The William & Mary Educational Review, Volume 3, Issue 1 by The William & Mary Educational Review

The

William & Mary Educational Review Volume 3, Issue 1

Volume 3, Issue 1

The William & Mary Educational Review Volume Three, Issue One November 2014

ISSN 2330-7498

ÂŠ2014

www.wmer.org

Information for Contributors The William & Mary Educational Review is an independent, refereed journal published by graduate students of the School of Education at The College of William & Mary. Our mission is to make a substantive contribution to educational and counseling literature through the publication of high-quality literature reviews, scholarly papers and studies, reports from the field, interviews, and other short pieces, in order to build interest and understanding through multiple perspectives on education and counseling. In so doing, we provide graduate students first-hand experience with the publishing process. The William & Mary Educational Review welcomes manuscripts that employ qualitative, quantitative, or mixed methods; literature reviews that disclose relevant gaps in existing research on a relevant topic; theoretical analyses of important issues in education and counseling; policy analysis papers and briefs; and historical papers. Submitted papers should have a clearly specified research question and a theoretical or conceptual framework, employ appropriate methods, and contribute new knowledge to the body of educational and counseling literature. Submissions are accepted year-round, with one publication in the fall and one in the spring. Please visit our website, http://wmedreview.blogs.wm.edu, for complete submission guidelines.

Julie K. Marsh 2 Elise Buckley 4

Clare Merlin

Nicholas Marsella 11 Giulia Artico 14 Molly Basehore Debra Butler Diana Hernรกndez Sara Giulia Pomini Tiffany N. F. Pugh Giovanna Bertulu 18 Sharon Kim Sara Santilli Valentina Sestu Will Taylor Bianca Waechter Amy E. Williams Amy E. Williams 22

The William & Mary Educational Review Volume 3, Issue 1, November 2014 Contents Letter from the Editor Wren's Nest How Teacher Professional Development can Improve STEM Education in a Standards-Based Classroom Up for Debate: Acknowledging Diversity at the School of Education The Education of Young Thomas Jefferson W&M in Italy Case Study: A View to the Future

The University of Cicerone & Matthew College

Manuscripts Conceptualizations of Substance Use, Abuse, Dependence, and Treatment: A Qualitative Comparison of Experiences of Italian and American Counselors-in-Training

Leslie Bohon 37

Accidental Agent of Change: George Ticknor's Study Abroad in 1815 Germany

Jamison R. Miller 50 Michael Donlan

Environment and Affect: Toward an Emotional Geography of Student Persistence

Damon Richardson 62 Brian Maltby Joseph Koontz Ram Bhagat

A Regional Approach to School Diversity: The Possibility, Feasibility, and Desirability

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From the Editor Dear readers, The William & Mary Educational Review was originally born out of a desire to represent the research and participation of the School of Education community, from undergraduates at the beginning of their careers, to graduate students seeking an advanced degree. In its second year, we looked beyond our own walls, to include the entire William and Mary community in the advancement of education and counseling exploration. Now in our third year, we continue to expand outward and include other colleges and universities, both local and international. We continue our look to the future. We are no longer simply thinking and planning one year at a time. Instead, we are considering where we want to be in 10, 20, or even 50 years. In our expansion, we consider our partnership with other schools and institutions. We strive to continue our celebration and facilitation of a multitude of perspectives, experiences, and conversations. Our growth is due to the willingness of our Executive Board and Editorial Boardâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;consisting solely of student volunteersâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;who are passionate and enthusiastic about our mission as an independent, open-access journal. This issue, as well as the ones that came before and the ones that will come after, serves as a record of the commitment of our stakeholders to address the needs of our students and communities. The creation of this journal is a performative act that comes together through the values and goals of collaboration. I mean to also implicate you, dear reader, in this performative act, in the hopes that you will accept our invitation to join our growing network and share your enthusiasm and inspiration. The following articles and manuscripts highlight issues of international concern in education and counseling. The authors consider diversity both at home and abroad as well as how differences in our students and our clients push us to be better practitioners. An important way that we, as practitioners, value others is to allow them to speak for themselves and showcase the power of their differences. I believe the following pieces will allow many voices to shine through and take part in our conversation. As you read, I charge you to think differently. How will you take part in the conversation? How will you approach your role as educator or counselor or researcher differently? My hope is for you to take away ideas and inspiration from this reading experience, consider how you serve others, consider how othersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; differences can be powerful, and start a dialogue that continues to help our network grow. Sincerely, Julie K. Marsh Editor-in-Chief

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Editor-in-Chief Julie K. Marsh

Managing Copy Editor Linda Innemee

Financial Manager Mitch Vander Vorst

Managing Editor Diana Theisinger

Copy Editors Elizabeth Auguste Linda Feldstein Tiffany Pugh Leah Shy

Programming Director Debbie Grosser

Production Editor Davis Clement

Marketing Director John Drummond

Editorial Board The History of the Wren's Nest The story behind the name... A Scottish fable tells the story of the Eagle and the Wren. The Eagle and the Wren once tried to see who could fly highest, and the victor was to be king of the birds. So the Wren flew straight up, and the Eagle flew in great circles, and when the Wren was tired he settled on the Eagle's back. When the Eagle was tired he stopped--

"Where are thou, Wren?" said the Eagle.

Counseling Catie Green Pam Harris Richelle Joe Sharon Kim Clare Merlin Sarah Svatos Sterling Travis Amy Williams K-12 Education Duna Alkhudhair Giovanna DiPasquale Lexi Hartley Kim Rodriguez

"I am here above thee," said the Wren. And so the Wren won the match. The history behind the name... The Wren Building on the campus of William & Mary is the oldest college building in the United States. Gutted by fire three times - in 1705, 1859, and 1862 - the interior of the structure was rebuilt, but the building itself remains the heart and soul of William & Mary. It is for both of these qualities - resiliency and perspective - that the name The Wren's Nest was chosen for the front section of The William & Mary Educational Review.

Higher Education Maria Arbizo Kim Edwards Todd Estes Diana Hernรกndez Rachel McDonald Jamison Miller Mike Postma Joey Thomas Katie Winstead Reichner Faculty Advisors Jim Barber, PhD Jamel K. Donnor, PhD

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How Teacher Professional Development can Improve STEM Education In a Standards-Based Classroom Elise Buckley The United States is falling behind in math and science education, which is problematic in a world where the global job market is relying more heavily on math, science, and problem solving skills (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development [OECD], 2010). In order to better prepare our next generation of workers, we need to encourage more students to graduate with STEM degrees. To do this we need to make high-quality science teaching more of a priority in our K12 school systems. This is a two part process: (a) make science a priority in our elementary and secondary schools and (b) ensure that teachers are able to create high quality lessons by investing in teacher certification programs and continuing professional development opportunities (Drew, 2011). Science Accountability in our Schools Test-based accountability is not new to education and has been influencing science education for

decades, but No Child Left Behind (NCLB) has increased schoolsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; focus on reading and math, and therefore has negatively affected science education (DeBoer, 2006). A nationwide study from the Center for Education Policy reported that, between 2001 and 2007, 28% of elementary school districts have reduced science education classroom time by an average of 75 minutes per week, which resulted in 45 fewer hours per year spent on science education (McMurrer, 2008). Judson (2012) found that in states where science was included in Adequate Yearly Progress standards, fourth grade students performed significantly better on standardized science exams. This suggests that if science were given the same weight as reading and mathematics in elementary school, then science performance on standardized exams would increase. However, it is essential to consider how these standardized science exams affect science teaching. Accountability standards in schools have also changed the nature of what is being taught and how. Anderson (2012) completed a metaanalysis of studies examining how science accountability affected science teaching. Schools at elementary, middle, and secondary levels were subjects of the analyzed studies. Standardized tests tended to assess knowledge of facts, rather than deep content knowledge or critical thinking; teaching to the test tended to water down curriculum; and teachers faced immense pressure to get through the material, rather than encourage curiosity and deeper understanding (Anderson, 2012).

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Standardized tests can also dictate what types of science are taught in the classroom. One high school physical science teacher stated, “Since the [state test] covers mostly biology, my 9th grade class in physical science are mostly biology topics and I spend little time on physics and chemistry” (Sunal & Wright, 2006, p. 133). The teacher’s statement suggests that in years when students are tested, the content of the test dictates what the students learn rather than the purpose of the course. In this example, physical sciences were being shortchanged in the physical science course. Additionally, with the increasing focus on accountability and standardized tests, teachers have sacrificed outside activities, such as inviting local scientists to the classroom to inspire students (Anderson, 2012). Marlette and Goldston (2006) studied teachers in Kansas and found that accountability tests caused the material on the tests to be the content focus of science education rather than the state science standards. Further, teachers adjusted their teaching to include more multiple choice evaluations in preparation for the standardized tests. Multiple choice questions have limited ability to assess inquiry skills or understanding, which are both essential in being successful in science (Marlette & Goldston, 2006). It is easy to understand why standardized tests utilize multiple choice questions when factoring in the cost of administration and evaluation: open-ended items cost 80 times more and standardized exams with a laboratory component cost 300 times more than a multiple choice exam (Gabel, 2006). The question is: How

can we address accountability tests without sacrificing inquiry-based learning? Current State of the Science Classroom While the discussion about how standards have affected classroom teaching is important, it is even more important to consider the deeper issue of how prepared our teachers are to teach inquiry-based science. As Anderson (2012) points out, “teachers may say that testing reduces opportunities to use inquiry-based activities even though they rarely, if ever, used them previously” (p. 123). When teachers in an Alabama study were asked to submit a narrative about a lesson they recently taught that reflected their views of science education, 54% of the reported lessons were transmission lessons that relied on presentations and step-bystep instructions as opposed to only 36% that were inquiry lessons that focused on interactions between students, investigative strategies, and use of hands-on materials (Sunal & Wright, 2006). Banilower, Smith, Weiss, and Pasley (2006) found that teachers were likely to equate students doing anything hands-on with inquirybased learning, regardless of whether it involved students following step-bystep instructions or true investigative learning. In this same study, Banilower et al. (2006) conducted nationwide research where they reviewed lesson plans and observed classroom instruction, finding that: • Only 21% of lessons provided investigative experiences for students. • Only 14% of lessons were

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conducted in a climate of intellectual rigor and encouraged challenging of ideas. • Less than half of lessons, 47%, rated high in actively encouraging the participation of all students. • Only 16% of lessons included questions likely to move student understanding forward. • A majority of K-12 science lessons, 62%, including lessons with a laboratory component, were low in quality and were not likely to improve student understanding of the subject material. Many lessons involved term memorization, worksheets from textbooks, or laboratories with stepby-step instructions. Lessons of this nature do not set students up for success in college science courses (Banilower et al., 2006). The United States has a vested interest in getting students into science majors and graduating students into STEM fields to remain competitive in the global market (Education Commission of the States, 2011). Professional Development Programs: A Solution A teacher’s science content knowledge and pedagogical practices are influenced by his or her initial exposure to science and the ways in which it is taught both before and during formal training (Weiss, 2006). Teachers are shaped by their own school experiences in addition to their formal preparatory program. Since past school experiences cannot be

changed, it is imperative to focus on teacher preparation programs and continuing professional development as a channel of reform that can be influenced by policy. To look at ways teacher professional development can be enhanced, it is essential to study how professional development opportunities have already been successful. The University of Colorado Denver partnered with classroom teachers in science research to allow teachers to act as scientists and learn appropriate science pedagogy (Gabel, 2006). The case study showed that this experience had a significant impact on teachers’ inquiry lessons and thus improved students’ science inquiry process skills. Students in classes with teachers involved in the University of Colorado Denver program and students in classes with teachers from a control group were observed for usage of higher order thinking skills during science discussion lessons. The upper levels of Bloom’s taxonomy define higher order thinking skills, including analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. The bottom levels of Bloom’s taxonomy define lower order thinking skills, including application, comprehension, and knowledge (Bloom, Krathwohl, & Masia, 1984). Students of teachers engaged in the university research program were observed to use higher order thinking skills in 74% of their statements. In comparison, only 28% of the statements by students in the control group used higher order thinking skills (Gabel, 2006). The University of the Incarnate Word in Texas partnered with a local urban school district to train middle

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school science teachers in a newlydeveloped Master of Arts in Multidisciplinary Sciences. This was in response to new state education standards that required a larger variety of sciences to be taught in middle school (MacKinnon, Fowles, Gonzales, McCormick, & Thomann, 2006). The program invited university faculty to volunteer to teach seminal science courses in chemistry, physics, biology, and life sciences. The goals of the degree were to enhance content knowledge, integrate pre-algebra and algebra concepts into science teaching, and enhance the implementation of reform-based science. The teachers who enrolled in the program were given pre- and post-tests on all subjects and demonstrated a statistically significant increase of knowledge in biology, chemistry, and physics. Teachers reported changing their teaching styles and feeling more comfortable with the curriculum. Across economic groups, students of trained teachers demonstrated higher scores on the state science standardized test by several percentage points (MacKinnon et al., 2006). Kansas State University coordinated with K-12 schools to enhance teacher professional development projects (Shroyer, Miller, & Hernandez, 2006). A superintendent, a mathematician, two scientists, two science educators, a district coordinator, and a teacher led the project. Participants included 30 education faculty and 30 arts and science faculty from the university, in addition to 80 K-12 teachers and administrators. The project focused on creating ongoing professional development opportunities and

reviewed curriculum activities for individual courses. Teachers involved in this opportunity reported changing their teaching styles to focus on big ideas and feeling that gaps in their preparation were addressed through the professional development opportunities. These teachers became change agents at their own schools, with most leading reforms in their respective science departments. Students in these districts performed better than the mean of all the stateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s districts on the state science exam (Shroyer et al., 2006). These studies reflect three very different and localized examples of how focusing on professional development for teachers has been an effective way to raise test scores and improve classroom teaching. Providing funds for teacher professional development and providing incentives for universities and industries to partner with K-12 schools can continue to enhance the science education our youth receive in the classroom. The next generation needs to have a solid background in science in order to help the United States maintain its dominant global position. Currently, the United States is not the leader in science performance (Education Commission of the States, 2011). Focusing on professional development opportunities is one way to improve science education. It requires investments of time and money, but can help develop change agents to affect local school districts. References Anderson, K. J. B. (2012). Science education and testbased accountability: Reviewing their relationship and exploring implications for future policy. Science Education, 96 (1), 104-129.

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doi: 10.1002/sce.20464 Banilower, E. R., Smith, P. S., Weiss, I. R., & Pasley, J. D. (2006). The status of K-12 science teaching in the United States: Results from a national observation survey. In D. W. Sunal & E. L. Wright (Eds.), The impact of state and national standards on K-12 science teaching (pp. 83-122). Greenwich, CT: Information Age. Bloom, B.S., Krathwohl, D.R., & Masia, B.B. (1984). Taxonomy of educational objectives: The classification of educational goals. Michigan: Longman Press. DeBoer, G. E. (2006). The history of the science standards movement in the United States. In D. W. Sunal & E. L. Wright (Eds.), The impact of state and national standards on K-12 science teaching (pp. 7-49). Greenwich, CT: Information Age. Drew, D. E. (2011). STEM the tide: Reforming science, technology, engineering, and math education in America. Baltimore, MD: The Johns Hopkins University Press. Education Commission of the States. (2011). STEM performance: Improving policy to enhance outcomes for students—and states. The Progress of Education Reform, 12(1). Retrieved from http://www.ecs.org/clearinghouse/91/79/917 9.pdf Gabel, C. (2006). Impact of the reform efforts on K12 science inquiry: A paradigm shift. In D. W. Sunal & E. L. Wright (Eds.), The impact of state and national standards on K-12 science teaching (pp. 215-256). Greenwich, CT: Information Age. Judson, E. (2012). When science counts as much as reading and mathematics: An examination of differing state accountability policies. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 20(26), 1-21. Retrieved from http://epaa.asu.edu/ojs/article/view/ 987/999 MacKinnon, C., Fowles, J., Gonzales, E., McCormick, B., & Thomann, W. (2006). The impact of state standards on teacher professional development and student performance in middle school science: A Texas

case study. In D. W. Sunal & E. L. Wright (Eds.), The impact of state and national standards on K-12 science teaching (pp. 363-390). Greenwich, CT: Information Age. Marlette, S. & Goldston, M. J. (2006). Realizing the national science education standards: Channels of influence using a state level perspective—a Kansas case study. In D. W. Sunal & E. L. Wright (Eds.), The impact of state and national standards on K-12 science teaching (pp. 153-184). Greenwich, CT: Information Age. McMurrer, J. (2008). Instructional time in elementary schools: A closer look at changes for specific subjects. Retrieved from the Center on Education Policy website: http://www.cepdc.org/displayDocument.cfm?DocumentID=3 09 Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. (2010). PISA 2009 Results—What students know and can do: Student performance in reading, mathematics and science (volume I). Retrieved from http://www.oecd.org/pisa/pisaproducts/4885 2548.pdf Shroyer, G., Miller, T., & Hernandez, C. (2006). Translating science standards into practice across the teacher education continuum: A professional development school model. In D. W. Sunal & E. L. Wright (Eds.), The impact of state and national standards on K-12 science teaching (pp. 327-362). Greenwich, CT: Information Age. Sunal, D. W., & Wright, E. L. (2006). Teacher perceptions of science standards in K-12 classrooms: An Alabama case study. In D. W. Sunal & E. L. Wright (Eds.), The impact of state and national standards on K-12 science teaching (pp. 123-151). Greenwich, CT: Information Age. Weiss, I. R. (2006). A framework for investigating the influence of the national science standards. In D. W. Sunal & E. L. Wright (Eds.), The impact of state and national standards on K-12 science teaching (pp. 51-79). Greenwich, CT: Information Age.

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Up for Debate: Acknowledging Diversity at the School of Education Clare Merlin A classmate recently expressed concern to me that The College of William and Mary does not always adequately address diversity at the School of Education (SOE) and on campus. “I understand that William and Mary claims it celebrates diversity,” she commented, “But I’m not sure if it’s consistently working to support that claim” (J. Doe, personal communication, January 1, 2014). These sentiments are certainly up for debate across campus, and their accuracy regarding the SOE at William and Mary can be particularly controversial. The first part of my classmate’s comment is arguably confirmed in the William and Mary SOE’s diversity statement. This statement asserts that the school “values inclusiveness and equity of opportunities for diverse learners,” and “promotes attitudes and beliefs that foster faculty members’ and students’ understanding of self and diverse others through specific experiential learning activities” (William & Mary School of Education, 2014, para. 2). The statement further claims that those values also guide internal governance and partnerships with other educational institutions and

community agencies. It concludes, “Advocacy for diverse learners informs instructional, clinical, and policy decisions in order to impact our students and the constituents they will serve” (William & Mary School of Education, 2014, para. 2). In an effort to better understand student perspectives regarding how the SOE promotes diversity, in Fall 2013, the SOE Faculty Diversity Committee hosted a media review evaluation event titled, “One Tribe. Many Voices?” Eighteen students participated in a six-hour-long evaluation of SOE media, and four additional students contributed evaluations asynchronously. The media reviewed included the SOE website, the physical SOE building space, and SOE print materials (Barber et al., 2013). As one might expect, student perceptions of the SOE media and its alignment with the SOE diversity statement were complex. Although some students reported that website photographs of students were “inclusive” and included “a fair amount of pictures with people from diverse backgrounds,” other students stated that the websites did not represent diversity at William & Mary. “I did not see one non-White person in ANY of the pictures no matter how many times I refreshed,” one student said (Barber et al., 2013, p. 9, 11). Overall reactions to print media included similar concerns. Some students claimed that print media photographs appeared generic and not representative of actual William and Mary students. Others stated that the language used in print media was not inclusive of all kinds of diversity,

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including geographic diversity and the role of the SOE in an increasingly globalized world (Barber et al., 2013). Student reactions to the physical SOE space were more positive regarding its alignment with the SOE diversity statement. Participants reported that artwork in the building was “fairly universal” and showed diverse student perspectives. For example, one student wrote, “Images are welcoming and help people to feel connected to the physical space without placing undue emphasis on any one particular program or student group.” (Barber et al., 2013, p. 16). Despite these positive reactions, some students still voiced concerns about disability access in the building and a lack of representation of Native Americans (Barber et al., 2013). This brief sampling of student feedback from the SOE media review highlights the complicated debate that the topic of diversity brings on college campuses. Although the Faculty Diversity Committee’s efforts to facilitate this dialogue warrants praise, their actions moving forward will be even more important. For example, the Faculty Diversity Committee concluded in their media review report that future actions should involve revising the SOE website and print media based on student recommendations. Such revisions may take place by forming interest groups

that lead the charge in advising website and print media designers. In addition to these recommendations, students ought to play a key role in improving SOE media alignment with the SOE diversity statement. If faculty interest groups form, per the recommendations of the Faculty Diversity Committee, students should serve in significant roles in these groups. In the past year, it appears that a conversation about diversity at the SOE has become livelier than ever before. The student media review played a large role in this conversation, as did the formation of Counselors & Educators for Social Justice in August, a student diversity panel in April, and a faculty diversity research panel, also in April. Moving forward, no single event like these will celebrate and address diversity at William and Mary sufficiently. But a combination of events, supported by meaningful feedback from students and faculty, may one day lead to an inclusive culture of diversity at the SOE. References Barber, J., Donnor, J., Harris, J., McEachron, G., Merlin, C., & Trice-Black, S. (2014). One Tribe. Many Voices? 2013-14 Media Review: Findings and Recommendations. William & Mary School of Education (2014). School of Education statement on diversity. Retrieved from http://education.wm.edu/about/ diversity/

About the Author Clare Merlin is a PhD Candidate in the Counselor Education program at William & Mary. She is currently the GEA Diversity Committee Chair, Faculty Diversity Committee Student Representative, and Counselors & Educators for Social Justice Co-Leader.

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The Education of Young Thomas Jefferson Nicholas Marsella Many students at The College of William and Mary can recite the name of its most famous alumnus: Thomas Jefferson. There is little doubt that the College had a remarkable influence on him. In 1934, Chandler wrote in the William and Mary Quarterly that Jefferson owed his greatness primarily to the fundamental training he received in Williamsburg (p. 307). Although there is little doubt that his attendance at William and Mary, combined with his work habits and intellect, made him a successful and privileged Virginian, one wonders if Jefferson’s greatness could just as likely have been achieved by attending Harvard or the College of New Jersey. In other words, was there something unique about his college experience at William and Mary? Like the son of many wealthy and privileged landowners in Colonial Virginia, Jefferson was first educated at home and then sent to live and study with clergy who served as teachers of the classics and French. His father, Peter, exerted a powerful influence on the young Jefferson, fostering a desire in him to excel in his studies. Jefferson described his father as self-taught in that “he read much and improved himself ” (Ford, 1914, p. 4). Jefferson’s father died when he

was 14. Jefferson later wrote, “At 14 years of age, the whole care and direction of myself was thrown on myself entirely, without a relative or friend qualified to advise or guide me” (Meacham, 2012, p. 10). Although historians debate Jefferson’s relationship with his mother, it was her cousin, Peter Randolph, a wealthy landowner, who encouraged Jefferson to apply to William and Mary. As biographer Jon Meacham (2012) noted in Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power, the standards for admission were not “onerous” (p. 15). Meacham (2012) continues: “According to the college, the test for potential students was ‘whether they have made due progress in their Latin and Greek…And let no blockhead or lazy fellow in his studies be elected’” (p. 15). In 1760, at the age of 17, Jefferson entered the College. For Jefferson, his trip to Williamsburg, the colonial capital, was the first time he had traveled more than 20 miles from home. Jefferson would later call Williamsburg “Devilsburg” due to its many diversions. He described Williamsburg in the following way: “The meticulously balanced Georgian architecture of the town presented a face of imperturbable propriety, but the community had its Hogarthian haunts envisioned by lusty wenches and flowing spirits” (Mapp, 2007, p. 22). While Jefferson was known to study for long periods, he was neither without friends nor outside pursuits, especially during his first year at the College. Unlike the sprawling campus that the College is today, in Jefferson’s time, it was a single building combining

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classrooms, dining, dorms, and a chapel. Living and studying in the Wren Building, the future president worked hard—according to some accounts for as long as 15 hours at a stretch—only broken by his unique habit of jogging two miles through the streets of Williamsburg. A creature of habit, Jefferson read many books found in a classical education of the day, in an hourly cycle that included physical studies, politics, history, literature, and rhetoric. He formally studied Greek, Latin, and French, and privately studied Spanish and Italian. The handful of faculty at the College had distinguished academic records from Oxford and Cambridge and conducted lectures in the morning and seminars in the afternoon. Although the academics were rigorous, they alone do not alone explain Jefferson’s rise to greatness. As Jefferson himself would explain, it was the good company provided by a faculty member and several other distinguished individuals that made him the person and enlightened intellectual he became. Jefferson wrote:

It was my great good fortune, and what probably fixed the destinies of my life, that Dr. William Small of Scotland was then professor of mathematics, a man profound in most of the useful branches of science with a happy and an enlarged and liberal mind. (Mapp, 2007, p. 18)

Small, a 26-year-old faculty member originally from Scotland, embraced the spirit of the enlightenment and introduced Jefferson to his intellectual heroes: Newton, Bacon, and Locke. With Small’s help, Jefferson was introduced

to another lifelong mentor, George Wythe. Wythe, who also studied at William and Mary, was one of the best lawyers in Virginia, and Jefferson’s friendship would have a profound effect on him. Wythe introduced Jefferson to Governor Fauquier, the colonial administrator, resulting in his addition to a small group of repetitive diners at the Governor’s Palace. As Jefferson later reflected, “At these dinners I have heard more good sense, more rational, and philosophical conversation, than in all my life besides” (Mapp, 2007, p. 22). At the age of 19, and after two years at the College, Jefferson finished his studies. Unlike today, the College did not award degrees of completion. Jefferson would begin his five-year study of law under Wythe’s tutelage. Jefferson later wrote, “Mr. Wythe continued to be my faithful and beloved Mentor in youth and my most affectionate friend through life” (Chandler, 1934, p. 305). Throughout his life, Jefferson continued to value his education and would initiate various proposals to make William and Mary a better institution. In 1779 as Governor of Virginia, he approved the reorganization of the College into five schools, creating the first School of Law and School of Modern Languages in the United States, and dropping the School of Divinity. The honor code was introduced, and students were permitted to select electives (Chandler, 1934). His attempt to change the name of the College to the University of Virginia was refused by the General Assembly, given it had been established by the Church of England. Jefferson would eventually

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fulfill his own vision for an institution of higher education with the creation of the University of Virginia in 1819. Educators have long known the power and influence of parents, teachers, and other mentors to help guide and accompany young adults to what some educational theorists have called self-authorship (Baxter Magolda, 2002). Baxter Magolda (2002) highlighted the importance of young adults being able to create their own beliefs, values, and sense of self, or in other words, to “self author” by learning to think critically and independently, developing the ability to work with others, and creating and living their own values in pursuit of their dreams (Baxter Magolda, 2002, p. 2). This transformative process can be facilitated by a college faculty member, an administrator, or other adults within the student’s community by serving as “good company” for the student traveler along the way to selfauthorship (Baxter Magolda, 2002, p. 8). Baxter Magolda (2002) noted that this partnership between educator and learner should be based on mutual respect and an active exchange of perspectives to invite learning. Critical to Jefferson’s selfauthorship were the mentors and good company he found at William and Mary. Years later, in writings to his

grandson, Jefferson reflected on the dangers and bad company that might attract his grandson’s interests:

I had the good fortune to become acquainted very early with some characters of very high standing, and to feel the incessant wish that I could ever become what they were. Under temptations and difficulties, I would ask myself – what would Dr. Small, Mr. Wythe, Peyton Randolph do in this situation. (Mapp, 2007, p. 22)

There is little doubt that Mr. Jefferson valued his education at the College of William and Mary, but I suspect that if we were to ask him what advice he would give to current and future educators, he might say, Be a mentor and a guide—it can make all of the difference. References Baxter Magolda, M. B. (2002). Helping students make their way to adulthood.: Good company for the journey. About Campus, 6(6), 2-9. doi: 10.1002/abc.66 Chandler, J. A. C. (1934). Jefferson and William and Mary. The William and Mary Quarterly, 14(4), 304-307. Ford, P. (Ed). (1914). Autobiography of Thomas Jefferson 1743-1790. New York, NY: Putnam’s Sons. Retrieved from https://archive.org/details/autobiographyoft00 jeff Mapp, A. J. (2007). Thomas Jefferson: America’s paradoxical patriot. Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield. Meacham, J. (2012). Thomas Jefferson: The art of power. New York, NY: Random House.

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Case Study: A View to the Future Giulia Artico, Molly Basehore, Debra Butler, Diana HernĂĄndez, Sara Giulia Pomini, Tiffany N. F. Pugh

In this international collaborative case study, American and Italian authors applied a hypothetical philanthropic case scenario to the recent graduation of the first student with nonverbal autism at the University of Central Italy in order to examine the potential impact a private donation would have on various institutional constituents. A series of questions was developed to prompt further discussion at institutions of higher learning that could lead to efforts to better assist students with disabilities. The goal of these questions is to initiate a dialogue with constituents about institutional capacity to receive a generous donation and for the constituents to consider the potential impact said donation could have on university administration, faculty, and students, as well as on the donor. Background The University of Central Italy is a medium-sized, public, urban, Italian university with national recognition for its research excellence. The university was established by a group of students and professors in 1222. Today, it is home to over 64,000 students and can

now boast its commitment to students with disabilities. The university recently conferred a Masterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s degree in Human Sciences and Pedagogy to the first student with nonverbal autism, Leonardo Moretti. Although Leonardo is not the first student with a disability to receive a degree from an Italian university, it is the first time a student with a disability and the granting institution have received national media coverage. It is possible that public attention surrounding Leonardoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s graduation was a necessary step to begin changing the current Italian cultural perception of autism and other disabilities and to encourage more students with different kinds of disabilities to continue their education and attend university. Considering that the majority of students with disabilities in Italy do not continue on to university studies after secondary school (G. Artico & S. G. Pomini, personal communication, May 21, 2014), Leonardo is an extraordinary example of what can be achieved when services and support are provided at an Italian institution of higher learning.

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Students with Disabilities & Disability Services There are a number of explanations for why many students with disabilities do not pursue a higher education degree. It is not necessarily due to a lack of initiative or desire on the student’s behalf, but often results from family influence and tradition. Families generally do not encourage children with disabilities to continue university studies for a variety of reasons, and students with disabilities commonly remain at home with their families or work in factories. Factors that influence this decision may include: the level of parental education, the family’s socio-economic condition, a lack of knowledge and awareness about the availability of support services at the university for students with disabilities, a lack of confidence in the child’s ability to succeed at the university, the presence of architectural barriers, and even shame associated with requesting information about support services (G. Artico & S. G. Pomini, personal communication, May 21, 2014). Recent national media coverage and publicity of Leonardo’s graduation may direct more attention toward the University of Central Italy’s Disability Services. Currently, Disability Services offers a variety of support services and assistive technologies for students with disabilities, all of which are available to students during their time at the university. Tutoring and administrative support are just some of the services available to students. Support aims to take into account each individual’s specific needs; for example, sign language interpreters and shorthand

typing services are offered to students with hearing, visual, and mobility impairments to assist with note-taking during lectures. Additional accommodations, such as extended exam times, are also available for students with dyslexia and other learning disabilities. As students with disabilities get closer to graduation, Disability Services also offers a variety of support services aimed at assisting these students in transitioning into successful work placement after graduation. Administrators and staff members in Disability Services meet with students regularly throughout their academic career to assess each student’s needs for additional support. A Possible Private Donation The national media coverage of Leonardo’s recent graduation as the first student with nonverbal autism at the University of Central Italy could spark private donor initiatives and catapult discussions toward a new era of university stewardship. After reading about Leonardo’s achievements, a private donor could be inspired to contact the University of Central Italy and donate as much as one million euros specifically designated to Disability Services with the intention of expanding support services for students with disabilities. If asked about the generosity of the donation, the donor might refer to the importance of providing greater access to higher education for all students in Italy, the potential impact the donation could have in generating greater awareness for Disability Services, and the hope that this donation might inspire additional private donations towards increasing services for students with disabilities

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in higher education. The donorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s commitment would mark a new era of university stewardship, and with it, the hope that this generous donation will increase communication between administrators, faculty, and students. This hypothetical case scenario yields a series of complex questions, but addressing them in depth could potentially strengthen and improve services to students with disabilities at Italian institutions of higher learning. What are the current and future considerations needed to encourage and support private donations to a public institution for a specific student population? Case Questions Leadership Administration 1. What additional obligations will the university assume with a donation of this size? 2. How will university officials respond to these new responsibilities? 3. Who is involved in the decisionmaking process regarding how to expand private funding? Who should be involved? 4. How does the university respond to a donor request that the institution may not be able to accomplish or that does not align with institutional priorities? 5. Is the university prepared to manage and how shall it manage donor stipulations? 6. Does the university have the infrastructure to accept, distribute, and monitor donation outcomes? 7. Does the university have the resources to monitor and assess the distribution of funds?

Faculty 1. What impact does the donation have on faculty morale if this sizeable donation creates inequitable departmental resources? 2. How do university faculty members view the decision to accept or decline private donations? 3. Does the decision to accept or decline private donations impact faculty teaching in the classroom if, for example, faculty members need to provide accommodations not previously required or must abide by other requirements that possibly impinge upon faculty choice? Donors 1. Does the university have a mechanism to report the fiscal allocation of funds? 2. Who is involved in the decisionmaking fund allocation process? Who should be involved? 3. Are there opportunities for student/donor interactions? 4. Which power levers can the donor utilize to influence the government, university, and the community to also address the needs of students with disabilities? Students 1. Is there an impact on student learning if the institution accepts or declines the funds? 2. How does the university market its disability services in such a way that it protects studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; privacy while encouraging students to ask for assistance?

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Conclusion While the University of Central Italy sets the stage for possible indepth discussions to a hypothetical philanthropic case scenario applied to Leonardo’s graduation, these questions are in no way limited to only the University of Central Italy. The national media attention given to Leonardo’s accomplishment brings to the forefront the need for ongoing conversations about support services for all students with disabilities attending other Italian institutions. A

generous institutional donation specifically designated to this population could shift institutional or department priorities. We hope this paper serves as a tool to engage in this important dialogue. References Institutional website Sara Giulia Pomini: Master's degree in Developmental and Educational Psychology; Voluntary in Psychologists without Frontiers, Italy O.N.L.U.S.; Internship Student at U.O.S. Equipe Adozioni (Team adoptions) U.L.S.S. 16 Padova.

About the Authors Giulia Artico holds a master's degree in Developmental and Educational Psychology from the University of Padova in Padova, Italy, and is currently involved in a one-year clinical internship in Venice and Bruxelles. Sara Pomini holds a master's degree in Developmental and Educational Psychology from the University of Padova in Padova, Italy. She is also a volunteer for Psychologists without Frontiers, Italy. Tiffany Pugh is a PhD student in the Educational Policy, Planning, and Leadership in Higher Education Administration program at the College of William & Mary. She works at the System Office for Virginia's Community Colleges and is passionate about bridging the achievement gap for students from underrepresented student populations, particularly first generation college students and other student groups who are considered high-risk. Debi Butler, Diana Hernández, and Molly Baseshore are graduate students in the Educational Policy, Planning, and Leadership program at the College of William & Mary.

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The University of Cicerone & Matthew College Giovanna Bertulu, Sharon Kim, Sara Santilli, Valentina Sestu, Will Taylor, Bianca Waechter, Amy E. Williams

Dean Jones of Matthew College is a former counseling professor who is interested in creating an exchange partnership for the graduate students in the counseling program to study at an Italian institution of higher education. One of Dean Jones’ research interests is internationalization of counselor education and the counseling profession. As a result of this interest, and coupled with a growing interest identified by professional counseling organizations and program accreditation bodies to expand counselor education training and practice internationally, Dean Jones is exploring study abroad partnership possibilities in Italy. Matthew College is a mediumsized public university located on the East Coast. The counseling program at Matthew College accepts approximately 30 students each year for its master’s programs and 5 students each year for its doctoral program. The program is accredited by the Council for the Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP), a national accrediting body for counselor education programs. Due to the program’s CACREP accreditation,

specific courses are required in each program of study; these courses are designed to address competency objectives identified by CACREP. Dean Jones has a friend and colleague, Professor Marzia, who is an Italian vocational counseling and psychology professor at the University of Cicerone. The University of Cicerone is a large public university in Italy that enrolls approximately 200 individuals in its assessment and counseling degree programs. The university offers master’s degrees in assessment and counseling, with a focus on vocational counseling. The program is not governed by an accreditation body, although in response to the Bologna Process, the university has standardized its credit system to align with other European institutions. Professor Marzia is interested in exploring a possible study abroad partnership with Matthew College and Dean Jones; however, he has several concerns. First, English is not a language commonly spoken by the Italian population; therefore, Italian students may not be able to travel abroad. Dean Jones comments that the language barrier may also prevent the students from working together in

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small groups, as collaboration is not a common form of instruction at the University of Cicerone. Further, the language barrier may prohibit students from interacting with one another with a common vocabulary of professional language. Specifically, in the context of vocational counseling, terms such as mental health, career, goals, and collaboration may not be recognized between students. As Dean Jones continues planning for a successful partnership of study abroad experiences with the University of Cicerone, Professor Marzia wonders how the credit system will be equated between the two universities. The University of Cicerone does not utilize the American system for offering course credit, nor does it utilize similar structures of instruction for its courses. Professor Marzia wishes to provide a meaningful yet fair experience for the students from Matthew College, but does not understand how course credit could be offered with an incompatible system. Although both Dean Jones and Professor Marzia are dedicated to establishing a partnership between their two institutions, aligning the interests of each is difficult. Although Matthew College is committed to internationalization, the administration at Cicerone has reservations. Bureaucracy further slows this process as many administrators are hesitant to establish a partnership and do not see the value in establishing international relationships. Student exchanges are expected to be equal between institutions, especially concerning financial resources. Because of the differences in tuition between the American and Italian systems, creating

equal exchanges will be difficult. Dean Jones seeks the support of his faculty to explore the possibilities of an academic sequence for the proposed program. Along with Professor Marzia, they select a committee of faculty at each institution to steer the development of a potential course of studies for master’s- level counselors. The first issue they encounter during this dialogue is the lack of a term for counseling in Italian. As the professors and faculty members continue to explore what a course of studies might look like, further issues are uncovered that highlight the differences in orientation to education between the two systems. A primary challenge is found in creating coursework offerings that meet the needs of each training program. While faculty in Matthew College’s program emphasize experiential and practical teaching and learning experiences, the faculty at Cicerone prioritize lecture-based theoretical knowledge as key to the development of counselors. A second challenge is identified in selecting course materials, as the language limitations of students in both programs make the text selection process a complex undertaking. Additional concerns are raised by faculty members at both institutions regarding the core tenets of training required by each location’s licensing agency. Because CACREP guides the course offerings and learning outcomes of Matthew College’s program, a further concern is raised about the adherence of the Italian course offerings to these standards. Prior to adjourning, the committee decides that the use of a

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comprehensive exam would meet the needs of both programs to measure learning outcomes, although the type of exam becomes an issue of further contention. Following these discussions, the faculty members express frustration at the overwhelming complexity of developing this program. Nonetheless, both groups of faculty continue to identify the great benefits of being able to make this program a reality for students, particularly with the growing interest in internationalization of counselor education and counseling. Student access is also a concern for this exchange partnership. Funding is a challenge, especially for students with lower socio-economic status. Students with visual, motor, or cognitive disabilities may also have difficulties in participating in the exchange. Appropriate instructional materials need to be developed for students with visual, motor, or other impairments. Of additional concern are the challenges concerning cultural differences; the differences between Italy and the United States can be challenging for students studying abroad in either country for a variety of reasons. Although there are many challenges presented in the collaboration efforts of Dean Jones and Professor Marzia, a successful program between the universities could be valuable for students from both institutions. Matthew College and the University of Cicerone plan to continue to seek appropriate solutions to the differential structures within the two existing programs in order to create globalized learning opportunities. They decide that the

best place to begin is to find novel solutions to the most pressing issues of implementation. Questions 1. What are the benefits associated with the internationalization of the counseling programs at each institution? What are the possible risks and liabilities of this? 2. In what ways does the language barrier impact aspects of the planning, implementation, and assessment of the studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; experiences in this program? How might these challenges be managed? 3. In what ways do educational values of each culture impact the planning, implementation, and assessment of learning activities? How might these challenges be managed? 4. What challenges do faculty face in implementing this program? What solutions might you propose to make this program manageable for faculty and beneficial for students? 5. What student support issues are identifiable in this situation? How might faculty at each institution plan for and manage issues of student support before, during, and after participation in the program? 6. In what ways might the faculty promote equal access for all students to this opportunity? What challenges prevent this and how might faculty plan to address these concerns? 7. Overall, how might each institution promote this experience to faculty members

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who may be apprehensive about or opposed to changing the program and student composition of their classes?

What might be the arguments faculty would give for not wanting to take on this task? What counterarguments would you offer in response?

About the Authors Giovanna Bertulu is a graduate research assistant for the University of Padova in Padova, Italy. She holds a masterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s degree in Educational and Developmental Psychology. Sharon Kim is a graduate student in the Counselor Education program at the College of William & Mary. Sara Santilli is a PhD student in the Career Counseling program at the University of Padova in Padova, Italy. Valentina Sestu is a student in the Educational and Developmental Psychology program at the University of Padova in Padova, Italy. Will Taylor is a second year masterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s student in the Higher Education Administration Program at the College of William & Mary. He is a graduate assistant in the Reves Center for International Studies and will pursue a career in the field of study abroad after graduation. Amy E. Williams is a second-year PhD student in the Counselor Education program at the College of William & Mary. Bianca Waechter is a graduate of the Community and Addictions Counseling Program at the College of William & Mary. She currently works as a Care Manager at The Farley Center at Williamsburg Place.

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Conceptualizations of Substance Use, Abuse, Dependence, and Treatment: A Qualitative Comparison of Experiences of Italian and American Counselors-In-Training Amy E. Williams

Abstract The present study is a qualitative exploration of the conceptualizations of substance use, abuse, dependence, and treatment from the perspectives of Italian and American counselors-in-training. The researcher conducted semistructured interviews with two Italian and two American graduate-level counseling students. Thematic elements identified based upon collected data include differential attitudes toward alcohol and marijuana compared to illicit drug use in both Italy and the United States, consequences experienced as a result of problematic substance use, and the impact of stigma on opportunities following treatment. Differences in treatment practices and standards and differences in vocational opportunities following treatment in Italy and the United States were reported by participants. Implications for practice and recommendations for future research are provided based upon findings. Keywords: addiction, international substance abuse, treatment

The prevalence rates for alcohol use disorders and drug use disorders in Italy and the United States paint varied pictures of the nature and frequency of problematic alcohol and other drug use in the two nations. The European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA, 2014) administered a substance use survey to 60,000 Italians ranging in age from 18 to 64. Approximately 21.7% of the estimated 19,800 respondents reported previous use of marijuana in their lifetimes, with 3.5% of respondents reporting previous marijuana use in the past year and 1.8% of respondents reporting previous marijuana use in the past month. Approximately 4.2% of respondents reported

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previous lifetime use of cocaine, with 0.6% of respondents reporting cocaine use in the previous year and 0.2% reporting cocaine use in the past month. The same EMCDDA report estimated that there were 173,692 individuals who engaged in problematic opiate use and 112,097 individuals who engaged in problematic crack cocaine use in 2012. An estimated 0.3% of the Italian population used marijuana daily or almost daily in 2012. The report also stated that 54,620 individuals in Italy entered treatment for problematic drug use in 2012, which is approximately 14% of those individuals who were estimated to use drugs problematically, despite the presence of 633 public drug addiction service units and 1,028 therapeutic communities throughout Italy in 2012 (EMCDDA, 2014). According to the World Health Organization (2014), in 2010, 8% of Italian males age 15 and older and 0.7% of females age 15 and older reported engaging in binge alcohol use in the 30 days prior to the survey. In the same data collection period, 1.3% of men and 0.8% of women in Italy were estimated to have an alcohol use disorder (World Health Organization, 2014). In the United States, 9.2% of surveyed individuals reported past month illicit drug use in a 2012 national survey on substance use (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services [HHS], 2012). In this same survey, 7.3% of respondents, or 18.9 million people age 12 and older, were estimated to have used marijuana in the month prior to the survey. Additionally, 1.6 million individuals were estimated to have used cocaine in the month prior to the survey and 300,000 individuals age 12 and older were estimated to have used heroin in the same time period. In addition, 6.8 million individuals age 12 and older were estimated to have used psychotherapeutics for non-medical purposes and 1.1 million respondents were estimated to have used hallucinogens in the month prior to survey administration (HHS, 2012). In the same 2012 national substance use survey, 52.1% of respondents in the United States reported current alcohol use, with 23% of respondents reporting binge alcohol use in the previous 30 days and 6.5% of respondents reporting engaging in heavy alcohol consumption. (HHS, 2012). This same report identified a discrepancy between the need for treatment and treatment received by individuals engaging in problematic substance use, with need far exceeding utilization of specialty substance use treatment (HHS, 2012). Ethnocultural issues play a role in both the etiology and treatment of substance use-related disorders (Straussner, 2001). The cultural influences related to use, abuse, and dependence of substances in both Italy and the United States may provide an unexplored context for both non-problematic and problematic substance use in each of these countries, and may also provide a useful lens for contextualizing the previously-reported substance use prevalence data. Provision of treatment, including the type of treatment available and the perspective of the treatment professionals, may also influence and be influenced by the culture in which the client is embedded. As such, the present study explores similarities and differences in the conceptualization of substance use, substance abuse, and substance dependence by counselors-in-training in these two countries and seeks to explore and contextualize consequences experienced by individuals as a result

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of problematic substance use within these cultures. The present study also explores how treatment is provided and how life following treatment is experienced within each of these contexts, and identifies implications of these findings for treatment professionals in the United States and Italy. Method The present study involved the use of semi-structured interviews to explore the phenomena of substance use, abuse (problematic substance use), dependence (substance use that involves physiological dependence on the substance), consequences experienced as a result of substance use, and treatment options and experiences following treatment in both Italy and the United States. A phenomenological lens and data collection framework grounded the present study (Groenewald, 2004), as phenomena and experiences related to substance use may be implicitly connected to both the cultural context in which the substance is used and the cultural context of the counselor-in-training who described and made meaning of his or her professional experiences and observations related to substance use. The use of the phenomenological lens supports the suspension of implicit and culturally-constructed understandings on the part of the researcher and promotes exploration of the phenomena under study within the cultural context of those sharing their experiences, rather than relying on the researcher’s frame of reference as a mechanism for making meaning of experiences that exist outside of the researcher’s own cultural milieu. Research biases that were considered during the present study’s conceptualization and data collection processes include the researcher’s status as a citizen of the United States and as a substance abuse counselor. These researcher biases were managed in the design and data collection processes through the development of interview questions that allowed for participant description of substance use, abuse, and dependence based upon their experiences rather than based upon current culture-bound definitions. Additionally, the researcher’s knowledge and skills were not engaged during the interview process, instead allowing participant expertise to form the dialogue and context of interviews. To assess the similarities and differences between the way Italian counselors-in-training and American counselors-in-training conceptualize and work with substance use, abuse, and dependence, interviews were conducted with two counselors-in-training in Italy and two counselors-in-training in America, including one master’s student and one doctoral student from each country. Each interview was conducted using questions focused on three overarching topics: conceptualization of substance use, abuse, and dependence; consequences experienced as a result of substance use; and treatment modalities and outcomes for problematic substance use. The interviews took place in person on college campuses in both Italy and the United States. Each interview took between 40 and 60 minutes. The two Italian students were interviewed together in order to facilitate accurate translation of the Italian-speaking students’ ideas into English. Each American

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student was interviewed separately. Interviews were video recorded to facilitate transcription. Video footage was maintained on a secure computer and footage was erased from the computer following the completion of the transcription process. Participants were selected based upon their status as a counselor-intraining with prior experience working in the field of addictions or substance abuse counseling. Pseudonyms are used throughout the present report to protect the confidentiality of participants. The four participants include Liza, a Caucasian American female who is a recent graduate of a master’s program in addiction counseling; Ali, a Caucasian American female Ph.D. student whose studies concentrate on addiction in college students; Eula, an Italian female who is completing an internship experience in a community-based addiction treatment setting for her master’s in counseling; and Laila, a current Ph.D. student in counseling and psychology who completed an internship providing services to individuals who gamble compulsively. All of the participants are females in their mid- to late-twenties. Each participant provided informed consent for participation. Results The qualitative data gathered in this study provide rich information on substance use, abuse, and dependence as observed by the counselors-in-training in two different cultural contexts. Participants described the consequences observed as a result of substance use and explained treatment and post-treatment options. Across both groups, participants described discrepancies between public perceptions of alcohol use, marijuana use, and other drug use and identified the discrepancy between the need for treatment and treatment-seeking by individuals. Despite some similarities between the Italian and American responses, differences in observed drug use trends, observed consequences experienced due to substance use, and models for providing treatment emerged in data provided by participants, underscoring the role that culture may play in identifying and treating problematic substance use both in the short and long term. Conceptualizations of Substance Use, Abuse, and Dependence Both Eula and Laila described similar drug use trends observed during their experiences working with problematic substance use in Italy. Specifically, alcohol use and abuse were reported to be prevalent. Laila also talked about the prevalence of marijuana and cocaine use in Italy. For alcohol abuse, it’s social . . . it’s quite normal here to drink a lot. In some cases people are addicted but they don’t perceive themselves like people with addiction because there is a culture of drink, during all the day. In the case of cocaine abuse . . . sometimes they take it for depression, or to do things or to [escape] from their normal life. . . . Some people use cocaine for energy, to keep going because perhaps they [lack] the energy so they use it to achieve a goal. Sometimes people that pay attention to their weight . . . take cocaine to appear beautiful. Sometimes [people use marijuana] because there is a relationship between marijuana and relaxation. So [to promote] calming before sleep someone smokes marijuana.

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According to Eula and Laila, attitudes toward marijuana and cocaine use differ based upon on the “badness” of the substance. Laila explained differing attitudes toward marijuana use and cocaine use in Italy this way: In Italy the law [is that] you can use marijuana for personal use but you can’t buy marijuana for personal use, so there is a contradiction, and I think that sometimes this contradiction brings people to say, “Okay, it’s not important because…what can do [sic] police [do] when there is this conflict in the law?” Because you can’t take cocaine, it’s not possible with the law, so if you have only one gram of cocaine with you it’s different than having a gram of marijuana with you. People perceive cocaine and marijuana addiction differently.

Eula added to Laila’s contribution by sharing the following perspective: For the marijuana it’s different than the other [drugs] . . . because if the police stop you with cocaine, you are like the cocaine addiction people. If the police stop you with marijuana, you are not like the marijuana addiction people, so there’s a different perception. So cocaine is badder [sic] than marijuana, so you are okay if you smoke marijuana.

These differing attitudes toward common substances of abuse in Italy were mirrored in information shared by Liza and Ali based upon their experiences in American treatment settings. Liza described nicotine, a widely-used but undiscussed substance during the Italian interviews, in addition to other common American substances of abuse. My observation would be that alcohol is probably one of the most used mood-altering substances. I think statistically for our country nicotine would be the highest [used substance]. I think that’s what the research would say, but my observation has been mostly alcohol. Other highly used substances depending on the [geographic] area that you’re looking at, marijuana, heroin, that’s my observation. Cocaine . . . I know that it is used, but it hasn’t been something that I’ve seen often, personally.

Ali also described the regional variation in drugs of abuse that she has observed in practice and reflected upon similar trends observed by other treatment professionals. I think alcohol [use] is still biggest, and marijuana [after that] but I think the other [drugs of abuse] kind of flux in communities. Just recently I was meeting with [another treatment professional] and she said something like, “the big heroin thing that’s been going on in the state,” and those conversations had been happening other places where I’ve worked, like, “ten years ago when the big thing with meth was going on in this community.” Those two in particular [heroin and methamphetamine] seem to be community epidemics. Opiates, pharmaceutical opiate use, is [also] huge now . . . as well as different kinds of hallucinogens.

Interestingly, Liza, like the Italian interview participants, reflected upon the differing perceptions of the use of mood-altering substances based upon the substance’s “badness.” She described her observations in this way: I think [people who use marijuana] would categorize these drugs into different levels of badness. For example, I think people who identify as smoking marijuana may not identify as people who use drugs. There’s a

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whole category of people who feel that’s natural so it’s acceptable to use. I certainly don’t believe that people who smoke cigarettes would identify themselves as addicts unless they are also addicted to other substances.

In both Italy and the United States, alcohol was the first mood-altering substance referred to by participants when describing substance use trends. Marijuana use was identified second by all participants. The inclusion of nicotine in discussion of mood-altering substances occurred in only one of the four respondents’ answers, despite the accessibility of nicotine in both countries. The relatively positive social valence participants described when discussing perceptions of alcohol and marijuana use was represented across interviews with participants in both countries. In both countries, attitudes toward a given substance not only appeared to impact the substance’s abuse potential, but also reflected the potential consequences users of a given substance may face. Consequences of Problematic Substance Use In both the Italian and American students’ interviews, legal consequences were the most frequently reported observed consequence of problematic substance use. All participants also described social and familial consequences, although the nature of these consequences was described differently by the Italian and American students. In Italy, legal consequences are often the first step toward access to treatment within the public service sector. Eula and Laila described the process, using cocaine abuse as an example. If police stop you with cocaine, you have to go to the police station and there is an inquiry and then [what happens] depends on how much cocaine you have with you. You could go in jail, and then there is [a] blood test to see if there is cocaine and how much cocaine is in your blood. . . . If you are under 18 you have to go in the public service for drug addiction. If you are higher than 18 then [you may go to] the public service community, where you live alone [away] from your family, and you live with the [other people in treatment]. If you are stopped by the police when you are driving [under the influence], in some cases you have to attend a group like psychotherapy for the addiction.

Eula connected the differing perceptions of the use of different drugs to the social consequences users may experience. With marijuana addiction, I think that there aren’t really consequences. Also sometimes for the alcohol addiction there aren’t really consequences. Sometimes there will be consequences with alcohol addiction where you have to go out and people don’t drink, [which] could be a problem. [People addicted to alcohol] can’t stop, so sometimes the people want to all drink so they want to go out only with their friends who drink and they will not do other activities . . . so all they do is drink. With the cocaine addiction or strong drug addiction, sometimes they lose their friend relationships or family relationships. [These relationships] usually were not good before the addiction. They could lose their jobs, their work, there are different consequences but the main are their relationships, family, friends, and work.

Ali described her observations of consequences experienced as a result of substance use in both individual and collective terms. Her reflection of the

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differences in legal consequences based upon the substance being used is somewhat similar to observations reported by the Italian students, while also adding to this perspective by describing the differential treatment of individuals depending on race, socio-economic status, and gender. I think people make decisions [about substance use] based on legal consequences of the substance. Like, overall [engaging in] drinking but not drinking and driving. I think in the U.S. there’s [also] a serious issue with racial profiling, with who gets in trouble and for what related to substance use and dependence. An African American man with a certain amount of marijuana on him is more likely to get slapped with legal issues than a White female or a White male even, and if that person has money also it makes a difference. On an intrapersonal [or individual] level, [consequences may include] a lack of ability to regulate emotions and feel things [and] the ability to tolerate feeling things. Interpersonally [or socially] I think that people who are substance dependent can seem like a monster to the people that they love. Sometimes they can hide it and then the intrapersonal issues are just exacerbated . . . not being able to hold a job sometimes, I think more likely than not that is the case. I think there’s a profound amount of shame, too.

Liza provided a comprehensive overview of the potential consequences an individual may face when engaging in problematic substance use in the United States. Liza also touched upon differences in consequences based upon substance of abuse that have previously been identified by each of the other participants. She additionally articulated the impact that social and legal consequences may have on promoting engagement in treatment for some individuals engaging in problematic substance use. The risks fall into categories, so there are health risks associated with each substance, different health risks depending on how much you use and sometimes with even one time use, like, with heroin for example, you can use one time and have pretty serious health consequences. There are legal consequences associated with different substances. For example if you’re under 21 and using alcohol in public, there are [legal] consequences. If you’re over or under 21 and using alcohol and driving there are legal consequences. I think most frequently, [regarding] the marijuana use that students, especially the college students and sometimes teenagers, don’t believe use is problematic; they only see the legal consequences as problematic. I think the long-term social consequences include a lack of social support, losing all social supports. Short-term social consequences could appear positive. I’ve had students, specifically college students, report that when they’re using alcohol it’s much easier to find a social network, especially on a college campus, than it would be otherwise. But it’s been my experience that the long term use, specifically abuse or dependence [on mood-altering substances] would lead to a lack of social support. It’s less true for some substances than others, so alcohol use is [a] more socially accepted substance, so maybe [an individual] would still continue to have social support that [an individual] wouldn’t if [he or she] were abusing crack. Even then I think any dependence on a drug leads to isolation and a lack of social support.

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Alcohol is definitely treated as less problematic by the court system unless you’re involved in a situation where you’re hurting someone else, like drunk driving. I think [consequences] also depend on who the family is and how they [view] different kinds of drugs. I’ve seen families of children who are very concerned about alcohol use and families of children who are not at all concerned about alcohol or marijuana use but would be concerned about heroin use.

Liza also made connections between legal consequences and engagement in treatment, citing the court system as the primary way she has observed individuals become engaged in the treatment process. It’s my belief that people most often enter treatment through the court system, the legal system. Some people enter treatment because they are forced into treatment or given the option of treatment or jail, and most, but not all, people will choose treatment over jail. It’s been my experience that people also often enter treatment because of [pressure from] families or social supports. That kind of pressure by social supports is that there would be some kind of consequence in their personal lives if they do not seek treatment.

Across all of the interviews, the theme of differential consequences dependent on the used substance emerged in both legal and social terms. In particular, the use of alcohol and marijuana were reported by participants in both Italy and the United States to receive less severe legal consequences in many cases than the use of drugs such as cocaine or heroin. Socially, all of the participants spoke to the impact problematic substance use may have on social and familial relationships and on employment. The American participants also identified psychological and medical consequences associated with substance use, while these issues were not raised by the Italian participants. As reported by participants in both Italy and the United States, the legal system often serves as a conduit for the treatment of problematic substance use. Treatment Options and Outcomes The portraits of treatment and life after treatment described by the interview participants in each country highlighted the greatest differences encountered in perspectives on addiction within the context of the present study. Treatment in Italy through the public service is a long-term commitment, with some individuals opting to remain in the treatment communities throughout their lives. Although private treatment is available for those who can afford it, public service treatment provides treatment to those who cannot afford private treatment and to those who have experienced legal consequences due to their substance use. Treatment that relies on replacement drug therapy, specifically methadone treatment, is provided in Italy as part of the public service treatment. Eula described the treatment possibilities in greater detail: There is the community, there is the training [outpatient substance abuse group therapy], or there is other medical training. . . . It’s different the time that you can stay in each service. You can start in the education and with the community or a different way. In the community they are there for 9 months. . . . The problem with the methadone is some people can stay for

The William & Mary Educational Review all their lives with the training because the public service gives them the methadone. . . . There are a lot of people who stay here to attend the methadone. So sometimes they stay here their whole life. And in some services you have to wait for two years to enter into community service because [they are] public and there isn’t space for all people and sometimes in the community the people stay for a lot of years, so there isn’t a regeneration.

Contrasted with treatment options provided publicly in Italy that may allow people access for the duration of their life, American treatment options remain time limited and dependent on financial resources. Liza described treatment options and challenges to treatment access in the United States: [Treatment depends] on [people’s] income or their health insurance, previous treatment; on access that they have to find options for treatment; and on their needs. So if you are someone who has an income or has family income that would allow you to seek a higher level of care, like a residential facility—because those are more costly than an outpatient treatment—then you are sometimes able to do that whether or not your health insurance will pay for it, because health insurance will pay for a part of it but not most of that. If you’re not someone who has those kinds of means, your health insurance will generally require you to fail at outpatient treatment at least once before they will let you go to inpatient treatment. Outpatient treatment is more readily available in most communities I would say. Residential treatment, you have to travel farther to get to it, so some people may not be able or may not have the access to find those places. Depending on where you are, [outpatient treatment may involve] anything from weekly individual services to several times a week individual services, drug screenings, family counseling, groups. Depending on where you are, [residential treatment] would involve usually living away from your home environment and/or being there 8-12 hours daily but boarding somewhere else. Participating in groups, receiving medical care in some places, individual therapy, education, sometimes family therapy.

Compared with the length of stay in Italian public service treatment, which participants reported may range from 9 months to a lifetime, American treatment length of stay is much shorter in duration. Both Liza and Ali described the length of stay, and although variation existed in their responses, the picture painted is one of treatment that may leave some individuals still in need of services. Liza discussed her observations of the length of treatment stays: I’ve seen adolescent facilities that the minimum stay is a year and adult facilities that the longest stay is 90 days. So I think it really depends on the program and also access and ability [of the client] to continue to pay for treatment. Most insurances [sic] will pay for 28 days. Ethically, residential treatment is required to help you find access to a lower level of care before you leave so if you have access to residential care then ideally they would give you an appointment to have an intake in an intensive outpatient treatment setting where you’d be seen three times a week for several hours, either in groups or individually, but probably in groups. Ideally you would step down in the levels of care until you were able to be more independent. Unfortunately, people don’t always follow those recommendations. You can’t force someone to do that, so I think probably

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what happens more often than not is that people leave and attempt to do something on their own, or maybe they participate in a 12-step group [like Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous], which isn’t the same as treatment.

Similar to Liza’s account, Ali’s description of the step-down nature of American treatment emphasized the individualized nature of treatment, as well as the impact both finances and social factors may have on an individual’s willingness to continue to engage in treatment over a longer time frame. You hear of the 28 day stay, and the inpatient environment, but [a client] can advocate for [him or her]self for longer, to be 60 days, but that is also money dependent. After that [level of treatment] is day treatment. I think people can be in day treatment for a pretty long time. I’ve worked with people who were in day treatment for months while they were living in a sober living kind of place, and I think beyond that it kind of staggers off into very individual [plans for treatment]. A father who is also a doctor who spends time in inpatient treatment and raises a family [may not be willing to go] with the sober living, or a mom [may not be willing to go]. I think treatment centers or inpatient centers help push people towards that, but it’s not always the case. I think it’s great for a single male with no kids, it’s a great trajectory, but I think a lot of people pull out of that sooner, but they also want to live, you know.

Both Liza and Ali mentioned 12-step programs in their interviews, while neither of the Italian participants discussed the role of 12-step programs. Liza explained the purpose and format of these groups in more detail: Twelve-step groups are social support systems of people in recovery from alcohol or other drugs. The 12-step model is developed by Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous and there’s a whole network of support and sponsors for members. It’s not treatment but it’s a good addition to treatment and a good long-term support.

The Italian participants described a system of treatment for problematic substance use that is subsidized by the government, which both increases availability of treatment and increases the time individuals may need to wait for access. The American participants described a system of treatment that is dependent on available financial resources and health insurance provisions. Beyond this, American participants also described a wide variation in the duration and level of treatment services accessed by individuals seeking services. In both the Italian and American interviews, treatment was identified as most often accessed through the legal system, with voluntary participants seeking treatment less frequently. The treatment statistics in both countries highlight the discrepancy between treatment need and participation in treatment. The potential stigma and consequences associated with seeking treatment were described by participants in both countries as a barrier to voluntary treatment access. After Treatment: Challenges and Stigma Although treatment initiates the transition from addiction to sobriety, the bulk of the journey occurs after an individual leaves treatment. The environment

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that surrounds an individual following treatment may support or discourage ongoing sobriety. In both the Italian and American interviews, these challenges were described. Both the Italian and American participants described stigma of treatment, access to resources, and employment as challenges following treatment. For individuals who seek treatment through the public service in Italy, employment after treatment remains a hurdle to long-term sobriety. Laila described the challenges individuals who have completed treatment face in locating and maintaining employment following treatment, highlighting the impact that the stigma of addiction and treatment has on individuals hoping to be reintegrated into the community: When you have drug addiction and people know that you have drug addiction it’s a problem to include the people in the work because usually employers do not trust in your ability or in your competence, so it’s a problem. And usually [individuals who seek treatment] don’t go to school or college. There is a high level of people that return to the addiction. And in Italy we have social work . . . so you can work in a supermarket or in a convenience store, low level work. These kinds of work [are for individuals with disabilities and drug addiction] so the minorities that can’t find work can work in this cooperative.

The American participants also described the impact of stigma on life after treatment. In addition, they described other types of challenges, both intrapersonal and interpersonal, that individuals who have sought treatment often face. Liza described these challenges in social terms: Everything is a challenge. Any treatment, when you are so removed from your normal environment and given such a high level of support, to step out of that even if you are stepping down in levels of support, is such a shock to your system. Typically, people who are using, abusing, dependent on substances haven’t spent time developing coping skills to deal with that kind of shock, and I think it’s a big time of risk for relapse. The biggest challenges are returning to a family system, especially if you’re an adolescent. [Adolescents] don’t have a lot of power in that system typically, not only to maintain change but to motivate others to change their patterns so that they can maintain their change. Returning to a relationship that needs to change can [also] be difficult. It’s my experience that family members have difficulty understanding why they need to make changes when they did not have the problem. So given that family and social support is such a protective factor, having that not change or not able to accept change after treatment is probably the biggest challenge.

Ali also described the challenges following treatment, and like the Italian participants, she articulated the difficulties of finding or returning to work as a challenge that impacts many individuals in the United States following treatment. She also described the relational challenges inherent in returning to the home environment after treatment for many individuals. I think a lot of [what happens after treatment] depends on who [the individuals] were before they entered treatment. For instance, if a counselor relapses, and they go into treatment and they come out, they could probably

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work at a job, but they can’t have their job back, especially in that setting. . . . Someone who worked on Wall Street while they were high on cocaine the whole time that wants to go back to their job right after [treatment], they probably have the personality traits to get right back in there. . . . I think the stigma of being in treatment is detrimental to someone planning to get a job, but I don’t think there’s enough support to come out [about being in treatment] while they’re working on their recovery. When the person comes [home from treatment], I think it’s a total realignment, even if everyone in the family wanted that person to get sober. There’s a complete readjustment that has to happen, because it is in no way just on that person. The family after treatment sometimes isn’t willing to change while the person was doing their own work, or is just not on the same page with the lingo or the ideas that their loved one is.

Although stigma is a theme expressed by each of the interview participants, the ramifications of this stigma on life after treatment varied based upon the context of the individual leaving treatment. In Italy, treatment through public service essentially closes the door to employment outside of specialized employment options for individuals through social service organizations. Particularly in consideration of young people who may enter treatment, the shortand long-term ramifications of seeking treatment may drastically impact the individual’s quality of life and earning potential well after treatment has occurred. It is no wonder, then, that relapse rates and a return to treatment are high. The impact of treatment on the family was not discussed by the Italian interviewees, perhaps in part because of the nature of the treatment communities that remove an individual from the family environment for an extended period of time, if not for the remainder of his or her lifetime. The American participants’ descriptions of interpersonal and social challenges, which may also connect with stigma and reduced opportunity due to a history of addiction, highlighted the difficulties of remaining sober following treatment. With inherent challenges in meeting basic needs, establishing meaningful interpersonal connections, and managing ongoing sobriety amidst cultures that stigmatize both addiction and treatment, it is not surprising that relapse is a continual risk for individuals who have engaged in treatment at some point in their lives, regardless of geographic location. Discussion Because culture impacts both the development of problematic substance use patterns and may also impact the ways in which problematic substance use is treated and viewed within the individual’s society (Straussner, 2001), the present study sought to elucidate the impact of culture on conceptualization of substance use, abuse, and dependence among counselors-in-training in Italy and the United States. The study also sought to identify the impact of culture on treatment and on experiences following treatment, focusing specifically on the national cultures of Italy and the United States. Despite the differences between Italy and the United States in terms of culture, shared themes related to substance use emerged throughout the

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interviews. Not surprisingly, the view participants expressed of differing attitudes toward alcohol and marijuana as drugs compared to drugs such as cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine was similar across all participants. Despite the cultural views that differentiate between the “bad” drugs and other substances of abuse, each participant also described the potential risks of using alcohol and marijuana in legal and social terms. With regard to the legality of substance use in Italy and the United States, participants shared differing views related to marijuana use. Because the United States is currently experiencing changing attitudes at both the social and judicial levels related to marijuana use, future attitudinal and practical shifts related to whether the legal consequences of marijuana use in the United States become more closely aligned with the experiences shared by the Italian participants remains to be seen. Based upon the reports of participants, the legal and court systems provide many individuals with their first opportunity for engagement in treatment. In both Italy and the United States, treatment models are built around providing opportunities for education, change, support, and growth to promote sobriety. While the Italian government supports the provision of treatment through the public service units to all individuals mandated or willing to attend, the United States’ system for accessing treatment requires financial commitment or health insurance benefits in order to gain access to services, even with legal consequences as the impetus for treatment. As such, access to treatment in the United States remains a challenge for many Americans. The Italian system, too, struggles to meet the needs of all individuals in need of treatment, due in part to the ramifications of providing public-service-based treatment to all citizens, and also due in part to the stigma associated with participating in treatment. The impact of stigma on life after treatment is a theme expressed by each of the participants in this study. From participants’ reports of limited lifetime employment opportunities due to participating in treatment in Italy to a more nuanced but still palpable impact on employment and relationships reported by participants in the United States, each participant reported the impact of stigma to be one of the greatest challenges, either directly or indirectly, to maintaining sobriety. Because cultural attitudes toward substance use and toward treatment inform practices related to hiring individuals with a history of substance use, it is apparent that in both cultures the attitude toward substance use and treatment has room for growth. Although the participants reported less evidence of stigma for alcohol and marijuana use in both cultures, these same attitudes did not translate to the use of illicit drugs. The long term impact of stigma on individuals who have sought treatment may be observed in decreased quality of life, in earnings, and in the dearth of social supports for the individual. Promoting a change in attitudes toward substance use and treatment may optimize opportunities available for individuals who choose to seek treatment to improve their quality of life, health, and overall level of functioning. Overall, the interviews provided more evidence for similarities between both cultures in attitudes and practices related to substance use and treatment

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than differences. Although related but different participant observations reflected the nuances of these attitudes (e.g., the limited options for employment as a matter of course in Italy compared with more subtle potential for discrimination in hiring in the United States), the overall attitudes toward substance use and treatment appear to be consistent across both settings. These similarities may be reflective of a larger culture of addiction that transcends geography (White, 1996), with the stigma representative of the reaction of non-members of the culture of addiction to this culture. Similarly, the existence of a culture of recovery that transcends geography (White, 1996) may help to support the use of group-based and peer-based treatment models in both Italy and the United States. Future research that further explores the transcendent nature of the cultures of addiction and recovery across both national and international contexts may help to support understandings of these cultures; the relationship between geography-based culture, addiction, and recovery cultures; how best to begin bridging the gap in understanding between those who are not impacted by addiction and those who are; and to promote opportunities for personal and professional growth while also reducing the stigma associated with both addiction and treatment. A specific implication for future practice includes developing substance abuse treatment professionals’ capacity to advocate for clients to reduce stigma associated with seeking treatment for substance use disorders. These efforts may be supported by substance abuse treatment professionals in a variety of ways, including through the provision of resources related to services available to meet clients’ basic, financial, and insurance needs in the United States. Substance abuse treatment professionals may also choose to develop competencies related to vocational and career counseling, so they are professionally capable of supporting clients in locating employment that matches the client’s skills and aptitudes. Additionally, professionals may participate in advocacy activities such as individual client support or community-based advocacy for resource access. They can also join state and national advocacy efforts through writing letters and lobbying political entities who are responsible for developing laws and policies related to equal access and opportunities for individuals impacted by substance use disorders. A further implication for substance use treatment professionals includes seeking additional training in the social and cultural factors influencing both substance use and treatment-seeking behaviors. Adapting current treatment models and practices to address the needs of diverse clients—such as those in need of vocational support as well as substance-related treatment—would individualize the treatment process and may increase treatment efficacy. Overall, treatment professionals would be wise to attend to the valuable information clients share regarding their views on the culture of addiction, which may be impacted by factors including race or ethnicity, gender, socio-economic status, geographic location, age, and the culture of recovery as they begin to experience it. By both attending to the commonalities these clients share that become relevant to treatment processes and outcomes and by remaining sensitive to the

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differences that may necessitate diversity in treatment models, goals, and interventions, substance abuse treatment professionals can begin to address individual needs and promote individual recovery while also promoting reduced stigma toward those who seek treatment and recovery from problematic substance use. References European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction. (2014, June 25). Country overview: Italy. Retrieved from http://www.emcdda.europa.eu/publications/country-overviews/it Groenewald, T. (2004). A phenomenological research design illustrated. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 3(1). Retrieved from http://www.ualberta.ca/~iiqm/backissues/3_1/pdf/groenewald.pdf Straussner, S. L. A. (2001). Ethnocultural factors in substance abuse treatment. New York, NY: Guilford Press. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2012). National survey on drug use and health: Summary of national findings. Retrieved from http://store.samhsa.gov/product/Results-from-the-2012-NationalSurvey-on-Drug-Use-and-Health-NSDUH-/SMA13-4795 White, W. (1996). Pathways from the culture of addiction to the culture of recovery. Center City, MN: Hazelden. World Health Organization. (2014). Global alcohol report: Italy. Retrieved from http://www.who.int/substance_abuse/publications/global_alcohol_report/profiles/ita.pdf

About the Author Amy E. Williams is a second-year PhD student in the Counselor Education program at the College of William & Mary.

Accidental Agent of Change: George Ticknor

Accidental Agent of Change: George Ticknor’s Study Abroad in 1815 Germany Leslie Bohon

Abstract The historian Herbst (1965) posited that “scholarship . . . like most human endeavors, [is] given [its] distinguishing character by the specific time and place in which [it is] pursued” (p. vii). The distinguishing character of U.S. higher education at the turn of the nineteenth century was transition. Indeed, in the early 1800s, U.S. educators were struggling to determine the future of higher education in the United States, igniting discussions and disagreements concerning everything from the purpose of education, to curriculum and pedagogy, and to student life (Herbst, 1965). Yet, answers did not appear to be forthcoming from within the young nation’s colleges, encouraging a growing trend to seek answers abroad. Early academicians looked to German universities as models of ideal higher education institutions (Gore, 2005). To import ideas that would shape U.S. higher education, U.S. academicians sent young scholars to Germany. One of the first scholars to study abroad was George Ticknor. This paper examines Ticknor’s study-abroad observations and personal quest for knowledge, highlighting the elements of the philosophy of education, curriculum and pedagogy, and student life in nineteenth century German higher education. The author argues that early study-abroad students in Germany, such as George Ticknor, brought home profound observations which influenced the institutions of nineteenth century U.S. higher education. Keywords: George Ticknor, study abroad, German higher education, nineteenth century U.S. higher education

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At the turn of the nineteenth century, U.S. higher education was preparing for transition. The country and its needs were outgrowing the educational system of the time (Hofstadter, 1952). Academicians and some of the general population questioned the applicability of the classical liberal arts curriculum that had been in place since the foundation of Harvard in 1636. Questions arose about how to approach education as well as its accessibility. Unrest marked students’ everyday life; they yearned for freedom from controlling faculty and administrators. Answers did not appear to be forthcoming from within the young nation’s colleges, encouraging a growing trend to seek answers abroad. Gore (2005) suggested that “early [U.S.] educators and administrators looked to Europe, and particularly to Germany, for models as they shaped all their institutions of higher learning” (p. 35). In fact, the nineteenth century marked a trend of U.S. student migration, as almost 9,000 U.S. students pursued foreign study in German universities (Herbst, 1965). U.S. academicians were anxious to pursue the opportunity to send young scholars to Germany and thus import ideas that would shape U.S. higher education. One such young scholar was George Ticknor. Tired of an uninspiring life as a lawyer and thirsty yet for scholarship, George Ticknor left his law practice to study abroad in a country considered exceptional for its higher education: Germany (Ticknor, Hillard, & Ticknor, 1876). Of his life as a lawyer and his subsequent departure for Germany, Ticknor explained, But I tired of the life, and my father understood it; for I was very frank with him, and told him – what he knew very well – that I was more occupied with Greek and Latin than with law-books . . . I therefore gave up my office, and turned all my attention and effort to learning what I could of the German language, and German universities, to which my thoughts and wishes had been already turned as the best places for education. (p. 11)

Much credit goes to young U.S. scholars, such as George Ticknor, for importing insights from German universities to serve as a model for U.S. higher education in the nineteenth century. When George Ticknor decided to study in Germany in the early 1800s, he was filled with hopes of what he would personally gain abroad, but like most travelers, was unaware of the wide range of experiences that he would encounter. This paper examines Ticknor’s study-abroad observations and personal quest for knowledge, highlighting the elements of the philosophy of education, curriculum and pedagogy, and student life in nineteenth century German higher education. In fact, some of Ticknor’s most poignant observations about the philosophy of education, curriculum and pedagogy, and student life foreshadowed the transitions that higher education in the U.S. would soon thereafter experience. These profound changes can be attributed to the influence of Germany’s great universities and the accounts of the first U.S. students who studied there. The Turn of the Nineteenth Century: U.S. Higher Education in Transition The historian Herbst (1965) posited that “scholarship . . . like most human endeavors, [is] given [its] distinguishing character by the specific time and

Accidental Agent of Change: George Ticknor

place in which [it is] pursued” (p. vii). The distinguishing character of U.S. higher education at the turn of the nineteenth century was transition. Indeed, U.S. educators were struggling to determine the future of higher education in the United States, igniting discussions and disagreements concerning everything from the purpose of education, to curriculum and pedagogy, and to student life. An element of U.S. higher education in transition in the early 1800s was the type of student, and consequently, the purpose of higher education. An important mission of colonial colleges was to prepare clergy (Herbst, 1965). Although many colleges continued to be religiously-based at the beginning of the nineteenth century, the period between 1760 (and intensified by the Revolution) through the Civil War witnessed a move toward secularization. The nineteenth century marked the height of this change of purpose when future lawyers, merchants, physicians, and teachers, needing to run burgeoning communities, outnumbered divinity students (Hofstadter, 1952). A changing student body and changing needs of the country brought into question the purpose of higher education. Another element of higher education that generated heated debate was the traditional liberal arts curriculum (Herbst, 1965). From the founding of the first colleges, adherence to the classics of Latin and Greek was valued (Winterer, 1998). Even so, there were some U.S. classical scholars, beginning in 1820, who were among the first professors to take the lead from German universities to study the classics in new ways, to “make the ancient Mediterranean relevant to nineteenth-century America” (p. 112). However, most U.S. colleges defended the traditional adherence to grammar study and recitation. For example, a defense of the liberal arts curriculum was presented by Yale President Jeremiah Day and Professor James Kingsley (1828) in the Yale Report of 1828, in response to opinion that the study of dead languages should be dropped from the curriculum. Day and Kingsley (1828) insisted the purpose of a college was to “lay the foundation of a superior education” by way of the liberal arts curriculum, which they described as the “discipline and furniture of the mind” (p. 278). In other words, a liberal arts curriculum strengthened the mind and stored it with information. Indeed, many universities had no intention to separate from the liberal arts curriculum, as the faculty believed it met their needs to train liberal minds to think (Herbst, 1965). In addition, Day and Kingsley (1828) argued that students should follow the same curriculum because their “prescribed course contains those subjects only which ought to be understood by every one [sic] who aims at a thorough education” (p. 283). Yet, the country’s needs were beginning to vary. Vocational and professional skills were not addressed in the liberal arts curriculum. The new colleges in the West, for example, needed to focus on practical skills to build the frontier (Geiger, 2000). Therefore, college faculty members were actively discussing if and how values and needs were reflected in the curriculum. Closely related to the curriculum was the pedagogy. Many U.S. teaching methods were monotonous: customarily the instructor read from a book or commented on a passage. The students were typically required to recite passages

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every time they attended class (Herbst, 1965). Jackson (2000) summed up the Harvard classroom experience at this time as “lifeless and uninspiring curriculum that failed to address the needs of either the pre-professionals or the scholastically inclined” (p. 52). Indeed, many scholars were beginning to see the prescribed liberal arts curriculum and pedagogy as unfulfilling and impractical antiquities. Finally, student life at the turn of the nineteenth century proved stifling. College staff acted in loco parentis. Thus, all of students’ daily activities were accounted for: studying, eating, sleeping, attending chapel, attending classes. Basically, “college life resembled that of soldiers in their barracks” (Herbst, 1965, p. 27). What had worked for the young U.S. colleges for almost 200 years was becoming less relevant. The time was ripening for U.S. higher education to make changes. Increasingly, the reputation of Germany’s universities encouraged scholars to look toward Germany for what they could not find in U.S. higher education. Our Brave Scholar: George Ticknor George Ticknor was born in Boston in 1791. Although his family was “neither rich nor poor” (Ticknor et al., 1876, p. 1), by most standards, Ticknor was a member of the middle class of Boston, securing many privileges in his early life. Ticknor’s father was a Dartmouth graduate and became the principal of a school in Boston and later a grocer before he retired. George Ticknor also attended Dartmouth and was afterwards admitted to the bar. As Hillard noted about Ticknor, after a year of a successful law practice, young Ticknor decided that his life as “a lawyer would not satisfy his most simple ideas of usefulness or happiness. He therefore gave up his office, and turned his thoughts to plans of study and travel which should prepare him for the greater advantages of Europe” (Ticknor et al., 1876, p. 23). In a letter to a friend, young Ticknor declared his motives for abandoning law and pursuing study in Europe: “The whole tour in Europe I consider a sacrifice of enjoyment to improvement. I value it only in proportion to the great means and inducements it will afford me to study – not men, but books” (p. 23). It is important to note that when George Ticknor decided to study abroad, he sought advice about traveling and received it from some of the most influential men in the country: Thomas Jefferson, President Adams, Yale professors Day and Kingsley, and many other influential men of business and letters (Ticknor et al., 1876). From these experiences, including a comfortable childhood with educated parents, a Dartmouth education, a successful but short law career, and the company of the most prominent and influential people in the country, one could say George Ticknor was privileged and in a position to pursue his dreams. While still in Boston, Ticknor sought a German teacher and a few German textbooks (both of which were very difficult to find) and studied the German language the summer and autumn of 1814 to prepare for his upcoming travel. Afterwards, with letters of introduction in hand from influential people in the area, including President Adams, Ticknor embarked upon a three-month journey to Washington, D.C. and Virginia to meet “persons very interesting and

Accidental Agent of Change: George Ticknor

important in public affairs” (Ticknor et al., 1876, p. 12). The information he sought from these important people was whom to meet and how to approach his travels in Europe and his study in Germany. Thus, on April 16, 1815, 23-year-old George Ticknor left Boston and its promises of a stable life to travel in Europe and study at the University of Göttingen (Ticknor et al., 1876). After traveling for months in England and the Netherlands, he arrived in Göttingen on August 4, 1815, feeling like “a pilgrim who had reached the shrine of his faith” (Ticknor et al., 1876, p. 70). George Ticknor was anticipating a promising personal journey. Through George Ticknor’s Eyes: Three Elements of Higher Education These aforementioned elements of U.S. higher education, philosophy of education, curriculum and pedagogy, and student life, so vehemently discussed in the academy at the turn of the nineteenth century, found their way into George Ticknor’s memoirs of his study abroad in Germany. Ticknor’s memoir was compiled by his family and his biographer, George Hillard. The memoir utilizes Ticknor’s letters while abroad, his later recollections of his life, and Hillard’s commentary. Hillard (1876) admits that although a memoir of someone “prepared largely by the immediate relatives of its subject . . . is apt to be colored by their affection and sympathy,” (p. iii) “the compilers of this work have striven to make it a truthful sketch” (p. iv). Therefore, quotes that were previously dropped from his memoir, but found elsewhere, were included in order to accurately represent Ticknor’s adventures in Germany. Philosophy of Education How the German universities approached education proved one of Ticknor’s favorite topics. German universities were famous for three concepts that guided their educational philosophy: Lernfreiheit, Lehrfreiheit, and Wissenschaft, or roughly freedom to learn, freedom to teach, and science and scholarship (or research) (Anderson, 2004, p. 55; Herbst, 1965). German higher education instilled a sense of scholarship for the sake of learning as well as “a commitment to scholarship as a profession” (Herbst, 1965, p. 19). Walz (1936) concluded that in German universities, Academic freedom applied to professors and students alike. For the students it meant that they were free to choose their studies and that they were masters of their own lives. For the professors it meant that they were secure in their positions and that they were free to teach what they believed to be the truth. Neither the church nor the State nor outmoded tradition nor political parties were to interfere with their studies and investigations . . . Academic freedom, more than any other factor made the German universities the center of progressive thought in investigations of every kind. (p. 51)

Likewise, Flexner (1930) proclaimed the German universities’ unique freedom in this fashion: “The new University [of Berlin] was intended primarily to develop knowledge, secondarily and perhaps as a concession, to train the professional and the official classes” (p. 312). Thus, the idea of academic freedom was paramount to the spirit and identity of German higher education.

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These ideals were new to Ticknor and his fascination with this philosophy permeated his journals. When trying to describe how the Germans approached scholarship, he explained, “In England the man of letters must be more or less a practical man; in Germany, he is necessarily as pure a theorist or idealist as the Greeks were” (Ticknor et al., 1876, p. 99). Ticknor further tried to capture the essence of academic freedom as: An extreme freedom, and, as I should call it, latitudinarianism in thinking, speaking, writing, and teaching on all subjects . . . a more perfect freedom, and in most cases a more perfect use and indulgence of it, cannot be imagined than is now to be found in Germany. (p. 99)

This philosophy toward education delighted Ticknor, offering him a scholastic opportunity he had not found at home. Yet, often the idea of academic freedom for German students morphed into a voice for political concerns in addition to university education. The U.S. scholars, therefore, may have imported a different version of these ideals than the German version (McClelland, 1980). Nevertheless, the idea of academic freedom for George Ticknor proved a liberating and fulfilling aspect of his journey. Curriculum and Pedagogy Concerning curriculum and pedagogy, Germany was the site of a revolution in classical scholarship that had begun in the late 18th century. German scholars sought to connect the Greek spirit with the modern world through literature, art, and philosophy. Thus, criticisms of the classical language teaching in the U.S. had some roots in the changes in classical teaching in German higher education at the end of the eighteenth century (Winterer, 1998). Another German curricular innovation included the development of a strong partnership of scholarship and research, or Wissenschaft. Wilhelm Humboldt is often credited with the concept of the link between teaching and research (Anderson, 2004). In fact, Herbst (1965) said of this time that U.S. graduates believed that premier “professional training in the more specialized scholarly and scientific disciplines was not to be obtained from U.S. college . . . but was reserved for those privileged to drink at the fountain of German scholarship” (p. 3). Ticknor’s numerous details about the curriculum, the professors, and their pedagogy illustrate his appreciation for the sheer numbers of staff and variety of courses. For instance, Ticknor was struck by the number of faculty: “There are nearly forty, appointed and paid by the government, and there are, besides, as many more men of science and letters, who live here for the purpose of lecturing and instruction” (Ticknor et al., 1876, p. 76). Forty professors and just as many instructors must have seemed numerous compared to the small faculty numbers at the turn of the nineteenth century in U.S. colleges. Ticknor’s own institution, Dartmouth College, employed only four professors in the early 1800s (Fiegen, 2012). In contrast, the large number of professors at Göttingen made possible a comparably high number of classes for the offering: “At least seventy or eighty different courses of lectures . . . are going on at the same time” (Ticknor et al.,

Accidental Agent of Change: George Ticknor

1876, p. 76). The plethora of disciplines and number of class choices were major differences that fed Ticknor’s hunger for scholarship. On a daily basis, Ticknor took full advantage of the opportunity to learn from great teachers and choose among his interests for coursework. In a letter home to his father, he described his schedule for three days of the week. Three more days were devoted to practically the same activities except for slightly different times. As shown in Table 1, Ticknor displayed a tireless quest to gain scholarship. Ticknor’s schedule shows not only his dedication to his studies, but his interest in the scholarship of his professors, whom he sometimes sought for private tutoring. Ticknor expressed his admiration for the expertise of his professors in his writings. He described to his father his amazement of the scholarship of his Greek tutor, Dr. Schultze, Everyday [sic] I am filled with new astonishment at the variety and accuracy, the minuteness and readiness, of his learning . . . Dr. Schultze is hardly older than I am . . . It never entered into my imagination to conceive that any expense of time or talent could make a man so accomplished in this forgotten language as he is. (Ticknor et al., 1876, p. 73)

The excitement with which Ticknor described his German professors’ pedagogical methods contrasts sharply with his disappointment in the Dartmouth instructors: “The instructors [at Dartmouth] generally were not as good teachers as my father had been, and I knew it; so I took no great interest in study” (Ticknor et al., 1876, p. 7). Ticknor’s biographer, Hillard, commented on how different his new teachers were from his old:

The William & Mary Educational Review At home he had had teachers, that is, he had had men who knew somewhat more than he did, to whom he recited his lessons, who corrected his mistakes and allowed him to learn. But at Göttingen he was made to understand the difference between reciting to a man and being taught by him. (p. 72)

For example, his lessons in Greek at Göttingen were not simply recitations out of context, but lessons by a Greek scholar who had “learned Greek thoroughly . . . [and] the art of teaching it” (p. 72). A journal entry Ticknor wrote just weeks after starting classes concerned his natural history professor, Blumenbach: He is now nearly or quite seventy years old, has been professor here above forty years . . . He has an astonishingly wide and intimate familiarity with his subject, and a happy humor in communicating his instruction, which makes doubly amusing what is, itself, the most interesting of all studies. His jokes, however, are never frivolous; they are always connected with some important fact or doctrine which they are intended to impress; and when we come out of his lecture-room, after having laughed half the time we were there, we are sure to have learnt twice as much, and to remember it twice as well, as if we had never laughed at all. (p. 80)

Yet, Ticknor’s German professors also proved quite colorful. In one paragraph, Ticknor admired the great philologist Christian Wolf: “I know of few living for whom I have so great a veneration as for Wolf. In genius he surpasses, perhaps, nearly all the philologists who have lived, and in learning and acuteness is behind very few” (Ticknor et al., 1876, p. 106). A couple of paragraphs later, he took a different tone: “But the more I admire him as a scholar, the more I dislike him as a man . . . he disgraced himself by his political conduct when the French were in Halle; and he has sunk from all respect by his vices in old age” (p. 106). Dropped out of his memoir within that phrase was, “In his [Wolf ’s] youth he was addicted to the most vulgar debauchery – at Halle he was in the scandalous coterie of Bahrdt” (Tyack, 1967, p. 59). Contrasted with the four rather strict professors at his alma mater, some of Ticknor’s German professors must have seemed quite extraordinary. Ticknor’s affinity for learning language was a critical part of his personal journey. Even so, Ticknor must have been an extraordinary scholar to learn a language as quickly as he did, and at a level proficient enough for academic coursework. Ticknor assumed that his study of German before he left Boston, along with six weeks of further study in the language would prepare him to function in his academic classes. He arrived in Göttingen in late August and predicted he would be ready to pursue classes in the German language by October: My first object, of course, will be German . . . taught me by Prof. Benecke. . . . Besides him, however, I intend to procure some scholar who will come to my chambers and read and speak with me. In this way, by October I think I shall be able to attend the lectures profitably. (Ticknor et al., 1876, p. 76)

One could question if he was able to learn academic language so quickly considering today’s linguists claim academic language takes five to seven years of study to develop (Cummins, 1984). Later in November, he acknowledged the

Accidental Agent of Change: George Ticknor

difficulty of acquiring another language: “I was struggling with the language, and of course was cut off from half the means and opportunities the University could afford” (Ticknor et al., 1876, p. 79). Again, learning language was one of the most important goals for his academic experience. The University’s famed library also fortified the curriculum and nourished Ticknor’s passion for learning. The library had over 200,000 volumes, rich in literature. Unlike libraries in the U.S., students could check out as many books as desired and return them when they wished. Compared to home, this library was like a dream come true. He once commented about Harvard’s library to his biographer, “When I went away, I thought it was a large library; when I came back, it seemed a closetful of books” (Ticknor et al., 1876, p. 72). The enormity of the Göttingen library often saddened him as it was a reminder of time lost. He saw his contemporaries around him, the same age and of comparable intelligence, but far superior in knowledge given their resources (Ticknor et al., 1876). Student Life Concerning student life, German university students were considered men responsible for themselves and no longer school boys needing advice about conducting their lives. This liberating German philosophy was reflected in their living situations, their scholastic endeavors, and their social lives. For example, absent were dorms to serve their needs for room and board. The students took means at inns or in their rented rooms or with the landlord’s family. For the students’ scholastic choices, they chose from the many classes that best suited their professional goals, gradually specializing at the more advanced levels where the coursework was prescribed (Herbst, 1965). When a student felt ready to exit the university, he would consult with his professors and jointly agree that the student would sit for a final comprehensive exam to evaluate his knowledge (Herbst, 1965). Compared to the regimented life in U.S. colleges, these models presented a very different scenario for Ticknor. However, while Ticknor used his time to focus on his studies (indeed, many of his letters to his father opened with how well his studies were proceeding), he did find a bit of time to dedicate to other distractions. For example, he and his friend joined a literary club, as he describes to his father: “Everett and myself have been taken into the only club in Göttingen. . . . Its name is ‘The Literary Club,’ and like all literary clubs that ever survived the frosts of the first winter, its chief occupation is to eat suppers” (Ticknor et al., 1876, p. 85). This club consisted of professors and students of their choosing. Ticknor believed he and Everett were included as a curiosity; nevertheless, he was grateful for the distraction (Ticknor et al., 1876). Besides literary clubs, students engaged in other student groups, the nature of which received great attention from Ticknor in his journal. This aspect of student life left him more astonished than delighted. Groups, which ranged from Landsmannschaften (groups of students), honor clubs, orders, and various other associations, protected their own against disrespect from others (Anderson,

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2004). Landsmannschaften formed when compatriots from the various German provinces congregated as a support system away from home (Anderson, 2004, p. 71). Ticknor noted that these typically secret associations of students bonded together in a “captious rule of honor” to form “irresistible influence” (Ticknor et al., 1876, p. 89) over other students or townspeople by settling disputes among their members and defending themselves against any discrepancy committed by a townsperson. Landsmannschaften often initiated civil disruption, ranging from boycotting local merchants to dueling to the death (Ticknor et al., 1876). The accounts recorded by Ticknor were quite spectacular. Ticknor’s words revealed surprise and shock as he described the hold these groups had on the town: “The great power their combination gave them proved tyranny in injudicious hands, and the members were obliged to fight duels where no offence was really given, and the citizens were punished where no injustice or fraud had been practiced” (p. 90). Ticknor admitted that although the duels were so frequent “they were absolutely a nuisance” (p. 90), the weapons and armor employed did not produce fatalities. Ticknor noted that dueling was not the only way the members of Landsmannschaften settled perceived injustices. Whenever a dispute between members or a townsperson offended a member, “the punishment was by ‘verschüss’ or non-intercourse” (Ticknor et al., 1876, p. 90). Thus, if a shopkeeper cheated a member, his shop would be boycotted; or if a landlord treated a member unkindly, he would be snubbed. According to Ticknor, these boycotts were so severe that the tradesman would go out of business: “In short, whatever might be the occupation of the offender, it was gone” (p. 90). Ticknor recounts another story, albeit tragic, that illustrates how the Landsmannschaften had complete power over the townspeople: A baker, who had done nothing worse than sue a student for his regular bill, was put into ‘verschüss’ and, after striving in vain to live independently of the students in a town supported entirely by them, found himself so much in debt, that in despair shot himself. (p. 91)

Ticknor’s stories of student crime and punishment were less tragic but also shocking. One student who had been verbally rude to another member, “was put under the ban of the Empire, and, after braving the whole University some weeks . . . went to Leipsic [sic], but found himself received there with the same injuries, and was finally obliged to change his name and go to Jena” (Ticknor, 1876, p. 91). Ticknor reported that these groups were “in defiance of the laws of the University, and have often been broken up by the government” (p. 90), but would not be deterred and re-grouped with new names. Early Study Abroad Students: Agents of Change? Although some historians acknowledge the influence of German universities, they question the idea that U.S. colleges simply adopted the German models. Diehl (1978) argued that the literature “greatly exaggerates the influence of its first students in the making of the institutions of [U.S.] higher education”

Accidental Agent of Change: George Ticknor

(p. 2). Diehl also noted that German scholarship was not easily imported, especially during the first half of the nineteenth century: “Despite the migration of dozens of able and intelligent U.S. students to German universities and repeated exposure to the new classical scholarship, this scholarship did not survive the return journey to America” (p. 102). However, is it coincidental that study abroad accounts, such as George Ticknor’s, examined many elements of German higher education that soon after transformed the same in U.S. higher education? Herbst (1965) posited that “it was from blueprints drawn after the German academic pattern, transported across the ocean by these scholars and many of their compatriots, that the ground was prepared for a successful reorganization of [U.S.] institutions of higher education” (p. x). Indeed, the influences of the German higher education system on the U.S. system proved numerous. Walz (1936) emphasized the influence of the German ideal of a public education for all on the U.S. system. Pedagogical styles, such as lectures and seminars, were explored. The seminar, where the professor and students met to discuss problems and solutions, was considered the “training ground for original scholarship” (p. 53). German universities were the first to combine teaching and research to create the “very model of the modern university” (McClelland, 1980). Therefore, the first U.S. graduate schools were said to be modeled after German universities with “their stress on research, their ideal of academic freedom, and their concept of service to the state” (Hofstadter, 1952, p. 61). Veysey (1965) stated that U.S. academics “who embraced the ideal of scientific research . . . acknowledge[d] an intellectual debt to an explicitly German style of educational experience” (p. 126). Lessons learned from Germany about research are credited with serving as models for graduate education, especially at the end of the nineteenth century (Herbst, 1965). One can certainly argue that the German university had a major role in shaping U.S. higher education at this time and the early study-abroad students, such as George Ticknor, were instrumental by relaying their experiences. Conclusion By the turn of the twentieth century, the great migration of U.S. students to Germany was dwindling. In 1904, an educator in the Journal of Education rejoiced in the change of tide but acknowledged that German universities in the nineteenth century led in “erudition and scientific investigation” (Marvin, 1904, p. 273). By this time, U.S. universities had attended the lessons of German higher education and many believed that nothing more was to be gained from a foreign education (Herbst, 1936). A pride in U.S. higher education had developed, bringing forth a claim that U.S. universities were advancing more rapidly than German universities: “Despite all our imperfections one cannot but admire the great upward strides which the [U.S.] system of education has been making during the last few decades. [U.S.] educational institutions are the best equipped in the world” (Marvin, 1904, p. 273). The great migration of U.S. students to Germany was coming to an end. In 1815, Ticknor could not fulfill his passion for scholarship through the

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U.S. higher education system. He lamented the lack of opportunity at home: “I was idle in college, and learnt little” (Ticknor et al., 1876, p. 7). For a scholar such as George Ticknor in the beginning of the nineteenth century, higher education in Germany promised an opportunity that he could find no where else. Indeed, U.S. “students found in Germany what their own country was still lacking, the most advanced scientific methods, independence of thought and investigation, love and unselfish devotion to science and learning” (Walz, 1936, p. 52). In fact, some of the most discussed concerns in nineteenth century U.S. higher education were prevalent in Ticknor’s memoirs: philosophy of education, curriculum and pedagogy, and student life. Perhaps many young scholars went abroad to seek new models and ideas for higher education at home. Yet for some travelers, their intent was not to transform higher education, but rather personal transformation. In the case of George Ticknor, his desire to study abroad was driven more by his personal thirst for scholarship and less by potential contributions to the transformation of U.S. higher education. Hofstadter (1952) cited Ticknor as one of the “great architects of the [U.S.] university” (p. 62). Indeed, Ticknor remained in education all of his life, namely as a Spanish scholar at Harvard University (Hofstadter, 1952). His journey to Germany began as a personal journey which was not intended to transform U.S. higher education. Yet, George Ticknor proved an accidental agent of change; his well-documented accounts undoubtedly contributed to the admiration of German higher education and the dynamic transformation of the U.S. system soon thereafter. References Anderson, R. D. (2004). European universities from the Enlightenment to 1914. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. Cummins, J. (1984). Bilingualism and special education: Issues in assessment and pedagogy. San Diego, CA: College Hill. Day, J. & Kingsley, J. L. (1828). The Yale report of 1828. In R. Hofstadter & W. Smith (Eds.), American higher education: A documentary history (Vols. 1-2, pp. 275-291). Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press. Diehl, C. (1978). Americans and German scholarship 1770-1870. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. Fiegen, J. (2012). “An opinion of our own”: Education, politics, and the struggle for adulthood at Dartmouth College, 1814-1819. History of Education Quarterly, 52(2), 173-195. Flexner, A. (1930). Universities: American, English, German. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. Geiger, R. L. (2000). Introduction. In R. L. Geiger (Ed.), The American college in the nineteenth century (pp. 1-24). Nashville, TN: Vanderbilt University Press. Gore, J. E. (2005). Dominant beliefs and alternative voices: Discourse, belief, and gender in American study abroad. New York, NY: Taylor and Francis. Herbst, J. (1965). The German historical school in American scholarship: A study in the transfer of culture. Port Washington, NY: Kennikat Press. Hillard, G. S. (1876). Preface. In G. Ticknor, G. S. Hillard, & A. Ticknor, Life, letters, and journals of George Ticknor (Vol. 1, pp. iii-iv). Boston, MA: James R. Osgood and Co. Hofstadter, R. (1952). The development and scope of higher education in the United States. New York, NY: Columbia University Press. Jackson, L. (2000). The rites of man and the rites of youth: Fraternity and riot at eighteenth century Harvard. In R. L. Geiger (Ed.), The American college in the nineteenth century (pp. 46-79). Nashville, TN: Vanderbilt University Press. Marvin, A. (1904). American vs. German universities. Journal of Education, 60(10), 278. Retrieved from http://www.bu.edu/journalofeducation/

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McClelland, C. E. (1980). State, society, and university in Germany, 1700-1914. Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press. Ticknor, G., Hillard, G. S., & Ticknor, A. (1876). Life, letters, and journals of George Ticknor (Vol. 1). Boston, MA: James R. Osgood and Co. Tyack, D. B. (1967). George Ticknor and the Boston Brahmins. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Veysey, L. R. (1965). The emergence of the American university. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago. Walz, J. A. (1936). German influence in American education and culture. Philadelphia, PA: Carl Schurz Memorial Foundation. Winterer, C. (1998). The humanist revolution in America, 1820-1860: Classical antiquity in the colleges. History of Higher Education Annual, 18, 111-129.

About the Author Leslie Bohon is a PhD candidate in the Education Policy, Planning, and Leadership in Higher Education Administration program at the College of William & Mary. Her research interests include intercultural competence, cultural dimensions of teaching and learning, internationalization, cross-cultural communication, human development from a cultural point of view, and language learning.

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Environment and Affect: Toward an Emotional Geography of Student Persistence Jamison R. Miller, Michael Donlan

Abstract Student persistence is a perennial problem for higher education. From lost revenue for colleges and universities to lost opportunity and development for students, educational scholars have had much incentive to examine the problem. In this paper, we review some of the prominent assessments of student persistence in research from various theoretical perspectives. Further, we explore how scholars have studied environmental factors in persistence and to a lesser extent student affect, yet we find the relationship between these two to be only lightly engaged in the literature. The emerging discipline of emotional geography offers to draw out new insights at the intersection of environment and affect, bringing a sensitizing lens and opening up new research questions to engage with the problem of intolerably low student persistence. Keywords: persistence, emotional geography, college departure, environment, affect

College and university administrators devote considerable attention to student retention and rightfully so; college graduation rates have consistently hovered around 50% for decades (Kuh, Kinzie, Schuh, Whitt, & Associates, 2005). That only 50% of students who begin college persist to graduation is tragic when considering the costs to the university and, perhaps most importantly, what is forfeited by the student. Small private institutions are often dependent upon student tuition to operate, and public institutions receive less state funding than they once did. Additionally, many states are now considering linking state

Environment and Affect

appropriations to a number of performance indicators, with graduation percentages being one of those marks of institutional effectiveness (Barefoot, 2004). While unrealized tuition revenue is not to be discounted, the lost intellectual investment in an individual’s higher education is perhaps most compelling. To the individual student, the benefits of attending college are profound. College attendance has a meaningful positive influence on a broad range of developmental characteristics, and although individuals who do not attend college may also exhibit similar developmental changes, college students appear to show greater and more rapid development (Pascarella & Terenzini, 2005). In a review of studies of how college affected students, Pascarella and Terenzini (2005) reached a number of conclusions about the impact of college on students. College students showed tremendous gains in verbal and written communication, exhibited greater reflective judgment, developed critical thinking and intellectual flexibility, and placed a greater value on aesthetic and intellectual matters (Pascarella & Terenzini, 2005). Individuals who attend college show a greater intellectual orientation and internal locus of control, which is not only helpful in college, but also in postcollege life (Pascarella & Terenzini, 2005). The growth and development that occurs in college affords students a greater likelihood to continue learning throughout their lives. What is developed in college increases the likelihood of living a satisfying life post-graduation. Earning a bachelor’s degree is associated with long-term social, cognitive, and economic benefits that are often perpetuated by future generations (Kuh, Cruce, Shoup, Kinzie, & Gonyea, 2008). An educated population is beneficial not only to the individual, but also to the communities of which they are members (Kuh et al., 2008). Individuals who attended college show principled reasoning in judging moral issues, demonstrate an acceptance of nontraditional gender roles, and display a more liberal social and political attitude (Pascarella & Terenzini, 2005). Although educational scholars have adopted a number of theoretical perspectives and considerations in exploring the problems of post-secondary student attrition, we highlight another: the emerging sub-discipline in human geography of emotional geography. Emotional geography is a disciplinary field of study that arises at the intersection of environment and affect. The importance and impacts of our environments—namely space and place—in constructing our social lives have long been established in geography (Gregory & Urry, 1985; Jackson & Smith, 1984) as well as within higher education (Strange & Banning, 2001). Affect, or the experience of emotion, has been taking on heightened interest in geography over the last decade, yet its consideration in educational environments has only just begun (Kenway & Youdell, 2011). Because “clearly, our emotions matter” (Bondi, Davidson, & Smith, 2007, p. 1), we argue for a more in-depth and nuanced consideration of the emotional aspects of postsecondary environments to better understand the contingencies of individual student persistence. To do so, we first review five prominent theoretical perspectives in the

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student persistence literature. We follow this overview of the existing approaches to student persistence with the introduction of the rich perspectives of emotional geography. Next, we draw upon the work of Strange and Banning (2001) that focused on how campus environments may support student success. Using a social ecological approach, Strange and Banning (2001) explored the ways in which the physical and social environment influenced human behavior. Although their work outlined the importance of space and place in student experiences, we argue that Strange and Banning (2001) over-emphasized the role of environment while simultaneously underestimating the influence of individualsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; emotions in constructing their experiences. As such, we draw upon the promising findings in a few examples of emotional geographies of education. We end the paper with a discussion of implications for future research, and conclusions drawn from this re-examination of research in student persistence. Theoretical Perspectives, Theories, and Models: Old and New Kuh, Kinzie, Buckley, Bridges, and Hayek (2007), offered five prominent theoretical perspectives that have been widely utilized to examine student departure: sociological, psychological, organizational, cultural, and economic. Each of these approaches brings different components of the issues surrounding student persistence to the fore. A review of these perspectives and the theories associated with them reveals a lack of emphasis on the emotional experiences of students in post-secondary education. Thus, in addition to these five theoretical perspectives, a new approach, emotional geographies, may provide additional insight into the study of student persistence. Although retention and persistence are often used interchangeably, there are nuanced differences between the two terms. Student persistence is recognized as an individual phenomenon (Reason, 2009). For the purposes of this manuscript, it is to be assumed that persistence is the intent of the student to remain in college and strive towards graduation. Retention, on the other hand, is the set of institutional actions that attempt to keep students enrolled (Reason, 2009). Student departure is the act wherein the student leaves college. The decision to leave college can be voluntary, such as a student who never feels connected to the college and decides to withdraw. An involuntary departure could be an academic dismissal of a student who struggles because of excessive stress or anxiety. To embark on the study of student persistence from an emotional geographies lens, it is important to review the prominent theories of student persistence. It is also important to understand that the five perspectives proposed by Kuh et al. (2007) underpin prior work in understanding the reasons why students leave (or do not leave) college. Perhaps the most widely used approach to understand student persistence is Tintoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s (1993) theory of student departure. Since students do not experience college in isolation, the impact of other individuals both in the college environment and from home is a significant consideration. Tintoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s (1993) theory of student departure, which is grounded in a sociological perspective, explores the level of academic and social integration that

Environment and Affect

students experience. Tintoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s (1993) model consists of three stages within the departure process: separation, transition, and incorporation. Tinto (1988) saw college students as moving from one community to another. During the separation stage, students who are more likely to persist separate from membership within past communities, often family and friends, in order to integrate fully into a new environment (Tinto, 1988). Students who are not fully able to separate from past communities often struggle during the transition to college. The second stage, the transition phase, is a time of passage from old communities to new communities. A student who comes from a community that has drastically different values and norms from the new college community often struggles in the transition phase (Tinto, 1988). Students in the transition phase have not yet created personal bonds with members from the new college community. They also may not have any remaining connections to members from the former environment if they successfully separated from their past communities (Tinto, 1993). During the third stage, incorporation, the student is tasked with developing relationships with members of the college community (Tinto, 1988). For Tinto, it is through these relationships that the new college student may become familiar with and adopt the norms and behavioral patterns of the new. However, not every student will form the connections needed to persist and some will leave college. The lack of an adequate familial support system is often significant to the departure decision as revealed in a later study by Elkins, Braxton, and James (2000). First-generation students often reported less encouragement to attend college than students with parents who attended college (Elkins et al., 2000). Students from a lower-level of high-school academic preparation also persisted at lower levels. First generation college students and students who achieved at lower academic levels may not have received the support from their home communities that they needed. It may be that friends and family doubted the ability of the student to be successful through graduation (Elkins et al., 2000). Bean and Eaton (2000) offered a psychological model of student retention with the assumption that leaving college is a behavior and that behaviors are psychologically motivated. Students enter college with unique personal characteristics. These personal characteristics inform the ways in which students interact with the new college environment (Bean & Eaton, 2000). Successful students are able to draw upon past experiences in which they were able to cope effectively with stressful situations and thus adapt to the college environment. For successful students, psychological processes transpire which result in â&#x20AC;&#x153;positive self-efficacy, reduced stress, increased efficacy, and internal locus of controlâ&#x20AC;? (p. 58). As students develop a positive self-efficacy, they will likely take future action to maintain feelings of integration, both social and academic (Bean & Eaton, 2000). Strong feelings of integration lead to greater likelihood of remaining in college. As social beings, what is most important is how students perceive the social environment (Bean & Eaton, 2000). As noted by Bean and Eaton (2000), social and academic integration is an important aspect of understanding student persistence. As such, organizational

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perspectives examine the ways in which institutional features influence how connected the student feels to the college. A sense of belonging or “fit” is shaped by students’ interactions and experiences within an institution (Kuh et al., 2007). This sense of belonging shapes students’ attitudes, which shape behavior; and ultimately those behaviors become actions (Bean & Eaton, 2000). Berger and Milem (2000) grouped institutional characteristics into two categories: the structural-demographic features and the organizational behavior dimensions. Structural-demographic characteristics are those characteristics of an institution (e.g., size, student/faculty ratio, urban/rural, public/private) that influence students’ sense of belonging (Berger & Milem, 2000). Although institutional structural-demographic characteristics seem to exert little influence on student persistence, there are two general exceptions (Reason, 2009). Women who attend women’s institutions and African-Americans who attend historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are more likely to persist than women attending co-educational institutions or African-Americans attending non-HBCUs (Reason, 2009). The second exception, institutional quality, is also associated with higher levels of student persistence (Pascarella & Terenzini, 2005). Factors associated with the institution often align with the individual characteristics of the student to create a sense of belonging. A cultural perspective of student persistence informs any understanding of the reasons for the departure of students who are historically underrepresented (Kuh et al., 2007). Tinto’s (1993) model of student departure, with stages of separation, transition, and incorporation, highlights the struggle that some students encounter when going to college. Some students may be unable or even unwilling to separate from their home culture and acquiesce to the norms, values, and traditions of a new culture (Reason, 2009). A more recent study of historically underrepresented populations revealed the importance of family, especially as a significant component of students’ pre-college life and how family influenced student persistence (Reason, 2009). It is perhaps the lack of cultural influences within Tinto’s (1993) model of student departure that has caused some to question the model’s effectiveness in explaining the departure patterns of today’s college student. From an economic perspective, it would appear that above all else, the ability of the student to pay for college would have the most significant impact on student persistence. However, Tinto (1993) noted that researchers acknowledge that finances are a much more complex component of student persistence. Students are confronted with a financial decision in deciding to attend college. Students who decide to go to college pay tuition as well as forego income, while acknowledging that degree attainment will lead to increased future earnings (Kuh et al., 2007). Tinto explained that financial considerations not only influence the decision on whether to attend college, but also on a number of other significant decisions. The type of college to attend, the activities to engage in while in college, the choice to seek employment, and the type of living arrangement are all influenced, in part, by financial considerations. This discussion of the prominent models of persistence attempted to

Environment and Affect

show how the theoretical perspectives, as identified by Kuh et al. (2007), were utilized in developing those models. A summary evaluation of the persistence models may reveal that some models over-rely on a single perspective. For example, Tinto’s (1993) model has a strong sociological foundation; however, it could be argued that other perspectives are also evident. The same holds true for subsequent persistent theories that were proposed to complement or act as a revision to Tinto’s (1993) model. Certainly later theories addressed cultural considerations that were not a part of Tinto’s (1993) original model. It would also appear that all of the perspectives have a psychological component, as students’ way of thinking is influenced by sociological, organizational, economic, and cultural perspectives. For example, the way in which an institution is organized and structured has an impact on how the student perceives his or her locus of control. Additionally, cultural perspectives have a strong influence on student psychology. Historically underrepresented students experience challenges that often inhibit their ability to take full advantage of the resources and learning opportunities available in college (Kuh et al., 2007). Perpetuated systems of exclusion may have damaging psychological effects that are manifested in decisions to leave college. In response to the perceived shortcomings of the existing models of student persistence, Terenzini and Reason (2005) proposed a new model that attempted to include those ubiquitous external and internal influences on the student decision to persist in college. Terenzini and Reason included organizational context, the peer environment, and individual student experiences (e.g., classroom, out-of-class, and curricular experiences) as part of the college experience. From a psychological perspective, the researchers also included student pre-college characteristics and experiences as central to understanding persistence (Terenzini & Reason, 2005). The concept of student peer environment as it relates to persistence is addressed in this manuscript to attempt to understand the influence of the system of beliefs, values, and attitudes that characterize the students on campus (Reason, 2009). An understanding of the campus racial climate and academic climate is helpful in exploring what is accepted or rejected on campus (Reason, 2009). Essentially the peer environment signals to the student what is expected and plays a significant role in whether the student feels accepted. If the student does not feel that they belong, they are more likely to leave college. A New Perspective: Emotional Geography The variety of perspectives that have produced the immense body of literature surrounding the topic of student persistence offer varied and rich accounts to consider. What, then, can the emerging sub-discipline of emotional geography bring to the conversation? Let us introduce this perspective by approaching the name in its two parts, the “emotional” and the “geography.” Although some notions of the emotional aspects of life in college are considered within the aforementioned theoretical perspectives, they fail to put emotional experience front and center. This failure is understandable, as emotions are never

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simply surface phenomena or easy to observe, define, or demarcate (Bondi et al., 2007). The inherent difficulties in communicating the emotional elements underlying everyday life have resulted in student persistence literature that tends to avoid or downplay student emotions. Crucially, the persistence literature also understands emotions to be a separate, additional component of student experiences. This approach limits the exploration of emotion as a set of categorical conditions such as anxiety (Tinto, 1993), excitement (Strange & Banning, 2001), and belonging (Bean & Eaton, 2000). Although this is beginning to shift (O’Keeffe, 2013), a fuller consideration that “emotions are situated within, and co-constitutive of, our social lives” (Bondi et al., 2007, p. 2) reveals a promising direction for understanding student persistence. Emotions, then, are understood to be a profound force in establishing and organizing the very structures of students’ social lives. For emotional geographers, emotions are an intractable aspect of life that permeate all experiences. Thus, there is a recursive relationship between individuals’ emotions and their experiences of place. That is, emotions shape how individuals perceive place; and they are formative elements of the spaces individuals encounter, thereby impacting how individuals behave, operate within, and respond to places (Anderson & Smith, 2001). Emotional geography, hence, brings emotions to the fore, opening up new avenues for exploring student persistence and departure by acknowledging that emotions are a profound part of individual experience. It is also important to address that geographers analyze phenomena through the lens of spatial relations and practices. Human geographers are predominantly concerned with the differentiation and organization of human activity across physical environments. Focusing on spatial characteristics such as location, scale, and distance, geography calls for an interpretation of our world based in empirics. For geographers, the consideration of student emotions means situating them within post-secondary spaces. Thus, emotional geography can add to the student persistence literature by fully considering emotions, and doing so through understanding emotion in terms of “spatial mediation and articulation” rather than something entirely interiorized (Bondi et al., 2007, p. 3). This focus on the environmental aspects of student persistence is not new. However, as will be exposed in the following section, emotions are largely undervalued and considered a symptom of college life rather than a constitutive or formative element. Environmental Approaches to Student Persistence Educational scholars have recognized the important influences of environmental factors in student persistence (Astin, 1984; Wei, Ku, & Liao, 2011). Therefore, the study of persistence from an emotional geography perspective should be grounded in prior studies that examine the influence of environments on student persistence. One particularly influential text that attempted to comprehensively identify the various components of educational environments is Educating by Design by Strange and Banning (2001). Strange and Banning (2001)

Environment and Affect

identified four key components of environments that influence human behavior: the physical layout, characteristics of the people who inhabit environments, organizational structures, and the collective perceptions of the culture of the environment. First, Strange and Banning (2001) argued that up until their study, physical environments of the college had often been neglected or misunderstood in their influences on students. Environments—through their structures, symbols, and design—communicate much about what is valued and cherished on the college campus. What is communicated by campus environments has a profound influence on students’ sense of belonging. Although Strange and Banning (2001) presented the role of design and space through their discussion of physical environments as influential upon student behavior, they did not discuss how space and design elicit or interact with student emotion. Second, the characteristics of the individuals within the environment are also significant to the human environment (Strange & Banning, 2001). The persistence models of Tinto (1993) and Terenzini and Reason (2005) emphasize the interactions between the student and individuals within his or her environment as critical to any understanding of student persistence. Students perceive the peer environment as the “sense of the place” as they develop an understanding of what is expected academically and socially (Reason, 2009). The ways in which students interact with others within the college environment help form or hinder a feeling of belonging. Students who make connections, even with only one other individual, are more likely to persist (O’Keeffe, 2013). Third, Strange and Banning (2001) noted that the ways in which an organization is structured is also a key component to human environments. In addition to structural-demographic features of the institution, Berger and Milem (2000) noted that organizational behavior dimensions also influence student persistence. The effects of the institution are more what the institution does (or does not do) than the characteristics of the institution (Reason, 2009). Berger (2001-2002) organized institutions into five types: bureaucratic, collegial, political, symbolic, and systemic. If a student perceives that the school promotes communication, participation, fairness, and inclusion (collegial), or that the environment is steeped in developing a shared meaning through a reverence of institutional history and traditions (symbolic), students are more likely to integrate into the college environment and persist (Berger, 2001-2002). If students feel that the resources of the college are aligned to support student success and that there is a directed effort on behalf of the college to integrate services in support of the student, a greater level of student satisfaction is often noted (Reason, 2009). Consequently, students who perceive the college environment to be fraught with infighting and competition for resources (political), or who perceive that the college treats students as just another number (bureaucratic), are less likely to persist (Reason, 2009). The fourth and final characteristic of the human environment is how the student subjectively views the culture and climate of the college environment (Strange and Banning, 2001). The model of student persistence as proposed by

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Bean and Eaton (2000) highlights the importance of the psychological aspects of the student. Self-efficacy, coping strategies, and locus of control, play an important role in how students perceive the college environment (Bean & Eaton, 2000). For example, a student who has positive self-efficacy will be better able to navigate academic and social integration if he or she believes that they are able to do so. In turn, this successful integration will inform future interactions within the college environment. Student beliefs lead to intention which ultimately leads to actions; actions are seen as essentially choices (Bean & Eaton, 2000). Emotional Geography’s Emerging Contributions Although the chapters of Strange and Banning’s (2001) volume attempt to comprehensively engage with the characteristics of post-secondary environments, the impacts of emotions are not meaningfully addressed. For Strange and Banning, and in educational discourse more largely, emotions are understood through the lens of proper or improper, or those that require intervention versus those that are an asset to student persistence. These conceptions of the emotions of post-secondary experiences are limited, as they fail to consider how emotions are constructing the students’ experiences. Administrators, student affairs professionals, faculty, and other staff who work from this understanding of emotion ultimately pathologize emotions and frame the apparently ugly or bad emotions as something to be treated or rectified (Kenway & Youdell, 2011). Another conception of emotions and how they interact with environments is warranted. Some research into the emotional geographies of education that engage with a more complicated conception of emotion has begun to emerge. Researchers have begun to expose and engage how emotions and educational space can be understood as mutually constitutive (Addison, 2011; Grinberg, 2011, Nairn & Higgins, 2011, Zembylas, 2011). This re-centering of emotions as a primary concern of research, enriched by a spatial/environmental lens, can reveal new specificities of student experiences related to persistence. For instance, while Strange and Banning (2001) recognized that there are psychological components to student environments, they stopped short of explaining how those components play out for students. Most of the initial probes into the emotional geographies of education are focused on primary and secondary schools, but some research is emerging around post-secondary contexts (Huber, 2010; Pedersen, 2013). For instance, de Leeuw, Parkes, and Thien (2013) examined how the emotional contingencies of undergraduate medical programs—specifically their intensity and rigor—were experienced. Here, scholars found that factors such as a highly competitive admissions process and imposing admission guidelines that stressed the rare opportunities afforded set up a culture of anxiety and fear of failure that was experienced spatially, “through and by examples and modeling of people’s behaviors in space…often with deeply affecting emotional drivers” (de Leeuw et al., 2013, p. 5). Further, Pedersen (2013) considered the emotionally fraught practices of veterinary students who must learn to both empathize and distance themselves in

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engaging with the prospective profession. Intriguingly, this work revealed how subtly yet thoroughly emotions can be embodied in an educational context. For instance, Pedersen observed how students are taught about a cowâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s field of vision as it relates to driving cattle: by standing and moving their arms across their own field of vision. This functioned to distance student feelings towards the animals by understanding them through their biomechanical processes, stripping away the highly emotive processes of animal slaughter. In this way, teaching practices can be understood to manipulate emotions and reproduce certain social orders, which can impact student experiences. This research provides helpful orientations moving forward, and encourages researchers to think of what kind of practices and experiences in post secondary environments are imbued with emotions. Implications and Conclusion: Towards an Emotional Geography of Student Persistence After reviewing the theoretical and environmental landscape of student persistence research, the neglect of the emotional perspectives and how they are spatially mediated is apparent. We acknowledge that this is not surprising, especially if we consider emotions outside of a good versus bad dichotomy. Outside of that conception, emotions are messy, complicated and uncomfortable and therefore exceedingly difficult to research. However, the emerging inquiries of emotional geography are blazing a trail for persistence researchers to explore. Emotional geographies can function as a sensitizing, critical lens for persistence researchers. To borrow from organizational theorist Weick (1976), emotional geographies can â&#x20AC;&#x153;sensitize the observer to notice and question things that had previously been taken for grantedâ&#x20AC;? (p. 2). In bringing emotions to the fore, emotional geographies can reveal the subtlety and nuances of individual and particular experiences related to college persistence, providing a clearer picture of the circumstances at stake. As mentioned above, emotional geography is based in the conception that our emotions and the spaces we inhabit are mutually constitutive and recursive (Anderson, 2009; Davidson, Bondi, & Smith, 2007). From this perspective, we can see some potentially fruitful approaches to the examination of student persistence. How might a holistic conception of college environments change when considered through an emotional geography lens? What components and characteristics of post-secondary environments hold affectivespatial attributes that have not been considered as such? Aspects of postsecondary education that at first glance would appear to have no spatial or emotional elements can be understood in entirely new ways. As de Leeuw et al. (2013) observed, disciplines and curricula unfold in particular spaces and have the capacity to constrain and impress upon students on deeply emotional levels. Revealing these aspects of student experience holds immense potential for curricula amendments as well as approaches to teaching and learning in ways that ultimately support student persistence. Due to a complex conception of the relationships between educational environments and affect, emotional geography brings an innovative perspective to

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student persistence research. The profound impacts of emotions—specifically through a spatially recursive perspective—are an under-examined yet potentially profound component of student persistence. However promising, the perspectives of emotional geographies cannot be considered holistic. Rather, considering the emotional geographies of student persistence adds another perspective, potentially revealing new avenues for supporting students’ completion of post-secondary degrees. Taking emotions seriously and outside a reductive, marginalizing framework opens up new avenues for student engagement and the support of persistence through graduation. References Addison, N. (2011). The dirtying of David: Transgression, affect, and the potential space of art. Emotion, Space and Society, 4(3), 172–179. doi:10.1016/j.emospa.2010.09.004 Anderson, B. (2009). Emotional geography. In D. Gregory, R. Johnston, G. Pratt, M. J. Watts, & S. Whatmore (Eds.), The dictionary of human geography (5th ed.) (pp. 207–208). Malden, MA: Blackwell. Anderson, K., & Smith, S. J. (2001). Editorial: Emotional geographies. Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, 26, 7-10. doi: 10.1111/1475-5661.00002 Astin, A. W. (1984). Student involvement: A developmental theory for higher education. Journal of College Student Development, 40(5), 518–529. Barefoot, B. O. (2004). Higher education’s revolving door: Confronting the problem of student drop out in US colleges and universities. Open Learning, 19(1), 9-18. Bean, J. P., & Eaton, S. B. (2000). A psychological model of college student retention. In J. M. Braxton. (Ed.), Reworking the student departure puzzle (pp. 48-61). Nashville, TN: Vanderbilt University Press. Berger, J. B. (2001-2002). Understanding the organizational nature of student persistence: Empirically-based recommendations for practice. Journal of College Student Retention: Research Theory & Practice 3(1), 3-21. Berger, J. B., & Milem, J. F. (2000). Organizational behavior in higher education and student outcomes. In J. C. Smart (Ed.), Higher education: Handbook of theory and research (Vol. XV, pp. 268-338). New York, NY: Agathon. Bondi, L., Davidson, J., & Smith, M. (2007). Geography’s “Emotional Turn”. In J. Davidson, L. Bondi, & M. Smith (Eds.), Emotional geographies (pp. 1–16). Burlington, VT: Ashgate. Davidson, J., Bondi, L., & Smith, M. (Eds.). (2007). Emotional geographies. Burlington, VT: Ashgate. De Leeuw, S., Parkes, M. W., & Thien, D. (2013). Questioning medicine’s discipline: The arts of emotions in undergraduate medical education. Emotion, Space and Society, 1–9. doi:10.1016/j.emospa.2013.11.006 Elkins, S. A., Braxton, J. M., & James, G. W. (2000). Tinto’s separation stage and its influence on first-semester college student persistence. Research in Higher Education, 41(2), 251-268. Gregory, D., & Urry, J. (Eds.). (1985). Social relations and spatial structures. London, United Kingdom: Macmillan. Grinberg, S. M. (2011). Territories of schooling and schooling territories in contexts of extreme urban poverty in Argentina: Between management and abjection. Emotion, Space and Society, 4(3), 160–171. doi:10.1016/j.emospa.2011.01.001 Huber, M. T. (2010). Caring for students: Pedagogy and professionalism in an age of anxiety. Emotion, Space and Society, 3(2), 71–79. doi:10.1016/j.emospa.2009.06.002 Jackson, P., & Smith, S. J. (1984). Exploring social geography. London, United Kingdom: George Allen and Unwin. Kenway, J., & Youdell, D. (2011). The emotional geographies of education: Beginning a conversation. Emotion, Space and Society, 4(3), 131–136. doi:10.1016/j.emospa.2011.07.001 Kuh, G. D., Cruce, T. M., Shoup, R., Kinzie, J., & Gonyea, R. M., (2008). Unmasking the effects of student engagement on first-year college grades and persistence. The Journal of Higher Education, 79(5), 540-563. Kuh, G. D., Kinzie, J., Buckley, J. A., Bridges, B. K., & Hayek, J. C. (2007). Piecing together the student success puzzle: Research, propositions, and recommendations. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Kuh, G. D., Kinzie, J., Schuh, J. H., Whitt, E. J., & Associates. (2005). Student success in college: Creating conditions that matter. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Nairn, K., & Higgins, J. (2011). The emotional geographies of neoliberal school reforms: Spaces of refuge and containment. Emotion, Space and Society, 4(3), 180–186. doi:10.1016/j.emospa.2010.10.001

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O’Keeffe, P. (2013). A sense of belonging: Improving student retention. College Student Journal, 47(4), 605-614. Pascarella, E. T., & Terenzini, P. T. (2005). How college affects students: A third decade of research (Vol. 2). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Pedersen, H. (2013). Parasitic pedagogies and materialities of affect in veterinary education. Emotion, Space and Society, 1–7. doi:10.1016/j.emospa.2013.10.002 Reason, R. D. (2009). An examination of persistence research through the lens of a comprehensive conceptual framework. Journal of College Student Development, 50(6), 659-682. doi: 10.1353/csd.0.0098 Strange, C. C., & Banning, J. H. (2001). Educating by design: Creating campus learning environments that work. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Terenzini, P. T., & Reason, R. D. (2005, November). Parsing the first year of college: Rethinking the effects of college on students. Paper presented at the annual conference of the Association for the Study of Higher Education, Philadelphia, PA. Tinto, V. (1988). Stages of student departure: Reflections on the longitudinal character of student leaving. The Journal of Higher Education, 59(4), 438-455. Tinto, V. (1993). Leaving college: Rethinking the causes and cures of student attrition. London, England: The University of Chicago Press. Wei, M., Ku, T.-Y., & Liao, K. Y.-H. (2011). Minority stress and college persistence attitudes among African American, Asian American, and Latino students: Perception of university environment as a mediator. Cultural Diversity & Ethnic Minority Psychology, 17(2), 195–203. doi:10.1037/a0023359 Weick, K. E. (1976). Educational organizations as loosely coupled systems. Administrative Science Quarterly, 21(1), 1-19. Zembylas, M. (2011). Investigating the emotional geographies of exclusion at a multicultural school. Emotion, Space and Society, 4(3), 151–159. doi:10.1016/j.emospa.2010.03.003

About the Authors Jamison R. Miller and Mike Donlan are PhD students in the Educational Policy, Planning, and Leadership in Higher Education program at the College of William & Mary. Jamison's research interests are in community colleges, critical university studies, and digital cultures. Mike is researching student development theory and the experiences of medical students.

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A Regional Approach to School Diversity: The Possibility, Feasibility, and Desirability Damon Richardson, EdD, Brian Maltby, EdD, Joseph Koontz, EdD, Ram Bhagat, EdD

Abstract The growing opportunity and achievement gaps between and within school divisions in the Richmond, Virginia area are a concern of late. Educational experts and researchers attribute these disparities in part to factors such as lessqualified teachers, poor curricula, and inferior school facilities that are linked to racially and socioeconomically isolated schools. To help reverse the widening student opportunity and achievement gaps that are related to economic and racial isolation, there is a need to explore ways to advance educational equity and excellence in Richmond area schools. Keywords: racial and economically isolated schools; poverty and schools; educational apartheid; closing the achievement gap; educational outcomes of Black students; economic diversity and court cases

The purpose of this study was to explore the possibility, feasibility, and desirability of a regional middle school in the metropolitan Richmond area with an emphasis on racial and economic diversity. The following research questions were investigated: 1. What are the national trends and solutions to address issues of racial and economic isolation? 2. What are the federal, state, and/or local legislation impacting the creation of a regional middle school? 3. What are the potential funding sources available to create a regional middle school? 4. Is there regional support to create a regional middle school?

A Regional Approach to School Diversity

Four case studies are presented which characterize commonly used voluntary school integration plans or student assignment methods employed by school districts to avoid racial and socioeconomic isolation and to promote diversity. A survey, disseminated to three regional advocacy groups, revealed overwhelming support for a regional middle school with a focus on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) and an emphasis on diversity. Implications of the study suggest that the creation of a single school may have a limited impact on the region, but it is an important first step that could lead to the development of a replicable model to scale up across the region. Background and Context In June of 2013, the Richmond Public School Board voted unanimously (9-0) to move forward with plans for a massive overhaul of attendance zones, requiring more than 2,000 Richmond elementary school students to be reassigned to new schools for the next school year. Many in the community, including leaders of the Richmond NAACP and Crusade for Voters, viewed that decision as a step backward in the effort to promote school desegregation (Reid, 2013a). A local advocacy group, Richmond Coalition for Quality Education, led by former City Councilman Marty Jewell, backed a lawsuit filed with the Richmond Circuit Court against the School Board (Reid, 2013b). During a School Board meeting, after the rezoning vote, Mr. Jewel voiced concerns of the group, and many in the community, that the Board’s school rezoning decision was impulsive and uninformed. The Board argued, however, that the attendance zone changes were part of a larger plan to consolidate schools, reduce overcrowding, and achieve cost savings (Bourne & Gray, 2013). Other local and regional advocates who were pushing for more school diversity weighed in on the matter as well. They also disagreed with the Board’s rezoning decision—which did not publically consider the racial composition implications of rezoning—and suggested the rezoning changes undermined the Brown v. Board of Education (1954) decision to desegregate schools. Moreover, advocates argued, resegregation of schools does nothing to equip students for a global society. Dr. Siegel-Hawley, a professor at Virginia Commonwealth University and an expert on school racial patterns, warned the Board that their rezoning changes threatened to reverse what little racial diversity progress that has been made (Lazarus, 2013). The rezoning vote by the Richmond School Board shone a spotlight on a national concern of resegregation happening in public schools across the nation, but was of particular concern to local researchers who felt compelled to take action. Problem of Practice A Brief Historical Overview of School Segregation Black Americans were socially and legally separated from Whites during the 1800s and beyond. They were remanded to racially segregated churches, hospitals, neighborhoods, movie theaters, restaurants, and schools. The isolation of Black children in educational institutions across the United States was

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intractable until the 1950s. Major progress was made through the courts to desegregate schools. However, de facto segregation persisted even after federal mandates required states to integrate schools “with all deliberate speed” (SiegelHawley, Ayscue, Kucsera, & Orfield, 2013, p. 2). Landmark legislation began to pave the way for the rationale of school diversity long before its benefits were realized. In the 1954 Supreme Court decision, Brown v. Board of Education, the court ruled that the “separate but equal” doctrine—a cornerstone argument for Jim Crow segregationists—was unconstitutional. During the next decade, and despite community demands for more to be done to fully integrate schools, efforts to dismantle segregated school systems met great resistance, particularly in the South (Bhargava, Frankenberg, & Le, 2008). It was not until the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that any meaningful school desegregation efforts began. From the mid-1960s to the early 1970s, the U.S. Department of Justice was empowered to initiate desegregation lawsuits against school districts still practicing segregation. To insure compliance, it withheld federal funds from non-complying school districts as leverage (Bhargava et al., 2008). A number of important Supreme Court rulings were handed down during this period which gave legitimacy and valuable support to desegregation efforts including: Green v. County School Board of New Kent County (1968); Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education (1971); and Keyes v. School District No. 1 (1973). However, during the 1990s, the Supreme Court stepped in again and shifted the debate on school desegregation jurisprudence. In three important decisions, Oklahoma City Board of Education v. Dowell (1991), Freeman v. Pitts (1992), and Missouri v. Jenkins (1995), the Court effectively permitted federal courts to declare a school system “unitary,” allowing them to no longer be subject to a court order to desegregate (Bhargava et al., 2008, p. 8). Segregation is once again in full bloom in American public schools. The decision of Brown v. Board of Education (1954) enacted 60 years ago, which declared unlawful the doctrine of “separate but equal,” has been rolled back according to numerous reports from the Civil Rights Project at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Siegel-Hawley, Ayscue, Kucsera, and Orfield (2013) contend that racially and economically isolated schools have short and long-term negative consequences that severely limit student success in school and society. A racially isolated school is considered intensely segregated when less than 10% of the student population is non-Black or non-Latina/o; similarly, a school is considered to be an apartheid school when less than 1% of the student population is non-Black or non-Latina/o (Siegel-Hawley, Ayscue, et al., 2013). Several factors contribute to lower educational outcomes and opportunities in racially and economically isolated schools, including fewer qualified teachers, higher teacher turnover, inferior facilities, and higher dropout rates (Bankston & Caldas, 1996).

A Regional Approach to School Diversity

Theoretical and Conceptual Underpinnings This section briefly examines the literature relevant to issues surrounding racially and economically isolated schools. Specifically, it explores the impact of racial and economic segregation on the educational and social outcomes for African Americans, Latina/o, and White youth from historical, social, political, and cultural perspectives. By corollary, a look at the benefits of racially and economically diverse schools will follow. In the next section, a detailed narrative traces how these issues have impacted the Richmond metropolitan area historically to present day. In the final sections, a study design is revealed which explains how the researchers evaluated the possibility and feasibility of a regional solution to creating diverse learning environments, and explores the political context and economic levers that are necessary for it to exist. Issues surrounding racially and economically isolated schools. The impact of race and socioeconomic status on academic achievement is a perennial social justice issue with well-documented long-term consequences (Fram, MillerCribbs, & Horn, 2007). The seminal report, A Nation At Risk: The Imperative for Educational Reform, which was released in 1983, propelled the nation into an accountability driven reform movement resulting in state mandated standardized testing (United States, 1983). According to Ravitch (2010), â&#x20AC;&#x153;our national educational system ended up with no curricular goals, low standards, and dumbed-down testsâ&#x20AC;? (p. 23). Public schools with high-poverty and high Black and Latina/o populations struggle to meet state mandated benchmarks. Longitudinal studies indicate that African American and Latina/o students consistently score lower on literacy tests than White students (Li & Hasan, 2010). Racially and economically isolated schools produce inequitable conditions that severely limit educational opportunities and outcomes for non-White students. This is particularly true for Blacks and Latinos who are further marginalized when they attend schools that are racially and economically segregated (Caldas & Bankston, 1998). Siegel-Hawley and Frankenberg (2012) contend that these isolated schools are often associated with a variety of educational harms including fewer qualified teachers, higher rates of student discipline issues, increased student mobility, over-identification of students with special needs, and high drop-out and lower graduation rates. Siegel-Hawley, Bridges, Shields, Moeser, and Hill (2013) further suggest these harmful factors have an immediate and long-term impact on a studentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ability to succeed in school and later in life. Benefits of racially and economically diverse schools. Over time, as a better perspective and understanding of the harmful effects of racially and economically isolated schools have become more apparent, further evidence in the research reveals benefits associated with integrated schools. Diversity in schools is an important aspect of student learning and well-roundedness; a diverse student body can help prepare children of all races for citizenship in an increasingly multicultural society. Holmes (2004) contends that children of all races and ethnicities become better learners, develop more positive attitudes

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toward other races, and are better prepared to live and work in a diverse society and workforce. Years of research on the topic of school diversity reveals three basic benefits or outcomes for children who attend racially and economically integrated schools, which include: (a) short-term learning outcomes such as improved academic performance and higher student aspirations; (b) long-term educational and occupational outcomes such as college attendance and career attainment; and (c) social outcomes such as improved racial attitudes and relations, and citizenship (Bhargava et al., 2008; Caldas & Bankston, 1998; Holmes, 2004; Palardy, 2013; Rumberger & Palardy, 2005; Tefera, Frankenberg, Siegel-Hawley, & Chirichigno, 201l). The United States is becoming a more diverse nation, and according to the U.S. Census Bureau (2012), the U.S. is projected to become a majorityminority nation for the first time in 2043. As our nation continues to move toward an increasingly multicultural society, our students will need to develop skills necessary to better understand, live, and effectively work with others of different racial and ethnic backgrounds. An integrated, structured educational setting produces immediate educational and lasting social, political, and economic benefits to society (Bhargava et al., 2008). A Trend of Resegregation in Metropolitan Richmond Issues of racial segregation have long plagued the Richmond metropolitan area. A myriad of historical events have made Richmond City the epicenter of poor Black neighborhoods in the region, and they include: (a) racially restricted post-WWII suburban growth; (b) slum clearance and redevelopment projects; and (c) discriminatory practices in real estate and banking which ultimately led to the proliferation of Black and mixed-raced neighborhoods (Siegel-Hawley, Bridges, Shields, Moeser, & Hill, 2013). As the city became predominantly Black and the immediate suburban counties became overwhelmingly White, so did the demographic composition of their respective schools. The U.S. Supreme Court case, Bradley v. School Board of Richmond (1973), effectively ended the U.S. District Court-ordered merger of Richmond City schools and the counties of Henrico and Chesterfield. The impact of that decision still reverberates 40 years later. Today, the student enrollment of Richmond Public Schools profiles a less than ten percent white population, while Henrico has achievedâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;and Chesterfield is quickly approachingâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;a majorityminority school division status, where the total student body is comprised of more minority students than non-Hispanic whites (Virginia Department of Education, 2014). By 2010, racial diversity experienced by the surrounding suburban school divisions was attributed to an influx of Black students, which accounted for over one third of the student enrollment; at the same time, more than one third of the Black students in the Richmond area attended intensely segregated schools (Ryan, 2010; Siegel-Hawley, Ayscue, et al., 2013). It was also noted that the number of

A Regional Approach to School Diversity

students attending intensely segregated schools in Richmond City was much higher than other major metro regions in Virginia. That number was twice as high as in Norfolk, Virginia Beach, and Newport News, and five times as high as in Northern Virginia (Siegel-Hawley, Ayscue, et al., 2013). Purpose of Study This moment in time presents an important juncture—a second opportunity of sorts—for leaders and advocates in the Richmond metropolitan area to reverse the momentum of resegregation and to advance educational equality for the next generation of students. To help reverse the widening student opportunity and achievement gaps that are related to economic and racial isolation, there is a need to explore ways to advance educational equity and excellence in metropolitan Richmond schools. One proposed solution is to create a regional middle school designed to provide equal educational opportunities within and across jurisdictions. The purpose of this study was to explore the possibility, feasibility, and desirability of a regional school that addresses the ills of racial and socioeconomic isolation, while promoting diverse learning environments for schools in the metropolitan Richmond area. Study Design This study involved a Transformative Participatory Approach to explore stakeholder voices related to the topic of racial and economic diversity in the Richmond area to evaluate the possibility, feasibility, and desirability of a regional middle school serving the metropolitan Richmond area. This participatory approach, in other words, compelled the researchers to interact with stakeholders in the region with the goal of promoting social change that benefits marginalized groups (Mertens & Wilson, 2012). This social justice methodology focuses on responsive interaction between stakeholders, including policymakers, educators, parents, students, and community members seeking institutional change. This study was comprised of an embedded mixed methods design where data from the first phase of the study were used to inform the second phase of the study. Phase One Phase One of the study addressed research questions one through three, which evaluated the “possibility” and “feasibility” aspects of the study. This phase of the study was designed to ascertain the most relevant issues associated with racial and socioeconomic segregation and benefits of diverse learning environments; it highlighted strategies currently employed by school districts across the nation to reduce racial and socioeconomic isolation and to promote diversity in public schools; and it identified federal, state and local legislation (and potential funding sources) that could ease a path for, or pose a barrier to, the creation of a regional school in the Richmond metropolitan area. First, to gain an understanding of pertinent issues surrounding school segregation and the advantages of school diversity, the researchers drew upon a collection of primary and secondary resources with an emphasis on social science research, including scholarly articles and journals. These resources provided a

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synthesis of existing government documents, relevant court cases, federal and state legislation, as well as authoritative books on the topic of school segregation and diversity. Research shows that one of the major problems of 21st century education is the impact of racially and economically isolated schools on our society. This pressing issue results in a lack of intercultural cohesiveness; a racially and ethnically imbalanced teaching corps; high teacher attrition rates in school divisions with heavy concentrations of poverty; inadequate curricula to meet the academic, social, and emotional needs of students; and unacceptable disparities in resources (e.g., infrastructure and technology) (Orfield, Kucsera, & Siegel-Hawley, 2012; Sharma, Joyner, & Osment, 2014). Attending a school with a diverse student population can, on the other hand, significantly enhance academic achievement and intercultural competency (Frankenberg & Orfield, 2007). Next, a case study analysis of four school districts within this phase helped to spotlight national trends in what was possible (and viable) to combat racial and socioeconomic segregation in schools. These case studies represented suitable models to illustrate voluntary school integration plans or student assignment methods used by school districts to promote school diversity, and exemplified a broad appeal of various alternative approaches used in our nation’s schools. The four case studies included: Denver Schools of Science and Technology, which uses a weighted-lottery system to admit students to its 14 STEM-based charter schools (DSST Public Schools, 2014); Omaha Public Schools, which utilizes a combination of open enrollment and theme-focused magnet schools to allow students to attend their neighborhood schools or apply to magnet schools within their attendance zones (Learning Community, 2014); Connecticut Interdistrict Magnet School Program, which has a lottery system to admit students to interdistrict magnet schools (Connecticut State Department of Education, 2014); and San Francisco Unified School District, which uses open enrollment and an Educational Placement Center to assign students to the school of their choice in or outside of their attendance zone (San Francisco Unified School District, 2014). The case studies revealed that educational solutions must be catered directly to the school district and community. One city’s solution is not necessarily applicable to all cities with similar educational issues. Finally, the latter section of Phase One attempted to peel back some of the layers of education policy and funding in the context of the creation of a regional middle school in the Richmond area. Here, the researchers probed whether or not the creation of a regional middle school is feasible under Virginia laws, and if so, what type of school is suitable and what funding sources are available. A careful examination of Virginia education policy and legislation revealed an existing framework for the creation of a regional school, and disclosed that four public school choices offer a viable path for a potential regional school focused on diversity. These school choices include charter, magnet, Governor’s, and college partnership laboratory schools. Table 1 is a comparison matrix developed by the researchers to narrow this list of public school choices to one school option that is most likely to

A Regional Approach to School Diversity

facilitate the creation of diverse learning environments in the region. The matrix compares each of the four school choices against twelve designs, elements, or attributes. The selected attributes (singularly or in combination) have been effective tools used by school districts to voluntarily desegregate their schools and to attract a more diverse student body. For example, a school that possesses a special program or instructional focus (attribute 2) will attract different families and increase the diversity of the student population within a school (Driver, 2010). Similarly, Frankenberg and Orfield (2007) argued that a school championing diverse learning opportunities (attribute 6) provides specific experiences that allow students of different races and ethnicities to learn with and from students of different backgrounds. After the appropriate school attributes were selected, the researchers employed a rating system to assess the value of each school choice. A high (“advantage”), low (“disadvantage”), or “neutral” value rating was assigned based

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upon the school’s capacity to incorporate an attribute within the framework of its current school policies and procedures, Virginia laws, and existing funding channels. An “advantage” rating was assigned when a school choice was likely to possess, or had the potential to possess, an attribute without changing existing laws or school policies to do so. A “disadvantage” rating value was assigned if a change in current legislation or school policies was required to incorporate a particular attribute. A “neutral” rating was assigned when incorporating an attribute was a design option decision left to school organizers or when there was not enough data to support assigning a high or low rating value. The comparison matrix reveals the most viable choice for a regional middle school promoting diversity is a public magnet school. Nine out of the twelve attributes were assigned an “advantage” value rating under this school choice option, almost twice the cumulative “advantage” value rating of the next closest option—charter schools. One reason a charter school is not an ideal choice for a regional middle school focused on diversity is that charter school laws in Virginia (as well as other states) do not contain provisions to enforce diversity as part of school operations (Frankenberg & Siegel-Hawley, 2009). Governor’s schools are a relatively worse choice than charter schools when compared to attributes of the diversity of student enrollment, competitive admissions, and outreach to attract a diverse pool of applicants. College partnership laboratory schools are not a viable option for a regional school focused on diversity primarily because they are a relatively new school choice in Virginia and no longitudinal data exists to support their effectiveness. Magnet schools are notable for their ability to draw students from across neighborhood attendance zones and school division boundaries; they typically possess a special program, curriculum, or theme; and their historical focus on school integration and civil rights protections (e.g., overt diversity goals, transportation for all students, and outreach to diverse families) were factors contributing to the favorable attribute ratings (Driver, 2010). Funding for magnet schools, however, presents both an opportunity and challenge for school organizers and potential governing boards. While federal Magnet School Assistance Program (MSAP) grants are typically a great source for magnet school startup funding and help to ensure school organizers make diversity more explicit in school operations, total reliance upon MSAP grants for long-term use could prove to be problematic. Federal magnet grant funding is awarded on a competitive basis and on a three-year cycle (U.S. Department of Education, 2013). A regional magnet school with a governing body consisting of stakeholders from across the region could offer a more sustainable funding source. Within this structure, cooperating school divisions would provide perpupil or a proportional share of funding based upon the number of students that are enrolled from their respective school divisions. In addition to federal grant revenues, and the potential for shared funding, magnet schools have no restrictions to receive private or public donations, partnerships, or fundraising dollars (U.S. Department of Education, 2012). Magnet schools possess all of the critical elements or attributes the

A Regional Approach to School Diversity

researchers believe are necessary to create diverse learning environments. With its original goal to balance school enrollment across racial lines, and the many options for school funding, magnet schools are the most viable choice for a regional school that promotes diversity. Phase Two The insights and understandings gained from the first phase of the study helped to inform and guide the development of a survey instrument that comprised the second phase, or the â&#x20AC;&#x153;desirabilityâ&#x20AC;? (research question 4) aspect of the study. A simple descriptive survey was administered to 824 individuals from three comparative regional groups in the Richmond area. They included participants from the Looking Back, Moving Forward (LBMF) conference; parents from regional school localities and members of the regional Parent Teacher Association group (PTA); and participants from the Bridging Richmond Middle School Summit (Bridging Richmond). LBMF is comprised of national and local researchers, educational practitioners, policy makers, community and corporate members, and students. The LBMF participants were chosen because they are considered to be advocates for, and show an interest in, exploring ways to advance educational equity and excellence in Richmond metropolitan area schools. The Bridging Richmond group was included because they represent a group seeking solutions for middle schools, a primary objective of this research study. Specifically, this group is comprised of regional school leaders and other stakeholders associated with the Bridging Richmond Middle School Summits held in Richmond. The attendees included scholars, policy makers, educators, and citizens seeking solutions and best practices for addressing academic, behavioral, and social challenges at the middle school level in public schools in the region. These participants have pertinent knowledge and understanding of issues surrounding middle school students, and were more likely to offer effective solutions and best practices to improving student achievement at that level. These participant groups represent various education stakeholders in the Richmond area and nationally, and provide a diverse perspective on the impact of diversity on student and school success, the type of regional school and program desired, and the willingness for regional cooperation in the creation of a regional school. Two hundred and fifty people from these groups responded (30.3% response rate) and the data were analyzed according to the following themes: (a) perceptions of school diversity, (b) perceptions of regional support, (c) preferences for school type and program focus, and (d) perceived obstacles to regional cooperation. Summary of key survey findings. The survey revealed that the majority of respondents indicated they would support the creation of a regional school focused on diversity by a two to one margin. Over 80% of respondents indicated they would sign a petition in support of a regional school. Of the respondents with school age children, 60% would send their own children to such a school. Fifty-two people took the time to respond to a question asking for additional ways

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they would like to support a regional school. Popular responses included offers to teach, volunteer, or be part of a planning committee. There was a particular interest in STEM education among those responses. In attempting to gauge respondents’ perceptions of obstacles to creating a regional school, respondents indicated that political and financial obstacles were the greatest to overcome in the creation of a regional middle school. This held true across the various demographic subgroups (i.e., race, locality, or group [Bridging Richmond, LBMF, or PTA]). In order for a regional school focused on diversity to come to fruition, it is going to take political will and a financial commitment by the entire region. In addition to understanding perceptions of the importance of diversity to students’ success, the researchers attempted to gauge the region’s perception of support for a regional school. Over 90% of respondents indicated that they would support the creation of a regional school. A follow-up question asked how the respondents felt the people they associate with would feel about this type of school, and the positive response rate decreased only slightly to 80%. This is going to be a key factor in the success of a regional effort because residents without school age children and individuals who are not engaged in the education process have influence over city and county elected officials as well. Regional school organizers will want to emphasize the regional benefits of a better educated, more diverse student body. The potential positive economic impact could certainly influence fiscally conscious citizens who commented that they do not want to see their tax dollars cross jurisdictions. The region has a positive outlook on diversity in schools, which is an important starting point for regional dialogue. Respondents indicated that diversity is important, but the majority of respondents indicated that diversity is more important for students’ social development than their academic success. This is contrary to what research indicates and will need to be emphasized in the community outreach that would accompany the creation of a regional school (Bhargava et al., 2008; Holmes, 2004; Rumberger & Palardy, 2005). Organizers of a regional school will want to emphasize the economic and social benefits of having great schools throughout metropolitan Richmond. They will also want to emphasize that many of the proposed options for a school come with built-in state and federal funding, especially during the initial startup phase. The research clearly indicates that all students benefit from diverse learning opportunities (Frankenberg & Orfield, 2007). When the economic and political roots of de facto apartheid education are severed, the public will no longer accept the disenfranchisement of Black and Brown students, predictably ranked on the bottom of standardized test measures. The creation of a regional middle school with an emphasis on diversity can positively impact student achievement and serve as a model for best practices in the development of intercultural competence among students, teachers, and administrators. The researchers understand that the creation of a single school may have limited impact on the region, but it is an important first step that could lead to the development of a replicable model to scale up across the region.

A Regional Approach to School Diversity

Survey limitations. The following limitations of the study are noted: (a) the survey population of the study garnered 250 responses but was non-random, so the findings are not necessarily generalized to the metropolitan Richmond area population; (b) survey participant perceptions were based on subjective selfreporting; and (c) the use of an online survey instrument may have presented technical challenges for some participants. Despite these limitations, this survey offers significant insight into regional perspectives and perceptions of school diversity, the level of support and desired structure for a regional school, and obstacles to regional cooperation. Determined Impact on Policy and Practice This study proposes a school that values diversity and should have specific curricula and experiences that build students’ social cognition, which is the ability to effectively interact with people from different cultural backgrounds. Quality teachers who create high expectations for all students can provide the greatest constructive outcome for lasting positive social development (Rivkin, Hanushek, & Kain, 2005). As teachers have a profound influence on student achievement, cultural diversity training can help teacher education programs develop culturally competent educators to meet the academic and socialemotional needs of students of color in American public schools. To counteract the adverse effects of intensely segregated schools requires “a comprehensive school-wide commitment to eliminating prejudice and increasing intercultural competence” (Frankenberg & Orfield, 2007, p. 33). When the financial and political power of regional stakeholders coalesces around the creation of a regional magnet school, the traumatic effects of racially and economically segregated schools can be transformed into an educational model where “school-level policies and practices make diverse schools and classrooms more effective than any other schools” (Frankenberg & Orfield, 2007, p. 32). Based on the findings of this study, the researchers recommend that regional stakeholders collaborate and move forward with the creation of a regional magnet school at the middle school level. Furthermore, the region should take advantage of funding available in the 2016 MSAP grant cycle. With regional support for one or a series of schools with a program focus (e.g., STEM, Arts, etc.) and an emphasis on diversity, Richmond is poised to be a model for school districts around the country facing similar educational issues. This study shows that the creation of a regional middle school with a program focus and an emphasis on diversity is possible, feasible, and desirable. References Bankston, C., III., & Caldas, S. J. (1996). Majority African American schools and social injustice: The influence of de facto segregation on academic achievement. Social Forces, 75(2), 535-555. Bhargava, A., Frankenberg, E., & Le, C. Q. (2008). Still looking to the future: Voluntary K-12 school integration. Los Angeles, CA: UCLA Civil Rights Project. Board of Education of Oklahoma City v. Dowell, 498 U.S. 237 (1991). Bourne, J., & Gray, K. (2013). Richmond school closings are necessary. Richmond Times Dispatch. Retrieved from http://www.timesdispatch.com/opinion/their-opinion/columnists-blogs/guest-columnists/bourne-and-

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gray-richmond-school-closings-are-necessary/article_58ec3a06-2cc8-517e-a07a-42663d577aec.html Bradley v. School Board of City of Richmond, 382 U.S. 103 (1965). Brown v. Board of Education, 347 U.S. 483 (1954). Caldas, S. J., & Bankston, C., III. (1998). The inequity of separation: Racial composition of schools and academic achievement. Educational Administration Quarterly, 34(4), 533-557. Connecticut State Department of Education: Interdistrict magnet schools. (2014). Retrieved from http://www.sde.ct.gov/sde/cwp/view.asp?a=2681&q=320450 Driver, C. (2010). Magnet schools vs. charter schools: What’s the difference? Retrieved from http://www.piedmontparent.com/articlemain.php?Magnet-Schools-vs.-Charter-Schools-What-rsquo-s-theDifference-1156 DSST Public Schools. (2014). Retrieved from http://dsstpublicschools.org/enrollment/enrollment-information/ Fram, M. S., Miller-Cribbs, J. E., & Horn, L. V. (2007). Poverty, race, and the contexts of achievement: Examining educational experiences of children in the U.S. South. Social Work, 52(4), 309-319. Frankenberg, E., & Orfield, G. (2007). Lessons in integration: Realizing the promise of racial diversity in American schools. Charlottesville, VA: University of Virginia Press. Frankenberg, E., & Siegel-Hawley, G. (2009). Equity overlooked: Charter schools and civil rights policy. Los Angeles, CA: UCLA Civil Rights Project. Green v. County School Board of New Kent County, 391 U.S. 430 (1968). Holmes, L. J. (2004). After Grutter: Ensuring diversity in K-12 schools. UCLA Law Review, 563-600. Retrieved from http://www.uclalawreview.org/?p=710 Keyes v. School District No. 1, 413 U.S. 189 (1973). Lazarus, J. M. (2013, June 06). Resegregation of schools? Richmond Free Press, pp. A1- A6. Learning Community of Douglas and Sarpy Counties. (2014). Retrieved from http://www.learningcommunityds.org/ Li, N., & Hasan, Z. (2010). Closing the achievement gap: Strategies for ensuring the success of minority students. National Teacher Education Journal, 3(2), 47-59. Mertens, D. M., & Wilson, A. T. (2012). Program evaluation theory and practice: A comprehensive guide. New York, NY: The Guilford Press. Missouri v. Jenkins, 515 U.S. 70 (1995). Orfield, G., Kucsera, J., & Siegel-Hawley, G. (2012). E pluribus…separation: Deepening double segregation for more students. Los Angeles, CA: UCLA Civil Rights Project. Palardy, G. J. (2013). High school socioeconomic segregation and student attainment. American Educational Research Journal, 50(4), 714–754. Ravitch, D. (2010). The death and life of the great American school system: How testing and choice are undermining education. New York, NY: Basic Books. Reid, Z. (2013a). Richmond school board votes to close 3 schools. Richmond TimesDispatch. Retrieved from http://www.timesdispatch.com/news/local/city-of-richmond/article_d0a7ca44-ccbd-11e2-a83c001a4bcf6878.html Reid, Z. (2013b). Lawsuit filled over city school closures. Richmond Times Dispatch. Retrieved from http://www.timesdispatch.com/news/latest-news/lawsuit-filed-over-city-schoolclosures/article_9e4328c0-14e6-11e3-8dd3-0019bb30f31a.html Rivkin, S. G., Hanushek, E. A., & Kain, J. F. (2005). Teachers, schools, and academic achievement. Econometrica, 73(2), 417-458. Rumberger, R., & Palardy, G. (2005). Does segregation still matter? The impact of student composition on academic achievement in high school. Teachers College Record, 107, 1999-2045. Ryan, J. E. (2010). Five miles away, a world apart: One city, two schools, and the story of educational opportunity in modern America. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. San Francisco Unified School District. (2014). Retrieved from http://www.sfusd.edu/en/enroll-in-sfusdschools/what-you-need-to-apply.html Sharma, A., Joyner, A. M., & Osment, A. (2014). Adverse impact of racial isolation on student performance: A study in North Carolina. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 22(14). Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.14507/epaa.v22n14.2014 Siegel-Hawley, G., & Frankenberg, E. (2012). Spaces of inclusion? Teachers' perceptions of school communities with differing student racial & socioeconomic contexts. Los Angeles, CA: UCLA Civil Rights Project. Siegel-Hawley, G., Bridges, K., Shields, T., Moeser, J., & Hill, R. (2013, September). Increasing diversity in the city schools: Unexplored paths of opportunity. Richmond, VA: Looking Back, Moving Forward.

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Siegel-Hawley, G., Ayscue, J., Kucsera, J., & Orfield, G. (2013, March). Miles to go: A report on school segregation in Virginia, 1989-2010. Los Angeles, CA: UCLA Civil Rights Project. Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education, 402 U.S. 1 (1970). Tefera, A., Frankenberg, E., Siegel-Hawley, G., & Chirichigno, G. (2011). Integrating suburban schools: How to benefit from growing diversity and avoid segregation. Los Angeles, CA: UCLA Civil Rights Project. United States. (1983). A nation at risk: The imperative for educational reform: A report to the Nation and the Secretary of Education, United States Department of Education. Washington, DC: National Commission on Excellence in Education. U.S. Census Bureau, (2012). U.S. Census Bureau projections show a slower growing, older, more diverse nation a half century from now. Retrieved from http:/www.census.gov/newsroom/archives/population/cb12243.html U.S. Department of Education, (2013). U.S. Department of Education awards $89.8 million in magnet school assistance program grants. Retrieved from http://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/us-departmenteducation-awards-898-million-magnet-school-assistance-program-gran U.S. Department of Education. (2012). Legislation, regulations, and guidance. Retrieved from http://www2.ed.gov/programs/magnet/legislation.html Virginia Department of Education. (2014). Enrollment and demographics. Retrieved fromhttp://bi.vita.virginia.gov/doe_bi/rdPage.aspx?rdReport=Main&subRptName=Fallmembership

About the Authors Damon Richardson, Brian Maltby, Joseph Koontz, and Ram Bhagat recently graduated from the EdD program in Educational Leadership at Virginia Commonwealth University. Follow their research at www.vcuregionalschool.wordpress.com.