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Academic Experiences of First-Generation And Advantaged Students Compared:

Academic Experiences of First-Generation And Advantaged Students Compared: Using Readily Available Data for Research. PACRAO Conference Nov. 6, 2012 San Diego, CA. Ron Urban Whitman College. Two Different Schools of Thought regarding educational outcomes: Traditional and Radical.

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Academic Experiences of First-Generation And Advantaged Students Compared:

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  1. Academic Experiences of First-Generation And Advantaged Students Compared: Using Readily Available Data for Research PACRAO Conference Nov. 6, 2012 San Diego, CA Ron Urban Whitman College

  2. Two Different Schools of Thought regarding educational outcomes: Traditional and Radical A. Liberal Functionalist (Traditional View) 1. Importance of education for earnings potential (Fig. 1) 2. Education as the “Great Equalizer” (social mobility) 3. Greater benefits, job satisfaction, better physical & mental health, more accomplished children 4. Adults aged 25-34: 1/3 currently have BA degrees, in early 1980s=1/4

  3. Fig. 1 Expected Lifetime Earnings Relative to High School Graduates by Education Level (College Board (2009) data as cited in American Radio Works: http://americanradioworks.publicradio.org/features/tomorrows-college/dropouts/value-of-college-degree.html) Earnings Ratio

  4. B. Critical Theory (Radical View) 1. Educational institutions as vehicles of oppression 2. Instrument of social class reproduction 3. Persistent Educational Inequality (Fig. 2) 4. Constrained Occupational Mobility

  5. Fig. 2. Top 5 SAT Score Institutional Destinations By Family Income (Whitman College Data) Pct. Family Income

  6. Traditional Model Academic Outcomes “…students coming out of an unequal educational system would be less unequal than they were coming in.” (R. Craig, Inside Higher Education, 2012)

  7. Radical Model Academic Outcomes Privileged Group Less Privileged Group Time “…In the end the (postsecondary educational system) is predictably reflecting the advantaged in the society.” (A. Carnavale in R. Craig, Inside Higher Education, 2012)

  8. “My family was very poor, and I never finished school. But in this great land of ours you don’t have to be defeated by such things, even though I was.” (NewYorker magazine, 1979)

  9. Methods ●Fall, 2009 Entering Cohort (new students only): n=396 ● Advantaged vs. “Low Income” defined by parents’ education (See Fig. 3): ▪At least one parent BA+: Non-1st-Generation (344) ▪Both parents < BA degree: 1st-Generation (52) ●Academic Data: Registrar’s Office database: ▪Pre-Whitman academic information (Fig. 3) ▪6 Semesters’ registration information ▪Analysis: Excel and PowerPoint

  10. Fig. 3. Common Application

  11. Fig. 4 Pre-Whitman Measures: State of Residence By Educational Generation Status Pct.

  12. Fig. 5 Pre-Whitman Measures: Age and Pell Grant Recipients By Educational Generation Status

  13. Fig. 6 Pre-Whitman Measures: Gender By Educational Generation Status Pct.

  14. Fig. 7 Pre-Whitman Measures: Ethnicity By Educational Generation Status Pct.

  15. Fig. 8 Pre-Whitman Measures: Mean Academic Performance By Educational Generation Status

  16. Fig. 9. Whitman Outcomes Measures: Pct. Earning Academic Distinction By Educational Generation Status Pct. Earning Honors

  17. Fig. 10. Whitman Outcomes Measures: Semester Average GPA By Educational Generation Status Sem. Avg. GPA

  18. Fig. 11. Whitman Outcomes Measures: Major Course of Study By Educational Generation Status Pct.

  19. Fig. 12. Whitman Outcomes Measures: Popular Co-curricular Activities by Educational Generation Status 38.1 Pct.

  20. Fig. 13. Whitman Outcomes Measures: Enrollment Status and Retention after 6 Semesters Pct. Retention: Non-1st-Gen=91%, 1st-Gen=79%

  21. Discussion I. Accounting for Students’Background Differences: (Annette Lareaux. UnequalChildhoods, 2011) • Concerted Cultivation • 1. Activities: Parent Organized and Controlled • 2. Language Development: Continuous, little social distance • 3. Interaction with social institutions: Sense of Entitlement • Accomplishment of Natural Growth • 1. Activities: Unstructured, Kinship Focused • 2. Language Development: Clear Adult-Child Boundaries • 3. Interaction with social institutions: Sense of Constraint II. Ethos of social organizations such as schools favors Concerted Cultivation child-rearing practices

  22. Summary of Findings ●While 1st –Gen students may be successful at Whitman, they never do quite achieve the academic performance levels of Non-1st-Gen students ●1st-Gen students students do not participate in optional prestigious co-curricular activities to the same degree as do Non-1st-Gen students, at least given current indicators ●1st-Gen students students demonstrate a lower retention rate than Non-1st-Gen students, and tend to gravitate towards non-science major fields of study ●Attempts to “narrow the gap” between the two groups probably will have to include targeted academic remediation, financial aid focused on assisting 1st-Gen students to access prestigious co-curricular activities, as well as changes in the overall campus environment that acknowledge institutional as well as individual factors in students’ achievements.

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