An Exception to the Norm

Tatiana Motevalli-Oliner

Research Goal: the examination of trends of student involvement

1) How the student’s presentation of self is affected during such involvement 2) How student involvement affect’s the student’s sense of belonging within

the school’s community.

Sources:- “Presentation of Self in Everyday Life” Ervine Goffman- “Invitation to Sociology” Peter L. Berger - “ The Happiest Kids on Campus” Harlan Cohen - “Sociology of Deviant Behavior” Marshall Clinard and Robert Meier- “College Experiences” ASHE Higher Education Report 2007 Critical Terms:- Reference groups - Role theory - Definition of the situation - Setting- Front- Give/giving off- Promissory Information - Theory of involvement (Astin): “Higher levels of student involvement result in

greater social engagement”

Social Context: There is a “relationship between student engagement and family background,” (Willms).

• Necessary to identify other possible variables which could contribute to a student’s sense of belonging.

• PISA Report from 2000, which sites statistics from the UNESCO Institute for Statistics:

• “the odds of having a low sense of belonging for a student living in a high socio-economic status family is about 14 per cent less than the odds for students living in families of average (middle two quartiles) socio-economic status,” (Willms).

• “the odds of a female having low participation is about 7 per cent less than that of males,” (Willms).

“Student Engagement at School, a Sense of Belonging and Participation, Results from PISA 2000” Jon Douglas Willms

- Maintaining her front - Self-confident, playful, happy

- Gives/Gives Off- Gives: singer Gives off: confident

Research Goal Part 1: How Student’s presentation of self is affected by their involvement

• Assumption:

– Subject X would change her role to fit the different definitions of situations created by each reference group

– Subject X would put up new fronts for each audience in order to maintain audience segregation.

- Acting out different roles of her different organizations - Maintaining these roles through Appearance and Manner

- Reference groups/ Teams- Group Roles- Succumbing to shared roles in exchange for acceptance

- Outsiders - Maintains her front - Disregard for audience segregation

Research Goal Part 1: How Student’s presentation of self is affected by their involvement

• Subject X integrates outsiders into her roles and routines because she has no regard for audience segregation. This is because she maintains the same front even when faced with different definitions of the situations and partaking in different reference groups.

• “Sociology of Deviant Behavior” by Marshall Clinard and Robert Meier

– “In addition to such characteristics as age, sex, and race, members of modern societies display greater diversity than those of more traditional, homogenous societies in behavior, dress, attitude, and interaction patterns,” (Clinard, 11).

– “Since, however, no group of people could ever share all of the same characteristics, deviance can occur in every society to the extent that some differences will be more highly valued than others.” (Clinard,10).

Research Goal Part 2: How student involvement affect’s the student’s sense of belonging within the school’s community.

• Assumption– Subject X would feel more accepted thanks to her over involvement in

student organizations

“Emerson is the most amazing school ever”• Subject X has a high sense of belonging at Emerson due to her over

involvement in student organizations • Subject X is very popular and well-known around campus • Subject X is much more confident in social interaction with her fellow

Emersonians

• “higher levels of involvement in the campus community, including academic involvement, faculty and student involvement, and students’ involvement with other students, result in greater intellectual and social engagement,” (College Experiences)