Talk:First-generation college students in the United States

Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment

This article is or was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): Marycneal.

Above undated message substituted from Template:Dashboard.wikiedu.org assignment by PrimeBOT (talk) 21:17, 17 January 2022 (UTC)

Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment

This article was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment, between 19 August 2019 and 20 December 2019. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): Eden23k, Jordan19J, TaylorKnighten, Smobley74, Swimmyb123, Jgarivay, Mike6speed, Robynhood13, Ferrari cares, Mlee0901.

Above undated message substituted from Template:Dashboard.wikiedu.org assignment by PrimeBOT (talk) 21:17, 17 January 2022 (UTC)

Thinking about adding to this article

I am planning on adding to the Social Capital section of this page. I intend on mentioning the pre-college college prep programs that help provide forms of social capital such as academic advising, college field trips, and access to support from college graduates for first-generation students.

Below are the annotated bibliography of planned sources:

Seftor, N. S., Mamun, A., & Schirm, A. (2009). The impacts of regular Upward Bound on postsecondary outcomes 7–9 years after scheduled high school graduation. Princeton, NJ: Mathematica Policy Research.

Bormeo, Adolfo, Thomas Motenson, Lana Muraskin, Louis Stokes, and Vincent Tinto. (2008). Moving Beyond Access: College Success for Low-Income and First-Generation Students. The Pell Institute for the Study of Opportunity in Higher Education. 15-16.

Martinez, M., & Klopott, S. (2005). The Link between High School Reform and College Access and Success for Low-Income and Minority Youth. Bridging Youth Policy, Practice, and Research.

Ashtiani, M., & Feliciano, C. (2012). Low-income young adults continue to face barriers to college entry and degree completion. Los Angeles, CA: UC/ACCORD, Pathways to Postsecondary Success. Retrieved from Http://pathways.gseis.ucla.edu/publications/201201_ashtianiafelicianoRB_online.pdf.

Choy, Susan P. 2001. “Students Whose Parents Did Not Go to College: Postsecondary Access, Persistence, and Attainment.” PsycEXTRA Dataset. Retrieved (https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED460660). (Rmagcam (talk) 16:00, 2 August 2018 (UTC))

Thinking about expanding this article

I am considering expanding this article as part of a Wiki Education project in the Poverty, Justice, and Human Capabilities program of Rice University. I would work on correcting the issues noted in the banner, making the article more informative, include more historical context, attempt to represent the heterogeneity of experiences of first-generation college students in the United States, and explore how the topic relates to the country's changing economy, migration, and social/economic mobility. Please let me know if you have any concerns, suggestions, or comments. --Marycneal (talk) 04:41, 24 January 2018 (UTC)

Annotated bibliography of planned sources

Battle, Juan, and Earl Wright. "W.E.B. Du Bois's Talented Tenth: A Quantitative Assessment." Journal of Black Studies 32, no. 6 (2002): 654-72. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3180968.

This article discusses the phenomenon of "The Talented Tenth," a philosophy defined by W.E.B. Du Bois about the duty of individuals from disadvantaged populations to selflessly use what privileges they earn to help and lead their communities. The article will provide useful information for examining the history of higher education of black Americans after emancipation, since this event marks a significant source of first-generation college students throughout America’s history.

Brown, Donna. “Tribal Colleges: Playing a Key Role in the Transition from Secondary to Postsecondary Education for American Indian Students.” Journal of American Indian Education 42, no. 1 (2003): 36-45.

This article is the result of interviews of 11 Native American college students about their experiences at tribal colleges as well as the positive effects those experiences had on the students’ experiences later at a four-year university. Though it is not directly related to first-generation college students specifically, I may use this source to supplement other research regarding Native American first-generation college students.

Byrd, Kathleen L., and Ginger Macdonald. "Defining College Readiness from the Inside Out: First-Generation College Student Perspectives." Community College Review 33, no. 1 (2005): 22-37. doi:10.1177/009155210503300102.

This article focuses on "older first-generation college students who transferred from community college." It specifically highlights the students’ reflections on the way that their skills acquired through life experiences have transferred over to their educational endeavors.

Corbett, Michael. “Rural Futures: Development, Aspirations, Mobilities, Place, and Education.” Peabody Journal of Education 91, no. 2 (2016): 270-82. doi:10.1080/0161956X.2016.1151750

This article unconventionally examines how "differently positioned rural youth are “oriented” in the course of their educational experience."

Covarrubias, R., & Fryberg, S. A. (2015). Movin’ on up (to college): First-generation college students’ experiences with family achievement guilt. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 21(3), 420-429. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0037844

This article will help me supplement the research on first-generation college students' family relationships by comparatively examining "family achievement guilt" ("a discrepancy" between the opportunities available to the students as opposed to their family) in first-generation and continuing-generation college students.

Dumais, Susan A., Tracey E. Rizzuto, Joe Cleary, and Luke Dowden. "Stressors and Supports for Adult Online Learners: Comparing First- and Continuing-Generation College Students." American Journal of Distance Education 27, no. 2 (2013): 100-10. doi:10.1080/08923647.2013.783265.

This article presents research on the experiences of adults taking online classes, comparing the challenges faced and use of support systems by both first-generation and continuing-generation students.

"Factsheets." PNPI. Accessed February 04, 2018. http://pnpi.org/first-generation-students/.

This webpage presents data and statistics collected in the 2011-2012 academic year about the enrollment/degree attainment of as well as the challenges to first-generation college students.

Gist-Mackey, Angela N., Marissa L. Wiley, and Joseph Erba. "“You’re doing great. Keep doing what you’re doing”: socially supportive communication during first-generation college students’ socialization." Communication Education 67, no. 1 (2017): 52-72. doi:10.1080/03634523.2017.1390590.

This article also discusses the role of first-generation college students as both receivers and “agents" of social support.

"Historically Black Colleges and Universities - The Development of HBCUs, Academic and Social Experiences at HBCUs, Conclusion." Education, Students, Institutions, and American - StateUniversity.com. Accessed February 04, 2018. http://education.stateuniversity.com/pages/2046/Historically-Black-Colleges-Universities.html.

This article describes the historical development of HBCUs, mostly which were founded to educate newly emancipated slaves without including them in "existing white institutions." This event marked a significant source influx of fist-generation college students. The article also describes unique academic and social characteristics of HBCUs.

Langford, J., & Clance, P. R. (1993). The imposter phenomenon: Recent research findings regarding dynamics, personality and family patterns and their implications for treatment. Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, Practice, Training, 30(3), 495-501. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0033-3204.30.3.495

This article examines the "imposter phenomenon," which is known to be common among first-generation college students, from a self psychological theory perspective.

Nguyen, David H. K., and Gabriel R. Serna. "Access or Barrier? Tuition and Fee Legislation for Undocumented Students across the States." The Clearing House: A Journal of Educational Strategies, Issues and Ideas 87, no. 3 (2014): 124-29. doi:10.1080/00098655.2014.891895.

This article exposes the access or lack of access that undocumented students have to public higher education in the US from a state-level policy standpoint.

Olivas, Michael A. "Colleges and Undocumented Students." Change: The Magazine of Higher Learning 40, no. 4 (2008): 20-21. doi:10.3200/chng.40.4.20-21.

(No description is currently available for this source beyond what can be inferred from the title.) I intend to use this article to supplement the research on the experiences and characteristics of undocumented college students in the United States.

Pascarella, Ernest T., Pierson, Christopher T., Wolniak, Gregory C., Terenzini, Patrick T. “First-Generation College Students.” The Journal of Higher Education 75, no. 3 (2004): 249-284. doi: 10.1080/00221546.2004.11772256.

This article examines many dimensions of first-generation college students' college experiences and outcomes. I intend to use this article to supplement the research on the types of institutions these students tend to attend.

Redford, Jeremy, and Kathleen Hoyer. "First-Generation and Continuing-Generation College Students: A Comparison of High School and Postsecondary Experiences." National Center for Education Statistics. September 26, 2017. https://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2018009.

This article will help supplement the research on demographic statistics of first-generation college students. It also examines "post-secondary enrollment and completion patterns" and barriers to "obtain[ing] a credential" once enrolled that these students face.

Rice, Alexander J., Alexander J. Colbow, Shane Gibbons, Charles Cederberg, Ethan Sahker, William M. Liu, and Kristin Wurster. "The social class worldviews of first-generation college students." Counselling Psychology Quarterly 30, no. 4 (2016): 415-40. doi:10.1080/09515070.2016.1179170.

I will use this research, which interviews first-generation students about their "social-class worldview," to highlight the societal systems that motivate the pursuit of college degrees by and shape the experiences of first-generation college students.

Schmidt, J. J. and Akande, Y. (2011), Faculty perceptions of the first-generation student experience and programs at tribal colleges. New Directions for Teaching and Learning, 2011: 41–54. doi:10.1002/tl.456

This article exposes points of views of faculty at tribal colleges about the societal, familial, and financial challenges faced by first-generation students at these colleges.

Stephens, Nicole M., Hazel R. Markus, Stephanie A. Fryburg, and Camille S. Johnson. "Unseen Disadvantage: How American Universities’ Focus on Independence Undermines the Academic Performance of First-Generation College Students." Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 102, no. 6 (June 2012): 1178-197. Accessed February 4, 2018. doi:10.1037/a0027143.

This article will supplement other research in the presentation of the role of social class and mobility in the experiences of first-generation college students. It focuses on a cultural mismatch between universities and working-class backgrounds.

Tieken, Mara Casey. "College Talk and the Rural Economy: Shaping the Educational Aspirations of Rural, First-Generation Students." Peabody Journal of Education 91, no. 2 (2016): 203-23. doi:10.1080/0161956x.2016.1151741.

This article discusses the role of rural adults have in conveying messages to students about the meaning and value of college for the student and how it may affect their course of life, source of livelihood, and place of residence.

"Tribal Colleges and Universities - Students and Faculty, Institutional Types, Accreditation and Funding." American, Education, Native, and Indian - StateUniversity.com. Accessed February 04, 2018. http://education.stateuniversity.com/pages/2513/Tribal-Colleges-Universities.html.

This webpage gives an overview of the tribal colleges and universities system, which will supplement the research about Native American first-generation college students conducted by Schmidt.

Tym, Carmen; McMillion, Robin; Barone, Sandra; Webster, Jeff. “First-Generation College Students: A Literature Review.” Texas Guaranteed Student Loan Corporation (12 November 2004) https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED542505.pdf

This document synthesizes a large body of research about first-generation college students. I will use its information in sections about student demographics, family relationships, in-college support systems, graduation rates, and obstacles to access.

U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Students Whose Parents Did Not Go to College: Postsecondary Access, Persistence, and Attainment, NCES 2001–126, by Susan Choy. Washington, DC: 2001.

I will use this article in my contributions about obstacles to access to higher education institutions of first-generation college students as well as about their demographic makeup.

Wang, Tiffany R. "“I’m the Only Person From Where I’m From to Go to College”: Understanding the Memorable Messages First-Generation College Students Receive From Parents." Journal of Family Communication 14, no. 3 (2014): 270-90. Accessed February 4, 2018. doi:10.1080/15267431.2014.908195.

This article focuses on the types of messages received by first-generation college students about their education by their families.

Wang, Tiffany R. "Understanding the Memorable Messages First-Generation College Students Receive from On-Campus Mentors." Communication Education 61, no. 4 (2012): 335-57. doi:10.1080/03634523.2012.691978.

This article discusses the types of messages received by first-generation college students from "on-campus mentors," and will supplement other research on social support systems available to first-generation college students within the institution.

Whitehead, Patrick M., and Robert Wright. "Becoming a College Student: An Empirical Phenomenological Analysis of First Generation College Students." Community College Journal of Research and Practice 41, no. 10 (2016): 639-51. doi:10.1080/10668926.2016.1216474.

This article discusses the role of the imposter phenomenon in the identity formation of first-generation college students.

--Marycneal (talk) 19:46, 12 February 2018 (UTC)

Peer Review

I really enjoyed reading your article! I think the contributions you made are well-written, informative, neutral. In particular, the information that you included in the "Social class and mobility" was interesting to read as I didn't have this prior knowledge.

I would suggest including some sub-sections within each section in order to more clearly organize the information and allow for more fluidity for the reader. Perhaps the "Characteristics" section can be organized as a timeline, to retain some of the earlier statistics, while including more recent information. In addition, there are some slight errors with formatting of the references which can be improved upon. Overall, I'm excited to see the additional information that you'll add for the final contribution. Great start on the article! Sravi12 (talk) 23:55, 5 March 2018 (UTC)

population statistics

Hi, the population statistics section is currently a mess, but I will be working to streamline it in the coming days so that it reflects data from the National Center for Education Statistics Profile of Undergraduate Students 2011-12. It would be great if this page could be updated each time a new report made. (https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2015/2015167.pdf) --Marycneal (talk) 02:45, 18 March 2018 (UTC)

Annotated Bibliography to add more recent information

References

Batalova, J., & Fix, M. (2011). Up for grabs: The gains and prospects of first- and second-generation young adults. Washington, DC: Migration Policy Institute.

Cahalan, M., Perna, L. W., Yamashita, M., Wright-Kim, J. & Jiang, N. (2019). Indicators of higher education equity in the United States: Historical trend report. Washington, DC: The Pell Institute for the Study of Opportunity in Higher Education, Council for Opportunity in Education (COE), and Alliance for Higher Education and Democracy of the University of Pennsylvania (PennAHEAD).

Cataldi, E., Bennett, C., & Chen, X. (2018). First-generation students: College access, persistence, and postbachelor’s outcomes. National Center for Education Statistics, NCES 2018421.

Hsin, A., Ortega, F. (2018). The Effects of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals on the Educational Outcomes of Undocumented Students. Demography, 55, 1487–1506. doi:10.1007/s13524-018-0691-6

Irlbeck, E., Adams, C., Burris, S., & Jones, S. (2014). First generation college students: motivations and support systems. Journal of Agricultural Education, 55.

Redford, J. & Hoyer, K.M. (2017). First-generation and continuing-generation college students: A comparison of high school and postsecondary experiences. National Center for Education Statistics, NCES 2018009

Schwartz, S.E.O., Kanchewa, S.S., Rhodes, J.E., Gowdy, G., Stark, A.M., Horn, J.P., Parnes, M., & Spencer, R. (2018). “I’m having a little struggle with this, can you help me out?”: Examining impacts and processes of a social capital intervention for first-generation college students. American Journal of Community Psychology, 61, 166-178. doi: 10.1002/ajcp.12206

Stephens, N., Hamedani, M., & Destin, M. (2014). Closing the social-class achievement gap: A difference-education intervention improves first-generation students’ academic performance and all students’ college transition. Psychological Science, 25, 943-953. doi: 10.1177/0956797613518349

Keeta15 (talk) 02:34, 30 July 2019 (UTC)

Barriers Students Face

Covarrubias, Romero and Trivelli (2015) define family achievement guilt as a student’s feeling of guilt caused by having more academic opportunities and success compared to other family members. They conducted a correlational study to determine how family achievement guilt was related to depressive symptoms and self-esteem within college students. Two hundred and fifty-five undergraduate students participated in a 45-minute online survey where researchers measured first-generation status, family achievement guilt, depression symptoms (with scales from 1 to 4), and self-esteem (with scales from 1 to 5). The participant breakdown for the study was as follows (Covarrubias, Romero & Trivelli, 2015): · 195 females and 60 males · 102 students of Mexican descent (40%) · 153 White students (60%) · 49 first-generation college students (19%) · 206 non-first-generation college students Researchers found that although there were no gender differences in depressive symptoms and self-esteem, they did find that males reported having more family achievement guilt than females. Among those who reported higher levels of achievement guilt, first-generation students had significantly more depressive symptoms than students that were not first-generation; this was true regardless of ethnicity. Furthermore, family achievement guilt was associated with lower self-esteem, although not necessarily related to being of first-generation status. The study findings show that family achievement guilt is related to first-generation students’ mental health, as well as all students’ self-esteem (Covarrubias, Romero & Trivelli, 2015).

It was also noted that because males of Mexican descent have economic and cultural pressures from their family, higher levels of achievement guilt can be seen in their culture’s first-generation college students (Covarrubias, Romero & Trivelli, 2015). However, further research is needed to understand true long-term effects.

First-generation college students that experience family achievement guilt need interventions to help alleviate their guilt and allow students to focus on their academic success. Covarrubias and Fryberg (2015) conducted a quantitative study that also tested a strategy to alleviate the guilt. The study consisted of one hundred and twenty-one undergraduates from the University of Arizona, 53 of which identified as first-generation college students and 68 of which identified as continuing-generation college students. From the first-generation sample set, 17 students were White and 36 were Latino students, whereas 44 of the continuing generation college students were White and 24 were Latino students. The researchers conducted two studies: Study 1 administered a survey using a survivor guilt subscale along with open-ended and closed-ended questions concerning family achievement guilt. Study 2 replicated Study 1 but included Latinos, African Americans, and Native Americans in their sample of ethnic minority students. They tested a strategy to reduce family achievement guilt in the “help” condition and no strategy in the control condition. (Covarrubias & Fryberg, 2015). Students were randomly placed in either the help condition group or the control condition group. Study 2’s strategy looked into how reflecting about having helped a family member in need might help relieve the guilt (Covarrubias & Fryberg, 2015).

In Study 1, researchers found that first-generation, Latino, college students had higher family achievement guilt than White, continuing-generation college students. Furthermore, they found that first-generation Latino students reported more guilt than the other three groups (Whites, Blacks, and Native Americans).

Results from Study 2 consisted with Study 1 in terms of first-generation college students reporting more family achievement guilt than continuing generation college students. They also found that minority students reported more family achievement guilt than white students. From their experimental groups, first-generation college students in the help condition, that is, where they had a space to reflect on how they’ve helped their family, reported lower family achievement guilt compared to first-generation college students in the control group, where they were not given the chance to reflect. With regards to continuing-generation college students, no differences in guilt were found between those students that had a chance to reflect and those who did not.

The researcher’s strategy had students think about their family’s struggles and reflect on how they have helped their family. The strategy led students to perceive less family struggle, which led to less family achievement guilt. The researchers emphasized the need to find more ways to reduce family achievement guilt. They also stated that it is important to find practical ways of implementing similar strategies in order to support first-generation college students in their academic success and mental well-being (Covarrubias & Fryberg, 2015).

In Piorkowski’s study (as cited in Tate, Williams, and Harden, 2013) on survivor guilt among first-generation college students, she conducted a qualitative study to look into survivor guilt specifically from first-generation, low-income students from an urban setting. Piorkowski defined survivor guilt as related to surviving a traumatic situation from alcoholism to emotional disasters associated with poverty. The study revealed that survivor guilt was a daily struggle first-generation students experienced. An example of a recurring theme among respondents was, “Why should I succeed when they have failed?” (p. 620). Survivor guilt was found to play an important role in first-generation student’s lives and could possibly be preventing them from obtaining their academic potential.

Students experiencing this guilt felt the tension regarding their past and their future. On the one hand, students’ families were going through some struggles, while on the other, students had so many new opportunities because they’re in college, leading to survivor or family achievement guilt. Tate, Williams, and Harden (2013) recommended Logotherapy as a strategy to address the tension Piorkowski discussed. Logotherapy is used to encourage and support students as they “walk through the guilt and conflicts they feel as opposed to simply coping with these emotions” (p. 82). The intention is to embrace the tension in a direct and positive manner as well as to struggle through it. They state that college counselors are trained to help students face their guilt in this way. There are four steps involved: Contextualizing the Struggle Discovering Values Applying Values to Create Purpose Empowering Beyond Counseling

College counselors are able to challenge students without forcing them to reach a particular outcome. The goal of logotherapy is to challenge students to come to the idea that they are in college for a reason. By the end of the counseling sessions, college counselors want to be able to empower students to be successful and purpose-seeking individuals (Tate et al., 2013). Keeta15 (talk) 02:17, 14 August 2019 (UTC)

Discussion at Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Higher education § Globalize First-generation college students in the United States?

 You are invited to join the discussion at Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Higher education § Globalize First-generation college students in the United States?. {{u|Sdkb}} ^talk 20:33, 3 July 2021 (UTC)

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