Piecing Together Capital: The Role of Family in the College Preparation Process for First-Generation Students of Color

• In Event: 16.058 - Roundtable Session 6
  In Roundtable Session: 16.058-10 - The Role of Parents and Families in College Choice

Abstract

This qualitative study explored how 27 first-generation Students of Color (African American, Latino, Hmong, and Bi-racial) navigated their college experience. Despite gaps in educational attainment between Students of Color and their White counterparts (Kao & Thompson, 2003; NCES, 2012; Ross et al., 2012), relatively little is known about how underrepresented students successfully navigate higher education on their own terms. This study sought to learn more about how extended familial relationships (with parents, siblings, cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents) support first-generation Students of Color in both accessing and persisting in college. Students of Color in this study pieced together various forms of capital acquired through family members to assist them on their journey to and through higher education.

Author

• Courtney Lauren Luedke, University of Wisconsin - Whitewater