New York College Learning Skills Association

RTDE Issue Contents

Research and Teaching
in Developmental Education

Volume 21, Issue 2, Spring 2005

Beyond the Academic Needs of Generation 1.5
By Myra M. Goldschmidt and Christine Ziemba Miller

Abstract

This paper explores the affective needs of immigrant students enrolled in developmental classes during their first semester in college. More and more of the immigrant students entering higher education today are part of what is currently referred to in the literature as Generation 1.5, immigrants whose traits and experiences lie somewhere in between those associated with the first and second generation (Rumbaut & Ima, 1988). Though these students have graduated from American high schools, usually with high GPA’s, they are often placed into developmental college classes and struggle because of deficiencies in skill preparation and background knowledge. The findings of the present study suggest that academic success of immigrant students is greatly impacted by the dynamic affective processes these students undergo during their first semester of college.