The High School–College Disconnect: Examining First-Generation Students' Perspectives on Their Experiences as College Writers

• In Event: 69.056 - Roundtable Session 31
  In Roundtable Session: 69.056-9 - Adolescent Writing Realities Across Time and Space

Abstract

It is no secret that many students, particularly those who are English Learners and/or first-generation college students, enter college unprepared to meet the writing demands they will face there. These students must enroll in non-credit bearing developmental writing courses aimed at filling the gaps in their literacy development. This paper examines the perspectives of 19 first-generation college students, all designated as requiring remediation in English and math, on the disconnect between their writing preparation in high school and the writing required of them in their first year of college.

Author

• Juliet Michelsen Wahleithner, California State University - Fresno