitioners are required to make student transition easier through adoption of programs and policies that aid transition, yet researchers have described typical program-related issues. School advisors benefit from transitional theories in several ways. Among numerous relevant transitional theories, the Role Acquisition Model is most applicable to higher education. Nardi and Thornton's theory, socialization theory, Neugarten's work, and self-authorship theory also ease transition to the career phase of life. While the aforementioned models are relevant to student transition, they do not completely apply to all situations. Schlossberg's model, devoted to understanding transition, has garnered considerable regard and is employed in fields such as higher education, counseling, and rehabilitation. The theorist describes transition as an event or non-event leading to changes in relationships, roles, practices, and assumptions.

Five peer-reviewed articles have been analyzed to examine Schlossberg's Transitional Theory. Davis and Patton's research considers transition theory's reflection of how individuals make sense of extraordinarily complex transitions, especially the manifold transitions African Americans experienced post-Hurricane Katrina. The transition model and 4S model proved to be an effective base for study findings, helping highlight nuances of multiple-transition events for students in that context. Gilbert and Griffin's work reviews Schlossberg's theory of transition for evaluating institutions' influence on the transition of veterans into education. The researchers conclude that no single right solution exists to ease student transitions. DeVilbiss studied transition experiences of first-time, conditionally enrolled, traditional-age, full-time students at a four-year Southeastern public university through the lens of Schlossberg's theory and concluded that students who enroll in success and transition courses find these courses beneficial. Hoggan and Pellegrino addressed veteran transition through qualitative research involving new veterans at community colleges, applying the 4S framework and Schlossberg's theory. They found that veterans may perceive role changes and the transition from military service to education as a loss or gain depending on the situation, and that some individuals adapt readily while others are hesitant. Cossy's research aimed to gather data on the transitional experiences and needs of first-year university students. Study outcomes corroborated several assumptions outlined by Schlossberg concerning different kinds of transitions. Reframing transition from one to many simultaneous transitions more effectively captures the numerous challenges faced by students.

Through this study, school advisory program leaders can identify five key advisory initiative goals. Furthermore, a study of ten advisory programs at institutions implementing ISA principles revealed five main advisory structure dimensions that should be considered in program delivery: scheduling, content and scope, staff roles, groupings and participants, and support systems.