The Effects of Mattering on Probationary Students Adaptation and Success in College

1
The Effects of Mattering on Probationary
Students Adaptation and Success in College

• Esau Tovar, M.S.
• Merril A. Simon, Ph.D.
• Annual Conference for the California Association
  for Institutional Research
• Rohnert Park, CA
• November 13, 2003

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Presenter Contact Information

• Esau Tovar, M.S.
•       Faculty Leader/Counselor, Assessment Center
•       Santa Monica College
•       1900 Pico Blvd.
•       Santa Monica, CA 90405
•       [phone]
•       tovar_esau_at_smc.edu

• Merril A. Simon, Ph.D.
•       Assistant Professor,
• Department of Educational Psychology and
  Counseling
• CSU Northridge
• 18111 Nordhoff Street
• Northridge, CA 91330-8265
• [phone]
• merril.simon_at_csun.edu

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Program Abstract

• The issue of retention and persistence are
  often studied in community college settings, and
  students success and decisions to stay or leave
  college are explained in terms of academic and
  social integration. This research study sought to
  further explain and measure the construct of
  mattering and its relation to the above concepts.
  This was accomplished through the development of
  a mattering questionnaire, whose factorial
  structure, internal consistency, and discriminant
  validity lend support to the importance of the
  construct in explaining the experiences of
  non-successful community college students.
  Implications and future directions for mattering
  will be emphasized.

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Background

• Large number of probationary students at college
• 35 of all first-time students are on probation
  at the end of their first term.
• 54 - 73 success rate for first semester students
  (based on ethnic breakdown)
• Persistence rate of 54 from semester one to
  semester two.
• Research showing a significant lack of engagement
  by community college students compared to
  four-year university students.

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Theoretical Background

• Rosenberg and McCullough (1981)
• Mattering as motive
• Schlossberg (1989)
• Mattering
• Marginality

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About Santa Monica College

• Spring 2003 Enrollment
• Population 27,850 graded students
• Gender 57 female, 43 male
• Status 30 full-time 10 F1-Visa
• Race/Ethnicity 37 White, 27
  Latino, 20 Asian, 9 African American, 4
  Other, 3 Filipino

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Study Sample

• Students attending a probationary student
  re-orientation N 344.
• 46 male, 54 female
• 16 Asian, 15 African American, 43 Latino, 17
  White, and 9 other
• Age ranged 17 and 73, with a mean of 22.68 years
  (SD 7.26)
• Attendance 48 first year 19 second year 33
  third years.

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Instrument Characteristics

• Section 1 Demographic items, including
• Background characteristics, self and parents
  educational goals, career decidedness, study
  habits, reasons for probation.
• Section 2 Mattering Items
• 22 items initially written and tested
• Items phrased positively and negatively
• Answered on a 1 (strongly disagree) to 5
  (strongly agree) Likert scale.

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Factor Analysis for Mattering Items .(1 of 7)

• Items subjected to
• Principle Components Factor Analysis
• Varimax Rotation
• Criteria for factor retention
• Initial Eigenvalues gt 1
• Scree Plot test
• Item loading gt .40
• Theoretical justification of item loading on
  factor

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Factor Analysis for Mattering Items
(2 of 7)
Extracted Communalities
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Factor Analysis for Mattering Items
(3 of 7)
Variance Explained
Note additional 15 components extracted with
eigenvalues of lt 1.0
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Factor Analysis for Mattering Items
(4 of 7)
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Factor Analysis for Mattering Items(5 of 7)
Component Rotation Matrix

• 4 Factors
• 18 items retained
• Q16T, 31T, Q24T, Q24T, Q15T were
  reversed to being positively stated.

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Factor Analysis for Mattering Items
(6 of 7)

• Sense of Belongingness
• I sometimes feel alone and isolated because of my
  gender.
• My instructors sometimes ignore my comments or
  questions.
• Interaction with Peers
• I have had adequate opportunities to get to know
  other students at SMC.
• I get support from my classmates when I need it.

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Factor Analysis for Mattering Items
(7 of 7)

• Supportive Learning Environment
• The classroom atmosphere encourages me to speak
  out in class.
• When I speak in class, I feel my contributions
  make a difference in class discussions.
• Mattering to Others
• I believe that who I am as person matters to my
  academic counselor.
• I believe that who I am as person matters to my
  instructors.

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Internal Consistency for Mattering Scale
Internal Consistency for Full Mattering Scale and
Subscales
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Discriminant Validity Assessment

• Initial validation for Ethnic Groups
• Assessed via MANOVA
• Multivariate effect of ethnicity on mattering
  scales Wilks lambda, F(12,281) 2.84, p
  .001, partial ?2 .04.
• Univariate Effects

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Discriminant Validity Assessment

• Asian students in general experience lower
  degrees of belongingness, interact less with
  peers, experience a lesser supportive learning
  environment, and more generally, indicate they
  matter less. The opposite is the case for African
  Americans.

p lt .05, p lt .01 p lt .001
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Construct Validity Assessment (preliminary
exploratory) (1 of 4)

• Mattering Scales correlated with College Student
  Inventory scales
• Total Mattering Scale
• Attitude Toward Educators r .75
• Verbal Confidence r .50
• Educational Stress r -.53
• Academic Stress r -.50

p lt .05, p lt .01 p lt .001
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Construct Validity Assessment (preliminary
exploratory) (2 of 4)

• Mattering Scales correlated with College Student
  Inventory scales
• Sense of Belongingness subscale
• Opinion Tolerance r .67
• Receptivity to Social Enrichment r -.44
• Receptivity to Personal Counseling r -.51
• Receptivity to Institutional Assistance r
  -.48
• Attitude Toward Educators r .60
• Verbal Confidence r .54
• Math Science Confidence r .49
• Academic Stress r -.64
• Educational Stress r -.52

p lt .05, p lt .01 p lt .001
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Construct Validity Assessment (preliminary
exploratory)
(3 of 4)

• Mattering Scales correlated with
  College Student Inventory scales
• Interaction with Peers subscale
• Academic Difficulty Likelihood r -.51
• Math Science Confidence r .46
• Study Habits Motivation r .48
• Mattering to Others subscale
• Family Emotional Support r .51

p lt .05, p lt .01 p lt .001
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Construct Validity Assessment (preliminary
exploratory) (4 of 4)

• Mattering Scales correlated with College Student
  Inventory scales
• Supportive Learning Environment subscale
• Opinion Tolerance r .59
• Receptivity to Social Enrichment r -.54
• Receptivity to Personal Counseling r -.45
• Receptivity to Institutional Assistance r
  -.47
• Attitude Toward Educators r .58
• Verbal Confidence r .56

p lt .05, p lt .01, p lt .001
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.
Non-Significant Findings for Mattering

• No significant findings for
• Gender
• Age
• Degree of Career Decidedness
• Length of College Attendance

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Conclusions

• Psychometric properties of the Mattering Scale
  supported by sound
• Factorial structure
• Moderate levels of Internal Consistency
• Construct Validation by widely supported College
  Student Inventory
• Discriminant Validity for ethnic groups

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Current Future Research

• Expansion of 22-item scale to 36 items
• Given to other groups of community college
  probationary students and freshmen university
  students
• Construct validation via Confirmatory Factor
  Analysis and the Student Adaptation to College
  Questionnaire
• Degree to which mattering influences students
  retention, persistence, success, and engagement
  in college.

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Select References
Astin, A. W. (1993). What matters in college
Four critical years revisited. San Francisco
Jossey-Bass. Rosenberg, M., McCullough, B. C.
(1981). Mattering Inferred significance to
parents and mental health among adolescents. In
R. Simmons (Ed.), Research in Community and
Mental Health, vol. 2. Greenwich, CN JAI
Press. Schlossberg, N. K. (1989a). Improving
higher education for adults. San Francisco
Jossey-Bass. Schlossberg, N. K. (1989b).
Marginality and mattering Key issues in
building community. In D. C. Roberts (Ed.),
Designing campus activities to foster a sense
of community (New Directions for Student
Services, No. 48, pp. 5-15). San Francisco
Jossey-Bass. Schlossberg, N. K., LaSalle, A.,
Golec, R. (1989). The Mattering Scale for
Adults. College Park, MD University of Maryland.