Sources of Strength for Career Equity: First-Generation Students Navigating Socioeconomic Mobility

• In Event: 21020 - Section on Sociology of Education Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): Table 15: Resilience, Equity, and Success for First-Generation College Students

Abstract

Research - and political battles - around socioeconomic mobility in higher education have tended to center on access and experience in elite universities. The millions of first-generation college students attending Minority-Serving Institutions have similar career outcomes to similar peers in elite universities, and they face similar risks as support programs come under fire, but their economic pathways are far less researched. This study engages a cohort of 65 recent graduates of a Hispanic-Serving Institution in California, 2-3 years after participation in an economic equity and career mobility program called LEEAF. Surveys leverage attitude scales and open response questions to shed light on two key factors influencing the early career journey of these recent graduates: 1) which resources they perceive as most important in their career journey; and 2) which support sources have provided those resources - including programs like LEEAF, their personal network, and their college experience as a whole.

Author

• Dmitri S. Seals, California State University-Los Angeles