Policy rhetoric, realities, and burdens: Using critical policy analysis to center at-promise student success in the McNair program

Abstract

Educational policies designed to benefit students from first-generation, low-income, and racially minoritized backgrounds do not always consider the realities these students experience during college. Instead, students participating in compensatory education programs can endure further marginalization. Using critical policy analysis’ core tenets as guiding principles to frame our study and guide our analysis, we conducted a three-phase qualitative analytic study. We examined interviews with students and McNair program policy documents to interrogate policymakers’ hidden assumptions and the (de)centering of minoritized student perspectives in the McNair program policy. Students in the program discussed varied and conflicting definitions of success, such as learning they did not want to attend graduate school—a primary goal and measure of success for the federal government. They also highlighted advisors as a source of support. By centering the experiences of students, our findings highlight this critical gap and draw attention to the administrative burdens placed on at-promise students, emphasize the need for holistic socio-emotional support in federal policy, and underscore the powerful role of supportive faculty and staff.