November 5, 2024 • 24 mins
Let's talk about the strengths first-generation students bring to campus based on a research article and an ASHE research presentation.
Join me, Jen Schoen, as we challenge the deficit narrative and uncover the qualities that these students contribute to higher education. As part of First-Generation Student Celebration Week, I draw from two articles and the principles of positive psychology to spotlight the resilience, grit, and ambition that define these students. We’ll reveal how these college students' unique experiences and independence equip them for college success, even as we acknowledge the barriers they face without the parental guidance often available to their continuing-education peers.
Let's continue to reframe our understanding of student success through an asset lens as we discuss how first-generation college students’ strategic thinking and self-reliance are worth recognizing and celebrating. I'll conclude with two actionable insights to enhance support systems and foster an equitable learning environment. By the end of this episode, you’ll see how embracing these strengths can uplift the first-generation students and the student community. Let's celebrate their contributions and explore ways to empower the next generation—together.
Articles:
Minicozzi, L., & Roda, A. (2020). Unveiling the hidden assets that first-generation
students bring to college. Journal for Leadership and Instruction, Spring 2020.
Garrison, N. J., & Gardner, D. S. (2012, November 15). Assets first-generation
college students bring to the higher education setting. Paper presented at the
Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE) Annual Conference, Las
Vegas, NV.
Please help others find this podcast by rating and reviewing wherever you listen!
You can find me at https://www.firstgenfm.com/ and on LinkedIn. My email is jen@firstgenfm.com.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:04):
Welcome and welcome back to the First Gen FM podcast
, where we high school andcollege educators strengthen,
celebrate and supportfirst-generation college and
college-bound students.
I'm Jennifer Schoen, your host.
Please call me Jen.
I'd love it if you could leavea review and a rating for this
podcast to help other educatorsfind us.
Thank you so much for takingthe time to do that.
(00:27):
Now let's dive into this week'sepisode.
Thanks again for joining me onthis episode of First Gen FM.
I'm doing another solo episodetoday and, in honor of First
Generation Student CelebrationWeek, I thought I would talk
about two articles that discussthe assets that first generation
students bring to colleges anduniversities.
(00:48):
I'm going to share two articlesI read and with those two
articles I want to share about10 important items that I took
from each article and then, Ithink, at the end, talk about
two actionable strategies tobetter support students on our
campuses.
So let's go with the firstarticle.
So the first article is calledUnveiling the Hidden Assets that
(01:11):
First Generation Students Bringto College, and it's by Lisa
Minicozzi I hope I'm pronouncingthat right and Allison Roda,
and so the 10 points I want tohighlight, and I'll talk about
the points and maybe add some ofmy own insight into those
points.
Let's start with the first one.
Now.
In this article they talk aboutthe challenge against the
(01:33):
deficit-based assumptionssurrounding first-generation
students, emphasizing that thesestudents are indeed prepared
with unique strengths.
Now, for any of us who havebeen working with
first-generation students, weabsolutely know this to be true.
Some of their strengths includeresilience and grit, include
(02:00):
goal-setting and certainlyambition and drive, and so
that's what I thinkfirst-generation students,
that's what I see in my students.
The next point is the criticalneed for understanding cultural
and social expectations thatthese students have.
That these students need inorder to navigate college
successfully, and I think that'swhere the support comes in.
They, if given the opportunity,they can navigate, but they do
(02:23):
need some additional support tounderstand what the expectations
are to get through collegesuccessfully.
Number three internal assetslike independence and resilience
that our students possess,garnered through their work and
their real life experiences, aregoing to help them in college,
(02:45):
and if we can build up thosestrengths and remind students
that they have these strengthsbased on their previous
experiences, I think we can helpthem excel.
Number four talking with themabout how their prior experience
prepares them for independence,but we know it doesn't
necessarily prepare them forself-advocacy.
(03:07):
A lot of the students areindependent, kind of go it alone
.
I got here on my own but needto be reminded that they need to
be able to ask for help andreach out to others to advocate
for themselves, especially ifthey're at a place where they
don't have a built-in supportsystem, for example in a
(03:28):
scholarship program, in anhonors program, somewhere in a
first-gen center where they knowthey can ask for help.
They especially need to begiven skills for self-advocacy.
The fifth point the articlemakes that I think is really
interesting is it gives acomparative view showing
non-first-generation studentsentering college with more overt
knowledge of academic advocacyand that is due to their
(03:52):
parental guidance that it is notjust self-advocacy in
out-of-the-classroom settingsbut it is also that academic
advocacy that their parents aregoing to help them navigate.
Or, as some of us may know, theparents themselves advocate for
(04:16):
the students versus letting thestudents learn how to advocate.
But it is not often that for meI'll get a call from a first
generation college student'sparents seeking to talk to me
and advocate for their studentsin the classroom for a grade for
a professor.
That's difficult for somethinglike that.
So I know from many years ofexperience working with these
(04:41):
students that they don't getthat parental guidance in that
particular way.
So what we do is then providethat guidance to them and help
them understand how to have thatacademic voice with professors,
how to talk to professors andother TAs who are in the
classroom, helping them learnwho are in the classroom helping
(05:10):
them learn.
Number six these students needsupport to acclimate to the
hidden curriculum of collegelife.
I know that I have heard ofthat, been talking about that
for a very long time, but thereis a hidden curriculum and the
more we can unhide it I knowthat's not really a word, but
the more we can bring it to thefore and talk to students about
that, the better off ourstudents will be.
(05:31):
Number seven the article talksabout insights into creating a
more equitable learningenvironment, specifically by
acknowledging the diversestrategies that both continuing
generation students and firstgeneration students employ
gathering that information,looking to see what works for
(05:52):
students, what works best forfirst gen students, and then
helping the first gen studentsuse what they have, their
strengths, learn what thestrengths are of other students
and what they're using, and helpuse those strengths to propel
them forward in the academyNumber eight, there are
(06:13):
suggestions for expanding theconcept of college readiness to
include teaching this hiddencurriculum.
What I would say it would beideal if that hidden curriculum
teaching starts in high schoolso that students don are first
gen to high schools near us,near our colleges, to talk to
(06:48):
them about hey, here's whatcollege is about, here's how you
can get ready for this hiddencurriculum and prepare.
I think the students would comein with greater knowledge and
maybe less trepidation aboutentering this new world of
college trepidation aboutentering this new world of
(07:09):
college.
The ninth point talks about therecognition of cultural and
familial factors that influencea student's preparedness for
college.
Oftentimes we just think of thestudents as just this one being
that is only influenced by whatis going on at college, and I
shouldn't say that Oftentimes wethink of that, I think
sometimes literature talks aboutthat and I think people in the
first-gen sphere do not thinkthat way.
(07:31):
But talking about the studentholistically, with all that's
going on in their lives, I knowagain from my 25 years of
experience working specificallywith first-generation college
students it's not often that astudent leaves college because
they cannot handle the academics.
Oftentimes they leave becauseof these cultural and familial
(07:54):
factors, that they need to stepaway from college because they
are balancing so many differentthings, so many different
environments and trying to livein both worlds.
I heard that talked about asliminality, which I think is a
fantastic word, and the personwho was presenting about it
(08:15):
talked about first-generationstudents being in a doorway, so
standing on the threshold of thedoorway, so they are in the
room but they're not in the room, and they're outside of the
room but not outside the room,so they're in this in-between
(08:36):
space and they're trying to putthese different outside and
inside areas, these differentcommunities that they are part
of, together.
And I think when we recognizethat, as we often do, we can
then help our students moveforward and work through that
(08:56):
liminality into what will suitthem best.
And finally, number 10, theconclusions of the article that
talk about re-looking at thefocus on the inherent strengths
of first-generation students andmoving away from a
deficit-based model to anasset-based framework.
And of course, all of us whowork with first-gen students say
(09:18):
yay to that and we would loveto do more of that and I think
the literature, conversations,presentations are definitely
moving more to an asset-basedframework, which I am always
happy to see.
Let's dive into this nextarticle.
That's a little different, it'sa little older, it's from 2012,
(09:38):
and it's called Assets FirstGeneration College Students
Bring to the Higher EducationSetting, and it's actually from
a paper that was presented atthe Association for the Study of
Higher Education.
Would be interesting tojuxtapose with the previous
article.
So this article is by NancyGarrison and Douglas Gardner,
(09:59):
and in this article the authorsframed their research within the
lens of positive psychology,and so there's 10 points again I
want to emphasize in thisarticle and again talk a little
bit about my feelings, my inputand what I'm thinking about.
So the first thing that theytalked about is a holistic
perspective, showcasingfirst-gen students, again not
(10:19):
just by deficits but through thestrengths that they harbor and
bring to campus.
Again, anothernon-deficit-based approach to
first-gen students on campus,which I love, and certainly
these two articles have incommon.
The second point that thisarticle talks about is using a
psychological framework toidentify personal strengths like
(10:40):
proactivity and optimism.
So you can hear some of thispositive psychology lens coming
in with this article.
The third point is therecognition of unique strengths,
such as persistence, strategicthinking and self-reliance, and
so probably right now you'restarting to think about wait?
(11:01):
Didn't we just talk about thisin the first article?
And the answer is yes.
Persistence, resilience,self-reliance, that independence
that students have, oftentimesas first-generation students, to
get through their high schoolexperience and to get into
college is an absolute strengthof our students.
(11:21):
Number four insight into howlived experience shaped these
strengths in overcomingsociocultural marginalization.
The students I work with, whoare first-gen the majority of
them are also coming from lowersocioeconomic status backgrounds
, and many of them are alsostudents of color, parents of
(11:45):
immigrants that's not true arechildren of immigrants and so
have unique family situationsthat they're coming from, of
unique family situations thatthey're coming from and, as this
is election day, I think aboutunique stressors that are on
them as they think about whatthe future might hold for them,
(12:07):
and that insight into thoseexperiences and their identities
really makes an impact on howthey do college, and so I think
recognizing that they havestrengths in this overcoming is
so important.
Their, yeah, yeah, theirstrengths are numerous and I'm
(12:31):
just going to leave it at that.
Leave it at that.
Number five this article does agood exploration of how students
deploy these strengths towardsdegree completion.
Now, doesn't mention this, butI know from my reading.
You know Angela Duckworthtalked a lot about grit and how,
as she discusses grit, it ishaving a goal that students are
(13:00):
so focused on that they arewilling to go under, around,
through any barriers that cometo them because they are very
focused on their goals, theirgoals, and I think that for our
students, degree completion andthat job and career after
(13:21):
college is that goal.
After they realize that theyhit one of their goals, their
milestones of getting to college, they set another goal, which
is to get that degree and get ajob so that they can help and
support their family.
So exploring how students usethese strengths, I think, can
then inform how we build up thestrengths in other students and
(13:42):
then, of course, increasegraduation rates, which is
something that we always hope todo, because right now they're
just terrible for firstgeneration students.
Number six suggestions foradopting positive psychology in
educational context to harnessthese strengths.
Now I think there's some backand forth between how good
(14:03):
positive psychology is andwhether or not you like it or
should use it.
I think there are some goodthings in it that we can
certainly harness to helpstudents use the strengths that
they bring to campus, and I willjust leave it at that.
Number seven the need toenhance faculty understanding
and student services tailoredfor first-generation students.
(14:25):
I laugh because certainly thoseof us who work in the space
this is not an aha like what weneed to enhance faculty
understanding and studentservices.
What Specifically for first-genstudents?
No, we all know that that'swhat we do, that's what we're
working towards, and I thinkthat those of us who do it well,
(14:47):
and our institutions do it well, really see the impact that
that has on first-gen students.
We also know that if we do itfor first-gen students, it helps
all the students on our campus.
Number eight a holisticunderstanding that contrasts
with focusing solely on lowgraduation rates.
So this is really interestingand I suppose this could go a
(15:10):
little bit with kind of deficitthinking that we're just
thinking, oh look this, you know, first gen students have such a
low graduation rate.
It's terrible, and we reallyfocus on that versus maybe
looking at who are the studentswho do graduate, how and why do
they graduate, what resourcesdid they use?
(15:31):
Who are the people that theyworked with?
Did they have mentors?
How did they work with theirpeers?
When did they feel that senseof belonging?
And looking at those things andthen replicating that kind of
support and that environmentthat's helping students be
successful and get to graduationand maybe doing that, as I said
, replicating that for morefirst-gen students.
(15:53):
So I think that holistic view Iliked that that article pointed
this out.
Number nine the emphasis onpreparing students by uncovering
the hidden curriculum ofcollege life.
And again we get to that hiddencurriculum.
It's everywhere, we're alwaystalking about it and what we can
do to help again faculty andstudent life uncover that hidden
(16:17):
curriculum, like office hours,how testing works, how to
communicate with them, which Ithink is so important.
And there's even one biologyprofessor I know there might be
more, but one.
I know that a student told meabout who takes her very first
(16:39):
class, her entire class, and sheshows her students how to study
biology, how to best learnconcepts for her discipline, so
she sets them up for successright from the beginning and
levels the playing field for thestudents in that class.
And the student who told meabout this, who was first gen,
said it was eye-opening that shehad not learned how to learn
(17:02):
like that and it was a real gamechanger for her and she felt
she did so much better in theclass in both her in-class
experience and her out-of-classlearning in that course because
of the professor taking the timeto do that.
So I just thought that wasbrilliant and I want to share
that with you.
All right, we're getting to theend here.
Number 10, the article talksabout the implications for
(17:27):
higher education to recognizeand build upon the students'
strengths to promote success.
So we know that, based on therecent study from
FirstGenForward, formerly theCenter for First-Generation
Student Success, that 54% ofstudents in college today are
first generation and if we canrecognize the strengths they
(17:48):
bring, talk about that more andbuild up our students while also
providing the additionalsupport and the information they
bring, talk about that more andbuild up our students while
also providing the additionalsupport and the information they
need to succeed, there's noreason we cannot raise
graduation rates, and of course,that's easier said than done, I
know, but I think working onthat and building student
strengths and I always think ofit as reminding students of the
(18:11):
strengths they have, that theybrought with them because
sometimes they think thisenvironment is so new that I
don't really have anything tocontribute to this and by
talking with them and lettingthem know that you see the
strengths.
They bring some of those thingswe talked about the resilience,
the persistence, the strategicthinking, the goal setting, the
(18:32):
ambition, the drive, the desireto really make a difference for
themselves and their families.
Those are all strengths and theovercoming that they did to get
here.
If they are reminded thatthey're bringing those in, that
they have those already, I thinkfor those students they see
that they can internalize thatand then they can go out and say
(18:55):
, yes, I have the ability tosucceed here, so I'm just going
to head out and I'm going tomake this happen, and then that
grit comes into effect again.
So what do these articles shareand where do they differ?
Well, both pieces certainlychallenge the traditional
deficit lens applied tofirst-gen students because they
highlight the inherent strengthsand assets they offer.
(19:17):
Minicozzi and Roda, of thefirst article, focused on the
cultural and systemic challengesfor students and they
emphasized the importance ofnavigating the hidden academic
curriculum hidden academiccurriculum While Garrison and
Gardner, of the second article,emphasize identifying and
leveraging personal strengthsthrough positive psychology.
So very similar papers in whatthey talk about with first-gen
(19:42):
students and how to support them, but looking at it through
different lenses.
Ultimately, like both articles,advocate for a broader
understanding of collegereadiness.
That includes not just theacademic preparation but also
equipping students to navigatethe new cultural and
institutional landscapes of thecollege and university they
intend.
So I think there are twostrategies that come out of that
(20:04):
, and I think these actionablestrategies that we can implement
are already in effect, so Idon't think anything is going to
surprise you.
And the first one is to developcustom first-year seminars for
first-generation students.
You know Minicozian wrote hisresearch.
It became clear that first-genstudents can often struggle with
understanding the hiddencurriculum which was also
(20:26):
mentioned in the second article,such as cultural expectations
and self-advocacy, and so thearticle highlights how these
students are taught ago-it-alone mentality, which
often can hinder their abilityto seek help.
And I know, you know, that thatability to ask for help, that
ability to accept help, is soimportant to student success.
(20:48):
And so they recommend, toaddress this, that educators
create targeted first-yearseminars that explicitly teach
skills like time management,prioritization and effective
communication with faculty.
I know some of the mostsuccessful programs I've done
have had students act outcommunications with faculties,
(21:08):
with situations that we knowhave come up.
They have a lot of fun actingthat out, but they also can
share with each other what thatexperience is like, especially
if there are upper classstudents as TAs or mentors in
the class to talk about whatthey've done when they've come
up against some of thosesituations with faculty members.
(21:29):
We've also done some facultypanels where faculties come in
and they talk about.
Faculty comes in and they talkabout ways that they wish
students would communicate withthem in certain situations and
that has been a great way ofkind of demystifying that
relationship between studentsand faculty and it helps
(21:50):
students practice advocating forthemselves in a really safe
space.
So this first-gen seminar,which a lot of students, a lot
of colleges do and I think morecolleges could do, not only
addresses the gap in knowledgeabout the hidden curriculum but
also leverages the students'strengths, such as independence,
as was mentioned in the article.
(22:11):
The second takeaway is thatestablishing faculty and staff
training programs aboutfirst-generation students and
their experiences is vital.
They talk about thepsychological assets of
(22:33):
proactivity and optimism amongfirst-gen students and how
educators can develop trainingprograms for faculty and staff.
So these programs obviouslywould focus on recognizing and
nurturing these strengths instudents and a specific
suggestion from the article isto incorporate positive
psychology practices withinacademic advising and classroom
interactions.
So faculty and staff train toidentify, praise, student
(22:57):
initiative, encourage anenvironment where students feel
valued for their proactivecontributions and by fostering
this asset-based perspectivesome could even say maybe a
growth mindset perspectiveeducators can help first-gen
students build their confidenceand again leverage their unique
strengths, which aligns with thearticle's findings.
(23:20):
Those are some strategies basedon specific insights from each
article that I hope you findinteresting, if not necessarily
aha things, but maybe thingsthat we can add to what we do or
what the university does tosupport our first-gen students.
So thank you so much forjoining me on First Gen FM today
.
I hope you enjoyed listening tome talk about these two
(23:43):
articles.
I will definitely put thearticles in the show notes so
that, if you want to read themfor yourselves, you can.
I just think that the more wekind of transform our
perspectives and think moreabout the assets our students
bring in, the more we can helplead our students to having
transformative experiences forthemselves.
If you would share this withother people, I would really
(24:07):
appreciate that.
The more people who rate andreview and share it with others,
the more we can all worktogether to support our
first-gen students.
So until next time, then, let'sjust keep inspiring and
empowering the next generation,and this week, especially as
it's the first full week inNovember, let us celebrate our
(24:28):
students in First GenerationStudent Success Week.
Thanks again, bye now.
Welcome and welcome back to the First Gen FM podcast
, where we high school andcollege educators strengthen,
celebrate and supportfirst-generation college and
college-bound students.
I'm Jennifer Schoen, your host.
Please call me Jen.
I'd love it if you could leavea review and a rating for this
podcast to help other educatorsfind us.
Thank you so much for takingthe time to do that.
(00:27):
Now let's dive into this week'sepisode.
Thanks again for joining me onthis episode of First Gen FM.
I'm doing another solo episodetoday and, in honor of First
Generation Student CelebrationWeek, I thought I would talk
about two articles that discussthe assets that first generation
students bring to colleges anduniversities.
(00:48):
I'm going to share two articlesI read and with those two
articles I want to share about10 important items that I took
from each article and then, Ithink, at the end, talk about
two actionable strategies tobetter support students on our
campuses.
So let's go with the firstarticle.
So the first article is calledUnveiling the Hidden Assets that
(01:11):
First Generation Students Bringto College, and it's by Lisa
Minicozzi I hope I'm pronouncingthat right and Allison Roda,
and so the 10 points I want tohighlight, and I'll talk about
the points and maybe add some ofmy own insight into those
points.
Let's start with the first one.
Now.
In this article they talk aboutthe challenge against the
(01:33):
deficit-based assumptionssurrounding first-generation
students, emphasizing that thesestudents are indeed prepared
with unique strengths.
Now, for any of us who havebeen working with
first-generation students, weabsolutely know this to be true.
Some of their strengths includeresilience and grit, include
(02:00):
goal-setting and certainlyambition and drive, and so
that's what I thinkfirst-generation students,
that's what I see in my students.
The next point is the criticalneed for understanding cultural
and social expectations thatthese students have.
That these students need inorder to navigate college
successfully, and I think that'swhere the support comes in.
They, if given the opportunity,they can navigate, but they do
(02:23):
need some additional support tounderstand what the expectations
are to get through collegesuccessfully.
Number three internal assetslike independence and resilience
that our students possess,garnered through their work and
their real life experiences, aregoing to help them in college,
(02:45):
and if we can build up thosestrengths and remind students
that they have these strengthsbased on their previous
experiences, I think we can helpthem excel.
Number four talking with themabout how their prior experience
prepares them for independence,but we know it doesn't
necessarily prepare them forself-advocacy.
(03:07):
A lot of the students areindependent, kind of go it alone
.
I got here on my own but needto be reminded that they need to
be able to ask for help andreach out to others to advocate
for themselves, especially ifthey're at a place where they
don't have a built-in supportsystem, for example in a
(03:28):
scholarship program, in anhonors program, somewhere in a
first-gen center where they knowthey can ask for help.
They especially need to begiven skills for self-advocacy.
The fifth point the articlemakes that I think is really
interesting is it gives acomparative view showing
non-first-generation studentsentering college with more overt
knowledge of academic advocacyand that is due to their
(03:52):
parental guidance that it is notjust self-advocacy in
out-of-the-classroom settingsbut it is also that academic
advocacy that their parents aregoing to help them navigate.
Or, as some of us may know, theparents themselves advocate for
(04:16):
the students versus letting thestudents learn how to advocate.
But it is not often that for meI'll get a call from a first
generation college student'sparents seeking to talk to me
and advocate for their studentsin the classroom for a grade for
a professor.
That's difficult for somethinglike that.
So I know from many years ofexperience working with these
(04:41):
students that they don't getthat parental guidance in that
particular way.
So what we do is then providethat guidance to them and help
them understand how to have thatacademic voice with professors,
how to talk to professors andother TAs who are in the
classroom, helping them learnwho are in the classroom helping
(05:10):
them learn.
Number six these students needsupport to acclimate to the
hidden curriculum of collegelife.
I know that I have heard ofthat, been talking about that
for a very long time, but thereis a hidden curriculum and the
more we can unhide it I knowthat's not really a word, but
the more we can bring it to thefore and talk to students about
that, the better off ourstudents will be.
(05:31):
Number seven the article talksabout insights into creating a
more equitable learningenvironment, specifically by
acknowledging the diversestrategies that both continuing
generation students and firstgeneration students employ
gathering that information,looking to see what works for
(05:52):
students, what works best forfirst gen students, and then
helping the first gen studentsuse what they have, their
strengths, learn what thestrengths are of other students
and what they're using, and helpuse those strengths to propel
them forward in the academyNumber eight, there are
(06:13):
suggestions for expanding theconcept of college readiness to
include teaching this hiddencurriculum.
What I would say it would beideal if that hidden curriculum
teaching starts in high schoolso that students don are first
gen to high schools near us,near our colleges, to talk to
(06:48):
them about hey, here's whatcollege is about, here's how you
can get ready for this hiddencurriculum and prepare.
I think the students would comein with greater knowledge and
maybe less trepidation aboutentering this new world of
college trepidation aboutentering this new world of
(07:09):
college.
The ninth point talks about therecognition of cultural and
familial factors that influencea student's preparedness for
college.
Oftentimes we just think of thestudents as just this one being
that is only influenced by whatis going on at college, and I
shouldn't say that Oftentimes wethink of that, I think
sometimes literature talks aboutthat and I think people in the
first-gen sphere do not thinkthat way.
(07:31):
But talking about the studentholistically, with all that's
going on in their lives, I knowagain from my 25 years of
experience working specificallywith first-generation college
students it's not often that astudent leaves college because
they cannot handle the academics.
Oftentimes they leave becauseof these cultural and familial
(07:54):
factors, that they need to stepaway from college because they
are balancing so many differentthings, so many different
environments and trying to livein both worlds.
I heard that talked about asliminality, which I think is a
fantastic word, and the personwho was presenting about it
(08:15):
talked about first-generationstudents being in a doorway, so
standing on the threshold of thedoorway, so they are in the
room but they're not in the room, and they're outside of the
room but not outside the room,so they're in this in-between
(08:36):
space and they're trying to putthese different outside and
inside areas, these differentcommunities that they are part
of, together.
And I think when we recognizethat, as we often do, we can
then help our students moveforward and work through that
(08:56):
liminality into what will suitthem best.
And finally, number 10, theconclusions of the article that
talk about re-looking at thefocus on the inherent strengths
of first-generation students andmoving away from a
deficit-based model to anasset-based framework.
And of course, all of us whowork with first-gen students say
(09:18):
yay to that and we would loveto do more of that and I think
the literature, conversations,presentations are definitely
moving more to an asset-basedframework, which I am always
happy to see.
Let's dive into this nextarticle.
That's a little different, it'sa little older, it's from 2012,
(09:38):
and it's called Assets FirstGeneration College Students
Bring to the Higher EducationSetting, and it's actually from
a paper that was presented atthe Association for the Study of
Higher Education.
Would be interesting tojuxtapose with the previous
article.
So this article is by NancyGarrison and Douglas Gardner,
(09:59):
and in this article the authorsframed their research within the
lens of positive psychology,and so there's 10 points again I
want to emphasize in thisarticle and again talk a little
bit about my feelings, my inputand what I'm thinking about.
So the first thing that theytalked about is a holistic
perspective, showcasingfirst-gen students, again not
(10:19):
just by deficits but through thestrengths that they harbor and
bring to campus.
Again, anothernon-deficit-based approach to
first-gen students on campus,which I love, and certainly
these two articles have incommon.
The second point that thisarticle talks about is using a
psychological framework toidentify personal strengths like
(10:40):
proactivity and optimism.
So you can hear some of thispositive psychology lens coming
in with this article.
The third point is therecognition of unique strengths,
such as persistence, strategicthinking and self-reliance, and
so probably right now you'restarting to think about wait?
(11:01):
Didn't we just talk about thisin the first article?
And the answer is yes.
Persistence, resilience,self-reliance, that independence
that students have, oftentimesas first-generation students, to
get through their high schoolexperience and to get into
college is an absolute strengthof our students.
(11:21):
Number four insight into howlived experience shaped these
strengths in overcomingsociocultural marginalization.
The students I work with, whoare first-gen the majority of
them are also coming from lowersocioeconomic status backgrounds
, and many of them are alsostudents of color, parents of
(11:45):
immigrants that's not true arechildren of immigrants and so
have unique family situationsthat they're coming from, of
unique family situations thatthey're coming from and, as this
is election day, I think aboutunique stressors that are on
them as they think about whatthe future might hold for them,
(12:07):
and that insight into thoseexperiences and their identities
really makes an impact on howthey do college, and so I think
recognizing that they havestrengths in this overcoming is
so important.
Their, yeah, yeah, theirstrengths are numerous and I'm
(12:31):
just going to leave it at that.
Leave it at that.
Number five this article does agood exploration of how students
deploy these strengths towardsdegree completion.
Now, doesn't mention this, butI know from my reading.
You know Angela Duckworthtalked a lot about grit and how,
as she discusses grit, it ishaving a goal that students are
(13:00):
so focused on that they arewilling to go under, around,
through any barriers that cometo them because they are very
focused on their goals, theirgoals, and I think that for our
students, degree completion andthat job and career after
(13:21):
college is that goal.
After they realize that theyhit one of their goals, their
milestones of getting to college, they set another goal, which
is to get that degree and get ajob so that they can help and
support their family.
So exploring how students usethese strengths, I think, can
then inform how we build up thestrengths in other students and
(13:42):
then, of course, increasegraduation rates, which is
something that we always hope todo, because right now they're
just terrible for firstgeneration students.
Number six suggestions foradopting positive psychology in
educational context to harnessthese strengths.
Now I think there's some backand forth between how good
(14:03):
positive psychology is andwhether or not you like it or
should use it.
I think there are some goodthings in it that we can
certainly harness to helpstudents use the strengths that
they bring to campus, and I willjust leave it at that.
Number seven the need toenhance faculty understanding
and student services tailoredfor first-generation students.
(14:25):
I laugh because certainly thoseof us who work in the space
this is not an aha like what weneed to enhance faculty
understanding and studentservices.
What Specifically for first-genstudents?
No, we all know that that'swhat we do, that's what we're
working towards, and I thinkthat those of us who do it well,
(14:47):
and our institutions do it well, really see the impact that
that has on first-gen students.
We also know that if we do itfor first-gen students, it helps
all the students on our campus.
Number eight a holisticunderstanding that contrasts
with focusing solely on lowgraduation rates.
So this is really interestingand I suppose this could go a
(15:10):
little bit with kind of deficitthinking that we're just
thinking, oh look this, you know, first gen students have such a
low graduation rate.
It's terrible, and we reallyfocus on that versus maybe
looking at who are the studentswho do graduate, how and why do
they graduate, what resourcesdid they use?
(15:31):
Who are the people that theyworked with?
Did they have mentors?
How did they work with theirpeers?
When did they feel that senseof belonging?
And looking at those things andthen replicating that kind of
support and that environmentthat's helping students be
successful and get to graduationand maybe doing that, as I said
, replicating that for morefirst-gen students.
(15:53):
So I think that holistic view Iliked that that article pointed
this out.
Number nine the emphasis onpreparing students by uncovering
the hidden curriculum ofcollege life.
And again we get to that hiddencurriculum.
It's everywhere, we're alwaystalking about it and what we can
do to help again faculty andstudent life uncover that hidden
(16:17):
curriculum, like office hours,how testing works, how to
communicate with them, which Ithink is so important.
And there's even one biologyprofessor I know there might be
more, but one.
I know that a student told meabout who takes her very first
(16:39):
class, her entire class, and sheshows her students how to study
biology, how to best learnconcepts for her discipline, so
she sets them up for successright from the beginning and
levels the playing field for thestudents in that class.
And the student who told meabout this, who was first gen,
said it was eye-opening that shehad not learned how to learn
(17:02):
like that and it was a real gamechanger for her and she felt
she did so much better in theclass in both her in-class
experience and her out-of-classlearning in that course because
of the professor taking the timeto do that.
So I just thought that wasbrilliant and I want to share
that with you.
All right, we're getting to theend here.
Number 10, the article talksabout the implications for
(17:27):
higher education to recognizeand build upon the students'
strengths to promote success.
So we know that, based on therecent study from
FirstGenForward, formerly theCenter for First-Generation
Student Success, that 54% ofstudents in college today are
first generation and if we canrecognize the strengths they
(17:48):
bring, talk about that more andbuild up our students while also
providing the additionalsupport and the information they
bring, talk about that more andbuild up our students while
also providing the additionalsupport and the information they
need to succeed, there's noreason we cannot raise
graduation rates, and of course,that's easier said than done, I
know, but I think working onthat and building student
strengths and I always think ofit as reminding students of the
(18:11):
strengths they have, that theybrought with them because
sometimes they think thisenvironment is so new that I
don't really have anything tocontribute to this and by
talking with them and lettingthem know that you see the
strengths.
They bring some of those thingswe talked about the resilience,
the persistence, the strategicthinking, the goal setting, the
(18:32):
ambition, the drive, the desireto really make a difference for
themselves and their families.
Those are all strengths and theovercoming that they did to get
here.
If they are reminded thatthey're bringing those in, that
they have those already, I thinkfor those students they see
that they can internalize thatand then they can go out and say
(18:55):
, yes, I have the ability tosucceed here, so I'm just going
to head out and I'm going tomake this happen, and then that
grit comes into effect again.
So what do these articles shareand where do they differ?
Well, both pieces certainlychallenge the traditional
deficit lens applied tofirst-gen students because they
highlight the inherent strengthsand assets they offer.
(19:17):
Minicozzi and Roda, of thefirst article, focused on the
cultural and systemic challengesfor students and they
emphasized the importance ofnavigating the hidden academic
curriculum hidden academiccurriculum While Garrison and
Gardner, of the second article,emphasize identifying and
leveraging personal strengthsthrough positive psychology.
So very similar papers in whatthey talk about with first-gen
(19:42):
students and how to support them, but looking at it through
different lenses.
Ultimately, like both articles,advocate for a broader
understanding of collegereadiness.
That includes not just theacademic preparation but also
equipping students to navigatethe new cultural and
institutional landscapes of thecollege and university they
intend.
So I think there are twostrategies that come out of that
(20:04):
, and I think these actionablestrategies that we can implement
are already in effect, so Idon't think anything is going to
surprise you.
And the first one is to developcustom first-year seminars for
first-generation students.
You know Minicozian wrote hisresearch.
It became clear that first-genstudents can often struggle with
understanding the hiddencurriculum which was also
(20:26):
mentioned in the second article,such as cultural expectations
and self-advocacy, and so thearticle highlights how these
students are taught ago-it-alone mentality, which
often can hinder their abilityto seek help.
And I know, you know, that thatability to ask for help, that
ability to accept help, is soimportant to student success.
(20:48):
And so they recommend, toaddress this, that educators
create targeted first-yearseminars that explicitly teach
skills like time management,prioritization and effective
communication with faculty.
I know some of the mostsuccessful programs I've done
have had students act outcommunications with faculties,
(21:08):
with situations that we knowhave come up.
They have a lot of fun actingthat out, but they also can
share with each other what thatexperience is like, especially
if there are upper classstudents as TAs or mentors in
the class to talk about whatthey've done when they've come
up against some of thosesituations with faculty members.
(21:29):
We've also done some facultypanels where faculties come in
and they talk about.
Faculty comes in and they talkabout ways that they wish
students would communicate withthem in certain situations and
that has been a great way ofkind of demystifying that
relationship between studentsand faculty and it helps
(21:50):
students practice advocating forthemselves in a really safe
space.
So this first-gen seminar,which a lot of students, a lot
of colleges do and I think morecolleges could do, not only
addresses the gap in knowledgeabout the hidden curriculum but
also leverages the students'strengths, such as independence,
as was mentioned in the article.
(22:11):
The second takeaway is thatestablishing faculty and staff
training programs aboutfirst-generation students and
their experiences is vital.
They talk about thepsychological assets of
(22:33):
proactivity and optimism amongfirst-gen students and how
educators can develop trainingprograms for faculty and staff.
So these programs obviouslywould focus on recognizing and
nurturing these strengths instudents and a specific
suggestion from the article isto incorporate positive
psychology practices withinacademic advising and classroom
interactions.
So faculty and staff train toidentify, praise, student
(22:57):
initiative, encourage anenvironment where students feel
valued for their proactivecontributions and by fostering
this asset-based perspectivesome could even say maybe a
growth mindset perspectiveeducators can help first-gen
students build their confidenceand again leverage their unique
strengths, which aligns with thearticle's findings.
(23:20):
Those are some strategies basedon specific insights from each
article that I hope you findinteresting, if not necessarily
aha things, but maybe thingsthat we can add to what we do or
what the university does tosupport our first-gen students.
So thank you so much forjoining me on First Gen FM today
.
I hope you enjoyed listening tome talk about these two
(23:43):
articles.
I will definitely put thearticles in the show notes so
that, if you want to read themfor yourselves, you can.
I just think that the more wekind of transform our
perspectives and think moreabout the assets our students
bring in, the more we can helplead our students to having
transformative experiences forthemselves.
If you would share this withother people, I would really
(24:07):
appreciate that.
The more people who rate andreview and share it with others,
the more we can all worktogether to support our
first-gen students.
So until next time, then, let'sjust keep inspiring and
empowering the next generation,and this week, especially as
it's the first full week inNovember, let us celebrate our
(24:28):
students in First GenerationStudent Success Week.
Thanks again, bye now.
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