Critical College Persistence: An Asset-Based Framework for First-Generation College Students’ Persistence in College

• In Event: Extrapolating Success for Historically Marginalized Groups in Space Beyond K–12

Abstract

A college degree is crucial for improved economic and career opportunities in the United States. However, a group of citizens, first-generation college students (FGCS), have shown inequitable college persistence rates for a college degree compared to their peers. Sociocultural barriers faced by FGCS while earning a degree were discovered in a convergent parallel study and could be mitigated by their assets. Using a transformative research paradigm, the researcher has proposed an asset-based model called Critical College Persistence. Although there are college persistence models, this framework can add to the existing scholarship. The framework highlights the sociocultural barriers experienced by FGCS that impeded their persistence toward a degree and shows how their assets increase their chances of earning a college degree.

Authors

• Aisha Almond, Johns Hopkins University

• Yolanda Abel, Johns Hopkins University