RUNNING

HEAD: REVIEW OF STUDENT VETERANS IN TRANSITION

Review of Student Veterans in Transition Nicole Ponticorvo Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

REVIEW OF STUDENT VETERANS IN TRANSITION

The study put forth by Rumann and Hamrick (2010) presents compelling insight into the experience of veterans re-enrolling in college after a war zone combat deployment. As clearly noted in the introduction and literature review sections, the research and literature does not fully address the complex experiences of this unique population of non-traditional college students. In reviewing Student Veterans in Transition: Re-enrolling after War Zone Deployments (Rumann & Hamrick, 2010), I review the following subsections in depth: Methodology, Methods, and Design; Findings; and Discussion. In this review, I also offer a critique of various aspects of the study providing suggestions to improve follow-up studies on this subject. In Rumann and Hamricks study (2010), an interpretive theoretical perspective grounded in constructionist epistemology (p. 436) was employed. By framing the methodology of their study early on, the research team clearly defines the overarching purpose of their research. Since the goal of interpretive research is to understand and interpret (Esterberg, p. 17), the reader analyzing this study knows that the researchers do not intend to predict anything definitive. Instead, Rumann and Hamrick (2010) emphasize that their study is exploratory in nature. Keeping this in mind, the reader must read with a keen eye because [r]esearchers writings are always interpretations of what they think their research subjects are doing. . .[b]ut their insights are always limited, because they cannot know for certain what is really going on (Esterberg, 2002, p. 16). Considering the vastly different experiences that can be ascribed to student veterans returning to college, this interpretive qualitative research methodology seems quite logical. Whereas other more concrete research subjects would warrant a more positivist approach that assumes that the social world is inherently knowable (Esterberg, 2002, p. 10), the human experience and human realities are best conveyed when they are expressed without boundaries and, therefore, open to interpretation.

REVIEW OF STUDENT VETERANS IN TRANSITION The methods used by the research team primarily included interviews with respondents and document analysis. Holding a series of semi-structured interviews with respondents, the research team was able to effectively use this in-depth method to explore [the] topic more opening and to allow interviewees to express their opinions and ideas in their own words (Esterberg, 2002, p. 87). If the research team were to have chosen structured interviews, which are typically close-ended, forcing interviewees to choose between fixed responses (Esterberg,

2002, p. 85), respondents would have been far less empowered to convey their individual, unique experiences, feelings and beliefs. While structured interviews would serve more like a survey and lead to more quantifiable and streamline data across interviews, it would not allow interviewees to take the surprising turns (Esterberg, 2002, p. 85), which render the data rich in both emotion and content. Furthermore, the research teams choice to not conduct unstructured interviews was also arguably wise within the context of their topic. Since unstructured interviews are often conducted in a field setting, in conjunction with an observational study (Esterberg, 2002, p. 89), the respondents would have to be comfortable sharing their experiences outside of a controlled, private environment. Considering the sensitive and potentially memory-provoking nature of the student veterans wartime experiences, the research team may not have been able to retrieve the same honest reflections and expressions had their responses not been given in a closed, confidential setting, where the interviewee could privately share highly personal thoughts, feelings and experiences. In addition to semi-structured interviews, the research team also took into account the historical context of the experience of student veterans through document analysis of campus newspapers printed between 2001 and 2008. Such unobtrusive measures involve any form of studying human behavior that does not rely on asking people directly (such as interviewing) or on observing people (such as doing participant observation)

REVIEW OF STUDENT VETERANS IN TRANSITION (Esterberg, 2002, p. 115-116), and employing this method adds a historical and cultural

dimension to the study. By employing different methods, the research team uses triangulation in order to balance the strengths and weaknesses of each (Esterberg, 2002, p. 176). While the methodology and methods utilized by the research team to study the experiences of veterans re-entering college are extremely conducive to such an exploratory and interpretive topic, the design of their study, specifically regarding respondent selection, warrants critique and suggestions for improvement. The fact that all respondents were enrolled at one large research extensive, land-grant university in the Midwest (Rumann & Hamrick, 2010, p. 437) suggests that, while the student veterans personal wartime experiences will undoubtedly differ, their experiences re-assimilating to the same institutional culture may not. Given that they are all returning from vastly different wartime experiences to the same university, the students presumably will encounter similar challenges to readjusting to college life based merely on the fact that they share an institution with the same resources for and attitude toward veteran students. If the studys population were to encompass student veterans from a variety of institutions with different cultures, political systems, institutional types and regional roots, the data collection would better reflect the spectrum of possible re-enrollment experiences for veteran college students. Although no two students would have the same perception, it is plausible that the institution heavily influences their experiences. An even more important aspect of the study that warrants critique regards the number of respondents that participated in interviews. Although qualitative research emphasizes the researchers objective to know a lot about a relatively small number of people. . . .[which, in turn,] sacrifice[s] breadth for depth (Esterberg, 2002, p. 93), six participants from the same institution cannot extract enough diverse

REVIEW OF STUDENT VETERANS IN TRANSITION data. For future studies, I suggest that 10 to 15 student veterans be interviewed from various institutions that welcome differences in experiences based on institutional culture and support. In the Findings section, Rumann and Hamrick (2010) use the themes of role

incongruities, maturity, relationships and identity renegotiation to effectively organize and make sense of their respondents experiences returning to college. Furthermore, the research team supports their findings with support from their interview data. According to Esterberg (2002), this support should be in the form of examples from your research, including quotations from your interviews or field notes and excerpts from your documents (p. 213). While direct quotation excerpts from the respondents add depth to this section, the research team does not address the tangible documents, which they used to inform their study. Rumann and Hamrick go on to note the various limitations of their study, which, in turn, warrant critique. The fact that [n]ot all branches of the armed forces were represented in this study and each of the respondents initially entered college as a traditional aged student (Rumann & Hamrick, 2010, p. 449) further reflects the homogeneous quality of the respondents. Focusing on college student veterans from each military branch would help this study acknowledge how different military backgrounds may lead to differences in re-enrollment transitions. Furthermore, it would be worth exploring the experiences of veterans that either first entered college as non-traditional aged students or began college for the first time after their war deployments. In response to the fact that most of Rumann and Hamricks respondents described their transitions in mostly positive and ultimately optimistic terms (2010, p. 449), they note that [o]ther student veterans with different characteristics may well have different sets of experiences or perspectives (p. 449); thus, a respondent pool with a broader range in experience would render the data more comprehensive.

REVIEW OF STUDENT VETERANS IN TRANSITION As Rumann and Hamrick (2010) explain in the Discussion section, the focus of their study was not identity development; however, much of what is discussed by the respondents revolves around identity. Whether in the context of the self or relationships with others, the idea of multiple identities and meaning making seems to underlie the respondents transitional experiences. Given that the research team was unable to analyze processes or subtle aspects of identity re-constructions (Rumann & Hamrick, 2010, p. 454), this study lacks in-depth exploration of identity formation, which would more deeply explain the student veteran

experience. In addition to using transitional and multiple dimensions of identity models, Rumann and Hamrick could have also structured their discussion using an identity formation model. Had the research team examined the identity formation and meaning-making processes of their respondents, the study would have better encapsulated both the college student veterans transition and how their meaning-making processes contributed to their identity. While Rumann and Hamrick (2010) conduct a thorough and insightful qualitative research study on the re-enrollment of college student veterans, certain aspects, including the quantity and breadth of respondent selection and the somewhat limited discussion of the respondents identity formation processes, warrant reconsideration for future studies. Considering the prevalence of veterans returning to or starting college post-deployment, it is vital that this subject continues to receive attention through research. Longitudinal studies that maintain regular follow-up with re-enrolled college students over their entire educational experience would provide even greater insight into how these students are transitioning and what identities they assume. Moving forward, it is important that the college student veteran experience be examined more holistically in order to better understand this multi-faceted and unique population within todays institutions of higher education.

REVIEW OF STUDENT VETERANS IN TRANSITION References Esterberg, K. G. (2002). Qualitative Methods in Social Research. Boston, MA. Rumann, C. B., & Hamrick, F. A. (2010). Student veterans in transition: Re-enrolling after war zone deployments. Journal Of Higher Education, 81(4), 431-458.