Teacher Education Faculty Publications
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2-2011
Publication Source
The Mentor: An Academic Advising Journal
Abstract
On a momentous day in May, six unlikely students walked across the graduation stage of a competitive, private university to receive their bachelor’s degrees. All six were participants in our study of successful first-generation college (FGC) students. Extensive research investigated the high attrition rates of FGC students and enumerated obstacles that led them to drop out.
Our research took a different approach. Through in-depth interviews, we explored the way resilient FGC students navigated around obstacles and what supported their success. By definition, resilient individuals succeed despite characteristics that predict their failure. Stories from this study offer practical implications for advisers seeking to create university environments that support resiliency.
The university can be a difficult place for people whose parents never attained a bachelor’s degree. According to the National Center for Educational Statistics (Warburton, Bugarin, & Nuñez, 2001), only 9.1 percent of students whose parents earned at least a bachelor’s degree drop out of college. In comparison, 20.5 percent of students whose parents did not attend college withdraw. The attrition rate of students whose parents attended but did not complete college remains a high 17.1 percent.
The gap between FGC students’ attrition rates and that of their later-generation peers has been explained in a number of different ways. Chief among these are academic preparation, financial strain, identity issues, and social capital.
ISBN/ISSN
1521-2211
Document Version
Postprint
Copyright
Copyright © 2011, Pennsylvania State University
Publisher
Pennsylvania State University
Volume
13
Peer Reviewed
yes
eCommons Citation
Fentress, Jessica C. and Collopy, Rachel M. B., "Promoting Resiliency among First-generation College Students" (2011). Teacher Education Faculty Publications. 14.
https://ecommons.udayton.edu/edt_fac_pub/14
Included in
Elementary Education and Teaching Commons, Junior High, Intermediate, Middle School Education and Teaching Commons, Other Teacher Education and Professional Development Commons, Pre-Elementary, Early Childhood, Kindergarten Teacher Education Commons, Secondary Education and Teaching Commons
Comments
The document available for download is the author's accepted manuscript, provided in compliance with the publisher's policy on self-archiving. Permission documentation is on file.
This and other articles on the subject can be found on the journal website.