ERIC Number: EJ858597
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2009
Pages: 19
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1559-5455
EISSN: N/A
Varying the Frequency of Intentional Communication between Student Affairs Personnel, First-Year Students, and Their Parents
Daniel, S. Kate; Lobdell, Kevin; Springate, Beth; Rayome, Chelsea; Bottoni, Rita; Doerr, Daniel; Saddlemire, John R.; Allen, George J.
NASPA Journal, v46 n2 p282-300 2009
Higher education administrators are increasingly committed to proactive communication with the parents of their students, but little empirical research exists that demonstrates the effectiveness of such communication. This investigation evaluated the effects of varying frequency of communication by randomly assigning first-year college students and their parents to receive 0, 1, or 4 documents that described activities associated with student success in college and urged them to discuss these activities with one another. Students and parents were then mailed a follow-up survey that assessed their recall regarding how many documents they had received, accuracy of recognition about the content of the documents, and extent of communication about these topics. Results indicated that, for parents, significant linear relationships existed between receipt of more documents, recall of receiving a greater number of mailings, and greater accuracy in recognizing content. Recall and recognition among students, however, were not differentially affected by receiving more documents. For both students and parents, receipt of more documents was not associated with increased frequency of conversations about specific content. Across experimental conditions, parents reported having more frequent conversations with their students than students reported having with their parents. These outcomes suggest that parents, but not their children, are attentive to the content of communications from college administrators, especially when they are sent frequently and within a short time frame. (Contains 5 tables.)
Descriptors: College Freshmen, Parent School Relationship, Speech Communication, Academic Achievement, Student Personnel Workers, Interpersonal Communication, Student Attitudes, Parent Attitudes, Correlation, Recall (Psychology), Printed Materials, Written Language
NASPA - Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education. 1875 Connecticut Avenue NW Suite 418, Washington, DC 20009. Tel: 202-265-7500; Fax: 202-797-1157; Web site: http://www.naspa.org/pubs/index.cfm
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A