DEI Seminar: Crystal Lee-Thao

Crystal Lee-Thao
Dept. of Organizational Leadership, Policy, & Development
University of Minnesota
Host: Chemistry D&I Grad Student Training Working Group

Abstract

Engagement Means...: Community College Students’ Understandings of Engagement

Research in higher education frequently report low levels of student engagement among community college students. What is commonly overlooked in these discussions are the students’ own understandings of engagement and how their understanding of the concept is connected to their student success. This qualitative study involved interviewing 11 students at an urban community college in the Midwest to better understand their engagement experiences and practices. Using Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory as a conceptual framework, the analysis of experiences revealed that participants conceptualized student engagement in three major ways: 1) compassion 2) academic motivation and 3) activism. Additionally, these three themes existed and interacted within all of Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems. Implications for practice and research, as well as an informal model of community college student engagement, are included.

Crystal Lee-Thao

Crystal Lee-Thao earned her B.A. in Communications and Rhetorical Studies, at the University of Wisconsin – Madison, and a M.A. in Higher Education from the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities. She is currently a Ph.D. student in the Department of Organizational Leadership, Policy, & Development at the University of Minnesota and the Assistant Director for the Louis Stokes North Star STEM Alliance.