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Equitable Access to Higher Education in Chile: an Analysis of Special-Access Students’ Reported Experiences at University

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Equitable Access to Higher Education in Chile: an Analysis of Special-Access Students’ Reported Experiences at University Title Page Equitable access to higher education in Chile: An analysis of special-access students’ reported experiences at university by Erika Abarca Millán Universidad de Chile, Licenciatura en Lengua y Literatura Inglesas Carnegie Mellon University, Masters in Applied Second Language Acquisition Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the School of Education in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of Pittsburgh 2020 Com mittee Page UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH SCHOOL OF EDUCATION This dissertation was presented by Erika Paulina Abarca Millán It was defended on March 23, 2020 and approved by Dr. Mariana Achugar, Full-time Professor, Department of Media and Lang., Universidad de la República de Uruguay Dr. Ellice Forman, Professor and Coordinator, Instruction and Learning, CUE, Psychology of Education, University of Pittsburgh Dr. Amanda Godley, Associate Professor, Instruction and Learning, CUE, University of Pittsburgh Dr. Teresa Oteíza, Associate Professor and Chair, Department of Language Sciences, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile Thesis Advisor/Dissertation Director: Dr. Richard Donato Chair and Professor, Instruction and Learning ii Copyright © by Erika Paulina Abarca Millán 2020 iii Abstract Equitable access to higher education in Chile: An Analysis of special-access students’ reported experiences at university Erika P. Abarca Millán, PhD University of Pittsburgh, 2020 In order to address inequitable access to higher education, the Bachelet government (2014- 2018) started a pilot program to provide preparation and access to university to students who have historically been underrepresented at this level. To this date, this and other special-access programs have helped diversify higher education, something for which higher education institutions need to adapt. In this scenario, and to inform special-access programs, I analyzed the experiences of a sample of special-access students who entered through three special-access programs in one public university in Chile to understand their experiences while navigating higher education. Using a survey, semi-structured interviews, and public documents from the special-access programs selected, this study aimed at answering three main research questions: (1) What are special-access students’ main reported experiences in higher education? (2) How do these students represent and evaluate their reported experiences in higher education? (3) How do programs represent and evaluate students? To answer questions one and two, I analyzed interviews with six participants at two levels respectively, (1) thematic (Guest, MacQueen, & Namey, 2014), and (2) at the discourse level, drawing from Critical Discourse Analysis, CDA (Fairclough, 2003; Leeuwen, 2008; Machin & Mayr, 2012; T. A. van Dijk, 1993) and Systemic Functional Linguistics, SFL (Halliday & Matthiessen, 2004; Martin & White, 2005; Oteíza, 2017). iv Findings through the thematic analysis show that students challenging experiences by far exceeded positive ones, and within challenges, those relating to (a) academic issues (b) navigating school resources, and (c) mental health, were among the most prevalent ones. Findings from CDA and SFL analysis (using Appraisal and Transitivity Systems) show that university-wide programs and resources materialize very differently depending on the school students enroll. Differences in school resources and level of guidance and support to navigate resources greatly impact how students represent and evaluate their journeys in higher education, impacting the chance these students have of making the most of their university experience. Finally, findings from the document analysis show that programs represent students in meritocratic ways and expect their students to be resilient and emblems of excellence disregarding systemic inequities. v Table of Contents Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................... xvi 1.0 Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Historical background: Access to higher education in Chile ..................................... 1 1.2 Problem statement .......................................................................................................... 2 2.0 Theoretical framework ........................................................................................................... 6 2.1 Discourse and identity .................................................................................................... 8 2.1.1 Poststructuralist theory .......................................................................................9 2.2 Critical Discourse Analysis .......................................................................................... 10 2.3 Systemic Functional Linguistics .................................................................................. 13 2.3.1 Appraisal system ................................................................................................17 2.3.1.1 Affect ....................................................................................................... 18 2.3.1.2 Judgement .............................................................................................. 20 2.3.1.3 Appreciation ........................................................................................... 21 2.3.1.4 Graduation ............................................................................................. 22 2.3.1.5 Engagement ............................................................................................ 22 2.3.2 Transitivity system .............................................................................................23 2.3.2.1 Material processes and participants .................................................... 23 2.3.2.2 Mental clauses and participants ........................................................... 24 2.3.2.3 Relational clauses and participants ...................................................... 25 2.3.2.4 Verbal clauses and participants ........................................................... 25 2.3.2.5 Behavioral clauses and participants ..................................................... 26 vi 2.3.2.6 Existential clauses and participants ..................................................... 27 2.3.2.7 Summary of processes and participants .............................................. 27 3.0 Literature review .................................................................................................................. 29 3.1 Minority and first-generation students’ experiences in higher education .............. 29 3.2 The Appraisal system in education ............................................................................. 37 4.0 Methodology .......................................................................................................................... 43 4.1 Positionality statement ................................................................................................. 43 4.2 Research questions ....................................................................................................... 45 4.3 Setting: The University of Chile and special-admission programs .......................... 45 4.4 Data sources .................................................................................................................. 50 4.5 Timeline of the study .................................................................................................... 52 4.6 Data analysis ................................................................................................................. 53 4.6.1 Analysis of the survey data ................................................................................55 4.6.2 Analysis of interviews ........................................................................................56 4.6.2.1 Thematic analysis................................................................................... 56 4.6.2.2 Discourse analysis .................................................................................. 61 5.0 Findings from the survey analysis ....................................................................................... 70 5.1 Descriptive statistics: Student demographics and special-admission program participation ........................................................................................................................ 70 5.2 Reported physical and mental health, motivation and social life ............................ 74 5.3 Students’ self-reported experiences of discrimination .............................................. 80 5.4 Description of students, classmates, professors, and workload ................................ 82 6.0 Findings from the interview analysis .................................................................................. 88 vii 6.1 Main challenging experiences ...................................................................................... 94 6.1.1 Academic .............................................................................................................95 6.1.1.1 Assignments: Group work .................................................................... 95 6.1.1.2 Assignments: Oral presentations.......................................................... 96 6.1.1.3 Assignments: Unclear expectations .....................................................
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