Deficit and resilience perspectives on performance and campus comfort of adult students

College Student Journal, Sept, 2006 by Pat M. Keith, Cory Byerly, Heidi Floerchinger, Elizabeth Pence, Etta Thornberg

The objectives of this research were to test deficit and resilience models of adult students' experiences by: 1) determining the relative influence of chronological age and age stress on their academic performance and campus comfort; and 2) considering earlier educational experiences and social support in relation to their performance and campus comfort. Data were analyzed from 138 questionnaires completed by students 25 years of age or over. Age was positively related to performance; age stress was negatively associated with campus comfort and independent of age. There was no support for the deficit model of earlier educational experiences and later performance. Only certain types of support predicted campus comfort. Efforts to address age stress should be extended to the youngest adult students and take into account they are not immune to its discomfort.

Introduction

Adult students are the most rapidly growing group in colleges and universities even though "one residual bias still tolerated, albeit quietly, ..." is that directed against mature students (Quinnan, 1997, p. 3). An objective of this research was the investigation of deficit and resilience perspectives in relation to adult, nontraditional college students' academic performance and campus comfort. The concept of adult student is so closely tied to age that it immediately raises questions about attributions to students that are derived from age and its relationship to performance in the role of student. Literature about adult students informed the selection of variables to test deficit and resilience perspectives of academic performance and campus comfort. Models to predict academic performance and campus comfort included earlier educational experiences, lifestyle characteristics reflected in off-campus roles (e.g., family and work), support from persons in these roles, age stress, study skills stress, and age.

The Deficit Perspective

We observed two themes in the literature about the characteristics and experiences attributed to nontraditional students which guided our research. The first theme is one of vulnerability and deficits and portrays academic experiences of adult students as fraught with threats, some of which are age-related, that may hinder performance and may encourage creation of enhanced or special services.

The deficit model is underscored by the view that " ... Discussions about the role of adult students in higher education tend to stress their supposed needs rather than the potential benefits they can bring" (Richardson & King, 1998, p. 1). Adult students have been described as a group for "whom the experience of higher education would be inherently problematic" (Richardson & King, 1998, p. 2).

Some earlier literature contributing to the deficit perspective, in part, was based on the presumed negative effects of age on learning capacity (McGovern, 1993). Research about age-related deficits in cognitive performance with implications for adult students, for example, has included among others diminished learning capacity, slower work speed, less adaptability, less retentive capacity, and poor study skills (Carlan, 2001).

Negative stereotypes surrounding the potential for adult students to achieve academic success remain (Carlan, 2001). Adult students may hold negative age-linked attributions of poor performance and diminished expectations for academic persistence and attainment for themselves and their peers (Richardson & King, 1998).

Stereotypes of age present an exaggerated picture of the importance of a few characteristics (Palmore, 2001). If an individual performs a role initially thought more appropriate for a different age group, then characteristics associated with age that may be linked with difficulty in engaging in the role may be exaggerated in importance. Richardson and King (1998) observed that with all of the negative stereotypes of adult students held by others it is not surprising that they would experience stress attributable to their age. Indeed, new or returning adult students identified age, traditional-age students, faculty, study skills, and integration among their concerns (Harrison, 2000). Deficient study skills and age-related deficits in intellectual capacities necessary to perform well in higher education are examples of stereotypes of adult students that are largely unfounded but persist despite research evidence to the contrary (Richardson & King, 1998). The stereotypes are sustained by "fundamental views about the adverse effects of aging that are held in Western society ..." (King & Richardson, 1998, p. 9). These stereotypes may marginalize adult students. In this research we consider stress attributed to age and study skills in relation to academic performance and campus comfort.

The deficit perspective extends beyond cognitive impairments to lifestyle barriers that may impede academic attainment such as marital and family obligations, demands of employment, or work-family conflict. Mercer (1992) described demands from family, work, and community as situational barriers to educational attainment. Gigliotti and Huff (1995) found financial strains, work conflicts, and university-related strains were primary stressors of adult students.