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First-Generation College Student Research Studies offers uniquely designed chapters that are drawn from both quantitative and qualitative theoretical frameworks found in higher education. This edited volume is a must-read that contributes greatly to the research literature surrounding this student population.
FIRST-GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENTS "…a concise, manageable, lucid summary of the best scholarship, practices, and future-oriented thinking about how to effectively recruit, educate, develop, retain, and ultimately graduate first-generation students." —from the foreword by JOHN N. GARDNER First-generation students are frequently marginalized on their campuses, treated with benign disregard, and placed at a competitive disadvantage because of their invisibility. While they include 51% of all undergraduates, or approximately 9.3 million students, they are less likely than their peers to earn degrees. Among students enrolled in two-year institutions, they are significantly less likely to persist into a second year. First-Generation College Students offers academic leaders and student affairs professionals a guide for understanding the special challenges and common barriers these students face and provides the necessary strategies for helping them transition through and graduate from their chosen institutions. Based in solid research, the authors describe best practices and include suggestions and techniques that can help leaders design and implement effective curricula, out-of-class learning experiences, and student support services, as well as develop strategic plans that address issues sure to arise in the future. The authors offer an analysis of first-generation student expectations for college life and academics and examine the powerful role cultural capital plays in shaping their experiences and socialization. Providing a template for other campuses, the book highlights programmatic initiatives at colleges around the county that effectively serve first-generation students and create a powerful learning environment for their success. First-Generation College Students provides a much-needed portrait of the cognitive, developmental, and social factors that affect the college-going experiences and retention rates of this growing population of college students.
This unique collection of testimonials, critical essays, and first-hand accounts demonstrates the significant contribution of campus service workers in supporting the retention and success of first-generation college students. Using a Freirean framework to ground individual stories, the text identifies ways in which campus workers connect with students, provide informal mentorship, and offer culturally relevant support during students’ transition to college and beyond. Drawing on a range of interviews, case studies, and research studies, emphasis is placed on the unique challenges faced by first-generation and minority students such as cultural alienation, imposter syndrome, language barriers, and financial insecurity. Ultimately, the text dismantles notions of social hierarchies that separate workers and college students and encourages institutions to invest in these workers and their contribution to student well-being and success. This book will benefit researchers, academics, and educators with an interest in the higher education and student affair practice and higher education administration more broadly. Those specifically interested in multicultural education and the study of race and ethnicity within US higher educational contexts will also benefit from this book.
A revealing look at the experiences of first generation students on elite campuses and the hidden curriculum they must master in order to succeed College has long been viewed as an opportunity for advancement and mobility for talented students regardless of background. Yet for first generation students, elite universities can often seem like bastions of privilege, with unspoken academic norms and social rules. The Hidden Curriculum draws on more than one hundred in-depth interviews with students at Harvard and Georgetown to offer vital lessons about the challenges of being the first in the family to go to college, while also providing invaluable insights into the hurdles that all undergraduates face. As Rachel Gable follows two cohorts of first generation students and their continuing generation peers, she discovers surprising similarities as well as striking differences in their college experiences. She reveals how the hidden curriculum at legacy universities often catches first generation students off guard, and poignantly describes the disorienting encounters on campus that confound them and threaten to derail their success. Gable shows how first-gens are as varied as any other demographic group, and urges universities to make the most of the diverse perspectives and insights these talented students have to offer. The Hidden Curriculum gives essential guidance on the critical questions that university leaders need to consider as they strive to support first generation students on campus, and demonstrates how universities can balance historical legacies and elite status with practices and policies that are equitable and inclusive for all students.
Examines what our students need to know to be psychologically literate citizens of the contemporary world, caring family members, and productive workers who can meet challenges. This work creates a fresh model for educating psychologically literate citizens.
The book provides quantitative and qualitative research studies regarding African American, first-generation, undecided, and non-traditional college students. The book includes important recommendations for university administrators, faculty, and staff in supporting the academic, personal, and social adjustment of college life of various types of students.
From the Editor The population of first-generation college students (FGS) is increasing in an ever-tightening economy, a time when employers demand a college degree even for an initial interview. According to a 2007 study by UCLA?s Higher Education Research Institute, nearly one in six freshmen at American four-year institutions is firstgeneration. However, FGS often straddle different cultures between school and home, and many feel socially, ethnically, academically, and emotionally marginalized on campus. Because of these disparities, FGS frequently encounter barriers to academic success and require additional campus support resources. Some institutions offer increased financial aid and loan-free aid packages to FGS, but these remedies?although welcome?do not fully address the diverse and complex challenges that these students experience. Responding to these complexities, this volume?s chapters extend previous research by examining the multiple transitions experienced by both undergraduate and graduate FGS. This volume?s cuttingedge research will help college and university administrators, faculty, and staff work better with FGS through more effective pedagogy and institutional programs. Ultimately, this volume affirms how learning communities are strengthened when they include diverse student populations such as FGS and meet their particular emotional, academic, and financial needs.
FIRST-GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENTS "...a concise, manageable, lucid summary of the best scholarship, practices, and future-oriented thinking about how to effectively recruit, educate, develop, retain, and ultimately graduate first-generation students." from the foreword by JOHN N. GARDNER First-generation students are frequently marginalized on their campuses, treated with benign disregard, and placed at a competitive disadvantage because of their invisibility. While they include 51% of all undergraduates, or approximately 9.3 million students, they are less likely than their peers to earn degrees. Among students enrolled in two-year institutions, they are significantly less likely to persist into a second year. First-Generation College Students offers academic leaders and student affairs professionals a guide for understanding the special challenges and common barriers these students face and provides the necessary strategies for helping them transition through and graduate from their chosen institutions. Based in solid research, the authors describe best practices and include suggestions and techniques that can help leaders design and implement effective curricula, out-of-class learning experiences, and student support services, as well as develop strategic plans that address issues sure to arise in the future. The authors offer an analysis of first-generation student expectations for college life and academics and examine the powerful role cultural capital plays in shaping their experiences and socialization. Providing a template for other campuses, the book highlights programmatic initiatives at colleges around the county that effectively serve first-generation students and create a powerful learning environment for their success. First-Generation College Students provides a much-needed portrait of the cognitive, developmental, and social factors that affect the college-going experiences and retention rates of this growing population of college students.
Spirituality Research Studies in Higher Education offers two uniquely designed sections that showcase a group of talented scholars from major research institutions. This edited volume by Terence Hicks provides the reader with topics such as spiritual aspects of the grieving college students, spirituality and sexual identity among Lesbian and Gay students, spirituality driven strategies among first-generation students, the role of spirituality in home-based education, and counseling and spiritual support among women.
