First-generation college students, who are the first in their family to attend college, make up about 30% of students in the US. They face greater challenges in completing their degrees than other students, with only 11% earning a degree within 6 years compared to over 50% of other students. Some of the difficulties first-generation students encounter include lack of family experience with college, greater financial pressures, feelings of anxiety, responsibility and guilt, and difficulty integrating into the campus social and academic environments due to these factors. Universities need to provide additional academic and social support to help first-generation students overcome these barriers and challenges to degree completion.
Against All Odds: Increasing College Access & Retention for First Generation ...Naviance
Krystal Ferguson, Hobsons K-12 Consultant, presents on the unique challenges that first-generation and minority students face in enrolling and persisting in college. Krystal also discusses strategies for school systems to best support these students to reach their post-secondary goals.
This document discusses first-generation college students and the challenges they face. It notes that roughly 30% of entering college freshmen in the US are first-generation students, with 24% being both first-generation and low-income. Nationally, 89% of low-income first-generation students do not complete college within six years. The document outlines some of the academic, cultural, social, and financial barriers first-generation students face, as well as strategies institutions can employ to help first-generation students, such as providing intensive support services and fostering relationships between students and faculty.
This document discusses first-generation college students through multiple sections. It defines a first-generation student as someone whose parents did not attend college. It also notes that Hispanics are currently the most likely ethnic group to be first-generation. The document discusses how first-generation students may face less support and understanding from their families due to lack of college experience. It also explores financial challenges first-generation students face like working more and having less time to study. The document concludes by discussing programs universities have implemented to help support retention and graduation of first-generation students.
Dr. W.A. Kritsonis, National FORUM Journals, www.nationalforum.comWilliam Kritsonis
This document discusses efforts by senior administrators to increase graduation rates of students of color from preschool through graduate school. It outlines three key roles of senior administrators: 1) enhancing social integration of students of color by increasing diversity in student groups and leadership positions; 2) advocating for policies that strengthen academic preparedness, such as early intervention programs; and 3) addressing negative campus climates for minority students through surveys and student organizations.
This document discusses the relationship between social class, race/ethnicity, and educational achievement. It finds that social class is the strongest predictor of achievement - students from lower social classes generally have lower achievement regardless of race. However, racial/ethnic minority groups in the US are disproportionately represented in lower social classes, so their achievement levels are also typically lower on average. Improving educational outcomes for low-status students from all backgrounds is an ongoing challenge.
One in eight American youth will not graduate high school, dropping out every nine seconds. Certain high schools known as "dropout factories" disproportionately affect ethnic minority students from low-income families and neighborhoods. Poor academic performance, especially in reading and math, is a strong predictor of dropping out, as are lack of support systems and a challenging socioeconomic environment. Addressing dropout rates could boost the economy and break cycles of poverty.
Against All Odds: Increasing College Access & Retention for First Generation ...Naviance
Krystal Ferguson, Hobsons K-12 Consultant, presents on the unique challenges that first-generation and minority students face in enrolling and persisting in college. Krystal also discusses strategies for school systems to best support these students to reach their post-secondary goals.
This document discusses first-generation college students and the challenges they face. It notes that roughly 30% of entering college freshmen in the US are first-generation students, with 24% being both first-generation and low-income. Nationally, 89% of low-income first-generation students do not complete college within six years. The document outlines some of the academic, cultural, social, and financial barriers first-generation students face, as well as strategies institutions can employ to help first-generation students, such as providing intensive support services and fostering relationships between students and faculty.
This document discusses first-generation college students through multiple sections. It defines a first-generation student as someone whose parents did not attend college. It also notes that Hispanics are currently the most likely ethnic group to be first-generation. The document discusses how first-generation students may face less support and understanding from their families due to lack of college experience. It also explores financial challenges first-generation students face like working more and having less time to study. The document concludes by discussing programs universities have implemented to help support retention and graduation of first-generation students.
Dr. W.A. Kritsonis, National FORUM Journals, www.nationalforum.comWilliam Kritsonis
This document discusses efforts by senior administrators to increase graduation rates of students of color from preschool through graduate school. It outlines three key roles of senior administrators: 1) enhancing social integration of students of color by increasing diversity in student groups and leadership positions; 2) advocating for policies that strengthen academic preparedness, such as early intervention programs; and 3) addressing negative campus climates for minority students through surveys and student organizations.
This document discusses the relationship between social class, race/ethnicity, and educational achievement. It finds that social class is the strongest predictor of achievement - students from lower social classes generally have lower achievement regardless of race. However, racial/ethnic minority groups in the US are disproportionately represented in lower social classes, so their achievement levels are also typically lower on average. Improving educational outcomes for low-status students from all backgrounds is an ongoing challenge.
One in eight American youth will not graduate high school, dropping out every nine seconds. Certain high schools known as "dropout factories" disproportionately affect ethnic minority students from low-income families and neighborhoods. Poor academic performance, especially in reading and math, is a strong predictor of dropping out, as are lack of support systems and a challenging socioeconomic environment. Addressing dropout rates could boost the economy and break cycles of poverty.
Here are the key classist assumptions I see being made in some of the statements:
- Assuming low-income students would be unqualified and unable to do the academic work or articulate their views as well as others.
- Framing increasing socioeconomic diversity as necessarily coming at the expense of other types of students (e.g. athletes, legacies), rather than finding ways for all types to be represented.
- Implying low-income students' backgrounds would somehow damage the institution or student body.
- Failing to recognize one's own class privilege in critiquing proposals to increase accessibility.
- Denying that class still impacts students' experiences even if not explicitly discussed between friends. The campus
The document summarizes information from an Ohio Reach Summit about supporting foster youth in higher education. It discusses the purpose of Ohio Reach to recruit and retain emancipated foster youth in Ohio's colleges through foster care liaisons. It also outlines challenges foster youth face in college like lack of family support, lower enrollment rates, and higher dropout rates than other students. Key strategies for supporting foster youth outlined include campus liaisons, Education Training Vouchers, raising awareness of resources, and measuring progress to overcome barriers to retention.
Apsara Studios is seeking $100,000 in grant funding to establish arts and innovation programs for youth in Prince George's County, Maryland. Their mission is to promote technical innovation, social awareness, and self-awareness through the arts. They will offer afterschool and summer programs in creative writing, dance, digital arts, drama, music, and visual arts. Evaluation will include surveys of students, instructors, and guardians to measure changes in skills, morale, and academic/social outcomes. The organization aims to be sustainable through future grants, fundraising, and fee-based programs.
Out of-school factors and school successLara Fordis
This document discusses how out-of-school factors greatly influence student achievement and behavior, potentially limiting what schools can accomplish alone. It outlines six key factors for poor children: low birth weight, inadequate healthcare, food insecurity, environmental pollutants, family/home life issues, and neighborhood characteristics. These factors relate to physical, social, and psychological problems that students bring to school. The document recommends addressing these out-of-school factors through policies to improve child and family well-being in order to maximize student potential and school outcomes, especially for low-income students.
This document discusses gender and educational attainment. It explores how gender norms are constructed and enacted in schools. Gender influences educational experiences through factors like subject selection, teacher expectations, and peer relationships. While girls have made gains, subject selection remains influenced by 19th century ideas. Boys still face issues like lower rates of university completion. The document examines how students "do gender" and negotiate norms through interactions. It also discusses challenges like gendered bullying and pressures of heteronormativity.
Minority students’ Institution perception of successful resources supporting ...PaulOkafor6
This document reviews literature on factors that influence minority students' sense of belonging, persistence, and academic success in higher education. It finds that sense of belonging - feeling accepted and valued by peers and faculty - is strongly linked to student retention and performance. The literature examines how different minority groups experience belonging. African American and Hispanic students often face barriers like racial stereotypes, lack of faculty validation, and limited social capital. Asian cultures generally promote education, leading to higher persistence rates. Overall, positive relationships with faculty and peers, feeling part of the campus community, and validation of students' cultural identities and experiences are tied to improved outcomes for minority students.
This document discusses ways to improve student involvement at Salem Community College. It identifies several reasons why students drop out, such as academic, financial, and personal issues. It recommends solutions tailored to specific student populations like nontraditional, first-generation, and online students. These solutions include improving educational policies, student motivation, resources for incoming students, and implementing programs like clubs, tutoring, and on-campus jobs. The document also stresses the importance of information technology and ensuring the college website provides accurate and up-to-date information to students.
This document discusses the relationship between social class and educational outcomes in Australia. It begins with an overview of how different types of schools were historically designed to serve different social classes, with schools for the working class focusing on basic education and job training, and schools for the elite focusing on preparation for higher education. It then discusses ongoing issues like lower educational attainment and university attendance rates among those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. Studies discussed found that a person's social class still impacts opportunities and that students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds have poorer outcomes and are underrepresented among high achievers. The document examines factors like concentrations of disadvantage at the school-level independent of an individual's socioeconomic status that can impact student performance.
The document discusses three key "tripwires" or barriers that students face in making a successful transition to postsecondary education:
1) The "birthright lottery" - students from low-income families or who are first-generation college students face significant disadvantages and are less likely to graduate college. Their socioeconomic background and lack of familial experience with college impacts their chances of success.
2) "Veiled college costs" - the expenses of preparing for, attending, and completing college pose major barriers for many students. These costs are not fully transparent and can derail students' progress.
3) "College and career unreadiness" - being academically prepared in high school is not enough
Edu 639 week 4 cultural immersion and socio historical research presentation 1naulasleri1970
This document outlines the assignments and topics for an education course on cultural immersion and socio-historical research. It includes assignments on analyzing the socio-historical context of education policies, exploring unconscious biases, writing from the perspective of a diverse student, examining issues of gender and race, and presenting research on a culture and its education system. Students are asked to consider how decisions have impacted multicultural education and which groups may feel excluded from the curriculum.
High school dropout rates have declined since the 1970s but remain a significant problem. Reasons students drop out include low grades, feelings of unsafety, inability to get along with peers, pregnancy, family issues, and substance abuse. Dropping out has negative lifelong consequences, including much lower annual and lifetime earnings, higher rates of unemployment, poverty, poor health, and incarceration. As teachers, addressing the dropout issue will be important to help students graduate and achieve better life outcomes.
This document summarizes the recommendations from a study group convened by the Public School Forum of North Carolina to expand educational opportunity in the state. The study group was divided into three committees focused on trauma and learning, racial equity, and supporting low-performing schools. Key recommendations include developing trauma-sensitive schools, implementing restorative justice practices to reduce racial discipline gaps, increasing support for high-quality early childhood programs and low-performing K-3 schools, and establishing partnerships between teacher preparation programs and high-need schools to improve teacher quality. The overarching goal is to address factors like poverty, trauma, and systemic inequities that limit educational opportunities for many North Carolina students.
A photovoice presentation by Olivia Andringa, Sam Larsen and Becca Smith. Uploaded here to host on https://blogs.uw.edu/rmhersh for educational purposes.
The document summarizes a presentation about the challenges facing recent college graduates during economic recessions. It discusses how recessions can lead to anticipated, unanticipated, or delayed transitions out of college. It describes the difficult job market graduates faced after the Great Recession, with high unemployment rates. It also explains how these graduates struggle with debt, lack of financial support systems, and being unprepared for unemployment. The presentation provides advising strategies to help students both before and after graduation during challenging economic times.
Post secondary education has several disadvantages including rising costs, mental health concerns, and uncertain career outcomes. Tuition rates have increased five times faster than inflation, leaving many students in significant debt that averages $33,000 for the class of 2014. In addition, the postsecondary years are high-risk for mental illness due to stress, sleep loss, and depression. While a college degree may offer financial benefits, recent studies show salaries often do not meet expectations and work experience may provide equivalent career opportunities at a lower cost than postsecondary education.
The document discusses the relationship between social class and school success. It finds that students from higher social classes tend to perform better in school than those from lower social classes. This is due to differences in home and family environments, as well as obstacles some students face in the classroom. While schools aim to equalize opportunity, research shows family background has a strong influence on achievement and many disadvantages are not overcome. The document examines factors like parental education, home resources, and teacher perceptions that can affect student performance.
The document discusses challenges in education and strategies for helping all students succeed, especially average students. It proposes implementing career-focused education centered around developing competencies for life roles like learner, worker, citizen. This approach would replace unfocused general education and help more students see meaning and purpose in their education. The document also advocates for stronger collaboration between high schools and community colleges to better support student transitions after high school.
First Generation, Low Income Student Development TheoryTom Durkee
Codujota's theory proposes that first generation, low-income college students face unique challenges in three areas - financial concerns, academic concerns, and belonging concerns. These areas make up a "FAB scale" where students receive a score in each area based on their personal situations and resources. A student's overall competence is determined by their total score across all three areas. The theory aims to help identify students' specific challenges and needs for support. It also draws parallels between first generation students' development and theories from Erikson and Chickering on broader student development. However, the theory has limitations in accounting for all individual differences and variables that could impact student experiences.
Codujota's Theory of First Generation Low-Socioeconomic Studentsatalbot_21
This theory was created for a Student Development course. It examines the impact of various campus services on first generation students and what factors lead to their academic success.
Here are the key classist assumptions I see being made in some of the statements:
- Assuming low-income students would be unqualified and unable to do the academic work or articulate their views as well as others.
- Framing increasing socioeconomic diversity as necessarily coming at the expense of other types of students (e.g. athletes, legacies), rather than finding ways for all types to be represented.
- Implying low-income students' backgrounds would somehow damage the institution or student body.
- Failing to recognize one's own class privilege in critiquing proposals to increase accessibility.
- Denying that class still impacts students' experiences even if not explicitly discussed between friends. The campus
The document summarizes information from an Ohio Reach Summit about supporting foster youth in higher education. It discusses the purpose of Ohio Reach to recruit and retain emancipated foster youth in Ohio's colleges through foster care liaisons. It also outlines challenges foster youth face in college like lack of family support, lower enrollment rates, and higher dropout rates than other students. Key strategies for supporting foster youth outlined include campus liaisons, Education Training Vouchers, raising awareness of resources, and measuring progress to overcome barriers to retention.
Apsara Studios is seeking $100,000 in grant funding to establish arts and innovation programs for youth in Prince George's County, Maryland. Their mission is to promote technical innovation, social awareness, and self-awareness through the arts. They will offer afterschool and summer programs in creative writing, dance, digital arts, drama, music, and visual arts. Evaluation will include surveys of students, instructors, and guardians to measure changes in skills, morale, and academic/social outcomes. The organization aims to be sustainable through future grants, fundraising, and fee-based programs.
Out of-school factors and school successLara Fordis
This document discusses how out-of-school factors greatly influence student achievement and behavior, potentially limiting what schools can accomplish alone. It outlines six key factors for poor children: low birth weight, inadequate healthcare, food insecurity, environmental pollutants, family/home life issues, and neighborhood characteristics. These factors relate to physical, social, and psychological problems that students bring to school. The document recommends addressing these out-of-school factors through policies to improve child and family well-being in order to maximize student potential and school outcomes, especially for low-income students.
This document discusses gender and educational attainment. It explores how gender norms are constructed and enacted in schools. Gender influences educational experiences through factors like subject selection, teacher expectations, and peer relationships. While girls have made gains, subject selection remains influenced by 19th century ideas. Boys still face issues like lower rates of university completion. The document examines how students "do gender" and negotiate norms through interactions. It also discusses challenges like gendered bullying and pressures of heteronormativity.
Minority students’ Institution perception of successful resources supporting ...PaulOkafor6
This document reviews literature on factors that influence minority students' sense of belonging, persistence, and academic success in higher education. It finds that sense of belonging - feeling accepted and valued by peers and faculty - is strongly linked to student retention and performance. The literature examines how different minority groups experience belonging. African American and Hispanic students often face barriers like racial stereotypes, lack of faculty validation, and limited social capital. Asian cultures generally promote education, leading to higher persistence rates. Overall, positive relationships with faculty and peers, feeling part of the campus community, and validation of students' cultural identities and experiences are tied to improved outcomes for minority students.
This document discusses ways to improve student involvement at Salem Community College. It identifies several reasons why students drop out, such as academic, financial, and personal issues. It recommends solutions tailored to specific student populations like nontraditional, first-generation, and online students. These solutions include improving educational policies, student motivation, resources for incoming students, and implementing programs like clubs, tutoring, and on-campus jobs. The document also stresses the importance of information technology and ensuring the college website provides accurate and up-to-date information to students.
This document discusses the relationship between social class and educational outcomes in Australia. It begins with an overview of how different types of schools were historically designed to serve different social classes, with schools for the working class focusing on basic education and job training, and schools for the elite focusing on preparation for higher education. It then discusses ongoing issues like lower educational attainment and university attendance rates among those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. Studies discussed found that a person's social class still impacts opportunities and that students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds have poorer outcomes and are underrepresented among high achievers. The document examines factors like concentrations of disadvantage at the school-level independent of an individual's socioeconomic status that can impact student performance.
The document discusses three key "tripwires" or barriers that students face in making a successful transition to postsecondary education:
1) The "birthright lottery" - students from low-income families or who are first-generation college students face significant disadvantages and are less likely to graduate college. Their socioeconomic background and lack of familial experience with college impacts their chances of success.
2) "Veiled college costs" - the expenses of preparing for, attending, and completing college pose major barriers for many students. These costs are not fully transparent and can derail students' progress.
3) "College and career unreadiness" - being academically prepared in high school is not enough
Edu 639 week 4 cultural immersion and socio historical research presentation 1naulasleri1970
This document outlines the assignments and topics for an education course on cultural immersion and socio-historical research. It includes assignments on analyzing the socio-historical context of education policies, exploring unconscious biases, writing from the perspective of a diverse student, examining issues of gender and race, and presenting research on a culture and its education system. Students are asked to consider how decisions have impacted multicultural education and which groups may feel excluded from the curriculum.
High school dropout rates have declined since the 1970s but remain a significant problem. Reasons students drop out include low grades, feelings of unsafety, inability to get along with peers, pregnancy, family issues, and substance abuse. Dropping out has negative lifelong consequences, including much lower annual and lifetime earnings, higher rates of unemployment, poverty, poor health, and incarceration. As teachers, addressing the dropout issue will be important to help students graduate and achieve better life outcomes.
This document summarizes the recommendations from a study group convened by the Public School Forum of North Carolina to expand educational opportunity in the state. The study group was divided into three committees focused on trauma and learning, racial equity, and supporting low-performing schools. Key recommendations include developing trauma-sensitive schools, implementing restorative justice practices to reduce racial discipline gaps, increasing support for high-quality early childhood programs and low-performing K-3 schools, and establishing partnerships between teacher preparation programs and high-need schools to improve teacher quality. The overarching goal is to address factors like poverty, trauma, and systemic inequities that limit educational opportunities for many North Carolina students.
A photovoice presentation by Olivia Andringa, Sam Larsen and Becca Smith. Uploaded here to host on https://blogs.uw.edu/rmhersh for educational purposes.
The document summarizes a presentation about the challenges facing recent college graduates during economic recessions. It discusses how recessions can lead to anticipated, unanticipated, or delayed transitions out of college. It describes the difficult job market graduates faced after the Great Recession, with high unemployment rates. It also explains how these graduates struggle with debt, lack of financial support systems, and being unprepared for unemployment. The presentation provides advising strategies to help students both before and after graduation during challenging economic times.
Post secondary education has several disadvantages including rising costs, mental health concerns, and uncertain career outcomes. Tuition rates have increased five times faster than inflation, leaving many students in significant debt that averages $33,000 for the class of 2014. In addition, the postsecondary years are high-risk for mental illness due to stress, sleep loss, and depression. While a college degree may offer financial benefits, recent studies show salaries often do not meet expectations and work experience may provide equivalent career opportunities at a lower cost than postsecondary education.
The document discusses the relationship between social class and school success. It finds that students from higher social classes tend to perform better in school than those from lower social classes. This is due to differences in home and family environments, as well as obstacles some students face in the classroom. While schools aim to equalize opportunity, research shows family background has a strong influence on achievement and many disadvantages are not overcome. The document examines factors like parental education, home resources, and teacher perceptions that can affect student performance.
The document discusses challenges in education and strategies for helping all students succeed, especially average students. It proposes implementing career-focused education centered around developing competencies for life roles like learner, worker, citizen. This approach would replace unfocused general education and help more students see meaning and purpose in their education. The document also advocates for stronger collaboration between high schools and community colleges to better support student transitions after high school.
First Generation, Low Income Student Development TheoryTom Durkee
Codujota's theory proposes that first generation, low-income college students face unique challenges in three areas - financial concerns, academic concerns, and belonging concerns. These areas make up a "FAB scale" where students receive a score in each area based on their personal situations and resources. A student's overall competence is determined by their total score across all three areas. The theory aims to help identify students' specific challenges and needs for support. It also draws parallels between first generation students' development and theories from Erikson and Chickering on broader student development. However, the theory has limitations in accounting for all individual differences and variables that could impact student experiences.
Codujota's Theory of First Generation Low-Socioeconomic Studentsatalbot_21
This theory was created for a Student Development course. It examines the impact of various campus services on first generation students and what factors lead to their academic success.
Apsara Studios is seeking $100,000 in grant funding to address issues facing children under 18 in Prince George's County such as low high school graduation rates and high youth unemployment. The organization aims to promote technical innovation, social/environmental awareness, and self-awareness through artistic programs. It will serve low-income youth in South Prince George's County and seek to establish innovative and artistic programs while building a LEED certified sustainable space. The evaluation plan involves surveys on character building and creativity while the sustainability plan notes future resources will be needed to continue operations beyond the initial funding period.
This document discusses the issue of institutional undermatching in higher education. Undermatching occurs when qualified students, often from low-income backgrounds, attend less selective colleges than they are accepted to based on merit. Research shows these students have lower graduation rates. Undermatching stems from factors like concerns over tuition costs and lack of guidance navigating financial aid. It most impacts first-generation and low-income students. While still emerging, tensions around undermatching may arise from views that blame students' attributes rather than acknowledge systemic barriers facing disadvantaged groups. Addressing undermatching could improve access to opportunities from more rigorous institutions.
This document summarizes key research on the phenomenon of college student undermatching. Undermatching occurs when academically capable students attend less selective colleges than they are qualified for. Low-income and first-generation students are most likely to undermatch due to a lack of information and support. However, research shows that providing students with guidance from counselors, coaches, or mentors can help them make better college choices and improve outcomes. The paper aims to inform policymakers and educators on effective practices to address undermatching.
FIRST GENERATIONS ppt they are first ones in they'reDevarajuBn
First-generation learners refer to students who are the first in their family to pursue higher education, as their parents typically only completed primary education. Many first-generation learners come from low-income backgrounds. Universities provide special support programs to help first-generation students with the academic, social, and financial challenges they face navigating higher education without family experience or resources. Such challenges include affording increasing college fees, gender-based obstacles, and stress from managing everything without support. There are estimated to be over 121 million first-generation learners in India today.
Alienated learner october 1st o u presentationdonwashburn
The document discusses various strategies and recommendations for supporting students who are at risk of failing or dropping out of school. It addresses the need to identify struggling students early, provide additional academic support, implement restorative disciplinary practices, develop advisory-advisee programs, use grading practices that motivate students rather than punish them, and foster positive relationships between students and teachers. The overall goal is to create an inclusive school environment that meets the needs of all students.
The document discusses the differences between education and schooling. Education refers to the social institution through which society transmits knowledge, skills, and values, while schooling refers to formal instruction under trained teachers. It then examines various functions of schooling, such as socialization, cultural transmission, integration, and social placement. It also discusses latent functions of schools and analyzes schooling through functionalist and conflict perspectives. Some key issues addressed are the reproduction of social inequality through schools, problems in schools like violence and discipline, and debates around academic standards, school choice, special education, and 21st century schooling with technology.
2014 Case - Factors Impacting Quality of HS Education in NYCTyrone Scott
This document summarizes a case study on factors impacting the quality of high school education in New York City from the perspective of students. It discusses the achievement gap between black/Hispanic and white students, issues with standardized testing and Common Core, school segregation, and challenges with school admissions processes and zoning. Students contributed research on specific topics like the education gap, standardized testing, school ratings, teacher unions, and charter schools. The case calls on teams to propose solutions to close various gaps and address segregation in NYC schools.
3. Todays First Generation
First Generation College Students have reason to be proud; Against daunting odds: THEY HAVE MADE IT!!!!
4. The Facts
ROUGHLY 30% OF ENTERING FRESHMEN IN THE USA ARE FIRST-GENERATION
COLLEGE STUDENTS UP FROM 17 PERCENT IN 2007 ACCORDING TO THE
HIGHER EDUCATION RESEARCH INSTITUTE. U S A TO D AY
24% — 4.5 MILLION — ARE BOTH FIRST-GENERATION AND LOW INCOME.
5. The Facts
NATIONALLY, 89% OF LOW-INCOME FIRST-GENERATION LEAVE COLLEGE
WITHIN SIX YEARS WITHOUT A DEGREE. MORE THAN A QUARTER LEAVE
AFTER THEIR FIRST YEAR — FOUR TIMES THE DROPOUT RATE OF HIGHER-
INCOME SECOND-GENERATION STUDENTS. ANN MURPHY PAUL TIME MAGAZINE
6. History
THERE WAS A TIME, HIGHER EDUCATION CELEBRATED THEIR INCLUSION,
AS WELL AS OUR ABILITY TO PROVIDE NEED-BLIND ADMISSIONS AND
FINANCIAL AID. THESE STUDENTS WERE OUR SUCCESS STORIES; WE ALL
POINTED TO THOSE WHO, WITH OUR HELP, HAD PULLED THEMSELVES UP
AND OUT. THEY BECAME PART OF THE STORY WE TOLD ABOUT OUR
MISSIONS.
8. First Generation Students are defined as:
those students whose parent(s) have not attained a college
degree.
These students, who have little or no family collegiate history, may;
•enter a college or university with limited knowledge about the jargon, traditions, and patterns
of expected behavior
•These factors may prevent first-generation students from fully engaging in a university setting
and may contribute to early departure from the university before the completion of a degree.
9. The Reality is:
No matter how intelligent and capable, first-generation students may benefit
from additional support as they adjust to a new environment. It can be helpful
to learn more about what other first-generation students have experienced as
well as what can be done to help maximize your performance and experience as
you work towards attaining your degree.
10. The Reality is:
While certainly immersed in an exciting experience, some first-generation
college students receive less support from their families while attending college.
Their families may not understand the demands of college work. Students may
also feel added responsibility from families to be ‘the one who succeeds’ in
college. This may increase the pressure the individual already experiences as a
new student.
13. Pride
Pride – These students often feel an overwhelming sense of pride about being the first in their
families to attend and complete college. A college degree can provide many opportunities. This
is an important accomplishment!
14. Excitement and Anxiety
Excitement and Anxiety – Many students are thrilled but also somewhat frightened about being
away from home at college, living on their own, and being the first in the family to attend
college. These students may ask themselves, “Am I cut out to be a college student?” despite
their stellar academic performance in high school.
15. Responsibility
Responsibility – Many first-generation students have to help pay for their education, perhaps
more so than students of higher socioeconomic backgrounds. In addition to financial
responsibility, these students may be pressured by family and friends to return home often, and
may receive mixed messages about their changing identities (e.g., wanting to succeed, but not
wanting to be different from the rest of the family or their peers).
16. Guilt
Guilt – In addition to pride, many first-generation students may feel guilt about having the
opportunity to attend college while others in the family did not have that opportunity. These
students may wonder if it is fair for them to be at school while their parents struggle financially
at home. They may feel the need to go home to support their families. First-generation students
may also feel guilty about their academic performance if it is not as good as they or their
families would like.
17. Embarrassment and Shame
Embarrassment and Shame – These students may feel embarrassment over their socioeconomic
status or the level of education in their family. First-generation students may try to act like their
family is more highly educated or financially advantaged than they really are. There may be
embarrassment around being different from their peers at college, particularly if their peers
have a long lineage of family members attending college or if they seem to know the ‘lingo’
when a first-generation student may not.
18. Confusion
Confusion - First-generation students may feel ‘out of the loop’ when it comes to college
processes and procedures such as application, graduation, job or graduate school searches, etc.
They may not be aware of the resources available to them or of options available to them after
graduation.
20. Believe in your right to college
. . . get the knowledge you need
21. Academic Barriers
and University Challenges
BARRIER
Report lower educational aspirations
More likely to enter college academically
underprepared
Reading comprehension and critical
thinking do not improve at as high a rate
Earn lower GPAs and take fewer academic
hours
Avoid majors and courses in math,
science, and humanities
CHALLENGE
Create an environment that affirms
students’ strengths and encourages
their educational pursuits
Provide opportunities for
supplementary instruction, remedial
instruction, and/or learning skill
development
Demonstrate the value of liberal
education
22. Underrepresented Minority Students in
STEM fields
Under-represented minorities make up only 10% of all of those working in science and
engineering occupations. What is even sadder is that only one in 10 STEM professionals is a
minority woman (Sobawale, 2012).The issue of minorities in STEM is relevant to all levels of
the academic pipeline, particularly from high school to the professoriate (Syed and Chemers,
2011).
23. Underrepresented Minority Students in
STEM fields
Among first-year college students, women are much less likely than men to say that they intend
to major in science, technology, engineering, or math (STEM). By graduation, men outnumber
women in nearly every science and engineering field, and in some, such as physics, engineering,
and computer science, the difference is dramatic, with women earning only 20 percent of
bachelor’s degrees. women’s representation in science and engineering declines further at the
graduate level and yet again in the transition to the workplace. (Washington Post, 2010)
24. Barriers Facing Underrepresented
Students in STEM Education
OntheK-12levels,inequitableaccesstotechnologiesandtechnologycurriculuminpoorer
communitiesandschooldistrictsbeginsthetrendofunderrepresentedminoritieslosingground
inskilldevelopment
25. Barriers Facing Underrepresented
Students in STEM Education
Narrow perception of available career path. The misconceptions among underrepresented
minorities and women remain about technology fields such as computer science and engineering is
a White male profession, thus the number of jobs held in these professions is White male
dominated.
26. Barriers Facing Underrepresented
Students in STEM Education
Bias and Stereotyping. The cultural stigma placed on women and minorities that they are
subservient to their White male counterparts early on in their academic careers exacerbates the
challenges of pursuing those types of careers.
27. Barriers Facing Underrepresented
Students in STEM Education
Absence of Role Models and Mentors. Because this trend has remained for so long, students
who show interests in these fields have little to no current representation, or those individual
they can look up to or discuss the challenges they face as a STEM student, becoming a STEM
student or withdrawing from STEM all together. One of the keys to student retention is mentoring
on every level from pre-secondary education to post secondary education. When mentoring
opportunities become few or non-existent, again it becomes a contribution to this negative
trend.
28. Barriers Facing Underrepresented
Students in STEM Education
Isolation becomes a concern in that often as a minority and or a woman they are represented as the
only minority within a group whether it is in school or the workplace, or they may be one of a
handful that represents the area of technology. This feeling of not being a part of the group forces
isolation and lack luster performance as well as a shift in levels of motivation.
29. Barriers Facing Underrepresented
Students in STEM Education
Influential Social Networking or lack thereof combines with isolation, lack of mentoring and
absence of role models. In business, nothing gets done or it is much more difficult to move up
without making the necessary connections. Professional networking carries a lot of weight in
career opportunities.
30. Cultural Barriers
and University Challenges
BARRIER
Less likely to identify college as necessary
to achieving goals
Parents lack “college knowledge” related
to navigating the college environment
Only 50% identify their parents as
supportive of their decision to attend
college
“[Live] simultaneously in two vastly
different worlds while being fully accepted
in neither”
CHALLENGE
Demonstrate the long-term benefits of a
college education
Integrate with family to create “buy-in”
when possible and/or appropriate;
encourage autonomy as necessary
Assist students in recognizing and
accepting their dual roles
Provide culturally-sensitive services that
address the specific needs of first-
generation students
31. Social Barriers
and University Challenges
BARRIER
More likely to live off-campus
Less likely to participate in on-campus
organizations/events
Identify their closest friends as full-time
employees rather than college students
Report higher rates of isolation and
discrimination
Perceive faculty as “distant” or
unconcerned with them as individuals
CHALLENGE
Provide cost-effective housing options
and/or ways to integrate with Housing
programs and initiatives
Target first-generation students when
advertising organizations and events
Foster a safe and inclusive campus
community
Create opportunities for first-generation
students to form relationships with faculty
32. Financial Barriers
and University Challenges
BARRIER
Uninformed about financial aid – forms,
processes, etc.
More likely to have additional financial
obligations
Have fewer resources to pay for college
Nature of and time allotted to work differ
from that of second-generation students
More likely to meet employment
obligations than academic obligations
CHALLENGE
Supply materials about financial aid and
the financial aid process that are easy to
access and easy to understand
Assist students in minimizing out-of-
pocket costs
Provide ample opportunities for on-
campus employment
33. What Works
Outside of the classroom
◦ Ensuring that students are socially integrated
◦ Providing intensive, holistic support services
◦ Forming authentic relationships between students and
staff
◦ Recognizing and celebrating diversity
Within the classroom
◦ Ensuring that students form relationships with faculty
and feel appreciated as individuals
◦ Recognizing the unique circumstances of first-generation
students and allowing flexibility as appropriate
◦ Focusing on improving reading comprehension, critical
thinking, and mathematical abilities
Federal TRIO Programs
(Talent Search, Upward
Bound, Upward Bound
Math/Science, Veterans'
Upward Bound, Student
Support Services,
Educational Opportunity
Centers, and the Ronald
E. McNair Post-
Baccalaureate
Achievement Program)
help students to
overcome class, social,
academic, and cultural
barriers to higher
education.