How do First-Gen Students Succeed When They Don’t Know What They Don’t Know? The Lived Experiences of First-Generation College Students

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2023-08-11

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Southern New Hampshire University

Abstract

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 analyzed utilizing Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). The analysis applied a resilience theory lens, which guided the research. Benard (1991, 2004) and Truebridge (2014, 2016) identified three major environmental protective factors impacting resilience: caring relationships, high-expectation messages, and opportunities for meaningful participation and contribution. With this resilience lens, the researcher analyzed each transcript to determine whether the success of the individual students could be attributed to their resilience and these three protective factors. The individual transcripts were analyzed individually, with the clustering of experiential statements to find each interview’s Personal Experiential Themes (PETs), then combined to develop Group Experiential Themes (GETs) for the group of interviews. With these GETs, the researcher has suggested that the University (and other institutions of higher education) look to create a staff or faculty position that focuses on FGCSs—to bolster the FGCSs' resilience; provide them with resources and supports; provide them with the network, social and cultural capital; and aid the FGCSs in their success in higher education by helping them realize and understand that they don’t know what they don’t know.

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