Academic Identity Development in High School and College: A Longitudinal-Qualitative Study of First-Generation College Students

• In Event: Issues in College Student Identity and Development

Abstract

Imagining one’s future and setting plans in motion to attain goals are critical processes during adolescence and emerging adulthood. The present study examines longitudinal data from research on the Early College High School Initiative (ECHSI), which supports students’ transitions from high school to college. This study focuses on a subset of six African American adolescent girls over an eight-year period, exploring their developing conceptions of “self-as-learner” and their evolving educational and career goals.

Authors

• Gina M. Arnone, University of Pennsylvania

• Laura Carolyn Murray, University of Pennsylvania

• Michael J. Nakkula, University of Pennsylvania