Objective: This study examines whether there are differences among first-generation and continuing-generation community college students in the importance they place on achieving college-related goals and difficulties they face from college- and other life-related challenges. Methods: Data were drawn from the "Community College Libraries and…

Purpose: The purpose of this article is to analyse first-generation Chilean students' transition experiences from secondary school to university. Design/methodology/approach: This article presents the analysis results of 12 visual narratives of first-generation Chilean university students, who provided an account of their transition experience…

First-generation college students comprise a sizable number of the student population in colleges and universities across the nation. As faculty are tasked with teaching and supporting these students in their courses, it is important to consider the alignment of faculty perspectives and the needs of first-generation students. This study explored…

Latinx students already constitute the largest minority group of students graduating from the United States secondary school systems and projections show the Latinx population continuing to increase between now and 2036 (WICHE, 2020). Both in the United States overall, and within the Appalachian Region, the increase in the Latinx population and…

First-generation college students, who are the first in their family to attend a four-year college, often face barriers while attending college. In a series of studies, we tested whether a professor self-disclosing their own status as a first-generation student would positively impact current students (particularly first-generation students). In…

This qualitative research aimed to understand what First-Generation College Students (FGCSs) perceived as the reason they were successful (retained with at least a 2.0 GPA and returned for a second year) during their first year of postsecondary school. Seven second-year students were interviewed via the Zoom platform, and the transcripts were…

Although students from Africa are among the least represented groups among international students in U.S. higher education, the number of enrollments in U.S. schools has significantly increased (Institute of International Education, 2020). The steady rise in African international students suggests a compelling need to qualitatively examine these…

This study examined a faculty development program about cultural strengths teaching designed to build knowledge of teaching practices that embrace and leverage diverse students' strengths. More than 30% of community college students are first-generation students, and a majority are from systemically minoritized and low-income backgrounds (American…

This paper draws on research conducted in four publicly funded secondary schools in the South-East of England that explored the higher education decision-making of prospective first-generation university entrants accessing school-based widening participation interventions. It begins by introducing an "ecology of intersecting influences"…

At a community college in the state of Florida, student retention has become a critical concern because more than half of the first-year first-generation students fail to graduate. That rate is four times higher than for other first-year students. Guided by Tinto's Student Integration Model as the conceptual framework, this intrinsic qualitative…

Through the lens of resilience-based student success frameworks, this article aims to illustrate how small-scale individual actions such as early outreach and student advocacy work, can bolster student outcomes and surround first-generation, low income, and underrepresented college students with a community of support.

Drawing on the situated expectancy-value, dimensional comparison theories, and the intersectionality approach, this article examined the changes in adolescents' math and science motivational beliefs, the parental and college correlates of those beliefs, and the differences at the intersection of gender and college generation status (i.e., female…

The designation of first-generation college students in educational research has been operationalized inconsistently since its inception. This variation makes understanding and generalizing about this complex group problematic. We explore the inconsistencies in definitions of first-generation students using a culture of college resilience…

This study focuses on how first-generation college students understand their first-generation identity in relation to their other multiple identities. Through photovoice methodology, students demonstrate the meaning making of being first-generation college students related to their other social identities. This study discusses four themes: (a)…

Given pandemic restrictions on learning and research, autoethnography has recently garnered renewed attention as a potential alternative. Drawing on our experiences as instructor and student, we make the case that autoethnography is not only relevant to pandemic-era teaching but could also offer an effective pedagogical tool to critically engage…