Current Sociopolitical Barriers
Cultural Barriers and Marginalization
- Latino students face many obstacles as raced, classed, sexed, and linguicized people (Campa, 2010)
- Immigrants, whether documented or undocumented, are often scapegoated and collectively punished for many social and economic problems (Human Rights Immigrant Community Action Network, 2010)
- First-generation students have less exposure and access to middle-class cultural capital—understanding the rules of the game—taken for granted as normative by many American universities (Stephens, Fryberg, Markus, Johnson, & Covarrubias, 2012)
- Normal anxiety of being able to succeed magnified by feelings that “people like me don’t go to college” (Orbe, 2004, p. 139)
Lower-Quality K-12 Education
- First-generation students typically attend lower-quality high schools than continuing-generation students (Stephens, Fryberg, Markus, Johnson, & Covarrubias, 2012)
- Compared with their peers whose parents were college graduates, first-generation students are less prepared academically for college as demonstrated by their lower rates of taking higher-level mathematics courses in high school, lower senior achievement test scores, and lower college entrance examination scores (Chen, 2005)
Less Support in College Application Process
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Limited Financial Aid
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Balancing Work and College
- First-generation students tend to spend almost twice as much time working off campus compared to their peers (Billson & Terry, 1982, cited by Orbe, 2004)
- According to the U.S. Department of Education (1998), among students who work to pay school expenses, the more hours they work, the more likely they are to report that their work schedules limit their class schedule, reduce the number of classes they can take, and reduce their class choices (Schuh, 2009)
Immigration Status
- Legal barriers prevent some undocumented students from enrolling and succeeding in higher education (Baum & Flores, 2011)
- Undocumented students are often faced with out-of-state tuition because they are ineligible for most federal and state financial aid (Baum & Flores, 2011)
References
Baum, S., & Flores, S. M. (2011). Higher education and children in immigrant families. The Future of Children, 21(1), 171-193. Retrieved from www.futureofchildren.org
Campa, B. (2010). Critical resilience, schooling processes, and the academic success of Mexican Americans in a community college. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 32(3), 429-455. doi: 10.1177/0739986310369322.
Choy, S. (2001). Students whose parents did not go to college: Postsecondary access, persistence, and attainment. Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics.
Chen, X. (2005). First-generation students in postsecondary education. National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved from http://nces.ed.gov/das/epubs/2005171/
Human Rights Immigrant Community Action Network. (2010). Over-raided, under siege: U.S. immigration laws and enforcement destroy the rights of immigrants. In M. Adams, W. J. Blumenfeld, C. Castañeda, H. W. Hackman, M. L. Peters, & X. Zúñiga (Eds.), Readings for diversity and social justice (2nd ed.) (pp. 100-106). New York, NY: Routledge.
Orbe, M. P. (2004). Negotiating multiple identities within multiple frames: An analysis of first-generation college students. Communication Education, 53(2), 131-149. doi: 10.10/03634520410001682401.
Schuh, J. H. (2009). Fiscal pressures on higher education and student affairs. In G. S. McClellan & J. Stringer (Eds.), The handbook of student affairs administration (3rd ed.) (pp. 81-104). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Stephens, N. M., Fryberg, S. A., Markus, H. R., Johnson, C. S., and Covarrubias, R. (2012). Unseen disadvantage: How American universities' focus on independence undermines the academic performance of first-generation college students. Journal of Personality & Social Psychology, 102(6), 1178-1197. doi: 10.1037/a0027143.
Campa, B. (2010). Critical resilience, schooling processes, and the academic success of Mexican Americans in a community college. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 32(3), 429-455. doi: 10.1177/0739986310369322.
Choy, S. (2001). Students whose parents did not go to college: Postsecondary access, persistence, and attainment. Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics.
Chen, X. (2005). First-generation students in postsecondary education. National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved from http://nces.ed.gov/das/epubs/2005171/
Human Rights Immigrant Community Action Network. (2010). Over-raided, under siege: U.S. immigration laws and enforcement destroy the rights of immigrants. In M. Adams, W. J. Blumenfeld, C. Castañeda, H. W. Hackman, M. L. Peters, & X. Zúñiga (Eds.), Readings for diversity and social justice (2nd ed.) (pp. 100-106). New York, NY: Routledge.
Orbe, M. P. (2004). Negotiating multiple identities within multiple frames: An analysis of first-generation college students. Communication Education, 53(2), 131-149. doi: 10.10/03634520410001682401.
Schuh, J. H. (2009). Fiscal pressures on higher education and student affairs. In G. S. McClellan & J. Stringer (Eds.), The handbook of student affairs administration (3rd ed.) (pp. 81-104). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Stephens, N. M., Fryberg, S. A., Markus, H. R., Johnson, C. S., and Covarrubias, R. (2012). Unseen disadvantage: How American universities' focus on independence undermines the academic performance of first-generation college students. Journal of Personality & Social Psychology, 102(6), 1178-1197. doi: 10.1037/a0027143.