Presentation by Professor Sarah O'Shea (University of Wollongong) for La Trobe University's Student Success Summit 2019.

1. CRICOS Provider Code 00301J

2. “the belief that one is
inherently deserving of
privileges or special
treatment.”
“students are coming to
campus with perspectives and
egos that have been shaped
by overindulgent parents,
technology, social media, the
Internet, and disposable
income.” (Fullerton, 2013,
p31)

4. ‘… students’ feelings
of being accepted,
included by and
connected to their
institutions.’ (Ahn &
Davis, 2019)

5. ‘a complex, multi-layered concept with many
facets of perception’
(Marshall, Zhou, Gervan, & Wiebe, 2012, p. 135).

6. 1. The ways in which ‘sense of belonging’ is socially structured –
‘Habitus’, ‘field’, ‘feel for the game’ (Bourdieu)
2. What practices of belonging are recognised and validated within
institutional discourses?
3. Who is allowed or enabled to feel like higher education is an
entitlement or a right and who is not?

7. ‘A deeper understanding of the emotional geographies of universities
can benefit the widening participation project by facilitating and
supporting belonging and engagement for under-represented
students. Exploring some of the ways geographies of university can
alienate and invite engagement and participation for diverse students
can be beneficial in increasing equitable access to high education.’
(Hook, 2016)

8. For the purposes of this research, first
in family status has been defined as:
No one in the immediate family of
origin including siblings, children,
partners or parents having
previously attended a higher
education institution or having
completed a university degree.

9. Most recent statistics
indicate that FiF students
consider leaving
university in their first year
at higher rates (20.2%)
than non-FiF commencing
students (18.5%) (QILT
SES: 2018)
FiF Non FiF
Total considering
leaving**
7617 20.2% 10061 18.5%
Total respondents 37736 54493

11. Beginning FiF students reported ‘… feeling isolated and lonely,
feelings that were exacerbated by uncertainty related to university
language, expectations and protocols of behavior’ (O’Shea, 2016,
p.62).
First-in-family older female participants reflected upon university
attendance in terms of ‘fragility’, a desire that had been kept hidden
for fear of criticism or negative reactions (O’Shea, 2015, p.9).
Overwhelmingly, the literature portrays these students as a ‘group at
risk’ (Spiegler & Bednarek, 2013, p.329)

13. Invisible boundaries that existed both in the mindsets of the
learners as well as those external to them, creating limitations
around their options or choices:
‘… I think it’s just from our family background — you’re supposed to
be... your life is about your job and how much you earn and what
assets you own…’
(Paz, 43)
‘I just didn’t do it because there was not much pressure to... “No,
university is no good. You just read books” and the whole family is
dead against it; “Get a proper job” — they didn’t even like me doing
Year 11, like, “No, get a job. Everyone else got a job. Why can’t
you?” But I’d say to myself now, “Just do it. Don’t listen. Just do it”.’
(Aaron, 47)

14. Not having ready access to someone who had previously
attended university meant that learners variously relied upon
friends, work colleagues or popular culture when they
‘imagined’ university.
‘it was a bit of a heavier workload than I thought because, you know,
you see movies and uni’s just like partying...’(Ellen, 19)
‘I thought it was going to be like what you see on the movies like frat
parties every night and just like party central…’ (Nicole, 21)

15. Expectations were sometimes based on myths
I was really scared because a few people, like some of my old
babysitters and a few people that I live around, they all said that, you
know, “You think the HSC [High School Certificate] is hard; wait till
you get to uni. You’d have to do that whole two years in 12 weeks”.
(Nicole, 21)

17. Feeling out of place (fraud or imposter)
‘… when you’re first in the family so you don't have those kind of
conversations at home where you can just ask in the safety of your
home...’ (Abbey, 22)
‘… when I first got here I had no clue where anything was. I think I
turned up to every single one of my classes late. Now it’s pretty
good; I know my way around. I struggled to get here actually…’
(Emily, 18)

18. Lacking confidence in abilities which can translate into a lack of
entitlement to be at university
(Thomas & Quinn, 2007, p.77).
‘Probably the first semester I passed law, cos I guess I kind of felt like
I was a legitimate uni student then’.
(Ashleigh, 21)
‘I was like, “Maybe I shouldn’t be here, maybe I’m just a fraud”. I was
like “Oh my God”.’
(Rose, 28)

19. Thomas and Quinn (2007) concluded that for FiF students in their
study:
‘Establishing a level of social “fit” proved to be problematic’ (p.92).
Lack of ‘fit’ argued to lead to frustration and isolation during transition
to HE (Cushman, 2007) and in some cases this disenfranchisement
leads to thoughts of early departure or limited engagement.
‘… structural influences …operate to maintain hierarchies of
distinction and differentiation within the field of higher education’
(Reay et al., 2001, p.862).

20. • ARC Discovery Project (2016-
2019) exploring the
persistence behaviours of final
year first in family students
• NCSEHE Research
Fellowship (2019) researching
the post-graduation
experiences of first in family
students within the
employment market

21. Criteria for involvement: students be first in their immediate family to
attend university, and in the latter stages of an undergraduate degree
— so just about to graduate.

22. Criteria for involvement: students be first in their immediate family to
graduate university, as well as stakeholders involved in research,
support or scholarship in the graduate field
Participant Type Survey Interview
Student (Existing or Recent Graduate) 14 18
Alumni 225*
Stakeholders (Australia) 36 13
Stakeholders (UK) 9 7
Stakeholders (NZ) 2

23. • Highly intersected
• Lengthy and interrupted educational trajectories
• Variable previous education
• A larger proportion of older students — also due to the fact that
interviews / surveys occurred at the end of their studies or after
graduation.

24. When you are relatively consistently told that with your demographic,
your background, you’re specifically more likely to fail, it sort of sets up
that whole culture of low expectations. (Bailie, 27, Arts, 3rd Year)
When I first started uni … I felt like the lesser person in my friends at uni
because all of them they had either siblings that were at uni at the time
and so they had people to meet up with and they just knew all the stuff
about uni that I just was like, “How do you even...? Like what is a quad,
what are these student things like the week before uni starts?” I had no
idea half the things existed so I was always like... I was really confused
about what the norms were at uni but everyone else seemed to just
know what to do. (Fiona, 24, Medicine, Final Year )
when I first went to university, I felt like I was the most under-educated,
disadvantaged person there, I felt a bit embarrassed about that and I
have since learned that I’m actually one of the most resourceful,
intelligent people there. (Isabel, 28, Nursing, Final Year)

25. According to Bourdieu (1984) when existing
cultural capital does not match that expected
at university it is a form of ‘symbolic violence’.
Little insight into the rules and norms that govern university:
I think that because there are just some skills that you need to
have to be here or a language that you need to have.
(Yvette, 45)

26. Saturation of some fields which
makes it difficult to secure ongoing
and/or full-time employment:
• Australian graduates remain
unemployed in the short and
medium term; QILT (2018)
indicates 13 per cent of
respondents (n=120,564), or a
total of 15,673 graduates.

27. • In 2018, graduates from high-SES locations performed better in
all employment areas (QILT, 2019).
• 74.9 % of graduates from high-SES locations were employed
full-time, compared with 69.8 per cent in low-SES locations
(QILT, 2019).
• More were also employed 88.1 per cent compared to 84.7 per
cent for those in low SES locations (QILT, 2019).

28. Employment decreases when a graduate comes from a low SES
background and is also Indigenous, has a disability, has a home
language other than English, is born outside Australia or is a woman
in a technical area (Richardson et al., 2016).

29. When I've done summer internships there's talk of family, drama with
private schooling kids, the air conditioning tech is late... I was
basically homeless at the time and living on soup.
(Bailie, 27, Arts : Interview post-graduation )
It’s kind of like knowing how to play the system, how to play the
game — that’s an advantage, knowing how the department works. I
didn’t really find it merit-based; I found it a bit nepotistic.
(Nicole, 47, Education: Interview post-graduation)
I did not expect anything from life. I had learnt better at a young age.
I expect nothing now. I still have no safety net, as I have only just
finished off paying for my education — expectations are a luxury
item. Where I come from, you work hard to try and get a chance at a
better life, we have no contacts, we have no networks. We have no
shortcuts. Expectations are for those who have support.
(Female, 41-50, Science, graduated 12 yrs)

30. Repercussions of the ‘imposter syndrome’ were reflected upon in
surveys and interviews, often impacting on employment outcomes or
even perceived opportunities. For some, this was an inherent
constraint that did not necessarily diminish even after gaining
employment:
Impostor syndrome. My own psychological pattern of doubt about my
accomplishments which is persistently internalised as a fear of being
exposed as a ‘fraud’. (Female, +51, Business, graduated 1yr)
I often feel like I have imposer syndrome and that I should be just
grateful for even having a seat at the table. (Female, 26-30,
Commerce, graduated 5yrs)

32. Being the first in my family, was quite a big deal for me and
challenging at times. I was constantly comparing myself to my […]
peers who all had parents who had gone to university so therefore
had better support emotionally and financially. I found this hard
sometimes and wished my parents were different... I had honestly
had no idea what I was doing. (Female, 26-30, Commerce,
graduated 3yrs)
I could have made more of my university experience if I had
known at the time where I wanted to direct my career. Perhaps if
someone else in my family had graduated and embarked upon a
professional career they also could have given me advice about
building the foundations early, such as doing internships and
volunteering in places (Male, 26-30, Arts/ Law, graduated 6yrs)
I was very ignorant in what came after (Female, 26-30, Commerce,
graduated 6yrs)

33. I learnt perseverance. I was returning to employment after spending
the previous 6 years as a stay-at-home mum and student.
(Female, +51, Commerce, graduated 12yrs)
Being poor — straight out of university I worked minimum- or low-
wage jobs at first, thus I had to continue living in shared housing and
be quite creative… it took me a while to see that my variety of
experiences were giving me valuable skills.
(Female, 31-40, Science/ Education, graduated 5yrs)

34. University = Emotionally Layered Move
BUT
Unanticipated ‘psychic costs’ (Friedman, 2014) to being educationally
and socially mobile.
• Feeling like an ‘imposter’ or not deserving is just one of these
‘costs’
• The ‘purchasing power’ (Bathmaker, 2015, p.66) available to
these individuals within the employment market varied — bound
up with this limited sense of entitlement and belonging.

35. • Important to recognise that ALL students are social entities who
arrive with existing capitals and capabilities that can be
underutilised and unrecognised within the higher education
landscape.
• Explicit need to recognise these life experiences not in terms of
deficit or lack but as a form of ‘experiential capital’ (O’Shea,
2016a) that could assist in moving through and beyond higher
education
• Need for different definitions of ‘success’ that reflect the
realities of various student cohorts, specifically a ‘definition of
success that acknowledges the unique complexities, challenges
and material conditions’ (Sullivan, 2008, p.629) of these students.

36. • The unanticipated but welcomed benefits indicated by these
students: personal growth, intergenerational outcomes, new
perspectives on life and unexpected opportunities.
Coming from a low socioeconomic background and having the
opportunity to attend university has made a huge impact on the
quality of my life and what I've been able to achieve. (Female, 51+,
Education, graduated 25yrs)
• The qualitatively different experience for different student
cohorts…
• Need the ‘tools’ or the ‘rules’ that allowed individuals to play the
game, as Nicole explains she wants to know: ‘how to play the
system, how to play the game.’

37. • What three ‘take-home’ ideas do you have from the session?
• Based on what you have heard what could be applied to the
Deakin context?
• Any other ideas / comments?

38. CRICOS Provider Code 00301J
I’d like to acknowledge the research funding from NCSEHE and the ARC that enabled the research
reported in this presentation.

39. Website:
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