ABSTRACT ARDOIN, MARY SONJA. Learning a Different Language: Rural Students’ Comprehension of College Knowledge and University Jargon. (Under the direction of Dr. Audrey Jaeger). Learning a Different Language: Rural Students’ Comprehension of College Knowledge and University Jargon is a descriptive, collective qualitative case study of how rural students obtain and comprehend college knowledge and decode university jargon. Research sites included two high schools in one specific school district in rural, south Louisiana from which eight sophomore students and two high school counselors were chosen as participants. In- depth interviews, on-site observations, and document analysis provided insight into the cultural capital and habitus of the area and the processes rural students and counselors use to obtain and comprehend college knowledge and university jargon. Seven overall themes emerged from the data: 1) Ways of Thinking and Being in a Rural Community, 2) Mixed Signals about Educational Choices, 3) Counselors’ Crusade of College Counseling, 4) Students’ College Hopes, Dreams, and Realities, 5) Step One to College Knowledge and University Jargon: Being Aware, 6) Step Two to College Knowledge and University Jargon: The Ability to Both Recognize and Define Terms, and 7) Step Three to College Knowledge and University Jargon: Finding Processes of Seeking and Understanding Information. Implications and recommendations for assisting high school counselors with college counseling, building students’ cultural capital, and encouraging higher education to conduct more inclusive recruitment are presented. © Copyright 2013 by Mary Sonja Ardoin All Rights Reserved Learning a Different Language: Rural Students’ Comprehension of College Knowledge and University Jargon by Mary Sonja Ardoin A dissertation submitted to the Graduate Faculty of North Carolina State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Educational Research and Policy Analysis Raleigh, North Carolina 2013 APPROVED BY: _______________________________ ________________________________ Audrey Jaeger, PhD Joy Gayles, PhD Committee Chair ________________________________ ________________________________ Lance Fusarelli, PhD Paul Umbach, PhD ii DEDICATION To anyone who has broken boundaries or statistics in obtaining an education, who has opened the door for others, or who has sacrificed for their children to have the opportunity. Thank you. I know this achievement is not mine alone; rather, it is a collective effort of everyone who has participated in my life. I am forever indebted. iii BIOGRAPHY Mary Sonja Ardoin is a native of a rural, Cajun town in south Louisiana where she attended K-12 public schools and graduated with twenty-two high school classmates. She became a first-generation college student when she attended Louisiana State University in Fall 2000. Sonja received a Bachelor of Science degree in Secondary Education, but through her campus activities found that her real passion was student development at the collegiate level. She followed her new interest to Florida State University where she obtained a Master of Science degree in Higher Education and Student Affairs. Sonja stayed at Florida State for her first full-time role in Student Activities before moving on to serve Student Activities at Texas A&M University. After four years of full-time work, Sonja decided to pursue a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Educational Research and Policy Analysis at North Carolina State University. Sonja’s passions in higher education include teaching and learning, growth and development, access and equity, and leadership and service. Outside of her formal roles, she finds fulfillment in volunteering with several national organizations including Zeta Tau Alpha; LeaderShape, Inc.; Mortar Board National Senior Honor Society; the Social Justice Training Institute; and College Summit. Sonja also enjoys spending time with family and friends, traveling, reading, dancing, playing and watching sports, and laughing. She feels blessed to have both the roots of a rural, small town with lots of culture and the wings provided by formal and informal educational opportunities. iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to give recognition to and express a heartfelt appreciation for: § My parents, Evelyn and Steve Ardoin, for their continuous support and sacrifice to help to get me where I am today § My grandparents, Dorothy and Lennis Guillory and Grace and Polly Ardoin, for their example of work ethic and the foundation they set from which we could all build § My godchildren, Tyler and Morgan Guillory and Julia Downs, for making me want to be a good role model and for reminding me to set the stage for those who will come after me § My friends, who I also call my chosen family (you know who you are), for their listening ears, constant support, laughter, and helping me find ways to balance my life § My dissertation chair, Dr. Audrey Jaeger, for believing in me and my aggressive timeline, for pushing me to meet my goals and be better, for being a phenomenal sounding board, for providing expert and timely feedback, and for being amazing at her job § My dissertation committee, Dr. Lance Fusarelli, Dr. Joy Gayles, and Dr. Paul Umbach, for contributing their time and talents to this study and my graduate school experience § The study research sites and participants for allowing me into their spaces and lives so that others can hopefully benefit § My higher education colleagues throughout the years from Louisiana State University, Florida State University, Texas A&M University, North Carolina State University, Mortar Board National Senior Honor Society, LeaderShape, Inc., Zeta Tau Alpha, and many other institutions/organizations, for their commitment to teaching and learning, for v their desire to increase knowledge and access, for supporting students’ growth and development, and for contributing to my professional and personal development § My K-12 teachers and higher education professors for seeing my potential, cultivating my abilities, and pushing me beyond what the statistics said I could achieve § Those organizations who believed in my abilities and this study enough to provide funding, including Zeta Tau Alpha, Mortar Board National Senior Honor Society, Alpha Lambda Delta, and the North Carolina State University Graduate School vi TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES .............................................................................................................. x LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................... xi CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................... 1 Background of the Study ........................................................................................ 1 Hossler & Gallagher’s (1987) College Choice Model ...................................... 2 Recent Research on College Choice for Rural, First- Generation, Low Socioeconomic Students ....................................................... 6 Definition of Terms ................................................................................................. 8 Rural Students: The Combination of First Generation and Low Socioeconomic Status ........................................................................ 8 Definition of First Generation ........................................................................... 9 Definition of Low SES ................................................................................... 10 Definition of Rural .......................................................................................... 10 Definition of College Knowledge ................................................................... 12 Definition of Academic Discourse .................................................................. 12 Definition of University Jargon ...................................................................... 13 Definition of Cultural Capital ......................................................................... 13 Definition of Habitus ...................................................................................... 14 Definition of Decoding ................................................................................... 14 Purpose of the Study ............................................................................................. 14 Research Questions ............................................................................................... 15 Overview of Theoretical Framework .................................................................... 16 Significance of the Study ...................................................................................... 18 Theoretical and Literary Significance ............................................................. 18 Practical Significance ...................................................................................... 19 Overview of Methodological Approach ............................................................... 20 Chapter Summary and Organization of the Study ................................................ 21 CHAPTER 2. LITERATURE REVIEW .......................................................................... 23 The Rural School Context ..................................................................................... 23 College Access Issues for Rural Students ............................................................