Abstract
ABSTRACT
Purpose. This qualitative case study explored the lived experiences of nontraditional community college students within a learning assistance center (LAC). The research specifically investigated how repeated engagement—defined as three or more visits—fostered validating or invalidating outcomes for students who historically face systemic barriers to academic belonging and persistence.
Theoretical Framework. The study was grounded in Rendón’s (1994) validation theory. This framework posits that nontraditional students often lack the social and cultural capital to navigate higher education independently and therefore require the active intervention of institutional agents to affirm their capacity to learn and succeed.
Methodology. The researcher employed a qualitative case study design to examine the LAC at a large Hispanic-serving institution in Los Angeles County. Purposive sampling was used to select eight nontraditional student participants. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed using thematic analysis to identify patterns across participant experiences.
Findings and Conclusion. Six major themes emerged, mapping a three-level transformative process. The entry level (Themes 1–3) involves overcoming initial reluctance and “feeling out of place” through proactive tutor outreach and a supportive, humanized environment. The developmental level (Theme 4) focuses on building capacity through instructional guidance, academic alignment, and modeling the learning process. The transformative level (Theme 5) represents the cumulative result of validation: increased academic resilience, a transformed mindset, and independent self-advocacy. Conversely, Theme 6 identifies moments of invalidation, such as rushed workshops, which can disrupt this growth. The study concludes that validation can be embedded at an environmental level, where the institutional culture itself signals belonging and capability.
Recommendations. Practitioners should adopt proactive engagement as a standard practice to bridge the gap for hesitant students. Institutions should prioritize relational consistency by maintaining tutor-student continuity to foster the emotional safety necessary for academic risk-taking. Additionally, tutors should be trained to recognize and respond to emotionally unregulated students and explicitly model thinking processes. Finally, colleges should embed validation as a core institutional philosophy across all campus services.