Exploring Student Attitudes Toward College Socialization Using an Edutainment College-Themed Novel

Abstract

As technology increases both inside and outside of the classroom, students of all ages are turning to entertainment as a viable way of learning various concepts. Educational entertainment, or edutainment, is a growing field that spans from early childhood to higher education. Prospective college students use edutainment as part of their socialization into college, yet little is known as to the extent that it plays a role into their anticipatory socialization before entering college. This study uses Q methodology to better understand how students conceptualize out-of-class college engagement through edutainment. A group of 14 high school students were asked to read a college-themed mystery novel and then instructed to rank a series of statements relating to college engagement and reference groups relating to the novel's story. Enjoyment of the story was a major factor in the development, retention, and internalization of college engagement strategies for the students. Competing reference groups were also a factor. Students who had family that attended college prioritized their college experiences over the ones they read in the book. Students who had relatives that attended college but did not engage in out-of-class activities appeared to be just as uninformed about college engagement as their "first generation" peers, and less willing to value college engagement activities when presented to them. Recommendations to educators include an intentional focus of both the "educational" and "entertainment" aspects of programs they provide and collecting regular feedback from students to assess the relevance of their programs.