Generation Z Goes to College

Generation Z Goes to College by Corey Seemiller and Meghan Grace Jossey Bass 2016  1119143451Reviewed by Linda L. BaerAN INTRODUCTION TO THE AUTHORSCOREY SEEMILLER is a faculty member in the department of Leadership Studies in Education and Organizations at Wright State University. She is the author of The Student Leadership Competencies Guidebook ( 2013) and has over 20 years of experience in higher education.MEGHAN GRACE is a new professional serving as member orientation director for Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity at Wright State University. She interacts directly with new students from Generation Z in her day to day work.The authors work with university leadership programs serving thousands of students each year. AND PURPOSEThere is little extensive research on Generation Z students, those born between 1995 and 2010. As Generation Z students start to attend college, Seemiller and Grace believe that higher education institutions could benefit from better understanding their perspectives. The authors use findings from a survey of over 1,100 Generation Z college students and other current research to assess characteristics, aspirations, learning styles, actions, and motivators. They believe this will help higher education staff better understand and relate to this unique generation. The authors interpret and outline the implications of the data and offer higher education administrators, student affairs professionals, and faculty members recommendations for program, process, and curriculum changes that will maximize the educational impact on Generation Z students.DESCRIPTIONSeemiller and Grace provide a readable book that describes how Generation Z is similar to and different from other student groups. The survey they used focused on the characteristics, outlooks, and trends of current college students born 1995 or later as they relate to their experience in higher education. The authors focused on styles and motivators; how these students learn, engage, communicate, and form relationships; and pertinent social issues and outlook on life.The authors used a three pronged approach to the survey work. First, they e mailed a call for institutional partners through a number of professional student affairs organizations. Second, they posted a call on social media, including the Student Affairs Professional Group on Facebook and the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators Student Leadership Programs Knowledge Community on Facebook. Third, they sent personalized messages to 50 of the people in their professional networks. The result was the securing of 15 institutional partners, each of which then forwarded the survey to students. The survey included quantitative questions and open ended questions to gather qualitative data. The authors used several learning style models, multiple intelligences models, and measures of optimism and outlook. They point out that there were limitations to the survey in that there were no single gender institutions, historically Black colleges, religiously affiliated institutions, or for profit colleges included. They admit that with a final number of 613 participants, there was not widespread representation across the Generation Z student population. While the book presents many interesting facts about the demographics of Generation Z, it is important to note that the sample used was not random. The qualitative picture is helpful but it would certainly strengthen the literature to have a larger, more comprehensive, and random sample to use in drawing conclusions.COMPARISON TO OTHER BOOKS IN THE FIELDComparing Generation Z to the generations described in Paul Taylor's The Next America: Boomers, Millennials, and the Looming Generational Showdown (PublicAffairs, 2014) adds another dimension to understanding the changing dynamics of the American demographic landscape.