Talking ‘Bout My Generation: Defining “First-Generation College Students” in Higher Education Research

2018 ◽  
Vol 120 (4) ◽  
pp. 1-38
Author(s):  
Robert K. Toutkoushian ◽  
Robert A. Stollberg ◽  
Kelly A. Slaton
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
College Students ◽  
First Generation ◽  
First Generation College Students ◽  
College Entrance ◽  
College Entrance Exam ◽  
Entrance Exam ◽  
First Generation College Student ◽  
First Generation College ◽  
College Educated

Background/Context There have been numerous studies conducted in the higher education literature to determine whether parental education is related to the academic plans and success of their children. Within this literature, particular emphasis is often given to children who are “first-generation college students.” However, researchers and policy makers have not reached agreement on what constitutes a first-generation college student and whether the definition affects the findings from their studies. Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of Study In this study, we examined whether the way in which first-generation college status was defined affected its association with the likelihood of a student going to college. We used data from the Educational Longitudinal Study of 2002 (ELS:02), which is a nationally representative longitudinal sample of 10th-grade students in 2002 who were followed up in 2004, 2006, and 2012. Research Design We used binary and multinomial logistic regression analysis to examine how first-generation college status, as well as other personal, family, and school characteristics, were associated with whether a student took a college entrance exam, applied to college, and enrolled in college. For this study, we constructed eight different definitions of a first-generation college student. The definitions varied with regard to the level of education needed for a parent to be considered “college educated” and the number of parents meeting the education criteria. Conclusions/Recommendations Our results showed that the connection between first-generation college status and these three outcomes varied depending on how first-generation college status was defined. In general, we found larger deficits for first-generation college students when neither parent was college educated and when college educated was defined as earning a bachelor's degree or higher. First-generation college students faced the largest deficits for enrolling in college, and smaller (but often significant) deficits for taking a college entrance exam and applying to college. The results imply that researchers should be very specific about how they are defining first-generation college status and should determine whether their findings are sensitive to how the variable was defined.

A critical approach to academic, community, and family literacies of first-generation college students in Latin America

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Lina M. Trigos-Carrillo
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
College Students ◽  
Latin America ◽  
First Generation ◽  
Literacy Practices ◽  
First Generation College Students ◽  
Community Cultural Wealth ◽  
Cultural Wealth ◽  
The Social ◽  
First Generation College

[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT AUTHOR'S REQUEST.] In this study, I investigated the social practices related to reading and writing of first-generation college students and their families and communities in Latin America from a critical sociocultural perspective (Lewis, Enciso and Moje, 2007). This embedded multiple-case study was conducted in Mexico, Colombia, and Costa Rica. Using an ethnographic perspective of data collection (Bernard, 2011; Lillis and Scott, 2007) and the constant comparative method (Heath and Street, 2008), situational analysis (Clarke, 2005), and within and cross-case analysis (Yin, 2014), I analyzed specific literacy events (Heath, 1982) and literacy practices (Street, 2003) in social context. First, I argue that access to the academic discourse and culture is one of the main barriers first-generation college students faced, although they constructed strong social support systems and engaged in rich literacy practices that involved critical action and thinking. Second, I found that, in contrast to the common belief that socially and economically nonmainstream college students were deficient in literacy, these students and their families possessed a literacy capital and engaged in complex and varied literacy practices. Using their literacy capital, first-generation college students and their families and communities procured the preservation of cultural identity, resisted the effects of cultural globalization, served the role of literacy sponsors, and reacted critically to the sociopolitical context. These literacy practices constituted a community cultural wealth for the families and communities of first-generation college students. I argue that a positive approach towards first-generation college students' identities and their community cultural wealth is necessary in curriculum, instruction, and policy if universities are truly committed to provide access to higher education to students from diverse backgrounds. Finally, I investigated first-generation university women's gender identities, discourses, and roles as they navigated the social worlds of the public university and their local communities in Mexico, Colombia, and Costa Rica. While dominant discourses and roles associated with women reproduced the machismo culture in the region, these group of first-generation university women contested, challenged, and resisted those roles, discourses, and identities. From a Latin American feminist perspective, I argue that bonds of solidarity and communal relations are values that resist the negative effects of global capitalism in marginalized bodies. In particular, public universities, women's supporters, emancipatory discourses, and situated critical literacies played a critical role in improving gender equality in higher education in Latin America. This study contributes to a better understanding of the literacy practices in situated social contexts and informs the ways in which more equitable college instruction, policy, and practices can be developed and promoted.

Communicative Resilience of First-Generation College Students During the COVID-19 Pandemic

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristina M Scharp ◽  
Tiffany R Wang ◽  
Brooke H Wolfe
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
College Students ◽  
Online Education ◽  
First Generation ◽  
Communication Theory ◽  
Multiple Stressors ◽  
First Generation College Students ◽  
Practical Applications ◽  
First Generation College ◽  
Education Administrators

Abstract As U.S. higher education institutions closed their campuses and transitioned to online education due to the high risk for COVID-19 transmission, first-generation college students (FGS) were particularly susceptible to multiple stressors. Findings from a sample of 44 participants reveal seven resilience triggers, four resilience processes, and three relationships between resilience processes and triggers. Based on these findings, we advance the communication theory of resilience by establishing the ways triggers can be structural, emergent, and overlapping and by theorizing resilience processes as both enduring and time-bound/contingent. We also employ a new qualitative method, thematic co-occurrence analysis, to illuminate the relationships between the resilience triggers and processes. Practical applications for higher education administrators, teaching instructors, and student support professionals are described.

When Race and Class Collide: Classism and Social-Emotional Experiences of First-Generation College Students

2021 ◽  
pp. 152102512199548
Author(s):  
Patton O. Garriott ◽  
Shao-Jung “Stella” Ko ◽  
Sandra Bertram Grant ◽  
Mackenzie Jessen ◽  
Blake A. Allan
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
College Students ◽  
Social Status ◽  
First Generation ◽  
Subjective Social Status ◽  
First Generation College Students ◽  
First Generation Students ◽  
Emotional Experiences ◽  
Social Emotional ◽  
First Generation College

Scholarship devoted to first-generation college students has increased rapidly over the past decade, with studies demonstrating first-generation students are systematically disadvantaged compared to their continuing-generation peers. Recently, scholars have critiqued the treatment of first-generation students as a monolith and encouraged complicating their experiences using intersectionality as an analytic tool. This study examined the association between institutional classism and students’ social-emotional experiences in higher education, and how these relations vary based on sociorace, first-generation college student status, and subjective social status. In a sample ( N = 742) of college students from two four-year public institutions, results showed that the strength of the association between institutional classism and social-emotional experiences varied at different intersections of first-generation status, sociorace, and subjective social status. These findings demonstrate the importance of contextualizing first-generation students’ experiences and have implications for efforts to retain first-generation students in higher education.

scholarly journals Can I Afford To Be On Campus?: Do College Students with Disabilities Understand COVID-19 Vaccination Costs?

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zach W. Taylor ◽  
Chelseaia Charran
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
College Students ◽  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
Higher Education Policy ◽  
First Generation ◽  
First Generation College Students ◽  
Full Time ◽  
Access To Higher Education ◽  
First Generation College ◽  
College Students With Disabilities

Institutions of higher education have mandated COVID-19 vaccinations for students wishing to return to an on-campus, in-person learning experience. However, college students with disabilities (SWDs) may be hesitant to take a COVID-19 vaccine for a variety of reasons, possibly delaying or denying students access to higher education. Yet, an under-researched aspect of COVID-19 vaccinations and related communication is whether college students with disabilities understand that the COVID-19 vaccine is free and whether that understanding varies by intersectional identities. As a result, the research team surveyed 245 college students with disabilities to explore student knowledge of vaccine costs and whether differences exist between groups. Data suggests many college students with disabilities do not know that COVID-19 vaccinations are free: White/Caucasian SWDs were most aware of COVID-19 vaccines being free (23.6%), while Latinx students were least aware (1.3%). Moreover, women were more aware of free COVID-19 vaccines (14.8%) than men (11.4%), first generation college students were more aware (15.6%) than non-first generation college students (12.2%), and full-time students (19%) were more aware than part-time students (8.9%). Overall, less than 25% of SWDs understood that COVID-19 vaccines are free. Implications for health communication, vaccine awareness, and higher education policy are addressed.

scholarly journals Integrating Soft Skills Through Active Learning In The Management Classroom

2005 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chynette Nealy
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
College Students ◽  
Active Learning ◽  
First Generation ◽  
Soft Skills ◽  
First Generation College Students ◽  
Institutions Of Higher Education ◽  
Course Materials ◽  
First Generation College

This article discusses how active learning can be used to develop soft skills required by managers of contemporary organizations. Findings from course materials developed in response to business and industry demand for increased focus on soft skills are examined using an emerging population, first generation college students in institutions of higher education.     

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