A study of 1,849 freshmen at York University (Ontario) found that traditional students enjoy a slight advantage over first-generation students in grade point average (GPA). While traditional students have higher levels of involvement than first-generation students, for both groups involvement in various university activities contributes to GPA.…

Investigates the self-regulated learning strategies first-generation students employ. Uses Bandura's "Self-Regulated Learning" subscale to measure grade point average and academic success. Indicates that high scholastic performance was most associated with perceived capability to concentrate on schoolwork and meet assigned deadlines. (16…

A study investigated the ethnocultural composition of the peer networks of 896 suburban high school students. Results indicated that gender mix, setting mix, and frequency of contact significantly differed across homogenous, integrated, and heterogeneous peer structures, demonstrating the mitigating impact of environmental factors on the interplay…

Hispanics are one of the largest and fastest-growing minority groups in the United States. Projections indicate a need for an increase of 20% of practicing engineers by 2010. Despite the growing number of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) careers in the American economy, education statistics suggest that too few Hispanic students…

In order to explore the differences in engagement levels between entering and returning community college students, the researcher analyzed 13,300 surveys from the 2007 Survey of Entering Student Engagement (SENSE) pilot data set utilizing a quantitative methodology. This study focused on analyzing engagement levels of entering and returning…

This study, part of the longitudinal national Study of Student Learning, investigated the precollege characteristics and college experiences of 825 first-generation college students compared to those of 1,860 traditional students at 23 diverse institutions nationwide. First-year gains in students' reading, math, and critical thinking abilities…

Four profiles for success in minority degree achievement are examined: well-prepared, second-generation college students with commitment to higher education; first-generation students with a belief in education; first- and second-generation students who questioned the value of education; and first-generation students who never intended to go to…

This paper explores issues surrounding the interplay of college preparation, financial assistance, cultural norms, and transition to college for Appalachian first-generation college students from low-income rural families. The Robinson Scholars Program aims to significantly improve the college-going rate in 29 counties in eastern Kentucky. The…

Though the rise in college student debt often has been blamed on rising tuition, a radical shift in student financial aid--from a system relying primarily on need-based grants to one dominated by loans--has been equally important. Numerous reports have highlighted the burdens faced by students who borrow large sums, but less is known about…

Presents a case study of a 45-year-old first-generation community college student and his transition from factory worker to college student. Presents findings related to the student's stages of transition, personal contacts, work study experiences, commitment, and self-image. Excerpts from the student's journals and sample interview questions are…

Discusses the impact of social/structural mobility on first-generation college students, focusing on the common need to renegotiate relations with family and friends and to acquire a new social identity with the attendant symbols (language, dress, etc.) of status-group membership. (DMM)

Hartnell College is a Hispanic-serving institution serving the Salinas Valley in California, a vast 1,000-square-mile agricultural region. The district includes large numbers of migrant workers and their families, chronically high unemployment, high rates of poverty, and low educational attainment. A review of student performance data in 2002…

This report examines how immigrant students performed, mainly in mathematics and reading, but also in science and problem-solving skills in the PISA 2003 assessment, both in comparison with native students in their adopted country and relative to other students across all countries covered in the report (the "case countries"). In…

In 1984, Seattle Central Community College, in Washington, implemented the Coordinated Studies Program (CSP) in the humanities division of its transfer and liberal studies area. The CSP program involves interdisciplinary courses or seminars team taught by two to four faculty members from different areas of the college and involving an intense…

A study in one private residential and one public commuter liberal arts college compared these characteristics in students whose parents had not attended college with those whose parents had: social integration, academic integration, external support, institutional context, satisfaction with college, role embracement, academic rewards, and…