First-Generation College Students' Conceptualizations of College Readiness

• In Event: AERA Graduate Student Research in Progress Roundtable Session One
  In Roundtable Session: Research on College Readiness (Table 12)

Abstract

The focus of this study is to understand how first-generation students, based on their own lived experiences, understand college readiness as a construct and how that conceptualization compares to other notable frameworks built for college readiness. The prevailing and most widely cited framework for college readiness is based in the work of Conley (2005; 2007; 2012; 2017), though it was built primarily on the feedback of professors. The extent to which it is co-constructed with students has not been explicitly stated. Therefore, this study seeks an explicit co-construction of operational definitions of college readiness. Five first-generation college students recruited from the University of Illinois participated in a focus group using an interview protocol adapted from Patterson (2018). Data were analyzed using both inductive and deductive coding with Dedoose software--deductive coding using existing frameworks, and inductive coding to reduce "other" codes. Five major themes and their links to existing frameworks will be discussed: time management, college knowledge, social capital, navigational capital, and academic self-management. Findings from this research and similar lines of inquiry hold implications for education policy surrounding college readiness, including admissions and college prep programs.

Author

• Frances J. Barkley, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
  Presenting Author