First-generation students: what we ask, what we know and what it means: an international review of the state of research

Abstract

In the course of educational expansion, student populations have become more diverse. This paper represents an international literature review on the topic of first-generation students (FGS), i.e. students whose parents have not obtained a higher education qualification. On the basis of more than 70 research articles and reports on FGS from several countries, we find that the focal points in FGS research concern their pre-college characteristics, mobility factors, decisions about institution, degree and subjects, FGS’ experiences at university, and academic outcomes. Summarising the state of research on these topics, we point to two problems: (1) the international incommensurability of data on FGS due to differences in how FGS are defined and researched; (2) the depiction of FGS’ problems as individual rather than structural problems. We recommend that structural changes such as making organisational structures in higher education institutions more transparent are in order instead of offering special support programmes only for FGS.

Keywords:

• first-generation students
• higher education
• educational mobility
• working-class students

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank two anonymous referees for their helpful comments and useful suggestions which led to an improvement of this paper.

Notes

1. Eurostudent IV uses the 1997 ISCED. In 2011, the UNESCO released a revised version (36 C resolution) in which the former level 5 is subdivided into the three levels 5–7. The former 5A is comparable to the new level 6.

2. Here based on the share of students whose parents have an education below ISCED-level 4. For countries with strong vocational training systems (e.g. Austria and Germany), this underestimates the share of FGS as high vocational qualifications fall into ISCED-level 5B.

3. E.g. ‘Techniker’ (certified technician) or ‘Meister’ (certified trade worker) which is comparable to a less than four-year college degree in the USA.

4. In the OECD report 2012 both variables correlate for a list of 27 countries with r = 0.92 (own calculation). Saenz et al.’s (2007, p. 9) analysis also evidences this relationship; both percentages declined in the US between 1971 and 2005 in a parallel pattern.

5. Kupfer (2012) goes beyond that and focuses on the relation between identity and upward mobility. She highlights the connection between higher education experience and specific identity concepts.

6. This contradicts Grayson (2011) who confirms the differences in college experiences and grades but finds no relevant correlation between involvement indicators and academic outcomes.

7. Referring to the attrition discourse, Stuber (2010, p. 117) argues that the emphasis on attrition masks the extent to which FGS actually persist at university.