Bringing Counseling to the Classroom: Embedded Counseling and Student Outcomes in Community College ESOL Programs

Abstract

Increased and targeted counseling and advising may be an effective way to support English learner students enrolled in programs for English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL). This study examines ESOL student outcomes after an embedded counseling intervention in which college counselors repeatedly visited ESOL course sections to discuss academic options and introduce students to campus resources and support. Matching analyses comparing demographically and academically similar students who did and did not have exposure to the embedded counseling intervention indicate positive relationships between counselor contact and persistence outcomes, but not academic achievement outcomes. ESOL students who received embedded counseling were significantly more likely to return and re-enroll in subsequent ESOL courses than those who did not have this exposure. Since embedded counseling may have helped students feel more connected to and supported by the college, the results suggest counselor contact may be critical for the retention and persistence of students in ESOL programs.

Keywords

community colleges English learners immigrants counseling and advising

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Almon

. (2015). College persistence and engagement in light of a mature English Language Learner (ELL) student’s voice. Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 39(5), 461–472. https://doi.org/10.1080/10668926.2013.850757

Appleby

D. C

(2008). Advising as teaching and learning. In V. N. Gordon, W. R. Habley, & T. J. Grites (Eds.), Academic advising: A comprehensive handbook (pp. 85-102). Jossey-Bass.

Bahr

P. R

. (2008). Cooling out in the community college: What is the effect of academic advising on students’ chances of success? Research in Higher Education, 49(8), 704–732. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11162-008-9100-0

Barnett

E. A

. (2011). Validation experiences and persistence among community college students. The Review of Higher Education, 34(2), 193–230. https://doi.org/10.1353/rhe.2010.0019

Bettinger

E. P.

Baker

R. B

. (2014). The effects of student coaching: An evaluation of a randomized experiment in student advising. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 36(1), 3–19. https://doi.org/10.3102/0162373713500523

Boyd

N. M.

Liu

Horissian

. (2022). Impact of community experiences on student retention perceptions and satisfaction in higher education. Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory & Practice, 24(2), 337–365. https://doi.org/10.1177/1521025120916433

Boylan

H. R.

Bliss

L. B.

Bonham

B. S

. (1997). Program components and their relationship to student performance. Journal of Developmental Education, 20(3), 2–9.

Brilliant

J. J

. (2000). Issues in counseling immigrant college students. Community College Journal of Research & Practice, 24(7), 577–586. https://doi.org/10.1080/10668920050139721

Bunch

Panayotova (2008). Latinos, language minority students, and the construction of ESL: Language testing and placement from high school to community college. Journal of Hispanic Higher Education, 7(1), 6–30. https://doi.org/10.1177/1538192707310507

10.

California Community College Chancellor’s Office. (2018). Memorandum: Assembly bill 705 initial guidance language for credit english as a second language. Retrieved from https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5a565796692ebefb3ec5526e/t/5b68e1ba70a6add62b06a9a9/1533600186421/AA + 18-41 + AB + 705 + Initial + Guidance + Language + for + Credit + ESL_.pdf

11.

Center for Community College Student Engagement. (2012). A matter of degrees: Promising practices for community college student success (A first look). Austin, TX: The University of Texas at Austin, Community College Leadership Program.

12.

Chavez

M. A

. (2015). Community college journeys of hispanic ESL women. Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 39(3), 207–221. https://doi.org/10.1080/10668926.2013.795506

13.

Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCSSE). (2021). Benchmark survey results. Austin, TX: The University of Texas at Austin. Retrieved from https://www.ccsse.org/survey/reports/2021/standard_reports/CCSSE_2021_coh_means_support_std.pdf

14.

Crookston

B. B

. (1972). A developmental view of academic advising as teaching. Journal of College Student Personnel, 13(1), 12–17.

15.

Curry

M. J.

(2002). Preparing to be privatized: The hidden curriculum of a community college ESL writing class. In The hidden curriculum in higher education (pp. 185–202). Routledge.

16.

Curry

M. J.

(2010). A “head start and a credit”: Analyzing cultural capital in the basic writing/ESOL classroom. In Pierre bourdieu and literacy education (pp. 291–310). Routledge.

17.

David

Kanno

. (2021). ESL Programs at US community colleges: A multistate analysis of placement tests, course offerings, and course content. TESOL Journal, 12(2) e562. https://doi.org/10.1002/tesj.562

18.

Donaldson

Mckinney

Lee

Pino

(2016). First-year community college students' perceptions of and attitudes toward intrusive academic advising. NACADA Journal, 36(1), 30–42.

19.

Drake

J. K

. (2011). The role of academic advising in student retention and persistence. About Campus, 16(3), 8–12. https://doi.org/10.1002/abc.20062

20.

Ehrnstrom

Blankenheim

Bottiglio

Tomatz

West

Bryant

…, Gerberich

(2022). Embedding counselors within departments across campus can meet increased demand. Student Affairs Today, 25(3), 6–7. https://doi.org/10.1002/say.31083

21.

Garza

Huerta

García

H. A.

Lau

. (2021). Exploring sense of belonging, socioacademic integrative moments, and learning communities related to ELs’ persistence based on reenrollment decisions in community colleges. Community College Review, 49(1), 30–51. https://doi.org/10.1177/0091552120964873

22.

Grites

T. J

. (2013). Developmental academic advising: A 40-year context. NACADA Journal, 33(1), 5–15. https://doi.org/10.12930/NACADA-13-123

23.

Hatch

D. K.

Garcia

C. E

. (2017). Academic advising and the persistence intentions of community college students in their first weeks in college. The Review of Higher Education, 40(3), 353–390. https://doi.org/10.1353/rhe.2017.0012

24.

Herrera

L. J. P.

Obregón

. (2020). Challenges facing Latinx ESOL students in the Trump era: Stories told through testimonios. Journal of Latinos and Education, 19(4), 383–391. https://doi.org/10.1080/15348431.2018.1523793

25.

Hodara

. (2015). The effects of English as a second language courses on language minority community college students. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 37(2), 243–270. https://doi.org/10.3102/0162373714540321

26.

Houman

K. M.

Stapley

J. C

. (2013). The college experience for students with chronic illness: Implications for academic advising. NACADA Journal, 33(1), 61–70. https://doi.org/10.12930/NACADA-13-227

27.

Huerta

Garza

García

H. A

. (2019). Language minority students in community colleges: An SEM model exploring socio-academic variables related to persistence pertaining to re-enrollment. Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 43(3), 173–185. https://doi.org/10.1080/10668926.2018.1449144

28.

Hurtado

Carter

D. F

. (1997). Effects of college transition and perceptions of the campus racial climate on Latino college students’ sense of belonging. Sociology of Education, 70(4), 324–345. https://doi.org/10.2307/2673270

29.

Kalamkarian

H. S.

Karp

M. J. M

. (2015). Student attitudes toward technology-mediated advising systems. Community College Research Center.

30.

Kanno

Varghese

M. M

. (2010). Immigrant and refugee ESL students’ challenges to accessing four-year college education: From language policy to educational policy. Journal of Language, Identity, and Education, 9(5), 310–328. https://doi.org/10.1080/15348458.2010.517693

31.

Karp

M. M.

(2011). Toward a new understanding of non-academic student support: Four mechanisms encouraging positive student outcomes in the community college. CCRC Working Paper No. 28. Assessment of Evidence Series. Community College Research Center: Columbia University.

32.

Kot

F. C

. (2014). The impact of centralized advising on first-year academic performance and second-year enrollment behavior. Research in Higher Education, 55(6), 527–563. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11162-013-9325-4

33.

. (2021). A tale of community college transfer pathway: US-ELs’ trajectories toward healthcare programs. Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 46(9), 654–675. https://doi.org/10.1080/10668926.2021.1901795

34.

McKenzie

Tan

T. X.

Fletcher

E. C.

Jackson-Williams

. (2017). Major re-selection advising and academic performance. NACADA Journal, 37(1), 15–25. https://doi.org/10.12930/NACADA-15-029

35.

Melguizo

Flores

Velasquez

Carroll

. (2021). Lost in the transition: The cost of college-readiness English standards misalignment for students initially classified as English learners. The Journal of Higher Education, 92(5), 815–846. https://doi.org/10.1080/00221546.2021.1888634.

36.

Murnane

R. J.

Willett

J. B.

(2010). Methods matter: Improving causal inference in educational and social science research. Oxford University Press.

37.

Museus

S. D.

Ravello

J. N

. (2010). Characteristics of academic advising that contribute to racial and ethnic minority student success at predominantly white institutions. NACADA Journal, 30(1), 47–58. https://doi.org/10.12930/0271-9517-30.1.47

38.

Núñez

A-M.

Rios-Aguilar

Kanno

Flores

S. M.

(2016) English Learners and their transition to postsecondary education. In Paulsen

(Ed.), Higher education: Handbook of theory and research (Vol. 31, pp. 41–90). Springer.

39.

Park

E. S

. (2019). Examining community college students’ progression through the English as a second language sequence. Community College Review, 47(4), 406–433. https://doi.org/10.1177/0091552119867467

40.

Raimondo

K. J.

(2021). Noncredit ESL student retention: A mixed methods study of belonging at a Southern California Community College. Doctoral dissertation, California State University, Fresno.

41.

Razfar

Simon

. (2011). Course-taking patterns of latino ESL students: Mobility and mainstreaming in urban community colleges in the United States. TESOL Quarterly, 45(4), 595–627. https://doi.org/10.5054/tq.2011.268060

42.

Rendón

L. I

. (1994). Validating culturally diverse students: Toward a new model of learning and student development. Innovative Higher Education, 19(1), 33–51. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01191156

43.

Rodriguez

Bohn

Hill

Brooks

(2019). English as a second language in California’s Community Colleges. Public Policy Institute of California.

44.

Scrivener

Weiss

M. J.

(2009). More guidance, better results? Three-year effects of an enhanced student services program at two community colleges. MDRC.

45.

Stuart

E. A.

Rubin

D. B.

(2008). Best practices in quasi-experimental designs: Matching methods for causal inference. In Osborne

J. W.

(Ed.), Best practices in quantitative methods (pp. 155–176). Sage.

46.

Sutton

. (2016). Anticipating concerns of the adult learner: Accelerated path to a degree and intrusive advising. Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 40(5), 456–458. https://doi.org/10.1080/10668926.2015.1059779

47.

Swecker

H. K.

Fifolt

Searby

. (2013). Academic advising and first-generation college students: A quantitative study on student retention. NACADA Journal, 33(1), 46–53. https://doi.org/10.12930/NACADA-13-192

48.

Teranishi

R. T.

Suárez-Orozco

. (2011). Immigrants in community colleges. The Future of Children, 21(1), 153–169. https://doi.org/10.1353/foc.2011.0009

49.

Varney

. (2012). Proactive (intrusive) advising. Academic Advising Today, 35(3), 1–3. https://www.ship.edu/globalassets/advising/faculty/proactive-advising-article.pdf

50.

Zong

Batalova

(2016, February 3). College-education immigrants in the United States. Migration Policy Institute. Retrieved from https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/college-educated-immigrants-united-states#11