"An 'Anchor' We Can Depend On": Conceptualizing Family Engagement in Higher Education for First-Generation Students

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session 7
  In Roundtable Session: Family-School-University Partnerships

Abstract

This study explores family engagement in higher education for first-generation undergraduate students. Specifically, this study analyzes how both students and their families conceive of family engagement in the context of higher education and how these relationships can impact student retention and success. Focusing on the perspectives of 15 of first-generation undergraduate students enrolled in pseudonym Pacific University (PU) and their families (n=30), findings suggest that families are simultaneously sources of support and stress: students and families continue to depend and support each other, while being frustrated with the “newness” of college life. This study offers the opportunity for family-school-student partnerships in a higher education context, reciprocating the positive results evidenced in K-12 settings.

Author

• Stephany Cuevas, Chapman University