What Makes Them Stronger: A Qualitative Meta-Synthesis of First-Generation College Students' Success in America

• In Event: Sheraton Roundtable Session Thirteen
  In Roundtable Session: Strengthening Persistence, Belonging, and Sense of Support for College Students (Table 1)

Abstract

This qualitative meta-synthesis studies what makes first-generation college students stronger for success in the United States. By adopting Tinto (1975) as the theoretical framework in the synthesis of research findings from seventeen peer-reviewed empirical qualitative studies, the author identified seventeen themes in relation to the external factors, the internal factors, and the mechanisms that make first-generation college students stronger leading to success. The study proposed an interaction model with six external factors and nine internal factors to account for how external and internal factors make FGCS stronger. Then, the study further condensed a systemic model with four systems and three processes of student development to visualize how FGCS manage to navigate college successfully with both internal strengths and external support.

Author

• Lili Cheng, Delaware State University
  Presenting Author