There has been renewed emphasis on the vocational in recent policy documents concerning provision for the 14-19 age group. More open acknowledgement of the vocational/academic divide within English education has appeared alongside the creation of increased vocational opportunities for young people. Research undertaken for the Transforming Learning…

For first-generation poor and working-class college students, surviving the social challenges of higher learning can be at least as demanding as achieving a high grade point average. To increase the odds that first-generation students with low-socioeconomic status backgrounds will persist and prosper in college, it is vital that their chosen…

In the summer of 2008, the Commonwealth of Virginia was awarded a $1.1 million grant from the U. S. Department of Education. The College Access Challenge Grant Program (CACGP) is coordinated through the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV). The focus of the grant is to increase student access to postsecondary education,…

This report examines the path to college for students in academically advanced programs-- graduates of Chicago's seven Selective Enrollment schools, those who completed International Baccalaureate programs, and graduates who had taken a sequence of at least six honors and two Advanced Placement classes. This report expands on the findings of…

This publication compares first-generation students (i.e., those whose parents have no more than a high school education) with their peers whose parent or parents attended college. It focuses on mathematics course taking--the effectiveness of taking algebra in 8th grade and advanced math courses in high school for subsequent college…

In May 2002, Governor Rick Perry announced plans for several higher education initiatives, including the recruitment, preparation, enrollment, and retention of first generation college students. First generation college students are students who would be the first in their families to complete higher education through two- and four-year…

In the course of examining the holistic and embodied expressions of self-conceptualization among six women academics from working- and poverty-class backgrounds, artful "happenings" became a generative tool for inquiry and analysis and provided interpretive directions. The author's approach to arts-based inquiry and the value of such an approach…

Drawing on a multiyear research project, describes the intellectual, psychological, familial, and cultural dramas that are played out in the lives of first-generation college students. Examines the effects of these dramas on students and what colleges can do to help students play them out. (RJM)

Using personal experience combined with research, describes the lives of first-generation college students who are entering a new country. Lists ways in which colleges can do a better job of reaching out to these students. Gives a profile of a nontraditional student and portrays the hardships these students encounter. (RJM)

This article reviews recent literature related to student retention. Since students from first generation and low income backgrounds are among the least likely to be retained through degree completion, institutional retention efforts must take the needs of such students into account if more equitable educational attainment rates are desired. (JM)

Examined the perceptions of campus climate among minority first-generation college students at a Midwestern university. Identified five major interrelated factors connected to the institutional climate's potential influence on diversity and its relationship with persistence and matriculation: perceptions of diversity, barriers to acculturation,…

Examines first-generation students' perceptions of their academic literacy skills and their performance and persistence in college. Indicates that first generation students' self-perceptions represent critical factors in the college experience, underscoring the importance of helping students forge identities as members of academic communities. (SG)

Presents the results of Dr. Ernest Pascarella's National Study of Student Learning, which investigates institutional influences on learning and cognitive development. Presents examples of positive and negative influences on student learning. Outlines recommendations that can influence institutional programs regarding first-generation students,…

Self-regulation is generally accepted as an important construct in student success within environments that allow learner choice, such as online courses. The purpose of the current study was to investigate differences between first- and second-generation college students' ability to self-regulate their online learning. An ANCOVA, with comfort…

Many first-generation college students struggle during their first year in college. Cushman shares the reflections of 16 college students she worked with over two years who were the first in their families to attend college. Students describe how entering a climate where most fellow students come from backgrounds of greater wealth and…