Regina J Deil-Amen

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Books

• Kiyama, J. M., Rios-aguilar, C., Deil-amen, R. J., & Kiyama, J. M. (2017). Funds of knowledge as a culturally responsive pedagogy in higher education. Taylor and Francis. doi:10.4324/9781315447322

Journals/Publications

• Cammarota, J., Deil-Amen, R., Zayas Cruz, Y., & Pérez, G. (2022).

  Cultivating hope through creative resistance: Puerto Rican undergraduates surviving the disasters of climate and colonization

  . International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 35(8), 830-842. doi:10.1080/09518398.2022.2061069
• Deil-Amen, R., Lopez, J. D., Cabrera, N. L., Karaman, A. K., Ballysingh, T. A., Oregon, Y. G., & Gonell, E. A. (2021).

  Race Without Gender? Trends and Limitations in the Higher Education Scholarship Regarding Men of Color

  . Review of Educational Research, 92(3), 331-369. doi:10.3102/00346543211054577
• Collins, E., Kyte, S. B., & Deil-amen, R. (2020).

  Mindset Messaging: Fostering Student Support and Confidence through Micro-Messaging in Advisor Communication.

  . NACADA Journal, 40(1), 36-48. doi:10.12930/nacada-19-08
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  As academic advisors help students navigate academic challenges toward a degree, seemingly mundane interactions have the potential to shape students' beliefs about themselves and their abilities. This study examines whether subtle cues within messages from advisors may help students develop what Carol Dweck calls a growth mindset—the belief that ability is malleable through effort, strategy, and help-seeking—and lead to greater perceived support from advisors and student confidence. Drawing on focus groups and interviews with twenty undergraduate students at a large public university, this study offers empirical support for the positive impact that growth mindset language can have within advisor-student communication, as well as a set of practical recommendations for bringing these insights to day-to-day advising practice.
• Rios-aguilar, C., Rios-aguilar, C., Reyes, M., Gonzalez-canche, M., Deil-amen, R., & Dache-gerbino, A. (2019).

  The “Geography of Opportunity” in Community Colleges: The Role of the Local Labor Market in Students’ Decisions to Persist and Succeed

  . Community College Review, 47(1), 31-52. doi:10.1177/0091552118818321
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  Objective: The process by which students decide to stay in college has been primarily based on models that are independent of geographic context. This article describes the local labor market in wh...
• Rios-aguilar, C., Rios-aguilar, C., Mcfarland, D. A., Evans, E. D., & Deil-amen, R. (2016).

  Community (in) Colleges: The Relationship Between Online Network Involvement and Academic Outcomes at a Community College

  . Community College Review, 44(3), 232-254. doi:10.1177/0091552116646852
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  Objective: This study explores the relationship between online social network involvement and academic outcomes among community college students. Prior theory hypothesizes that socio-academic moments are especially important for the integration of students into community colleges and that integration is related to academic outcomes. Online social networks offer a forum for socio-academic contact and integration on 2-year campuses. Is involvement with online social networks positively related to academic outcomes? Method: This study draws on institutional and online network data. We qualitatively code text from the network (N = 8,749) to examine the extent of socio-academic interaction. Using logistic and multiple regression, we examine the relationships between socio-academic exchanges, other forms of online network involvement, and student academic outcomes in a large sample of students (N = 27,040). Results: Participation in socio-academic exchange is associated with higher grade point average. In addit...
• Deil-Amen, R., & Martinez, G. F. (2015).

  College for All Latinos? The Role of High School Messages in Facing College Challenges

  . Teachers College Record: The Voice of Scholarship in Education, 117(3), 1-50. doi:10.1177/016146811511700302
• Martinez, G. F., Martinez, G. F., & Deil-amen, R. (2015).

  College for all latinos? The role of high school messages in facing college challenges

  . Teachers College Record, 117(3), 1-50.
• Rios-aguilar, C., Campbell, C. A., Rios-aguilar, C., & Deil-amen, R. (2015).

  Do Financial Aid Policies Unintentionally Punish the Poor, and What Can We Do about It?.

  . New Directions for Community Colleges, 2015(172), 67-76. doi:10.1002/cc.20164
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  This chapter argues that, despite intentions, the way federal financial aid policy is constructed and currently administered can have negative consequences for poor community college students.
• Rios-aguilar, C., Rios-aguilar, C., Fagioli, L., & Deil-amen, R. (2015).

  Changing the Context of Student Engagement: Using Facebook to Increase Community College Student Persistence and Success.

  . Teachers College Record, 117(12), 1-42. doi:10.1177/016146811511701201
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  Background: Community college leaders are now turning to social media/social networking sites for new avenues and opportunities to increase students’ interaction, engagement, and collaboration with peers, faculty, and staff. Social media may be a particularly attractive option because it can provide a potentially effective and exciting mechanism for catalyzing such connections for students. Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of Study (required): This study examines the use of social media/social networking sites and its relationship to academic outcomes in the context of community colleges. Population/Participants/Subjects: We used longitudinal data from about 17,000 students who joined a Facebook based online application (the Schools App) in seven community colleges across the country. We compared these members to students who did not join the app for an overall sample size of about 98,000. Research Design: This study used a quasi-experimental design with propensity score matching and random effects regression to estimate the effects of online engagement on student outcomes. Findings/Results: We find that there is, indeed, a relationship between social media use and academic outcomes. The most active users as well as passive users had the highest GPAs and chances of continuing the next semester compared to inactive members of the on-line community as well as compared to non-members. Conclusions/Recommendations: We find that certain forms of on-line engagement have a distinct relationship with GPA and persistence. The results of this study also suggest that,
• Rios-aguilar, C., Stuart, G. R., Rios-aguilar, C., & Deil-amen, R. (2014).

  "How Much Economic Value Does My Credential Have?": Reformulating Tinto's Model to Study Students' Persistence in Community Colleges

  . Community College Review, 42(4), 327-341. doi:10.1177/0091552114532519
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  Community colleges play a key role in educating the large number of non-traditional, low-income, and under-prepared students who have entered higher education in the past several decades. Despite i...
• Rios-Aguilar, C., & Deil-Amen, R. (2012). Beyond Getting In and Fitting In: An Examination of Social Networks and Professionally Relevant Social Capital Among Latina/o University Students. Journal of Hispanic Higher Education, 11(2), 179-196.
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  Abstract: Social network analyses, combined with qualitative analyses, are examined to understand key components of the college trajectories of 261 Latina/o students. Their social network ties reveal variation in extensity and the relevance. Most ties facilitate social capital relevant to getting into college, fewer engage social capital relevant to strategizing success in college, and even fewer provide social capital benefits useful for planning career/professional trajectories. © The Author(s) 2012.
• Rios-Aguilar, C., & Deil-Amen, R. (2012). Beyond Getting In and Fitting In: An Examination of Social Networks and Professionally Relevant Social Capital Among Latina/o University Students. Journal of Hispanic Higher Education, 11(2), 179-196. doi:10.1177/1538192711435555
• Deil-Amen, R. (2011). Socio-academic integrative moments: Rethinking academic and social integration among two-year college students in career-related programs. Journal of Higher Education, 82(1), 54-91.
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  Abstract: Qualitative data from students in 14-year colleges are analyzed to explore the relevance of Tinto's concepts for such students. Students' perceptions of their academic and social integration reveal the centrality of fused "socio-academic" moments for cultivating feelings of belonging and competence, reinforcing goal commitment, and accessing valuable social capital. Copyright © 2011 by The Ohio State University.
• Deil-amen, R. (2011).

  Beyond remedial dichotomies: Are ‘underprepared’ college students a marginalized marjority?

  . New Directions for Community Colleges, 2011(155), 59-71. doi:10.1002/cc.458
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  This chapter questions the dichotomous labeling and conceptualization of remedial and nonremedial students, particularly the added distinctions emphasized between four-year and two-year colleges, and it calls for a focus on the common challenges among all underprepared college students.
• Deil-Amen, R., & Deluca, S. (2010). The underserved third: How our educational structures populate an educational underclass. Journal of Education for Students Placed at Risk, 15(1-2), 27-50.
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  Abstract: In this article, we present multiple assertions relevant to the plight of students who are underserved and structurally positioned to transition out of school unable to access labor market rewards. First, we juxtapose economic realities against collective ideologies about the role of education in creating opportunities for individuals. Second, we discuss conceptual understandings of "tracking" with a particular focus on the role of subbaccalaureate education in the tracking and transition process. Third, we propose to dismantle dichotomous notions of "career" and "college" preparation to expand opportunities for underserved students and reduce inequities by preparing all students for both college and work options simultaneously. © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.
• Deil-Amen, R., & Tevis, T. L. (2009). Circumscribed agency: The relevance of standardized college entrance exams for low SES high school students. Review of Higher Education, 33(2), 141-175.
• Deil-Amen, R., & Turley, R. L. (2007). A review of the transition to college literature in sociology. Teachers College Record, 109(10), 2324-2366.
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  Abstract: Background/Context: This review focuses on the transition to college literature in sociology published since 1983 with an emphasis on revealing the contribution that sociology has made to our understanding of under-represented U.S. populations and their transition into and completion of postsecondary education. Purpose: The review is organized around four main themes: 1) college preparation, 2) college access, 3) financing college, and 4) college completion and/or retention. Five dimensions that cut across these themes are emphasized: 1) disadvantaged or underrepresented students, 2) parents, families, and social networks of these students, 3) institutions, 4) federal, regional, state, local, or other policies, and 5) systemwide or interactive factors. Research Design: This is an analytic essay of prior analyses. These prior analyses include but are not limited to a range of methods, such as qualitative case study and secondary analysis of national, regional, and institutional data. Findings/Results: This review finds that while most sociological research has focused on college preparation, with disadvantaged students at the center of this work, very little research has studied college financing. Conclusions/Recommendations: Sociological studies relevant to the transition to college continue to strive toward that end, but the field still remains underdeveloped with regard to an emphasis on how the wider societal system of stratification and opportunity interact with individuals, social groups, and educational institutions in a dynamic interplay that affects opportunities for quality educational advancement. In some respects, the prominence of the status attainment framework has limited progress in the field of sociology. Although multilevel modeling affords the opportunity to consider not just the individual, but the individual embedded in particular educational contexts and other contexts, the role of institutional and systemwide factors requires further development among sociologists of education. Copyright © by Teachers College, Columbia University.
• Deil-amen, R. (2007).

  The Changing Landscape of the Academic Profession: Faculty Culture at For-Profit Colleges and Universities (review)

  . The Review of Higher Education, 30(2), 202-203. doi:10.1353/rhe.2006.0067
• Deil-Amen, R. (2006). To teach or not to teach "social" skills: Comparing community colleges and private occupational colleges. Teachers College Record, 108(3), 397-421.
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  Abstract: This article examines the approach to teaching social skills in two kinds of colleges: community colleges, and private for-profit and nonprofit "occupational" colleges, with a focus on college credit programs that lead to applied associate's degrees in a variety of business, health, computer, and technical occupational programs. Nearly all occupational faculty at both types of colleges believe that employers in these fields require certain social skills relevant to professional support occupations. Community college staff-with the exception of health programs-provide three reasons that they neither demand nor teach these social skills. In contrast, the ways in which private occupational colleges make these skills an explicit part of their curriculum is discussed. This study suggests that schools differ in whether they teach and cultivate social skills, which suggests a potentially important way that schools may shape students' opportunities in the labor market and their social mobility. Contrary to Bowles and Gintis, these findings raise the disturbing possibility that community colleges may be actively contributing to the social reproduction of inequality by avoiding instruction in the cultural competencies and social skills required in today's workplace. Copyright © by Teachers College, Columbia University.
• Person, A. E., Rosenbaum, J. E., & Deil-Amen, R. (2006). Student planning and information problems in different college structures. Teachers College Record, 108(3), 374-396.
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  Abstract: Over the past three decades, colleges have experienced revolutionary changes, and the enrollment revolution has had a particularly profound impact on 2-year colleges. We describe the new kinds of students who are entering college today and the ways that colleges have begun to adapt. Then, analyzing interviews with students and administrators and a survey of nearly 4,400 students in 14 two-year colleges, we examine four questions: (1) Do students have serious information problems, and are college procedures ever responsible? (2) How can college structures improve students' information and planning? (3) Do colleges with alternative structures affect student information and confidence? (4) Do alternative college structures matter, net of student attributes ? The results suggest new approaches to addressing the information needs of college students, which may have important implications for their confidence and success. The evidence in this study suggests that structured programs, structured advising, and structured peer supports should be added to the menu of college policy alternatives that deserve further consideration. Copyright & by Teachers College, Columbia University.
• Terenzini, P. T., Prabhu, R., Lee, C., Franklin, R. E., Franklin, J. R., Deil-amen, R., & Cabrera, A. F. (2006).

  Increasing the College Preparedness of At-Risk Students

  . Journal of Latinos and Education, 5(2), 79-97. doi:10.1207/s1532771xjle0502_2
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  GEAR UP (Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs) emerged in the late 1990s as a comprehensive outreach program seeking to enhance awareness of and readiness for college among low-income middle school students. After controlling for students' preprogram test scores and school characteristics, findings indicate that students participating in GEAR UP and in a comparison group gained in their reading and mathematics test scores. Analyses, however, found no statistically significant 2-year effects of program participation on students' reading scores, although a slight, nonsignificant trend across the study period suggested some closing of the statistically significant gap between the 2 groups in the baseline year.
• Rosenbaum, J. E., Person, A. E., & Deil-amen, R. (2005).

  Colleges, Careers, and the Institutional Structuring of the Transition to Adulthood

  . Advances in Life Course Research, 9, 125-149. doi:10.1016/s1040-2608(04)09005-7
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  Abstract Life course theorists have variously focused on the role of culture, history, and social structures in shaping the life course, but rarely have they examined concrete social organizations. This chapter looks at how an important group of institutions – 2-year colleges – structures the transition to adulthood in the U.S. Using data from different types of 2-year colleges, we analyze their assumptions about and their impact upon the transition from school to work. With increasing numbers of young adults seeking workforce preparation from 2-year colleges, consideration of these institutions can offer valuable insights into the structuring of the transition from school to work specifically, and the transition to adulthood more generally.
• Deil-Amen, R., & Rosenbaum, J. E. (2004). Charter building and labor market contacts in two-year colleges. Sociology of Education, 77(3), 245-265.
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  Abstract: How do unselective schools that serve disadvantaged students get employers to recognize their graduates' qualifications? This study examined whether low-status colleges (whose credentials may not be widely understood) rely on the traditional college charter or engage in charter-building activities to get employers to recognize students' value. Examining occupational programs in public and private two-year colleges, the authors found that both types of colleges do similar activities but do them differently. While these community colleges act as if additional action is not required, these private two-year occupational colleges actively engage in charter-building activities, mediating the hiring process by conveying students' qualifications through trusted relationships and aiming to place all their graduates, including many disadvantaged students, in jobs. The authors speculate that charter building identifies previously ignored issues and may suggest ways that low-status schools can make hiring into an institutional process in which students' lower social backgrounds have a less-negative influence.
• Person, A. E., Rosenbaum, J. E., & Deil-Amen, R. (2004). Colleges, Careers, and the Institutional Structuring of the Transition to Adulthood. Advances in Life Course Research, 9, 125-149.
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  Abstract: Life course theorists have variously focused on the role of culture, history, and social structures in shaping the life course, but rarely have they examined concrete social organizations. This chapter looks at how an important group of institutions - 2-year colleges - structures the transition to adulthood in the U.S. Using data from different types of 2-year colleges, we analyze their assumptions about and their impact upon the transition from school to work. With increasing numbers of young adults seeking workforce preparation from 2-year colleges, consideration of these institutions can offer valuable insights into the structuring of the transition from school to work specifically, and the transition to adulthood more generally. © 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
• Deil-Amen, R., & Rosenbaum, J. E. (2003). The social prerequisites of success: Can college structure reduce the need for social know-how?. Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 586, 120-143.
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  Abstract: A study of fourteen colleges finds that community colleges require certain kinds of social know-how-skills and knowledge less available to disadvantaged students. They present seven obstacles: (1) bureaucratic hurdles, (2) confusing choices, (3) student-initiated guidance, (4) limited counselor availability, (5) poor advice from staff, (6) delayed detection of costly mistakes, and (7) poor handling of conflicting demands. However, we find that a very different kind of college-the private occupational college-takes steps to structure out the need for this social know-how and address the needs of disadvantaged students. We speculate about possible policy implications.
• Deil-Amen, R., & Rosenbaum, J. E. (2002). The unintended consequences of stigma-free remediation. Sociology of Education, 75(3), 249-268.
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  Abstract: Social stratification may emerge within efforts to reduce it. Although open admissions policies increase access to college, many students may not really be college students; they are taking noncredit remedial courses, which raises concerns about stigma and "cooled-out" aspirations. Studying two community colleges, this article describes a remedial approach that avoids stigma and cooling out but creates unintended consequences. Analyses of interviews with staff and students and of institutional procedures show how this approach arises. The analyses also indicate how this approach inhibits and delays students' awareness of their remedial status, causes them to misjudge their prospects, and prevents them from considering alternative options.