Literature Review #1

 1.) Nina B. Eduljee

2.) Alfano, Halley J and Nina B Eduljee. “Differences in Work, Levels of Involvement, and

Academic Performance Between Residential and Commuter Students.” College Student Journal 47.2 (2013): 334-42. Academic Search Premier [EBSCO]. Web.

3.) This article focuses on studies that investigate the relationship between work, levels of involvement at school and academic performance between residential students and commuter students. Author Nina B. Eduljee makes reference to a previous study done by N.A. Peterson in 1975 that suggested that commuter students tend to be at a disadvantage when compared to on-campus students in a number of ways. Some disadvantages listed are less involvement in student affairs and activities, greater stress levels from working more than on-campus students, and fewer opportunities for personal, nonacademic growth due to participating in fewer developmental activities that are offered on campus.

The article also discusses the academic performance of working commuter students versus on-campus working students. The studies revealed that even though it was found that commuters worked more hours than traditional on-campus students, yet there was not much difference in their overall GPA averages.

The difference that was observed between the two groups was that commuter students were working more hours, especially at off-campus jobs and were significantly less active in on-campus activity. Although this may prompt someone to think that working full time as a college student may be detrimental to one’s college experience, especially as a commuter student, research conducted by M. Wentz and W.C. Yu in 2010 also shows that students who worked often were found to study more and obtain higher GPA’s than students who did not work at all. This suggests that even though being a full time working commuter may have its disadvantages, there are also advantages to it as well, which is worth researching.

4.) There are two authors of this article, however the main author of interest is Nina B. Eduljee, PhD. Nina B. Eduljee is a professor at Saint Joseph’s College. She conducts research on a number of student related topics and presents them at various national and international conferences. One her current ongoing research projects is her research in examining student engagement in college. Eduljee not only presents a lot of her research nationwide, but she also has a high collection of publications in various student related studies as well.

5.) One key phrase that is important to be defined and understood is “student involvement”. Level of student involvement can be defined and evaluated differently among a group of people. Eduljee uses A. W. Austin’s definition of student involvement to refer to the term as “the amount of physical and psychological energy that the student devotes to the academic experience. Thus, a highly involved student is one who, for example, devotes considerable energy to studying, spends much time on campus, participates actively in student organizations, and interacts frequently with faculty members and other students. Conversely, a typical uninvolved student neglects studies, spends little time on campus, abstains from extracurricular activities, and has infrequent contact with faculty members or other students”. Sometimes when we think of student involvement we refer to parties and other social events and clubs. However as the definition suggests, student involvement should also include the level of academic participation as well. I think this is a good definition because it highlights different aspects of being a well-rounded student.

Another important term used in the article is the word “connectedness”. This is defined by how much a student feels as if being part of the university community. This is a key term because studies are showing that commuter students are more likely than their on-campus peers to feel not being part of the community and wish to interact with their peers more.

6.) “[Student involvement is referred to as] the amount of physical and psychological energy that the student devotes to the academic experience. Thus, a highly involved student is one who, for example, devotes considerable energy to studying, spends much time on campus, participates actively in student organizations, and interacts frequently with faculty members and other students. Conversely, a typical uninvolved student neglects studies, spends little time on campus, abstains from extracurricular activities, and has infrequent contact with faculty members or other students" (p. 3).

“[The results indicated that “residential students were more engaged in effective educational practices and – in all likelihood – were more likely benefitting more from their college experience” (p. 6). “driving commuters really do have less contact with their teachers (especially seniors) and do not take advantage of such opportunities as co-curricular activities community service, study abroad, internships and so forth” (p. 8). “It appears that further away a student lives from campus (walking distance, driving distance), the less likely a student is to take advantage of the educational resources of the school.” (p. 9).]” (p. 3)

“[Tinto (1993) indicates that “students will be more likely to invest in greater effort to learn when they become involved as members of the college community” (p. 71)]” (p. 10).

7.) This article helped explore my research question because it introduced different perspectives on my topic that I had not considered implementing in my paper. For example, the definition of “student involvement” as provided in the article opened my eyes and also broadened my thinking on what it means to be involved as a student, on both an academic and social level. After reading this article I have taken note on different phrases and words to use when conducting my research. This will help me be more specific in my research while adopting a more comprehensive approach. This article was also very helpful in providing me with information about previously conducted research that gives me additional support for my topic.