Research Blog #4: Research Proposal

Lavina Ng

Professor Goeller

Research in Disciplines: College!

March 11, 2014

Research Proposal

Topic

The Higher Education Act defines first-generation students as students whose parents have not obtained a postsecondary degree. Extensive research studies the correlation between parental education levels and first-generation student success. In First-Generation College Students by Lee Ward, Michael J. Siegel, and Zebulun Davenport, researchers found that students whose parents did not attain a college degree were more likely to drop out of college in their first year (Ward, Siegel, and Davenport 4). They are unable to fully integrate into the academic and social life of universities, and therefore are less likely to succeed (Engle and Tinto 6). In fact, their specific upbringing and circumstances deem them susceptible to an inability to fully immerse themselves in academic and social life on campus. I anticipate to debate what and how factors of first-generation college students’ lives affect their inability to seek resources for success in college. I also intend to highlight significant differences between first-generation students and non-first-generation students in campus involvement.

Research Question

Students that are academically and socially engaged in campus life are more likely to succeed at college. However, contrary to non-first-generation peers, first-generation students are confronted by unique circumstances that bar them from full academic and social integration. How do such obstacles greatly reduce their chances of success in college?

Theoretical Frame

Moving Beyond Access: College Success for Low-Income, First-Generation Students by Jennifer Engle and Vincent Tinto explores the impact of social experiences on academic success. It helps frame the importance of first-generation student involvement. The authors highlight reasons and consequences of a lack of social engagement, especially for first-generation students in financial disability. Such reasons range from lack of financial and parental support to social isolation. Consequently, the students that were studied are unaware of resources offered by institutions and become unmotivated.

As a contributing factor, I will also analyze how first-generation student’s use of the psychological term “survivor guilt” discourages them from participating in social and extracurricular college activities. In "Finding Purpose in Pain: Using Logotherapy as a Method for Addressing Survivor Guilt in First-Generation College Students," survivor guilt is the excessive worry of advancing further than family and peers. They do not want to appear overly successful due to their deep connection with family and friends who are at lower levels of academic attainment (Tate, Williams, and Harden 80). I think this study is a thought-provoking standpoint. With further research, it can potentially be an interesting reason for such students’ intentional social isolation.
 

Research Plan, Case or Additional Questions

An additional question that has come up asks how the university can be at fault for failure, rather than solely the student’s background. Is the public university system also responsible for the obstacles that first-generation students face? I will look for case studies regarding large public institutions because they provide a higher probability for academic/social isolation.

As well, I will focus on case studies that compare first-generation to non-first-generation students. The case study conducted by Michael J. Stebleton and Krista M. Soria revealed that there are significant differences between first-generation and non-first-generation students. Their study was based on levels of competing job responsibilities, family responsibilities, weak math skills, weak English skills, inadequate study skills, and feeling depressed, stressed, or upset (Stebleton and Soria 11). The case study is a beginning for my argument that first-generation students have distinctive differences that decrease their chances of success because they are unable to integrate into university life. In addition, I intend to interview several college students and alumni who are either first-generation or not. Their stories will provide a real-life connection to the secondary sources of books and journals.

Working Bibliography

Engle, Jennifer, Vincent Tinto, and Pell Institute for the Study of Opportunity in,Higher Education. Moving Beyond Access: College Success for Low-Income, First-Generation Students. Pell Institute for the Study of Opportunity in Higher Education, 2008. Print.

Kennedy, Gary J. "The Influence of Academic Values and Belongingness Concerns on Achievement Goals, Self-Efficacy, and Perceived Stress in First Quarter Freshmen: Relationships to Academic Performance and the Mediating Role of Procrastination." ProQuest LLC (2009)Print.

Oldfield, Kenneth. "Still Humble and Hopeful: Two More Recommendations on Welcoming First-Generation Poor and Working-Class Students to College." About Campus 17.5 (2012): 2-13. Print.

Piorkowski, Geraldine K. "Survivor Guilt in the University Setting." Personnel & Guidance Journal 61.10 (1983): 620. Print.

Savitz-Romer, Mandy, and Suzanne M. Bouffard. Ready, Willing, and Able : A Developmental Approach to College Access and Success. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard Education Press, 2012. Print.

Stebleton, Michael J., and Krista M. Soria. "Breaking Down Barriers: Academic Obstacles of First-Generation Students at Research Universities." Learning Assistance Review 17.2 (2012): 7-20. Print.

Tate, Kevin A., Williams,Cyrus, I.,II, and Dia Harden. "Finding Purpose in Pain: Using Logotherapy as a Method for Addressing Survivor Guilt in First-Generation College Students." Journal of College Counseling 16.1 (2013): 79-92. Print.

Ward, Lee, Michael J. Siegel, and Zebulun Davenport. First-Generation College Students: Understanding and Improving the Experience from Recruitment to Commencement. 1st ed. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2012. Print. The Jossey-Bass Higher and Adult Education Series .