The topic of "First-Generation" students has been around for a while in U.S. higher education. However, it is relatively uncommon for international educators to even think of their students this way - perhaps because the proportion of first-generation students they serve is so high that recognizing and serving the group is "just what we do." I was a first generation student in the late 1960s and neither my undergraduate university (Colorado State University) nor I even recognized the dynamics I experienced.
First-generation implications are real and many of these students could benefit from understanding how they are different; institutions certainly need to think about how to serve them. Campus Labs, a higher education data collection and software company, released a report on its analysis of the difference between the 14% of first-generation students in its sample of 750,000 total students who responded to their survey. They subsequently conducted a follow up with the 29% of first-generation students in a smaller sample of 53,000.
The analysis of the 14% in the larger pool indicated that "The first-generation students outscored their peers in educational commitment, self-efficacy, academic and campus engagement. But they lagged behind multigenerational students in resiliency - or the ability for students to overcome challenging situations and stressful events - and social comfort." Of course - why? First-generation students don't have the parental coaching to know what to expect and how to handle it.
The deeper study in the smaller sample indicated that institutions should be careful that "The negative language leads to a narrative that students are unsupported" or that "assumes [first-generation] students are coming from poverty or have a lack of education." Being first-generation students shouldn't be characterized as a deficit and should, instead, be lauded for the asset of high motivation, striving, and commitment to life enhancement that they bring. This is likely even more important to U.S. institutions that have large proportions of international students or for higher education centers around the world serving growing numbers of students who may be first-generation as many baby-boomers were in the 1960s in the U.S.
At the heart of the question of "first-generation" student success is who/what needs to be fixed. A study of what institutions are doing recommended "that institutions must shift from focusing on whether a student is 'college ready' to whether or not the colleges is 'student ready.' In other words, college leadership should reflect on and change policies and procedures that might inhibit student success." This admonition is relevant to most students who represent some element of identity diversity among majority populations.
First-generation implications are real and many of these students could benefit from understanding how they are different; institutions certainly need to think about how to serve them. Campus Labs, a higher education data collection and software company, released a report on its analysis of the difference between the 14% of first-generation students in its sample of 750,000 total students who responded to their survey. They subsequently conducted a follow up with the 29% of first-generation students in a smaller sample of 53,000.
The analysis of the 14% in the larger pool indicated that "The first-generation students outscored their peers in educational commitment, self-efficacy, academic and campus engagement. But they lagged behind multigenerational students in resiliency - or the ability for students to overcome challenging situations and stressful events - and social comfort." Of course - why? First-generation students don't have the parental coaching to know what to expect and how to handle it.
The deeper study in the smaller sample indicated that institutions should be careful that "The negative language leads to a narrative that students are unsupported" or that "assumes [first-generation] students are coming from poverty or have a lack of education." Being first-generation students shouldn't be characterized as a deficit and should, instead, be lauded for the asset of high motivation, striving, and commitment to life enhancement that they bring. This is likely even more important to U.S. institutions that have large proportions of international students or for higher education centers around the world serving growing numbers of students who may be first-generation as many baby-boomers were in the 1960s in the U.S.
At the heart of the question of "first-generation" student success is who/what needs to be fixed. A study of what institutions are doing recommended "that institutions must shift from focusing on whether a student is 'college ready' to whether or not the colleges is 'student ready.' In other words, college leadership should reflect on and change policies and procedures that might inhibit student success." This admonition is relevant to most students who represent some element of identity diversity among majority populations.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.