| The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore how seven at-risk college students who attend a public four-year college and who participate in faculty led arts-based cocurricular activities describe their college experience. The primary research question guiding the research was: How do seven at-risk college students who are engaged in faculty-led performing arts cocurricular activities describe their college experience? The theory-driven research question was: To what extent does this experience work as a mechanism to foster resilience? This study applied the qualitative methodology of interpretive phenomenological analysis (IPA) to investigate the participants' lived experiences. The researcher interviewed seven at-risk college students. The researcher analyzed the data which yielded four superordinate themes: sense of belonging, sense of meaning, personal growth, and situational pressure. The data also revealed that participation in cocurricular provided the three external protective factors that foster resilience: caring relationships, high expectations, and meaningful participation. The five recommendations for practice address the problem of very low graduation rates for at-risk college students. |
