A Qualitative Exploration of First-generation Students' Mattering and Persistence Experiences at a Suburban Community College

A Qualitative Exploration of First-generation Students' Mattering and Persistence Experiences at a Suburban Community College PDF Author: Victoria Vetro
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 387

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Book Description
One subset of underrepresented college students is first-generation students, whose parents or legal guardians did not attend college, which may make difficult their transition into college (Cataldi et al., 2018). Mattering, specifically feeling the attention, dependence, and importance of others, forestalls marginality, discourages self-isolation, and broadens academic and social success for students (Schlossberg, 1989). Because first-generation students do not take to their college experience an inherited sense of cultural and social capital that their non-first-generation peers do, other researchers argued that first-generation students are often limited from feeling as if they matter on campus (Katrevich & Arguete, 2017). According to Cataldi et al. (2018), students whose parents have not attended college face significant challenges accessing postsecondary education and then persisting once they do enroll. These challenges can explain the inequities that historically underrepresented students, such as first-generation students, face during their college experiences, challenges currently exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, the researcher interviewed eleven first-generation students at a midsized, suburban community college in the Northeast to discover how their sense of mattering with professors, peers, and other college agents in the midst of a pandemic contributed to their persistence. Through narrative re-storying of the students' lived experiences, the researcher uncovered four overarching themes, including the students' resilience, self-determination, self-efficacy, and burden of being first that informed the students' sense of mattering so that they were determined to complete their degrees even in the midst of a most unprecedented and chaotic time.

A Qualitative Exploration of First-generation Students' Mattering and Persistence Experiences at a Suburban Community College

A Qualitative Exploration of First-generation Students' Mattering and Persistence Experiences at a Suburban Community College PDF Author: Victoria Vetro
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 387

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Book Description
One subset of underrepresented college students is first-generation students, whose parents or legal guardians did not attend college, which may make difficult their transition into college (Cataldi et al., 2018). Mattering, specifically feeling the attention, dependence, and importance of others, forestalls marginality, discourages self-isolation, and broadens academic and social success for students (Schlossberg, 1989). Because first-generation students do not take to their college experience an inherited sense of cultural and social capital that their non-first-generation peers do, other researchers argued that first-generation students are often limited from feeling as if they matter on campus (Katrevich & Arguete, 2017). According to Cataldi et al. (2018), students whose parents have not attended college face significant challenges accessing postsecondary education and then persisting once they do enroll. These challenges can explain the inequities that historically underrepresented students, such as first-generation students, face during their college experiences, challenges currently exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, the researcher interviewed eleven first-generation students at a midsized, suburban community college in the Northeast to discover how their sense of mattering with professors, peers, and other college agents in the midst of a pandemic contributed to their persistence. Through narrative re-storying of the students' lived experiences, the researcher uncovered four overarching themes, including the students' resilience, self-determination, self-efficacy, and burden of being first that informed the students' sense of mattering so that they were determined to complete their degrees even in the midst of a most unprecedented and chaotic time.

Mindset & Mattering

Mindset & Mattering PDF Author: Michelle Lynn Goldys
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 121

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Book Description
Institutions of higher education have shifted their focus from access and enrollment to creating more effective institutional conditions that lead to academic success, persistence, retention, and completion. Academic coaching has surfaced as a promising support concept in higher education, and to date, little empirical research exists on the subject, especially within community colleges. Guided by Schlossberg’s (1989) theory of marginality and mattering, this qualitative study explored first year students’ mattering experiences, perceptions of academic coaching and belonging at a southeastern community college in the United States. This study contributed to an understudied area of research for a distinct student population. The findings of this study demonstrated that first-year students, who did report initial feelings of marginality, but who also received support from an academic coach reported a strong sense of belonging and mattering on campus, helping them to overcome feelings of marginality and to persist.

Clearing the Path for First-Generation College Students

Clearing the Path for First-Generation College Students PDF Author: Ashley C. Rondini
Publisher: Lexington Books
ISBN: 1498537022
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 385

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Book Description
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.

A Qualitative Exploration of First-generation Student Experiences at a Rural Community College

A Qualitative Exploration of First-generation Student Experiences at a Rural Community College PDF Author: Rebecca Margrete Evans
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Academic achievement
Languages : en
Pages : 260

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Book Description


Validation Experiences of Low-income, First-generation Students in Community College

Validation Experiences of Low-income, First-generation Students in Community College PDF Author: Rachel M. Robinson
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Community college students
Languages : en
Pages : 164

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Book Description
The issue of low degree attainment rates for low-income, first-generation students at the community college level remains a constant struggle for the higher education sector to overcome. While community colleges have been successful in providing access to higher education for millions of low-income, first-generation students, the persistence rates have not been so impressive. The aim of this study was to explore practices that can contribute to winning the endless battle higher education faces to improve persistence and degree attainment rates of low-income, first-generation students in community colleges. This qualitative, phenomenological research study examined low-income, first-generation students' perceptions of validation experiences in community colleges. Laura Rendon's Validation Theory was used as a framework to determine the role of validation in the community college experience of successful low-income, first-generation students. Faculty, staff, peers, and family members were all identified as individuals who helped students to feel validated. The findings revealed that students felt affirmed, engaged, and motivated to persist as a result of validating experiences during their time in community college. Validating experiences also caused the majority of the participants to feel satisfied with their overall community college experience.

Early College Connections

Early College Connections PDF Author: Sheila Fran Mauppin
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 328

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Book Description
Nationally, nearly 40% of full-time community college students drop out before the second year, and drop-out rates for part-time students are even more astounding. In 2008, nearly 60% of part-time community college students dropped out before year two. As community colleges embrace President Obama's call for a 50% increase in completion by 2020, it is imperative that community college leaders find ways to retain and graduate students. A number of community and technical colleges utilize the Survey of Entering Student Engagement (SENSE) to quantitatively measure early campus connections. Building on the institutional early connection benchmark score, this study qualitatively describes first-year, persisting, full- and part-time students' perceptions of early campus experiences and the role that early connections play in their decision to persist. The study employs a qualitative research approach via a single case study. Twenty-four, first-year, second semester, consecutively enrolled, full- and part-time students, who mirrored the college's population participated in semi-structured interviews and focus groups. Findings indicate that early connections, as defined by the SENSE were not instrumental in persistence; however, a number of other factors were impactful: academic support; social influences; family support; and academic success. This study may provide information that will enhance the understanding of community college student perceptions related to factors that encourage persistence, and it may provide community colleges that operate within similar conditions, resources, and constraints with useful information as they design early connection strategies.

First Generation College Students

First Generation College Students PDF Author: Angelica Moore
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781303523182
Category : Dissertations, Academic
Languages : en
Pages : 252

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Book Description
"First generation college students are accessing colleges and universities at an increased rate. However, first generation college students, which include a disproportionate number of minorities and low income populations, continue to lag behind their counterparts in graduating from college. More prevalent in the research are factors that cause first generation college students to drop-out. On the contrary, the researcher utilized a qualitative descriptive methodology to explore factors that enable first generation college students to persist and complete college, rather than drop out. Engaging in a series of in-depth semi-structured interviews, the researcher examined the lived experiences of twelve first generation college students who have persisted at Saint Lucia University (SLU), a faith-based, four year liberal arts college located in California. Four central themes emerged: Support (especially from parents), Challenges Endured, Impetus to Stick it Out, and Institutional Factors. Aside from challenges that included unclear expectations about college life and a lack of confidence in their academic readiness, (though SLU has a population of students who are 55% ethnic minority) many participants encountered a dose of culture shock, as they perceived SLU to be "mostly White and mostly rich." Others professed having encountered racial discrimination. Indeed, it was daunting experiences like these that were most taxing on the participants and their ability to persist to degree. Nevertheless, for many of these students, their dire impetus to succeed was for the prospect of making a better life for themselves and their families."--Abstract, p. 1.

A Qualitative Exploration of First-generation Student Experiences at a Large Diverse Research Institution

A Qualitative Exploration of First-generation Student Experiences at a Large Diverse Research Institution PDF Author: Donald Michael Stansberry
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Academic achievement
Languages : en
Pages : 194

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Book Description


Exploring the Social Engagement of First-Year, First-Generation College Students at a Non-Urban HBCU in the Southeastern United States

Exploring the Social Engagement of First-Year, First-Generation College Students at a Non-Urban HBCU in the Southeastern United States PDF Author: Trina Gregory
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : African American universities and colleges
Languages : en
Pages : 128

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Book Description
Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) serve a disproportionate number of first-generation students who are less likely than their counterparts to persist to graduation. One way they are working to retain first-generation students is through social engagement. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the social engagement of first-year, first-generation college students attending a non-urban Historically Black College and University (HBCU) in the Southeastern United States that the researcher gave the pseudonym Xavier State University (XSU). The primary research question of this phenomenological study was: What are the lived experiences of first-year, first-generation college students socially integrating into a non-urban HBCU in the Southeastern United States? The following three sub questions guided the inquiry: 1) What do first-year, first-generation students perceive as the opportunities and the challenges for their own social integration? 2) What are first-year, first-generation students' perceptions of how the institution's geographic location in a non-urban community influences their social integration? 3) What are first-year, first-generation students' perceptions of how the institution supports them in socially integrating into the campus environment? The researcher conducted qualitative, semi-structured interviews with six first-year, first-generation students at XSU. Through the interviews, the researcher gathered rich data to provide thick descriptions of their lived experiences at XSU. Three themes with multiple sub-themes emerged: 1) Selection of XSU; 2) XSU Programming; and 3) Social Supports. The study produced four results: (a) students select XSU because it is affordable, close to home, and small with small class sizes; (b) students' have limited knowledge of and interaction with the TRIO program; (c) students are engaged in social activities on campus; and (d) students' peers and staff help them socially integrate into the campus environment... Based on the findings, recommendations for practice and for future research are offered.

First-Generation College Student Research Studies

First-Generation College Student Research Studies PDF Author: Terence Hicks
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 0761871217
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 160

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Book Description
First-Generation College Student Research Studies brings together research from a group of dynamic scholars from a variety of institutions across the United States. This extraordinary edited volume examines the first-generation college student population and analyzes topics such as college choice, social experiences, dual credit on academic success, lifestyles and health status, and professional identity/teaching practices. The empirical studies in this book contribute greatly to the research literature regarding the role that educational leaders have in educating first-generation college students.