Addressing the Sophomore Slump: First-Generation College Students’ Completion of Year Two of Study in a Rural Bachelor’s Degree Granting College

There is limited research on the experiences of first-generation students who have completed their second year and enrolled for a third year in order to continue their studies even though this population of students are the most likely to drop out of college in their second year. The purpose of this qualitative study was to understand how current first-generation college students, who are enrolled or completed the second semester of their sophomore year, experience college as a first-generation student and made the decision to persist toward completing their bachelor’s degree. Through first-hand accounts of participants’ experiences of their time at the university, this study highlights what factors students contributed to their persistence toward graduation. The findings have the potential to facilitate a deeper understanding of what stakeholders working with first-generation college students can do to assist in retention efforts of this population.

Dysfunctional Career Thoughts and the Sophomore Slump Among Students With Learning Disabilities

The present study sought to underline the need for expanded transitioning college programming to the 2nd year by examining dysfunctional career thoughts among college students with learning disabilities (LDs). Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was used to examine the mean differences between 93 college sophomores and seniors with LD on the three subscales of the Career Thoughts Inventory (CTI). Findings from the MANOVA showed significant mean differences among groups. Follow-up analysis found that sophomores showed significantly higher dysfunctional career thoughts than seniors. Seniors displayed substantially lower mean scores on the CTI subscales than sophomores. Findings support the need to extend transition programming that includes addressing students’ dysfunctional career thoughts beyond the 1st year to help ease college transition difficulties and thus promote persistence and retention of students with LD. Research and practice implications are presented for career scholars and practitioners working with college students with LD.

Coping resources and strategies of Canadian ice-hockey players: An empirical National Hockey League career model

Sport psychology researchers have studied careers of Canadian ice hockey players in the National Hockey League (NHL) and devised an empirical NHL career model. The model was comprised of career stages, statuses, demands and barriers to career progression without any indication of coping. The intent in the present article is to feature coping resources and strategies utilized by players during each status and career stage within the empirical model. Five rookies, 5 veterans, and 13 retirees participated in conversational interviews and the data underwent a deductive thematic analysis. Prospects seeking to gain entry into the NHL set controllable expectations rather than playing to impress coaches and staff. Most prospects played in the minor leagues where they adjusted their expectations to accept roles that they were likely to have during an NHL call-up. The career stage of developing as an NHL player was about rookies producing immediately in their role while holding off internal competition for their roster spot. In the same stage, sophomores were in their second full NHL season and they studied their opponents to avoid the sophomore slump. The stage of reaching the NHL elite involved constant pressure for point production and winning playoff games. The final stage was about seasoned veterans maintaining NHL play involvement by preserving their physique despite being worn down from long careers in a contact sport. The authors will discuss the significance of the model for sport psychology researchers and practitioners, and NHL stakeholders.

New Book Chronicle

And so to my next NBC, the difficult second album, the sophomore slump. As an antidote to any jitters on my part, in this issue we tackle a range of books investigating creativity and innovation in the past. Innovation is enjoying something of a ‘moment’ in archaeological thought at present, with several large, multi-disciplinary projects underway in Europe and sessions devoted to the topic at major US and European conferences over the last few years. As with the current concentration on inequality, this interest can be traced to the social and political climate of the present and concerns over rapid technological change, economic growth and productivity. Innovation can be both productive and profoundly disruptive, and as such, it is of central concern in understanding social change in the past and predicting its effects in the future. The first four volumes discussed below deal directly with innovation, creativity and learning. The fifth, written by political scientist James C. Scott, invites us to consider the negative consequences of certain kinds of innovation and the implications for the sorts of complex societies that we live in today.