Great Expectations: How Maine's Public Universities Can Support First-Generation Students

Autor/in	Boody-Billings, Jana
Titel	Great Expectations: How Maine's Public Universities Can Support First-Generation Students
Quelle	(2022), (186 Seiten) PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Southern Maine
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Monographie
ISBN	979-8-3744-4443-8
Schlagwörter	Hochschulschrift; Dissertation; Public Colleges; First Generation College Students; Academic Persistence; National Surveys; Student Attitudes; Beliefs; Maine; National Survey of Student Engagement + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Thesis; Dissertations; Academic thesis; Schülerverhalten; Belief; Glaube
Abstract	This research study seeks to explain how perceptions about higher education impact persistence in first-generation students within the University of Maine System. The design uses semi-structured interviews as well as data from the University of Maine System's 2020 National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) to analyze how engagement and persistence are impacted by beliefs about higher education and how this differs for race/ethnicity, gender, college major, and by parent education. This mixed-methods study finds that for first-generation students the primary purpose of higher education is to gain a diploma. They perceive a four-year degree as the strongest lever to improve their career options. Most enter and continue college with perceptions that higher education will be expensive, and many will not be able to afford their first choice. Nearly all participants identify their parents and family as sources of emotional support but unable to provide informed strategies for choosing an institution, applying to an institution, seeking financial aid, or negotiating with the college system. First-generation students were no more or less likely to engage with peers or faculty than their continuing generation peers nor were they more or less likely than continuing-generation peers to persist. However, career integration (defined by a single response item) was a significant variable in explaining persistence among all students. The desires of first-generation college students and the demands of Maine's employers are the same -- opportunity, stability, and prosperity. In what appears to be a decline in the COVID-19 pandemic, the underlying issues associated with first-generation students, higher education, and the economy will not only persist but dilate and require a collective response from secondary and postsecondary education, state policy, and employers. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.] (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway, P.O. Box 1346, Ann Arbor, MI 48106. Tel: 800-521-0600; Web site: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2024/1/01