Working With the Millennial Generation: Challenges Facing 21st‐Century Students From the Perspective of University Staff

Abstract

This study explored university staff's general perceptions of millennial generation college students. Analysis of structured interviews with university professionals revealed that millennial students generally tend to ignore what may be expected of them, resist being accountable for their own actions, and depend on others for problem solving. Implications for college counselors are discussed.

An Experiential-Based Learning Method Aiming to Improve Spatial Awareness Utilizing GPS, Geocaching, and Geo-Selfies

“…As university class sizes become larger due to growing numbers of students enrolling at higher education institutions, new approaches need to be incorporated to offer improved environments conducive to learning (El Mansour and Mupinga 2007;Moore and Gilmartin 2010). As universities face an increased number of students, they are also fielding an increased number of Millennials, those born between 1982 and 2002 (Howe and Strauss 2000;Atkinson 2004;Much et al 2014), nationwide (Roehling et al 2011). Both Millennials and adults have been shown to learn most effectively from active or experiential-based learning curricula (Roehling et al 2011;Fulford 2013).…”

Testing Three-Item Versions for Seven of Young’s Maladaptive Schema and Wait Impact for Briefly Counseled Non-Urgent Clients

“…Using two samples, 102 triaged pre-intake undergraduates in counseling and 962 undergraduates not in counseling, Blau et al (2015b) found initial psychometric support for reliably measuring seven three-item schemas: unrelenting standards, subjugation, mistrust and abuse, abandonment, dependence, entitlement and social exclusion for both samples. These seven (of 15) maladaptive schema were selected based on the following criteria: (1) the first author's aggregated polling of undergraduate classes taught over the prior several years after students' read Young and Klosko (1993) and listed the two most important schemas (life traps) they had faced; (2) a fall 2013 meeting among counseling services' clinicians at the UCC research site which indicated that these seven schemas were well-represented in undergraduate clients the clinicians had and were currently seeing; and (3) several of these schema either being identified as descriptive of many millennial college students, i.e., entitlement, dependence (Much et al, 2014); or identified as prominent mental health issues for millennials, i.e., unrelenting standards and social exclusion (Brunner et al, 2014) . One research goal of this study was to further test the reliability and discriminant validity of these seven three-item measures of maladaptive schema.…”

Entering the First Year of a Multidisciplinary, Hands-on, Competency-based Learning Experience: Hopes and Concerns of Students, Parents, and Faculty

“…Research shows that the generation of students who are currently entering college, also known as "Millennials", have particularly strong ties with their parents [3]. Parents are often the ones who help make decisions not only before their child selects a major but throughout their academic career and even beyond [4,5,6].…”

“…Without emotional preparation, students may need to undergo significant adjustment during their first year [7]. Such adjustment may be even harder for the Millennial generation, whose connectedness with their families is stronger than in prior generations [3]. While all students go through the renegotiation of family relationships and development of their own networks, many millennials may not be as ready to sever family ties, allowing or even expecting their parents to remain continually involved in their educational decisions and campus life [3,8].…”

“…Such adjustment may be even harder for the Millennial generation, whose connectedness with their families is stronger than in prior generations [3]. While all students go through the renegotiation of family relationships and development of their own networks, many millennials may not be as ready to sever family ties, allowing or even expecting their parents to remain continually involved in their educational decisions and campus life [3,8]. Feeling protected, special, and sheltered from many troubles throughout their previous years of schooling, they may expect the same level of support and care at college and may go back to parents in need of comfort at harder times, while missing opportunities to develop their own coping techniques [9].…”