Placing into Remediation and its Effect on Students' Perception of Academic Self-Efficacy

Abstract

This phenomenological, qualitative study for the Dissertation in Practice analyzed thirteen incoming community college students' reactions after begin informed they placed into remedial reading and/or English courses at a local community college. The cohort consisted of traditional aged, freshman students, who came from diverse backgrounds, who were academically categorized as average to above average high school performers. During one-on-one interviews students reported generally negative feelings toward their emotional state and they recalled the enrollment and registration process at community college. Students did not express beliefs that their own abilities, or self-efficacy, had been altered upon hearing of their need to take remediation reading and/or English courses, but rather felt a sense of immediacy and importance toward their academic priorities as they considered their upcoming academic semester. Students maintained an internal-loci of control and recommended future students prepare for the placement test using preparatory material before taking the placement test.|Keywords: self-efficacy, remediation, student perception, community college, placement test