This project explores the impact of disparate educational attainment between first-generation college graduates and their family members. This is a conscious shifting of the unit of analysis, from the changing social position and power of an individual student/graduate, to the relational capacity, tensions, and strategies of the family unit that…

First-generation college students differ in their backgrounds and experiences from other college students and are more likely to drop out of college than continuing-generation students (Ishitani & Snider, 2004; Lohfink & Paulsen, 2005). The purpose of this phenomenological case study was to describe the experiences of first-generation…

This qualitative study focuses on two cases studies, the perceptions of first and second-generation college graduates from a four-year public college who transferred from a two-year public college regarding family, social, institutional factors and influences during their collegiate experience. The first case study had one male and one female,…

External stakeholders hold higher education institutions accountable for the rate students persist and graduate. When identifying at-risk student populations, one group involves students whose parents did not graduate. These students are known as first-generation students. There are many challenging factors facing first-generation college students…

Community colleges are a crucial channel for achieving postsecondary education success, especially for minority and nontraditionally aged students. Nonetheless, community colleges are inadequate to meeting national goals for postsecondary educational attainment. Most notably, the lack of a strong guidance of academic interventions stifles a…

The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine whether the use of non-cognitive assessment in combination with traditional criteria predicted potential academic success as measured by first-semester GPAs of provisionally admitted students. Survey data were collected with a non-cognitive questionnaire (NCQ) from provisionally admitted…

This practiced-based handbook describes postmodern career counseling models and methods designed to meet clients' diverse needs in today's challenging work environment. Readers will gain a solid understanding of the theoretical underpinnings of postmodern career counseling and learn practical approaches to counseling clients of various ages and…

The purpose of this qualitative study was to understand the college-going experiences of 10 high-achieving first-generation Latino college juniors and seniors at a Hispanic-Serving Institution in the southwest. Despite facing barriers, many first-generation Latino students succeed in attending and completing their postsecondary education. Yet,…

The purpose of this narrative study is to understand the educational experiences of academically resilient, first-generation students from low-income backgrounds who demonstrate first-year success in college. Through a framework based on academic resilience, this study aims to provide a strengths-based exploration of the contributing factors that…

Critical race theory applies to all ethnic groups and creates a social hierarchy. Asian Americans are an extremely diverse group of the American population comprising over 40 various sub groups. The Vietnamese American sub group population, which has grown in numbers since the 1970s, has still been met with the stereotype of the "model…

This study examined the experiences of six college participants who entered college with many risk-factors for drop-out, but who persisted to graduation. The present research was conducted at a private, liberal arts university. All participants possessed multiple risk factors for drop-out including low high school academic performance,…

Postsecondary early awareness strategies are a fast-growing component of college access to attainment efforts. Broadly defined, these programs and policies encourage low-income and first-generation students to gain the information, skills, and resources they need to successfully take part in higher education. They focus on students in fifth…

While much has been written about the increasing debt burden that college students incur, little research examines student's perceptions of debt. This study sought to determine if student loan debt literacy differs by generation status (first-generation and continuing-generation). The data for this study was collected from a sample of 156…

This study explored the relationship between academic self-efficacy beliefs and the academic adjustment of first-generation and non-first-generation students. Findings supported the presence of a differential relationship that was generally weaker for first-generation students. However, findings also suggested first-generation students experienced…

Institutions of higher learning have struggled to retain incoming freshmen, especially Hispanic students, who historically face greater challenges to succeed. The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to investigate the relationship between resiliency, self-efficacy, and persistence of college seniors with an emphasis on first- and…