Date of Award

Summer 2025

Document Type

Open Access Dissertation

Department

Educational Studies

First Advisor

Leigh D'Amico

Abstract

In recent years, some higher education professionals have observed an increase in parental involvement in the lives of their students during their transition to college. While involved parents are sometimes referred to as “helicopter parents,” this new generation of parents often fits more into the label of “snowplow parents” or “lawnmower parents.” This sort of over-involvement impacts students’ personal and academic development far beyond high school graduation; during college, students can struggle to adjust to new levels of academic rigor, but they can also struggle with self-confidence and internal motivation due to their lack of experience with addressing their own challenges for themselves. In this descriptive study, conducted during the 2024-2025 academic year, the researcher conducted a focus group and interviews with first-year students, faculty and staff, and parents of first-year students at a small liberal arts university in a rural setting in Southwest Virginia. The study found that situational and social context are critical to understanding how students and parents feel about the college transition experience at a small liberal arts institution, especially with reference to the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2008 recession. In its analysis, the study explores these conversations using narrative theory, metaphor theory, and deconstructionist theory.

Rights

© 2025, Mary Ellis Glymph

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