Informational Capital and the Transition to University: First-in-Family Students' Experiences in Austrian Higher Education

Autor/inn/en	Lessky, Franziska; Nairz-Wirth, Erna; Feldmann, Klaus
Titel	Informational Capital and the Transition to University: First-in-Family Students' Experiences in Austrian Higher Education
Quelle	In: European Journal of Education, 56 (2021) 1, S.27-40 (14 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Zusatzinformation	ORCID (Lessky, Franziska) ORCID (Nairz-Wirth, Erna) ORCID (Feldmann, Klaus)
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0141-8211
DOI	10.1111/ejed.12437
Schlagwörter	Student Adjustment; First Generation College Students; Foreign Countries; Social Capital; Cultural Capital; Access to Information; Educational Practices; Student Personnel Services; Student School Relationship; Educational Experience; Austria + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Student; Students; Adjustment; Schüler; Schülerin; Studentin; Adaptation; Ausland; Sozialkapital; Bildungspraxis; Schüler-Lehrer-Beziehung; Bildungserfahrung; Österreich
Abstract	The agenda for widening participation in higher education has led to increasing numbers of students with a broader range of education and family backgrounds. However, transitioning to the university landscape remains a highly complex negotiation process, especially for first-in-family students, who cannot draw on previous experience from higher education in their families. Gaining access to informational capital--a combination of cultural and social capital--plays a crucial role in managing education transitions. We draw on rich empirical data obtained from 26 autobiographical narrative interviews with first-in-family university students in Austria to investigate how transitions to university are affected by informational capital. We also explore how access to informational capital was influenced by (1) institutional practices, such as initiatives to support students, especially first-year students; and (2) cultural fit--the extent to which a student's cultural capital corresponded with the dominant cultural capital in the field of their chosen discipline or higher education establishment. Our findings show that gaining access to informational capital was strongly affected by the institutional practices at universities within the different disciplines, thus highlighting the importance of higher education institutions in supporting their students during transition processes. We conclude with policy implications for how higher education institutions can assist first-in-family students to succeed at university. (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://www.wiley.com/en-us
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2024/1/01