Transforming the First Year of College for Students of Color (review)

Campus leaders have traditionally based their understanding of student learning, development, and persistence on models that tend to ignore students' racial/ethnic, cultural, and social backgrounds. Transforming the First Year of College for Students of Color, a 12-chapter volume edited by Laura Rendón, Mildred García, and Dawn Person, is an important contribution to a recent line of research that addresses these omissions by offering approaches that explicitly consider the characteristics and perspectives of students of color. Designed primarily to inform practice (including teaching, learning, and campus life), this monograph describes the challenges that students of color encounter as they transition through the first-year of college and offers strategies for transforming the first-year experience to promote the academic and social integration of all students.

The 25 contributors to the volume provide a range of knowledge and orientations, as chapter authors include faculty in such fields as education, counseling, student development, psychology, and ethnic studies (Rendón, Person, Charles Colbert, Kenneth Gonzalez, Kevin Kinser, Wynetta Lee, Raechele Pope, Daryl Smith), a college president (Mildred García), administrators in such areas as academic affairs, enrollment management, institutional assessment, intergroup relations, multicultural affairs, and residential life (James Anderson, Mistalene Calleroz, Timothy Ecklund, Kris Ewing, Xiamei Feng, Romero Jalomo, Louis Olivas, Joseph Saggio, Corlisse Thomas, Jesús Treviño, and Xiaoyun Yang), and other experts (Teresa Miklitsch, Nana Osei-Kofi, Sandra Richards, Radhika Suresh, Dawn Tato). Reflecting this breadth of expertise, the volume effectively integrates and balances discussions of research findings and practical strategies. Collectively, the chapters (organized into four sections) present a cohesive vision for ensuring success for all students.

The three chapters in the first section, "identifying students of color and their unique needs," describe the need for transforming the first-year experience. This section identifies the range of forces that may restrict the success of students of color, including barriers related to economics (e.g., poverty), structures (e.g., inadequate resources in the high school attended; curricular tracking), and culture (e.g., first-generation college student; differences in cultural norms). In chapter three, Jalomo and Rendón argue that, for students of color (especially non-traditional students of color), transitioning to college involves three, often difficult, processes: geographic and cultural separation from the home community into the college community; validation of the ability to succeed in higher education; and involvement in campus academic and social activities.

The three chapters in the second section, "supporting students of color in the classroom and beyond," stress the ways college and university structures limit student success. Osi-Kofi, Richards, and Smith challenge faculty to move beyond superficial curricular changes to create inclusive teaching and learning environments. The authors raise questions for faculty to consider in their efforts to create inclusive classrooms and suggest that, among other characteristics, inclusive classrooms welcome voices of dissent, include diverse perspectives in course content, and incorporate a range of pedagogical techniques. Treviño and Ewing offer strategies for reducing barriers to student involvement, advocating structured inter-group interactions as a means for reducing conflict between groups and enhancing the campus climate for diversity. The authors also argue that campus administrators should reframe discussions of intra-group interactions to emphasize their beneficial effects, rather than simply characterizing such involvement as self-segregation.

The five chapters in section three, "working with specific populations," describe the retention-related needs and cultural conflicts of particular groups. While discussions of students of color typically include African Americans, Asian Americans, and Latinos, this monograph also addresses two other groups: American Indian/Alaska Natives and multiracial students. Together, the five chapters convincingly demonstrate that, despite some commonalities, students of color differ both across and within groups in terms of needs and challenges as well as patterns of adjustment and integration. Clearly a "one size fits all" approach will not...