Student Affairs Administrator Shares Research on Millennial Generation

 

BLACKSBURG, VA, Jan.12, 2006—Edward Spencer of Blacksburg, Va., associate vice president for Student Affairs at Virginia Tech, conducted a presentation at the North Cross School in Roanoke, Va. about his research on the Millennial Generation, which represents Americans born between 1982 and the present. The presentation, titled “Understanding and Working with Millennials,” focused on the changing relationship between parents and this new generation and how parents can prepare them for success in higher education and the working world.

According to Spencer’s research, Millennials are a high-achieving, intelligent, and optimistic group, but are often under prepared for the challenges of an independent lifestyle. This lack of preparedness typically results from over-attentive parenting and the tendency to shelter children from obstacles that might be necessary for healthy development.

Spencer also said that Millennial students are inclined to be more academically disengaged than past generations. While Millennials have been getting higher grades than ever before, they lack connection with the material and spend much less time studying than students from past generations. Spencer suggests that this change is partly due to an emphasis on end products rather than the methods of achieving them.

“Parents tend to focus directly on performance,” but often fail to emphasize the need for reflective thinking and “developing a meaningful philosophy of life,” he said.

North Cross is a private college preparatory school for children in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grades that focuses on a curriculum of science and liberal arts. This school is noted for encouraging a working relationship between parents and faculty and helping parents play an active role in the education of their children.

Spencer said he hopes this presentation helped to close the gap between higher-education and secondary-school perspectives on learning, and that parents will have a better sense of how to prepare their children in light of the Millennial Generation’s special needs.

Spencer also serves as an associate professor for the Department of Higher Education and Student Affairs at Virginia Tech, teaching a graduate course on this subject called The American College Student and the College Environment. He has worked as a professional in the field of student affairs for 35 years, and has made many research presentations on the nature of today’s college students, among other topics.

 

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