Navigating Well-Being and Thriving in Postsecondary Spaces: At-Promise Student and Practitioner Perspectives

• In Event: Ecological Perspectives of Well-Being and Thriving in Higher Education Spaces

Abstract

Colleges and universities have the potential to provide supportive opportunities for students to be well psychologically, socially, spiritually, and physically. Yet many postsecondary students experience negative well-being and struggle to find support for their well-being on campus (Brown, 2023). The majority of well-being support focuses on individual students as opposed to building systemic support in order to foster students’ ability to thrive, and few institutions have the capacity to provide tailored support to particular student groups such as low-income, first-generation, and racially minoritized students.

Objectives
The purpose of this paper is to build knowledge about how at-promise students experience well-being and thriving in postsecondary spaces with a particular focus on the assets that at-promise students bring to their postsecondary journey. The study explores the interplay between students, practitioners, and institutional contexts and aims to provide guidance to universities about how to better support at-promise students in their well-being and ability to thrive.

Theoretical framework
We are utilizing the social determinants of health framework to understand well-being in higher education (Braveman & Gottlieb, 2014). This perspective focuses not only on individual factors that contribute to one’s well-being, but also the factors within one’s environment. Additionally, we consider well-being as broader than mental health, as multifaceted, encompassing social, intellectual, physical, financial, environmental, spiritual, and occupational wellness (Posselt, 2021; SAMHSA, 2016).

Methods
This mixed methods exploratory study is part of a large-scale longitudinal project designed to better understand the academic and psychosocial experiences of at-promise students at three midwestern universities.

Data sources
Data derive from three sources: (1) a series of longitudinal interviews with 49 students from Cohort 1 (beginning Fall 2021) and 111 students from Cohorts 2 (beginning Fall 2023), conducted in fall, spring and summer semesters of their first two years in college; (2) interviews with 41 faculty and staff who serve at-promise students at three midwestern universities; and (3) open-response survey data from 1,024 students taken in the fall of 2022.

Results
Findings highlight: (1) at-promise students’ insights into what it means to them to thrive; (2) practitioner perspectives on the challenges they face and strategies they employ to support the well-being and thriving of at-promise students; and (3) and programmatic and institutional approaches to well-being and thriving. Furthermore, analysis explores the role of students’ external supportive factors (i.e., family support, instructors, advisors, counselors, mentors, and peers) and internal supportive factors (i.e., self-awareness, social awareness, relationship management, and coping skills) on first-year transition to college and the impact a caring and invested empowerment agent (Stanton-Salazar, 2011) and/or programmatic and institutional supports can have on students.

Significance
While some research has examined how at-promise students experience thriving (e.g., Schreiner, 2014), more attention is needed to disrupt systemic barriers that undermine students’ ability to thrive, particularly students from marginalized backgrounds (see Bettencourt & Lisi, under review; Okello & Pérez, 2018). Understanding how to build campus environments that support and promote thriving for at-promise students is a crucial step that has been underexplored.

Authors

• Zoë Corwin, University of Southern California

• Ralitsa Todorova, University of Southern California

• Claudia Rodriguez, University of Southern California

• Christine Rocha, University of Southern California