Modeling the Development Ecology of First-Generation Graduate Students

• In Event: 63.042 - Graduate Student Experiences and Completion

Abstract

The author proposes to present a conceptual model, based on Brofenbrenner’s (1979, 1993, 2005) human development ecology, outlining persistence factors for first-generation graduate students. Based on examining research on first-generation students, graduate school persistence, and development ecology, the author concludes that it is insufficient to solely focus on graduate school access for first-generation students. Instead, educators are responsible for understanding how the unique characteristics and needs of these students to impact their persistence to degree completion (Gardner, 2013; Lunceford, 2011; Mehta, Newbold, & O'Rourke, 2011; Tate, Williams, & Harden, 2010). This paper will compel educators to consider not just college access or individual characteristics, but the larger role of environment in facilitating or inhibiting graduate school persistence.

Author

• Stacey Fenton, Michigan State University