El derecho a la educación

Introduction

In Chapter 2: I told my own story, and how I came to be a researcher, and higher educational professional. Chapter 2 also showed the reasons why studying this population is important to me. It also touches on my experiences in the US system of higher education, and how I adapted, and learned the system.

The US system of education has some major problems in catering to students from lower socioeconomic status groups and those from diverse backgrounds. The ideal of an education for all is alive and well at the K-12 level, but the level of education that is received by the poor is very different to that received by the wealthy. Those from the upper classes are likely to buy a private education and the network that comes with it to maintain or improve the habitus, social and cultural capital opportunities for their children. The type of institution a student attends for postsecondary education also has a direct influence on their ability to succeed and improve their chances at class mobility.

The university and college-going populations have changed significantly in the last decades, and yet, our higher education system has not refocused or adapted to the shifting face of the student body. Higher education was once the domain of the middle and upper classes. First generation students are now the largest group on college campuses. Choy (2001) points out that in 1995–96, 34% of students entering the nation’s four-year institutions and 53% of students starting at two-year colleges were first generation students. Yet, the universities and

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community colleges still focus on the needs of middle class students and traditional aged students, although some of the latter may also be first generation. The college/university system in America is a model that has not adapted to meet the needs of the students now attending. The system is still focusing its energy on traditional middle class students who are now becoming a minority on many campuses. At best, a special course (such as college survival skills) or a mentoring program are all that many colleges offer to help first generation students adapt to the higher education environment.

This chapter will focus on and critique current research that pertains to these students. The literature review will also focus on first generation students, diversity and the community college, and will examine some of the few qualitative studies on this population.

Conceptual Framework

My own experiences as highlighted earlier in chapter two exposed me to the reality of the differences facing first generation students as they navigate higher education. Those experiences formed my “idea context” that is the foundation of my study. My primary concept was to study a phenomenon, that of first generation students and their experiences at

community college. The biases formed during my own educational journey were at the forefront of my mind when I set up this study. What was important for me when I initially organised this study was to examine the difficulties and hurdles that first generation learners undergo while adapting and learning in college. Primarily, my aim was to explore the in-college and external experiences of first generation community college students as they attempted to succeed academically, while maintaining their personal commitments and responsibilities.

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There are two parts that stand apart in this study. Firstly, I am exploring the experiences of students both at the college and in their home lives. Secondly, I am using qualitative studies to better capture the human aspect of the students, and this differs from the majority of studies on this population. This is important in many ways, but primarily because it captures the student’s point-of-view on their own experiences instead of surveys and statistical norms.

As a result of the study, I can say that I expected key themes to emerge that showed a commonality between the student participants. Of course these were assumptions, but I did expect there would be differences in the experiences of the students, based on age, gender, and class. However, the results proved to me that the differences and like experiences were not always what I expected. For example, the concept of a shared working-class identity was all but absent from the study. According to Bernd Heinrich (1984), “Even carefully collected

results can be misleading if the underlying context of assumptions is wrong” (1983, p. 151). My own experiences growing up in Ireland and England were of a tight-knit working class

community, and the people within that same community identified as a part of it. My assumption of a shared working-class identity did prove to be wrong, however many of my other assumptions did prove to have some validity. The literature review is not necessarily my attempt to cover the field, but focuses on the studies and research that are relevant to my research on first generation students.

The students in this study, whether in Bend, Redmond, Portland, Tillamook, or Salem were attending college during the Great Recession. The older students, in particular, were attending college for different reasons than their traditional college aged counterparts. The

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shifting economic and technological needs of society had left them without a skill set that would equate to them being competitive in the labour market.

According to Knowles (1980):

Up until the early part of the twentieth century the time-span of major cultural change (e.g., massive inputs of new knowledge, technological innovation, vocational

displacement, population mobility, change in political and economic systems, etc.) extended over several generations, whereas in the twentieth century several cultural revolutions occurred and the pace is accelerating. Under this new condition, knowledge gained at any point of time is largely obsolete within a matter of years; and skills that made people productive in their twenties became out-of-date in their thirties. (p. 41)

Knowles points out something that was very clear in this study, the days where students graduated high school and attended college, or university, and then entered the workforce for life, are now over. These students will return to education throughout their lifespan in order to keep up with ever-accelerating changes in technology and workforce needs. They must

constantly adapt and acquire new knowledge to be competitive in the global economy.

Students persist or do not persist in college for many reasons. Prior to the 1970’s there had been little research on the reasons some students persist and others do not. Tinto’s (1975, 1987, 1993) Theory of Student Departure is widely referred to as the “standard framework for guiding research into the complex persistence-related interconnections among students and their college experiences” (Pascarella, & Terenzini, 2005, p. 425). Tinto’s work looked at a number of factors that influenced persistence in students. Some of these factors include living

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on campus, being involved in on-campus activities, and the threshold for hours worked in external jobs and the effect on grades. Tinto’s earlier works focused on traditional students at large universities and was not representational of all college populations. Tinto’s (1975, 1987, 1993) Theory of Student Departure was also difficult to apply to the community college

environment. For example, a large part of Tinto’s findings were centred on how student involvement on campus can lead to increased persistence. At a community college, the majority of students are commuter students, and many have external responsibilities such as families, and jobs. First generation students do not tend to become involved on-campus, and many would consider it a luxury that would require time and energy they do not have.

Like Tinto, Astin, (1975) and many others (e.g., Attinasi, 1989; Berkner, Horn, Clune, 2000; Billson, Terry, 1982; Choy, 2000; Horn, 1998; Nunez, Cuccaro-Alamin, 1998; Richardson, Skinner, 1992; Warburton, Bugarin, Nunez, 2001) have conducted much research on the first year experience at traditional four-year institutions. This literature relating to the student’s first year at college is focused primarily on the experiences of middle-class students attending four-year universities. This leads to research that has less relevance for first

generation students attending community college. The experience of community college students is very different. With no dorms, and limited student life, community college students live close to their college and commute back and forth while holding down jobs and many provide for families. Community college professors are generally paid to teach classes and advise students, and are not required to complete research as are their university counterparts. In the community college environment, faculty’s “primary responsibility is to teach; they rarely conduct research or scholarly inquiry. On a full-time basis, they conduct four or five classes

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each term” (Cohen, & Brawer, 2003, p. 46). This is one of the reasons that there is less research on first generation students at community colleges where the representation of these students is greater. There is a research gap on the identities, and lives of these students: Who are they? What are their needs and concerns? What outside forces dictate whether these students succeed and fail in college? What can colleges do to better help these students? The findings and conclusion in this dissertation will hopefully provide insight and generate ideas for higher education professionals, and improve the support for first generation students.

One of the biggest problems for two-year colleges is the number of students who are not prepared for college level coursework. In the US, students entering community college are usually required to take an assessment test which gauges reading, writing, and mathematics abilities. Many students, even those fresh from high school do not test highly, particularly in mathematics. If a student tests below college level readiness they are required to take remedial (pre-college) coursework. This delays the length of time for students to complete a degree. An Associate Degree should take two years to complete for a student attending full- time. There are a number of different types of Associate Degree. Some consist of two years of general education classes geared towards transferring to a BA Degree. Others are

professional/technical in nature and are designed to set up students in the workforce. If a student has to take between 3-4 pre-college math classes then the Associate Degree could take 3+ years to complete.

College and University faculty often blame the high schools for not preparing students for the rigours of college, but that lack of preparedness is most likely a symptom of class, poverty, and the juggling of conflicting priorities in first generation students’ lives. This is

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especially the case during the transition to college. African American, Hispanic, or low-income students have a higher chance of testing low in math and English and then being required to take below-college level coursework prior to taking college level coursework.

Table 5

Percentage of Community College Students that start College in Remediation

Percentage of Community College Students that start College in Remediation

African-American 67.7%

Hispanic 58.3%

Caucasian 48.9%

Note. Adapted from Remediation: Higher Education’s Bridge to Nowhere, (2012).

Even as these students arrive in college, they are at a significant disadvantage. Another serious problem for students is that Federal Financial Aid does not cover remedial coursework. If students test at high school levels in maths, reading and writing they are required to take coursework that is below college level. Students are left to pay out of pocket and for those who are poor with limited financial resources this can be enough to derail them entirely.

The picture actually gets worse. Remedial courses can be a roadblock for the vast majority of all students — regardless of race, age, or income. Primarily this affects mature students who have been apart from formal education for an extended period of time. Their maths and writing skills may have deteriorated or might not have been at college level when graduating high school. When they test low, this might be viewed as an indication to the student that college is not a good fit.

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Table 6

The percentage of students who did not complete remediation and associated college-level courses in two years

Did not complete remediation and associated college-level courses in two years

African-American Students 85.6%

Hispanic Students 76.2.3%

Caucasian 76.9%

Note. Adapted from Remediation: Higher Education’s Bridge to Nowhere, (2012).

Clearly, the current system of higher education access is not working for students from minority backgrounds or for those from lower socioeconomic means. The numbers above show that it is extremely unlikely that a student who tests below college level in mathematics and English is likely to complete an Associate Degree within two years. That decreases the chance of that student persisting right from the point of entry into higher education.

So far I have covered some of the reasons many first generation students do not persist in college. The context in which these students exist, also works against them. Many come from backgrounds of poverty and are thus underprepared by the time they arrive in college. Tinto, Astin, (1975) and many others (e.g., Attinasi, 1989; Berkner, Horn, Clune, 2000; Billson, Terry, 1982; Choy, 2000; Horn, 1998; Nunez, Cuccaro-Alamin, 1998; Richardson, Skinner, 1992; Warburton, Bugarin, Nunez, 2001) have researched the reasons these students often fail to persist in universities. I would like to now look at the foundational theorists for their insights

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into working class and first generation students, and the context and societies in which they exist.

No work on class systems and higher education can be complete without first referring to the works of Pierre Bourdieu. Pierre Bourdieu was a French Sociologist/Anthropologist/ Philosopher who came from a rural background in a French small town. Bourdieu (1999) focused much of his research on the peripheral peoples, those living in inner-city ghettos, colonized towns in Algeria, immigrant populations, or people in rural areas. Bourdieu (1999) gave insights into the way that the people struggling through poverty with limited education end up in a seemingly never-ending cycle of struggle. In American higher education, the peripheral peoples would be students from marginal communities such as African American, Hispanic, Native American, students with disabilities, and undocumented students, i.e.

Dreamers. In this study, there were participants that were Hispanic, students with disabilities and Dreamers. Each group struggles to some extent in navigating higher education. Hispanic students, like Native American and African American students have been historically

underrepresented in higher education in the United States, and continue to be so. Dreamer students are also less likely to attend college, and those that do face a difficult road to success. Their undocumented status gives them few rights and much support is denied to them. They face the threat of deportation and often hide their identity as undocumented students from all but those closest to them. According to Perez (2010), over 65,000 Dreamer students graduate from high school each year and are denied equal opportunities in higher education.

Bourdieu, (1999) describes interviews with a number of different peripheral peoples, such as children of migrants living in French cities. In the interview titled ‘The Order of Things’

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Bourdieu through the use of interviews describes the lives of two young men, very good friends who live in council housing and are in a vacuum without help from anywhere (Bourdieu, 1999). Society has swept them under the carpet and does not give them any opportunities for

advancement in life. Carr, & Kefalas, (2009) researched the experiences of students in Ellis, a small American mid-western town.

Carr, & Kefalas, (2009) explain:

It is an irony not lost on the young people who would grow up to stay, the same

teachers who inspired the town’s best kids to dream of a life far beyond the countryside told the stayers they would never amount to enough to get out of Ellis. The fact that young people rarely rebelled against the assumption that they would inherit their parent’s place in the world demonstrates how powerful and all-encompassing the tendency toward social reproduction could be. (p. 58)

First generation students are often raised in circumstances similar to this. They grow up believing that their lives are pre-ordained and that they will end up working in minimum wage jobs, if they find work at all, with all the outsourcing of manufacturing and other jobs overseas. Social reproduction is at the heart of these people’s lives, and many do not have the knowledge to take advantage of the system to make it work for them.

Growing up in the north of England, the people I knew had a deep distrust of government, only paying attention during general elections and on budget day. They were resigned to a life of unpredictable employment and periods of unemployment. “It's a truism of social policy that the best anti-poverty program is a job. But in the economy of the 21st

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century, the best way to get and keep a job is to have a college degree” (Earnings and Unemployment, 2014, p. 1).

The Earnings and Unemployment Report (2014) also states that:

The unemployment rates fall and wages rise as educational attainment increases. As of October 2009, the aggregate jobless rate for people with a high school degree or less was 12.2 percent, compared with 6.6 percent for those with some college or higher. Similarly, average yearly earnings jump at each additional level of educational attainment: in 2008, someone with an Associate Degree earned an average of more than $7,500 more than an individual with no schooling beyond high school. (p. 1)

It can be difficult to think in the long term when you struggle to make it through each week, and that is what first generation students have to overcome to leave the habitus they have grown up in.

Pierre Bourdieu grew up in similar circumstances to the participants in the Carr, & Kefalas, (2009) study. While he was not raised in as harsh an environment as the struggling town of Ellis, he was part of the lower-middle class establishment. Through education he became a member of the elite classes, yet much of his research and writing was focused on identity and context in regards to class reproduction.

American culture has a class system that is difficult to pinpoint because the people do not easily fit into categories or do not wish to be labelled as working class. There are

connotations that pervade society that people in the lower groups on the socioeconomic ladder