Emotional Transition to College
I am still unsure as to what I would like the topic of my final paper to be, but an idea that came to mind was the transition from high school to college. I could discuss how different teens deal with the transition, whether it be that they anticipate going, are worried about going, or do not want to go at all. I could write about how some freshmen react due to these emotional transitions. With further research I will surely see how I could expand on the topic. I might want this to be the topic of my paper because I find it interesting how different people react to the situation.
I'm not crazy about this topic, at least as stated. I suppose research on the topic might help some young people make a more successful transition to college life. But you would want to define specifically what it is these young people are nervous about. And since most high school students still don't go away to college, there seem to be more policy implications in instead looking at what helps freshmen make the transition to college.
ReplyDeleteI think the ability to "socialize" or move to a social peer group in college, to fit in, is important and Tinto's work addresses that. I would recommend going to see him talk tomorrow and looking at his work -- especially his book Leaving College, which talks about the reasons why students drop out (which are typically more social than academic per se):
http://trio.rutgers.edu/content/vincent-tinto-event-rsvp
Armstrong and Hamilton's "Paying for the Party" clearly draws on his research and that book would be useful also (consider Alana's story, for instance).
I think research on college persistence and success -- about "grit" and related factors that help students succeed -- would be most useful -- and most supported by existing research.
Alternately, you could consider the topic of "helicopter parenting." Why is this such a hot topic right now? I think that also touches on privatization: as Tiger Moms take on responsibility to promote their kids -- and the kids increasingly have trouble developing an individual identity. This speaks to the issue of grit also -- a term promoted by Carol Dweck's work. This looks like an interesting quasi-academic overview:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.slate.com/articles/life/family/2014/02/motivating_teenagers_how_do_you_do_it.html