Acculturation and Career Development Needs of Undergraduate Military Veterans

Abstract

Abstract: Empirical research addressing factors impacting veterans’ postsecondary completion is limited. This study examines the impact of civilian acculturation stress, college belongingness, vocational identity, and practical education satisfaction on the college commitment of undergraduate military veterans. Foundational theories, the Student Integration Model (Tinto, 1987) and the Student Attrition Model (Bean, 1982), find institutional commitment to be a significant college persistence factor. More committed undergraduates obtain higher grade point averages and are more likely to graduate than less committed undergraduates (Robbins et al., 2004; Woosley & Miller, 2009). This quantitative dissertation, mindful of these foundational theories, explored two plausible hypotheses: 1.) Undergraduate veterans have difficulty adjusting to civilian life in general, which includes difficulty adjusting to college. 2.) Undergraduate veterans have difficulty in college because they are unclear about their future civilian career, and do not believe that college will assist them to become more clear. Undergraduate military veterans (N = 170), enrolled at higher education institutions across the United States, completed a 75-item quantitative survey. The results confirm a majority of undergraduate veterans experience acculturation stress, and acculturation stress negatively impacts their sense of belonging in college (R = –.438). Both Practical Education Satisfaction (R = .643) and Vocational Identity (R = .322) are significant factors impacting undergraduate veterans’ college commitment. Finally, veterans enrolled at 4-year institutions express more positive experiences than veterans enrolled at 2-year institutions across all factors within this study.