Developmental Students: The Challenge of Peer Relationships

Abstract

Despite increased program offerings at many community colleges, the retention and success of developmental students are often extremely low. Research has indicated that a complex set of challenges complicates developmental student success, but students' experiences with these variables are not well understood. In this paper, I report findings from a qualitative study that was conducted at a community college in New York City to explore the ways in which developmental students describe and understand their experiences with education. Findings indicated that students viewed their decision to attend college as a separation from high school peers whom they associated with academic failure; they continued to differentiate themselves from their peers when they entered college and were wary of developing college friendships because they viewed peers as a hindrance to educational success. However, relationships with like-minded college peers might prove to be a necessary source of support that is essential to their retention and success. These results indicate that students may need great assistance to develop the peer support networks that could assist them in pursuit of their educational goals. I offer recommendations for future research as well as specific suggestions to address developmental students' possible resistance to peer interaction including tutoring and learning community designs and collaborative/cooperative learning approaches.