First-in-Family Students, University Experience and Family Life

Abstract

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Online Initial Teacher Education in Australia: Affordances for Pedagogy, Practice and Outcomes

“…Importantly, a consistent message emerging from the data was the positive, indeed powerful, personal characteristics and attributes of the online students that were not only likely to engender success in studies but also in their future teaching careers. This aligns with other recent research (O'Shea, May, Stone & Delahunty, 2017) to reinforce the value these nontraditional students bring to their university, but also highlights the significant value these students bring to a profession seeking particular traits in their pre-service teachers. Descriptors such as 'committed', 'motivated', 'focused', 'engaged' were repeatedly used and connections made to how these traits will stand them in good stead in their future classrooms:…”

Getting through the day and still having a smile on my face! How do students define success in the university learning environment?

“…Equating 'success' with 'passing' in the first year is perhaps not surprising when we consider that many first-in-family students may regard themselves as 'imposters' who have a limited sense of entitlement to actually attend university (O'Shea et al, 2017). Low levels of belonging are similarly noted by Spiegler and Bednarek (2013) in their review of research conducted over the last two decades with first-in-family students across Canada, UK, Germany and the US.…”

“…Oh and Kim (2016) point out that success is more appropriately defined at a close-up micro-level in order to account for its 'multifaceted, fluid and at times, unpredictable' (p. 288) nature. However, focusing on the first-in-family cohort does not assume a commonality of experience but rather that this is a group frequently intersected by a diversity of recognised equity categories (O'Shea, May, Stone, & Delahunty, 2017). Such intersectionality means that first-in-family students are likely to encounter additional obstacles and complexities on their journey into and through university studies.…”

“…Simply attending university for these learners may of itself represent a high degree of success, as they step over the threshold of academia, signifying an enviable level of achievement to those watching on the sidelines (O'Shea et al, 2017). How then do such students negotiate success within the university landscape as they proceed through their degrees and contemplate graduation?…”

Shape-shifting and pushing against the odds: staff perceptions of the experiences of first generation students in South Africa and the UK

“…As a group, first generation students have been extensively studied (Bell and Santamaría 2018;Spiegler and Bednarek 2013;O'Shea et al 2017;Jehangir 2010). Despite an increase in their admissions to university, they are one of the student cohorts most likely to depart higher education early (Pascarella et al 2004;Tinto 2006).…”