Initial Need Analysis

I, Daniel Dinkins, observed and interviewed five sixth grade students who are enrolled in the AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) program at A.L. Stanback Middle School in Hillsborough, North Carolina. The AVID program is an elective course that targets underrepresented students (low-income, racial minority and/or first-generation) and provides them with academic and college readiness support. The observations and interviews took place at A.L. Stanback Middle School. The purpose of the observation and interviews was to identify why college-going self-efficacy is lower for underrepresented students than for students from more advantaged backgrounds (Borders & Gibbons, 2010). Before the interviews took place, I observed the classroom of approximately 20 AVID sixth grade students receive tutoring while they were working on their homework from other classes. During this observation period, I noticed that there was only one tutor. The students were quiet and appeared focused.

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After the observation period, I was escorted to the interview space--an office room located next to the AVID classroom at A.L. Stanback Middle School. I received audio consent forms from each interviewee--signed by their guardian--so that I could audio record each interview and report data as accurately as possible. The interview process involved the interviewee walking into the interview room and sitting down in front of me. Once the interview was finished, the student walked out of the room, and the next interviewee walked in. The average interview lasted 10 minutes and 47 seconds--making the total interview time 53 minutes and 57 seconds.

The questions I asked were derived from the College-Going Self-Efficacy Scale that was designed by Dr. DiAnne Borders from UNC-Greensboro and Dr. Melinda Miller from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. This scale contains 30 items that research, by Dr. Borders and Dr. Miller, has proven to impact a middle school student’s belief in their ability to complete the tasks required to attend college. Therefore, I read 30 statements to the interviewees and asked them to rate these statements on a scale from 1 to 4—‘1’ means they are not at all sure; ‘2’ means they are somewhat sure; ‘3’ means they are sure, and ‘4’ means they are very sure. I provided each interviewee with a notecard that displayed this scale so that they did not have to memorize it. During the interviews, I asked follow-up questions for statements that elicited stronger reactions. After each answer, I wrote down the number the interviewee chose and the answers to any follow-up questions I asked.

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One of the findings from the interviews is that the interviewees were collectively unsure about how they would cover the cost of their college education. When I asked them to react to the statements “I can find a way to pay for college,” “I could pay for each year of college,” and “I can pay for each year of college even if my family cannot help me,” four out of the five interviewees appeared discouraged. Responses varied from “I don’t know anything about paying for college yet” to “I think that paying for college is going to be a problem because my family is poor.” The students’ low numbers on the scale reflected this sentiment. When prompted to reply to the statement “I can get a scholarship or grant to college,” two interviewees hesitantly rated the statement with ‘1’ or ‘not sure at all.’ However, after they provided that response, they asked me to explain what a grant and scholarship is. After my explanation, they both changed their reply to “3” or “I am sure”.

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Another finding from the interviews was that most of the interviewees either doubted their chances of getting accepted to college or their academic abilities while in college. In regard to my interview statement of “I can get accepted to college,” one interviewee mentioned, “I know that I am smart, but college applications don’t always come back positive, and I have a feeling I won’t get in.” Another interviewee echoed this sentiment by saying “I think they might not accept me.”.When I asked them to explain their answer, they both replied to the extent of, “I don’t know—I just have a feeling.” Although not concerned about getting accepted to college, another student expressed concern about college homework and assignments, when asked to respond to the statement “I could do the classwork and homework assignments in college classes.”

From these interviews, I gathered that students have misperceptions about the path to and through college. For example, they are doubtful about their ability to cover the cost of college but are unaware of the fact that there are ways to get help to pay for college, outside of family support. They are also doubtful about their chances of getting accepted to college and academically performing well in college, even though they cannot provide a reason for that feeling.

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Sixth grade students enrolled in the AVID program need to believe in their ability to complete the tasks required to attend college, but they are doubtful both about their ability to cover the cost of college and about their chances of getting accepted to college. Our interviews with sixth grade students enrolled in the AVID program revealed that this problem is happening because they have misperceptions about the path to and through college—specifically related to paying for college and the college admission process. Based on the interviews and observation data, we think that navigating a journey to and through college by sixth grade AVID students collaboratively engaging with the college financial aid and admission process can solve the problem and help those students believe in their ability to complete the tasks required to attend and persist through college.