Pathways And Experiences Of First Generation Graduate Students

This book focuses on first-generation graduate students in the US and the graduate or post-baccalaureate programs that house and educate these students. The several voices in this book, including first-generation graduate students, address the phenomena of graduate students’ experiences and related university practices, with the practices connected to traditional academic and Western values and to academic and neoliberal institutional logics. First-generation graduate students’ narratives, or testimonies, serve as the foundation of the analysis of students’ pathways to graduate school and their experiences within graduate school. The conditions for first-generation graduate students in their programs require remedies that will facilitate student well-being, peer community attachment, and persistence, and will educate and train students for achievement in graduate school and for employment after graduate school.

Why is college completion so closely linked to social class? In The Journey Before Us, Laura Nichols looks at the experiences of aspiring first-generation college students from middle-school to young adulthood and shows what must change in order to improve college pathways and graduate more students.

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.

The percentage of first-generation college students enrolling in universities has been increasing over the years. However, the percentage of first-generation students who continue past the first year is significantly lower than their peers. Past research indicates that the reasons for low bachelor's degree attainment rates among first-generation students include difficult transitions to college, financial barriers, and personal relationships. Moreover, recent literature confirms a change in educational pathways for many first-generation students. As the cost of education continues to increase, the traditional route to four-year institutions has encountered a more cost-effective pathway that is offered by two-year community colleges to students. However, the challenges present in transferring from a two-year community college to a four-year university have been identified as determining factors that impact the bachelor's degree attainment rate for first-generation and transfer students. Thus, it is crucial to identify factors that contribute to the gap through which these students are falling to modify policies and services that better support students from marginalized backgrounds.Through an IRB-approved quantitative study collected by Qualtrics, I use logistic regression to compare the educational experiences of first-generation and transfer students at a large public Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) university. This study examines the association between participants that identify as a first-generation student or as a transfer student and academic challenges such as academic probation. Findings from this study will provide researchers and institutions insight on the academic challenges that first-generation and transfer students encounter on their educational pathways.Findings from this study support prior research surrounding the academic challenges pertaining to transfer students and their educational experiences in higher education institutions. However, contrary to recent research, this study did not find a significant relationship between first-generation students and academic challenges, such as academic probation. Although no significant relationship was observed between first-generation students and having ever been on academic probation, educational policies that further support this student body are essential.

High-Achieving Latino Students: Successful Pathways Toward College and Beyond addresses a long-standing need for a book that focuses on the success, not failure, of Latino students. While much of the existing research works from a deficit lens, this book uses a strength-based approach to support Latino achievement. Bringing together researchers and practitioners, this unique book provides research-based recommendations from early to later school years on “what works” for supporting high achievement. Praise for High-Achieving Latino Students "This book focuses on an important issue about which we know little. There are many lessons here for both scholars and educators who believe that Latino students can succeed. I congratulate the authors for taking on this timely and significant topic." ~ Guadalupe Valdés, Ph.D., Bonnie Katz Tenenbaum Professor in Education, Stanford University. Author of Con Respeto: Bridging the Distances Between Culturally Diverse Families and Schools "This is a must-read book for leaders in institutions of both K-12 and higher education who want to better understand success factors of Latino students in the US. Using a strength-based framework to understand and support Latino achievement is a new paradigm that must be considered by all." ~ Loui Olivas, Ed.D., President, American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education "In addition to being the right book at the right time, these editors should be congratulated for giving us a stellar example of how a research-practice collaboration comes together to produce such a valuable and lasting contribution to the field of school reform and improvement. Those who work in schools, universities, think tanks and policymaking centers have been waiting anxiously for this kind of book, and it’s now here." ~ Carl A. Cohn, Ed.D., Former Executive Director, California Collaborative for Educational Excellence, CA State Board of Education member, and Superintendent "There may not be a silver bullet for solving the so-called problem of Latino underachievement, but well-conceived solutions do exist. This powerful book offers strength- and asset-based frameworks that demonstrate Latino achievement is possible. Read this text to not only get informed, but to also get nurtured and inspired!" ~ Angela Valenzuela, Ph.D., Professor in Education, University of Texas at Austin. Author of Subtractive Schooling: US-Mexican Youth and the Politics of Caring

Even though the first-generation experience is complex and varied, there are nonetheless policy and programmatic lessons that administrators can draw to support first-generation and all students as they transition into and proceed through college. This dissertation examines the various pathways to thriving as articulated by first-generation students themselves. In terms of academics, these include academic continuation and academic divergence in a field of study, and academic turnaround versus ongoing academic achievement among first- and continuing-generation students from diverse preparation backgrounds. In terms of social experiences, I explore the tactics of bulwarking, pride work, and assimilation as ways in which first-generation students adopt or eschew the classification as an identity feature in a given social context. Finally, I offer specific policy recommendations to administrators aiming not to see their first-generation students make it through, but to thrive in college and beyond.

Clearing the Path for First-Generation College Students comprises a wide range of studies that explore the multidimensional social processes and meanings germane to the experiences of first-generation college students before and during their matriculation into institutions of higher education. The chapters offer timely, empirical examinations of the ways that these students negotiate experiences shaped by structural inequities in higher education institutions and the pathways that lead to them. This volume provides insight into the dilemmas that arise from the transformation of students’ class identities in pursuit of upward mobility, as well as their quest for community and a sense of “belonging” on college campuses that have not been historically designed for them. While centering first-generation status, this collection also critically engages the ways in which other dimensions of social identity intersect to inform students’ educational experiences in relation to dynamics of race, ethnicity, socioeconomic class, gender, and immigration. Additionally, this book takes a holistic approach by exploring the ways in which first-generation college students are influenced by, and engage with, their families and communities of origin as they undertake their educational careers.

An essential handbook to the unwritten and often unspoken knowledge and skills you need to succeed in grad school Some of the most important things you need to know in order to succeed in graduate school—like how to choose a good advisor, how to get funding for your work, and whether to celebrate or cry when a journal tells you to revise and resubmit an article—won’t be covered in any class. They are part of a hidden curriculum that you are just expected to know or somehow learn on your own—or else. In this comprehensive survival guide for grad school, Jessica McCrory Calarco walks you through the secret knowledge and skills that are essential for navigating every critical stage of the postgraduate experience, from deciding whether to go to grad school in the first place to finishing your degree and landing a job. An invaluable resource for every prospective and current grad student in any discipline, A Field Guide to Grad School will save you grief—and help you thrive—in school and beyond. Provides invaluable advice about how to: Choose and apply to a graduate program Stay on track in your program Publish and promote your work Get the most out of conferences Navigate the job market Balance teaching, research, service, and life

African Americans and Latinos earn lower grades and drop out of college more often than whites or Asians. Yet thirty years after deliberate minority recruitment efforts began, we still don't know why. In The Shape of the River, William Bowen and Derek Bok documented the benefits of affirmative action for minority students, their communities, and the nation at large. But they also found that too many failed to achieve academic success. In The Source of the River, Douglas Massey and his colleagues investigate the roots of minority underperformance in selective colleges and universities. They explain how such factors as neighborhood, family, peer group, and early schooling influence the academic performance of students from differing racial and ethnic origins and differing social classes. Drawing on a major new source of data--the National Longitudinal Survey of Freshmen--the authors undertake a comprehensive analysis of the diverse pathways by which whites, African Americans, Latinos, and Asians enter American higher education. Theirs is the first study to document the different characteristics that students bring to campus and to trace out the influence of these differences on later academic performance. They show that black and Latino students do not enter college disadvantaged by a lack of self-esteem. In fact, overconfidence is more common than low self-confidence among some minority students. Despite this, minority students are adversely affected by racist stereotypes of intellectual inferiority. Although academic preparation is the strongest predictor of college performance, shortfalls in academic preparation are themselves largely a matter of socioeconomic disadvantage and racial segregation. Presenting important new findings, The Source of the River documents the ongoing power of race to shape the life chances of America's young people, even among the most talented and able.