Your Mom Didn't Go to College?!

Understanding First Generation College Students

Chris Bryant Shepherd University

Natalie ListonShippensburg

University

Natalie Liston • Graduate Student @ Shippensburg University

in the Counseling and College Student Personnel Program

• Resident Director of Lackhove Hall

• Undergraduate Degree: Shepherd University, Bachelor of Arts in Psychology (May 2011)

• MACUHO VIP 2010

• Residence Life Experience:

• RD—May 2011-Present (Traditional Style Housing)

• RA— 2007-2008(Traditional Style Housing), Summer 2008 (Summer Conference Assistant/Apartment Style Housing) 2008-2009 (Suite Style Housing), 2009-2010 (First Year Style Housing) and 2010-2011 (Apartment Style Housing)

Chris Bryant• Graduate Student @ Shepherd University in the

College Student Development and Administration Program

• Hall Director of Shaw and Miller Halls

• Undergraduate Degree: Shepherd University, Bachelor of Science in Sociology (December 2010)

• MACUHO VIP 2010

• Residence Life Experience:

• HD—July 2011-Present (Traditional Style Housing and Suite Style Housing)

• RA— Spring 2008(Traditional Style Housing), Summer 2008 (Summer Conference Assistant/Apartment Style Housing) 2008-2009 (Traditional Style Housing), Spring 2010 (Traditional Style Housing)

Learning Objectives

To understand what it means to be a First-Generation Appalachian College Student

To gain statistical knowledge on economy, poverty, high school completion, and college completion rates.

To understand Bryan & Simmons (2009) research on Appalachian college students.

To gain knowledge on Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Model (application by Bryan & Simmons).

What is a First-Generation College Student?

“First generation college students are those who are the first in their families to attend college” (Bryan & Simmons, 2009, p 391).

The Appalachian Region

Appalachian Statistics

Economic Conditions Poverty Rates

Appalachian Statistics

High School Graduation Rates College Completion Rates

Bryan & Simmons (2009)

Study on First-Generation Appalachian College Students

Qualitative research—Content analysis

10 Participants—5 male & 5 female

Racial Breakdown—9 White Americans and 1 Korean American

Bronfenbrenner’s (1989) Theory of Human Development

Bronfenbrenner’s (1989) theory of human development suggests development is influenced by four levels of influence: (a) the micro-system

(b) the mesosystem

(c) the exosystem

(d) the macrosystem

Level’s of Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Model Micro-system: comprising the

people and circumstances to which an individual is exposed on a daily or regular basis.

Mesosystem: an integration of different environments such as home and school.

Exosystem: influences outside an individual’s environment that affect development, like neighbors, friends, extended kin, the media, social service agencies, or a parent’s workplace.

Macrosystem: consisting of the laws, customs, attitudes, and values of one’s culture and community.

Systems and Results

“According to Bronfenbrenner (1989), each of the four systems influences an individual’s development, and developmental milestones are the result of the interaction among systemic influences” (Bryan & Simmons, 2009, p. 394).

Themes represented by Bryan & Simmons (2009)

Close-Knit Families

Separate Identity

College Knowledge

Pressure to Succeed

Returning Home

Poverty

Participation in an Early Intervention Program

REFERENCES

Appalachian Regional Commission [http://http://www.arc.gov/index.asp] (2011).

Bryan, E., & Simmons, L. A. (2009). Family involvement: Impacts on post-secondary educational success for first-generation appalachian college students. Journal of college Student Development, 50, 391-406.

Questions?

THANK YOU