Understanding Experiences of First Generation University Students: Culturally Responsive and Sustaining Methodologies 9781350031845, 9781350031869, 9781350031852

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Understanding Experiences of First Generation University Students

Understanding Student Experiences of Higher Education Edited by Paul Ashwin and Manja Klemenčič As the number of students attending higher education has increased globally, there has been an increasing focus on student experiences of higher education. Understanding how students experience higher education in different national, institutional and disciplinary settings has become increasingly important to researchers, practitioners and policy makers. The series publishes theoretically robust and empirically rigorous studies of students’ experiences, including a broad range of elements such as student life, engagement in degree courses and extracurricular activities, experiences of feedback and assessment, student representation and students’ wider lives. It offers a richer understanding of the different meanings of being a student in higher education in the 21st century. Also available in the series Negotiating Learning and Identity in Higher Education, edited by Bongi Bangeni and Rochelle Kapp Forthcoming in the series Everyday Mobilities in Higher Education, Kirsty Finn, Mark Holton and Kate Carruthers Thomas Also available from Bloomsbury Consuming Higher Education, Joanna Williams Globalization and Internationalization in Higher Education, edited by Felix Maringe and Nick Foskett Meritocracy and the University, Anna Mountford Zimdars Reflective Teaching in Higher Education, Paul Ashwin

Understanding Experiences of First Generation University Students Culturally Responsive and Sustaining Methodologies Edited by Amani Bell and Lorri J. Santamaría

BLOOMSBURY ACADEMIC Bloomsbury Publishing Plc 50 Bedford Square, London, WC1B 3DP, UK 1385 Broadway, New York, NY 10018, USA BLOOMSBURY, BLOOMSBURY ACADEMIC and the Diana logo are trademarks of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc First published 2018 Paperback edition first published 2019 Copyright © Amani Bell, Lorri J. Santamaría and Contributors, 2018 Amani Bell, Lorri J. Santamaría have asserted their right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as Editors of this work. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publishers. Bloomsbury Publishing Plc does not have any control over, or responsibility for, any third-party websites referred to or in this book. All internet addresses given in this book were correct at the time of going to press. The author and publisher regret any inconvenience caused if addresses have changed or sites have ceased to exist, but can accept no responsibility for any such changes. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress. ISBN: HB: 978-1-3500-3184-5 PB: 978-1-3501-2661-9 ePDF: 978-1-3500-3185-2 ePub: 978-1-3500-3187-6 Series: Understanding Student Experiences of Higher Education Typeset by Deanta Global Publishing Services, Chennai, India To find out more about our authors and books visit www.bloomsbury.com and sign up for our newsletters.

Contents List of Figures and Tables Notes on Contributors Series Editors’ Foreword Foreword Arnetha F. Ball with Lorri J. Santamaría 1 2 3 4 5

6 7 8 9

Introduction: Why Focus on First Generation Students? Amani Bell and Lorri J. Santamaría Excavating Stories of First Generation Students in Aotearoa New Zealand ‘Ema Wolfgramm-Foliaki and Lorri J. Santamaría Experiences of Indigenous and Non-Indigenous First Generation Students at an Australian University Amani Bell and Matthew Benton A Notch in My Heart: University Practices That Help Canadian First Generation Student Success Airini and Sereana Naepi Factors Affecting the Success of First Generation University Students at a South African University Roisin Kelly-Laubscher, Moragh Paxton, Ziyanda Majombozi and Samukele Sally Mashele Transitions of First Generation Students to Higher Education in the UK Claire Hamshire, Rachel Forsyth and Catherine Player Considering the Cultural Strengths of Older First Generation University Students: An Australian Perspective Sarah O’Shea As They See It: First Generation College Students and Photovoice Rashne R. Jehangir and Veronica Deenanath Conclusion: Beyond Listening to First Generation Students Amani Bell and Lorri J. Santamaría

Index

vi vii xi xii

1 27 47 73

97 121 143 165 191 219

List of Figures and Tables Figure 2.1 Figure 2.2 Figure 5.1 Figure 5.2 Figure 5.3 Figure 5.4 Figure 6.1 Figure 6.2 Figure 6.3 Figure 6.4 Figure 8.1 Figure 8.2 Figure 8.3 Figure 8.4 Figure 8.5 Table 1.1 Table 4.1 Table 4.2 Table 4.3 Table 5.1 Table 5.2 Table 9.1

My family I am first Zanele’s journey to, into and through university Zanele’s journey from first year to third year Mandla’s journey into university Mandla’s journey from first year to third year The weight of expectations (illustration by Catherine Player) Alice begins university (illustration by Catherine Player) What does the university expect of me? (illustration by Catherine Player) Commuting from the family home can have its challenges (illustration by Catherine Player) Who am I? Image by Alexis Who am I? Image by Va Where do I belong? Image by Blanca What do I carry? Image by Leej Where is this journey taking me? Image by Nou Overview of theoretical and methodological approaches Profile of post-secondary education outcomes for 100 Indigenous and non-Indigenous Canadian students Indigenous Potentials Approach in higher education Summary of pathways towards realizing Indigenous potential in higher education Participant demographics Themes identified in students’ drawings Chapter findings and implications for practice

38 39 106 109 111 115 130 132 133 134 177 179 180 182 184 10 76 79 83 103 104 197

Notes on Contributors Airini is Professor and Dean, Faculty of Education and Social Work at Thompson Rivers University, BC Canada (www.tru.ca), and Adjunct Professor in Te Ara Poutama (Faculty of Māori and Indigenous Development), at Auckland University of Technology, Aotearoa New Zealand. As a Fulbright Scholar in Washington, D.C., Airini researched how to convert higher education policy into better results for underserved students. Her current research focuses on designing twenty-first-century systems to close gaps in education success and lift social outcomes. Airini specializes in equity in higher education, particularly for Indigenous students. Amani Bell is Senior Lecturer, Educational Innovation, and Honorary Senior Lecturer in the Sydney School of Education and Social Work at the University of Sydney, Australia. Her main research focus is exploring student– staff partnerships to enhance higher education. Amani was a partner on the international Worldwide Universities Network grant First in the family students succeeding in universities, a project which led to this book. Matthew Benton is a secondary English teacher who specializes in gifted and talented education and media studies and is currently working for the Department of Education in NSW, Australia. He is a proud member of the Wiradjuri nation and was the first in his family to attend university. Matt completed his Master of Film Studies at the University of Sydney, Australia, where he also worked as a research assistant for a number of projects including the First in the Family study that led to this book.  Veronica Deenanath is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Family Social Science at the University of Minnesota, USA. She holds an MA in Family Social Science and her research interest focuses on first generation college student success, immigrant families, financial capability and money management. Rachel Forsyth is Associate Head of the Centre for Excellence in Learning and Teaching at Manchester Metropolitan University, UK. She is Editor-in-Chief of

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the Student Experience in Higher Education Journal and her principal research interests are in assessment and student experiences in higher education. Claire Hamshire is Head of Education for the Faculty of Health, Psychology and Social Care at Manchester Metropolitan University, UK. Her research interests include student engagement and learning transitions; she was awarded a UK Higher Education Academy (HEA) National Teaching Fellowship in 2012 and became a principal fellow of the HEA in January 2014. Rashne R. Jehangir is Associate Professor of Higher Education at the University of Minnesota, USA. Jehangir’s research examines the experience of low-income, first generation students in college. In particular, she focuses on how curricular and pedagogical interventions and campus partnerships can impact students’ longitudinal intrapersonal, interpersonal and cognitive development. Her book Higher Education and First-Generation College Students: Cultivating Community, Voice and Place for the New Majority was published in 2010. Roisin Kelly-Laubscher is Senior Lecturer at the University of Cape Town, South Africa. She has been involved in student academic development at the university since 2009, first in the Department of Human Biology and later as part of the Science Academic Development programme at the Centre for Higher Education Development. She has a PhD in Physiology, but in recent years, her research has focused on research on student access to knowledge within the life sciences and the first generation experience. Her background in science has allowed her to investigate educational issues within the life sciences from a disciplinary perspective. She recently submitted her thesis, The Discourse Valued in First-Year Undergraduate Biology: Implications for Epistemological Access, as part of her master’s in higher education. Ziyanda Majombozi is a PhD candidate at the University of Witwatersrand, South Africa. Her master’s thesis titled Luring the Infant to Life: Exploring Infant Mortality and Infant-feeding in Khayelitsha, Cape Town explored women’s experiences of infant feeding. Prior to that, her honours research looked at how mothers navigate childcare when they are infected with TB and her current research focuses on black women’s experiences of pregnancy, childbirth and childcare. These studies have framed her broader research interests on maternal health, pregnancy, childbirth, childcare, infant feeding, families and knowledge.

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As part of her interest in families and knowledge, Ziyanda was involved as a research assistant on an international project funded by the Worldwide Universities Network on students who are first in their families to go to university, which has led to this book. Samukele Sally Mashele is a Tsonga female from Mpumalanga, South Africa. She is currently pursuing her honours degree in geographical information systems at the University of Cape Town South Africa. She completed her degree in applied biology and environmental and geographical sciences at the same institute. She has been an assistant at the university disability centre. More recently she was involved in a study about first generation university students as a research assistant at the Centre for Higher Education Development. Her interests include studies and projects in the environmental and social science fields. Sereana Naepi is a first generation Indigenous Fijian/Palagi Research Fellow at Thompson Rivers University, Canada, and is completing her doctorate at the University of British Columbia, Canada. Sereana’s work explores the ways in which structures within universities prevent the success of all learners and staff. As part of this work Sereana has mentored Indigenous students for over ten years in both Aotearoa and Canada. Sarah O’Shea is Associate Professor and leads the Adult, Vocational and Higher Education discipline in the School of Education, University of Wollongong, Australia. As the first in her family to attend university many years ago, she has spent the past decade exploring university access and participation for this cohort and others. Since 2011, Sarah has obtained over $1 million dollars in research funding, all of which explores educational equity in the higher education environment. Sarah’s research is rich in student voice and draws upon the experiences of students from identified equity groups including those from low-SES backgrounds, Indigenous students, mature-aged students as well as first-in-family learners. Moragh Paxton is Emeritus Associate Professor and a Senior Scholar in the Centre for Higher Education Development at the University of Cape Town, South Africa. She taught English as a second language in many parts of the world before taking up a position in Academic Development at UCT, where she specialized in teaching and researching language and academic literacy. She

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currently works as a research mentor to staff within the centre. Moragh was a partner on the international Worldwide Universities Network grant First in the Family Students Succeeding in Universities, a project which led to this book.  Catherine Player is an illustrator and graphic designer based in Manchester, UK. She graduated from Manchester Metropolitan University, UK, in 2016 having completed an Illustration with Animation BA. Catherine started working with Claire Hamshire during her time as a student; the main focus of their work together being illustrating the student experience. Lorri J. Santamaría is Associate Professor in the Faculty of Education and Social Work at the University of Auckland, New Zealand. She is also Director and Principal Investigator for the Mixteco/ Indígena Community Organizing Project: Healing the Soul - Curando el Alma - Na Sándeé Inié Project, a study of Indigenous Mexican healing practices with MICOP and Ventura County, CA. Her research interests feature diversity as a resource and international culturally responsive and sustainable educational, leadership and research practices. Selected publications: ‘One Against the Grain: Re-imagining the Face of School Leadership in Aotearoa New Zealand’, International Journal of Educational Management (2017); Culturally Responsive Leadership in Higher Education: Praxis Promoting Access, Equity and Improvement, Routledge Books (2016); and ‘Culturally Responsive Leadership in Education: Engaging Social Justice and Equity for Improvement’, Education Sciences (2016); and ‘Culturally Responsive Leadership in Cross-Cultural International Contexts’, in Cross-Cultural Collaboration and Leadership in Modern Organizations, IGI Global (2015). ‘Ema Wolfgramm-Foliaki is Lecturer in the Centre for Learning & Research in Higher Education at the University of Auckland, New Zealand. Her current research work is on widening participation for minority and first in the family students’ success. ‘Ema was also part of the project ‘First in the Family Students Succeeding in Universities’, a global collaboration among university colleagues from Auckland, Sydney, Cape Town and Thompson Rivers, Canada. The project was funded by the Worldwide Universities Network and supported by each of the partner universities. ‘Ema is of Tongan descent and is first in her family to graduate from university and work in academe.

Series Editors’ Foreword The ‘Understanding Student Experiences in Higher Education’ book series publishes theoretically robust and empirically rigorous studies of students’ experiences of contemporary higher education. The books in the series are united by the belief that it is not possible to understand these experiences without understanding the diverse range of people, practices, technologies and institutions that come together to form them. The series seeks to locate students’ experiences in the context of global changes to higher education and thereby to offer a rich understanding of the different global and local meanings of being a student in higher education in the twenty-first century. These aims are brilliantly met in Understanding Experiences of First Generation University Students. Drawing on studies of seven institutions from Australia, Canada, Aotearoa New Zealand, South Africa, the United Kingdom and the United States, this book examines the experiences of students who are the first in their families to engage in higher education. Compared to the existing scholarship, the book brings a fresh and much-needed international perspective to our understanding of these students’ experiences in higher education. It does so not with superficial comparisons, but with a deep sensitivity to the contexts, histories and cultures within which these students’ experiences are embedded. The contributors to the book converse through shared theoretical frameworks of cultural identity and intersectionality. They meticulously apply and collectively advance culturally responsive and culturally sustaining research methodologies to explore first generation students. The resulting data present an impressive portrayal of persistence of first generation students in universities and a powerful articulation of their challenges and successes. The analyses culminate in an insightful synthesis of the convergences and divergences of students’ experiences in different contexts. These are complemented by a thorough reflection on the research methodologies, future research possibilities as well as usable suggestions for practice, which all together make Understanding Experiences of First Generation University Students an important contribution to our conceptual, empirical and practical understanding of students’ experiences of higher education. Paul Ashwin and Manja Klemenčič Series Editors

Foreword We were honoured when asked to write the foreword for this groundbreaking edited book on research methods that we consider to be examples of innovation for social change across a group of countries that have each been impacted by histories of colonization resulting in systemically underserved students in higher education. The result of this book is shared research pathways and implications benefitting students who represent the first generation in their families to attend university. The book is both remarkable and unabashedly authentic in its offer of new approaches and fresh voices to some of the most challenging issues in higher education. As US- and New Zealand-based mentor and mentee, we sometimes work together to co-generate and co-create new knowledge in our respective fields of education. Like the authors of the chapters in this book, in our own research we strive towards the use and application of our imaginations and initiatives to reach optimum outcomes from shared resources to benefit the greater good. Following this line of thought, towards true innovation in higher education, we believe this book is one that will influence thinking and research concerning first generation students in the countries featured and in similar countries around the world. It is fitting that we should preface this contribution, as we are ourselves first generation women scholars of colour, active in the roles of teaching, research and service for our distinctive universities. In our research, we focus on the ways in which race, ethnicity and culture interface with power and privilege in education throughout the world. From this shared perspective, we agree this carefully edited text serves to complement existing research on first generation students but that it is remarkable and noteworthy on four specific points. The first is that, like us, the voices of the contributing authors are mostly women of colour representing the perspectives and experiences of students of colour in the academy. Second, the authors feature innovative, imaginative and inspirational research methods, which are presented with descriptive detail worthy of further exploration or interrogation. Third, some of the

Foreword

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authors privilege their students’ indigenous backgrounds and worldviews, complementing them with decolonizing versions of indigenous methodologies and culturally sustaining research approaches, when appropriate, rather than using purely Western-based research techniques. Finally, beyond the introduction of ‘siloed’ free-standing case studies, the book offers common and shared successful actions that can be located across each study. These shared approaches suggest the invaluable applicability and adaptation of the approaches and methods to others in higher education seeking to better understand and improve the experiences of systemically underserved first generation students in higher education. These points are underscored by an international, intergenerational, intercultural, cross-institutional and rigorous scholarly writing process led by senior scholars and inclusive of academics at every level and doctoral students. As such, the editors and authors of Understanding Experiences of First Generation University Students have completed two significant feats. They have provided research-rich methods text featuring stories seldom told in the academy from an under-represented group of students. These scholars have also provided a model for others in the academy who choose by their way of working and contributions to critical conversations about race, ethnicity, class and culture to disrupt and challenge what has previously been published on the subject. We suggest this book be the starting point for institutions, individuals, students and scholars alike who seek an alternative, empowering and innovative way to research and work with first generation students looking for a sense of belonging and a positive successful experience in higher education, regardless of country of origin. Arnetha F. Ball Stanford University, USA with Lorri J. Santamaría University of Auckland, New Zealand

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Introduction: Why Focus on First Generation Students? Amani Bell and Lorri J. Santamaría

My mum dropped out of school in year 7, so she thinks I’m a professor. As far as she’s concerned, I’m running this uni …. She barely negotiated the school system but yeah, she’s very proud. Vanessa, female, Indigenous Australian, first generation student

Introduction Over the past few decades universities worldwide have opened their doors to students whose parents and grandparents were historically excluded from societal participation and higher education for reasons associated with racial, ethnic, socio-economic and/or linguistic diversity. Many students benefitting from such efforts to widen participation are from low socio-economic backgrounds or first in their family or both to attend university, otherwise known as first generation students (Archer, Hutchings and Ross 2005; David et al. 2009; Chowdry et al. 2013; Reay, Crozier and Clayton 2010). While some progress has been made in responding to the needs of these internationally underserved learners, many challenges remain. This edited book features the unique and diverse experiences of first generation students as they transition into and engage with academe, and explores ways in which universities might better serve these students. With reference to culturally responsive and sustaining research methodologies undertaken by members of an international research collaborative in Australia, Canada, Aotearoa New  Zealand, South Africa, the United Kingdom and

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the United States, the book critically examines how these students enact persistence within university and ways in which success and challenges are articulated. Contributors and editors of this book view diversity and the associated complementary multiple perspectives offered as strengths. Though first generation students’ experiences in multiple countries, universities and contexts are presented together, as editors and authors we agreed to refrain from formally referring to the book as a comparative collection. Rather, as international education scholars Dimmock and Walker (2000) suggest, we exercised caution to avoid superficial comparisons between practices adopted in different countries and misleading [conclusions] without thorough understanding of the contexts, histories and cultures from which the practices were drawn (144). Rather, in this book we employ a more critical comparative stance informed by similarly situated international research featuring multiple countries where intersections of race, class, gender, sexual orientation and power are considered (Santamaría and Santamaría 2016a; Murakami et al. 2017; Normore and Watson 2015). From this perspective, elements that are unique to context and shared across the international higher education milieu are explored. A larger narrative connected by shared theoretical underpinnings and qualitative methodologies provides a sense of cohesion and organization to the book. These elements enable readers to easily move between chapters. To this end, the book is purposely replete with differentiated student voices, compelling implications for practice and suggestions for future research. The studies featured are centred on theories of identity and intersectionality (e.g. race, class, gender, sexual orientation experienced as multiple compounded forms of oppression), and on the value of student voices and experiences, with an emphasis on Indigenous and decolonized methodologies. Through these strengths-based culturally sustaining approaches (Paris 2012; Paris and Alim 2014), which include a Potentials Approach (Airini et al. 2010), Participatory Learning and Action (Bozalek and Biersteker 2010), Talanoa (Vaioleti 2006), narrative inquiry (Denzin 1997), yarning (Sherwood et al. 2015), and photovoice (Wang 1999), the book explores rich data on first generation student experiences at seven institutions in six countries across four continents.

A note on terminology In Australia, Aotearoa New Zealand and the UK, the term ‘first in family’ appears to be prevalent (Bell et al. 2016; Chowdry et al. 2013; O’Shea 2007), whereas ‘first

Introduction: Why Focus on First Generation Students?

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generation’ is more commonly used in the United States, Canada and elsewhere (Davis 2010; Thomas and Quinn 2007). Most of the authors in this book use ‘first generation’, with details on country-specific definitions provided where appropriate. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) defines first generation tertiary-educated adults as ‘individuals who have attained tertiary education but whose parents’ level of education is lower. The comparison is made only with the adult’s parents, not with earlier generations’ (OECD 2015: 84). However, beyond this static definition, we know that first generation entry is a dynamic concept and multifaceted: who is a first generation entrant and what that might mean is constantly subject to change (Thomas and Quinn 2007: 51). Jehangir (2010) also discusses the nuances around the definition, concluding first generation students inhabit spaces where the intersection of race, class and gender impact not only access to college but also their aspirations about their place in the unfamiliar land of higher education (15). Colyar (2011) suggests that ‘a privileging of “traditional” middle- and upperincome students is built into our scholarly work and in the discourse we use to talk about them. Even the descriptive terms used to indicate students’ status – lowor higher-income suggest comparisons, hierarchy and difference’ (2011: 125). While the term ‘first generation’ does imply difference, by taking a strengthsbased stance and perspective, we hope that it can also be considered as having more positive and inclusive connotations such as winning and pioneering. Following our deliberate discretion in comparing students across cases, we are as wary of treating first generation students as a separate and different species and realize there is major complexity and variation within this group, particularly when international viewpoints are presented. For example, for first generation Pacific Islander students in Aotearoa New Zealand, variations within this group include migrants from a variety of South Pacific Islands (e.g. Tonga, Samoa, Niue, Cook Islands) versus students born in Aotearoa New Zealand, mature-age students versus school leavers, those who are parents versus those who are not and so on. And in South Africa, there may sometimes not be a huge amount of difference between first generation and non-first generation students, because both groups might be black, who have similarly suffered through apartheid and come from poor townships. Each chapter offers the particular nuances to diversity of each case within each country. In the concluding chapter, we consider all the cases together to determine collective and enduring successful actions practised by all students, thus adding to the discourse on first generation students to be shared worldwide.

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Thus, at the outset, we believe and further demonstrate in this book that the narratives of first generation learners have a number of salient themes. These learners face unique challenges, such as having to adopt a different persona for university as compared to the ones they express with their families and communities who have no experience of higher education, or entering the university from a strong sense of collective community and having to adapt to a culture of individualism. Nuances such as these and many others around researching first generation students will be discussed in each chapter.

Why focus on first generation students? Gaining a higher education qualification can lead to better employment, wealth and well-being outcomes (OECD 2015), and thus “it is critically important to address inequalities in education opportunities in order to maintain social mobility and broaden the pool of candidates for higher education and highskilled jobs” (78). The numbers of first generation students entering higher education have been growing rapidly over the past decades, with the most recently available OECD figures showing that a mean average of 22 per cent of young adults in OECD countries have attained tertiary education, even though their parents had not (OECD 2015). While the OECD has found that first generation tertiary-educated adults and non-first generation tertiary-educated adults share similar employment rates and pursue similar fields of study (OECD 2015), some US-based studies have found that students from lower social class backgrounds ‘earn lower grades and graduate at lower rates than their middle and upper class peers (Bailey and Dynarski 2011; Bowen, Chingos and McPherson 2009; Engle and Tinto 2008; Ishitani 2006; Walpole 2003)’. (Yee 2016: 831). Reay and colleagues remind us that ‘behind the very simple idea of a mass system of higher education we have to recognise a complex institutional hierarchy and the continued reproduction of racialised, gendered and classed inequalities’ (Reay, David and Ball 2005: 163). Thomas and Quinn concur that ‘first generation entry … need[s] to be placed within a matrix of class and ethnicity and as constituting a point of overlap of many factors’ (2007: 250). Their review of the literature signalled ‘that there is something distinctive and neglected about first generation entry’ (ibid). In short, there has been a large and rapid increase in the numbers of first generation students entering higher education, and first generation students who attain their degrees access a range of beneficial outcomes. Yet despite increased

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numbers accessing higher education, there is also evidence of increasing societal inequalities (Burke 2012). And, as discussed below, there are few international studies on first generation students, and much remains to be done to transform the academy to better serve these students.

What our book contributes to the discourse about first generation students We find that our work is very much in conversation with previous studies (Burke 2012; Colyar 2011; David et al. 2009; Stich 2012), particularly the calls: ●

●

●

●

To ‘expand the tools and approaches used to explore the experiences of traditionally marginalised groups’ (Colyar 2011: 134). For ‘a vision for the global academy [that] include[s] diverse perspectives on pedagogies and institutional as well as cultural perspectives.’ (David et al. 2009: 201). For ‘fundamental changes in the ways in which we think and construct our own scholarship (to incorporate reflexivity and relational thinking, to recognise there is value in other fields, sub fields, and forms of capital)’ (Stich 2012: 115). For ‘theoretical and methodological frameworks that enable us to move beyond instrumentalist discourses of widening participation that are underpinned by neoliberal perspectives’ (Burke 2012).

By using Indigenous and decolonized methodologies, by sharing stories and images that invite deep reflection and by bringing together case studies from six countries, this book advances our understanding of ways in which higher education needs to transform to better meet the needs of first generation students.

What do we already know about first generation students? There are a number of excellent books and papers that explore the experiences of first generation students – these mostly have a single country, and sometimes a single institution, context (e.g. David et al. 2009; Davis 2010; Harvey and Housel 2011; Jehangir 2010; Reay, David and Ball 2005; Stich 2012). These studies reveal the complex situations and circumstances faced by first generation students, the diversity within the category, students’ challenges and successes and the

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need for transformation of policies and practices. Meta-thematic analysis of the literature on experiences of first generation students suggests complexity, diversity, success, challenges and the need for transformation as opportunities and challenges for further study.

Complexity An important finding from earlier studies is that the social processes around university choice and access are complex, unpredictable, and often messy. For example, ‘social class, ethnicity and in a different way gender all play their part but not in any mechanistic or simple sense. A sociological view of choice must recognise … the complex and sophisticated nature of individual and familial decision making’ (Reay et al. 2005). The prestigious universities, in the UK at least, are still mainly the prerogative of the upper and middle classes. According to Reay and associates (2005), ‘while more working class and ethnic minority students are entering university, they are generally entering different universities to their white middle class counterparts’ (162). There is clearly still work to be done in understanding and facilitating first generation students’ access to higher education.

Diversity As discussed above in the note on terminology, first generation students are by no means a homogenous group. … These students have complex identities … making students difficult to pigeonhole by group. Still, they are more often than not students of colour, immigrants and they come from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. These students are also often parents, employees and caretakers of their extended families and communities. They all do not have the same story, yet aspects of their narratives echo and weave together to form a pattern reflecting both the richness they bring to campuses and the obstacles they encounter in academia. (Jehangir 2010: 2)

Some studies warn of the problems of singling out first generation students for different treatment. As Colyar says in her study of six first generation students, ‘All of the young women are considered “at-risk” as college students … “at-risk” is a term they would never use to describe themselves’ (2011: 121). Listening to individual student’s stories (and viewing the images they create to illustrate

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their stories) helps staff, policymakers and other students understand the rich diversity of first generation students’ experiences and identities.

Success The literature on first generation students emphasizes that it is important to focus not just on access but also on success: ‘If access is not accompanied by student success, claims of “widened participation” or “social justice” are insincere’ (Thomas and Quinn 2007: 2). First generation students have the capacity to create change and better conditions not only for themselves, but also for their families and communities (Thomas and Quinn 2007) – a ‘huge leap of circumstance … that happen[s] in one generation’ (Davis 2010: 169). Factors which impact on the retention and success of first generation students include strong peer networks, faculty and peers as advocates (Jehangir 2010) and their own persistence and determination – what Davis calls ‘extreme self reliance’ (2010: 158). There is often a ‘key figure’ or ‘change agent’ who helps first generation students ‘move toward … an intuitive orientation toward college’ (Davis 2010: 155). It is important as researchers and as educators not to view first generation students through a deficit lens (Devlin 2013), but rather to see the strengths of these students. It is also important to note that success for first generation students may not fit narrow definitions of ‘standard’ progression and achievement. Of course, universities have financial reasons to retain students, but students may take a non-linear path, change degrees, change institutions, return to studies later or not at all and yet still feel that they have succeeded because they have gained valuable experiences.

Challenges Although a focus on strengths and success is important, we do need to understand the challenges that first generation students experience. Previous studies tell us that these challenges can include tensions in families, difficulties in negotiating access to higher education, financial stress, long work hours, social isolation, alienation from their culture and past identities, imposter syndrome, lower grades and higher attrition rates (Davis 2010) Kezar 2011; Thomas and Quinn 2007; Yee 2016;. Stephens et al. (2012: 1178) describe the ways in which American universities’ focus on independence (‘paving one’s own path’) rather than interdependence

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(‘being part of a community’) ultimately serves to undermine the academic performance of first generation college students. Yee found that students from lower class backgrounds were less likely to seek help from their lecturers, to be fiercely self-reliant and independent (2016). First generation students ‘engage less in the out of class life’ of university than non-first generation students, such as study abroad and co-curricular experiences, due to working, caring duties and commuting (Ward, Siegel and Davenport 2012: 50). Jehangir’s study (2010) showed that first generation students often have additional family and cultural obligations, and that families may not understand the demands of higher education. Alongside the pressure to succeed, first generation students may experience discrimination and overt and covert racism. The usual struggles of the first-year transition experienced by many students (e.g. Kift 2015) are compounded, and as Kezar reminds us, these challenges ‘are often invisible to campus staff ’ (2011: 19). When first generation students are changed by their experience of higher education and feel different from their families ‘there is a sense of being an impostor in one world and a traitor to the other’ (Jehangir 2010: 42). Thomas and Quinn (2007) draw on Connidis and McMullin’s (2002) concept of sociological ambivalence to discuss and identify some of the ambivalences around first generation entry to university, such as parents wanting children to go to university but fearing the child will abandon the family, and children not wanting to go to university but feeling pressure from the family. ‘First generation entry is a contradictory and indeed conflicted position which represents a crossroads for the family from one mode of being outside the university into one where the family is both inside and outside’ (Thomas and Quinn 2007: 65). Another challenge faced by first generation students is marginalization in the curriculum: ‘Students who are first in their families to attend college bring with them histories and experiences that have the capacity to inform and enrich the learning experience, and in doing so, make them part of the academic community. Instead, being excluded, silenced and rendered invisible in the curriculum only further marginalises and isolates them on campus’ (Jehangir 2010: 31). Similarly, Kezar points out while there is often an effort to include women and people of colour ‘in core course material … there is not a similar effort to include individuals with a low-income background within course materials at most institutions’ (2011: 20). Conversely, first generation students may also be put on the spot during class to discuss an aspect of their culture, race or community – attention that may be unwelcome, superficial and tokenistic.

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The need for transformation Most studies about first generation students point to the need for transformation of institutional cultures, practices and policies. Alongside a ‘focus on developing creative and inclusive pedagogies’ (David et al. 2009: 200), there is a need for the academy to address ‘its own troubled, exclusionary history’ (Stich 2012: 114). Such transformation requires long-term structural change, including curriculum design that addresses the issue of marginalization discussed earlier, and ‘attempt[s] to prioritise knowledge that is of value and relevance to underrepresented groups (Freire 1972)’ (Thomas and Quinn 2007: 105–6). Certainly, we see these themes in the chapters presented in this book. By reflecting deeply on the literature, on the experiences of first generation students and on our own experiences as educators, throughout this book we offer some exemplars for the themes and suggestions for transformation discussed in the concluding chapter.

The origins of the book The research conducted in Aotearoa New Zealand (Chapter 2), one of the Australian sites (Chapter 3), Canada and South Africa was carried out with funding from the Worldwide Universities Network (WUN), an international higher education and research network made up of twenty-one universities in eleven countries on five continents. WUN identified access and participation of first generation students as a global challenge in need of research and development (http://www.wun.ac.uk/ wun/globalchallenges/view/global-higher-education-and-research). Several of the chapter authors have, via the WUN project, been able to meet, share and compare ideas and methods. Our chapter, ‘Together to the Table’, gives some background on this (Bell et al. 2016). Chapters 6 and 8 were invited because we thought it was important to include perspectives from the United Kingdom and the United States, as countries with very large numbers of students in higher education and long histories of widening participation. The chapter from the other Australian site (Chapter 7) offers insights into the experiences of older first generation students, a focus not offered by the other chapters. These chapters were carefully selected as having complementary theoretical and methodological approaches to exploring the experiences of first generation students. An overview of these aspects and ways in which they are presented in each chapter is presented in the following table.

Chapter 1 Overview

Chapter 2 Aoteroa New Zealand

First Generation Student Context

Identity and/or Intersectionality Theory

Understanding educational landscape for students attending 7 institutions, in 6 countries, on 4 continents as impacted by race, class, gender, culture, immigrant/ refugee status from the perspective of multiple culturally and linguistically diverse scholars

Use of multiple identity theories to capture and present stories of students in culturally relevant and sustaining ways As when race, class, gender, sexual orientation or other difference is experienced as multiple compounded forms of oppression; encompassing ‘interrelatedness of racialised, gendered, and classed social institutions’ (Elias and Feagin 2016, in Chun and Evans 2016: 121–2) For Māori entitled equal rights and rights of ownership including ‘rights to self-determining models of autonomy over land, identity, and political voice’ (Maaka and Fleras 2005: 66); as a result, salience of Pasifika migrant identity can be compromised Students negotiating the ‘taking off and taking on of multiple identities’ as a survival technique

3 Māori (Indigenous to New Zealand) and 6 Pasifika (e.g. Samoan, Tongan, Fijian, Niuaen) migrant students at research-intensive university

Relevant/Sustaining Methodologies Strengths-based culturally sustaining (Paris 2012) and context-specific focus, forming overarching shared approach with inclusion of and emphasis on Indigenous and decolonized methodologies (Chilisa 2012; Durie 2005; Smith 1999)

Involves process of emancipation from seeing the world in one colour; with Indigenous Māori and Pasifika participants’ methodologies sourced from these contexts employed (Taloanoa; Kaupapa Māori) to create a sense of trust resulting in authentic exchange between researcher and the researched

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Research and Country

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Table 1.1 Overview of theoretical and methodological approaches

Research and Country Chapter 3

Chapter 4 Canada

Identity and/or Intersectionality Theory Particular difficulties for some Indigenous students in being away from family and community, and finding some HE content difficult emotionally (e.g. colonization) Students who are both Indigenous and first generation may face different issues than those who represent only one identity category

Indigenous student researchers within the university context in the Knowledge Makers programme providing opportunity for Indigenous undergraduate students to learn about Indigenous research putting practices into action

Flourishing found in movements First Nations and Higher Education: towards self-determination, The four R’s – Respect, Relevance, self-governance and redressing Reciprocity, and Responsibility of negative impacts of colonial (Kirkness and Barnhardt 1991) for practices that take shape in overacademic institutions wishing to representation of Indigenous develop academic initiatives and peoples as first generation students student services for Indigenous Being Indigenous within academy students role-modelled and emphasized as strength; Indigenous culture welcome and cherished including Indigenous sourced and generated outcomes and goals

Relevant/Sustaining Methodologies Focus groups and Indigenous technique of yarning starting with self, including a sense of place and connectedness– relatedness (Sherwood et al. 2015, 2008: 69); and storytelling; echoing conversational oral traditions within Indigenous cultures (Mckinnon 2016)

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(Continued)

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Australia

First Generation Student Context 24 Indigenous and nonIndigenous students at research-intensive university including 4 student focus groups some of whom were first generation

South Africa

Chapter 6 United Kingdom

First Generation Student Context Black students with African language (e.g. Xhosa, Zulu) as first language with neither parent having attended university as first generation

Two students–1 Pakistani man, 1 British woman

Identity and/or Intersectionality Theory Relevant/Sustaining Methodologies Identity formation (Archer 2000) Focus group methodologies wherein some students seek and complemented with a Participatory find discourse community offering Learning and Action (PLA) approach; social identities enhancing student PLA = collection of research development (e.g. sponsoring approaches commonly uses visual community in church) methods (e.g. drawing to learn from English not home language of and evaluate people’s concerns) – majority of students; speakers of regards participants as experts in own English as additional language lives and methods accessible to people might be silenced in a diverse with different levels of language focus group where multiple and literacy giving voice to oftenidentities are present marginalized people (Bozalek and Biersteker 2010) Students find identity within Narrative to capture sense of belonging relationships germane to family – illustrated stories using narrative structures and friendships fragments and indicative illustrations, Constant process of identity maintaining the narrative coherence construction as students adapt of the individual stories at the same to new experiences and make time as depicting emotionality of meaningful connections (Palmer students’ experiences; demonstrates et al. 2009), involving both how narrative approach used to give personal and social transformation students voice, as well as learn from (Britton and Baxter 1999) experiences

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Research and Country Chapter 5

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Table 1.1 (Continued)

Research and Country Chapter 7

Chapter 8 United States

Identity and/or Intersectionality Theory Community cultural wealth (Yosso 2005) and capability theory (Sen 1999) Close attention to better explore what ‘being a student’ actually means for older participants; focus would recognize how some cohorts ‘are unable to enact the student role in ways expected by university discourses’ (O’Shea 2015: 255)

28 culturally and linguistically diverse students, 5 male, 23 female

Critical pedagogy (Freire 1970, 1995) Photovoice-Participatory action research and the Learning Partnership where participants or community Model (Magolda and King 2004) members ‘visually document social Asian (13), Hispanic (7), Black (6), landscape through photography and and multiracial (2); 15 participants reflect on photographs to produce self-identified as immigrants personal narrative’ (Allen 2012: including 9 Asian, 3 Hispanic, 443). Illustrating multiple identities, and 3 Black students. Only 4 students used medium of photographs participants’ native language was and accompanying narratives to English. Majority of participants make meaning of own realities within bilingual or multilingual, speaking community of peers Spanish (8) or Hmong (7)

Relevant/Sustaining Methodologies Narrative approach challenges individualizing nature of widening participation, collective nature of narratives further enhanced through recursive approach to data analysis

Introduction: Why Focus on First Generation Students?

Australia

First Generation Student Context 13 older college students (over 25 years of age)

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Theoretical frameworks Earlier studies have made use of the theories of Bourdieu (e.g. Reay et al. 2005; Stich 2012; Thomas and Quinn 2007), Foucault (e.g. Thomas and Quinn 2007), post-structuralism (e.g. Kezar 2011), multicultural education and critical pedagogy (e.g. Jehangir 2010) and feminist perspectives (e.g. Burke 2012) to explore the complexities around first generation students’ choices and experiences of higher education. In this introductory chapter we build on previous studies by employing theories of identity (Tajfel and Turner 1979; Gurin et al. 2002) and intersectionality (Crenshaw 1989; Renn 2010), to frame and inform our work. Each of these theories, and its application to exploring the experiences of first generation students, is described below. Many of the following chapters draw on one or both of these theories and also on the work of Southern, Indigenous and post-colonial theorists. These include Raewyn Connell (2007), Sara Ahmed (2012), Karen Martin (2003, 2008), Graham Hingangaroa Smith (2000), Linda Tuhiwai Smith (1999), Gayatri Spivak (2009), and Achille Mbembe (2016), as appropriate to each chapter’s context.

Identity Identity is a common theme running through the book. Social identity theory was developed by Tajfel and Turner (1979), who proposed that the groups to which people belong are an important source of self-esteem. It is now recognized that identity encompasses multiple aspects (Jones and Abes 2013), including but not limited to racial and ethnic identities, sexuality, gender, dis/ability and religion (Chun and Evans 2016). Individuals who feel secure in their identity/ ies are able to effectively engage with culturally diverse others (Kim 2009). Indigenous scholars such as Shawn Wilson (2008) remind us to ‘look at the total person and the complexity of the connections and relationships that allow that individual to function’ (56). For students, higher education can be a key time for self-discovery and identity formation, as university is a place where students can try out different ‘social roles’ (Erikson 1956). Students’ multiple identities are ‘negotiated, co-created, situated and socially constructed, involving not only one’s understanding of one’s self but also a social discourse about oneself ’ (Levin 2007: 66). Yet for

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first generation students, going to university may not be strongly linked with their identity/ies, as it often is for non-first generation students (Davis 2010). So a challenge for first generation students is that the unfamiliar situation of university may intensify any conflicts between their multiple identities – and the university environment may not provide space for students to contemplate the situation (Jehangir 2010). A student in Davis’s study described this dilemma succinctly as: ‘I feel like I can never just be me’ (2010: 120). Davis goes on to add that having to ‘straddle two cultures’ (home and campus) can lead to dropping out and contributes to first generation students’ anxieties (2010: 174). The chapter authors have used culturally appropriate, responsive or sustaining methodologies to nurture and explore students’ multifaceted identities (Paris and Alim 2014; Paris 2012; Santamaría and Santamaría 2016b). Encouraging students to tell their stories, while listening respectfully, can help affirm their identities. As Penny Jane Burke describes, ‘Through the telling of stories about ourselves, we actively produce our identities through an assemblage of the memories and experiences we reconstruct in the telling process’ (2012: 55).

Intersectionality Kimberlé Crenshaw coined the term ‘intersectionality’ to describe the multiple and compounded forms of oppression experienced by black women (1989). The term has now come to encompass ‘the intersection of race, class, gender, sexual orientation, and other identity markers, and the interrelatedness of racialised, gendered, and classed social institutions’ (Elias and Feagin 2016, quoted in Chun and Evans 2016: 121–2). For university students, these intersections and inter-relations can create unique perspectives (Museus and Griffin 2011) and unique challenges (Elias and Feagin 2016). For first generation students, their race, class, gender, culture, immigrant/refugee status and other identities often intersect with their first generation identity, and higher education institutions need to become more aware of the potential consequences of these intersections. Jehangir reminds us: As newcomers to higher education, [first generation students face] … the challenge of traversing multiple worlds that appear to have little in common. As a result, they must become adept at wearing many hats and switching from one ‘disguise’ to another in ways that can limit their full engagement in any aspect of their lives. (2010: 2)

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Chun and Evans (2016) note that ‘few practices have emerged to address issues of “identity dissonance” or the state of “in-betweenness” [of multi-racial students] (Garrod, Kilkenny and Gomez 2013)’, and we argue that the same could be said about first generation students. Queer theory, while not used in any of the chapters, is worth noting here as it provides useful perspectives on intersectionality and identity. It reminds us that while intersectionality refers to those experiencing multiple oppressions, those oppressions are not static and identities are not stable. Queer theory ‘enables a more contextual, less categorical examination of development that considers the mutual influences of multiple, fluid identity domains’ (Renn 2010: 135).

Methodological approaches Following these inclusive theoretical perspectives, a further element of sensemaking interwoven throughout the book is the strengths-based culturally sustaining and context-specific focus, which forms an overarching shared approach used in all chapters. There is an emphasis on Indigenous and decolonized methodologies relevant to the countries and contexts included, each with shared legacies of colonization (Chilisa 2012; Durie 2005; Smith 1999). Inspired by the work of the Southern, Indigenous and post-colonial scholars mentioned earlier, and our own contexts, research and experiences, we believe that these methodologies can help expose what Penny Jane Burke calls the ‘hegemonic discourses of widening participation’ (2012: 3). As the methodologies all focus around storytelling and, in some cases, images, they are accessible to participants with varying levels of literacy. The methodologies allow for some choice and creativity and attend to creating a relational space in which the stories can unfold. These strengths-based culturally sustaining approaches include a Potentials Approach (Airini et al. 2010), Participatory Learning and Action (Bozalek and Biersteker 2010), Talanoa (Vaioleti 2006), narrative inquiry (Denzin 1997), yarning (Sherwood et al. 2015) and photovoice (Wang 1999), and are described in detail in each chapter. However, the authors have not used these methodologies uncritically. Professor Airini, the lead author of Chapter 4, explained the ways in which we view culturally responsive and sustaining research methodologies in a previous publication by some of the chapter authors in this book: We value indigenous research methods as expanding the research canon. But we resist ‘miraculating’ the indigenous (Deleuze and Guattari 2004; Spivak

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2009).  … Assumptions that all indigenous research methods are good could be fought. Similarly, we could also fight assumptions that indigenous research methods either do not exist or are bad. (Bell et al. 2016: 114)

Additionally, we (the authors) bring our own culturally rich and diverse perspectives to the work. We represent a range of cultural and linguistic experiences and backgrounds, including first generation, Indigenous and so on. Some of the chapters have been written in partnership with research assistants who are also first generation students, as we wanted to embody the theories and methodologies we were using in our research. Being students themselves, these research assistants were much closer to the experiences of the students whose stories were being gathered. The research assistants were able to relate well with the students and offer invaluable perspectives during data analysis. In return (reciprocity being a key feature of many Indigenous methodologies), the research assistants were mentored so that they gained experience in research techniques, writing and publishing processes and in giving conference presentations – thus helping a new generation of scholars on their journeys.

Organization of the book Each chapter provides details about institutional and country contexts related to first generation students. The main thrust of the book is exploring the methodologies of the studies and providing exemplars of research contextualized to particular student populations and locations. Our studies provide in-depth first-person accounts of the experiences of first generation students, which invite readers to listen to and be aware of the stories of first generation students in their own institutions. Chapter 2 features Aotearoa New Zealand, where there are high numbers of first-in-family (FIFU) students in higher education, yet little is known about these students and the factors that contribute to their success. ‘Ema Wolfgramm-Foliaki and Lorri J. Santamaría combined culturally appropriate and sustaining methodology with Participatory Learning and Action to bring to the fore authentic multiple narratives of the journeys of FIFU students and their experiences at a research-intensive university. The chapter draws from narratives and visual representations gathered from culturally mediated focus group interviews of Māori and Pasifika FIFU students. Preliminary analysis identified the importance of being first in family to attend university, the benefits of a university education, the value of different forms of cultural capital

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to student success, the contribution of family and others, institutional structure and practices that help or hinder FIFU progress and the complexities of FIFU students’ multiple identities. The themes surfaced as important aspects of FIFU students’ journeys in higher education. Amani Bell and Matthew Benton explore the experiences of Australian Indigenous and non-Indigenous first generation students in Chapter 3, using the Indigenous technique of yarning (Sherwood et al. 2015). Their chapter presents data from four student focus groups at the University of Sydney: two with non-Indigenous first generation and non-first generation students, and two with Indigenous students, some of whom were first generation. The twenty-four students were asked about their journeys to and through the university. Bell and Benton identified several themes in the data, including that while university is a foregone conclusion for many non-first generation students, it is a more complex decision for first generation students. Support programmes for first generation and Indigenous students are important, especially in the creation of long-term social support. Cultural dissonances were jarring for some students, and while all students found balancing university, expenses and a social life difficult, there were particular difficulties for some Indigenous students in being away from family and community. Another theme that emerged with many of the Indigenous students was one of empowerment against the status quo of the established power structures of the university. Chapter 4 sees Airini and Sereana Naepi discuss the Canadian context, where up to one-third of all students at university are first generation students. These students do not have any guardians who attended post-secondary education. Of these, Canada’s Indigenous students are more likely to be the first generation to attend university than university students of other ethnicities. Their chapter provides insights into the Canadian context of first generation university students, with a particular focus on Indigeneity. As a way forward Airini and Naepi propose a Potentials Approach and three possible university pathways (culture, structures, and research and teaching) to best serve the potential of every first generation student. They use the Knowledge Makers initiative at Thompson Rivers University as an example of a ‘narrow and deep’ approach that universities can implement to realize Indigenous potential in higher education. Roisin Kelly-Laubscher, Moragh Paxton, Ziyanda Majombozi and Samukele Mashele in Chapter 5 reveal the factors affecting the success of students who are first generation at a South African university, against the dramatic background of the #FeesMustFall and #RhodesMustFall protests. In South Africa, despite

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increased entry into tertiary education for students from poorer townships and rural areas, failure and drop-out rates are still high, which means that many are gaining admission without gaining real access to higher education. Although much research has already focused on the broader population of students disadvantaged by the legacy of apartheid, very little has focused on factors affecting the success of first generation students. The authors used a Participatory Learning and Action approach to ask students to draw their experiences of the journey to, into and through the university. Using these drawings, students explained their journeys to the researchers and these were video recorded. The chapter presents the journeys of two first generation students at a previously white institution in South Africa. In Chapter 6, the transitions of first generation students to higher education in the UK are examined by Claire Hamshire, Rachel Forsyth and Catherine Player, using narrative inquiry. First generation students in the UK were interviewed at regular intervals during their programmes of study as part of a three-year longitudinal study of physiotherapy students. They present data from two first generation students to offer an insight into what ‘being a student’ meant for these particular students. The study demonstrates that the transition into higher education is about students developing a sense of themselves and of belonging to an institution. Ultimately a higher education is necessarily a process of ‘becoming’ and can be considered as a transformation as students develop over time. The authors illustrate how a narrative approach can be used to give first generation students voice, which can be used to inform curriculum design and institutional services. Chapter 7 sees a return to Australia, where Sarah O’Shea explores the capitals and capabilities of Australian first generation mature-age students. Drawing on research conducted with older first generation students studying at a regional Australian university, this chapter explores how attending university interacted with the a priori life experiences of both learners and their families. Adopting a narrative inquiry approach, participants in two studies were encouraged to reflect deeply on their experiences of ‘moving into’ the university environment with particular reference to how they drew upon their life and work experiences in their transition and engagement with higher education. This analysis draws upon the Community Cultural Wealth framework developed by Yosso (2005), which recognizes the cultural strengths of diverse student groups. In addition, the work of Sen (1992, 2003) provides further theoretical framing to contextualize how older, first generation students managed this return to learning, with

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particular reference to the relative freedoms individuals had access to during this transition. The focus of the chapter is the ways in which older students defined and enacted ‘success’ within the tertiary environment, including the ways in which they utilized existing knowledges and skills in this enactment. Rashne Jehangir and Veronica Deenanath in Chapter 8 discuss how a photovoice project with first generation college students in the United States has been used to broaden the perspectives of academics, administrators and students. The chapter addresses how first generation, low-income students at a Midwestern research university in the United States represent their multiple identities through photographs and narratives. The use of the photovoice methodology was intentionally embedded into a one-credit course to engage students in curriculum and pedagogy that engendered the development of self-authorship and challenged the deficient narrative of the first generation experience. The study includes three phases of analyses, and this chapter focuses on the first phase where the authors share a typology of the photographs that students took to represent their multiple and intersecting identities and the process by which this partnership between student affairs practitioners and faculty was developed. The concluding chapter by Amani Bell and Lorri J. Santamaría offers a theoretical summary and provides a broader interpretation of the findings of the individual chapters. The findings are presented thematically in a table. Key issues for further research on first generation students, leadership and transformation in higher education internationally are discussed.

An invitation We invite you to reflect deeply on your own contexts while reading about the convergences and divergences in the experiences of culturally, linguistically and otherwise diverse first generation students across four continents. Join us in this discourse as together we learn to better understand and thus address the multifaceted and complex needs of these unique students, in your local and in the greater global context.

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Harvey, V. L. and Housel, T. H. (2011). Faculty and first-generation college students: Bridging the classroom gap together. New Directions for Teaching and Learning No. 127, Wiley Periodicals. Ishitani, T. T. (2006). Studying attrition and degree completion behavior among firstgeneration college students in the United States. The Journal of Higher Education, 77(5), 861–85. Jehangir, R. (2010). Higher Education and First-Generation Students: Cultivating Community, Voice, and Place for the New Majority. New York, NY: Springer. Jones, S. R. and Abes, E. S. (2013). Identity Development of College Students: Advancing Frameworks for Multiple Dimensions of Identity. San Francisco: John Wiley & Sons. Kezar, A. (ed.) (2011). Recognizing and Serving Low-Income Students in Higher Education: An Examination of Institutional Policies, Practices, and Culture. New York and London: Routledge. Kift, S. (2015). A decade of Transition Pedagogy: A quantum leap in conceptualising the first year experience. HERDSA Review of Higher Education, 2, 51–86. Levin, J. (2007). Nontraditional Students and Community Colleges: The Conflict of Justice and Neoliberalism. New York, NY: Springer. Maaka, R. and Fleras, A. (2005). The Politics of Indigeneity: Challenging the State in Canada and Aotearoa New Zealand. Dunedin, New Zealand: University of Otago Press. Magolda, M. B. B., and King, P. M. (2004). Learning Partnerships: Theory and Models of Practice to Educate for Self-Authorship. Sterling, Virginia, USA: Stylus Publishing, LLC. Martin, K., (Mirraboopa, B). (2003). Ways of knowing, being and doing: A theoretical framework and methods for Indigenous and Indigenist re‐search. Journal of Australian Studies, 27(76), 203–14. Martin, K. L. (2008). Please Knock Before you Enter: Aboriginal Regulation of Outsiders and the Implications for Researchers. Brisbane: Post Pressed. Mbembe, J. A. (2016). Decolonizing the university: New directions. Arts and Humanities in Higher Education, 15(1), 29–45. Mckinnon, C. (2016). Sitting and listening: Continuing conversations about indigenous biography. Biography, 39(3), 495–98. Murakami, E. T., Jean-Marie, G., Santamaría, L. J., and Lopez, A. E. (2017). Educational Leadership Among Women of Colour in United States, Canada, New Zealand. In Miller, P. (ed.), Cultures of Educational Leadership, 53–75. London: Palgrave Macmillan. Normore, T. and Watson, T. (eds.) (2015). Racially and Ethnically Diverse Women Leading Education: A Worldview. London, UK: Emerald Group Publishing. OECD. (2015). Education at a Glance 2015: OECD Indicators, OECD Publishing. http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/eag-2015-en. O’Shea, S. (2007). Well, I got here but what happens next? Exploring the narratives of First year female students who are the first in the family to attend university. Journal of the Australian and New Zealand Student Services Association, 29, 36–51.

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O’Shea, S., (2015) ‘I generally say I am a Mum first … but I’m studying at uni’: The narratives of first in family, female caregivers moving into an Australian university. Journal of Diversity in Higher Education, 8(4), 243–57. Palmer, M., O’Kane, P. and Owens, M. (2009) Betwixt spaces: Student accounts of turning point experiences in the first-year transition. Studies in Higher Education, 34(1), 37–54. Paris, D. (2012). Culturally sustaining pedagogy a needed change in stance, terminology, and practice. Educational Researcher, 41(3), 93–7. Paris, D. and Alim, H. S. (2014). What are we seeking to sustain through culturally Sustaining pedagogy? A loving critique forward. Harvard Educational Review, 84(1), 85–100. Reay, D., Crozier, G. and Clayton, J. (2010). ‘Fitting in’ or ‘standing out’: Working‐class students in UK higher education. British Educational Research Journal, 36(1), 107–24. Reay, D., David, M. E. and Ball, S. J. (2005). Degrees of Choice: Class, Race, Gender and Higher Education. Stoke on Trent, UK and Sterling USA: Trentham Books. Renn, K. A. (2010). LGBT and queer research in higher education: The state and status of the field. Educational Researcher, 39(2), 132–41. Santamaría, L. J. and Santamaría, A. P. (2016a). Toward culturally sustaining leadership: Innovation beyond ‘school improvement’ promoting equity in diverse contexts. Education Sciences, 6(4), 33; doi:10.3390/educsci6040033 Santamaría, L. J. and Santamaría, A. P. (eds.) (2016b). Culturally Responsive Leadership in Higher Education: Promoting Access, Equity, and Improvement, 106–20. New York and London: Routledge. Sen, A. (1999). Development as Freedom. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Sherwood, J., Lighton, S., Dundas, K., French, T., Link-Gordon, D., Smith, K. and Anthony, T. (2015). Who are the experts here? Recognition of Aboriginal women and community workers in research and beyond. AlterNative: An International Journal of Indigenous Peoples, 11(2), 177–90. So, H. J. and Kim, B. (2009). Learning about problem based learning: Student teachers integrating technology, pedagogy and content knowledge. Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, 25(1), 101–16. Smith, G. H. (2000). Māori education: Revolution and transformative action. Canadian Journal of Native Education, 24(1), 57. Smith, L. T. (1999). Decolonizing Methodologies: Research and Indigenous Peoples. London: Zed books. Spivak, G. C. (2009). Outside in the Teaching Machine. 2nd ed. New York and London: Routledge. Stephens, N. M., Fryberg, S. A., Markus, H. R., Johnson, C. S. and Covarrubias, R. (2012). Unseen disadvantage: How American universities’ focus on independence undermines the academic performance of first-generation college students. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 102(6), 1178.

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Excavating Stories of First Generation Students in Aotearoa New Zealand ‘Ema Wolfgramm-Foliaki and Lorri J. Santamaría

Seeing students with their cap and gown reminds me of why I’m doing this, my family members saying – you are the hope for us – reminds me to keep going. I am first in my family. Simaima [a pseudonym], female, Tongan, first generation student

Introduction A university qualification is known to bring long-term benefits especially for those who are ‘first in their family’ (FIFU) to study in higher education. Hence, there is a strong argument to be made for greater and equitable access to higher education, particularly for FIFU students from historically and systemically underserved communities. In Aotearoa New Zealand (ANZ), many FIFU students are of Māori (Indigenous to New Zealand) and Pasifika (e.g. Tongan, Samoan, Fijian, Niuaen) descent. Existing scholarly contributions on or about Māori and Pasifika students are based on what the learners lack, rather than the skills and types of knowledge they bring with them to university. The common application and use of deficit lenses to examine historically and systemically underserved FIFU students in ANZ and the Pacific islands fail to recognize FIFU students as pioneers and leaders in their families and communities with aspirations for educational attainment (Wolfgramm-Foliaki 2016). This current research shifts the focus onto the strengths of these FIFU students, so that we may consider what the students bring to the academy and ways in which the university can use this knowledge to help meet their needs, thereby better serving the FIFU students and their communities as well. Our chapter draws

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from narratives and visual representations gathered from focus group interviews of a representative group of Māori descent and Pasifika FIFU students who are currently studying at a large research-intensive university in ANZ. We used a culturally appropriate and sustaining methodology to bring to the fore authentic multiple narratives of the FIFU journey and these students’ experiences in higher education. We preface this chapter by outlining some of the benefits for being a FIFU student regardless of race, ethnicity or culture, in ANZ. In our country, a university education still often translates into better job prospects. At the same time FIFU students tend to serve as pioneers in their families and communities, thus inspiring, encouraging and thereby providing role models for others who may not have considered going on for further study. Successfully completing a degree is a point of positive transformation for FIFU students, and in the past decade there has been a growing number of these students entering the higher education sector. Despite their aspirations and efforts, many FIFU students, and particularly those of Māori and Pasifika descent, arrive at university to find an unfamiliar and sometimes unfriendly terrain. Therefore, navigating their way through academia becomes a challenge and consequently a barrier to their success (Bell et al. 2016; Santamaría and Santamaría 2016; WolfgramFoliaki 2016). What has been written about FIFU students is often based on a deficit model where the discourse is focused on what they lack rather than what they bring with them into the classroom. Based on what they seemingly do not have, the forecast for FIFU students is one of failure and subsequently dropping out. Our project provides a space for FIFU students to tell the stories of their experiences so that we as an academic community can learn and understand more about how they successfully navigate an unfamiliar terrain. The group of students in this chapter articulate their experiences and pinpoint different stages in their journey at university, where they feel ‘out of place’. To learn more about the student perspectives of systemically underserved FIFU students in ANZ, we worked alongside other scholars investigating the experiences of similarly situated students in their countries. As a result of this research collaboration (see Chapter 5), we chose to employ Participatory Learning Action (PLA) (Bozalek 2011) as utilized by South African researchers for a complementary research method (to our culturally appropriate and sustaining approach). We felt that asking students to draw their journeys into and through the university was an important, albeit optional, activity during our focus group data collection process. Preliminary analysis revealed a

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number of themes: the importance of being first in family to attend university, perspectives on the benefits of a university education, FIFU students’ transition into university, the contribution of family and role models to the FIFU journey, institutional structures and practices that helped or hindered FIFU progress, complexities associated with FIFU students’ multiple identities and strategies for engaging with FIFU students with Indigenous ancestry. Our findings will be a basis for discussion on how we can bridge the gap between the aspirations of FIFU students for educational achievement and current university teaching and learning practices.

Definition of first in the family students In our study, we consider FIFU students to be those who are first in their families to study in a tertiary institution. While often referred to as first generation students, the term ‘first in the family’ seems to be the most appropriate way of describing this group. It is a more encompassing way of describing these students and their contexts. For example, some are first in their immediate families while others are first in their extended family, their church community and wider community. Hence, the choice of using the term ‘first in the family’ enabled us to encapsulate all the different contexts our students experience. As can be gleaned from this book, a number of scholars have also referred to higher education students in this group as FIFU (e.g. O’Shea 2015). What we do know both anecdotally and from the literature (Bell et al. 2016; Jehangir 2015; Santamaría and Santamaría 2018) is that FIFU students embody multiple identities. For example, some are members of wider communities including church groups, cultural ethnic groups and the like. Chen and Carroll (2005) pointed out that, unlike students whose parents attended college, FIFU students are most likely to be from low socioeconomic communities, children of migrants, student parents and from areas that are underserved. This definition complements what we have learnt to be true for the student experiences considered in this chapter.

Existing literature: First in the family students The literature has drawn attention to the complexity of the relationship between the institution and its students (Terenzini et al. 1996). Collier and Morgan (2008) used the sociological lens of role theory to examine how FIFU students

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experience university study. They argued that students who arrive at university with a good understanding of university expectations and how to respond within an academic context were likely to succeed. Similarly, Collier (2000, 2001) mapped out how societal roles such as ‘college student’ have significant implications for succeeding at university. He suggested that students who are able to master the expectations of a college student role have a high chance of succeeding and continuing on with their studies. It is clear that students need to understand what their lecturers and teachers expect of them, both implicitly and explicitly. However, Dumais (2002) argued that schools do not provide the opportunity for students to acquire the skills and understanding necessary for success in higher education. Rather, the cultural capital required for academic success is based on families’ cultural capital, and hence is reliant on social class (Dumais 2002). Bourdieu’s (1977) work has looked at how a student’s cultural resources influence their outcome at school. In his work he argued that schools reward students for their cultural capital, as teachers were more likely to engage with these students and go as far as to perceive them as being more intelligent than students who lack cultural capital. Bourdieu identified cultural capital as something that is passed down from one generation to the next. While academic skills are related to prior learning, cultural capital has more to do with pre-existing knowledge, which includes knowing and recognizing how to engage in an academic setting. FIFU students often do not have a good understanding of what is required (such as time commitment) in order to succeed in specific courses. On the other hand, non-FIFU students, due to the experiences of their family members, may be more familiar with the demands and requirements of an academic context, and many have planned to study at university from a young age. Thus, non-FIFU students may be seemingly better prepared for the transition to higher education than their FIFU counterparts.

The context in Aotearoa New Zealand: Pasifika (Pacific Islander) and Māori descent students When we examine the historically low achievement of Pacific Islander students in higher education in ANZ, there are clear links to cultural capital, as discussed above. In the past, most Pacific students have lacked the prior knowledge and also the necessary social skills that are required for success within a Western

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academic context. The Pacific population in ANZ has grown significantly in the past two decades. By the 2013 national census, 7.4 per cent of the population were of Pacific descent compared to 6.9 per cent in the 2006 census. By the 2013 census two-thirds of the Pacific population were ANZ born, and as an ethnic group they have the highest proportion of children (0–14 years) in ANZ’s population (Statistics New Zealand 2013). Pacific peoples have remained significantly over-represented among those that have failed to leave school with any formal achievement. Only 10 per cent of Pacific school leavers were recorded to have qualified as having a university entrance certificate, and even more worrying was the fact that over a quarter were leaving school without any qualifications whatsoever (Ministry of Education 2004). Consequently, Pacific students’ participation rate in education as a whole has been slow to improve. By 2000, the statistics showed an increase in their higher education participation from 2.5 per cent to 4.8 per cent of the total. However, a closer examination revealed that the majority of the increase had been of those that enrol in certificate and diploma courses, rather than degree programmes. Therefore, in comparison to peer counterparts, Pacific peoples still have much lower participation rates in higher education. These low participation rates have important implications for Pacific Islander students who enter higher education. For many, their parents did not complete high school education, and consequently the majority of Pacific students in higher education are first in their families to study at university. Given their low participation and achievement rates, Pacific students are a priority group of learners in ANZ (Ministry of Education 2015). According to the ANZ Ministry of Education, Māori students are another priority group of learners. Māori people are tangata whenua (owners of the land and original occupants of ANZ) and are the Indigenous peoples of the country. The Treaty of Waitangi (1840) provides a basis for engaging with Māori people and at the same time recognizes that Māori are entitled to equal rights and rights of ownership in this country. More importantly, Māori have the ‘rights to self-determining models of autonomy over land, identity, and political voice’ (Maaka and Fleras 2005: 66). This has significant implications for Māori in education. In 2015, 15 per cent of the New Zealand population identified as Māori ethnic group. As a population group, the projections indicate a high growth rate on average, and by 2038 it is expected to account for 20 per cent of the New Zealand population, with a high number of children. As with our Pacific peoples, a high number of our Māori students are also first in their

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family to study at university. Most concerning is their continued low level of participation and achievement in education. Certainly, Pasifika and Māori descent students in ANZ at every level, and particularly that of higher education, can be considered non-traditional when thinking about existing literature on this sub-group of learners at the academy. Vincent Tinto’s (1987) early work established that higher education institutions were still not doing enough to retain non-traditional students such as these. A main focus of his more recent work in 2004 (Tinto 2005) was the expectation that institutions would take responsibility for the learning environment offered for students. Gee and Green (1998) noted that institutions’ failure to create engaging learning environments for non-traditional students contributed to a culture of exclusivity where the discourse and practices kept these students at the fringes of engagement. Retention of Pasifika students has increasingly become an issue for higher education institutions in ANZ, and although the literature on retention in our country is limited, Rolleston and Anderson (2004) found in their study of Māori and Pacific students that external factors (finance, family and personal) were indicated as the main reasons to why they left without completion. However, institutional reasons also made up 35 per cent of the comments from participants. Kalavite (2010) points out the tensions that exist between the different relationships of Tongan students (a subgrouping of Pacific students). She argues that their success at university is dependent on a better understanding between their social and cultural relationships and their academic relationship. Kalavite’s study demonstrated the importance of a more flexible relationship between the different contexts in order to allow students to move fluidly between them. A more fluid movement and better understanding between the different contexts will help students to better manage their studies and achieve success at university. Related to these findings, many FIFU students in ANZ describe their experiences at university as one of constant struggle. In particular, they describe navigating the difference between university culture and their home culture plus their own values and ideologies as overwhelmingly complex (Jehangir 2015). Additional existing literature and anecdotal evidence suggests that many FIFU students feel there is a need to compromise their identity in order to succeed at university (Jehangir 2015). Further, the culturally situated knowledge and experiences that Pasifika and Māori descent first generation students bring to university are not generally considered to be valid forms of engagement. These constant struggles and points of tension contribute to what Jehangir (2015) refers to as constant marginalization of FIFU students.

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Culturally appropriate and sustaining methodology Student participants in this study were of Māori (n = 8) and Pasifika (n = 16) descent. Most of the students in both groups were between the ages of nineteen and twenty-two years and were undertaking their first degree. A small number were mature-age students. All students were enrolled in full-time courses within four different faculties across the research-intensive university. These were the Faculty of Education and Social Work, Arts, Law and Science. It is important to note here that due to the low number of these students in some of the faculties, as culturally sustaining researchers we have to be careful about the ways in which we describe our students as to maintain their anonymity. We believe there is a cultural, moral and ethical responsibility on our part as researchers of colour to maintain and ensure that we keep the anonymity of our participants. We recognize our positionality as a tension in carrying our research from minoritized perspectives and communities into the wider and larger population. Our students’ identities and our own require, in our opinions, culturally appropriate and sustaining methodologies for this study. Our decision to proceed with our ‘excavation’ in this way was well supported by previous work of scholars such as Linda Smith (1999), Bagele Chilisa (2012) and Vaioleti (2006). Lincoln, Lynham and Guba (2011) point out that using a culturally appropriate methodology involves a process of emancipation from seeing the world in one colour. Chilisa contends that research conducted within a Western paradigm has the tendency to label, condemn and prescribe solutions for Indigenous and historically oppressed peoples. However, Chilisa (2009; Chilisa and Nitseane 2010) among others suggests that when working with minority and Indigenous peoples, researchers take note of the following: accountable responsibility, respect, reciprocity and rights and regulations of the researched as well as the roles and responsibilities of the researchers. In doing so, Indigenous research methodologies can be considered ethical, and the researcher can be a ‘transformative healer’. Our approach is considered to be culturally sustaining (Paris 2012; Paris and Alim 2014) as well in that we ‘seek to perpetuate and foster – to sustain – linguistic, literate, and cultural pluralism as part of the democratic’ (p. 93) process of interrogating and learning more about higher education. Further, thinking about culturally sustaining approaches has been employed with Indigenous groups previously and as such appropriate in this case (McCarty and Lee 2014). Scholars who do so assert that when working with Indigenous participants it is appropriate to employ methodologies from their context (McCarty and Lee

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2014; Santamaría et al. 2015; Smith 1999). This helps to create a sense of trust and will result in an authentic exchange between the researcher and the researched. There is also a positive consequence of bringing Indigenous methodology into an area that has previously been influenced by the dominant Western construct. That is, Indigenous methods become validated as a way of carrying out research. Smith (1999) wrote that research is a site of constant struggle between the interest and knowing of the West and the interest and knowing of the ‘Other’. When we utilize appropriate methodologies, we are also highlighting what can be learnt from the ‘Other’. We (authors) are both members of the ‘Other’, and thus we are committed to privileging Indigenous knowledge and ways of being in the work that we do. There are a number of complementary Pasifika sourced methodologies that are appropriate for working with Indigenous and Pacific Islander peoples. For the purpose of this study we employed Talanoa as a way of working with Pasifika and Māori students to gather their narratives. Talanoa was developed by Timote Vaioleti (who is of Tongan descent) as a research methodology for working with Pacific peoples (Vaioleti 2003, 2006). The word tala means ‘to talk’ and noa literally means ‘about nothing in particular’. In relation to research, the Talanoa methodology enables participants to come together in a peaceful forum whereby they can engage in a conversation that can lead to meaningful outcomes. ‘Talanoa is a personal encounter where people story their issues, their realities and aspirations. It allows for a more mo’oni (pure, real, authentic) information to be available for Pacific research than data derived from other research methods’ (Vaioleti 2003: 3). As a methodology, Vaioleti argues that it encourages the researcher to engage ‘deeply’ with the participants in the research experience rather than being removed from the process and context. ‘Talanoa, is mostly subjective, mostly oral and collaborative, and is resistant to rigid, institutional, hegemonic control’ (Vaioleti 2006: 24). In the case of FIFU students who are of Pacific descent, Talanoa is a methodology that encourages their participation together with the researcher and each other to ensure that an authentic engagement is achieved. The ANZ research team was made up of four FIFU women of different cultural and ethnic backgrounds, namely a Pacific Islander and an African American/ American Indian (Choctaw) descent academic and two doctoral students, one of indigenous Māori and the other of Asian and East Indian background. An important aim of our study was to build capacity in the communities to which our FIFU students belong. Two doctoral students were given the opportunity to work intergenerationally alongside experienced researchers and to actively

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participate in the process of knowledge production. In addition, we wanted our students to be part of a project that potentially has both personal and meaningful contribution to all communities involved. One of the earlier outputs of our collaborative work was co-authored by one of our doctoral students (Bell et al. 2016). The contribution of each culturally and linguistically different member of our multitalented intergenerational research team enabled us to demonstrate that diversity can be an opportunity rather than a challenge (Bell et al. 2016). The work of Santamaría and Santamaría (2015, 2016), Darling-Hammond and Bransford (2007) as well as May and Sleeter (2010) calls for researchers, educational leaders and teachers to seek transformative models and frameworks in their quest to address educational disparities. We feel that such models include having members of the community participate in research as well as knowledge production. This model resonates with the Māori and Pacific Islander concept of teaching and learning known as Ako, which literally means ‘to learn and to teach simultaneously’. Ako is based on the concept of reciprocal learning where the individual is both a teacher and a learner (Bishop and Glynn 1999). In practice, it is a relationship whereby both teacher and learner learn from each other as individuals or within a group context. Reciprocal learning ‘promotes learning of knowledge in action’ (Bishop 2003: 226). In relation to our project, both researchers and doctoral students were open to learning with and from one another. An example of this relationship in practice is when our Māori doctoral student took the lead during one of our research meetings in teaching the group a waiata or Māori song. In this context, the switching of roles occurred in a seamless way with the academics and researchers taking on the role of learners while our research assistant took the role of teacher. By using culturally appropriate methodologies we are engaging in what Linda Smith (1999) refers to as a process of ‘retrieving space’ for Māori to have greater involvement in research for Māori, an area that had previously been occupied by Western forms of engagement. Smith’s (1999) work has informed and encouraged Pacific Islander scholars and researchers to develop culturally meaningful frameworks and paradigms for carrying out research in their own communities. The Kakala Framework by Thaman (1997), Talanoa by Vaioleti (2006) and the Vanua Research Framework by Nabobo-Baba (2008) are a few examples of a growing number of culturally based and meaningful methodologies developed by Pacific scholars for working with Pacific Islander communities. Smith (1999) also raises the point of who should lead and be involved in Kaupapa Māori research, as a critical question about cultural research methodologies is who should and

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should not be involved. Although it is a complex issue, it is critical to recognize that it can be a point of contention in researching our own communities. The Talanoa methodology (Vaioleti 2006) further encourages other forms of engagement in the process of data gathering. We invited students to be part of our research project through staff members and other student networks. Each group consisted of four or five students, which was a deliberate effort to allow each participant time to contribute to the Talanoa. Food is an important part of both Māori and Pacific culture. Hence we began each Talanoa session by sharing food with our students. This was also an opportunity to ‘break the ice’ by breaking bread together and getting to know one another in a more casual setting (Bell et al. 2016). This is a key strength of using an Indigenous research methodology, whereby the practices used resonated on a deep, almost familial, level with all involved. Time was another important element of research. In our case it was important to allow our students to talk with one another without a time limit. However, within the constraints of the university, most of our Talanoa sessions took place over one and a half to two hours. As part of a reciprocal relationship between researchers and students, we offered academic support to students in return for their participation in our study. Participants were also given supermarket vouchers for their time and participation in our study. In the next section we present data collected from our Talanoa sessions.

General findings Our findings suggest that most of the students in both (Māori [n = 8] and Pacific [n = 16]) groups spoke positively about their journeys at university. All of the students recognized the opportunity to study and enter higher education as a privilege and one that has long been a dream of all of their families. In addition, most of their families were also very supportive of the students’ decision to enter university. This, although many of the students noted that the majority of their family members did not have a good understanding of what university study was all about or what it entailed. Most of the students spoke positively about being at university; one described her experiences as being enjoyable especially being a young Pacific Islander student studying there. There was also agreement about having the opportunity to meet and connect with other Māori and Pacific Islander students. This was an added bonus particularly for those who have come out of secondary schools with a low number of other students of Māori

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or Pacific descent. Just under half of the participants were mature-age students. For them, their studies were more explicitly tied to their families, as the need to succeed and procure employment was a priority. These students articulated their strengths, which included optimal time management, ability to focus on their studies and also connect with other mature students whom they often met for meals and for general discussions of their assignments. One student spoke of her time with fellow mature Pacific students as the most enjoyable. Being together and laughing together was an important part of being a Pacific student at university. She even contemplated where she would be without the support and friendship of other Pacific students. She doubted she would still be studying. Being with other FIFU students meant that cohorts of students were able to navigate the university terrain together. It was evident from these students that there was value in being with other Pacific students.

Contribution of family members All of our participants spoke of the sacrifice their parents and family members made on their behalf. Family was important and an integral part of both Māori and Pacific students’ educational journeys. FIFU students acknowledged that family members and other people in their lives do not always understand what they are going through as students. Further, there was often a point of conflict between their university and personal lives. However, students did not see this as a deficit or a cause for failure or a reason to drop out of university. Rather they focused on the different ways their family, friends and wider community members supported them in their educational journeys. FIFU students spoke of how family members and friends made sacrifices for them so that they could complete their studies and graduate. Support included rides to and from university, money for transport, books, lunch as well as ongoing encouragement, prayers and so on. These acts of kindness and sacrifice were motivating factors for FIFU students to persist with their studies despite the challenges they faced. FIFU students were grateful for the support they received and spoke of their desire to give back to their family and community once they graduate. Figure 2.1 is by a Māori FIFU student, illustrating the ways in which she sees her educational journey. Using the picture as a scaffold, she described ways in which family members supported her and, in return, her need to help and give back to them.

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Figure 2.1 My family

The importance of being ‘first’ The importance of ‘being first’ was identified by most of the participants as a driving force for their success and determination to continue their studies and complete their degree. Being first was considered by FIFU students as an important position to be in, given that younger siblings, cousins and friends from their wider community were following suit. Students saw themselves as role models for family members and those in the wider community; hence the idea of ‘not making it’ or ‘dropping out’ was never an option. One

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Figure 2.2 I am first

Pacific Islander student during our Talanoa describes how he sees himself as being ‘first’. I am doing this for my family and younger siblings. I’m the eldest – that’s me [pointing to Figure 2.2] … and my brothers, I want to show them they can also get to university. That’s really important to me. I am also first in both my mum and my dad’s extended family. I wouldn’t drop out or not finish because my siblings are following me. (Pacific FIFU student studying science)

Barriers to learning All of the students who participated in the Talanoa groups were committed to their studies and saw it as an opportunity to get ahead in life. They understood that university was a place to learn and an opportunity for them to obtain a qualification and then go back and work to help their respective families and communities. All of the Pacific students spoke of how their families initially migrated to ANZ from the Islands in search of a better life and higher education was an aspiration for all of them. Pacific Islander students, obvious immigrants in this study, weren’t the only participants to speak of migration. For example,

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one Māori student spoke about how his family had migrated from a rural area to the city in order for him to attend university. Students spoke at length about their struggle with their studies, both personal and at a pedagogical level. There was a general agreement that students struggled with understanding the expectations of the lecturers and tutors in each discipline. The implicit and unsaid expectations some scholars refer to as the ‘hidden curriculum’ were most frustrating to students. There was, for example, an expectation that students entered university with a particular level of computer skills. English language competency was a challenge for students, and together with the computer skills a number of the participants failed English language exams, a compulsory requirement. Students struggled with the English language as well as content-specific concepts of each discipline. For some of our Pacific FIFU students, English is a second or third language. One student described her struggle to understand the institution as follows: Learning the language and rules of this place [university] … it’s new … understanding the institution, what makes it tick is a bit of a struggle … then understanding the teaching and learning expectations … that’s another struggle. (Māori FIFU student studying Arts)

Balancing their studies together with family and community obligations and other activities such as church, youth group and community commitments was a point of struggle for most of the FIFU students in our study. Many pointed out that they also have a life outside of their studies and at times their university and personal life are at odds with each other. One of the Pacific students articulates this point: ‘Balancing my studies with church, family … funerals, birthdays and other commitments … at times it’s family versus studies.’ Our FIFU students hold multiple identities that are all important to them. One Pacific Islander law student sums this up: At the end of the day … I represent my family, my church and who I am … I am Samoan.

Despite their struggle, most of the FIFU students in our study found comfort in being with other Māori and Pacific Islander students of whom many are also first in their family to study at university. Most of the students in our study belong to the various Māori and Pacific Islander student associations, and through these connections they make use of the support that is available for them. All of the FIFU students noted the value of academic and pastoral support for Māori and Pacific Islander students on campus. For one Pacific law student her fellow peers

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are invaluable to her journey at university: ‘If it wasn’t for my friends I wouldn’t enjoy being at Law School.’ Almost all of the Māori and Pacific Islander students noted the value they gain from targeted support and tutorials available for them. One Māori student pointed out: I really enjoy the Tuakana support for Arts and tutorials where there are other Māori & Pacific students. I can speak up without the fear of being wrong. I can laugh at myself and at others.

Discussion Family is integral for all of the FIFU students surveyed in ANZ. All of the participants stressed that their education was not only for themselves but also for their immediate and extended family. Family members did not often understand what university is all about, and there was clearly a mismatch between their perception of higher education and the experiences of FIFU students. However, FIFU students still acknowledged the significant role family members play in their university journey and success thus far. The lack of cultural capital in FIFU students’ homes and wider community made them feel alienated and ‘out of place’ at university; however, they did not see it as a deficiency. Even though they acknowledged feelings of being in another culture that was very different to their own, this experience often prompted FIFU students to re-examine their identities in relation to what it might take to succeed at the university level. Data suggested that this process of negotiation of cultural obstacles in higher education may also result in a gain or loss of identity, with many FIFU students feeling the need to take off and take on new identities. Being ‘first’ was definitely a motivating factor and incentive for FIFU students to complete their studies. The sense of obligation and responsibility to others who may be following into their footsteps and pathway was viewed as a positive influence although it was also seen as pressure by some students. The desire to give back to their families, making family members proud, motivated some students to keep going despite the challenges they faced.

From FIFU students Based on their experiences at university, both groups of FIFU students offered the practical suggestions below to staff and fellow students.

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To staff ● ● ● ● ●

●

●

Tell us so we understand; don’t assume we know. Ask us whether we understand or not. Consider where we come from as it’s different to university culture. Make sure that teaching and learning expectations are very clear. Talk about our community in a positive way – we are not just about statistics. Think about how you can teach us about academic citizenship. We find it hard to understand the rule, the language. Everything is new. Don’t just give us stuff to read, let’s talk about it first.

To fellow FIFU students ● ● ● ● ● ●

Make connections with other students. Attend all classes including targeted support. Do not be afraid to ask questions; ask for help. Do not get stuck in the social life. Take your grades seriously, every single one counts. Aim higher, not just for the pass. It matters.

While these findings have yet to track FIFU students in ANZ’s retention and engagement, previous research revealed an unintended finding that bringing students together in focus groups regularly to meet and talk about university processes had a beneficial impact on student engagement and participation (Wolfgramm-Foliaki 2016). These findings suggest the importance and role of deliberate culture-centric opportunities and ‘spaces’ for students’ participation and retention in academe beyond those offered by existing pastoral programmes. Students reported the research interaction of listening to personal stories of other FIFU students as creating positive associations with one another and a sense of belonging germane to the intent of the research process.

Conclusion We have drawn on Indigenous knowledge systems and methodologies to bring to the fore strengths-based ‘lived stories’ of how some Māori and Pacific

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Islander FIFU students in Aotearoa experience university education, complete with students’ authentic voices. We privilege Indigenous knowledge and ways of being, and in doing so we engage in a process of ‘retrieving space’ (Smith 1999) for both Māori and Pacific students and researchers in an area previously dominated by Western forms of engagement. Our work challenges the claim that students who lack ‘appropriate’ cultural capital are likely to fail in higher education. Instead, we argue that ‘other’ forms of cultural capital are valuable and sustaining and have an important contribution to the success of FIFU students. We contend that there is a need and a moral imperative for institutions to recognize and allow for different forms of cultural capital to manifest their value in institutional culture. FIFU students are not lacking in cultural capital, but rather, institutions need to value and engage with other forms and ways of knowing, including culturally specific practices and expectations. The positive contribution of family, friends and community members to the FIFU educational journey is a prime example. The knowledge and experiences gained from others constitute alternative pathways of learning, which has a positive impact on FIFU students’ academic achievement and desire to do well. The importance of ‘being first’ provides an impetus for FIFU students to succeed despite what the literature predicts about their future in higher education. FIFU students have aspirations and dreams like any other. Being ‘first’ provides FIFU students with an incentive to work hard and succeed in their studies, as family, friends and community members are following their pathway. Despite the struggle of being ‘first’, the desire to do well and to open the gateway for others remains strong for FIFU students. FIFU students are pioneers not only for their family but also for their wider community. We underscore the moral imperative for universities to use information and studies such as the findings provided here to welcome and meet these and similar FIFU students face-to-face on their terms. Now is the time to embrace the opportunities provided by the richness and diversity offered by all students who are the pioneers of a new generation of learners, first in their families to reap the benefits of a university education for themselves, their communities and the greater good.

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Acknowledgements We acknowledge with thanks and gratitude the courageous generosity of studentparticipants in this study and our WUN colleagues and research partners who made our collective research journey possible.

References Bell, A. and Santamaría, L. J. (eds.) (2018.) Understanding Experiences of First Generation University Students: Culturally Responsive Methodologies. London: Bloomsbury. Bell, A., Wolfgramm-Foliaki, ‘E., Airini, Kelly-Laubscher, R., Paxton, M., Pukepuke, T. and Santamaría, L. (2016). Together to the table. Applying critical leadership in cross-cultural, international research. In L. J. Santamaría and A. P. Santamaría (eds.), Culturally Responsive Leadership in Higher Education. Promoting Access, Equity and Improvement, 106–19. New York: Routledge. Bishop, R. (2003). Changing power relations in education: Kaupapa Māori messages for mainstream education in Aotearoa/New Zealand. Comparative Education, 39(2), 221–32. Bishop, R. and Glynn, T. (1999). Culture Counts. Changing Power Relations in Education. Palmerston North, New Zealand: Dunmore Press. Bourdieu, P. (1977). Cultural reproduction and social reproduction. In J. Karabel and A. H. Halsey (eds.), Power and Ideology in Education, 487–511. New York: Oxford. Bozalek, V. (2011). Acknowledging privilege through encounters with difference: Participatory learning and action techniques for decolonising methodologies is Southern contexts. International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 14(6), 469–84. Chen, X. and Carroll, C. D. (2005). First-generation students in postsecondary education: A look at their college transcripts. postsecondary education descriptive analysis report. NCES 2005-171. National Center for Education Statistics. Chilisa, B. (2009). Indigenous African-centered ethics: Contesting and complementing dominant models. In D. M. Mertens and P. E. Ginsberg (eds.), The Handbook of Social Research Ethics, 407–25. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Chilisa, B. (2012). Indigenous Research Methodology. United States of America: Sage Publications. Chilisa, B. and Nitseane, G. (2010). Resisting dominant discourses: Implications of Indigenous African feminist theory and methods for gender and education research. Gender & Education, 22, 617–32. Collier, P. J. (2000). The effects of completing a capstone course on student identity. Sociology of Education, 73, 285–99. Collier, P. J. (2001). The differentiated model of role identity acquisition. Symbolic Interaction, 24(2), 217–35.

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Collier, P. J. and Morgan, D. L. (2008). ‘Is that paper really due today?’: Differences in first-generation and traditional college students’ understandings of faculty expectations. Higher Education, 55(4), 425–46. Darling-Hammond, L. and Bransford, J. (2007). Preparing Teachers for a Changing World. What Teachers Should Learn and be able to do. United States of America: Jossey-Bass. Dumais, V. (2002). Cultural, gender and school success: The role of habitus. Sociology of Education, 75(1), 44–68. Gee, J. P. and Green, J. L. (1998). Chapter 4: Discourse analysis, learning, and social practice: A methodological study. Review of Research in Education, 23(1), 119–69. Jehangir, R., Stebleton, M., and Deenanath, V. (2015). An exploration of intersecting Identities of first generation. Research Report on College Transition, 5. Kalavite, T. (2010). Fononga’a fakahalafononga: Tongan students’ journey to academic achievement in New Zealand tertiary education (Doctoral dissertation, University of Waikato). Lincoln, Y. S., Lynham, S. A. and Guba, E. G. (2011). Paradigmatic controversies, contradictions, and emerging confluences, revisited. The Sage Handbook of Qualitative Research, 4, 97–128. Maaka, R. and Fleras, R. (2005). The Politics of Indigeneity: Challenging the State in Canada and Aotearoa New Zealand. Dunedin, New Zealand: University of Otago Press. May, S. and Sleeter, C. (eds.) (2010). Critical Multiculturalism: Theory and Praxis. New York: Routledge. McCarty, T. and Lee, T. (2014). Critical culturally sustaining/revitalizing pedagogy and Indigenous education sovereignty. Harvard Educational Review, 84(1), 101–24. Ministry of Education. http://www.education.govt.nz/assets/Documents/Ministry/ Strategies-and-policies/PasifikaEdPlan2013To2017V2.pdf Nabobo-Baba, U. (2008). Decolonising framings in pacific research: Indigenous Fijian vanua research framework as an organic response. AlterNative: An International Journal of Indigenous Peoples, 4(2), 141–54. O’Shea, S. (2015). ‘It [university] wasn’t spoken about at home, it was just assumed that we would start working … .’ First in family students, family capital and higher education participation. In Hill, M., Hudson, T., McKendry, S., Raven, N., Saunders, D., Storan, J. and Ward, T. (eds.), Collaborate to Widen Participation: To, Through and Beyond Higher Education, 223–39. London: FACE Publications. Paris, D. (2012). Culturally sustaining pedagogy a needed change in stance, terminology, and practice. Educational Researcher, 41(3), 93–7. Paris, D. and Alim, H. S. (2014). What are we seeking to sustain through culturally Sustaining pedagogy? A loving critique forward. Harvard Educational Review, 84(1), 85–100.

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Rolleston, A. and Anderson, H. (2004, March). Attrition and retention: The voice of missing students. In Australian VET Research Association Conference, Canberra. Santamaría, L. J. (2015). Culturally responsive leadership in cross-cultural international contexts. In N. D. Erbe and A. H. Normore (eds.), Cross Cultural Collaboration and Leadership in Modern Organizations, 120–39. Hershey, PA: IGI Global. Santamaría, L. J. and Santamaría. A. P. (2016). Culturally Responsive Leadership in Higher Education. Promoting Access, Equity and Improvement. New York: Routledge. Santamaría, A. P., Webber, M., Santamaría, L. J. and Dam, L. I. (2015). Partnership for change: Promoting effective leadership practices for Indigenous educational success in Aotearoa New Zealand. eJournal of Education Policy (eJEP), Summer 2015, Special Issue, 93–109. http://nau.edu/COE/eJournal/. Smith, L. (1999). Decolonising Methodologies: Research and Indigenous Peoples. London: Zed Books, Otago Press Ltd. Statistics New Zealand., Pacific Peoples. (2013). www.stats.es/pacific_peoples.aspxgovt. nz/browse_for_stats/people_and_communities. Terenzini, P. T., Springer, L., Yaeger, P. M., Pascarella, E. T. and Nora, A. (1996). First-generation college students: Characteristics, experiences, and cognitive development. Research in Higher Education, 37(1), 1–22. Tinto, V. (1987). Leaving College: Rethinking the Causes and Cures of Student Retention. 2nd ed. Chicago, IL: Chicago University Press. Tinto, V. (2005). Epilogue: Moving from theory to action. In A. Seidman (ed.), College Student Retention: Formula for Student Success, 317–34. Westport, CT: ACE/Praeger. Thaman, K. H. (1997). Kakala: A Pacific concept of teaching and learning in oceania. keynote address. In Australian College of Education National Conference, Cairns. Vaioleti, T. (2003). Talanoa research methodology. A perspective on Pacific research. Power, Politics and Practise-Pasifika Educators Conference, Auckland. Vaioleti, T. (2006). Talanoa research methodology: A developing position on Pacific research. Waikato Journal of Education, 12, 21–34. Wolfgramm-Foliaki, ‘E. (2016). Do not assume we know: Perspectives of Pacific Island first in the family students. In L. J. Santamaría and A. P. Santamaría (eds.), Culturally Responsive Leadership in Higher Education. Promoting Access, Equity and Improvement, 123–35. New York: Routledge.

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Experiences of Indigenous and Non-Indigenous First Generation Students at an Australian University Amani Bell and Matthew Benton

As authors, we acknowledge the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, upon whose land we conducted this research, and pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging.

Introduction If Australia is the Lucky Country, we must ask, for whom? Buckskin 2013 All university students begin as outsiders, but some are more outside than others. There are particular inequities faced by first generation and Indigenous students. Under-representation of Indigenous students and students from low socioeconomic status (LSES) backgrounds in Australian higher education is the result of several complex and interrelated factors (Universities Australia 2008; Hall 2012). Likewise, there are a range of factors that influence retention and achievement once students are enrolled at university, including socio-cultural capabilities, student motivation, teacher approachability, student time management, family attitude, institutional support and connections with other students (Devlin and O’Shea 2012; 2011). Although many Australian universities are working to increase access to higher education, our study shows that we need to take a more culturally responsive and sustaining approach to educating our students. As part of the larger international study described in Chapter 1, we explored the experiences of first generation and Indigenous students at the University

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of Sydney. While various facts and figures were available from the university’s planning office (see, for example, http://sydney.edu.au/staff/planning/), we wanted to gather and learn from rich, personal accounts of students’ lived experiences. While quantitative studies are important, we agree with Trevor Gale’s opinion that ‘numerical accounts of population groups do not [and cannot] fully or adequately represent’ what needs to be said about equity in higher education (2015: 264).

The Australian context A twenty- to thirty-four-year-old person in Australia is 4.3 times more likely to participate in tertiary education if at least one of their parents was tertiary educated than a young person whose parents had less than upper secondary education (Marginson 2015). However, once a student from an LSES background makes it into university, they do just as well as, or even ‘better than[,] their highSES counterparts with otherwise similar characteristics – age, gender, nonEnglish speaking background and ATAR1 score’ (Dawkins and Krause 2015). And after graduation, there are ‘few differences in post-completion employment and salary outcomes between equity-group students and others’ (Edwards and McMillan 2015: vi). While this is good news, it implies that students from LSES backgrounds who enter university have more catching up to do, and have to work harder than their high-SES counterparts. In recent years there has been a proliferation of Australian studies about the experiences of LSES, first generation and Indigenous university students. Studies have included monitoring various equity groups’ access and retention rates (e.g. Edwards and McMillan 2015), mixed methods studies involving surveys supplemented with qualitative data (e.g. King et al. 2015), theoretical papers (e.g. Gale and Parker 2015), qualitative studies (e.g. O’Shea 2007), reports of successful initiatives (e.g. Whiteford et al. 2017), and historical views (e.g. Forsyth 2014). There have also been regular pieces in the media (e.g. Bagshaw 2016). Below we summarize some of the key findings of the research about first generation and Indigenous students.

First generation students A large study (King et al. 2015), which surveyed 5,300 first generation school leavers and conducted eighteen narrative case studies, found that first

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generation students are a diverse cohort in terms of age, previous life experience and expectations of university. All wanted a better life for themselves. Students incurred financial and personal costs, such as less time with family and friends. They lacked information on how to navigate university systems, and their cultural capital was often not valued by the institution. Overall, first generation students found university to be a transformational and beneficial experience. Many of these findings were confirmed by a smaller study (n = 983) at a regional Australian university (Scevak et al. 2015). Additional insights from this study were that: first generation students were more likely to be female than nonfirst generation students, first generation students were more likely to be older, and first generation students were less confident in using the online learning management system.

Indigenous students Australia’s Indigenous peoples are not, in fact, all one group. The Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS) map (2016) is a powerful visual representation of the diversity of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, showing the large number of language, tribal or nation groups across Australia. As alluded to in Peter Buckskin’s quote at the beginning of this chapter, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders have suffered many inequities since British colonization in 1788. Despite their diversity and tenacity, Aboriginal and Torres Strait people are ‘still marginalised’ and still ‘positioned as the other’ (Buckskin 2013: 2, 8), and racism is still encountered by both students and educators within Australia’s educational systems (Corr 2016). Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students have lower higher education retention and completion rates than other domestic students, despite efforts to boost participation (Day et al. 2015). A recent national study of student data from 2005 to 2013 found that Indigenous students have a completion rate of 47 per cent, compared to 74 per cent for non-Indigenous students (Edwards and McMillan 2015). Alongside these stark figures it is important to keep in mind that not all Indigenous students are first generation or LSES: ‘At least one third of Indigenous students are not eligible for the youth support allowance2’ (Gale 2009: 4). Despite various accounts and studies of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students’ experiences, and examples of ‘best practice’, Martin and colleagues (2015: 2) contend that ‘little is known about how teaching can be mobilised

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to support the persistence of Indigenous students’. They urge a view beyond ‘simplistic binaries’ such as ‘coloniser and colonised, Indigenous and Western knowledge’ (2). This group of scholars believes that ‘the relationship between teaching, learning and persistence for Indigenous students is far more dynamic than is suggested by such static, one-dimensional and sometimes pessimistic approaches’ (2). A recent study based on interviews with twenty-five staff working in university Aboriginal centres found themes around the diversity of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander student cohort, the need for Aboriginal knowledge systems to be incorporated across all disciplines, the need for strong support for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, and more outreach to school and family communities to motivate more students to come to university (Rochecouste et al. 2016). One successful and widespread initiative to support Indigenous students’ transition into and success during higher education is the Australian Indigenous Mentoring Experience – see https://aimementoring.com/ about/aime/ for further information.

Theoretical framings Throughout this study we kept in mind that the transition into and through higher education is a key period of identity formation for students (Gurin et al. 2002). Identity is a complex and fluid concept, encompassing many dimensions including race, ethnicity, sexuality, gender, and religion (Jones and Abes 2013). We are aware that for first generation students, and perhaps non-first generation students as well, university may bring their various identities into conflict ‘with little opportunity to reflect or make sense’ of what is happening (Jehangir 2010: 60). Theories of intersectionality can help us understand these pressures; for example, students who are both Indigenous and first generation may face different issues than those who are in one of those categories. Indeed, Edwards and McMillan (2015: vi) found that the more equity groups a student belonged to, the lower were the completion rates. We have deliberately chosen to move away from the Western and Northern theorists that have characteristically informed studies of first generation students, towards Indigenous and Southern theorists, such as Veronica Arbon (2008), Karen Martin (2003, 2008), Linda Tuiwahi Smith (1999), Bagele Chilisa (2012), Reneé Smit (2012), Remy Low (2013, 2015) and Trevor Gale (2009). Drawing on Raewyn Connell’s (2007) conception of Southern Theory, Gale

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highlights the need to pay attention to power/knowledge relations in higher education, and especially to those who are under-represented in universities, and whose ‘cultural capital is … marginalised and discounted’ (2009: 1). Reneé Smit, drawing on her experiences in South African higher education (2012), cautions readers about the problems associated with deficit thinking about students from ‘disadvantaged’ backgrounds, including strengthening stereotypes, low teacher expectations, alienation of students and neglecting to think about structural injustices. Smit instead urges a focus on aspects such as institutional preparedness, viewing academic literacy as a social practice and nurturing what Ron Barnett (2007) calls the will to learn. We have drawn on the work of these scholars to inform all aspects of our research: design, methodology and analysis.

Local context: The University of Sydney The University of Sydney is a research-intensive university founded in 1850, and is one of the ‘Group of Eight’, the so-called elite ‘sandstone’ universities. ‘The Group of Eight universities have the lowest percentage of low-SES students … and the distributions of low-SES students according to university type have not changed much since at least 2007’ (Parker 2016: 3). Traditionally the students attending the university have been from the wealthier areas of Sydney and from the private and selective high school systems. In 2014, of its 26,692 domestic undergraduate students, only 209 were Indigenous, and while first generation figures are not available publically, as a proxy there were 2098 LSES students (Australian Government 2015). The university has a long history of supporting its Indigenous students (Cleverley and Mooney 2010), and in recent years has placed increased emphasis on access and equity for LSES and Indigenous students (http://sydney.edu.au/about-us/visionand-values/diversity/social-inclusion.html). The university has a range of initiatives to encourage first generation and Indigenous students to attend university. For example, the Wingara MuraBunga Barrabagu3 summer and winter schools are residential programmes for Indigenous senior high school students to get a taste of university life and help them see the university as ‘a welcoming space’. Over 950 students have so far gone through the programmes (Williams 2016). Indigenous students can access an alternative entry pathway called the Cadigal4 programme (University of Sydney 2016). Students who are offered a place in the Cadigal programme attend an orientation session and a two-week academic skills workshop prior

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to starting their university studies. Students also have ongoing access to ‘tutors, academic advisers and dedicated student support services’ (Sherwood and Russell-Mundine 2017). In this study, we wanted to look beyond the statistics to gather and listen to the experiences of Indigenous and non-Indigenous first generation students. We also spoke with some non-first generation students, to see if and how their experiences were different.

Methods The researchers We are a research partnership of an Indigenous researcher and a non-Indigenous researcher. Matt is Indigenous, and is a first generation student, and was completing a master’s degree at the time of this study. Amani is a higher education researcher, with Egyptian and Australian heritage. We took a partnership approach to the research, working together to shape the project (Smith 1999).

Consultation and guidelines We consulted with several Indigenous members of the university community prior to commencing the study. We ensured that we followed the key guidelines around conducting research with Indigenous people, including paying attention to reciprocity, respect, equality, responsibility, spirit and integrity (NHMRC 2003). We aimed to engage with ‘Indigenous people as empowered people, rather than a problem that requires a postcolonial non-Indigenous response’ (Sherwood et al. 2015: 180). Students were invited via email to participate in the study. We indicated that we valued the time and expertise of the student participants, by giving them $50 AUD gift vouchers at the conclusion of the focus groups. We also had a distress protocol in place (Haigh and Witham 2015), though it was not utilized. Pseudonyms5 have been allocated for reasons of confidentiality.

Focus groups We conducted four focus groups, two with non-Indigenous first generation and non-first generation students, and two with Indigenous first generation and

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non-first generation students. We asked students to provide some demographic information via a form; we asked how they would describe their racial and cultural identities, their gender, their age, their degree, the year they started university, the high school/s they attended and which (if any) of their family members had attended university. Not all students answered every question on the form, and we emphasized the voluntary and optional nature of disclosing the information. Students in the focus groups were studying a wide range of degrees, from their first to fifth year of study. In the two focus groups with Indigenous students, there were five women and six men. The age range was 18 to 51, with an average age of 27.7. Seven were first generation, and four had one parent who had attended university. In the two focus groups with nonIndigenous students, there were ten women and three men. The age range was 18 to 22, with an average age of 19.5. Five were first generation, five reported that ‘every family member’ had attended university and one had one parent who had attended university. Students reported a wide range of self-described racial and cultural identities. We used a yarning method (Sherwood et al. 2015) when conducting the focus groups. Yarning has similarities to Talanoa, as described in Chapter 2. It is a conversational methodology that focuses on establishing connections, is informal and relaxed, with a focus on telling stories and acknowledgement that the researcher is a learner (Bessarab and Ng’andu 2010). This conversational style and invitation for students to share their stories echoes the strong storytelling tradition within Indigenous cultures (Mckinnon 2016). As Sherwood and colleagues state: ‘The role of storytelling, including through yarning circles (a process used by Aboriginal people for thousands of years to discuss issues in an inclusive and collaborative manner), is an important means of hearing Indigenous voices in research’ (Sherwood et al. 2015: 180). For the Indigenous participants, we spent some time talking about where they were from and establishing connections, following Martin’s recommendations that research needs to start with the self and needs to include a sense of place and connectedness–relatedness (2008: 69). Including Matt as an Indigenous researcher was critical to the success of the focus groups with Indigenous students, as ‘the presence of Indigenous researchers … facilitates the free flow of information about Indigenous experiences’ (Sherwood et al. 2015: 180). We asked the twenty-four students about their journeys into and through the university, using similar questions to those asked by the other WUN project partners in Chapters 2 and 5.

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Journey into University 1. At what stage/age did you first consider the possibility of going to uni(versity)? 2. Have other family members or friends been to uni? If yes, how has this influenced you? 3. What influenced your decision to apply to USyd? 4. How did you find the admissions process for getting into USyd?

Journey through University 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

Describe a bit about your first day at USyd. What do you most enjoy about your studies? What do you find the most challenging? What has helped you? What has hindered you? How do your family and friends respond to you being at uni? Do you have any suggestions for what might help first generation students? Do you have any advice for first generation students?

After the focus groups were transcribed, we conducted a thematic analysis of the transcripts (Braun and Clarke 2006), with a critical overlay of an Indigenous framework of decolonization (Chilisa 2012; Smith 1999). We followed the six steps suggested by Braun and Clarke (2006) of data familiarization, coding, searching for themes, reviewing themes, defining and naming themes, and writing up the findings. We paid particular attention to issues around power and race. As an Indigenous first generation student himself, Matt was particularly attuned to these issues.

Our findings Our analysis revealed six themes, and we discuss each of these with examples from the focus group participants.

University as a foregone conclusion versus a complex decision For non-first generation students, university was always on the horizon as a ‘foregone conclusion’ and was ‘just a given … from an early age’ due to family experiences and expectations. However, non-first generation students did

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not necessarily initially understand the purpose of going to university, which impacted their motivation: My ethnic background is Chinese so I think from a young age it was almost like wired in me that everyone I knew just went on to uni after high school. [Also] I think because I went to a selective school … basically 100% of all the students would go on to uni. But then once I’d been at uni for a few years, I re-evaluated why I had come, and what qualification I really wanted. Because I feel like in high school I didn’t really understand what I wanted to do and what a uni degree would actually help me achieve. (Claire, female, non-Indigenous, non–first generation student)

Having a parent or sibling who had attended university helped some students feel that university was a possibility: My mum was the first person I knew who went to uni. … She then went and did her masters while I was in primary school. … She has just completed her second masters and is about to start her PhD. … I’ve had uni around me all the time and I think that influenced me to come because I was comfortable with it. … She enjoys it and likes learning, so it just looks like something good. (Joanna, female, Indigenous, non–first generation student)

For first generation students a range of factors influenced the decision to go to university, including parental encouragement or being inspired to go to university by a particular teacher or careers advisor or by a visit to a university campus which made it ‘more tangible’. Other first generation students took the time to raise a family first: I waited for my son to leave school and then thought I would have a go. I’m the only person in my family that’s ever been to university. I didn’t finish my Year 12, neither did anybody else, so – winning! (Vanessa, female, Indigenous, first generation student)

Some first generation students spoke about their strong personal motivation to come to university – wanting to improve their prospects (what Wong and Downie 2015 describe as a ‘means of escape’), for example: I didn’t really have anyone around me that went to uni and I kind of thought I would be more successful than all these people … because my dad is a labourer and I thought I don’t want to do that, I want a bit more than that, so with everyone around me I was just like I definitely want to go further in life. (Veronica, female, non-Indigenous, first generation student)

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And for some first generation students, the decision to enter higher education was a difficult and complex choice related to their identity: My dad was a tradie6 and my mum was a secretary, so it could have been a lot easier for me to just fall into something that I knew, rather than something that didn’t feel like me. (Eric, male, Indigenous, first generation student)

Some students showed incredible persistence in the pursuit of higher education: I did the HSC7 and got a terrible ATAR. I really wanted to get into [degree at USYD], so I called up [the university]. I said ‘I know I haven’t got the marks but I really want this.’ I’m just pleading for myself and the lady over the phone laughed at me. She said my ATAR wasn’t good enough and don’t even bother, so that was quite bad. I ended up going to [another university] for a year. I applied to USYD again, and I got a first round offer. I was really surprised because I think my one year of university made up 20 ATAR points to get me in, it was a lot. It was a long process, but I got in. I showed her. (Joanna, female, Indigenous, non–first generation student)

In summary, while university is a foregone conclusion for many non-first generation students due to familial expectations, for first generation students there are a range of factors that influence their decision to pursue higher education. These factors include encouragement by family or teachers, wanting a different life or campus visits. For first generation students the decision to undertake university study is sometimes complex, and may involve persistence in the face of rejection by university staff and the realization that gaining a university education involves moving away from their current identity.

The importance of support networks and programmes The challenges of adapting to university life were described by many students as uncomfortable and disorienting, and the importance of support networks and programmes for all students was highlighted, especially in the creation of long-term social support. Most students said that their friends were their biggest support network: They’re going through what you’re going through at the same time. I think I rely on my friends more than I would on my lecturers and tutors for even like content. (Rochelle, female, non-Indigenous, non–first generation student)

Non-first generation students often had the advantage of high school classmates starting university at the same time, but first generation students and those

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moving from outside the area were less likely to have a pre-existing group of friends at the university: I feel like I really haven’t had a support network at all. … I moved from [outside Sydney] where I used to live and maybe like one of my friends also goes to uni but everyone else has stayed down there. It’s sort of bit difficult to make friends. (Sarah, female, non-Indigenous, non–first generation student)

In some cases the university was able to help by providing mandatory mentoring sessions, and one student gave an example of a helpful mentoring initiative that could be adopted more widely: In education in first year we had our one hour tutorials then for an hour after that we had a mandatory workshop. We had three fourth year education students come in and talk to us, and as much as everyone in the class rolled their eyes and went ‘oh, another peer mentoring session’, it really did help with making friends and making connections. It really helped that it was compulsory and you had to stick around after your tutes and get to know people. (Charlie, male, nonIndigenous student, non–first generation student)

Family who had previously attended or were currently attending university were a source of support and advice: My sister’s in her second year here, so I honestly wouldn’t know who to ask if she wasn’t there. She’s guided me through handing in the assessments – this is how you access this, this is how you access that. There was a lot of admin stuff in the first couple of weeks but it is difficult to get one-on-one help. So I’m mostly relying on people like my sister. (Megan, female, Indigenous, first generation student)

Students found it took a long time to come to grips with the many formal avenues of support, and some expressed apprehension about accessing formal support programmes: I haven’t used any. Maybe it’s just a me thing but you get an email and it’s ‘come to this’ and … it gets quite intimidating sometimes I think because you’re going to be in room full of people who you have a common thing with, but you don’t know anyone. If I knew someone else doing it I would be a lot more encouraged to do it, but doing it by myself is really intimidating. (Joanna, female, Indigenous, non–first generation student)

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Understanding Experiences of First Generation University Students I feel like support systems could be a bit more readily available. Uni’s obviously very self directed, but a lot of students are quite disadvantaged and it’s not so simple. Like ‘oh, you have to get your stuff together, just do it.’ Some people don’t have that sort of drive. So I think there does need to be a little bit more support, a bit more of an inviting sort of atmosphere and culture at uni. (Sarah, female, non-Indigenous, non–first generation student)

Indigenous students appreciated the social and academic support provided by the university’s Cadigal programme and from other Indigenous students: The Cadigal support system, from the get-go, was second to none for me. They picked me up from day one and had me from there, which was good. Rather than me coming and finding my feet, they found my feet for me. (Eric, male, Indigenous, first generation student) We’re all Kooris,8 we all support each other. We find we’re mentoring other people. The guys in the year below us ask us ‘how do you do this?’ We go ‘oh, it should look like this’. (Vanessa, female, Indigenous, first generation student)

What is important to note here is that it has likely been some time, or a long time, since university staff first studied at university. We need to remember what it feels like and put ourselves in the shoes of our students. Such empathy will better enable staff to support new students, especially by being aware of the importance of peer support and that formal support services can seem intimidating and uninviting.

Cultural dissonances Cultural dissonances were jarring for some Indigenous and first generation students, who mentioned the lack of common experiences with other students, who they perceived as ‘very different’: I’ll go into class and I’ll try to chat with someone. … I found out this one girl I was in a class with and I was chatting to – she doesn’t have a job. She’s never had a job. She has a maid who cooks all her food … I’m just like, how can I talk to you? I’m at uni four days a week and I work four days a week – this is just what you do. Of course you cook your own food – what is that? (Joanna, female, Indigenous, non–first generation student) I found during first year almost having to justify why I was here, because of high expectations and there were other students that were from selective high schools and for them it was a more natural process to go to Sydney Uni. (Natalie, female, non-Indigenous, first generation student)

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Some students spoke about finding some lecturers ‘uncaring’ and feeling ‘brushed off sometimes when I ask questions’, for example: I think the worst thing I’ve found is with some of the lecturers they tend to be a bit aloof. I understand they’re researchers and they have other jobs to do in the university but they’re also there to teach. … It’s hard trying to do reports or trying to ask questions of them if they don’t really care or act like they don’t care. That’s an issue I’ve had a couple of times. (Josh, male, Indigenous, first generation student)

Related to the theme above about understanding the importance of peer support, educators could do more to help first generation and non-first generation students find commonalities and productive ways to interact in class. Staff also need to be aware that they may be perceived as aloof and intimidating, even if that is not their intention.

Balancing university, expenses, family and a social life All students found balancing university, expenses, family and a social life difficult. Some students felt ‘overwhelmed’ after moving from overseas or faced the challenge of moving out of home for the first time: Being away from home, being away from family, that added a lot of stress. I  found it hard to balance uni, work and life. Because essentially my bills would be coming and I’d be like freaking out. I’d be like ‘oh crap I can’t pay for this quarter of electricity’. (Ivy, female, non-Indigenous, non–first generation student)

Due to the high cost of living in Sydney, some students commuted from long distances: It’s really difficult to get to early lectures being from a regional area. I looked into  accommodation [closer to the campus] and it was $25,000 a year. It’s ridiculous and all the scholarships are for people who have 98.8 ATARs and there’s no way I could get that. (Joanna, female, Indigenous, non–first generation student) My degree is like a full-time job in terms of hours. It’s nine until five, or longer, every day. You still have to study on top of that. Finding time to have a job, to have an income, to be able to eat food was a challenge. Relying on scholarships is pretty much the only thing I could do. If and when I didn’t get one for whatever reason – I didn’t fit the categories for whatever was being offered that year – it’s

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Understanding Experiences of First Generation University Students a real stretch. I’m currently living in a share house [in Sydney] and it’s expensive and food’s expensive (Ben, male, Indigenous, non–first generation student)

There are extra challenges for students who are parents: The biggest challenge is balancing being a mum and being a student. With school holidays coming up, I don’t know what I’m going to do [about child care]. He’s kind of old enough to be on his own for a couple of hours, but if something happens it’s going to take me a couple of hours to get home. (Amanda, female, Indigenous, first generation student)

There were particular difficulties for some Indigenous students in being away from family and community, particularly around the cultural obligations associated with mourning: A fair few deaths [happened] in my first year, so that was pretty hard for me. If I was closer to home I would have been able to duck home. But a five and a half drive for me is just that little bit too far, especially as I don’t have a car. (Eric, male, Indigenous, first generation student)

These findings highlight the need for staff to be aware that students are dealing with issues beyond their studies, such as the costs of living, commuting, work, caring responsibilities and cultural duties.

Reactions of family and friends The reactions of family and friends included support, curiosity and lack of understanding about university life. Some families were very supportive, whereas other students found that friends and family did not understand the demands and realities of university study: It’s hard having friends who will be like, we’re doing this during the week, it’s our day off. I’ll be like ‘I’ve got university.’ Even my boyfriend, because he works a nine to five job, doesn’t get that when I go home, I’m not finished university, I have to study. (Megan, female, Indigenous, first generation student)

Although family friends may not understand the university system, many students’ families were proud of their achievements: My mum dropped out of school in year 7, so she thinks I’m a professor. As far as she’s concerned, I’m running this uni. She’s like, what’s a HD9? What does that mean? I said ‘it’s really good’. So yeah, she just doesn’t have a clue. She

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barely negotiated the school system but yeah, she’s very proud. (Vanessa, female, Indigenous, first generation student)

Some students spoke about not wanting to disappoint family and the pressure they felt to succeed: My old man dropped out in Year 11 and my mum dropped out in year 10. They probably get more worked up [about my studies] than I do. Like for instance, if I was to fail a mid-term or something, they get a lot more worried for me than I do for myself. Because they don’t understand the whole system of how it might be worth 20%, not 100%. So I like to try to get Ds or HDs in everything that I have control of. (Eric, male, Indigenous, first generation student)

Navigating these conversations with friends and family can be an additional burden for first generation students. And while not all first generation students spoke about familial pressure to succeed, they often mentioned an internalized pressure – wanting to prove to themselves that they can succeed in higher education.

Empowerment Another theme that emerged with many of the Indigenous students was one of empowerment against the status quo of the established power structures exemplified by the university: I decided to come here because it’s the first Law School in the country. As far as I can see, it’s the source of a lot of oppression of, not just Indigenous people, but lots of people. So my thinking of coming here was if you want to make a difference you to go to where the big decisions are made. You go to the source of the problem. (Harvey, male, Indigenous, non–first generation student)

Yet when reflecting on a draft version of this chapter, Harvey noted that while his involvement in higher education has helped him understand its power structures, it can also be disheartening and frustrating to observe and experience the very slow pace of change within the university system. Some Indigenous students found some of the content difficult emotionally: Undertaking Aboriginal Studies, you learn a lot about the colonisation process and that’s very close to home with a lot of your ancestors, experiencing all

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Understanding Experiences of First Generation University Students of those issues and there’s still a legacy of those policies today. (Luke, male, Indigenous, first generation student)

One Indigenous student spoke about the importance of culturally appropriate outreach to Aboriginal communities: The leader of the [outreach] program should be Aboriginal. In the past the guys who are running it have kind of misinterpreted how to address Aboriginal people or how to react to them. Sydney University’s really prestigious and we push this really prestigious option to everyone, but that’s not what it is for everyone. It’s more about having a go. If you’re coming and speaking to me at my school, and you’re telling me you studied 12 hours a day and you did all this and all that, it’s not realistic for me to feel like I can be here. When promoting to Aboriginal people they need to [understand] that it’s more of a family. Maybe talk more about actually making a difference and being to come back and inspire your family to do the same thing as you. (Eric, male, Indigenous, first generation student)

In some cases, students resisted Western dominance of historical knowledge presented by academics in favour of their own cultural experience (Dei 2008). One female Indigenous first generation student, Vanessa, spoke about Aboriginal Studies ‘getting taught by a white person’ and how that can be more emotionally difficult. But she also mentioned that being Indigenous has informed and aided her studies when she comments, ‘Well they’re not going to tell us we’re wrong.’ And students spoke about how their studies will eventually benefit their communities, for example: My degree can also encompass mining, which is a bit of a taboo topic for Aboriginal people. But on the flip side of that, it also encompasses sustainability and environmental sustainability. So if I am lucky enough to be invited to write a thesis it will probably based on the financial stability or the environmental stability of an Aboriginal community, whether it be up north or back home. (Eric, male, Indigenous, first generation student)

University staff working closely with Indigenous students are likely already aware of the issues around empowerment, frustration with the slow pace of change, finding some topics emotionally difficulty and the importance of culturally appropriate outreach. Yet these first-hand accounts are valuable reminders of the need for sensitivity around particular topics and also of the variation in the experiences of Indigenous students.

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Reflections on the data Several of the themes are akin to those found in other Australian studies of firstyear students, first generation students and Indigenous students. For instance, we uncovered quite similar themes to those found by Barney (2016), who interviewed fifty Indigenous students. Similarities discussed by students in both studies include the daunting nature of the first year, cultural and social isolation, financial difficulties and family responsibilities. Students in both studies mentioned similar success factors: determination, family support, motivation, university support and peer networks. While we could identify these common themes, we also saw huge diversity among the students. As Trevor Gale (2009) cautions, it’s important not to view people from LSES backgrounds (or in this case, first generation students and Indigenous students) as a homogenous group. We hope that by presenting the rich and complex stories of individual students, we have avoided the ‘simplistic binaries’ described by Martin and colleagues (2015: 2). We saw that many of the first generation students had a more motivated and purposeful attitude to their studies than non-first generation students. Some of the Indigenous students were empowered to take a stand against the status quo, linking with the findings of Martin and colleagues (2015: 10) that ‘Indigenous persistence is a complex process in which teachers and students exercise agency often in the face of self-doubt, failure, unexpected challenges and success’. Our finding of persistence in the face of adversity was also highlighted by Pechenkina (2016) in her study of an Australian university’s Indigenous unit – with one of the participants saying, ‘I want to succeed to prove the bastards wrong’ (8). The flipside of this empowerment and persistence, mentioned by Harvey, is the burden of the emotional labour and possible burnout caused by constantly encountering what Sara Ahmed calls ‘institutional whiteness’ (2012: 33) – and is similar to the stress reported by Indigenous academics when they encounter resistant and sometimes racist students and colleagues (Asmar and Page 2009). First generation students whose family members don’t have first-hand experience of university may need support to view and develop ‘academic literacy as a social practice’ (Smit 2012). April Yee found that ‘middle class students tended to interact with others to succeed academically, while first generation students tended to rely on themselves’ (2016: 839). Non-first generation students felt confident to talk to their lecturers about any issues

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they were having, such as asking for early or extra feedback on draft work. First generation students felt they needed to do everything independently, which was often very labour intensive and ‘exhausting’ (847), and did not feel comfortable talking to their professors (Yee 2016). Clearly, first generation and Indigenous students need to feel that lecturers are approachable and to be given strategies of how to approach them. Our research methodology values individual stories – ‘yarns’ – and these yarns show that students’ experiences of university are affected by, and affect, their identities in complex ways. Many of the Indigenous students strongly identified as such, and often had very strong links to their fellow Indigenous students, their families and their communities. Some aspects of university life were in conflict with their Indigenous identities, such as Eric not being able to return to his community to fulfil his cultural obligations around mourning, Harvey’s frustrations with the slow pace of change and the emotional difficulties experienced by Vanessa and Luke when studying Aboriginal Studies. The concept of intersectionality reminds us that being both first generation and Indigenous means encountering some additional difficulties along the way. We’re particularly interested in reflecting on how academic knowledge might be disconnected from the communities from which the Indigenous students come, and may return to after their degree is complete. This cultural experience and knowledge is significant when thinking about the need to increase higher education participation for Indigenous students. Universities need to involve communities and families more, so that they understand what students are experiencing and don’t feel alienated, as if they have ‘lost’ that person (Uncle Brian Grant, pers comm, 2016). ‘Elders in residence’ programmes are used in some Australian universities (e.g. Chapman and Whiteford 2017) as one way to strengthen connections with Indigenous communities. The Indigenous Knowledge Makers project discussed in Chapter 4 is another fruitful example. While the programmes offering scholarships and alternative entry pathways are gradually increasing enrolments, we need to consider the cultural backgrounds of Indigenous students, particularly when teaching courses that include discussion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander knowledges and issues. Arbon (2008: 58) points out higher education’s failure by its ‘focus on easing our pathways into and through tertiary education, rather than an affirmation of Indigenous knowledge’. Many Australian universities, including ours, are working to embed Indigenous knowledges and ways of knowing within curricula. Of particular

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importance is the recognition of Indigenous people as ‘yarners’ and ‘story tellers’ as a learning and teaching technique (Fredericks, Daniels and Kinnear 2016) – though Martin and colleagues (2015) caution against misappropriating and/or decontextualizing Indigenous knowledges and learning methods. Rochecouste and colleagues (2016) recommend that teachers develop their own awareness about Indigenous history and cultures. At policy level they advocate a whole of university approach, which is what the University of Sydney is attempting, and is detailed by Sherwood and Russell-Mundine (2017).

Practical recommendations Teachers and leaders in Thomas’s study about LSES students in twelve Australian universities were ‘unable to describe a coherent, university-wide strategy addressing the teaching and learning challenges and opportunities of a more socially diverse cohort’ (2014: 812). While the University of Sydney is certainly working towards a coherent strategy, we are not there yet, and in this section we provide some practical suggestions for achieving this aim: ●

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Continue to focus on partnerships between universities, schools and communities. Use first generation students’ stories and strategies for success to inspire prospective students and their families (e.g. www.firstinfamily.com.au). Provide support and resources for existing student-led initiatives. For example, students at the University of Sydney have set up a first-infamily support network for students and staff, with a Facebook group and associated social events. Engage students as co-inquirers in these endeavours. We strongly believe that students themselves are best placed to understand and interpret their experiences and to make recommendations for change. Let’s stop doing research ‘on’ our students, and instead do research ‘with’ them (Bell 2016). Similarly, we need to involve other co-creators and co-inquirers, such as elders, family, communities and alumni. Simplify how students navigate support services – more personalized support for students would simplify the bureaucratic nature of large institutions. Encourage students to attend with a friend if that’s appropriate and supportive.

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Help first generation students know how to seek support from their educators, and make sure educators clearly signal that they are approachable. Support leaders to be more culturally responsive, moving towards social justice and educational equity (see Santamaría and Santamaría 2016 for examples). Look to the practical and provocative applications of the work of Indigenous and Southern scholars.

Questions for further exploration A limitation of the study is that the students self-selected to participate, and so are likely those who are keen to share their experiences and perhaps have had mainly positive experiences (i.e. not at the risk of dropping out). Also we didn’t specifically ask about other aspects of students’ identities, for example linguistic diversity, sexuality, religion and so on, which may further intersect with their university experiences. Our study was a one-time, one-off data collection (though participants have been given an opportunity to give feedback on a draft of this chapter). We also wonder what are the ‘conceptual silences’ (Gale and Parker 2014: 747) that we have overlooked. What have we missed? Other further areas for investigation include ●

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What happens after graduation for first generation students? As the number of graduates increases, it might become harder to find employment. Is it a false promise of a better job/income? What transformations do students experience as they progress through their studies? What are the experiences of Indigenous and first generation HDR students? White (2009) suggests this is an underexplored topic. What are the ongoing impacts for families, friends and communities? What happens when we raise the aspirations of students to attend a prestigious, or any, university and then they don’t get in (see Low 2016)? How can the students themselves become more involved in co-designing curricular and co-curricular programmes?

However, the main question we need to keep asking is how might we address the systemic inequities in Australian society? Addressing higher education participation is only part of the answer.

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Acknowledgements This project was funded by the Worldwide Universities Network and the University of Sydney, Australia. We thank all the students who participated in the study and Tanya Griffiths, Sarah Holt and Mary Teague for assisting with inviting students to take part. Thanks also to Sarah O’Shea for her helpful feedback on a draft version of the chapter.

Notes 1 ATAR stands for Australian Tertiary Admission Rank, and is used by higher education institutions as one of the selection criteria, or often as the sole criterion, for admission into degree programmes. 2 The youth support allowance is a government payment available to those aged between eighteen to twenty-four years who are studying full time. Income and assets tests apply. 3 A Gadigal language phrase meaning ‘a thinking path – to make tomorrow’. 4 Cadigal is an alternate spelling of Gadigal. 5 The pseudonyms are ‘Anglo’, as all students had ‘Anglo’ names. One student selected their own pseudonym. 6 Australian slang term for tradesperson. 7 Higher School Certificate – statewide exams and assessments that cover the final two years of high school. 8 Koori is an Aboriginal language term to describe Aboriginal people from New South Wales. 9 High Distinction.

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Low, R. (2013). Can the ‘under-represented’ student speak? Discerning the subjects amongst the objects of widening participation in higher education. Australasian Journal of University-Community Engagement, 8(1), 1–24. Low, R. (2016). Facing symbolic violence. Critical Education, 7(12), 1–20. Low, R. Y. S. (2015). Raised parental expectations towards higher education and the double bind. Higher Education Research & Development, 34(1), 205–18. Marginson, S. (2015). The landscape of higher education research 1965-2015. Equality of opportunity: The first fifty years. Keynote address at the SRHE 50th anniversary Colloquium, 26 June 2015. Martin, G., Nakata, V., Nakata, M. and Day, A. (2015). Promoting the persistence of Indigenous students through teaching at the Cultural Interface. Studies in Higher Education, 42, 1158–73. Martin, K., (Mirraboopa, B.). (2003). Ways of knowing, being and doing: A theoretical framework and methods for indigenous and indigenist re‐search. Journal of Australian Studies, 27(76), 203–14. Martin, K. L. (2008). Please Knock Before you Enter: Aboriginal Regulation of Outsiders and the Implications for Researchers. Brisbane: Post Pressed. Mckinnon, C. (2016). Sitting and listening: Continuing conversations about indigenous biography. Biography, 39(3), 495–8. National Health and Medical Research Council. (2003). Values and Ethics: Guidelines for Ethical Conduct in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Research. Canberra: Commonwealth of Australia. O’Shea, S. E. (2007). Well I got here … but what happens next? Exploring the early narratives of first year female students who are the first in the family to attend university. Journal of Australian and New Zealand Student Services Association, 29, 36–51. Parker, S. (2016). How universities make inequality worse. The Conversation. https:// theconversation.com/how-universities-make-inequality-worse-55155 (accessed 13 November 2016. Pechenkina, E. (2016). ‘It becomes almost an act of defiance’: Indigenous Australian transformational resistance as a driver of academic achievement. Race Ethnicity and Education, 1-15, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13613324.2015.1121220. Rochecouste, J., Oliver, R., Bennell, D., Anderson, R., Cooper, I. and Forrest, S. (2016). Teaching Australian Aboriginal higher education students: What should universities do? Studies in Higher Education, 1–19. Santamaria, L. M. and Santamaria, A. P. (Eds.) (2016). Culturally responsive leadership in higher education: Practices promoting access, equity and improvement. New York: Routledge. Scevak J, Southgate E, Rubin M, Macqueen S, Douglas H, Williams P (2015). Equity Groups and Predictors of Success in Higher Education. National Centre for Student Equity in Higher Education. Sherwood, J. and Russell-Mundine, G. (2017). How we do business: Setting the agenda for cultural competence at the University of Sydney. In Frawley, J., Smith, J.,

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Larkin, S. (eds.), Indigenous Pathways and Transitions into Higher Education: Policies and Practices, 133–50. Singapore: Springer. Sherwood, J., Lighton, S., Dundas, K., French, T., Link-Gordon, D., Smith, K. and Anthony, T. (2015). Who are the experts here? Recognition of Aboriginal women and community workers in research and beyond. AlterNative: An International Journal of Indigenous Peoples, 11(2), 177–90. Smit, R. (2012). Towards a clearer understanding of student disadvantage in higher education: Problematising deficit thinking. Higher Education Research & Development, 31(3), 369–80. Smith, L. T. (1999). Decolonizing Methodologies: Research and Indigenous Peoples. London: Zed books. Thomas, G. (2014). Closing the policy-practice gap for low-SES students in higher education: The pedagogical challenge. Higher Education Research & Development, 33(4), 807–20. Universities Australia. (2008). Advancing equity and participation in Australian higher education. Action to Address Participation and Equity Levels in Higher Education of People from Lower Socioeconomic Backgrounds and Indigenous People, Canberra, ACT. University of Sydney. (2016). Support for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students http://sydney.edu.au/study/academic-support/aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islandersupport.html (accessed 8 November 2016). White, N. (2009). University-educated Indigenous women: Their struggles and triumphs in their leadership journeys. In Indigenous Issues in Australian Universities: Research, Teaching, Support, Jack Frawley, Maggie Nolan, Nereda White (eds.), Ch. 12, 95–105. Darwin: Charles Darwin University Press. Whiteford, G., Cairnduff, A., O’Donnell, C., Cavanagh, J., Tregale, R. and Stoddart, J. (2017). Building bridges: The story behind Australia’s largest widening participation collaboration. In M. Shah and G. Whiteford (eds.), Bridges, Pathways and Transitions: International Innovations in Widening Participation. Cambridge, MA: Elsevier. Williams, B. (2016). Social inclusion at university. Honi Soit, Semester 1, Week 8, p18 http://honisoit.com/archive/print/2016/Honi%20Soit%202016,%20Semester%20 1%20-%20Week%2008%20-%20Indigenous%20Edition.pdf. Wong, R. and Downie, A. (2015). Things my mother couldn’t tell me. Honi Soit, Issue 2, Semester 2, 14–15. http://honisoit.com/2015/08/things-my-mother-couldnt-tell-me/ Yee, A. (2016). The unwritten rules of engagement: Social class differences in undergraduates’ academic strategies. The Journal of Higher Education, 87(6), 831–58.

4

A Notch in My Heart: University Practices That Help Canadian First Generation Student Success Airini and Sereana Naepi

The story ‘Coyote Brings Food from the Upper World’ tells how Coyote brought to earth the plants that the Secwepemc use for food and medicine, and how animals and fish got their special shape and features. The story closes with Coyote gathering all the people together and reminding them to enjoy the environment where they are, to share what they have, and to not ruin or destroy. ‘It is your job to care for the land and to protect all living things. You are its caretaker.’1 We are reaching a critical point in how we think about, create new knowledge and teach within universities. Will we welcome all to our universities, genuinely? How will universities enable success for all, especially those who are the first generation in their families to come to university? How can universities be worthy ‘caretakers’ of first generation Indigenous university students and their potential to succeed? This chapter is a story of strength and potential. Both within Canada and globally, Indigenous first generation university students are way-finders forging new social and economic possibilities for themselves and their communities (Bell et al. 2016). They are catalysts for universities to transform themselves to better serve the potential of all students who are first in their family to go to university. This is timely and important work as universities have not always been up to the task of attending to the impact of colonization and the potential of culture, identity, and difference (Airini, Anae and Schaaf 2010). The potential has never been greater for universities to expand to better serve students who are the first in their family to go to university. In this chapter we focus on an intentional effort to combine the strengths of Indigenous first

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generation university students (motivation, life experience, identity, ambition, knowledge and skills) with the strengths of the university (research and teaching, strategic and academic planning). Some might call it the economics of Canadian higher education, some the sociology. Many would recognize this as responding to a call to action for reconciliation. And in turn one might also then say this is about indigenizing higher education. Fundamentally this chapter highlights the ethics of university practices in Canada: taking action to do what is right and ensure all students, together with their families and communities, have the opportunity to access the benefits of a university education. Quotes from Indigenous Elders and students have been woven throughout the chapter to provide evidence of the effectiveness of our approach.

Canada Since the 1960s Canada has prioritized access to post-secondary learning institutions. The success of actions over the past five decades is reflected in globally significant graduation rates. By 2015, 55 per cent of Canadian adults held a tertiary qualification, the highest share among OECD countries, compared with an OECD average of 35 per cent (OECD 2016). At the same time that student numbers increased overall, Canada saw a rise in non-traditional students attending colleges and universities, including first generation students (Chenard and Bonin 2003). However, the uptake of university studies in Canada remained significantly lower for first generation students and this pattern has continued (Drolet 2005). More than half of Indigenous students are first generation students, compared with one-third of non-Indigenous students (Finnie et al. 2010b). By 2011, the Canadian federal government’s review of barriers to accessing post-secondary education reported that about 17 per cent of Canadian children whose parents have a high school education or less go on to university, compared to about 50 per cent for children with universityeducated parents (Senate Canada 2011). While there is general agreement in Canada that first generation student success in post-secondary education is important for society, there is no consensus yet on what matters most in the pursuit of that goal (Auclair et al. 2008). There are multiple factors relevant to the journey of first generation students towards, through and beyond Canadian post-secondary education, including access and persistence (Auclair et al. 2008; Birani and Lehman 2013),

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student activities at university (such as taking part in cultural activities, sports and clubs, use of services, residence arrangements and academics-related contact with professors) (Grayson 1997), the influence of family income (Zhao and de Broucker 2002; Corak, Lipps and Zhao 2003; Finnie and Mueller 2007), rural or urban backgrounds and family structure (Rahman, Situ and Jimmo 2005; Knighton and Mizra 2002; Lavallée, Pereboom and Grignon 2001). Access to post-secondary education is important if Canada is to have graduates well positioned for a job market in coming decades where most jobs will require a degree or diploma. Getting there will require unprecedented action by universities and critical challenges to the notion of education as an economic instrument (Fitzsimons 2000). Currently Indigenous students are underrepresented in almost all post-secondary education outcomes as measured by credentials achieved and are over-represented as first generation learners in post-secondary education (see Table 4.1). Past higher education research has been criticized for reinforcing perceptions that Indigenous outcomes are due to the burdens of culture, having less and being either a victim or to blame (Bell et al. 2016). Critical research into higher education resists the view that education outcomes are the result of individual choices motivated by self-interest and outside history, culture and politics (Fitzsimons 2000). Better graduation rates are about university policies and practices that recognize the social, cultural, economic, historical and political determinants of action and the profound role universities play in reconstructing an egalitarian society. University policies and practices can shatter the illusion of neutrality in university decision making (Fitzsimons 2000). In the past we may have asked, ‘What changes will students make to lift their university achievement rates?’ Now we ask, ‘What changes do we the researchers, instructors, institutions, policy-makers and power holders need to make to accelerate achievement by first generation students?’ (Bell et al. 2016). This pivot in focus echoes Gayatri Spivak’s critical theorizing on ‘the gaze’ (Spivak 2009).  This called us to think more critically about the assumed power of the one who gazes upon (an)other and asks questions.  The questioning of belonging (or not) at university can often tell us more about the gaze-r than the one being gazed upon. Subversion happens when we ‘turn the gaze of the discriminated back upon the eye of power’ (Bhabha 1994: 35). Our questions about first generation student achievement are inverted to be questions about universities themselves and our roles as power holder within them. The gaze of the researcher and administrator reveals more about the ones asking the questions than those about whom the questions are asked.

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Table 4.1 Profile of post-secondary education outcomes for 100 Indigenous and non-Indigenous Canadian students Canadian post-secondary education indicators For every 100 students in post-secondary education overall (colleges, institutes, universities, etc.), how many … Are their family’s first generation to enter postsecondary education2 Stay on in post-secondary education beyond first or second year (retention and moving towards graduating)3 Achieve a post-secondary certificate, diploma or degree4 Achieve a university degree5 For every 100 at university,6 how many … Achieve a bachelor’s degree Achieve a master’s degree Achieve a doctorate

Indigenous students

Non-Indigenous students

53

36

69

87

30

88

10

26

71 13 2

64 19 4

Given the high representation of Indigenous first generation students, and lack of parity in outcomes, there is a need for more research into Indigenous Canadian student experience and the role universities can play in student outcomes. Studies to date have tended to use general populations (e.g. ‘low income’, ‘first generation’, ‘male’, ‘female’) or small numbers of Indigenous students, or have highlighted factors but were unable to resolve conflicting findings. Finnie and colleagues (2010b), for example, usefully found that an exceptionally large proportion of Aboriginal people agree that time and money put into post-secondary education is a good investment, yet also found a higher drop-out rate after one to two years, before graduating (Finnie et al. 2010b). Alternatively ‘culture’ has at times been explored through the theoretical lenses of habitus, cultural capital or socio-linguistic codes (Auclair et al. 2008). ‘Culture’ has been represented as parents passing on their own education heritage to their children. Success in the academic milieu thereby is a continuation of family socialization where the families have experience to communicate how to be successful in education. But what of the learners who have not had the opportunity for such a precedent or success-legacy? The answer to successful university futures for all lies somewhere between the disciplinary narrows of economics of education and the wider social and cultural parameters of knowledge making and sharing; somewhere between understanding education as a public value of education or a locus for private

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appropriation; and somewhere between the vast possibilities already available through universities, and the reconstruction of universities. Indigenized analyses and research methodologies have the potential to expand how we think about the purpose of universities and the practices we use there for knowledge making and sharing. This willingness to engage in expanded, innovative thinking and exploration is, ironically, already familiar territory to universities. We already possess the traits to explore knowledge about how universities help or hinder first generation student success. We already understand the need to consider and further develop ways for under-represented peoples to engage in research that allows their communities’ voices to be heard and their needs addressed (Naepi 2015). Canadian universities are engaging with decolonized and holistic, culturally responsive approaches such as the Medicine Wheel teaching of mental, spiritual, physical and emotional dimensions (Morrison, Hogan and Gray n.d.). Successful university futures will further expand Indigenous and Indigenized research about how the Canadian post-secondary system, including universities, performs in relation to first generation student success. A transformation of Canadian universities has begun to improve educational opportunities for Indigenous students and foster reconciliation across Canada. The universities of Canada have stated that the closing of the education gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous students is a long-term core priority (http://www.univcan.ca). In response to the report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (‘TRC’, see http://www.trc.ca), and its 94 Calls to Action, Canadian universities recognize the central role they must play in the reconciliation process between Indigenous peoples and Canadian society. The TRC reported on the cumulative impact of more than 100 years of residential schooling experienced by 150,000 Indigenous children who were subjected to the planned elimination by the state and the church of spiritual, cultural and intellectual development being provided by their parents. With the last residential school closing in 1996, the legacy and trauma have been exposed. There is a profound effect upon the relationship between Indigenous peoples and other Canadians. Reconciliation is now the goal, for ‘a better, stronger Canada’ (TRC 2015). Actions have been pledged by Canadian universities to ensure greater indigenization of university curricula and the expansion of Indigenous education leadership within the university community. Resources are to be created along with spaces and approaches that promote dialogue and intercultural engagement between Indigenous and non-Indigenous students.  Universities have undertaken to provide greater exposure and knowledge for non-Indigenous students on the realities, histories, cultures and beliefs of Indigenous people in Canada. The

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intention is that real and sustained change will occur in the universities and in Canadian society. While Universities Canada, with its membership of ninty-seven universities across Canada, has committed to the long-term priority of closing the education gap experienced by Indigenous peoples, an accelerated pace of change is possible. What could be achieved sooner through combining the research expertise, teaching skills and reconciliation intentions of universities, and the policy levers of government today? The potential for universities to lead change with and by Indigenous peoples is genuine. There is the opportunity to commit to stretch education targets to achieve parity at least, within the short to medium term. The concept of ‘first generation’ is a tool for monitoring the education system and the extent to which it is accessible and enabling student success at all levels (Finnie et al. 2010a) At this time, the journey of Canada’s Indigenous first generation students into and through university education tells us much about the education system overall, and the ability of universities in particular to deliver on (re)conciliatory pledges.

Realizing the potential of Indigenous Canadian first generation students Indigenous peoples are strong, intelligent, bold knowledge-makers who created the original realms of higher learning. Indigenous ways of knowing and discovery preceded the uni-versity. We were this way generations ago; we still are today. We are the original scientists, philosophers, engineers, theorists, economists. We take ownership of our future and name it. (Indigenous professor, Knowledge Makers)

Indigenous potential has never been greater.7 Canadian universities are being transformed as more Indigenous students attend and as institutions embrace a call to reconciliation and the significance of indigenous worldviews.  It is an emerging international story of Indigenizing higher education that is in part about policy, and demographics, and in part about simply doing what is right. This section explores ways in which Canadian universities can work in partnership with Indigenous peoples and share power. We begin with an explanation of why ‘potential’ is of key importance to Canadian university actions for Indigenous first generation learners, and then introduce four practice- and evidenceinformed pathways to realizing Indigenous potential in higher education.

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1 Potential A focus on potential is about seeing opportunities to build on identified successes and to realize potential. It is an intentional move away from focusing on problems, failure, deficit and risks. First developed in Aotearoa New Zealand by the Ministry for Māori advancement, Te Puni Kokori (http://www.tpk.govt. nz/en/) (see also Chapter 2), this policy approach is being given expression in the Canadian higher education context. A focus on potential is conscious, active, evidence-informed and outcomes-focused in support of significant change. This approach is based on principles of strength and potential: the strengths and potential afforded by research and teaching in universities and the strengths and potential of Indigenous peoples and communities to achieve exceptional levels of success. As shown in Table 4.2, these principles signal important shifts in focus. The Potentials Approach views success broadly and through Indigenous lenses. ‘Success’ includes movement towards and achievement of pass grades or higher, a sense of accomplishment and fulfilling personally important goals and participation in ways that provide opportunities for a student to explore and sustain their holistic growth, strong in their Indigenous identity (Airini et al. 2010). In this way the idea of ‘success’ is a broad one that links with individual and Indigenous notions of potential, effort and achievement. Indigenous peoples have a view as to the value of higher education. On the one hand, it has been considered merit worthy that for Indigenous students, ‘attaining a university degree means tripling their average lifetime earnings, realizing their potential and increasing their capacity to influence positive change within their families and communities’ (Association of Canadian Universities and Table 4.2 Indigenous Potentials Approach in higher education8 Less focus on… …deficit …low expectations …being Indigenous is problematic …Indigenous peoples as minorities …achievement through assimilation to non-Indigenous norms …explaining and informing …researching by taking and leading …Indigenous student support services

More focus on… …realizing potential …high expectations …being Indigenous is an advantage …Indigeneity and responsiveness …universities enabling Indigenous peoples to achieve education success as Indigenous peoples …collaborating and action …collaboration and co-constructing …Indigenous student success services

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Colleges of Canada 2010: 27) and that these outcomes have very real economic flow-on effects for the individual student, their families and their communities. Concurrently higher education is seen as transformative and transforming. The Assembly of First Nations has said, ‘First Nations view education as a means to achieving self-determination and redressing the negative impacts of colonial practices’ (2010: 4). This is reinforced by Pidgeon, who argued that higher education is about more than better financial outcomes for communities; in fact, ‘higher education is valued for capacity building within Aboriginal Nations toward their goals of self-government and self-determination’ (2008: 340). This suggests that the evidence of flourishing can be found in movements towards self-determination, self-governance and the redressing of the negative impacts of colonial practices that take shape in an over-representation of indigenous peoples as first generation students. The benefits will be widespread. Having a higher education system in which Indigenous learners thrive offers the ‘potential for … a renewed relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people in Canada. Universities benefit from the presence of Indigenous students and their cultures, making our campuses more open places with wider sources of discovery and knowledge’ (Universities Canada 2015). As such, Canadian universities have also begun to explore their own potential to contribute to both student success and Canada as a genuinely inclusive society. Universities have been asking, ‘What it is that we can do to be more deserving of having Indigenous learners within the academy?’ This is responsive to what Indigenous communities have made clear about the value about higher education (Pidgeon 2016). This is not solely about a degree and the potential to increase earning power. The university education is about possibilities of self-determination, self-governance and redressing the negative outcomes of colonial practices. Moves towards capacity building and enacting ways to ensure flourishing Indigenous first generation learners have been taken: 86 per cent of Canadian universities offer targeted services to meet the unique needs of indigenous students (e.g. Indigenized academic counselling and peer mentorship); more than thirty Indigenous languages are taught (with the percentage of universities offering Indigenous languages increasing from 44 per cent to 54 per cent between 2013 and 2015); 71 per cent of universities partner with Indigenous communities to provide outreach programmes, educational support and mentorship opportunities to students; and 61 per cent of universities offer transition programmes in Indigenous communities starting as early as the elementary school level.9

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We are in a time of the transformation of universities – culturally, structurally and in research and teaching, to enact conciliation and reconciliation in ways that increase professional opportunities for first generation learners, heal understanding between indigenous peoples and other Canadians and deepen a sense of shared belonging in the nation of Canada. Canadian universities and indeed universities globally have the potential to model a cohesive society that can be inclusive without demanding assimilation (Durie 2009). In the remainder of the chapter, we describe how we have used a Potentials Approach to develop the Knowledge Makers initiative at Thompson Rivers University and pathways for university action that have emerged. Quotes from Knowledge Makers participants have been used throughout the chapter to provide perspectives from the viewpoints of Elders, students and academics. Elders’ names are used with permission as expert informants.

2 Pathways towards realizing indigenous potential in higher education: Voices from Knowledge Makers Three ‘Pathways’ for university action have emerged from working with Indigenous university students as undergraduate researchers, and in particular through the Knowledge Makers initiative at Thompson Rivers University (TRU). TRU is located on the unceded territory of Tk’emlups te Secwepemc within Secwepemcul’ecw. The university has developed programming, structures, outreach and practices that support Indigenous success. Indigenous enrolments make up about 11 per cent of total enrolments, which is on par with the regional demographic. Indigenous faculty recruitment is gradually rising, with key appointments that support Indigenizing higher education. Like many Canadian universities, TRU is transforming steadily and deliberately through a multifaceted, dynamic process, taking steps towards its vision to be a university of choice and opportunity for Indigenous peoples. Knowledge Makers itself is an annual programme that provides the opportunity for Indigenous undergraduate students to learn about Indigenous research and to put practices into action. Each of the selected students is a first generation Indigenous researcher within the university context. The students experience being in the majority within an Indigenized academic environment. They workshop research approaches and plans as Indigenous students. They are encouraged to see their efforts in making knowledge as connected to others with shared goals. They discover that their concerns and hopes are not alone. Established Indigenous and other researchers visit and encourage these emerging

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undergraduate Indigenous researchers. Being Indigenous within the academy is role-modelled and emphasized as a strength. Indigenous culture is welcome and cherished. So too are outcomes and goals. Our approach is ‘narrow and deep’ (see http://www.education.govt.nz). That is, we focus on identified researchrelated goals and actions. We hold off on trying to work on everything to do with being successful Indigenous students at university. Each Knowledge Maker student prepares a research plan, publishes for the first time after going through a review process and as a group we gather with community members and loved ones to share the experience and research intentions. At this large gathering we receive the Knowledge Makers journal containing each student’s publication. Then as happens in Indigenous practices, each student gives to family and loved ones a copy of this first treasured achievement, and we listen to the teachings of those who are gathered. An Indigenized approach is taken in which culture, language and identity are at the heart of all planning and practices for Knowledge Makers. Elders attend throughout and are respected members of the teaching team. For some students, Knowledge Makers is a transformative experience: It’s not often you get to sit down and look around and feel that sense of identity. I think that in essence that we are survivors – our people made it through disease, assimilation. … For us to sit here today it feel so very powerful I feel connected to past generations who were not able to see what we have become. I feel we need to make our lives count for everyone. (Indigenous student, Knowledge Makers)

Knowledge Makers students have gone on to post-baccalaureate research studies, have been employed in research assistant roles, have applied for research grants and have created an Indigenous enterprise using their research skills. The voices of these students, along with Elders and academics participating in Knowledge Makers, have informed the development of the pathways described in this chapter. Foundational to the pathways is the Potentials Approach that recognizes the potential of Indigenous students to succeed and for universities to model the kind of society we are growing to be in Canada. Before considering these ‘potentials pathways’, it is important to note that not all Indigenous learners are first generation students; however, with limited research currently available into Indigenous first generation learners, there was a need to draw on wider research into Indigenizing higher education and first generation learning in higher education, combined with research initiatives that support Indigenous learners in Canada. The suggested potentials pathways are cultural, structural, research

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Table 4.3 Summary of pathways towards realizing Indigenous potential in higher education Pathway

Questions for universities

University Culture

●

●

University Structures

●

●

●

University Research and Teaching

●

●

●

●

Is our university culture about remedying Indigenous deficit and problems or about realizing potential? How does the university culture support the sharing of knowledge and expertise between Indigenous students, communities, university instructors, researchers, service providers and administration, to produce better outcomes for Indigenous first generation learners? Is Indigenous leadership present at every level of decision making in the university? To what extent does our university structures reflect an evidencebased, outcomes-focused, Indigenous Potentials Approach? Is our strategy ‘narrow and deep’ so that our university can focus on selected areas, goals and actions and avoid attempting too much in order to achieve significant change? To what extent do research and teaching benefit Indigenous students and communities, and if so, how and to what purpose? How is the university ensuring research and teaching responsive to Indigenous ways of knowledge making and exchange, learning and teaching, and education advancement and success? Do approaches to research and teaching reflect an evidenceinformed, outcomes-focused, Indigenous Potentials Approach? Have research and teaching been developed through productive partnerships between the university and Indigenous peoples?

and teaching focused. These pathways are not separate, but interrelated while distinct. Although this section will outline each of these pathways separately, it is also important to consider where these pathways meet and how they influence each other to best support Indigenous first generation students. Table 4.3 provides an overview of each pathway and questions universities might ask when developing the pathway within their own institution.

University Culture Pathway The cultures of Canadian universities have the potential to influence teaching and researching in ways that Indigenous first generation students might graduate ‘with their cultural integrity intact’ (Pidgeon 2016: 87). The University Culture Pathway describes a relationship between indigenous students and universities where the institution (i.e. administrators, researchers, teachers, services) is learning from Indigenous peoples who are actively engaged in university learning and where the university is reflective and similarly engaged. Through

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this partnership, an indigenized university culture is co-developed that supports Indigenous student success and enhances teaching and research practices across the university. Knowledge Makers provide insights into the positive outlook that comes with being in a university environment in which everyone is collaborating towards an Indigenized learning culture. Learners notice the difference in the learning and teaching environment. They find confidence and excitement in themselves and others. They can explicitly reference to cultural practices that help them to learn and to tap into their potential: The environment here is so different from other university environments. The research we are planning to conduct is amazing. (Indigenous student, Knowledge Makers) Yesterday [Day 1 of Knowledge Makers] was really good. I am usually pretty introverted. It surprises you how much you really learn from hearing about experiences and stories. It really helps when trying to make change and not knowing where to start and finding there are others in the boat. (Indigenous student, Knowledge Makers) I am feeling some of the same feelings you’ve all talked about. I am grateful for the opportunity to be amongst all these people especially our Elders. I am very appreciative. (Indigenous student, Knowledge Makers)

Indigenous academics have pointed to the role of education as a colonizing force (Alfred 2004; Antone 2000; Assembly of First Nations 2010; Battiste 1998; Battiste, Bell and Findlay, 2002; Paquette and Fallon 2014; Pidgeon 2008; 2014). In turn, Indigenous students have resisted in a way that is ‘either overt or intuitive, to being absorbed in a world of knowledge and a society that appear to have no place for them or their people’ (Brant Castellano 2014). These words invite reflection on how university practices might become culturally inclusive and respectful of Indigenous values. Although universities are a product of a wider society, they retain the potential to create an institutional culture that runs counter to wider colonial objectives that may linger (Alfred 2004). Canadian higher education has been called upon to be culturally inclusive (Antone 2000; Assembly of First Nations 2010; Association of Canadian Deans in Education 2010; Association of Canadian Universities and Colleges 2010; Battiste, Bell and Findlay 2002; Danziger 1996; Paquette and Fallon 2014; Pidgeon, Archibald and Hawkey 2014; Universities of Canada 2015). This call has resulted in professional groups such as the Association of Canadian

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Deans in Education (ACDE) establishing an Accord on Indigenous Education. This recognizes ‘that Indigenous knowledge systems have a central position in educational policy, curriculum, and pedagogy, in order to make significant improvements to Indigenous education’ (2010: 2). The University Culture Pathway is about partnerships focused on Indigenous student success. Universities on this pathway are working collaboratively with Indigenous peoples to create a culture of practices and principles where Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples have a better understanding of ‘the complexities, richness, and diversity of Indigenous peoples, histories, cultures, and lived experiences’ (Pidgeon 2016: 87). Each university will be distinct as one size or style of Culture Pathway does not fit all. If successful, the development of this university culture will enable Indigenous first generation students to enter, journey through and successfully graduate with a strong sense of self and Indigenous culture. Questions universities might ask when exploring the University Culture Pathway include ●

●

Is our university culture about remedying Indigenous deficit and problems or about realizing potential? How does the university culture support the sharing of knowledge and expertise between Indigenous students, communities, university instructors, researchers, service providers and administration, to produce better outcomes for Indigenous first generation learners?

University Structures Pathway Institutional structures have been recognized as key to the potential for universities to be decolonized spaces and the ability for Indigenous learners to reach their potential within higher education (Ahenakew and Naepi 2015; Alfred 2004; Battiste, Bell and Findlay 2002; Clark 2004; Durie 2009; James 2004; Mihesuah 2004a; Pidgeon 2008, 2016; Waitere and Johnston 2009). The University Structures Pathway is about decision making, governance and leadership, and how these might be set up to ensure there is Indigenous decisionmaking at every level of the institution. When introducing Indigenous Pacific scholar Hau’ofa’s series of essays on Oceania, Eric Waddell asked questions that are poignant to consider when reflecting on university structures: ‘Who is at the helm? Who sets the course? Who reads the sky and searches the horizons for signs? Is it us? Or is it someone else? Who are we? Are we satisfied, even

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conscious of the way we are going?’ (1993: xv). These are questions relevant to decolonizing and Indigenizing university structures. Universities are responding to this challenge. At a national level, Universities Canada’s (2015) Principles on Indigenous Education note that institutional commitment is needed at every level. Once enacted there will be an increase in strategic planning and governance specific to Indigenous education. Currently, of the twenty-six universities in British Columbia, seventeen have Aboriginal/Indigenous strategic plans and eight have an Aboriginal advisory committee (Pidgeon 2016). Nationally, 35 per cent of Canada’s universities had specific institution-wide Aboriginal strategic plans in 2015 (Pidgeon 2016). This is in contrast to the reported 88 per cent of Canadian universities that organize social and cultural events for Indigenous students (Universities Canada 2016). A key opportunity for universities is to create structural change that enables productive, influential partnerships between the institution and Indigenous peoples (Battiste, Bell and Findlay 2002). Knowledge Makers was in itself a structural intervention. It was set up to enable power sharing and collaborative decision making within a purposeful, Indigenized structure. Those who took part share insights into the benefits of being included in a part of the university structure. They find practices that are transferrable to other areas and helpful. They find their voice and a new sense of agency The principles of solid Indigenous research activity (working respectfully and effectively with communities) is a template for all community-based research activities. (non-Indigenous professor, Knowledge Makers) After talking with [the professor at Knowledge Makers] I went through my old paper with him and I felt very validated. I felt the grade I had got before Knowledge Makers didn’t reflect my learning. It was very encouraging. I feel like I know where to go from here. (Indigenous student, Knowledge Makers)

Questions universities might ask when developing the University Structures Pathway include: ●

●

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Is Indigenous leadership present at every level of decision making in the university? To what extent does our university structures reflect an evidence-based, outcomes-focused, Indigenous Potentials Approach? Is our strategy ‘narrow and deep’ so that our university can focus on selected areas, goals and actions and avoid attempting too much in order to achieve significant change?

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University Research and Teaching Pathway Research and teaching have the potential to model conciliation and reconciliation, to heal and to inspire in ways that enable the success of first generation learners. While there are many examples of effective and inclusive research and teaching practices, there is a record of framing Indigenous peoples in problematic ways. Through misunderstanding and misrepresenting Indigenous knowledges and peoples, researchers have helped to inform harmful policies and social misperceptions of Indigenous communities (Alfred 2004; Battiste 2013, Battiste, Bell and Findlay 2002; Bunda, Zipin and Brennan 2012; Denzin, Lincoln and Smith 2008; Mihesuah 2004b; Nakata et al. 2012; G. Smith 2011; L. Smith 1999, 2011; Stewart-Harawira 2013; Thaman 2003b; Waitere and Johnston 2009; Wilson 2004). Current teaching practices and content mean that Indigenous students continue to have negative experiences in the classroom (Pidgeon 2014). The University Research and Teaching Pathway recognizes and highlights that there are epistemologies and standpoints from which Indigenous people come to know the world and through which it is possible to research and teach (Nakata et al. 2012). In principle this is about Indigenous knowledge systems and methods of conducting teaching and research being used within the university systems and being legitimated (Stewart-Harawira 2013). Universities on this pathway have the potential to support Indigenous students to thrive by moving beyond a position of ‘merely tolerat[ing] Indigenous knowledge(s), to one where Indigenous knowledge(s) are embraced as part of the institutional fabric’ (Pidgeon 2016: 77). In teaching and research, there is a need for pedagogies and methodologies to integrate core indigenous values. In their 1991 work, ‘First Nations and Higher Education: The Four R’s – Respect, Relevance, Reciprocity, and Responsibility’, Kirkness and Barnhardt developed a framework for academic institutions wishing to developing academic initiatives and student services for Indigenous students. At Kloshe Tillicum the Four-Rs model has been extended to inform the research relationship between Aboriginal communities and university health research: ●

●

Respect is demonstrated towards Aboriginal peoples’ cultures, communities and wellness by valuing diverse indigenous knowledges of health matters and by including appropriate contributory health science. Relevance is demonstrated by training/teaching and research that is meaningful to indigenous peoples rather than the researcher(s) and academic research process.

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Reciprocity is accomplished through a two-way process of learning and research exchange. Both community and university benefit from effective training and research relationships. Responsibility is accomplished by active and rigorous self-reflection, engagement and consultation with community and an ongoing emphasis on roles and research ethics (Archibald et al. 2006).

Canadian universities are working to facilitate more faculty doing teaching and research with and for Aboriginal peoples and communities. It is timely for universities to develop the evidence base and guidelines for respectful, relevant, reciprocal and responsible teaching and research. This is about a transformation away from teaching and research being done about and on Indigenous peoples, and for Indigenous peoples (with unequal partnerships with researcher communities). Instead we have the opportunity to teach and research with Indigenous peoples in meaningful ways and to enable teaching and research being done by Indigenous peoples. Knowledge Makers provide insights into the positive outlook that comes with being in a university environment in which everyone is collaborating towards an Indigenized learning culture. Learners notice the difference in the learning and teaching environment. They describe feeling empowered and having a sense of collective action with others (indigenous and non-Indigenous), and they can identify specific cultural teaching practices that help them to learn and to research: Coming here [to Knowledge Makers] made me think well maybe we can change the face of Canada. … We have a lot to teach the world. (Indigenous student, Knowledge Makers) It’s a good first step to know how to research and how to do research. In science you do research on what ever I am given in class. This opened new doors for me. After [the Indigenous professor] talked I see there is a lot of room to grow and make differences in our country. We as a people need to unite and this is a really, really solid first step – not just because we are Indigenous but we are all subject to the same suffering and have to deal with the same shit and we can and will make a difference. It was definitely inspiring. (Indigenous student, Knowledge Makers) I don’t know how I would get through university without Elders to remind me where I am coming from. Just because I am not learning it in school doesn’t mean that it isn’t there. It has set me off on a good direction. (Indigenous student, Knowledge Makers)

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Questions universities might ask when developing the University Research and Teaching Pathway include ●

●

●

●

To what extent do research and teaching benefit Indigenous students and communities, and if so, how and to what purpose? (StewartHarawira 2013) How is the university ensuring research and teaching responsive to Indigenous ways of knowledge making and exchange, learning and teaching, and education advancement and success? Do approaches to research and teaching reflect an evidence-informed, outcomes-focused, Indigenous Potentials Approach? Have research and teaching been developed through productive partnerships between the university and Indigenous peoples?

Conclusion I realized a long time ago every human being is the same – we all develop our mind, our body, our spiritual self. … It is okay to be different. It is okay to think differently, to believe differently, and to be The Real Me, and to not hide The Real Me. … Keep going. Elder Estella Patrick Moller, Knowledge Makers This chapter opens with a story of Coyote reminding the people to enjoy the environment where they are, to share what they have and to not ruin or destroy. ‘It is your job to care for the land and to protect all living things. You are its caretaker,’ says Coyote. Canadian universities have been reaching out and learning how to be caretakers to new generations of students, many of whom are the first in their family to attend university. Much has been put in place, with some success, and we all readily recognize there is some way to go. That will always be the case if we are always truly taking care. This chapter has described features of the Canadian context for first generation students, the need for universities to respond to Indigenous first generation students, the importance of adopting a Potentials Approach and three possible university pathways for developing the kinds of practices that recognize the potential of every Indigenous first generation student. In addition,

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we have explored concrete outcome areas (e.g. the rate at which Indigenous students feature as first generation students) for deliberate action in higher education and presented some of the voices of those involved in the Knowledge Makers initiative. Three themes are emerging from Canadian-based university practices and research to better serve first generation students: 1. An outcome focus: Universities will be most effective when using outcomes measurement tools that are meaningful to the first generation students and that are collaboratively developed with these students and their communities; 2. Attention to time spans: Increasing first generation student participation and success is not undertaken on the basis of short-term goals, nor is it necessarily a long-term project. Rather this is about unique combination of agency and reasonable action to achieve goals and targets; 3. The importance of being Indigenous: Indigenous aspirations, values and affiliations in the contemporary world (Durie 2005) are recognized when universities better serve indigenous first generation students. This is a strengths-based approach that focuses on Indigenous potential and through which universities develop practices that may benefit many. Through culture, structures, research and teaching universities have the potential to deepen a sense of shared belonging in universities and wider to the nation of Canada. Through productive partnerships with students, Indigenous peoples and the university community, universities can become caretakers of a cohesive university society that is genuinely inclusive and proactive for first generation as well as all other students. In this kind of university society, first generation students are welcome and are enabled to fulfil their potential to succeed. This kind of society is where being Indigenous is welcome and identity is familiar, where there are high expectations that all Indigenous learners can succeed to their true potential and that university culture, structures, research and teaching are focused on making that success happen. This is the kind of university where every student can be their Real Me. They are inspired to keep going towards graduation, and in this way to be inspiring for others. This is a call to action. Every learner with the potential to succeed at university deserves the chance to do so. This story of first generation students in Canada is

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about how we are helping make that happen. Can we as universities get ahead of our time and make the kind of change that is worth remembering? Sometimes you find a place and it reminds where you’re going. You put a notch in the tree to remind you and your children who follow after you. I thank you all. You have put a notch in my heart to remember. Elder Mike Arnouse, Knowledge Makers

Notes 1 Thank you Kukp7i Paul Michel for guidance on sharing this published story from Secwepemc teachings. 2 Finnie et al. (2010b). 3 Ibid. 4 Statistics Canada, http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/89-656-x/89-656-x2015001-eng. htm#a6 Table 3. 5 At age twenty-five to sixty-four years: Universities Canada (2015a), http://www. univcan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/issue-closing-canadas-indigenous-gapoct-20151.pdf; Statistics Canada, http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/89-656-x/89-656x2015001-eng.htm#a7 Table 3. 6 Statistics Canada: http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2006. 7 Thank you Prof Mason Durie for first stating this potentiality of Indigenous peoples. 8 This table reflects the Maori Potentials Approach in education as detailed in Ka Hikitia – Managing for Success: The Maori Education Strategy (2008–2012) (http:// www.education.govt.nz/ministry-of-education/). 9 Universities Canada survey of members on Indigenous education, 2013, 2015 (http://www.univcan.ca/).

References Ahenakew, C. and Naepi, S. (2015). The difficult task of turning walls into tables. In A. Macfarlane, M. Webber and S. Macfarlane (eds.), Sociocultural Theory: Implications for Curricular Across the Sector, 181–94. Christchurch, NZ: University of Canterbury Press. Airini, Anae, M. and Mila-Schaaf, K. (2010). Teu le va – Relationships Across Research and Policy in Pasifika Education: A Collective Approach to Knowledge Generation & Policy Development for Action Towards Pasifika Education Success. Wellington, New Zealand: Ministry of Education.

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Airini, Brown D., Curtis, E., Johnson, O., Luatua, F., O’Shea, M., Rakena, T., Reynolds, G., Sauni, P., Smith, A., Su’a Huirua, T., Tarawa, M., Townsend, S., Savage, T. and Ulugia-Pua, M. (2010). Success for All: Improving Māori and Pasifika Student Success in Degree-Level Studies. Final Report. http://www.tlri.org.nz/sites/ default/files/projects/9247-Airini-final-report.pdf. Alfred, T. (2004). Warrior scholarship: Seeing the university as a ground of contention. In D. A. Mihesuah, and A. C. Wilson (eds.), Indigenizing the Academy: Transforming scholarship, 88–99. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press. Antone, E. M. (2000). Empowering Aboriginal voice in Aboriginal education. Canadian Journal of Native Education, 24(2), 92. Archibald, J., Jovel, E., McCormick, R., Vedan, R. and Thira, D. (2006). Creating Transformative Aboriginal Health research: The BC ACADRE at three years. Canadian Journal of Native Education, 29(1), 4–11. Assembly of First Nations. (2010). First Nations Control of First Nations Education, accessed http://www.afn.ca/uploads/files/education/3._2010_july_afn_first_nations_ control_of_first_nations_education_final_eng.pdf. Association of Canadian Deans of Education. (2010). Accord on Indigenous Education, accessed http://www.csse-scee.ca/docs/acde/ACDE_Accord_on_Indigenous_ Education.pdf. Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada. (2010). Answering the Call: The 2010 Inventory of Canadian University Programs and Services for Aboriginal Students, accessed http://www.afn.ca/uploads/files/aucc-call_2010.pdf. Auclair, R., Bélanger, P., Doray, P., Gallien, M., Groleau, A., Mason, L., Mercier, P. (2008). Transitions — Research Paper 2 — First-Generation Students: A Promising Concept? Number 39. Montreal, QC, Canada: The Canada Millennium Scholarship Foundation. http://www.cirst.uqam.ca/files/sites/83/2016/11/TransitionsNote2-enFinal.pdf. Battiste, M. (1998). Enabling the autumn seed: Toward a decolonized approach to Aboriginal knowledge, language, and education. Canadian Journal of Native Education, 22(1), 16. Battiste, M. (2013). Decolonizing Education: Nourishing the Learning Spirit. Saskatoon, Canada: Purich. Battiste, M., Bell, L. and Findlay, L. M. (2002). Decolonizing education in Canadian universities: An interdisciplinary, international, indigenous research project. Canadian Journal of Native Education, 26(2), 82. Bell, A., Wolfgramm-Foliaki, E., Airini, Kelly-Laubscher, R., Paxton, M., Pukepuke, T. and Santamaría, L. (2016). Together to the table: How to apply critical leadership in cross-cultural, international research. In L. Santamaría and A. Santamaría (eds.), Applied Critical Leadership in Higher Education: Praxis Promoting Access, Equity and Improvement. New York, NY: Routledge. Bhabha, H. (1994). The Location of Culture. New York, NY: Routledge.

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Birani, A. and Lehmann, W. (2013). Ethnicity as social capital: An examination of firstgeneration, ethnic-minority students at a Canadian university. International Studies in Sociology of Education, 23(4), 281–97. Brant Castellano, M. (2014). Indigenizing education. Retrieved from: http://www.ceaace.ca/blog/marlenebrant-castellano/2014/06/2/indigenizing-education. Bunda, T., Zipin, L. and Brennan, M. (2012). Negotiating university ‘Equity’ from indigenous standpoints: A shaky bridge. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 16(9), 941–57. Chenard, P. and Bonin, S. (2003). International comparative research: Underrepresented groups in tertiary education. In L. Thomas and J. Quinn (eds.), International Insights into Widening Participation: Supporting the success of under-represented groups in tertiary education. The Institute for Access Studies, Staffordshire University. Clark, D. A. T. (2004) Not the end of stories, not the end of songs, visualizing, signifying, counter-colonizing. In D. A. Mihesuah and A. C. Wilson (eds.), Indigenizing the Academy: Transforming Scholarship and Empowering Communities, 218–23). Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press. Corak, M., Lipps, G. and Zhao, J. (2003). Family Income and Participation in PostSecondary Education. Ottawa: Statistics Canada. Danziger, E. J. J. (1996). Taking hold of the tools: Post-secondary education for Canada’s Walpole Island First Nations, 1965-1994. The Canadian Journal of Native Studies, 16(2), 229–46. Denzin, N. K., Lincoln, Y. S. and Smith L. (2008). Handbook of Critical and Indigenous Methodologies. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Drolet, M. (2005). Participation in Post-secondary Education in Canada: Has the Role of Parental Income and Education Changed over the 1990s? Ottawa, Canada: Statistics Canada. http://publications.gc.ca/Collection/Statcan/11F0019MIE/11F0019 MIE2005243.pdf. Durie, M. (2005). Te tai tini. Transformation, 2025. Durie, M. (2009). Towards social cohesion: The indigenisation of higher education in New Zealand. Paper presented at the Vice Chancellors’ Forum ‘How far are universities changing and shaping our world’. Kuala Lumpur, 15–19 June 2009. http://www.universitiesnz.ac.nz/files/aper_for_ACU_Forum_-_Towards_Social_ Cohesion.pdf. Finnie, R. and Mueller, R. E. (2007). The Effects of Family Income, Parental Education and Other Background Factors on Access to Post-Secondary Education in Canada: Evidence from the YITS. Presented at the ‘All in the Family?: Evidence from YITS on PSE Access and Persistence’ conference, Montreal, Quebec, 19 October 2007. Finnie, R., Childs, S. and Wismer, A. (2010a). First Generation Post-Secondary Education Students (Version 02-24-10) A MESA Project L-SLIS Research Brief. Toronto, ON: Canadian Education Project.

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Finnie, R., Childs, S., Kramer, M. and Wismer, A. (2010b). Aboriginals In PostSecondary Education (Version 11-18-10) A MESA Project L-SLIS Research Brief. Toronto, ON: Canadian Education Project. Fitzsimons, P. (2000). Neo-liberalism and ‘Social Capital’: Reinventing Community. Paper presented in the NZARE Symposium, ‘Neo-liberalism, welfare and education: The New Zealand Experiment’. Critique and critical Transformations. AERA Conference. New Orleans, USA. http://www.amat.org.nz/ Neoliberalism.pdf. Grayson, J. P. (1997). Academic achievement of first-generation students in a Canadian University. Research in Higher Education, 38(6), 659–76. Hau’ofa, E., Waddell, E. and Naidu, V. (1993). A New Oceania: Rediscovering Our Seas of Islands. A Paper presented at the University of Hawaii. James, K. (2004). Corrupt State University: The organizational psychology of native experience in higher education. In D. A. Mihesuah and A. C. Wilson (eds.), Indigenizing the Academy: Transforming Scholarship and Empowering Communities, 48–68. United States of America: University of Nebraska Press. Kirkness, V. J. and Barnhardt, R. (1991). First nations and higher education: The four R’s – respect, relevance, reciprocity, responsibility. Journal of American Indian Education, 30, 1–15. Knighton, T. and Mirza, S. (2002). Post-secondary participation: The effects of parents’ education and household income. Education Quarterly Review, 8(3), 25–32. Lavallée, L., Pereboom, B. and Grignon, C. (2001). Access to Postsecondary Education and Labour Market Transition of Postsecondary Students. Canada Student Loans Program. Human Resources Development Canada. Unpublished report. Mihesuah, D. A. (2004a). Academic gatekeepers. In D. A. Mihesuah and A. C. Wilson (eds.), Indigenizing the Academy: Transforming Scholarship and Empowering Communities, 31–47. United States of America: University of Nebraska Press. Mihesuah, D. A. (2004b). Should American Indian History remain a Field of Study? In D. A. Mihesuah and A. C. Wilson (eds.), Indigenizing the Academy: Transforming Scholarship and Empowering Communities, 143–59. United States of America: University of Nebraska Press. Morrison, L., Hogan, L., Gray, E. (undated). The first generation aboriginal student experience. http://www1.uwindsor.ca/sem/system/files/THE_FIRST_ GENERATION_ABORIGINAL_STUDENT_EXPERIENCE%5B1%5D.pdf. Naepi, S. (2015). Navigating the currents of Kaupapa Māori and Pan-Pacific research methodologies in Aotearoa New Zealand. MAI Journal, 4(1) 71–84. Nakata, M., Nakata, V., Keech, S. and Bolt, R. (2012). Decolonial goals and pedagogies for Indigenous studies. Decolonization: Indigeneity, Education & Society, 1(1), 120–40. OECD. (2016). Canada Country note – Education at a Glance – OECD indicators. http://www.keepeek.com/Digital-Asset-Management/oecd/education/education-ata-glance-2016/canada_eag-2016-45-en#page2.

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Paquette, J. and Fallon, G. (2014). In quest of indigeneity, quality, and credibility in aboriginal post-secondary education in Canada: Problematic, contexts, and potential ways forward. Canadian Journal of Educational Administration and Policy, 165, 1–35. Pidgeon, M. (2008). Pushing against the margins: Indigenous theorizing of ‘success’ and retention in higher education. Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory & Practice, 10(3), 339–60. Pidgeon, M. (2014). Moving beyond good intentions. Journal of American Indian Education, 53(2), 7. Pidgeon, M. (2016). More than a checklist: Meaningful indigenous inclusion in higher education. Social Inclusion, 4(1), 77–91. Pidgeon, M., Archibald, J. A. and Hawkey, C. (2014). Relationships matter: Supporting aboriginal graduate students in British Columbia, Canada. The Canadian Journal of Higher Education, 44(1), 1. Rahman, A., Situ, J. and Jimmo, V. (2005). Participation in Postsecondary Education: Evidence from the Survey of Labour and Income Dynamics. Statistics Canada. Smith, G. (2011). Protecting and respecting indigenous knowledge. In M. Battiste (ed.), Reclaiming Indigenous Voice and Vision, 209–24. Vancouver, Canada: UBC Press. Smith, L. (1999). Decolonizing Methodologies: Research and Indigenous Peoples. Zed books. Smith, L. (2011). Kaupapa Māori research. In Battiste, M. (ed.), Reclaiming Indigenous Voice and Vision, 225–47. Vancouver, Canada: UBC Press. Spivak, G. (2009). Outside in the Teaching Machine. 2nd ed. New York: Routledge. Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology. (2011). Opening doors: Reducing barriers to post-secondary education in Canada. Senate, Ottawa, Canada. www.senate-senat.ca/social.asp . Stewart-Harawira, M. (2013). Challenging knowledge capitalism: Indigenous research in the 21st century. Socialist Studies/Études Socialistes, 9(1), 39–51. Thaman, K. H. (2003b). Decolonizing Pacific studies: Indigenous perspectives, knowledge, and wisdom in higher education. The Contemporary Pacific, 15(1), 1–17 Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. (2015). Honouring the Truth, Reconciling for the Future: Summary of the Final Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. Universities Canada. (2015a). Closing Canada’s Indigenous Education Gap. http://www. univcan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/issue-closing-canadas-indigenous-gapoct-20151.pdf. Universities Canada. (2015). Universities Canada Principles on Indigenous Education. http://www.univcan.ca/media-room/media-releases/universities-canada-principleson-indigenous-education/. Universities Canada. (2016). Enhancing Indigenous Student Success at Canada’s Universities. accessed https://www.univcan.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/ enhancing-indigenous-student-access-at-canadian-universities.pdf.

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Waitere, H. and Johnston, P. (2009). Echoed silences: In absentia: Mana Wahine in institutional contexts. Women’s Studies Journal, 23(2), 14. Wilson, A. (2004). Reclaiming our humanity: Decolonization and the recovery of Indigenous knowledge. In D. A. Mihesuah and A. C. Wilson (eds.), Indigenizing the Academy: Transforming Scholarship and Empowering Communities, 69–87. United States of America: University of Nebraska Press. Zhao, J. and de Broucker, P. (2002). Participation in Post-Secondary Education and Family Income—Erratum. The Daily, Statistics Canada, 9 January 2002. www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/020109/d020109a.htm.

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Factors Affecting the Success of First Generation University Students at a South African University Roisin Kelly-Laubscher, Moragh Paxton, Ziyanda Majombozi and Samukele Sally Mashele

Education is the great engine of personal development. It is through education that the daughter of a peasant can become a doctor, that the son of a mineworker can become the head of the mine, that a child of farm workers can become the president of a great nation.  Mandela, 1995

Introduction Nelson Mandela’s words from his 1995 autobiography speak to the power of education for upward social mobility among first generation students everywhere, but particularly in South Africa. However, more than twenty years later, South African higher education institutions still face major challenges relating to participation, student retention, progression and success. These challenges are especially persistent among students from previously disadvantaged backgrounds, many of whom are first generation university students. Although South African participation rates1 increased from 15 per cent in 2000 to 19 per cent in 2012 (Council on Higher Education 2013), these figures are very low when we consider that participation rates in countries like Ireland are 69 per cent (HEA 2012). Furthermore, there is a disparity of 10 per cent between the participation rate of African students (15 per cent of the population aged 20–24 years in 2014) and the percentage of the population that are African (80 per cent of the total population in 2014) (Council on Higher Education 2013; Lehohla 2014)

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Even for those participating in higher education, the throughput of African and coloured2 students is lower than that of their white counterparts, with only 20 and 24 per cent of African and coloured students, respectively, graduating within the regulation time for their diplomas/degrees, compared to 44 per cent of white students. A similar differential based on race is seen after five years with fewer African (42 per cent) and coloured (43 per cent) students than white (61 per cent) students graduating within five years (Council on Higher Education 2013). It is clear from these statistics that increased participation in higher education by these groups has not resulted in a corresponding increase in graduation rates and throughput. Therefore, it is important to look more carefully at the problems these students experience with access to universities. Morrow (2008) differentiates between ‘formal access’, which merely entails acquiring a place at higher education institutions, and ‘epistemological access’, which entails gaining access to knowledge or ways of knowing in academia. While more students are gaining formal access to universities in South Africa, they are not being granted epistemological access, and without this access, these students will be lost from the system. Many factors have been identified as preventing epistemological access for such students, including the discontinuity between the high school and university curricula: a so-called ‘articulation gap’ (Council on Higher Education 2013; Education White Paper 3: A Programme for the Transformation of Higher Education 1997), a lack of decolonization of the higher education system and the cost of higher education. The legacy of apartheid means that South Africa still has two school systems, one well resourced and one poorly resourced; the schooling system that serves the poor black working classes still suffers from the inequities of the past in terms of educational provision and outcomes. While students in the well-resourced schools have had the best teachers and resources, students in the ‘poor’ schools have suffered from overcrowded classrooms and under-resourced schools in often violent neighbourhoods. The differences in school systems mean that those with qualifying marks for the more prestigious higher education institutions come largely from the wealthier population. Another issue at both school and university levels is that of language. South Africa’s constitution is unusual in that it identifies eleven official languages. Although English is the official medium of instruction in most high school classrooms in South Africa, with a minority having Afrikaans as an official medium of instruction, many South African students are taught mainly in their home languages. This is because English is the primary language of only a minority of teachers and students, and so schoolteachers use code-switching

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and code mixing in order to communicate their subject matter and ensure that students have understood them (Setati et al. 2002). However, despite national language policies calling for multilingualism in higher education, there has been a lack of commitment to multilingualism as well as a lack of commitment to the development of indigenous languages as academic languages that can be used as mediums of instruction (Hurst 2015). Therefore, English is still the medium of instruction at most South African universities, including the University of Cape Town, where this study is set, and the monolingual nature of current language practices at these universities have consequences for both access to knowledge, especially for those who have completed most of their schooling in their home language, and affirmation of students and the decolonization of the university. Mbembe (2016: 30) writes about the ‘democratisation of access’ and says that it is not merely about increasing the number of students from different backgrounds in universities but creating spaces where they feel they belong. ‘When we say access, we are also saying the possibility to inhabit a space to the extent that one can say, “This is my home. I am not a foreigner. I belong here.”’ In this book, Hamshire and colleagues (Chapter 6) highlight the importance of belonging at a university in student success. Creating such spaces requires both institutional and curriculum reform. Some universities have started student support initiatives, such as foundation/ extended degree programmes3 (EDP) and external student support courses, to try to bridge the articulation gap and mediate the language transition for some disadvantaged students. Recent research confirms that foundation programmes successfully decrease the articulation gap and increase the throughput rates of students from disadvantaged backgrounds (Council on Higher Education 2013). However, the same research found that a lack of funding means that these programmes cannot be made available to all underprepared students. Furthermore, many of these programmes occupy ‘low status’ because they serve a minority of students, and are thus ‘marginalised both academically and administratively’, with students on these programmes often feeling stigmatized. This ‘marginal status’ often undermines the success of these programmes (Council on Higher Education 2013: 72). Despite the formation of the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) in 1999, the cost of higher education remains a limiting factor for many students. NSFAS aims to provide ‘financial aid to students from poor and working class families in a sustainable manner that promotes access to, and success in, higher and further education and training, in pursuit of South Africa’s national and human resource development goals’ (NSFAS). It does this through loans, which

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may be partially converted to a bursary upon successful completion of all courses each year; however, high failure rates mean that many students are carrying the burden of ever-increasing debt. Furthermore, while NSFAS has successfully doubled the number of students it funds each year since 2009 so that it funded 20 per cent of all university students in 2014 (NSFAS), it has been criticized for spreading its funding too thin and leaving its funded students with too little money to ‘sustain the minimum conditions for university study’ (Scott 2016). It has also been criticized for neglecting the ‘missing middle’4 (Scott 2016). The cost of higher education is an issue not just for those considering participating in higher education but also for those already engaged in higher education, as highlighted by the student protests at universities across South Africa in 2015 and 2016. These students protested against upfront payments required by some universities, fee increases and the exclusion of academically eligible students on financial grounds and argued ultimately for a free and decolonized higher education system in South Africa. The central argument of the chapter is that the students interviewed in this project faced tremendous challenges and yet some of them showed agency in the way they adjusted, learnt to cope with the structural and cultural challenges, and eventually found more comfortable niches for themselves. The chapter describes and draws on longitudinal data relating to two of these students to illustrate our argument. We begin by describing the theoretical and methodological framing we have used to analyse and understand our data. We then present representations and descriptions of the journey of these two first generation students.

Theoretical framework Previous longitudinal studies on the experiences of first generation students at South African universities have shown that first generation students shift their identity over the period of their university careers (Bangeni and Kapp 2005; Kapp and Bangeni 2011). Therefore, in this chapter we will draw on Margaret Archer’s notions of identity formation (Archer 2000) to try to understand the transitions in identity experienced by these first generation students. Archer’s work is based on the complex relationship between structure, culture and agency. She argues that each has autonomy from each other and its own distinctive properties and powers called ‘emergent properties’ (Archer 1995). Culture is the ‘social realm of ideas and beliefs’ (Le Boutillier 2003), structure refers to the social realm of

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material resources (Archer 1995) and agency is ‘one’s ability to pursue goals that one values and that are important for the life an individual wishes to lead’ (Walker 2006: 165). Archer (2000) singles out some specific types of agency. Of interest to this study is Archer’s concept of ‘primary agency’, which is the opportunities and constraints that we face as a result of the position we are assigned to on ‘society’s distribution of scarce resources’ (Archer 2000: 261–2). The complex interplay between structure, culture and agency is mediated by reflexivity, ‘the regular exercise of the mental ability, shared by all normal people, to consider themselves in relation to their (social) contexts and vice versa’ (Archer 2007: 4). This in turn is affected by our past experiences and our ‘ultimate concern’. Ultimate concerns are ‘internal goods that they [people] care about most’. The types of concerns vary from one realm of reality to another. In the natural realm, the main concerns are with physical well-being; in the practical world, the main concerns are performative; and in the social realm, the main concerns are with self-worth. Archer (2000) emphasizes the role of emotion in achieving our ultimate concerns as one cannot genuinely care about something without some sort of emotion. People act in the best interests of their ultimate concerns while subordinating others. This action takes the form of ‘projects’ or action paths that if fulfilled should promote their concern. The possibility of projects is governed by two causal powers: those inside ourselves and those that form our contexts (contexts are represented by structure and culture). Archer’s (2007) approach sees that although our context automatically influences the project to either facilitate or obstruct it, we act reflexively on the project, having a choice as to whether we will pursue it or not. We can also act reflexively around or against our context to try to circumnavigate any perceived obstructions. The idea that people can choose to implement practices that fit within the social structure, circumnavigate it or rebel against it might explain why some students when exposed to the same environment at a university experience different issues of identity. Archer (2000) separates personal identity from social identity. For her, personal identity is based on our ultimate concerns and is formed through an internal dialogue. This internal dialogue is composed of three stages: 1. Discernment, when one identifies what is important to one and identifies projects worth pursuing, 2. Deliberation, when one weighs up the value versus the opportunity cost of each of the different projects, 3. Dedication, the stage in the internal dialogue where one prioritizes one order of reality over another and, thus, one ultimate concern over others.

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Once one’s personal identity has emerged, shaped by one’s ultimate concerns, it shapes one’s emotional reactions to everything, or as Archer (2000) puts it, ‘they have a prism on the world which refracts their first order emotions’. Although one’s social identity forms part of one’s personal identity and so the two relate dialectically with each other, Archer differentiates between the two. Our social identity derives from our relations with the social order through our allocated positions as agents and our chosen roles as actors. The roles we choose to personify exist whether we occupy them or not, and according to Archer (2000: 283), they have ‘emergent properties’ which are ‘demonstrated by the pre-existence of roles, their greater durability over time, a capacity to endure, despite considerable changes in the personal features of their successive holders and the relatively autonomous powers of constraint and enablement which are lodged in the role, not the occupant, and can be lost (or shed) without loss of occupancy’. Archer and other critical realists have been reproached for not being critical enough. However, we believe like Lemert (2003), who wrote a review of Being Human, that we can still learn from Archer and that her notions of structure, culture and agency provide a useful framework for analysing our student interview data.

Methodology We decided to use focus group methodologies so that students from diverse backgrounds could share their experiences in group discussions.  However, focus group interviews have been critiqued because they can silence dissension and result in only one perspective being heard (Kitzinger cited in McMillan 2014). Furthermore, English is not the home language of the majority of our students, and speakers of English as an additional language might be silenced in a diverse focus group. Therefore, the focus group methodology was complemented with a Participatory Learning and Action (PLA) approach. PLA is a collection of research approaches that commonly uses visual methods such as drawing to learn from and evaluate people’s concerns. A PLA approach regards participants as experts in their own lives and the methods are accessible to people with different levels of language and literacy and give voice to often-marginalized people (Bozalek and Biersteker 2010). For our project, we felt that PLA could be a means to facilitate students who struggled to express their ideas in an additional language like English. If students could get their ideas down in the form of a drawing, this would enable them to refer to their drawings when they

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Table 5.1 Participant demographics Pseudonym Degree

Pop group

School Gender quintile

Urban/rural

Home language

Andile Akani Thandi Akhona Beauty Lutho Lethabo Zanele Mandla Siyabonga Bongi Lungile Paul

Black Black Black Black Black Black Black Black Black Black Black Black Black

Male Male Female Female Female Male Male Female Male Male Female Female Male

Urban Rural Urban Rural Urban Urban Unknown Urban Urban Urban Urban Unknown Urban

Xhosa Sepedi Xhosa Xhosa Xhosa Xhosa Siswati Xhosa Zulu Zulu Xhosa Unknown Xhosa

Science Science Science MBChB Science Science Science Science Science Science Science Arts Arts

3 1 3 2 1 3 3 5 4 4 3 Unknown 2

joined the focus groups. Language barriers would be removed and they would be free to express themselves through another medium (Table 5.1).

Data collection and analysis This study was carried out in two phases. The first focused on the data from the PLA workshops. The second phase concentrated on the three focus group interviews. Ethics approval was received from the Centre for Higher Education and Development Ethics committee, and each student signed a consent form, allowing us to use their drawings and interview data. In the PLA workshop, students were asked to draw their ‘journey to’, ‘journey into’ and ‘journey through’ university. Explanation by facilitators of what was meant by each of these journeys was kept as brief as possible to allow students to interpret the prompts as they wished and thus express themselves freely. The ‘journey to’ was explained as their life before university, the ‘journey into’ university was explained as their experience of the administration of getting into university and the ‘journey through’ university was explained as their life since coming to university. Students were asked to be as creative as they wanted with their drawings. They were also asked not to confer until they all finished their drawings so that they did not influence each other. Once all drawings were complete, each student was invited to present their drawing to one of the facilitators. These presentations were held individually so that students did not hear each other’s

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presentations. All presentations were video recorded for later analysis. Although we attempted to maintain a five-minute limit of student presentations, the wealth of information in some of the drawings made this difficult. Three focus group discussions were held several weeks after the first PLA workshops. Randomly selected videos from the PLA workshop were shown. These along with the facilitator’s unstructured and open-ended questions were used to prompt the discussions. Focus group discussions were all audio-recorded and then transcribed. Students from the original sample were invited to participate in another PLA workshop two years later to obtain a longitudinal perspective. In the second PLA workshop the students were asked to draw their experiences since the first round of interviews. Two researchers independently analysed the drawings and focus group transcriptions and common themes were identified. These were then grouped into overarching themes (see Table 5.2). Although, as shown in Table 5.2, we obtained much thematic data from the student drawings and focus group interviews, the focus of this chapter will be on the journey of two students, Zanele and Mandla. They were chosen because their stories present several of the themes identified in the data from the larger group. Most of the data presented are drawn from the students’ explanations of their drawings, supplemented with data from the focus group interviews. These Table 5.2 Themes identified in students’ drawings

Themes identified Challenges Funding Friends Unhappiness/weeping/depression Workload/test Insecurity/stress Career/future Thoughts of dropping out/returning home Time management Negative residential experiences Did not get first choice subject Gangs, crime Church Death Unemployment Language Bad living conditions

Per cent of drawings exhibiting a theme 87 80 80 67 60 53 33 33 27 20 20 20 20 20 20 13 13

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students faced tremendous challenges over the three years of their university studies, but their drawings also illustrate how they developed coping mechanisms that assisted them in overcoming these challenges.

Characteristics of the students and their context of study For the purposes of this research we have defined students for whom neither parent attended university as first generation. This means that some students’ parents may have gone to an institute of technology or a teacher/nurse training college. Both Zanele and Mandla are black first generation students with an African language (e.g. Xhosa, Zulu) as their first language. At the beginning of this project, both students were enrolled in their first year of a Bachelor of Science degree EDP.5 Both students grew up in urban townships; however, Zanele attended a school that during apartheid would have been categorized as white, and Mandla went to a school that under apartheid would have been categorized as black. Their university journeys began at the University of Cape Town (UCT), which is a large research-led university. It is the top-ranked African university on several prestigious ranking tables and boasts staff and students from over 100 countries. As part of its mission, UCT promises to create an Afropolitan university and provide an environment that ‘supports redress in regard to past injustices’ (https://www.uct.ac.za/about/intro/). The university has made several policy changes aligned with this mission, for example, the 2013 Language Policy document attempts to encourage the use of languages other than English for learning; however, implementation of this has been slow. Despite these policy changes, the percentage of African and coloured students attending UCT has increased only by 9 per cent over the past five years and figures remain below the demographics for both the country and the province.

Analysis and interpretation of drawings Zanele Despite the fact that Zanele went to a well-resourced high school, she is not necessarily without disadvantage, as her story will highlight. Her story begins early in her life; thus, she starts her story by highlighting her primary agency (opportunities and constraints) (Archer 2000). In Zanele’s case, her opportunities seem to be both constrained and enabled by her father’s unstable employment.

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Figure 5.1 Zanele’s journey to, into and through university. This drawing has been adapted to remove any identifying information

For example, her choice of school was largely determined by where they lived, which in turn was determined by her father’s employment status: So yea I was born right, um in a nice big home and then my dad got fired and then we went to move to a shack in an informal settlement … I went to a township school, I was top student and then um my parents moved to an … ok another informal settlement where they got an RDP house.

Reconstruction and development programme (RDP) houses are governmentsubsidized homes. To qualify for such a home a person needs to earn less than a certain amount per year (R3500 in 2016). However, qualifying tenants do not always get a choice of where their new home will be. Thus, Zanele’s family financial situation meant that they had to move to an Afrikaans-speaking area, which meant Zanele attended a school where Afrikaans was the main language of instruction. This had a negative effect on her marks; however, she tells us that by the end of primary school, she is back to being an ‘A student’ again. However, problems arose again when her father lost his job: Then my dad got fired and he had to steal metals to hustle for us to get food and everything so that’s how he took me to high school, to an English high school.

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Through stealing, her father was able to get his daughter into an English high school. This is an example of somebody circumnavigating the system to achieve his or her goals. While at high school, Zanele was again a top achiever, though she describes several phases that she went through: Then um, I became a wild child between grade 9 and grade 11. Like yea I was very naughty …. Then early grade 12, I got a real introduction to God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit, which was a very good thing for me.

Archer (2000) tells us that although children and young people cannot yet develop their personal identity, they do have an internal conversation and this early internal dialogue is exploratory in nature, where they try to decide which projects are worth pursuing. In this instance, Zanele may have identified the church as a project worth pursuing but also tried several other things. Herrington and Curtis (2000: 372) suggest that many students seek and find a discourse community that offers social identities that enhance their development and that these communities serve as sponsors for their actions. It seems that Zanele found a sponsoring community in the church at a time when she had lost focus. In terms of social support, Zanele had both constraints and enablements. Her mother seemed to encourage educational activities, which led to her excelling at school: Um my mom and I used to go to the library a lot … so because of that I was able to skip grade R and start grade 1 at 6 years old.

Her mother also seemed to be the big supporter of Zanele going to university: In my matric my mom and I filled in forms like for bursaries and everything and um yea she helped me a lot.

And: I had the longest train ride ever from [Home] to Cape Town, my mommy and I actually and I was excited um yea

She also tells us that she was in school seven days per week. It became clear in the focus group interview that this arose due to her involvement in an organization that sought to assist students with potential by offering support on weekends. However, in the focus group interviews she tells us that becoming a member of this organization saw the start of the disconnect between her and her friends.

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This disconnect grew when she went away to university. It seems that even the parents in her community are not very supportive: Like people really get jealous because their children aren’t doing what I am doing. Their children are lazing around, stealing and everything and I am not like those children so yea.

Due to her family’s fluctuating finances, Zanele shifted from qualifying for NSFAS funding to being one of the ‘missing middle’ and back again. Luckily at the time of registration at university, her financial situation allowed her to get partial funding from NSFAS. Although Zanele got into university and got financial aid, she was upset that she had not been accepted into medicine. At university, Zanele found it difficult to make friends and she says that this was exacerbated by not getting into the residence system. Academically, her identity came under challenge: And then um, when lectures started, that’s me going that way, so um it was really difficult for me. I couldn’t catch on, I didn’t know what was happening, I was confused um, I was getting like 50 per cent.

She was no longer the top achiever she had been in high school. This is what prompted her to move into the EDP: Um, I decanted [moved into the EDP], best decision of my life, and um I started to get like 80s plus, ok plus minus.

Zanele seems to foreground her ‘performative concerns’ (Archer 2000), wanting to achieve in the practical world. However, she still seems to be exploring who she is: I started to think broadly and I had my first puff of weed and of course no alcohol. And um thinking broadly in terms of race, feminism, feeling fat, of course I am a girl.

It was in the EDP that Zanele finally made some friends. At the end of first year this student received two class medals for her performance in exams and coursework, which shows her determination and motivation. She still had the same friends that she described in her earlier drawing; however, this changed in second semester when they all started doing different subjects and Zanele started to see herself as a loner. Outside her coursework, things were changing for her; she got baptized, started weightlifting and finally got into a university residence. She also received a government bursary due to her high marks and received two more class medals at the end of the second year. This signifies the recognition by the government and university

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Figure 5.2 Zanele’s journey from first year to third year. This drawing has been adapted to remove any identifying information

structures of her achievements. All this success was motivated by her ‘ultimate concern’ (Archer 2000), which was to get into medicine. This paid off at the end of her second year when she was accepted for medicine: That was quite nice and here is my stethoscope [points at Figure 5.2] and then first semester it was quite rough this year um, also I was a loner even more so then [second year], I had no one to talk to and I was quite sad and my marks dropped because I think, well I say here [points at Figure 5.2], I was depressed.

Prior to this move from science to medicine, her ultimate concern (Archer 2000) had been to get into medicine and her main project (Archer 2000), achieving good marks in science, seemed dedicated to this. Since all projects are guided by one’s ultimate concern (Archer 2000), it is not surprising that having achieved her ultimate concern she began to feel that she lacked direction and motivation: I didn’t have motivation like I did before I wanted to do medicine and now that I have it, it’s like what is going to happen now?

This lack of direction alone may have been enough to encourage Zanele to reopen her internal dialogue to reconsider her ultimate concern. However, it

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became evident at the beginning of second semester that there was more to the story than a change in performative concerns (Archer 2000): So second semester, new, new beginnings um so, I had a baby [giggles]. Um yea her name is XXX and she is my reason to work hard and yea it’s a girl and then um my family and my boyfriend have been quite supportive about it.

The unintended birth of a child represents an unintended change in circumstances, and Archer (2000: 247) tells us that such drastic changes can destabilize commitments and call for a re-opening of the internal dialogue so that one can reconsider one’s ultimate concern. Within this internal dialogue she would need to consider her concerns in all three realms of reality. In the natural world the fact that she was pregnant and the physical toll that this takes would have been a concern. In the practical world, she would have been concerned with her performance. According to Archer (2000: 198), ‘the precise object of performative concerns are historically, cross-culturally and socially varied’; however, it is clear from the above dialogue that for Zanele the object of her performative concern was her academic performance and she is not happy that her marks have begun to drop. Furthermore, the high standards that she holds for herself are highlighted in her drawing since it is clear that what she is considering bad marks are 69 per cent and 71 per cent. In the social world, her main concern is with letting people down by not performing her social roles appropriately. Zanele depicts two social roles (Archer 2000), that of a daughter, clear from her constant reference to her parents, and that of a Christian, which is clear from her baptism, her wish to please the church and her excitement about attending the church conference. Archer (2000: 198–9) tells us that in becoming a member of a social group we cannot avoid the norms that shape social standing within those groups. There are two instances in her story where Zanele does not feel like she lives up to the norms of the social groups to which she belongs. First, regarding her decrease in marks in the first semester, she says: Most of my stress came from the fact that I had disappointed my parents and my church

and regarding the birth of her child at the beginning of the second semester she says: and so the church I still haven’t told them, it’s quite stressful.

We assume here that her stress about telling her parents and the church about her marks is due to a perceived clash between her current social standing in those groups and that of a person with falling marks. Furthermore, we assume that the stress of telling the church about the baby is due to what she perceives

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to be a lack of alignment between the birth of her child out of wedlock and the norms of the church. It is possible that some of the feelings of depression that Zanele felt in the first semester may have stemmed from this destabilization and the need to reconsider her personal identity. It seems that having gone through this internal dialogue, her ultimate concern does change to that of caring for her child’s future. However, through reflexively considering all her concerns as well as her support structures it seems that the project she undertakes towards achieving her ultimate concern, this good future for her child, remains the achievement of good marks so that she can get a good career.

Mandla In his first drawing (Figure 5.3) Mandla uses an extended metaphor depicting his journey as that of a space flight. In his interview he explained that his ‘ultimate concern’ was to land on Mars, which represented his degree: Circle represents earth, earth represents me in high school. Mars represents me getting my degree. On the side you see my friend, he’s outside – he is not sure about whether he is going to go or not. Below, that is me visualising the space ship. The spaceship is what is going to take me to university.

Figure 5.3 Mandla’s journey into university

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To act in the best interest of his ultimate concern, he undertakes the project of travelling through space – university. The first two panels are concerned with the launch and the various factors that constrain lift-off and the ways in which he circumnavigates these constraints. The journey begins with finding the materials and building of the spaceship. Pointing to his drawing he says: In the speech bubbles I say, I can build a spaceship, I have the blueprints. In high school I was able to pass well because my grades were good so I thought that I was fit to go to UCT.

In other words, in Archer’s terms (2000) one set of the causal powers that determine the possibility of projects is present. In both first and second panels, ‘journey to’ and ‘into university’, the student is represented as strongly framed by planet Earth while preparations for the journey are made. This Earth frame may represent structural boundaries that constrain the possibility of his project. Indeed, pointing to the second panel of the poster, he says: You see a person on the side – ‘are you crazy’ – ways of demotivation, people telling me that since I was the first one to go to university, ‘you’ll never make it’.

It seems that even people who believed in his project of going to university did not believe that he could do it in the minimum time. He says: I’ll be in space for a long time – from the beginning I decided to take four years instead of three because I was told by one of my teachers it was better to take an extra year because some people usually end up doing five years anyway.

The influence of people’s comments and his own history reinforces the negative thoughts he was having about himself and represents a shift in his identity from being a member of his community to being both an outsider (indicated by his word ‘crazy’) from his community and a person who is unfit for a regular threeyear degree at the university. His comment ‘probably yeah it’s too big for me’ implies that he doesn’t think he is good enough for university. The longitudinal study of Humanities students by Bangeni and Kapp (2007) illustrates students experiencing similar rejections from their peers in their home communities. Despite these feelings of constraint, Mandla continued to pursue this project. A structural barrier that stood in his way was the lack of ‘fuel’ (funding) for his spaceship, not only for the journey through university but also for the journey to university from his hometown. He circumnavigated this barrier by applying for NSFAS funding. His acceptance into a university and his financial status make him eligible for this funding. The fact that this financial aid is

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means-tested positions him as financially poor and different from those who do not need such funding. Although the structural processes here, in terms of government funding, facilitated his access to university, they also had the potential to constrain access in a very important way. It did not provide funds in time for transport to the university from his home, which was approximately 1650 kilometres away. It is unclear whether it was this student acting reflexively on his situation, that is, by approaching people for funding, that led to his teacher funding his travel. However, it is likely that it was his position as a star student that led to his teacher funding him. Finally, ‘fuel’ is found and the spaceship is shown at the bottom of the second panel in launching position ready to take off with Mandla and one of his friends represented as little stick figures in the departing spaceship. In the third section of the poster, the journey through university, the spaceship is shown facing forward with vectors to indicate direction and forward motion. However, in the journey through university, asteroids hit the spaceship from time to time, which Mandla says represent university tests. His portrayal of the tests as asteroids is interesting as it positions them as dangerous, with potential to damage the ship and thus his journey. However, the fact that he has not shown an asteroid hitting the ship shows that he has the potential to navigate around them. Although, throughout this third section, Mandla’s travels are supported by his friend and he is the only student in the group who did not refer to insecurity or stress in his poster, he does use the first person a lot when he describes the first section of his journey through university. This may be indicative of the loneliness he and his friend were feeling in the ship and the feeling of homesickness. It seems that they do not feel like members of the university community. This isolation is highlighted when he says: Before decanting [transferring to the EDP] we just went to the lectures, we didn’t socialise, we didn’t have time for that.

Here he attributes the lack of community to a lack of time, which would seem to be a structural obstacle; however, in depicting what happened on a daily basis, he says: I would probably chill in my room and go to the lec[ture], look at the slides and think I would look at it later then go back to my room and forget about it.

A few weeks into his degree he failed a big test (the asteroid which badly damaged the spaceship), which meant he was advised to move into the EDP, depicted in the poster as the moon (bottom right hand corner). In the EDP he

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and his friend had more time to socialize and to make new friends who ask, ‘Can we join the ride?’ These friends help to repair the spaceship and it is able to resume its journey. In this section of the student’s description he starts to use the personal pronoun ‘we’ instead of ‘I’, which highlights his transition from a solitary individual at university to a member of the EDP community. In the focus group interviews during their first year, Mandla tells us that his choice to come to UCT was determined by several factors, including the subjects he liked, financial prospects of each career and the prestige of the various universities. When he had to make a final decision, he could not choose the programme that he wanted because the university which offered it required an upfront registration fee of R4000, which would not be covered by financial aid. Despite the fact that the rest of the fees for this degree would be covered by the financial aid, this initial fee was enough of a stumbling block to prevent him from pursuing his chosen career. This is an example of where the NSFAS funding fell short of the policies of one of the universities in the country (or vice versa) and thus limited the students’ choices. This ties in with the current wave of protests in South Africa, where one of the major demands of the 2015 protests was the scrapping of such upfront registration fees. In terms of institutional culture, Mandla says that he knew what to expect of the university because he knew people in the year ahead of him. He spoke of how these students had gone through failure, exclusion and even suicide attempts. It is interesting that this information encouraged him to ‘adjust that I will be alone and stuff so I really didn’t have a problem with failure when I got here and missing back home’. He also talks about the different identities he needs to enact when people from home telephone; ‘Sometimes you’ve got loads of work and stuff and then you have to lie and say “oh it’s okay, it’s fine.” You can’t tell them that no it’s hard coz they will start stressing.’ When he is interviewed in his third year of university, Mandla continues the metaphor of the space ship. Instead of going directly to Mars (his career) he indicates that he has stopped on several other planets (Figure 5.4). Interestingly, he starts his new description on the moon, which represented the EDP. On the moon he has built laboratories and he has planted some trees; however, when it comes to the creation of an atmosphere which he says represents his growth, he speaks in the passive voice as if he was not responsible for it. He says, ‘This is the atmosphere which has been created around the moon.’ From the moon he moves to ‘planet pyro’. He says that ‘pyro’ is fire. Here he is possibly drawing on what he learnt in one of his courses, which focused on the Greek origin of words. This planet represents the problems he has had. Although the student says that these problems are social, it is clear from his marks that

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Figure 5.4 Mandla’s journey from first year to third year

his academic performance is also affected as his time on ‘pyro’ coincides with the year he failed some subjects. Given the consequences of this failure for his funding situation, we can assume that this failure has also landed him in more debt than he had wished to incur. It is clear from the expression on his face that he is not happy with the situation on this planet; however, he says: I figured out that instead of being actually inside the planet, I can go out and look at the planet from the outside instead of enduring the problems, but stepping back and look at them from the outside.

Here Mandla is not merely accepting the problems but by distancing himself from them a little, he tries to understand them. In order to look at his problems ‘from the outside’ he decided to travel away from this planet to planet ‘explorion’, where he studied electives in other university faculties. This planet also has an ‘atmosphere’ which we can assume again represents growth. It also has a tree, bearing question marks, which he says represent his getting ‘involved’. It is not clear what he means by ‘involved’. He also says that it made him look at

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things differently and made him question the degree he was doing. From here, the spaceship goes to a ‘nebula’ which creates planets. The student has shifted from landing on planets which were already made to creating a planet which he says represents his thoughts after doing the elective courses. This might suggest that they have opened up his mind to a reality that is alternative to the one he was faced with in science. He contemplated changing degree but in the end he returns to the moon to continue his journey in science. He says that he finally realized, ‘I can do anything that’s possible as long as I put my mind to it because I have this ability of finding interest in what I am doing’, which shows he has gained confidence in his own abilities despite failure and multiple challenges. He feels he should stick to the degree that he originally chose. Although he is focused on science again, he sees it from a different perspective. He no longer sees it as the only way of viewing things: I finally understand that I can step back from that and look at other things instead of being preoccupied in that particular place.

In Mandla’s drawing, this is represented by the double-headed arrow, which shows him resonating between the moon (science) and space (other ideas). Interestingly, he calls the other ideas his ‘main thoughts’, suggesting that they are currently more important to him. This again highlights the way in which his world has been broadened.

Conclusion The stories in the two case studies, as well as those in the broader first generation group, highlight the role that NSFAS funding, foundation programmes and academic organizations provide in assisting first generation students to participate in higher education. NSFAS provided funding for students who otherwise could not afford to attend university. The EDP allowed these students to do better both academically and socially. As with Zanele, several of the first generation students in the broader group highlighted the role of outside organizations, such as iKamva Youth, Fundi, CHIETA, Hundred Up and Kutlwanong, in assisting top students in maximizing their academic potential. However, Zanele and Mandla’s journeys highlight some of the challenges we identified in the larger first generation group, including challenges with adapting to the demands of studying at university, the financial burden of going to university and feelings of unhappiness, depression and loneliness. The loneliness felt by these students is

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a response to both isolation and a lack of belonging at university and alienation from their family and friends at home. Their financial stories highlight the shortcomings of the current NSFAS system and the unstable financial situations of many families in South Africa. Although South African first generation students have noted language as an issue in adjusting to university (Pym and Paxton 2013), it is interesting that neither of these students and very few of the broader group explicitly mentioned language as an issue. It is possible, however, that some of the problems these students had with the academic demands of university were language-based. For the two students in the case studies it was more personal challenges that destabilized their commitments and called for them to reconsider their personal identities. Fortunately, the re-opening of their internal conversations ultimately led to them continuing their academic careers with new motivation, though for some students such challenges might lead to a decision to leave university. We, as academics, could avoid this by understanding the types of concerns that students have and that the decisions made in the internal conversation are fallible, because they are based on the information and perceptions that students have at the time. Often academics tend to focus on students’ practical concerns; however, this chapter highlights that it may be concerns in either the social or the natural worlds that cause a re-opening of the internal conversation. By understanding this we can assist students by providing them with the correct information and discussing incorrect perceptions, hopefully allowing them to make informed decisions. We are not suggesting that academics need to be counsellors, but that they need to realize that poor student performance could be an indication of problems in other aspects of their life and to be able to direct them to relevant support services. Furthermore, it seems that universities need to do more to make the social environment more welcoming and inclusive to first generation students in order to ease their transition to university. Our institution has attempted to put support mechanisms in place and to create a more welcoming environment for all students, but there is often poor understanding of the challenges faced by first generation students. Our findings provide some important insights into the experiences of these students.

Acknowledgements First and foremost we would like to thank the students who took part in this study without whose time and honesty this project would not have been possible.

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We would also like to thank our funders: the Worldwide Universities Network, the University of Cape Town’s University Research Committee and the National Research Foundation of South Africa (Grant No 90961 awarded to Moragh Paxton). Finally, we would like to thank Rachel Forsyth, Claire Hamshire and Amani Bell for their critical reading of our work.

Notes 1 The participation rates refer to the total number of students attending higher education as a percentage of the population aged between twenty and twenty-four years. 2 During apartheid, people were classified as white, black, Indian or coloured (mixed race), and these categories are still used today in terms of redress. 3 Extended degree programmes, also known as foundation programmes, are designed to try to address the educational inequities in South Africa which are the legacy of apartheid, by providing extra support and time (four years instead of the standard three years) to assist students from previously disadvantaged backgrounds to succeed at university. 4 In South Africa, the missing middle are those whose parents earn too much to qualify for NSFAS loans and too little to cover the cost of higher education. 5 See note 3.

References Archer, M. (2000). Being Human: The Problem of Agency. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Archer, M. S. (1995). Realist Social Theory: The Morphogenetic Approach. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Archer, M. S. (2007). Making Our Way Through the World: Human Reflexivity and Social Mobility. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Bangeni, B. and Kapp, R. (2005). Identities in transition: Shifting conceptions of home among ‘Black’ South African University students. African Studies Review, 48(3), 1–19. Bangeni, B. and Kapp, R. (2007). Shifting language attitudes in linguistically diverse learning environment in South Africa. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 28(4), 253–69. Bozalek, V. and Biersteker, L. (2010). Exploring power and privilege using participatory learning and action techniques. Social Work Education, 29(5), 551–72. Council on Higher Education. (2013). A Proposal for Undergraduate Curriculum Reform in South Africa: The Case for a Flexible Curriculum Structure. Report of the Task

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Team on Undergraduate Curriculum Structure. Retrieved from: http://www.che. ac.za/sites/default/files/publications/Full_Report.pdf. Education White Paper 3: A Programme for the Transformation of Higher Education. (1997). Retrieved from Pretoria: Department of Education. HEA. (2012). Higher Education Facts and Figures, 2011/2012. Dublin: Higher Education. Authority. http://www.hea.ie/sites/default/files/hea_key_facts_ figures_1112.pdf. Herrington, A. and Curtis, M. (2000). Persons in Process: Four Stories of Writing and Personal Development in College. JSTOR. Hurst, E. (2015). ‘The thing that kill us’: Student perspectives on language support in a South African university. Teaching in Higher Education, 20(1), 78–91. Kapp, R. and Bangeni, B. (2011). A longitudinal study of students’ negotiation of language, literacy and identity. Southern African Linguistics and Applied Language Studies, 29(2), 197–208. Le Boutillier, S. (2003). Emergence and analytical dualism. PHILOSOPHICA-GENT-, 71, 59–80. Lehohla, P. (2014). Mid-Year Population Estimates. Retrieved from: http://www.statssa. gov.za/?p=2990. Lemert, C. C. (2003). Can critical realism be critical? Review Margaret Archer, being human: The problem of agency. The International Journal of Sociology and Family Studies, 129. Mandela, N. (1995). Long Walk to Freedom, 609. London: Abacus. Mbembe, A. (2016). Decolonizing the university: New directions. Arts and Humanities in Higher Education, 15(1), 29–45. McMillan, W. (2014). ‘They have different information about what is going on’: Emotion in the transition to university. Higher Education Research & Development, 33(6), 1123–35. Morrow, W. (2008). Learning to Teach in South Africa. Cape Town: Human Sciences Research Council. NSFAS. National Student Financial Aid Scheme. Retrieved from: http://www.nsfas.org. za/content/. Pym, J. and Paxton, M. (eds.). (2013). Surfacing Possibilities: What it Means to Work with First-generation Higher Education Students. Champaign, IL: Common Ground Publishing LLC. Scott, I. (2016). A Report on the Colloqium Retrieved from Pretoria. Setati, M., Adler, J., Reed, Y. and Bapoo, A. (2002). Incomplete journeys: Codeswitching and other language practices in mathematics, science and English language classrooms in South Africa. Language and Education, 16(2), 128–49. UCT. University of Cape Town. (2017). Retrieved from: https://www.uct.ac.za/about/ intro/. Walker, M. (2006). Towards a capability‐based theory of social justice for education policy‐making. Journal of Education Policy, 21(2), 163–85.

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Transitions of First Generation Students to Higher Education in the UK Claire Hamshire, Rachel Forsyth and Catherine Player

The whole system of it (starting university) was quite new to us so we weren’t sure. We hadn’t got a clue basically, we weren’t sure when you should start the application or what time of the year you should check, you see I’m the oldest and I didn’t know. We left it quite late and we were all a bit lost because you don’t know people that you can ask as my family haven’t been to university. Alice, 18

Introduction: Becoming and belonging in higher education The challenges faced by non-traditional students in UK higher education have been captured in a range of contexts (Hamshire et al. 2013; Thomas 2002; Wilcox et al. 2005). According to Palmer et al. (2009), becoming a student is a gradual process that begins during the initial period of induction at the start of the first year and encompasses many kinds of change. It can be understood as part of the constant process of identity construction as students adapt to new experiences and make meaningful connections (Palmer et al. 2009), and involves both personal and social transformation (Britton and Baxter 1999). Larger-scale studies (Bathmaker et al. 2013; Archer et al. 2005) have looked at the issues which may be faced by non-traditional students in UK higher education. However, although there is a considerable body of research on students’ learning experiences, as stated by Palmer et al. (2009), few have related this to the actual experiences of individual students or, as explored by Christie et al. (2004), given consideration to why similar circumstances can be bearable for one student but

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not another. As Barnett (2007: 8) points out, ‘Of the individual student with his or her own challenges and struggles, we gain little sense.’ In Chapter 5, Kelly-Laubscher et al. (2018) suggest that first generation students may be ‘gaining admission, without gaining real access to the University’. This conceptualization raises a range of questions about who or what needs to change in order to make higher education truly accessible to first generation students. Should the change be entirely on the part of the students? Can the ‘gap’ be filled with additional support for students as they make this transition, or do university attitudes and curricula need to change more fundamentally? In this chapter, we will explore the use of narrative as a research tool, to capture first generation students’ experiences of becoming students, and we will begin to explore its additional potential as a transformational tool, to give first generation students both voice and agency.

First generation students in the UK The traditional UK model of higher education conceptualizes students as eighteen-year-olds who have left home to live in university residences and go through the rite of passage of communal living, intellectual exchange among peers and a social life enjoyed away from the parental gaze. This notion of university education, which is one that was experienced by many senior university staff, has naturally influenced the structure of curricula and institutional resources. The rapid expansion of higher education since 1990, together with economic changes, may render these conceptions out of date; for instance, around 34 per cent of UK students now live in the parental or their own home (HESA 2016). In 2015, 48 per cent of seventeen- to thirty-year-olds were considered likely to participate in UK higher education (Higher Education Analysis Team 2016), compared with 3.4 per cent in 1950 (Bolton 2012). Given the lack of participation in earlier generations, it is inevitable that many of these students are ‘first generation’. Alongside the overall increases in student numbers, there have been other considerable changes to higher education in the UK. The student population has changed to reflect more closely the population of the country as a whole. The percentage of students from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) backgrounds increased from 8.3 per cent in 1995–96 to 16.0 per cent in 2007–08, more or less mirroring the growth in the BAME

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population aged between eighteen and twenty-four years over the same period (Business in the Community 2010). There are more women in UK higher education and more mature students, and the number of students from poorer backgrounds, as indicated by their eligibility for free school meals when in compulsory education, has increased, though Chowdry et al. (2013) point out that only 14 per cent of these poorer students in the eighteen-to-twenty age group participated in higher education in 2005–06, compared to 33 per cent of students in the rest of the population. The range of courses on offer has also increased hugely, with the generic benefits of higher education such as critical thinking, research, analysis and advanced communication skills being adopted in disciplinary areas which were traditionally vocational. Professions as diverse as nursing, management, fashion design, accountancy and teaching have moved from a purely workbased training model to being graduate-entry only. University teaching staff may now come directly from professional backgrounds, rather than following a traditional path of PhD, research and then teaching. The use of technology to support student administration has smoothed the way for mass participation, with UK institutions relying heavily on systems to support timetabling, communications and sharing of resources with students; the UK JISC1 provides over 150 guides for university staff in relation to the use of technology in every aspect of higher education (JISC 2016). Anecdotally, staff–student ratios appear to have increased, though it is difficult to quantify the change exactly. According to the Complete University Guide (2016), they ranged from 9.6 to 25.1 students per academic member of staff across 119 UK universities in 2015, a variation which is large enough to suggest some classification differences with respect to the meaning of ‘academic staff ’ between institutions rather than a real gap of 150 per cent across the sector. The ageing infrastructure of UK universities, much of it built in the glory days of the first big wave of expansion of the 1960s, has been largely replaced through a combination of public–private partnership and an increased independence of budget, which has allowed institutions to operate as autonomous institutions since 1989. This move from the previous dependence on annual grants which must be fully spent or lost each year has permitted the build-up of capital reserves, which are now being spent on the estate. These freedoms have also been applied to government control of student numbers. English universities are no longer restricted in the number of students they can take in, and intakes are limited only by the capacity to house and

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teach the students. This leads to competition between institutions, fuelled by the proliferation of league tables comparing data such as student satisfaction, research outputs, progression rates, employment prospects and money spent per student. The most striking change to higher education in England, but not in other countries of the UK as yet, has been the almost total shift of the cost from state funding to a system of loans to individual students. As part of this process, universities have been obliged to spend a proportion of their income on support for disadvantaged students. Individual institutions are able to choose how this is spent. Examples are bursaries for poorer students, which may be linked to academic performance; increased outreach activities to schools and colleges in areas with less representation in the institution; and summer schools for prospective students. These changes are intended to make it easier for first generation students to gain access to universities. All of these factors make today’s UK universities different from the way they were thirty years ago. Yet many aspects remain very similar. Much of the terminology, culture and approaches to teaching in modern UK universities would be recognizable to those who founded new ‘civic’ universities in the 1850s, even though they were developed in an era of low participation and high graduate employment. Student timetables, with a mixture of lectures, seminars and tutorials, look similar to those of students from the 1970s. The academic year runs in exactly the same way as it did in the 1950s, and essays and examinations continue to be the principal forms of assessment (Forsyth et al. 2015). In curriculum design, the benefits of higher education are often thought to emerge from the development of a range of graduate attributes such as critical thinking, ability to research information about the topic or the skills to synthesize data from a range of sources into a new argument or solution (see, e.g. Biggs and Tang (2011: 114–16)). According to this narrative, these largely academic skills should be accessible to anyone who has the intellectual ability, will and work ethic to progress through the course. Higher education institutions in the UK are without exception committed to inclusion, and a great deal of resource and effort have been attributed to improving access to higher education. There is no doubt that removing barriers has been effective in enabling more people to succeed by assisting students to assimilate to the language and cultures of universities. However, curriculum and assessment remain stubbornly resistant to change, contributing to the concept of a deficit model of first generation students which can be difficult to overcome.

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It is perhaps not surprising then that the dominant discourse which has run alongside this expansion in participation is that students from non-traditional backgrounds are expected to assimilate to the cultural context of the institution. Bourdieu’s work in the 1970s and 1980s gave a framework for characterizing institutional ‘habitus’ and how it might appear to participants who enter higher education without the required cultural capital to benefit immediately from all the perceived advantages of the institution (Thomas 2002). In an attempt to address this issue, first generation students have often been problematized as the ‘others’ who need to change to fit in with the prevailing habitus (O’Shea 2016; Burke 2012, 2008; Spiegler and Bednarek 2013). In this conception, wellmeaning members of university staff work hard to help the student to change, so that they can become someone who can belong in the university environment. This discourse is shared in fictional accounts of participation in higher education; the theme of personal change and separation from one’s roots experienced by first generation students has been expressed powerfully in works such as Malcolm Bradbury’s The History Man (1975), Melvyn Bragg’s Crossing the Lines (2004) and Willy Russell’s play Educating Rita (1981). In these stories, success comes following navigation of the tricky journey of becoming someone else through higher education. The possibility of a first generation student succeeding in higher education and returning to their original social and cultural environment is rarely, if ever, considered and might well be characterized in terms of failure. The easier passage of people who enter higher education already equipped with the appropriate ‘cultural capital’ (Bourdieu 1986) is also rarely considered worthy of fictional report, although it may be treated satirically (Waugh 1928). Running through these accounts, there is always the sense that the culture and organization of universities will remain unchanged, whatever is happening in the society around it. Belonging is a social construct that arises from students developing a sense of self that is personally meaningful as they are integrated into the learning community (Bryson 2014). First generation students entering higher education encounter a culture where the values and beliefs are likely to be different from their previous experiences (Bryson 2014) and they have to make sense of their whole lives as they develop a new identity and make personal meaning (Chow and Healey 2008). The lived experience of being a first generation student can be complex as they develop and prioritize different parts of their personal and professional identities. O’Shea et al. (2016) cite students describing their personal transformations in terms of excitement and positive difference.

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Some students can feel disconnected when they first arrive and their engagement, and motivation to learn are significantly influenced by the degree to which they feel they belong (Ostrove et al. 2011). Perceptions of belonging and ‘fitting-in’ are essential for developing a sense of self and students can feel either connected by staff and peers who welcome them or excluded and marginalized because they do not know the unseen rules. Positive learning environments develop out of positive interactions, as both staff and students contribute to a community with the right balance between challenge and support (Vågstøl and Skøien 2011). Processes that hinder, rather than support, this balance can lead to feelings of alienation and ultimately disconnection, as students feel that the academic curriculum is irrelevant to their personal goals (Bryson and Hardy 2012). We know that first generation students often fail to progress in higher education to the same extent as their peers who have family experience of university life. Yet first generation students should not be singled out as different; difficulties during the transitions can occur for any student and the literature on student transitions highlights that the first year is critically significant for all (Scanlon et al. 2007). Facilitating relationships with academics, support staff and peers is important to fostering a sense of belonging to higher education (Harvey et al. 2006). In this chapter, we look at the role of narrative in giving both staff and students a better understanding of the experiences of first generation students. We created a listening space in which students were free to share the stories of their experiences throughout their undergraduate programme and their temporal narratives offer a picture of what university life seemed like for those undergoing it. This methodology provided an insight into what ‘becoming a student’ meant for these particular students and how they developed a sense of themselves as first generation students and of belonging to a higher education institution.

Narrative as a research tool The data presented in this chapter were gathered as part of a three-year narrative study at a large institution in the north-west of England that sought to explore students’ stories of their undergraduate experiences. The narrative inquiry methodology provided an opportunity for the students to narrate their

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stories over time, to explore their sense of themselves and the challenges they encountered, and to locate their voices as their experiences developed. Storytelling is a tradition within many cultures; life informs and is formed by stories. The study was therefore designed to provide a space in which students could tell their stories at length over a series of interviews, to identify how personal factors and experiences combined to lead to either positive or negative encounters. When retelling their stories people detail how their experiences happen narratively, providing listeners with an insight into their lives and experiences (Clandinin and Connelly 2000). Within the narrative method ‘the interview or story is taken as a whole’ (Nettleton et al. 2005: 206) and ‘unlike other qualitative methods the approach [narrative analysis] does not fragment texts into thematic categories for coding purposes. The approach preserves the integrity of the narrative’ (Edvardsson et al. 2003: 379) and the goal of narrative analysis is to uncover the overarching ‘topics’ or ‘plots’ that develop within the storied form (Webster and Mertova 2007). The analysis of narratives thus becomes a way of analysing individual lived experiences to discover narrative linkages (Gubrium and Holstein 2009) and to assemble the stories as meaningful accounts (Gubrium 1993). This approach was used here in order to capture the holistic nature of students’ transition to higher education and to highlight how social and personal factors can influence academic engagement in different ways over time. The intention is not to provide data which can be generalized to large populations, but to capture representative experiences which can be used to provoke and personalize discussion.

Methodology The purpose of this study was to listen to students’ narratives of their higher education experiences to gain an in-depth understanding of the factors that influenced their multi-layered social, academic and personal development. Six students were included in the study and interviewed on at least five occasions as they progressed through university. Ethics approval was granted for the study and all personal details and names have been changed to protect the students’ identities. At each interview they were encouraged with a narrative prompt to tell the stories of their experiences as a series of ‘episodes’ beginning and finishing wherever and however they felt was most appropriate, so the focus was on their perceptions and experiences. This narrative prompt encouraged the students to

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speak about themselves and convey their experiences of higher education, and although there were individual variations over time in the words chosen, the narrative prompt is broadly captured below: I would like you to tell me the story of your learning experiences, beginning wherever and however you want and including whatever is important to you. If it helps you to get started, then consider the story as a series of chapters or episodes and include whatever you think has been important to you.

At each subsequent interview the students attended, they were asked to tell the next ‘episode’ in their story with each of the interviews lasting on average for forty to fifty minutes. All interviews were recorded using audiotapes or a digital recorder to allow for both greater depth of analysis and addition of reflective notes. The tapes and audio-files were subsequently transcribed verbatim, including para-linguistics, pauses and laughter. Their resulting narratives were mostly complex, extended accounts running to many pages of transcribed, convoluted stories. The data analysis was an iterative process where the students’ transcripts were read as a set to gain an impression of the dominant topics within the individual stories. The students’ temporal narratives were analysed to identify factors that influenced their experiences. Listening to, and capturing, these views was important, but we wanted to use these data to provoke change in the ways that universities welcome and integrate first generation students. When considering how we could present these stories to support change, we wanted to ensure that we sufficiently engaged readers, maintained the integrity of the students’ stories and highlighted important issues, without focusing on exceptional stories which may skew the readers’ perceptions, as described by Carter (2008). We also wanted to capture the ways in which students may have responded emotionally to situations without passing judgement on the situations themselves. We decided to use a narrative approach to represent important elements of each story. ‘Narrative communication involves the use of … stories to convey a point to another party or to receive information from another party’ (Hinyard and Kreuter 2006: 2). The role of narrative in cultural change has been explored in both studies of organizations (Dunford and Jones 2000) and in health promotion (Hinyard and Kreuter 2006). Stories have been characterized as an important part of sense-making during a period of personal or cultural change; Balogun (2006) suggests that in her study of managing change, ‘communication [was] seen to be about both conversational and social practices (actions,

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behaviours, words), and to include formal and informal mechanisms such as rumours, storytelling, gossip, discussions. Communication [was] more to do with generating new knowledge and shared meanings’ (Balogun 2006: 41). To supplement the storytelling aspects, we also decided to give the data an additional dimension by using illustrations, created by one of the authors, to build the narrative of Alice’s and Adnam’s university experiences. Illustrations are used in a range of ways: to present information, to instruct or engage the viewer, to simply be beautiful and also to tell a story. The origin of the word ‘illustration’ comes from a fourteenth-century Latin word meaning ‘the act of making vivid’. In terms of storytelling, illustrations can set a scene, show emotion, build character and ‘bring a story to life’ in a few glances. Images are unique in that they are (for most) very accessible and relatable in a way in which reading isn’t; as McCloud (1993) states, ‘Pictures are received information. We need no formal education to “get the message.” The message is instantaneous.’ In an instant, they are able convey a situation or feeling that might take a whole paragraph to explain. Pictures can also present very nuanced feelings with ease. For example, the image in which Alice is standing among a crowd of faceless figures (Figure 6.1) doesn’t portray only that. From the image, we recognize that Alice is in an overwhelming and unfamiliar situation in which she feels alienated and alone. An image of Adnam’s student halls with a family portrait on his wall (Figure 6.3) gives the viewer a sense of the weight of his family’s expectations and his desire to make them proud. These complex feelings can be achieved simply through a look, the placement of an object or the composition of an image. Illustrators control the use of visual grammar and play with the syntax as they craft narratives that enable readers/viewers to identify and empathise with characters and dramatic situations. (Wigan 2007: 35)

Overall, illustrations play a fundamental role in making a story more relatable and engaging to the viewer; they give the story a vividness it otherwise may not have achieved. The illustrations presented in this chapter are intended to use the data collected in this study in an accessible yet challenging way, to promote discussion around the needs and expectations of first generation students. These illustrated stories use narrative fragments and indicative illustrations, maintaining the narrative coherence of individual stories at the same time as depicting the emotionality of the students’ experiences. Using these illustrations, we show how a narrative approach can be used to give first generation students voice as well as to learn from their experiences.

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Figure 6.1 The weight of expectations (illustration by Catherine Player)

Alice and Adnam Alice’s story shows the weight of expectations associated with being a first generation student: My mum and dad encouraged me to go to university because they never went so they wanted me to do that and build up a good profession. You know when

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you’ve got into university so you’re on the path with what you want to do so it put me a bit at ease. That made me feel like I was going to be someone important, because nobody else in my family had been to university. I think my grandma and granddad are really proud of me … my grandma’s overwhelmed by the fact that I’m here but they are really supportive and I think they’re really pleased for me that I’m here. I’m quite a homely person so I wanted to be quite close to home and I think if I had gone to somewhere which was a lot further away I wouldn’t have enjoyed the course so much. I would’ve missed home too much you know. I wouldn’t have been able to concentrate in that aspect. I don’t think I would’ve enjoyed it as much further away because I would’ve missed home too much. I’m quite a homely person, it was quite nerve racking actually but I think because I’m not too far away from home for me it was a lot easier than it is for other people.

Adnam also emphasizes the importance of maintaining close family relationships: My parents are from Pakistan, both of them but I was born here so I’m British. I’ve got quite a big family but I’m the first one to go to university. I get to go home every weekend, I go back on Fridays, so obviously I don’t miss my family too much and I bring some food back on the weekend on Sunday night. Plus my dad’s working in Manchester quite a lot so he sometimes drops food off but I have started cooking properly now as well.

It is clear that Alice has strong family support and that this is essential to her success, but that it is difficult for her family to know how to help in practical terms: The whole system of it (starting university) was quite new to us so we weren’t sure. We hadn’t got a clue basically. We were all a bit lost because you don’t know people that you can ask as my family haven’t been to university. I’m on my own quite a lot at uni, At home I prefer it, because there’s more of a social aspect. All my family are nearby and we are quite a close family.

Adnam is conscious of the need to please his family: I was quite happy with my first (exam) results, my dad always wanted me to get a first but he was ok. He is always saying you want to be the top of the class you want to get a first. Whatever I do, he always says you’ve got to do better but they won’t really be disappointed. If I get a 2:1 they will be happy, if I get a 2:2 then I’d probably get a bit of a lecture so best try with these next two assignments I’ve got.

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Figure 6.2 Alice begins university (illustration by Catherine Player)

Both students also struggled with the transition to degree-level study. Alice found the change from a didactic teaching style at her local college particularly difficult and described how she felt: A lot of stuff on this course is about learning it yourself rather than being spoonfed. I think for me that is completely different to what I’ve ever known. It’s harder for me to pick stuff up because I have to read over it and read over it and it doesn’t come to me as quickly.

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Figure 6.3 What does the university expect of me? (illustration by Catherine Player)

Adnam’s descriptions of his initial experiences also reveal a conflict between his prior educational experiences and his university studies. He experienced a change from being someone who had previously been one of the highachieving students in a small class to feeling surrounded by people who he felt were clever than him. This discord with his previous studies led to his inability to get started on his set assessments, as he was concerned about the grades he would gain: I was quite surprised to be getting so much work to do straight away, and I don’t want to fall behind straight away. Here mostly your studies are learning new materials it’s really different. Obviously I was in quite a lot in college but there’s a lot of difference. There’s not many smart people at home, it’s very different. I think once I get going on it I’ll just get my head down and just keep my head down and keep focussing on my task. I just need to get started really. I didn’t really know how to write well I knew what to write but I couldn’t get as many words as I needed.

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Figure 6.4 Commuting from the family home can have its challenges (illustration by Catherine Player)

In his second year, Adnam moved back to live in the family home, and was commuting to university. There was now a need to factor travel time into his plans: I’m living at home this year. I’m usually lucky to get lifts with a couple of mates who go to Manchester as well so I’m alright usually but on occasions I have got the bus and stuff and it’s takes me like two hours just to get to uni and back.

He also needs to manage his time in relation to his peers at home: Everyone else is free, like all of my mates are ‘oh are you still at uni?’ and I’m sat on my own doing work and I don’t feel like doing it.

Alice also spends her weekend away from the university, at home; she mentions the practical need to earn money to support herself. UK students do receive

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a loan for their living expenses, but it is not enough to pay residence fees in many cities: Thursday, Friday [I work] full time just to try and get extra money really to save up. I struggle if I don’t but if I find like one weekend I don’t work then I do struggle in the week to afford money and try to buy as much shopping as I can. I have to really work.

Narrative as a tool for change The student narratives presented here give snapshots of the experiences of two first generation students. There is no intention to suggest that these students represent the average, or that their experiences are particularly similar, or different, from their peers on the same course, or from students on other courses in the same or other UK institutions. The illustrations provide opportunities for further discussion about the wide range of contexts in which students may be living and studying. Greater understanding of these factors may encourage staff and students to work together to clarify expectations and to develop curricula and support systems in ways which will help first generation students to succeed in higher education. It can be challenging for universities to adapt to the kinds of issues identified in these stories. Most will already have made procedural changes, such as trying to compress an individual student’s timetable so that those who live away from the university can spend less time travelling, or so that students who need to work can schedule this without missing classes. However, such improvements may not take into account that students may still need to travel to get a particular book from the library, or to submit a paper assignment, or for a separate tutorial appointment. UK universities also tend to have extensive and responsive support systems to help students to deal with practical and welfare issues, but these may be considered by both staff and students as safety nets, rather than taking into account day-to-day concerns which first generation students may have. It may take longer than a tutor might expect for a student to feel comfortable in university life and to believe that they have a full right to be there. They may need support over a considerable period of time to find ways to voice their questions and comments. If living at home, students may have nobody to discuss their work with, or to clarify a sticky point; they may not have their own computer

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at home, or have to share one with siblings. They may have nobody with whom they can discuss how to move from the very structured study environment of school to the independence expected in a university. Those who teach in higher education need to be aware of these limitations when planning work and providing information and supporting materials, particularly in the early months of university. Dennis, Phinney and Chuateco (2005) found that lack of peer support was an important predictor of lower attainment for ethnic minority first generation students; institutional peer-mentoring schemes for first generation students may be a useful support, but less-structured peer support can also be included in classroom activities to help develop an inclusive environment for first generation students. As well as highlighting some of the anxieties expressed by students, the extracts quoted here show the strength and value of the students’ existing relationships and the need to maintain these through their higher education. Dennis, Phinney and Chuateco’s (2005) study also found that the support of family and friends outside university could be a strong motivator. These factors may be overlooked by staff who have been more accustomed to a traditional view of students going to university as a rite of passage into a more independent, family-free world. Bridging the gap with the students’ previous experiences may help them to integrate the ‘home’ and ‘study’ parts of their lives more effectively. Staff who teach in higher education need to consider the issues of becoming and belonging, and of identity shift for students who may have had very different experiences and needs from their own. Narratives such as these can be a powerful way to help tutors to consider other perspectives and make sense of what they may be observing in their own classrooms. The data collected from students’ own stories of their experiences of transition and becoming was used to produce composite stories presented in study booklets, scenarios and role-play activities which are used to provoke discussion about changes to teaching and setting tasks for students. These narrative resources are being used with both students and staff to generate conversation about strategies which might lead to genuine re-conceptions of ways to work with first generation students. Telling a story, or part of one, can lead to consideration of ways in which that particular narrative might be changed, or might end. Staff can be encouraged to complete a partial narrative which is presented to them by thinking about their role in the life of an individual student. What kinds of assessments would allow

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the student in a story to best show their achievements? What kinds of teaching activities would encourage Alice to contribute in a lecture situation such as Figure 6.2, without making her feel more pressurized? How could the tutor provide more constructive feedback to Adnam than the example in Figure 6.3? Could we suggest work Adnam could do at home which might engage his family more in what he is doing? Is there a way to help Alice to structure her reading more effectively so that she doesn’t get into the situation depicted in Figure 6.2? Could the readings be presented differently?

Conclusion As other chapters in this book show, first generation students everywhere may find it difficult to develop their sense of belonging in higher education. They may take time to work out what is expected of them, to build social relationships with peers who have come from different home and academic backgrounds and to feel that they are genuinely welcome in the university environment. The two students highlighted in this chapter show that the emotionality of their experiences can have a strong impact on their responses to the challenges of university life. Feelings of surprise, anxiety, disorientation and loneliness can make it difficult to develop the self-belief and organization needed to undertake independent work at university. Traditional ways of structuring the curriculum tend to an immediate start with formal lectures and a lengthy period before there is any kind of summative assessment. This provides little opportunity for students to find out what others are thinking, or to calibrate their own performance, which may exacerbate these feelings of isolation or inadequacy. Many courses will have early formative assessments and opportunities to participate in organized group activities, but this is not universal, and the modularization of courses can make it fragmented. Rather than expecting students to adapt immediately to the culture of the institution, course tutors could think about designing the first few weeks around the learner: asking them where they think their strengths lie; forming study groups with clear, simple, low-stakes tasks; and explaining regularly what students should expect, and what will be expected of them, over the duration of the course. These changes to institutional culture may help to provide a more inclusive environment which shows students that their current identities are valued and provide a foundation for their development during their time at university.

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The narrative approach to research gives students a voice which can be difficult to capture from surveys and other snapshots of student experiences, and which shows how their identity and confidence change over time. Using narrative to disseminate the outcomes of the research supports an empathetic response to the issues raised by these students and provides a focus for discussions about enhancement and effective integration of first generation students. It brings life to the statistics about first generation achievements and experiences and, in so doing, provides a focus for university staff to think about the ways they approach teaching and organization in order to ensure first generation students feel fully included. Working with these narratives may help university staff to consider ways to adapt the institutional habitus so that it embraces difference more effectively, rather than expecting the individual students to do all the work of change.

Acknowledgements First and foremost we would like to thank the students who shared their stories and experiences with us. Their generosity and willingness to talk about their personal lives have made this project possible. We would also like to thank Moragh Paxton, Roisin Kelly-Laubscher and Amani Bell for their critical reading and feedback on this chapter.

Note 1 JISC is a national organization that provides digital services and solutions to the UK higher, further education and skills sectors.

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Considering the Cultural Strengths of Older First Generation University Students: An Australian Perspective Sarah O’Shea

Us oldies are well aware of [our] shortcomings. You don’t get to our age without knowing what you’re good at. Tom, 62 Tenacity, stubbornness and thinking I’m not going to let this beat me. … And I think when you get older too, you find ways around things where maybe as a younger person you’re ‘Oh my God, I’m stressed, stressed.’ As an older person I don’t care … you live and you learn. Adele, 62, single, 2 adult children

Introduction University enrolments across the world continue to increase based largely on a mass movement towards higher education (HE) participation that traverses traditional cultural, social and demographic boundaries. This focus on student diversity is often referred to as ‘widening participation’, a term that has gained particular currency within the UK (David 2012). While the widening access or participation agenda has resulted in a greater multiplicity of students enrolling in HE, this has not necessarily equated to universal rates of graduation and success (Edwards and McMillan 2015). Instead, higher attrition rates have been noted for students who are regarded as being educationally disadvantaged, with multiple forms of disadvantage further negatively impacting on students’ success in this sector (Edwards and McMillan 2015). In a number of countries, many of these commencing learners are older and returning to education after a significant gap in learning (OECD 2013). This

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attendance pattern is particularly noted in Australia, evidenced by both the reduction in student enrolments directly from school (Krause et al. 2005) and the significant percentage of enrolled undergraduate students aged twenty-five or above (40 per cent) (ABS 2012). While definitions of mature-age students vary across institutions and countries, this chapter will focus explicitly on those who are over the age of twenty-five years and are the first in their immediate family to come to university. The decision to focus on this age cohort is supported by the work of Western, McMillan and Durrington (1998), who report that individuals over the age of twenty-five years are statistically more likely to be married, have children and be living independently of parents. Based on such demographic factors, Western et al. (1998) argue that twenty-five years be considered an age threshold for researching students in university. This delineation recognizes that those under twenty-five years and those over twenty-five years ‘have distinct sociodemographic profiles’ (1998: 120) that require discrete and considered attention. Despite the increasing numbers of older learners considering higher education participation, particularly noted in Australia, there remain certain gaps in our understanding about how older learners succeed in this environment. Instead, there is a tendency to focus on the ‘risks’ or problematic issues that older students may encounter, including the ensuing reduction in financial security (Rauscher and Elliott III 2014), competing issues and demands on time (Stone and O’Shea 2013) and possible rupture between new and existing identities (Baxter and Britton 2001). Notwithstanding this research focus, Mallman and Lee (2014) argue that older students still remain ‘insufficiently understood’ (2014: 2) and are not catered for effectively in either education policy or institutional cultures. These authors conclude that ‘there is incomplete knowledge regarding how mature-age students negotiate the learning community of students with regard to particular academic and social practices’. Drawing on narrative interviews conducted with older, first in family or first generation (FG) students, the chapter will deeply examine the personal experience of transitioning into and engaging with the university environment. Of particular interest is how this older cohort translated previous knowledge and skills to support and enact success within the institution, an analysis that is rooted within a strengths-based framework. Drawing on the work of Yosso (2005) and Sen (1992, 2003), this chapter will foreground the capitals that one cohort of older FG learners utilized in the early stages of their university careers. By foregrounding these skills, we seek to inform understandings of older learners

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not as a group that is lacking but rather one that is replete with particular forms of experiential and embodied knowledges (O’Shea 2016b). Equally, attention is focused on the possible constraints surrounding these learners, which may have limited their opportunity to achieve ‘valued ways of being’ (Hart 2013: 56) in the HE context. Beginning with an overview of the literature on mature-age students generally, the chapter will also detail the particular theoretical fusion that was applied to the analysis of these students’ narratives. The context and design of the research will also be detailed with the presentation of data and discussion following. The chapter concludes by considering the need for institutions to better leverage and acknowledge the cultural strengths and capabilities of older FG learners.

Literature review Research in the field of adults returning to education points explicitly to the additional pressure, sometimes nuanced, that this cohort may encounter during their transition and engagement with the HE sector. While all commencing students encounter some degree of adjustment, those who have been absent from education for a lengthy period of time are particularly vulnerable to various forms of culture shock (O’Donnell and Tobbell 2007; O’Shea and Stone 2011). Field (2009) highlights the need to differentiate between transitions at various stages and ages in life, suggesting that adult transitions are ‘frequently multiple and multilinear, the adult life course is ever less defined by precise age-related stages; and support mechanisms are fragmented and spread between the public and – increasingly so – the private sector’ (2009: 22). Educational transitions, such as the transition to HE, can be experienced as both ‘fragmented and discontinuous’ for older learners (Merrill 2004: 82). The learning trajectories for this cohort are frequently characterized as being nonlinear, often involving what can be termed as a dipping in and out of education. These circuitous routes may also be ‘tentative’ (Hinton-Smith 2009:  115), requiring varied adjustments from individuals both within the confines of institutions and externally. This situation is further complicated when someone is the first in the family to come to university, as this movement may be regarded as somewhat aberrant and unexpected in the perceived life course (Mercer 2007). The next section focuses on the various changes that older FG learners may confront when moving into the tertiary learning environment.

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Older learners, change and higher education participation There are many ‘hidden costs’ to participating in lifelong learning. Waller, Bovill and Pitt (2011) argue that when older students return to education, there may be unanticipated risks to their existing relationships or existing identities. This is echoed by O’Shea (2015), who points out that these risks can include a ‘rupture with existing social and family networks’, the need to manage ‘competing demands’, or ‘identity formation’ (2015: 246). While many older students experience some level of risk, O’Shea (2015) suggests focusing close-up attention to better explore what ‘being a student’ actually means for older participants. This focus would recognize how some cohorts ‘are unable to enact the student role in the ways expected by university discourses’ (O’Shea 2015: 255). University populations have diversified to include a greater variety of entrants, but the actual practices and norms expected within this tertiary environment remain largely unchanged. For example, the myth of the younger, school-leaving-age student, unencumbered by domestic responsibility remains prevalent in both university marketing and imagery (O’Shea et al. 2016). One only has to examine the websites of most institutions to witness the plethora of young faces and places that feature there. As Mallman and Lee (2014) point out: Mature-age students are disadvantaged by an identity that is marginalised and detached from student networks or sociality and information. (2014: 4)

This sidelining is not limited to the use of images or the continuing assumptions around the youth of university student populations but can also be translated in very implicit ways within institutional practices and discourses. In Mallman and Lee’s (2014) study of the perspectives held by older and younger students concerning appropriate etiquette within the university environment, it became apparent that younger students largely dictated the accepted norms and practices within this learning environment. These authors report how the older students in their study reflected upon their partial membership of the HE learning community. This position of lack was defined by their age and incongruity within this landscape and resulted in older students occupying a position of stigma, a positionality that resulted in behaviour changes. For the participants in Mallman and Lee’s study, these behavioural variations included adjusting levels and displays of enthusiasm for the university environment and also the

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opportunity to learn. As a result of these reported changes, Mallman and Lee (2014) argue that higher education institutions may underestimate the ‘culture shock’ of entry to university for older students assuming that this maturity in some way ‘inoculates’ them from such disruptions. (2014: 6)

This university environment can be an anxiety-inducing space, a situation further complicated by the reasons for the decision to attend university. The decision for older students to enrol in HE is multifaceted but pragmatic, and economic reasons are strongly cited as influencing factors (Laming, MartinLynch and Morris 2016). Yet equally the literature reports how attending university can be triggered by an unexpected catalyst, which may have impacted on employment or personal situations (O’Shea and Stone 2011; O’Shea et al. 2017; Stone and O’Shea 2013; Woodfield 2011). Such catalysts can include losing a job, relationship breakdowns or changes in caring responsibilities; these triggers may increase levels of motivation, but may also add complexity to an already difficult transition. In their Australian study of older women returners, Scott, Burns and Cooney (1998) argued that the interplay of personal factors impacted on academic outcomes for this cohort. While the women in this early study had high levels of motivation, this was often accompanied by difficult personal circumstances, and inevitably for some students these problems were the very reasons that prevented continuance or success. Despite such issues, older learners do manage this return, and in some countries such as Iceland, New Zealand, and Sweden, they are a significant proportion of the graduating population (OECD 2013). In order to balance the understanding of the nature of older student transition and engagement in HE, the next section highlights emerging literature that acknowledges some of the strengths and capabilities that older learners bring to the university environment.

Older learners, strengths and academic capability The literature around older students’ HE participation has been defined by Woodfield (2011) as being located within a ‘narrative of disadvantage’ (2011: 410). Such analysis is characterized by literature that is ‘explicitly or implicitly suggestive of mature students’ experience comparing less well with that of their traditional-entry counterparts’(Woodfield 2011: 91). There are extensive reasons for such a common thematic in the literature on HE access and participation. As

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previously indicated, older women in particular manage complex responsibilities related to family and employment. Yet, this focus on the problematic arguably shifts attention away from potential resources that older learners arrive with, as well as the various and valid contributions this older cohort may make to the HE environment. The lack of understanding about the capabilities and knowledges that older students contribute to university may in part be related to the wider foci of widening participation efforts. Much of the emphasis in HE participation has been in terms of students gaining access to university, but there has not been consistent focus on what happens after students access university and the types of ongoing support that could be provided to ensure their success. Laming, Martin-Lynch and Morris (2016) argue that older students need ‘different and perhaps less obvious, forms of support to integrate into university learning and life’ (2016: 37). In their review of literature on older male experiences of HE, it was apparent that mature-age students did not necessarily arrive at university bereft of supports or knowledge, but that this may not be in forms recognized or appreciated by HE institutions. For example, the important role of support networks for older students and those who are first generation to come to university is often overlooked within universities. Previous research has indicated the key role that family and social networks play in the enactment of academic success for FG students (O’Shea et al. 2015). Similarly, Laming, Martin-Lynch and Morris (2016) point to the importance of social networks for older students, but argue that while these may be both solid and established, they are often external to the university environment. This is particularly pertinent for FG learners, as these family and social networks may not necessarily have a deep or ‘insider’ understanding of how HE operates, which can be limiting. In recognition of this issue, the need to better engage and involve those closest to this student population has been noted in the literature in this field (Laming, Martin-Lynch and Morris 2016; O’Shea et al. 2017). A number of studies have also considered the differences in approaches to learning that older and younger students display, the consensus indicating that older students generally adopt deeper approaches to learning than their younger counterparts (Harper and Kember 1986; Richardson 2013). More recently, Rubin, Scevak, Southgate, Macqueen, Williams and Douglas (2016) sought to extend understanding of these potential differences by focusing on both the age and the gender of participants as a means to explore preferred learning approach and also attitudes to the degree programme. This research concluded that age positively impacts on both ‘deep learning and degree satisfaction among women more than

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men’ (Rubin et al. 2016: 14). Based on these findings, the authors challenge the concept of an ‘exemplary’ learner being one who is younger and relatively free of external responsibility. Instead, these authors suggest that older learners, particularly women, should be recognized as typifying ‘active, independent, critical and inquisitive learners who go beyond the set curriculum’ (Rubin et al. 2016: 14). In an effort to move beyond the discourse of disadvantage that surrounds older learners (Woodfield 2011), the research outlined in this chapter seeks to explore mature students’ experiences of transitioning into HE in terms of strengths rather than lack or gaps in knowledge. Exploring the narratives of thirty-two students, all of whom were over twenty-five years and first generation, allows this research to respond to the call from Laming, Martin-Lynch and Morris (2016) for HE cultures that ‘genuinely and actively [value] the contribution that mature-age students make to the institution’ (2016: 41). The next sections focus particularly on the life circumstances and contexts within which one cohort of older learners operated, with specific focus on the theories of Amartya Sen (1992, 2003) and Tara Yosso (2005).

Theoretical framework In order to open up the data, a theoretical fusion (Community Cultural Wealth and Capability Theory) was used to examine the narratives of older participants in this research. This theoretical framework was used to foreground the cultural wealth of individuals but also to more deeply understand the cultural conditions surrounding individual learners. The particular theoretical nuances of both approaches are outlined below followed by a rationale for their combination.

Community Cultural Wealth Tara Yosso (2005) builds upon the work of Pierre Bourdieu (1986) to propose the Community Cultural Wealth (CCW) framework; this approach has largely been applied to students of Colour in the United States but arguably has considered application to other non-dominant groups. The CCW framework reconsiders the concept of cultural capital, which Yosso (2005) regards as being too narrowly defined. While Bourdieu recognizes cultural capital as sets of practices that are associated with upper and middle classes and which are intrinsically valued within the dominant society, Yosso (2005) asserts that this ultimately serves to ‘other’ those who do not hold this type of cultural capital, negating these individuals as lacking.

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Such assumptions presuppose that people need to be ‘worked upon’, encouraging educational institutions to act on, rather than with, people. Such a relationship is then premised upon the need to fill individuals up with requisite skills and knowledges without any recognition of what the student or their family may bring to the educational environment. In summary, it is these ‘others’ that are positioned as needing to adapt and conform in order to exhibit the accepted cultural capital, suggesting that valued forms of capital are both immovable and indefinable. Yosso (2005) extends the understanding of cultural capital to include six discrete forms including ‘aspirational, navigational, social, linguistic, familial and resistant’ (2005: 77). Briefly, aspirational capital is the capacity to maintain future hopes and dreams despite real and perceived obstacles, while resistance capital refers to an ability to sustain opposition or defiance in response to discrimination or bias. Navigational capital acknowledges skills in negotiating social institutions, which may be both intimidating and hostile. Social capital refers to the networks that surround people that provide support, both emotional and practical, while linguistic capital recognizes the importance of communication both orally and visually. Finally, familial capital identifies the knowledges and understandings evoked by family and community relationships. However, it is important to realize that these capitals are contextual and specific to particular cultural environments. Applying the CCW to the narratives of this FG student cohort enabled me to think differently about this data, and this analysis was further assisted by reference to Capability Theory.

Capability Theory The Capability Approach usefully combines ‘well-articulated philosophical underpinnings with a versatile range of applications’ (Unterhalter and Walker 2007: 239). This theory has huge potential to contribute to our understandings of educational equity, not least of which is its ability to offer a ‘conceptual vocabulary’ (Unterhalter and Walker 2007: 240). Capability Theory underpins a recognition that simply encouraging individuals to access university is not sufficient, but instead we need to consider each person’s capability to function equally in this environment. In other words, it is necessary to examine not only each learner’s ability to access university but also, importantly, their capacity to participate and succeed. The Capability Approach is framed by three key elements: functionings, capabilities and agency. Simply, functionings relate to outcomes (which may be both tangible and intangible), whereas capabilities are the ‘substantive freedoms’ that enable individuals to achieve what they value (Sen 1999: 87). Agency is the

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ability or capacity for individuals to achieve their desired goals and objectives. It is important to note that the strength of the capabilities approach is the provision of a framework for conceptualizing inequality rather than providing a defined theory. When combined with understandings of cultural capitals, this theoretical framing enables a more in-depth knowledge of the workings of inequality, even when this operates in a taken-for-granted manner. Sen’s work on capabilities facilitates an understanding of the actual freedoms that individuals possess to engage in productive or valuable lives, or what Robeyns (2003) describes as ‘what people are able to be and to do’ (2003: 62). Yet this approach has been criticized as overlooking the role of culture (Bowman 2010) in the enactment of life choices. Hence, combining a capabilities approach with work on cultural capitals provides a more rounded approach to exploring the actual lived nature of inequality (O’Shea 2016). This focus enables the exploration of what individuals actually do (the capitals they are able to access) while simultaneously understanding how such freedoms are constrained by other fundamental but often invisible factors. Combining Sen’s work with the work of Yosso on cultural capitals arguably allows a more nuanced understanding of how individual FG learners operate in the higher education learning environment.

Research context and design The research presented in this chapter draws on two complementary but separate research projects conducted with FG learners between 2013 and 2015. The term FG is being used to refer to those learners who have no one in their immediate family, including partners, parents, children and siblings who had completed university. Both studies were conducted at a large campus (n = 24,099) of a regional university in Australia. The campus is located in an area that has poorer educational outcomes and lower levels of employment compared to state and national figures. For example, unemployment percentages have been recorded at 6.2 per cent for the region, compared to 5.4 per cent for the state and 5.2 per cent nationally (ABS 2011). These higher levels of unemployment may in part be due to the traditional reliance on mining and manufacturing industries, both of which have witnessed drops in job prospects and opportunities within the region. Similarly, educational participation rates indicate that the percentages of twenty-five to thirty-four-year-olds holding a degree in areas close to the university vary from 10 per cent to 20 per cent, compared to state (22 per cent) and national (21 per cent) averages (Local Council Suburb data).

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The first study, conducted in 2013, was a small internally funded project that sought to explore the experiences of FG students who had just commenced their university studies. A random selection of commencing students who had indicated at enrolment that neither parent had attended university were sent an email invitation to participate. Emails were sent to over six hundred respondents and a total of twenty-six FG students participated in interviews; only the narratives of the older students (those over twenty-five years) will be referred to in this chapter (n = 13). The second project was also funded institutionally, and it built upon this initial study in order to elaborate upon the ways that participants transitioned into, and engaged with, the university environment. This project drew upon Yosso’s framework in order to unpack the cultural strengths of these older learners. This study occurred between 2014 and 2015 with in-depth interviews conducted with nineteen older students, ranging in age from twenty-five to sixty-two years. While the interviews in both studies were semi-structured in nature, some of the questions asked included the following: What kinds of attitudes do people in your family or community express about university? What has helped you to succeed at university? Looking back over your time as student, what do you feel were the milestones? If you were to draw parallels between this period of life and another period or occasion, what would it be? The institution’s Human Ethics Committee approved both studies, and students’ names were replaced with pseudonyms. Participants were derived from various walks of life, with the majority identifying as female (n = 24) and a large proportion identifying as parents (n = 18), with half of these being sole parents. The median age of all interviewees was thirty-seven years and the eldest participants in both studies were sixty-two years old. Each project adopted a narrative inquiry approach in order to deeply appreciate the very personal and somewhat emotional aspects of this educational journey. Drawing on narratives allows insight into the complexity of human action, detailing a more embodied account of lived experience. Storytelling is an act that saturates life, but storytellers need to be provided with the time and space to re-evaluate past actions, navigate future outcomes and consider how the inner self is located in the present (Polkinghorne 1988). As such, narratives are co-constructions involving all parties; each narrator is involved in making sense of life as well as shaping activities and events into significant units. In this way, participants are provided the opportunity to play an active role in the interviews, facilitating the disclosure of the ‘dynamic quality of experience’ (Graham 1984: 119). The research conversations featured in this chapter explored both the past and the present; the stories spanned the life course with participants frequently returning to themes and events throughout the research process.

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Narrative inquiry thus foregrounds how individuals are social beings, existing in both public and personal domains. The participants in this study cannot be defined in singular terms related to gender or parenting status; instead each has complex identities negotiated in relation to a range of social and cultural influences. Equally it is important to realize that these stories are only partial views that are open to interpretation. Yet importantly, the narrative approach challenges the individualizing nature of widening participation, as Waller et al. (2011) identify such storying foregrounds shared conversations and histories that physically link, emotionally connect and bind … [students] as a community of lifelong learners, in the face of current trends towards individualising learning to enhance employability. (2011: 514)

The collective nature of these narratives was further enhanced through a recursive approach to data analysis. Each interview transcript was imported into NVivo (10), and a line-by-line analysis was employed to generate thematic codes. A constant comparative method of analysis (Charmaz 2006) enabled these concepts to emerge inductively from the data. This process involved a continual movement between the literature, the conceptual framing and student narratives, in order to develop insights into the social and cultural processes that individuals operate within. By continually revisiting the data, reflectively writing and also questioning, the objective is to break through the ‘ordinariness of routine events’ (Charmaz 2006: 53). The next section explores the data in relation to the themes that emerged, relating these to both Yosso’s and Sen’s theorizations.

Older FG students and higher education attendance The theme of age loomed large in these participants’ narratives. Reflection upon age differentials among the student population was a common, albeit unsolicited, thread that emerged in interview conversations. Older students largely reported feeling ‘different’ or self-conscious about their age within the campus environment. Even younger students such as Nigel reflected on a level of stigma associated with this relative maturity, as he described: I think it was the first day I was adopted by a group – it helps that I look a lot younger than my age because they all thought that I was 19 or 20 or something which is great; they just accepted me immediately without that ‘Oh he’s an older age student’ which I have seen. (Nigel, 26, Single)

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Nigel continued by describing the ‘segregation’ between various student cohorts, such as demarcation based upon the existence of perceived generational gaps. Similarly, Ann (36, Partnered, 2 children) reflected how ‘the younger people don’t want to hang out with the old people’, whereas Tina (28, Partnered) described her own personal discomfort at being described as ‘mature aged’ because she was over 21. Overall, these older students felt a disjuncture in their position within the university environment, and in some cases this could translate into feelings of otherness or a sense of being an outsider, as Yvette described in the following interchange: Yvette: Well it’s the passing and the failing, I’m a fraud – I should not be here … Interviewer: The belief that you are? Yvette: No, it’s just that I’m fraudulent so if I’m a fraud how can I possibly be here? Interviewer: Okay. Yvette: … goes along with it. Just ‘I’m not good enough to be here. I don’t have the brains to be here’. (Yvette, 45, Partnered, 2 children)

This low sense of entitlement was often exacerbated by the learners’ FG status; having no educational memory or biography of HE further impacted upon their sense of belonging. These feelings of being an ‘imposter’ have been noted in other research with FG students (O’Shea 2015; O’Shea et al. 2015) so the focus here is on how students drew upon existing strengths and capitals during their transition and initial engagement with the university environment. The next section details how participants reflected upon the capitals that underpinned their transition to this environment with reference to Yosso’s CCW framework (2005).

Understanding the cultural strengths of older FG learners Aspirational capital In varying degrees each of Yosso’s capitals were displayed in the narratives of these older learners. The analysis indicated how the strengths of these individuals were clear but also somewhat invisible and uncelebrated. For example, the notion of aspirational capital was described in terms of holding onto the dream of university participation despite the seemingly insurmountable barriers to access. The barriers were varied, including practical considerations such as lack of money or the need to be employed but equally obstacles related to more emotive reasons. For example, Lena explained how she was thwarted in her educational pursuits due to the limiting nature of others’ perceptions, yet she

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never let go of her educational ambitions and finally returned to university when her son turned eighteen years: When I was younger, a lot of people said ‘No, you’ll never go to uni’ – it was their perception of that … it was a little bit of fear in a way, sort of not going but no, it was just like last year, as I said, my son turned 18, my eldest one, he’s 19 this year and I was like ‘No, I’m going. That’s it’. (Lena, 43, Sole Parent, 2 children)

In a similar way, Rose (28, Partnered, 2 children) described how ‘I’ve always wanted to go to university; didn’t think I could do it straight out of school’, but while Rose’s husband is supportive of her returning, it is her in-laws that have been deterrents. She explained how ‘their attitude was a little off-putting and I couldn’t talk about uni; they wouldn’t talk about it with me’. However, with perseverance Rose managed to persuade her in-laws of the merits of her educational endeavours; this persuasion was particularly important as she relied on them for childcare. While many mature students may encounter levels of resistance to HE participation, arguably this is intensified for those who are first in the family to attend university. Without knowledgeable others available to support or champion this return, the need for strong aspirational capital is undoubtedly a necessity.

Navigational capital For these students, accessing university also required navigational capital largely derived from their life experiences and maturity. As Nick explained: Being older and when you don’t know things, I’m not shy to ask, you know, whereas a lot of the younger people are probably a bit more apprehensive and tend to stay under the surface of the water a little bit more …. I tend to keep my head well above the water and I’ll do anything and everything to do that. (Nick, 39, Partnered, 4 children)

Having had previous experience of overcoming alien or precarious spaces in life arguably provided the tools to navigate an environment which participants variously described in terms of ‘foreignness’ or unfamiliarity. This sentiment is succinctly described by Yvette, who explained how ‘it feels like I’m in an institution that has a whole different language’ (45, Partnered, 2 children). Managing this transition required various forms of ‘experiential capitals’ that were founded upon a priori life and work skills (O’Shea 2016, 2016b).

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Social capital Equally important to drawing on prior experiences was the importance of existing social networks or social capital. While these students may have been the first in their families or communities to attend university, the importance of this capital was still clear in their reflections. This cultural strength was manifested in a variety of ways, in some cases relating to practical assistance such as babysitting or financial support. However, sometimes it was just having someone who believed in their ability to succeed academically, even if these supporters had no actual experience of studying at tertiary level. As Eva (48, Sole Parent, 2 children) explained, ‘They’re proud. My friends are proud and very supportive and always sending me messages. The responses I got when I finished my exams last week were incredible.’ Similarly, Yvette described the deeply embodied nature of the support she gained from her sister: My sister, she’s been really, really quite supportive of me actually coming to uni. Although she hasn’t been able to offer me academic stuff or anything like that, she’s just gone ‘Well, you know, you can do this’. Even at my darkest, darkest times that I’ve had last semester, she was always, ‘You know, you can actually do this, even if you have to step back and then try again but you can actually do it.’ (Yvette, 45, Partnered, 2 children)

Familial capital Closely aligned with social capital for these students was familial capital, as it was often the family or the familial network that provided the foundational support required for persistence and ultimate success. This contradicts some of the literature in the field of FG student participation, which often characterizes the family in terms of deficit rather than strength (Gofen 2009). Gofen (2009) recognizes family capital as being constituted by ‘non-material resources’ that include familial ‘habits, priorities, belief systems and values’ (2009: 104–6). Such resources combine to produce a strong resilience framework that can inform intergenerational change and benefits. The role of familial capital in these older learners’ learning journeys was obvious; these broader familial networks frequently contributed to students’ success: I’ve got my family and that’s what’s pushed me in the direction I’m going. It’s made me see I guess – opened up whole other options like I would never have considered being a teacher before I had my two boys. (Rose, 28, Partnered, 2 children)

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Familial capital was derived from verbal or emotional support and could provide a key source of inspiration for students. Interestingly, this inspiration could be both positive and negative in nature, the latter often evoking a desire to ‘show them all’. The following quotes demonstrate how familial inspiration could take many different forms but equally play a valuable role in these educational endeavours: Obviously my little brother, yes. He knows as well that he was a big help in getting me to go to university. He’s just very inspiring. (Nigel, 26, Single) Seeing my mum being a single mum, being able to work, have three kids and pay off a house and have her as my role model to go ‘Well if you want something you’re going to push to have it.’ (Yve, 26, Partnered) When I first did it people laughed at me. … ‘You’re gonna fail, why would you even bother?; And I want to be able to be like ‘What’s up now?’ So yeah, so definitely thinking about, like graduation. I can picture in my head standing there with that stupid hat on and the certificate (Graeme, 31, Single)

Resistance capital Being a FG student also required what Yosso (2005) terms resistance capital, which for these students was characterized by both tenacity and resilience, often in the face of significant obstacles. This agentic resourcefulness was frequently attributed to previous life experiences (which also contribute to navigational capital), which had engendered a capacity to persist at things even when this was difficult or disrupted. As one of the eldest participants Adele (62) described: Tenacity, stubbornness and thinking I’m not going to let this beat me. This is ridiculous. This is just stupid. This is just a little blip. I’m not going to let it beat me. That’s probably what’s got me through. (Adele, 62, Single, 2 adult children)

Some participants made direct correlations between significant life events and their university participation; while this was mainly related to a priori employment or educational experiences, occasionally this was a deeply personal event. For example, Ally (39, Sole Parent, 2 children, B. Psychology) draws parallels between persisting at university and her experiences of being a new mother with a sick baby. Ally described how, similar to her initial university experience, she ‘didn’t know if I was going to make it’. She persevered at university because, like her experiences as a young mother, she recognized that ‘you make it through and then it becomes one of the best things you’ve ever done and it’s because it’s so hard that it makes it so much more rewarding.’

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Linguistic capital Finally, Yosso (2005) identifies linguistic capital as being another cultural strength that is frequently underestimated within the educational environment. Yosso defines linguistic capital quite broadly including the ability to speak more than one language, as well as skills in recitation and oration, such as storytelling. In this study, this form of capital was most clearly seen in the ways in which participants imported the world of the university into the household through ‘conversations of learning’ (O’Shea 2016a: 14). For the parenting students, these conversations often took the form of advice or insights into the university environment, a dialogue designed to open up the educational futures of dependents. If we return once more to Yvette’s narrative, the importance of these conversations to encourage others to reconsider their educational potential is very apparent: Yvette: Since I’ve started to re-educate myself and tried to encourage my children to just not be in that mindset that they can’t do that, it’s absolutely out of their depth to be able to do it but they can actually do it. Even as I was saying with my nephew, ‘You can actually do it.’ Interviewer: Do you think they would think that they could do it if it wasn’t for the conversations that you’ve had? Yvette: I think that it would be different. I think that because there are just some skills that you need to have to be here or a language that you need to have. I definitely wouldn’t have been able to grasp what that language was or to be able to figure it out [so I] keep … encouraging [the children]. (Yvette, 45, Partnered, 2 children)

In varying degrees and ways, Yosso’s cultural strengths were represented in the narratives of these older learners. Often such capitals were not those generally foregrounded within the tertiary sector yet provided additional supports for these older learners who were the first in their family to attend university. However, it is important to recognize that holding such capital resources does not necessarily guarantee success; instead this is a tenuous positionality, impacted by broader structural constraints. The next section explores such restrictions through reference to Sen’s Capability Approach in order to further open up and explore the lived experience of these older learners.

Revisiting capabilities When applied to the widening participation agenda, the Capability Approach looks beyond ‘access’, forcing us to deeply consider each person’s capability to

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function equally within society. This study not only focuses on how individuals accessed university but also deeply considers learners’ capacity to participate and succeed. As Sen explained, ‘It is important to give simultaneous recognition to the centrality of individual freedom and to the force of social influences on the extent and reach of individual freedom’ (1999: xii). A small number of these participants had had some previous experience of HE, but due to a range of conflicting factors, they had departed. For example, Tom (62) had entered university in his youth as a part-time student but this attendance was short-lived. This interrupted learning career initially appeared to have been his choice but as his narrative unfolded it becomes apparent that this was not the case; instead this access was a ‘limited freedom’ constrained by social stratification. In Tom’s case limited finances and also inflexible institutional practices curtailed his ability to flourish in university. As he explained: Trying to start to study at 6:00 o’clock at night after you’ve already been up and about for nine, ten hours working … I dropped out – basically [it got] to a point where I couldn’t do everything and university got dropped by the wayside. (Tom, 62, Single)

For students like Tom, the decision to leave may be attributed to personal choice, but this provides little regard for the constraining factors that underpin such decisions. These structural challenges can curtail an individual’s flourishings in the HE environment and come in a variety of guises. Constraints and controls were omnipresent in these narratives, for example, Rose, who described how her subject choice is based solely on the availability of babysitting for her children. As she explained, ‘I’ve enrolled in subjects – they’re all on a Tuesday, thank God – and I’m just hoping that I can get them close together.’ Similarly, Lena (43, Sole Parent, 2 children) reflected how university attendance was premised on the expectation that life would fit around the institution: ‘We’ve had to rearrange our lives to fit uni in or rearrange our lives around uni, sort of thing, to what fits in with us.’ While this can be managed when younger, for older students who had ‘a lot more going on [compared] to … a lot of the younger students’ (Lena), this could prove to be quite problematic. While these older FG students may potentially have a range of cultural strengths that can assist in their persistence at university, a range of constraining factors can curtail their academic flourishings. Collectively, this cohort had variously experienced barriers to accessing the necessary ‘conversion factors’ required to translate cultural capitals into the capability to succeed (Bowman 2010). Overall it is important to recognize individuals as both diverse and

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complex entities. Such recognition hopefully precludes generalized assumptions about the relative access to resources or the ability to act on these. Instead, the Capability Approach recognizes that HE participation is not a level playing field. In seeking to reveal the hidden nature of injustice, this approach focuses on whether individuals have equal ability ‘to make genuine choices among alternatives of similar worth, and to be able to act on those choices’ (Unterhalter and Walker 2007: 251). The participants in this study had both the cultural capitals and an apparent ‘freedom’ to attend university, but this was a partial freedom; the personal flourishings of individuals could be curtailed by existing responsibilities and also the expectations of others.

Conclusion This research recognizes that if we are to deeply understand choices around HE participation, it is necessary to recognize that these decisions are rooted in social conditions, contexts and also constraints. An individual’s biography and personal history influence the nature of educational engagement and the decisions made in this environment. In this study, it was clear that a number of these older learners simply did not conceive of university as being within the ‘bounds of possibility’; when growing up, university was regarded as being for ‘others’ or ‘not for the likes of us’. Yet each had made the decision to return and reflected upon various cultural strengths that assisted them in this educational undertaking. Recognizing the strengths that learners arrive with and foregrounding these within university practices and language can greatly assist learners, their families and, importantly, staff. This research provides some insight into how the self and existing capitals are drawn upon when older FG students transition into, and engage with, the HE environment. Such insight can be used to improve the student experience for this cohort, perhaps most fundamentally by acknowledging how the cultural wealths that students arrive with at university should be both appreciated and nurtured. This recognition though has to be accompanied by an understanding of the broader social and cultural contexts in which learners operate, which can limit their access to the necessary process freedoms that enable success in this environment. Such depth of understanding is largely absent from widening participation agendas and access policies, which continue to assume an independent and individualized learner trading in a neoliberal educational market. Instead, this research, while small scale and localized, points to the wider contextual and embodied facets of HE participation for an

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older FG cohort. In particular, this research highlights the pressing need to incorporate more expansive understandings of our diverse student populations that deeply consider the broader conditions that individuals exist within.

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As They See It: First Generation College Students and Photovoice Rashne R. Jehangir and Veronica Deenanath

Despite intense endeavors to promote educational change to affect student achievement, one voice, perhaps the most critical voice is sorely lacking … that of the students themselves. Sands et al. 2007: 322–24

Rationale for the study This chapter uses the frame of agency and self-authorship to discuss the role that photovoice can have on the first-year experience of first generation (FG), low-income students. In this study, we define FG students as those who are first in their immediate family to attend a four-year institution or a bachelor’s degree–granting institution. This photovoice project (Wang 1999) was developed in collaboration with TRIO1 advisors to provide FG students with curricular space to express, make sense of and process multiple aspects of their identity. In conjunction with curriculum that explored their multiple identities, students used the medium of photographs and accompanying narratives to make meaning of their own realities within a community of their peers. The use of photographs is a communicative currency that today’s generation of students are facile in using, sharing and deriving meaning from. Growing up with Facebook, YouTube and ever-changing apps on digital devices is part and parcel of their daily lives (Gubrium and Harper 2013; Levine and Dean 2012). At the centre of these photographs is a story. The story carries with it a past,

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a historic memory and/or a vision of the future. Elder (2001) addresses the centrality of story in our construction of selfhood in the concept of ‘core stories’. She notes that a core story is the kind of identity story each of us tells about our lives. These stories are as much a part of us as our fingerprints. Our stories give form and meaning to the inchoate details of our experiences, allowing us to make sense out of life’s raw footage. Core stories are signifiers for where we have been and where we might be travelling. (Elder 2001: 91)

For FG students, many of whom are under-represented in the academy, a narrative about who they are and what they can do has often been constructed for them before they get to college. This project, and indeed the work of scholars and practitioners who challenge this narrow perception of FG students, creates spaces for them to counter these dominant narratives while co-constructing their own realities. This project is research in practice and was derived to bridge the work of researchers and student affairs practitioners while providing students with the curricular space and medium of photographs to reshape and co-construct the narratives of their lived experiences as FG college students. It is also most importantly a counter-narrative, as it provides evidence from students by students about the way they make meaning of their identities and what we can learn from them. The two main goals of this project were to explore how photovoice as a vehicle for critical pedagogy and learning partnerships can 1. Inform curriculum development and pedagogy to create spaces for engagement and reflection of identity exploration for FG students who have increasingly complex and intersecting identities; 2. Give FG students ‘new possibilities for participatory approaches that appeal to diverse audiences and reposition participants as co-producers of knowledge’ (Gubrium and Harper 2013: 13) about their own lived experience and complexity of their identities. Appadurai (2006) argues that experiments in documentation such as the kind that photovoice provides opens a ‘double path for many young people; one is deepening the skills they desperately need; the other is the recognition that developing capacity to document, to inquire, to analyze and to communicate results has a powerful effect on their capacity to speak up as active citizens on matters that are shaping their city and their world’ (2006: 175).

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Overview of first generation college students First generation students are the pioneers and trailblazers of their families. As they pursue the path to higher education, the odds are already stacked against them because they tend to be older than non-FG students, females, non-native English language speakers and students of colour (Bui 2002; Chen and Carroll 2005; Choy 2001; Engle and Tinto 2008; Hertel 2002; Ward, Siegel and Davenport 2012). This population of students in the United States also start out with lower American College Test scores and grade-point average compared to non-FG peers and are more likely to be low income, where their families earn less than $25,000 annual income (Choy 2001). With limited financial resources from their family of origin, FG students are employed at least part-time while in college, and are more likely to be financially independent from parents and to live off campus, in contrast to non-FG students (Bui 2002; Jehangir 2010). Being an FG student is a challenging journey, but it is also an opportunity to defy the odds. In the United States, approximately 30 per cent of all first-year college students are first generation (Greenwald 2012). This number increased from 17 per cent in 2007, and it is expected to continue growing (Peabody et al. 2011). Many FG students today are also immigrants. With over fortyone million immigrants currently living in the United States, education is viewed as the pathway to upward economic mobility (Nwosu, Batalova and Auclair 2014). A study conducted by Staklis and Horn (2012) using data from National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) estimated that 23 per cent of all undergraduates are immigrants (i.e. foreign born or second generation Americans). As the population of FG students in the academy grows, there is increased connectivity in their shared experiences as they transition to the academy. Rather than framing the narrative of FG students from a deficit lens, we aim to understand the challenges while also considering the supports and ambitions of these pioneering students. The many intersecting identities of FG students include but are not limited to race, social class, gender, religious identity and immigrant, refugee and veteran statuses, and these can serve as a tool of strength in this journey. We argue that while test score data, academic preparation and financial and familial constraints for FG students are integral to understanding opportunity gaps that limit their matriculation and persistence in college, these factors do not speak to the identity of students and/or how they chose to represent themselves in the world. By gaining a complex understanding of how FG students see themselves, institutions may be better equipped to tailor

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resources to support them, while also finding ways to help them translate their social and cultural capital into the new milieu of the academy.

Theoretical framework Critical pedagogy and the Learning Partnership Model Two theoretical frames undergird this project. Critical pedagogy (Freire 1970, 1995) asks questions about the intersections of race, class and gender and how power relations impact access to content and structures of educational milieus. As such, it can be described as a movement, a method and an overarching philosophy that challenges claims of education and classrooms as neutral spaces. Freire (1970, 1995) underscores the humanity of learners and how cultural context shapes their learning. Burbules and Berk (1999) state that critical pedagogy is ‘an effort to work within educational institutions and other media to raise questions about inequalities of power, about the false myths of opportunity and merit for many students’ over others (1999: 50). While raising questions about inequity, critical pedagogy is as much about the ‘empowerment of individuals [and] that … must be connected to an attempt to confront injustice of a particular society or public sphere within the society. Research thus becomes a transformative endeavor unembarrassed by the label political and unafraid to consummate a relationship with emancipatory consciousness’ (Kincheloe and McLaren 2002: 291). The second theoretical frame in this study is the Learning Partnership Model (Magolda and King 2004), which is derived from self-authorship theory. Kegan (1995) originally coined the term ‘self-authorship’ to address how an individual’s cognitive, interpersonal and intrapersonal development intersected to develop a belief system. Magolda and King (2004) define self-authorship as ‘the capacity to internally define a coherent belief system and identity that coordinates engagement in mutual relations with the larger world’ (2004: 304). The Learning Partnership Model seeks to give students and practitioners tools to engage in the type of self-reflection that will allow them to participate in meaning making while challenging dominant narratives. The model operates around three core assumptions and three principles of practice (Magolda and King 2004: xix). The core assumptions are: 1. Knowledge is complex and socially constructed. 2. Identity plays a central role in crafting knowledge claims. 3. Knowledge is mutually co-constructed.

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In addition, the model’s three principles for practice charge practitioners, teachers, advisors and the like to cultivate self-authorship in their students by 1. Validating students’ capacity as knowledge constructors. 2. Situating learning in the learner’s experiences. 3. Defining knowledge as mutually constructed meaning. For our study, critical pedagogy is the umbrella under which we view the experiences of FG students. Critical pedagogy acknowledges the sociopolitical realms in which they live both in and outside of the academy and situates the photovoice project as an act of challenging dominant narratives of their lived experience. The Learning Partnership Model reflects how the curriculum that was the vehicle for this photovoice project was developed in partnership with TRIO advisors. These individuals worked collectively to intentionally employ the tenets of the model to create a reflective classroom space in efforts of cultivating self-authorship for historically under-represented FG students.

Methodology What Is Photovoice? Photovoice is a form of participatory action research where participants or community members ‘visually document their social landscape through photography and reflect on their photographs to produce personal narrative’ (Allen 2012: 443). Developed by public health scholar Carolyn Wang (1999), photovoice was employed to capture the public health needs of women in rural China (Wang and Burris 1997) and draws on Freirean and feminist theory and practice. This method draws from a tradition of participatory photography in the social sciences in ‘which people can identify, represent and enhance their community through photographic technique … to act as recorders, and potential catalysts of change’ (Wang and Burris 1997: 369). Specifically, photovoice has three core goals: 1. To facilitate opportunity for individuals to capture and reflect on their strengths as individuals and community, 2. To foster critical discourse and knowledge about community’s concerns through reflection and small- and large-group discussion of photographs, and 3. To use the medium of photographs to reach policymakers in different milieus (Wang and Burris 1997).

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The medium of a photograph has a sense of immediacy. Harper (2002) argued that ‘images evoke deeper elements of human consciousness than do words; exchanges based on words alone utilize less of the brain’s capacity than do exchanges in which the brain is processing images as well as words’ (2002: 13). Natharius (2004) reinforced this when he wrote, ‘The more we know, the more we see’ (2002: 238). Images also allow for visual inventory of objects, familial artefacts, people and locations that evoke a sense of identity and place that is a performative form of storytelling (Holm 2008). At the centre of the story is the teller, and as such photovoice is, most importantly, a dialogue opened and driven by the ‘authority of the subject rather than the researcher’ (Harper 2002: 15). Photovoice can be distinguished from other forms of visual research in general in that ‘visual evidence is used to voice problems and seek solutions through conversations with those capable of addressing the issues’ (Elliot and Gillen 2013: 916; Goodhart et al. 2006). Finally, photographs and their accompanying narratives do not exist in vacuums; rather the making of images is created in a new ‘third space’ (Stevenson and Deasey 2005) that arises from the interactions between the image and the person looking at it. Harper (2002) suggests that two people looking at the same thing can derive different meanings from the image, but in a ‘shared view, the differences in perception can be defined, compared and eventually understood to be socially constructed by both parties’ (2002: 22). These tenets of the photovoice methodology are well aligned with not only critical pedagogy as mediums of problem posing, but also with self-authorship and the Learning Partnership Model because the focus is on the lived experience of participants. Photovoice reinforces mutually constructed knowledge and uses image and story to challenge normative and narrow perceptions of FG students.

Setting the context: Institutional and programmatic overview The purpose of this project is twofold: first, to understand via photos the process of meaning making and transition of FG students as they enter college. Second, to use photos to lead dialogue among students and the larger community in a predominantly white institution (PWI).2 The data for this project were collected at a large Midwestern land-grant public research university in the United States. The university is composed of nine colleges, each with its own leadership, majors and programmes. The federally funded TRIO programmes were housed within the College of Education and

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Human Development (CEHD), the third largest college in the university with eight departments. The CEHD is one of the most diverse colleges within the university; at the time of data collection, the entering class of first-year students included 43 per cent students of colour, 45 per cent FG students, 45 per cent Pell Grant–eligible students3 and 33 per cent students who were part of the TRIO Student Support Services programme. In many cases there was an overlap between these categories.

TRIO programmes TRIO is a federally funded programme that was created by the Higher Education Act of 1965 with the goal of creating education access and opportunities for low- to middle-income families (Jehangir 2010). TRIO is not an acronym; rather, the name reflects three initiatives that marked the programme’s inception. Our institution hosts three TRIO programmes, each of which emphasizes education opportunity and access at different stages in the education pipeline, but the one featured in this study is TRIO Student Support Services (SSS). Since 1976 TRIO SSS has supported undergraduates from the beginning of their first year in college to graduation. Twothirds of students admitted to TRIO must have two of the following characteristics: come from a family where neither parent holds a four-year undergraduate degree, have a documented disability and/or be considered low income. Low-income status is determined by federal poverty guidelines, which for 2016 was an annual income of $36,450 for a family of four (Families USA 2016). TRIO SSS is tasked with supporting, empowering and facilitating transition to and persistence in college by offering students holistic support, such as academic and career advice, professional development opportunities and lessons to navigate the financial aid process. Each academic year approximately 150 new students are accepted into the SSS programme. An essential part of supporting and empowering its students is by proving the opportunity for them to think critically about access, equality and equity in education through a one-credit course for all students enrolled in SSS. The course is titled: Introduction to TRIO: Identity, Culture, and College Success.

Course Design: Introduction to TRIO: Identity, Culture, and College Success The seventy-five students who are part of SSS each semester were required to enroll in a seven-week course that focuses on identity, culture and college success

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during their first semester of college. The course was developed by three TRIO advisors with support from Rashne and was taught by these advisors. Rashne had a long-standing partnership with this TRIO programme and regularly worked with advisors and the TRIO staff on building trust, shared programme development and advocacy. This course played multiple roles in supporting transition to college. First, the course provided an opportunity to build the advisor–advisee relationship by assigning students into a class section taught by their advisor of record. Second, in the classroom, low-income FG students were able to build relationships with others that had similar lived experiences. This served to normalize the challenges they perceived in the college context and also provided a safe space for discussions pertaining to navigating multiple identities. Third, course curriculum was designed to provide agency to students who are typically viewed through a deficit model. The design of the course intentionally framed the process of transition away from skill or resource development to a space that invited students to cultivate ‘self-authorship’, which is ‘the capacity to author, or invent, one’s own beliefs, values, sense of self, and relationships with others’ (Magolda 2002: 3). As such, the course design focused on how FG students began their collegiate career with the ability to recognize and negotiate potential challenges and opportunities faced, and the use of knowledge to map out educational and personal journeys through their own identity and cultural lenses and not solely through a lens of success that normative society may have defined for them. Specific course objectives were to: 1. Gain a better understanding of the political, economic and cultural forces shaping access to higher education. 2. Identify and understand the value of their own cultural capital. 3. Develop a broader understanding of self in terms of multiple and shifting identity. 4. Enhance the ability to author their personal and educational goals. 5. Have a better understanding of how to navigate college and university culture and resources. 6. Locate and critically evaluate information (TRIO Syllabus 2013). The photovoice project was designed as a seven-week project to facilitate discussions centring on FG students’ multiple identities. The assignment required taking photographs that represented six different aspects of one’s identity. Each photo was accompanied by a one-page written reflection wherein students

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commented on their rationale for the photo and addressed how they sought to make meaning of different aspects of their identity. Students were asked to focus their photos and reflection on six identities that were intentionally aligned with topics discussed in class. The guidelines provided were broad to give students some flexibility in how they chose to represent themselves in this visual medium related to: ● ● ● ● ● ●

College student identity TRIO/diversity identity Vocational identity Social class identity Multiple identity Open-ended identity

Each week in class students were encouraged to share their photo(s) and the meaning of the photo(s) with the class.

Data collection This study used purposeful sampling to ensure a critical mass of FG students. It also demonstrated an intentional partnership between researchers and student services as a form of praxis. At the beginning of the fall semester in 2013, Rashne was invited into the SSS classrooms by the instructors to introduce the research project. Students learnt about the concept of photovoice and were provided with examples of photos that evoke discussion centring on multiple identities. Rashne used stock photos featuring diverse students on campus, at work and in classrooms and included some photos of student life away from campus – at home and in community. Photos were displayed in the classroom via a gallery format. Students viewed these photos and had a discussion about which photographs they connected with and why. The discussion then shifted to the impact and use of photos to tell a story, specifically with regard to how it may influence both the viewer and the photographer. This dual role of viewer and photographer was discussed, as were multiple interpretations of the same photograph. During the final week of class, Rashne was invited back into the classroom to recruit participants. The purpose of the research project was re-stated and students were given an opportunity to add their name to a sign-up sheet. By signing up to participate in this research project, students gave their permission

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to share their photos and reflections, and to engage in an interview with the research team. In sum, forty-four of seventy-five students were recruited, and twenty-eight one-to-one interviews were completed. Institutional Review Board approval was received for this project. All subjects were assigned pseudonyms and granted permission for use of their photographs in publications though a smaller contingent of fifteen students granted permission for use of their photographs in public displays.

Participant characteristics Of these students (28) who participated in this study, 5 were male and 23 were female. Participants’ self-identified racial identities were Asian (13), Hispanic (7), Black (6) and multiracial (2). Fifteen participants also self-identified as immigrants and included nine Asian, three Hispanic and three black students. Only four participants’ native language was English. The majority of the participants were bilingual or multilingual, speaking Spanish (8) or Hmong (7). Twenty-four of the participants were eligible to receive the Pell Grant. The geographic location of this study is a state that has been welcoming of refugees, and as such there are large numbers of Hmong, Somali, Vietnamese and Cambodian refugees, to name a few. The Hmong are a group of people whose cultural identity is not specific to a certain country; they are nomadic with roots in China, Laos, Vietnam and Thailand. Hmong refugees began arriving in the United States in 1975 with the population currently over 200,000 (Yau 2015).

Data Data for this study were collected both in and outside of the classroom. The data were collected in collaboration with TRIO SSS advisors who taught the one-credit seven-week course. There were three phases of data collected for this project: photos, reflections and interviews. Photos allowed students to visually represent their experiences while developing their artistic voice. As FG students, photos can ‘sharpen’ participants’ memory and illustrate the subtlety of their efforts to balance multiple life roles (Harper 2002: 13). Reflections allowed students to give voice to their photo(s); the student was the author of the narratives. As lowincome, FG students, others often create their identities for them, but this was an opportunity for students to create their own agency, telling their own stories by the way of their own choosing. The interview allowed students to reflect on how they made meaning of their identities in their photos and written reflection

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and then augment, reinforce or add new iterations to their transition to college. It allowed the participants to reflect on how participating in a project of this type impacted them. This chapter is primarily focused on the content analysis of the photographic data, supplemented with students’ reflections.

Content analysis This project includes a total of 138 photos. The first phase of analysis was to engage in a content analysis (Donahue, Fenner and Mitchell 2015) of the types of images students chose to represent different aspects of their identity and transition to college. The findings in this chapter will focus solely on Phase 1 of the analysis, and so we did not draw on the narrative texts as much and instead created constructs that framed four overarching groupings of photographic categorization. Future publications that are forthcoming will include themes derived from the interview and written reflections. These themes include social class, diversity, multiple identities and vocational identity. The research team (first and second authors) reviewed the photos separately without any of the identifying factors associated with the class assignment. The team members reviewed the photos for visual imagery that students employed to capture their first-year experience and transitions to college. Photographs were categorized by each member of the research team following a process of categorical aggregation (Merriam 2001) of images till we arrived at a consensus and ‘saturation of categories’ (Lincoln and Guba 1985: 350). This process generated nine categories. As such, this first phase of analysis was a content analysis wherein we counted the ‘frequency of certain visual elements in a clearly defined sample of images’ (Rose 2007: 61). The nine categories included: ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●

Collages Family and Community Journey Metaphoric Imagery Objects of University Life Personal Belongings Self-Portraits University Spirits Spaces

Once these categories were determined the content analysis involved attention to the image itself and how the image focused on different facets of FG students’

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transition to college. These categories are organized under four organizing themes: 1. 2. 3. 4.

Who am I? Where do I belong? What do I carry with me? Where is this journey taking me?

Findings and discussion This content analysis covered the first of three phases of this study and focuses on the analysis of the images and how students used images to consider their place and identities as they transition to college. Future publications will focus on phase two of the study, including the analysis of photos in conjunction with accompanying narratives, and phase three will focus on the follow-up interviews completed with participants.

1 Who am I? This category included a total of thirty-eight photographs with two primary foci: self-portraits and portraits of community and family. Analysis of these two focal areas suggests that many students’ identity includes a representation of multiple identities that constitute personhood, but also the ways in which their sense of self includes extended family and community. A closer examination of the self-portraits (N = 25) revealed two forms of representation in images. There emerged a subset of self-portraits in which students appear confident, centred in the frame and celebratory. Sydney, an African American female, was pictured holding a colourful bag and a bright flower and smiling radiantly into the camera. Sofia, a Latina student, lay stomach down on a long road, supporting her face, adorned with large sunglasses, with her elbows. She was smiling, and miles of highway appeared behind her as if beckoning to a promising future. Afia, an African immigrant female, was dressed in a crocheted white hijab. Her face filled the entire frame of the photograph with a proud smile. Students also included graduation photographs from high school, as well as collages that included then and now imagery, featuring photos from their childhood flanked by a current self-portrait. Each of these images appeared to give a nod to the students’ histories, including cultural and religious roots.

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Figure 8.1 Who am I? Image by Alexis

By contrast, several other self-portraits reflected an identity crisis or confusion about personhood. Zoe, a Latina, appeared before a mirror surrounded by multiple objects; on one side there were books and school supplies, on the other, cleaning supplies; her reflection in the mirror captures a face with eyes looking downward and an expression of ambiguity. Houa, a Hmong student, featured her face half covered with a colourful, feathered mask; her dark eyes peer out from behind the mask with the lower half of her exposed face revealing a tentative smile. Alexis, an African American female student, presents a twoheaded image of her face (Figure 8.1). This symmetrical image with downturned mouth and questioning eyes seems to be raising more questions about identity than answering them. The following quote that accompanied Alexis’s photo further demonstrated the struggle negotiating a dual sense of self. Alexis writes: The two identical pictures are there to show representation that I’m two people.  … On one hand, I’m the girl with a lot of power, dedication, and motivation and on the other hand, I’m scared and nervous. Usually I try my best to show the stronger side. As a freshman, I’m not sure what I want to do with the rest of my life. I’m stuck in a place where my power has been questioned and I need to look for direction. Majority of the people see this successful girl whom is capable of anything and I feel most of the time I have to uphold a certain image. However, the real me lies within the different emotions and characteristics that make up me.

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In addition to these self-portraits, students also included thirteen photographs of family members and extended community. These images suggest that for these FG students, identity and personhood are not solely individualistic. Rather, part of the answer to the question ‘Who am I?’ is rooted in home, community, cultural and familial contexts. Several images included students and parents and/or parental figures side by side in close proximity with each other. Other images included family gatherings at home. Kayla, an African American female student, offered a family portrait with twenty-two members of her family in the frame. The elders of the group are front and centre seated on chairs, holding babies with bottles and pacifiers. Behind them are teenagers, young adults and young parents smiling, posing, laughing while balancing children on their hips. Two young girls sit in front, one with her mouth open in mid-sentence. The photograph exudes the warmth and strength of this group as they support each other, literally and metaphorically in the frame of the photograph. Finally, several students took a photograph focused on one family member; typically a maternal figure, a mother or grandmother, as if in homage to these matriarchs of their life. Figure 8.2 by Va, a Hmong student, features the portrait of an elderly woman; her face set with wrinkles and head covered in a bright blue wrap, she stares at the camera with determination. In the following quote Va shared the grief of losing her grandmother and how this experience led her to choosing a career path in wellness. Va writes: I still remember that feeling when my heart dropped and felt heavy. I thought a relationship break up was horrible [but] losing my grandma was more heartbreaking because it was not possible for her to wake up anymore. … After losing my grandma I realized she never received the help needed. … If only I was a therapist years ago I would have been able to help my grandma but because I was not able to, I plan to help many elders in the future with my abilities and skills.

These portraits of self and family revealed that FG students grapple with their multiple identities as they transition to college but also honour their roots with intention and pride. Participants in this study were trying to learn about and understand the self in the context of being a college student.

2 Where do I belong? A second category of photographs that emerged in the content analysis seemed to ask the question ‘Where do I belong?’ The photographs that students included

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Figure 8.2 Who am I? Image by Va

appeared to be an extension of the question of identity raised in the first category, but within a different context. In this theme, students’ photographs raised questions about the sense of place in the context of a larger PWI. As was the case with the self-portraits, this category included images that featured two ends of the spectrum regarding space and belonging. One subcategory of images featured places and spaces that are the site of belonging (N = 10), locations where students appeared welcomed and connected. The second subcategory included images of traditional university spaces (N = 14). The featured images that represented sites of belonging included niches on campuses where students felt connected and had a sense of ownership. These images included campus organizations and clubs that were specifically aligned with the multiple identities of FG students. Here some students featured the TRIO Leadership Group where they appeared flanked by other students each holding individual placards that read, ‘I am TRIO’. Others, like the photograph taken by Blanca, a Latina, feature Casa Sol, a living learning community for Latinx4 students and include many FG and low-income students (Figure 8.3). The photograph includes two images side by side that could represent process

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Figure 8.3 Where do I belong? Image by Blanca

and product; one side features students sitting together in conversation and community while designing a poster. The following quote from Blanca talked about her sense of community through friendships, a physical space and hope with those similar to her: When I look at the picture and see my friends smiling to other ‘Soler@s’ I feel joy and hope because all of us have always a good time with each other and also hope because we all hope to make the difference in our community especially at the University. Viva la Casa Sol.

The adjoining image features several hands surrounding the words ‘Casa Sol’ (sunny house), suggesting a place that offers warmth and shelter. This concept of home is also represented in other photographs in which students appeared with groups of FG peers suggesting that being amid a critical mass of people who understand you is a place of belonging. The subcategories of photographs that included traditional university spaces were in stark contrast to those described above. Specifically, of the fourteen images in this sub-theme, only one featured people or peers. Several featured

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dining halls, campus walkways and large classroom buildings, yet all were photographed when unoccupied as empty spaces. By contrast to the sites of belonging they appeared antiseptic and taken from a distance. There were four images of the campus health service with one featuring the signage that read ‘helping U’. The images raised questions about how the larger institutions are welcoming or lonely spaces for FG students. Finally, there was a small collection of five images that appeared to be a bridge between the two aforementioned categories. Each of these images featured students at a welcome week event or football game that featured university spirit. These images were colourful, featuring many students gathered outdoors in collegiate colours suggesting an effort to embrace university-sponsored welcome activities.

3 What do I carry? This third theme included photographs of artefacts and belongings that once again fell into two distinct arenas. Turkle (2007: 6) notes that ‘we live our lives in the middle of things’ and attribute meaning and carry our history in these objects. Attention to what these objects are and what social or cultural capital they might represent for our students and our institutions is worthy of consideration. Of the twenty-five images in this category, ten centred on items that students brought with them to the university – personal artefacts. These images included clothing, make-up, shoes and hats, as well as cultural artefacts, mostly in the form of jewellery. Several photographs featured traditional silver Hmong jewellery, including a heavy silver necklace sometimes referred to as a ‘spirit lock’. In one image, pink weighted dumb-bells sit alongside a traditional silver necklace. In another image, Leej, a Hmong student, photographs his silver necklace with a lock-shaped locket laid out in the table in the shape of a heart (Figure 8.4). In the empty space between the chains of the necklace are contemporary essentials, a cell phone and a pen. As such these images seemed to juxtapose items of biographical significance that represent cultural capital with everyday items that are essential in their own right. Hmong folklore speaks of these necklaces being representations of padlocks placed on the necks of the Hmong when they were enslaved by the Chinese and the fashioning of these necklaces as a remembrance of the hardship. Another explanation is the belief that the necklace locks and keeps safe the spirit of the wearer (Livo and Cha 1991: 9).

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Figure 8.4 What do I carry? Image by Leej

The following quote from Leej reflects his interpretation of the meaning of the objects in the photo. He writes: The most important identity is my culture or the ‘Xauv’. It is shaped like a heart, and is wrapped around a pen and a phone. My own culture is important because it’s what shaped me. The metaphor of this photo is that education and technology also make up a culture that connects people together. When I look at the picture I feel like I’m connected to my culture and at the same time connect to everyone else because we share a common thing, the pen and the phone.

Represented by fifteen photos, the second sub-theme in this category pertained to objects that typified university life: books, backpacks, planners, computers, pens and paper. In one image, Samnang, a Cambodian male, photographs a close-up of his campus guide and planner. In another image, Eve, a Hmong female, features several papers with notes along the margins, alongside a notebook with a few lines of handwriting at the top. A water bottle and sunglasses sat on the side. Some of the images were more dynamic and suggested a process of being

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in the midst of reading or studying, while others were more static, suggesting that the key objects featured were necessary tools for their life at college. Like the themes that preceded this one, there was limited overlap between personal artefacts and objects of university life. Mitchell (2011: 36) notes that objects ‘are the social accessories of institutions and everyday life that are imbued with history and meanings’. Most images focused on one or the other, extending the often binary way that FG students may experience the transition from home to school worlds (Jehangir 2010).

4 Where is this journey taking me? The final theme featured metaphoric imagery that represented values and hopes for the journey to college. Within this theme, the forty photographs fell into two areas: representations of plurality and images that connote journey, distance travelled and ongoing movement. Several images featured clasped hands or multiple hands of varying hues displayed in a circle. The proximity of these hands and the racial diversity they included as well the manner in which they clasped each other suggested that the photographers valued or espoused to cultivate a multicultural community. Other students extended this idea using inanimate objects: one photograph by Paula, a Latina student, featured a bowl of cereal of varying shades, hues and texture. Likewise, Blong, a male Hmong student, photographed a pile of footwear: shoes, sandals, flip-flops in multiple colours, fabrics and plastics suggesting diversity in harmonious proximity. Many images were dynamic and suggested journeying to and through their collegiate experience. In one image, Afia, an African immigrant female student, featured a single pair of blue cloth shoes, with one shoe placed slightly in front of the other as if in mid-step, moving forward. Nou, a Hmong student, also captured this sense of motion featuring a close-up shot of the gears of her bicycle with the bright blue stays steadying the gears (Figure 8.5). In the following quote Nou talked about the importance of the gears as a way for her to break stereotypes of gender and career paths: The image also represents something that I would like to have in my future. Working with machines is one of my favorite things to do. I love taking things apart and seeing how they work. Although it is seen more as a man’s job to work with machines, I believe that that needs to be changed. Anyone can work in whatever field they desire, and I want to break down this belief. … I want to make my own decisions and be the one to break the stereotype.

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Figure 8.5 Where is this journey taking me? Image by Nou

This sense of mobility was also carried in other photographs with many featuring bus stops, public transportation, as well as walking paths, streets and bridges around our campus. In some photographs, the end of the pathway was unclear or featured a blind turn, suggesting that the outcome of the journey is unknown. This was especially true in several photographs that featured bridges where both sides of the bridge were not visible and instead featured long paths drawing the viewer’s eye along the journey with no end in sight. Some of these roads and bridges also featured construction sites, suggesting potential obstruction, delay or necessity for detours. Despite the questions these images raised about challenges along the way, they had momentum. Many featured the bright lights of the bustling downtown of our city alongside the bridge walkway, suggesting an optimism or faith in the journey. One photograph by Houa, a Hmong female, featured a long line of large concrete steps leading the eye of the viewer up to an ornate wooden door of one of the oldest buildings in our campus. The photograph invites us to climb the stairs and push the door open.

Conclusion These image-based stories of FG and low-income students offer snapshots of how they made meaning of their journey to and through the first semester of college. It is well documented that FG students begin the collegiate journey with a significant amount of anxiety, and often the climate of the campus and

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classroom does little to assuage these concerns (Davis 2010; Graham 2011; Jehangir 2010; Yee 2016; Lee 2016; Oldfield 2012; Rendón, Jalomo and Nora 2011). In fact, entry into college may often underscore the divide students feel between their home and school worlds. Yet, many of these students in this study also capture their efforts to bridge these worlds moving towards becoming more facile border-crossers, thereby reinforcing that demographics are not their identity (Jehangir, Stebleton and Deenanath 2015). In each of the four themes discussed in this chapter, students reveal these binary aspects of their experience and raise questions about how institutions, classrooms and programmatic efforts can be more intentional in helping them bridge their worlds with ‘as much respect for where the bridge begins as to where it ends’ (Kegan 1995: 62). Drawing on the theoretical frames of both critical pedagogy and the Learning Partnership Model, this study actively sought to extend the work of these FG students into institutional spaces in a few different ways. First, students had the opportunity to engage with each other in the TRIO class and used the classroom space to be experts and be co-constructors of their own lived experiences. While the interview portion of the study will reveal the longer-term impact of this process, it is worth noting that following the first offering of the TRIO class, approximate fifty students showed up at the first information session for the TRIO Leadership Student Group – up from the typical – six to ten students who sought membership in prior years when the course was not offered. Second, in partnership with the women’s centre, we held a public exhibit featuring a sampling of photographs by the TRIO FG students. Featured in an academic building that houses the University’s Multicultural and LGBT Programmes, this exhibit was displayed for a duration of a semester. At the opening, many of the FG students were the guests of honour and engaged with attendees including faculty, staff and administrators to talk about their photographs and their lived experiences as FG students. Third, in an effort to move the dialogue into new spaces, Rashne along with two student participants conducted a training session for the YMCA university5 and their peer leaders. This YMCA has a long-standing affiliation with the university and their strategic plan intentionally includes programmes that support FG students. Many attendees at this event were FG students who expressed that the photographs gave voice to their own experience and helped them consider how to be advocates in institutional spaces. Finally, a travelling exhibit has allowed us to visit other campuses. Most recently, the exhibit was employed at a local private college with increasing enrolment of FG students. Here the exhibit was employed as training for student leaders who

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worked in housing and residential life, campus ambassadors, peer advising and more. These efforts align with the core goals of photovoice which are to bring participants into critical dialogue with each other and engage new forums of stakeholders and policymakers in an understanding of the lived experience of FG students. Cole (2016) notes that ‘what honors those we look at, those whose stories we try to tell is work that acknowledges their own reality’, and this study is an effort to use the medium of photographs to engage students in cultivating their self-advocacy and authorship.

Notes 1 As explained later in the chapter, TRIO is a federally funded programme to increase access to higher education. 2 Predominantly White Institution (PWI) refers to institutions of higher education in which white students account for 50 per cent or more of the enrolment. 3 A federal grant for undergraduate students with financial need. 4 Latinx is a gender-inclusive way of referring to people of Latin American descent. 5 The MN chapter of the YMCA was founded in 1856 and has a mission focused on youth development, healthy living and social responsibility.

References Allen, Q. (2012). Photographs and stories: Ethics, benefits and dilemmas of using participant photography with black middle class youth. Qualitative Research, 12, 443–58. Appadurai, A. (2006). The right to research. Globalization, Societies & Education, 4(2), 167–77. Retrieved from: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14767720600750696. Bui, K. V. T. (2002). First-generation college students at a four-year university: Background characteristics, reasons for pursuing higher education, and first-year experiences. College Student Journal, 36(1), 3–11. Burbules, N. and Berk, R. (1999). Critical thinking and critical pedagogy: Relations, differences, and limits. In T. Popkewitz and L. Fendler (eds.), Critical Theories in Education: Changing Terrains of Knowledge and Politics, 45–65. New York, NY: Routledge. Chen, X. and Carroll, C. D. (2005). First Generation Students in Postsecondary Education: A Look at their College Transcripts (NCES 2005-171). U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. Washington DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.

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Choy, S. (2001). Students Whose Parents did not go to College: Postsecondary Access, Persistence, and Attainment: Findings from the Condition of Education 2001. (NCES 2001-126). Washington DC: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. Cole, T. (2016, April). On photography. New York Times Magazine. Davis, J. (2010). The First-Generation Student Experience: Implications for Campus Practice, and Strategies for Improving Persistence and Success. Sterling, VA: Stylus. Donahue, D. M., Fenner, D. and Mitchell, T. D. (2015). Picturing service learning: Defining the field, setting expectations, shaping learning. Journal of Higher Education Outreach and Engagement, 19(4), 19–38. Elder, S. (2001). Images of Asch. Visual Anthropology Review, 17(2) 89–109. Elliot, D. L. and Gillen, A. (2013). Images and stories: Through the eyes of at-risk college learners. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 26(7), 912–31. Engle, J. and Tinto, V. (2008). Moving Beyond Access: College for Low-Income, FirstGeneration Students. Washington DC: The Pell Institute. Retrieved from http://www. pellinstitute.org/files/COE MovingBeyondReport Final.pdf. Families USA. (2016). http://familiesusa.org/product/federal-poverty-guidelines. Freire, P. (1970). Pedagogy of the Oppressed, trans. Myra Bergman Ramos. New York: Continuum, 65–80. Freire, P. (1995). Pedagogy of the Oppressed. New York, NY: Continuum International Publishing Group Inc. (Original work published 1970). Goodhart, F. W., Hsu, J., Baek, J. H., Coleman, A. L., Maresca, F. M. and Miller, M. B. (2006). A view through a different lens: Photovoice as a tool for student advocacy. Journal of American College Health, 55(1), 53–6. Graham, L. (2011). Learning a new world: Reflections on being a first-generation college student and the influence of TRIO programs. New Directions for Teaching & Learning, 127, 33–8. doi:10.1002/tl.455. Greenwald, R. (2012). Think of first-generation students as pioneers, not problems. Chronicle of Higher Education, 59(12), A37–8. Gubrium, A. and Harper, K. (2013). Participatory Visual and Digital Methods. Walnut Creek, CA: Left Coast Press. Harper, D. (2002). Talking about pictures: A case for photo elicitation. Visual Studies, 17 (1), 13–26. doi: 0.1080/1472586022013734 5. Hertel, J. B. (2002). College student generational status: Similarities, differences, and factors in college adjustment. Psychological Record, 52, 3–18. Holm, G. (2008). Photography as a performance. Forum Qualitative Sozialforschung/ Forum: Qualitative Social Research, 9(2), Article 38. Retrieved from http://nbnresolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0114-fqs0802380. Jehangir, R. R. (2010). Higher Education and First-Generation Students: Cultivating Community, Voice, and Place for the New Majority. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan.

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Jehangir, R. R., Stebleton, M. J. and Deenanath, V. (2015). An Exploration of Intersecting Identities of First-Generation, Low-Income Students (Research Report No. 5). Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina, National Resource Center for The FirstYear Experience and Students in Transition. Kegan, R. (1995). In Over Our Heads: The Mental Demands of Modern Life. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Kincheloe, J. L. and McLaren, P. (2000). Rethinking critical theory and qualitative research. In N. K. Denzin and Y. S. Lincoln (eds.), The Handbook of Qualitative Research, 279–313, 2nd ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. Lee, E. M. (September 23, 2016). Elite colleges and the language of class. Chronicle of Higher Education, B28–30. Retrieved from: http://www.chronicle.com/article/EliteCollegesthe/237789?cid=cp55 . Levine, A. and Dean, D. R. (2012). Generation on a Tightrope: A Portrait of Today’s College Student. San Francisco, CA: John Wiley & Sons. Lincoln, Y. S. and Guba, E. G. (1985). Naturalistic Inquiry. Vol. 75. Newberry Park, CA: Sage. Livo, N. J. and Cha, D. (1991). Folk Stories of the Hmong: Peoples of Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam. Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited Magolda, M. B. B. (2002). Helping students make their way to adulthood. About Campus, 2–9. Magolda, M. B. B. and King, P. M. (2004). Learning Partnerships: Theory and Models of Practice to Educate for Self-Authorship. Sterling, VA: Stylus Publishing, LLC. Merriam, S. B. (2001). Case studies as qualitative research. Qualitative Research in Higher Education: Expanding Perspectives, 2, 191–201. Mitchell, C. (2011). Doing Visual Research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. Natharius, D. (2004). The more we know, the more we see: The role of visuality in media literacy. American Behavioral Scientist: 48(2), 238–47. Nwosu, C., Batalova, J. and Auclair, G. (2014). Frequently Requested Statistics on Immigrants and Immigration in the United States. Migration Information Source. Oldfield, K. (2012). Still humble and hopeful: Two more recommendations on welcoming first‐generation poor and working‐class students to college. About campus, 17(5), 2–13. Peabody, M., Hutchens, N. H., Lewis, W. D. and Deffendall, M. (2011). First-generation college students at the University of Kentucky (Policy Analysis Center for Kentucky Education White Paper No. 1). Retrieved from http://uknowledge.uky.edu/packe/. Rendón, L. I., Jalomo, R. E. and Nora, A. (2011). Theoretical considerations in the study of minority student retention in higher education. In S. R. Harper and J. F. L. Jackson (eds.), Introduction to American Education, 229–48. New York, NY: Routledge. Rose, G. (2007). Visual Methodologies: An Introduction to the Interpretation of Visual Materials. 2nd ed. London: Sage.

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Sands, D. I., Guzman, L., Stephens, L. and Boggs, A. (2007). Including student voices in school reform: Students speak out. Journal of Latinos and Education, 6(4), 323–45. Retried from: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15348430701473520 . Staklis, S. and Horn, L. (2012). New American is Postsecondary Education: A Profile of Immigrants and Second-Generation American Undergraduates. (NCES Report No. 2012-213). Washington DC: National Center for Education Statistics. Stevenson, L. M. and Deasy, R. J. (2005). Third Space: When Learning Matters. Washington DC: Arts Education Partnership. Turkle, S. (2007). Evocative Objects: Things we Think with. Cambridge, MA: MIT press. Wang, C. and Burris, M. A. (1997). Photovoice: Concept, methodology, and use for participatory needs assessment. Health Education & Behavior, 24(3), 369–87. doi:10.1177/109019819702400309. Wang, C. C. (1999). Photovoice: A participatory action research strategy applied to women’s health. Journal of Women’s Health, 8(2), 185–92. Ward, L., Siegel, M. J. and Davenport Z. (2012). First-Generation College Students: Understanding and Improving the Experience from Recruitment to Commencement. San Francisco: John Wiley & Sons. Yau, J. (2015). The foreign-born Hmong in the United States. Migration Policy Institute. Retrieved from: http://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/foreign-born-hmongunited-states. Yee, A. (2016). The unwritten rules of engagement: Social class differences in undergraduates’ academic strategies. The Journal of Higher Education, 87(6), 831–58.

9

Conclusion: Beyond Listening to First Generation Students Amani Bell and Lorri J. Santamaría

Introduction A recent book on widening participation states: It remains the case that in the global north and south a student’s gender, ethnicity and social class position will determine whether they can access higher education and the sort of course and institution they are likely to apply to. (Shah and Whiteford 2017: 12)

Just one current example of the ‘broken promise’ of social mobility is found in a report by Shaw and colleagues in the UK. In the UK, poorer white men are least likely to go to university, young black people are the least likely ethnic group to achieve a good degree at university yielding work in a highly rewarded field and young women from Pakistani and Bangladeshi backgrounds, despite succeeding at university, are less likely to find managerial or professional employment and are paid less than women from other ethnic minorities (Shaw et al. 2016). Clearly, there is much work ahead, and in this chapter we provide suggestions for future practice and research, based on the findings of the previous chapters.

Identity and intersectionality The preceding chapters reveal that first generation students have varied and complex experiences of their journeys into and through higher education. In order not to ‘over-essentialize’ first generation students, in this section we use

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theories of identity and intersectionality, as outlined in Chapter 1, as a means of providing shared aspects and differentiation among students featured in the book. We note that not all authors used these theories: community cultural wealth (Yosso 2005) and capability theory (Sen 1999) proved generative for O’Shea’s study of older Australian first generation students in Chapter 7. Jehangir and Deenanath in Chapter 8 used critical pedagogy (Freire 1970, 1995) and the Learning Partnership Model (Magolda and King 2004) to help understand the experiences of first generation students at their institution. Kelly-Laubscher and colleagues in Chapter 5 used Margaret Archer’s concept of identity formation (2000) to shed light on the ‘internal dialogues’ of South African first generation students in their study and how their internal dialogues related to their ‘ultimate concern’. Table 1.1 in Chapter 1 illustrates ways in which these theories and methodological approaches are distributed across the chapters. Overall, the chapters highlight some of the identities that intersect with being a first generation student, including: ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●

Being Indigenous Being older Being an immigrant Having a low income Having experienced apartheid Being a parent Being away from family/community Being a person of colour One’s religion/spirituality Living off campus

These intersections may add to the difficulties that first generation students encounter, but they also enrich their experiences and views. Jehangir and colleagues wrote about the transformations experienced by first generation students negotiating their varied identities: Students noted arrival at a threshold of realisation; engagement in self-reflection; and in some cases discomfort as they sought to balance their identities and contexts. This discomfort often served to propel participants to a place of better understanding and helped them embrace their multiple identities as first generation students. (Jehangir, Stebleton and Deenanath 2015: 17)

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Non-first generation students need to experience some of this discomfort too – to understand what first generation students are going through and to be challenged by different perspectives. First generation students are already likely to be feeling uncomfortable, at least at first. So we (staff, non-first generation students, policymakers and so on) need to feel uncomfortable too – to experience what Zembylas calls a ‘pedagogy of discomfort’ (2015). We return to this idea later in this chapter, under recommendation four.

Convergences and divergences in the experiences of first generation students The studies in this book provide in-depth first-person accounts of the experiences of first generation students, which invite readers to listen to and be aware of stories of first generation students in their own institutions. The students shared rich and diverse experiences, across a range of countries, cultures and types of institutions. There is no grand narrative in these stories of first generation students, nor should we expect one, but there are many interwoven narratives. Among the diverse narratives, we took note of a number of common themes:

Celebration These students have ‘made it’, in many cases to prestigious institutions, often in the face of major obstacles. One vivid example is the ‘Casa Sol’ photo (Figure 8.3) in Chapter 8, with the students’ smiles, the warm sun, the bright colours and the hands forming a circle of belonging, all indicating the happiness these students feel about being together at university. First generation students tend not to ‘take college for granted’ (Davis 2010: 173) as non-first generation students might, and so they feel a sense of achievement about having entered the academy.

Perseverance and determination Some students showed incredible determination and perseverance, which Adele in Chapter 7 described as ‘tenacity, stubbornness’. And recall Joanna in Chapter 3, who showed amazing persistence even after a university staff member laughed

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about her low entry score. Graeme too, in Chapter 7, had people laugh at him, and tell him, ‘You’re gonna fail, why would you even bother?’ In South Africa (Chapter 5), Zanele’s father went to the extreme of stealing scrap metal in order to fund her education. In general, first generation students have a stronger sense of purpose and understanding of their reason for going to university than many non-first generation students. They, and in many cases their families, have struggled to overcome financial, geographical and cultural barriers in order to enter higher education. And some students have overcome the oppression and inequity experienced for generations.

Affective aspects The students’ stories are full of emotions related to their experiences. Confusion, triumph, sadness, stress and celebration – all these emotions and more are evident in the students’ accounts of their journeys into and through higher education. The photos and images in particular vividly demonstrate the emotional aspects of the journey into and through higher education. Two examples are the happy, sad and crying faces in Zanele’s drawings (Chapter 5) and the emotional turmoil experienced by Alice (Figure 6.1, Chapter 6).

Friendships and sites of belonging Many students spoke about the importance of friendships and feeling a sense of belonging at university, as well as the isolation felt when these are not present (e.g. the social isolation experienced by Zanele when she was living off campus in South Africa, Chapter 5). The Indigenous Australian students in Chapter 3 spoke about the importance of the Cadigal programme, as Eric put it, ‘finding his feet for him’. Chapter 8’s TRIO programme provided a very strong example of the importance of a peer network in creating a sense of belonging and support. The importance of each university (and individuals within each university) caring about and making personal connections with students cannot be overestimated.

Family Many first generation students mentioned family as a source of strength, support and motivation, but also sometimes pressure. Some of the students talked

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about the strong support of family (and friends outside higher education), even though they might have little understanding of higher education. A lack of understanding sometimes meant that families couldn’t help much with the demands of study. Some students pretended everything was fine to their families in order to protect them from stress (e.g. Mandla in South Africa, Chapter 5). Some of the older students wanted to be an example for their children; Rose in Chapter 7 talks about never considering being a teacher until she had her two boys. Access to childcare was mentioned in both Australian studies (Chapters 3 and 7) as a constraint for female first generation students. The celebration with family of the achievements of first generation students was a strong feature of the Knowledge Makers initiative in Canada (Chapter 4).

Financial issues Several students mentioned financial issues as a barrier to access and a source of stress. The university registration fee in South Africa is prohibitive for some first generation students, and in Mandla’s case, his financial aid did not come through in time to fund his long trip to the campus (Chapter 5). Some of the students in Chapter 3 noted that living expenses are very high in Sydney, and that they struggled to access reasonably priced accommodation, and to balance paid work with study.

Journeys and migration Some first generation students undertook physical journeys away from family and community in order to access higher education, for example, Pasifika students’ families who move to Aotearoa New Zealand to access higher education and a better life (Chapter 2) and Mandla’s long journey of 1650 kilometres from his home to campus (Chapter 5). Chapter 8 reminds us, that in the United States at least, many first generation students are also immigrants. Other students moved away from their families not only physically, but also in an intellectual or identity sense.

Imposter syndrome Though feeling like an imposter is not only experienced by first generation students – see Barcan’s account of ‘academic fraudulence’ (2013: 191) – ‘such

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feelings may be exacerbated by [one’s] social positioning’ (ibid. 2013: 193). Some of the first generation students spoke about (or represented in images) their feelings of being alien, of higher education being unfamiliar, of feeling lost. Yvette in Chapter 7 summed up this feeling as a running commentary in her thoughts: ‘I’m a fraud – I should not be here … if I’m a fraud how can I possibly be here? … I’m not good enough to be here. I don’t have the brains to be here.’ While there are many common themes running through the students’ stories, there are of course many aspects that are unique to each context and to each student. Two aspects particularly stood out for us: Indigenous students and South African students.

Indigenous students These students are first in at least two ways – first peoples of their country and first generation to go to university. The Australian and Canadian chapters (Chapters 3 and 4) highlight the potential for universities to further support Indigenous students to succeed in higher education, to ‘model conciliation and reconciliation, to heal and to inspire in ways that enable the success of first generation learners’ (Airini and Naepi 2018).

South African students South Africa obviously has a very different history than the other countries, with the majority group in the population experiencing systemic oppression for many years. It is also the only country from the Global South in this book. South Africa has a higher education system where the ‘top’ universities still enrol very few black African students, compared to other universities which are almost 100 per cent black. Apartheid will take a long time to heal, and there are many activists, practitioners and scholars working towards reconciliation.

Summary of chapter findings Looking at and thinking about the implications or suggestions for changes or improved practice provided by each chapter serves to illustrate the authors’ shared visions for ways in which higher education can approach first generation students. Table 9.1 provides an overview of chapter findings to further underscore common themes linking each one.

Table 9.1 Chapter findings and implications for practice Findings or implications for practice

Chapter 1

Understanding educational landscape for students attending 7 institutions, 6 countries, on 4 continents as impacted by race, class, gender, culture, immigrant/refugee status from the perspective of multiple culturally and linguistically diverse scholars 3 Māori (Indigenous to New Zealand) and 6 Pasifika (e.g. Samoan, Tongan, Fijian, Niuaen) migrant students at research-intensive university

Exemplars of promising practices for first generation students in multiple contexts; Collaborative trans-institutional, trans-cultural, international research with global implications Open invitation to higher educationalists to join scholarly discourse on topic Findings challenge claim that students who lack ‘appropriate’ cultural capital likely to fail in higher education, rather ‘other’ forms of cultural capital are valuable and have important contribution to success of FIFU students Families’ support is important feature of student success; institutions need value and engage with ‘other’ forms of knowledge and practices to change Academic knowledge might be disconnected from communities from which Indigenous students come, and may return to, after degree is complete This cultural experience and knowledge significant when thinking about need to increase higher education participation for Indigenous students Universities need to involve communities and families more, so they understand what students are experiencing and don’t feel alienated, as if they have ‘lost’ that person (Uncle Brian Grant, pers comm, 2016) Through productive partnerships with students, Indigenous peoples, and university community, Higher Ed needs to be cognizant that ‘success’ is broad and links with individual and Indigenous notions of potential, effort and achievement

Overview

Chapter 2 Aoteroa New Zealand

Chapter 3 Australia

Chapter 4 Canada

24 Indigenous and non-Indigenous students at research-intensive university including 4 student focus groups some of whom were first generation

Indigenous student researchers within the university context in the Knowledge Makers programme providing opportunity for Indigenous undergraduate students to learn about Indigenous research putting practices into action

(Continued )

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Research Country

South Africa

Chapter 6

Context Black students with African language (e.g. Xhosa, Zulu) as first language with neither parent having attended university as first generation

Two students–1 Pakistani man, 1 British woman

United Kingdom

Chapter 7

13 older college students (over 25 years of age)

Australia

Chapter 8 United States

28 culturally and linguistically diverse students, 5 male, 23 female

Findings or implications for practice Personal challenges destabilized students’ commitments and called for students to reconsider personal identities. Re-opening of internal conversations led to students to continue academic careers with new motivation Though for some such challenges might lead to a decision to leave university Recognizing strengths that learners arrive with and foregrounding these within university practices and language can greatly assist learners, their families and, importantly, staff Provides some insight into how self and existing capitals are drawn upon when older FG students transition into, and engage with, HE environment If we are to deeply understand choices around HE participation, necessary to recognize these decisions are rooted in social conditions, contexts and also constraints Was clear a number of older learners simply did not conceive of university as being within the ‘bounds of possibility’; when growing up, university was regarded as being for ‘others’ or ‘not for the likes of us,’ yet each made decision to return and reflected upon various cultural strengths that assisted them in educational undertaking Students reveal binary aspects of experiences and raise questions about how institutions, classrooms and programmatic efforts can be more intentional in helping students bridge their worlds with ‘as much respect for where the bridge begins as to where it ends’ (Kegan 1995: 62)

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Research Country Chapter 5

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Culturally responsive and sustaining methodologies Paul Ashwin warns that ‘the danger of the increase in global information about higher education is that the … elements of higher education that can be easily measured are given greater value than those that are collective, complex, changing and country-specific’ (2015). Culturally responsive and sustaining methodologies provide a way to value and explore that which is not easily measured or analysed with regard to some aspects of the first generation student experience in higher education. The various culturally responsive and sustaining methodologies used in this book have brought to light previously unexplored or underexplored stories of students’ experiences or shown these experiences in new ways. The methodologies illustrate the power of stories in various forms – short extracts from spoken stories and photos, images and illustrations. It may be interesting to reflect on which of these forms has the most impact for you in your higher education context. Other forms of expressing students’ experiences unexplored in this book include drama, video, poetry, painting, collage and music. Storytelling on a broader or more popular scale such as the Moth college programme (https:// themoth.org/college) is a model that universities around the world could explore. Another form worth exploring is the longer story, which Davis used for a powerful effect in his book about first generation students’ experiences at Sonoma State University (2010). The chapters that used visual methods (Chapters 2, 5, 6 and 8) demonstrate the power of images. Photovoice in particular is designed to bring about change by influencing policymakers – ‘those capable of addressing the issues’ (Elliot and Gillen 2013: 916). It is wonderful that the images are being used to train other students and to raise awareness generally about the experiences of first generation students (Chapter 8). Similarly, narrative inquiry (Chapters 6 and 7) does justice to complexity and provides a deep insight into students’ experiences. Some of the methodologies lead to outcomes that are particularly well suited to being shared in ways that are accessible to more than just other scholars (we realize this book is probably not an outcome that is accessible to those beyond academe!). For example, the exhibition described in Chapter 8, the illustrations shown in Chapter 6 and the Knowledge Makers journal (Chapter 4) are ways in which students’ stories are being shared beyond the usual academic outputs. The forms are accessible not just because they transcend linguistic barriers, but also because they evoke an emotional response.

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While the methodologies in this book are not difficult to undertake as such, they do require attending to the relational space first, by creating connections, as discussed in Chapter 2. They require the researcher to perhaps venture into unfamiliar terrain, but it is work that is creative and generative. It is about creating a space for students to tell their stories, and then really listening. Particularly when it comes to those who have been oppressed, those on the ‘other side’ need to learn how to just sit and listen attentively and respectfully to what might be unfamiliar or unsettling. Learning how to do this and modelling it can help nonfirst generation and non-Indigenous students in classroom situations. As Anna Deveare Smith says, ‘If there is any hope for us, it lies in relearning to tell the truth and hear it, in reclaiming ourselves as a listening space’ (Popova 2015). Culturally responsive and sustaining methodologies are reciprocal (Paris 2012; Paris and Alim 2014; Santamaría and Santamaría 2016); they ‘give back to community members in a way that’s useful to them’ (Kovach 2010: 82). The Indigenous Knowledge Makers initiative in Chapter 4 is one such example, as is the researcher as ‘transformative healer’, discussed in Chapter 2. A useful example of reciprocity at work is the way it has been embedded in an Aotearoa New  Zealand university’s adaptation of the Higher Education Academy’s Professional Standards Framework for teaching and supporting learning in higher education (Buissink et al. 2017). These colleagues have embedded the Māori concept of manaaki into the framework. At its most basic (though it has several layers of meaning), manaaki is ‘hospitality, people caring for people and being kind’; it’s an ‘ethical compass’ and ‘draws attention to the need to make meaningful connections, to care for people and to treat them with compassion’ (Buissink et al. 2017: 571–2, 577). It is encouraging that academics who genuinely care for their students and colleagues in culturally meaningful ways are being recognized via fellowship. ‘Insiders’ within a particular culture or group are more readily able to use culturally responsive and sustaining methodologies. We need to recognize that there are aspects of these methodologies that cannot be fully accessed by ‘outsiders’. One very basic example is that ‘linguistic strategies, such as codeswitching, can be used by “native” researchers to draw on their “insider” identity and often provide more revealing insights than would be presented in English to an outsider’ (Robinson-Pant 2005: 111). The first generation student researchers involved in many of these chapters were close in age to the participants and there are things that participants probably don’t or won’t tell an older, non-first generation outsider.

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That said, there can be an insider versus outsider dilemma with such research methodologies. Even if you are an insider, you may also be an outsider – as an academic, as a woman, as someone from a different group within that culture (e.g. Mokake 2005). ‘Ema Wolfgramm-Foliaki has written about ‘the tensions that exist due to the multiple identities that we embody as members of the academy as well as of the minority communities (such as Pacific Islanders) we research’ (2016: 32). If you are not an insider within a culture or group that you are researching, then we suggest that you co-research and co-author with someone who is. It can be hard in disciplines that valorize sole-authored publications, where the ‘star’ academics are the ones who write books and articles alone. We all know the big names, but there’s humility in working with others and in acknowledging their roles with co-authorship. The ethos of culturally responsive and sustaining methodologies means taking a generous approach to co-authorship and to being part of a diverse research team. As well as the examples in this book, it’s heartening to read of another concrete example in Asmar and Page (2017): One participant … told of how senior non-Indigenous colleagues named their less experienced Indigenous colleagues as lead investigators in a grant application. The senior colleagues … used their distinguished track records to bolster the application, and also acted as ongoing mentors and supporter … [the participant] commented that ‘This kind of maturity and selflessness … was just fabulous’. (2017: 8)

For those wishing to use culturally responsive and sustaining methodologies, and who are outside the particular culture that is being studied, we recommend: ●

●

● ●

●

Lots of reading, thinking and listening. There are plenty of guidelines and works of scholars to draw on. Smith (1999) and Chilisa (2012) are good starting points, to name just two. Similarly, Kovach recommends a lot of preparation (2010). Looking at the ethics guidelines of your institution or other bodies, which may be helpful, for example NHMRC (2003). Co-researching and co-authoring with an ‘insider’, as discussed above. Being wary of ‘essentializing’ the culture/s; instead look for complexities (e.g. Robinson-Pant 2005). Reflecting afterwards on the process: ‘If research doesn’t change you as a person, then you haven’t done it right’ (Wilson 2008: 135).

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Limitations and risks of methodologies As with any methodology, there are of course risks and limitations related to culturally responsive and sustaining methodologies. For example, McLeod alerts us to the dangers of speaking for others: The insinuation of power and relational inequalities and the problem of representation … the seemingly indissoluble connection between the positive discovery and recovery of voice and the danger of speaking for and on behalf of others. (McLeod 2011: 183)

McLeod also asks us to wonder who is listening and what will be done in response: Reviving voice as an equity and inclusion strategy is not sufficient unless it is accompanied by a more dynamic and situated account of voice-as-strategy and voice-as-communication. This requires reframing the problem of student voice as a matter of listening, recognition and engaged dialogue. How are universities listening to student voice/s and how are they are responding – in terms of curriculum, certification, access, support? (McLeod 2011: 187)

Margaret Kovach writes about ‘the risks of bringing cultural knowledges into Western research spaces’ and her uneasiness ‘about the misinterpretations, appropriations, and dismissals that often accompany Indigenous ways of knowing within the academy’ (2010: 12). She cautions us to ‘resist the desire for universal application’ of these methodologies (ibid. 37). Similarly, Wilson warns that ‘without following the Indigenous axiology [ethics and morals] of relational accountability, they [Indigenous research methodologies] can still be used in hurtful ways’ (2008: 39). Lester-Irabinna Rigney advises us not to view culturally responsive and sustaining methodologies as a panacea: It would be misleading to overgeneralise about Indigenist research as a total solution to hegemonic research practices. This is neither expected nor possible. However, the inclusions of Indigenous ideas for methodological reform are functions that promote the redistribution of power. (2006: 44)

A further risk of using culturally responsive and sustaining methodologies is around the ways the work is represented. bell hooks writes about how research and, in particular, theory needs to be understood by those it is about: It is evident that one of the many uses of theory in academic locations is in the production of an intellectual class hierarchy where the only work deemed

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truly theoretical is work that is highly abstract, jargonistic, difficult to read, and containing obscure references that may not be at all clear or explained. … [I]t is easy to imagine different locations, spaces outside academic exchange where such theory would not only be seen as useless, but would be seen as politically nonprogressive, as a kind of narcissistic self indulgent practice that most seeks to create a gap between theory and practice so as to perpetuate class elitism. There are so many settings in this country where the written word has only slight visual meaning, where individuals who cannot read or write can find no use for a published theory however lucid or opaque. Hence, any theory that cannot be shared in everyday conversation cannot be used to educate the public. (Hooks 1991: 4–5, emphasis added)

Related to this point is the need to recognize different forms of theory and knowledge work: People of color have always theorized – but in forms quite different from the Western form of abstract logic. And I am inclined to say that our theorizing (and I intentionally use the verb rather than the noun) is often in narrative forms, in the stories we create, in riddles and proverbs, in the play with language, since dynamic rather than fixed ideas seem more to our liking. (Christian 1987: 52)

Unfortunately, the pressure for academics to publish in highly ranked journals and with academic publishers encourages ‘research to be written in highly academic (often obscure) ways that might be less accessible to audiences outside a scholarly community’ (Burke 2012: 82). And so there is some irony in producing a book about first generation students that is likely to be inaccessible to those students and their families and communities. A further limitation of presenting the results of culturally sustaining and responsive methodologies in a book is that ‘once written, the relationship between the reader and the storyteller is conceptual, not tangible. In an oral culture, story lives, develops and is imbued with the energy of the dynamic relationship between teller and listener’ (Kovach 2010: 101). Similarly, the images in this book, once captured on the page and presented away from the students who drew them, become static and unidirectional.

Practical recommendations Because there are complicated reasons why first generation students may struggle to access and succeed in higher education, ‘sophisticated remedies’ (Ward, Siegel

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and Davenport 2012: 65) are needed. We don’t suggest that the recommendations below are easy or simple to implement, particularly as universities can be slow to change. Nor can we assume that there is a standard ‘model’ that will work across countries. And yet some or all of these changes are necessary if we are to address the needs of first generation students. That said, we like the focus of Chapter 4 on ‘narrow and deep’ strategies, so that, to paraphrase, each university can focus on selected areas, goals and actions and avoid attempting too much. Our focus in this book is on culturally responsive and sustaining methodologies, but clearly there is a need for culturally responsive and sustaining teaching (e.g. Gay 2013), and we can see clear parallels between culturally responsive and sustaining methodologies and culturally responsive teaching: Culturally responsive teaching requires replacing pathological and deficient perceptions of students and communities of color with more positive ones  … marginality is contextual and relative: … there is something positive and constructive among people and communities most disadvantaged in mainstream society. (Gay 2013: 54)

Below we provide ten recommendations on how universities can move beyond listening to first generation students.

1 Co-inquire and co-create with first generation students To paraphrase O’Shea in Chapter 7, all the chapters call for higher education institutions to work ‘with’ rather than ‘on’ their first generation students. We are not alone in these calls. For example, Conrad and Gasman conclude their book on lessons from minority-serving institutions in the United States with a recommendation to blur the traditional roles of faculty, staff and students (2015). And indeed, there is a growing interest in and activity around students and staff working together to transform higher education in all manner of ways (e.g. Bell 2016; Healey, Flint and Harrington 2014). There are clear opportunities to link this book’s research on first generation students with the movement around student partnership and co-inquiry. We saw in several of the chapters techniques which engage first generation students as ‘co-producers’ of resources that can be (or are being) used to help support other students and in professional learning for higher education staff. Photovoice and the generation of illustrations are particularly suited as ways to co-create resources. It is important to ensure that students are not taken

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advantage of, so those keen to use these techniques should make sure students receive either course credit or some other form of compensation. Staff need to remember not to treat students as a free form of labour, especially first generation students who often struggle financially and may not have time to take on extra, unpaid work. Another way forward for this work is to consider co-research with first generation students. Several of the chapters are co-authored with first generation students, who bring invaluable perspectives to academics who may not be first generation or of a particular cultural identity or have not been a student for many years. In return, the student co-authors receive mentoring in research techniques, experience in presenting at conferences and publications that they can list on their resumes.

2 Highlight the experiences of first generation students and staff Make sure senior leaders, other students, academics and other staff are aware of the experiences of first generation students. Photovoice is one way of doing this. Others could include creative presentations such as the dramatic performance developed and presented by students about their experiences of cultural competence at university (Bell et al. 2017). Alongside highlighting the experiences of first generation students, it can also be powerful to hear first generation academics share their experiences. One of us has been privileged to hear Professor Penny Jane Burke and Professor Marcia Devlin speak about their experiences as first generation students and academics, and how these experiences have shaped their practice and research. Institutions need to recognize the cultural capitals that first generation students (and staff ) bring to the academy. The Knowledge Makers initiative in Chapter 4 is a particularly useful example of how universities can, as Sarah O’Shea writes, ‘appreciate and nurture … the cultural wealths’ that first generation students bring to higher education (O’Shea 2018).

3 Engage with first generation students’ families and communities When higher education institutions engage effectively and respectfully with first generation students’ families and communities, it can help families understand what the students are experiencing and lessen feelings of alienation between students and their families.

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Sarah O’Shea (2016) writes that we need to bring significant others on the journey with these students – avoid engaging solely with the individual and instead remain mindful of the embedded nature of this first-in-family cohort. Recognise how familial networks are not necessarily just ‘extra baggage’ or possible negative influences but can also be powerful sources of resilience and encouragement.

Doing so can help first generation students become facile ‘border-crossers’ between their worlds (Jehangir and Deenanath 2018), as shown in the Knowledge Makers initiative in Chapter 4.

4 Support all students and staff to develop skills around intercultural communication and social justice Staff and students need to understand their own cultures and identities, and then to be able to listen respectfully, inquire, learn about and interact with other cultures. The unconscious biases of staff and students can be discussed and ‘unlearned’ via activities such as intergroup contact and mindfulness exercises (Lueke and Gibson 2015; Pettigrew and Tropp 2006). For academics, there’s a need to be ‘culturally aware, which includes using culturally relevant examples, anecdotes and stories to aid learning, as well as … teaching beyond the academic culture’ (Gale and Parker 2014: 748). Burke and colleagues remind us that ‘hegemonic pedagogies work to silence and make difference and inequality invisible, ironically often through references to social inclusion, widening participation and diversity’ and that ‘mainstream teaching and learning practices in higher education do little to challenge exclusionary classist and racist imaginaries’ (Burke, Crozier and Misiaszek 2017: 131). Therefore, as staff we need to challenge ourselves and the ‘privileged’ students. Michalinos Zembylas in a 2016 keynote address said that we can’t avoid discomfort in education and that discomfort can prompt action for change. As educators we need to cultivate ethical care and create class environments that challenge existing social relations (Zembylas 2016). In particular, educators need to ensure students learn about racial and other social issues. Professor Shaun R. Harper said recently: What actually happens in college to prepare people for citizenship in a racially diverse democracy? I want students to hold their universities accountable for making good on the promises that are found in mission statements and elsewhere about commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion and so on. (Stevenson 2017)

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All in higher education need to take an active view of what it means to be a citizen of the university, and of the world; how to become a ‘justice-oriented citizen who critically assesses the causes of social problems and works actively to alleviate them’ (Heilman 2011: 114).

5 Foster supportive environments for the development of friendships and peer support This was a key theme in many of the chapters, whether via its absence or presence. Universities should look at how to strengthen peer networks for first generation students. Widening access to residential accommodation where possible may help first generation students feel a stronger sense of belonging on campus and a stronger connection to their peers. Technology could possibly help to connect peers, for example, an app to match up students who wish to travel together or attend support services together. Study hall, Peer Assisted Study Schemes (e.g. Dancer, Morrison and Tarr 2015) and first generation student networks are other ways to increase peer support for first generation students.

6 Develop programmes for first generation students The SSS TRIO for credit programme discussed in Chapter 8 provides a useful practical example for other institutions of how to support first generation students. Such programmes should not be ‘remedial in nature, outside of the programme of study and designed to reform those students identified as “nonstandard” into legitimate student-subjects of hegemonic discourses that frame what a student is and should be’ (Burke, Crozier and Misiaszek 2017: 2). That said, programmes should teach the discourse of higher education (McKay and Devlin 2014), because students in this book sometimes struggled with understanding expectations and how to approach their lecturers. Similarly, April Yee found that first generation students approach their studies with a very independent mindset and are much less likely to ask their lecturers for help (2016). Support programmes could also help address the imposter syndrome felt by many first generation students.

7 Recognize the challenging conditions in which academics work We need to be aware of the conditions in which academics work in the neoliberal university (i.e. casualization reduced resources, high workloads) and recognize

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that many are doing what they can. In fact, there are time issues for students and academics alike: ‘Most students work long hours off-campus, their full time lecturers have precious little time to socialise or chat with them, and casual staff are also unlikely to have much time’ (Barcan 2013: 87). There are limits to what we can achieve within the system. That said, amid the constraints and pressures of the neoliberal university, ‘we must never lose sight of the classroom as a place of possibility’ (Barcan 2013: 218). One possible change suggested by Lynn Pascarella is that systems of reward for faculty, including the awarding of tenure and promotion, must take seriously service that involves the mentoring of students through advising, community-based learning, and participatory action planning within marginalized communities. (Pascarella 2016)

8 Enact curriculum change that reflects the cultural strengths of first generation students If, as Margaret Kovach states, ‘curriculum makes space like nothing else I know in education. It can be a mighty tool of social justice for the marginalised’ (2010:6), then any efforts to improve conditions for first generation students need to pay attention to curriculum renewal. Tawhai provides some useful suggestions around curricula to address Indigeneity and social justice, including, for example, teaching and learning activities [that] engage learners and educators in imagining more just futures for Indigenous peoples and wider society, and the many pathways and potential scenarios through which that may happen. (2016: 112)

These suggestions are echoed by many other scholars researching the experiences of Indigenous and diverse students in higher education (e.g. Buckmiller 2017; Conrad and Gasman 2015).

9 Initiate and support large-scale, multi-institution initiatives Higher education institutions can usefully work together to better value the strengths and meet the needs of first generation students. In 2016, the president of the Association of American Colleges and Universities announced

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a new initiative being undertaken in collaboration with the Kellogg Foundation (Pascarella 2016). The initiative – Truth, Racial Healing and Transformation – is a multi-year effort designed to engage local, regional and national organizations in both the public and private sectors to explore historic patterns and structural racism, so that we may begin to identify both short- and long-term strategies for meaningful change across the country. (https://www.wkkf.org/what-we-do/ racial-equity/truth-racial-healing-transformation)

While this is a national initiative focused on healing racism, it points to ways in which universities might consider collaborating together, and with other organizations, to more effectively and genuinely widen participation.

10 Think beyond This recommendation refers to what Stein and Andreotti call ‘beyond reform’ (2016). Their social cartography of approaches to social justice in education prompts us to question if the higher education system is beyond reform, and if so what ‘alternatives to it should be sought’? (Stein and Andreotti 2016: 239). There are some examples of scholars and practitioners thinking beyond the academy, such as the Free University movement, both recently (e.g. The Free University of Western Sydney, www.fuws.org) and historically (e.g. http://www. reasoninrevolt.net.au/biogs/E000361b.htm). There are professors who make their syllabi freely available online, particularly in response to topical issues of social justice. For example, Professor Frank Leon Roberts of New York University has made his Black Lives Matter Syllabus available online (http://www.blacklivesmattersyllabus.com/fall2016/). If, as Achille Mbembe says, the university must be radically opened (2016), then we hope that such openness makes the academy more welcoming for, and supportive of, first generation students and their families and communities.

Reflections on limitations We note that the book is heavily weighted in terms of institutions in countries from the Global North, South Africa being the only country from the Global South. We also note that most of the countries experienced being colonized (Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, the United States, Canada) and that each

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country has its own unique history. There is only so much that one book can cover, and we hope that in the future there will be books that cover other countries.  A special issue of the Higher Education journal on expanding higher education systems in low-income and middle-income countries is well worth reading for its insights into the issues faced by countries in South Asia, sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America (Brahm et al. 2017). We are pleased to note that as we prepared to submit this manuscript, a book was published about widening participation in higher education with chapters from Chile, China, Qatar, Nepal and Turkey (Shah and Whiteford 2017) – a very welcome addition to the canon. Another limitation is that this book is written (almost entirely) in English, a language which some view as a ‘weapon of colonisation’ (after Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o 1986). Language is an important part of how students view and shape their identities (e.g. Alim, Rickford and Ball 2016). Arnetha Ball says: the increasing number of students in classrooms worldwide who are from various racial, cultural, and linguistic backgrounds make multicultural and multilingual education an imperative in the 21st century. … Teachers, however, continue to primarily come from backgrounds that are different from those of their students, and they feel woefully underprepared to teach students from cultural and linguistic groups that differ from their own. (Ball 2006: 1)

In most cases this book does not reflect much on the linguistic diversity of our students, although it is mentioned in some chapters, and linguistic capital is mentioned in Chapters 5 and 7. Recognizing and valuing the languages of our students and their communities is important. One innovative pedagogical technique being used in South Africa, which has eleven official languages, is translanguaging, where students are welcome to use various languages, and to switch between them, during class discussions and in assessment tasks (Hurst 2016). The book encompasses the experiences of only those students who were successful in entering the university system. For those in society who are experiencing ‘deep social exclusion’ due to a range of factors including poor health and poverty (McLachlan, Gilfillan and Gordon 2013), higher education may be a very distant dream or not on the horizon at all. Young people who hope to access higher education but do not gain admittance have very different stories from those who make it to university; for a glimpse into the heartbreak for all involved, see Low (2016). Apart from Chapter 4, the researchers did not present data from friends, families and communities, though some have investigated the impacts of higher education on these related groups in other publications (e.g. O’Shea et

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al. 2017). These groups also have diverse experiences of higher education. One of us listened to a panel of Indigenous Elders speak about their impressions of higher education. Some said that they would never send their children to university because of what such institutions represent to them (oppression, colonization) and because they have observed that young people are changed by higher education and feel lost to their communities. However, other Elders enthusiastically embrace higher education and are actively engaged in helping to reshape it (Chapman and Whiteford 2017, and Chapter 4).

Further research The topic of first generation students in higher education is ripe for further exploration. Some suggestions include ● ●

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Longitudinal studies. What teachers and staff do: we focused here on students’ experiences, and so it would be useful to know more about teachers’ backgrounds, experiences and perceptions of first generation and diverse students. See Burke, Crozier and Misiaszek (2017) for interesting perspectives of teachers on the complexities of teaching diverse classes. Critical discourse analysis on how first generation students are written and spoken about. More about the history of widening participation in higher education. The Australian context is covered by Hannah Forsyth (2014); in-depth historical perspectives from other countries would be welcome. Autoethnographic studies. Autoethnography is an ‘autobiographical genre of writing and research’ that focusses both on ‘social and cultural aspects of personal experience’ and on the ‘vulnerable self ’ (Ellis 1999: 673). Different ways of being ‘first’: first in immediate family, the village, the community, first to get a bachelor’s degree, first to get a postgraduate degree, first to get a doctorate, first to go to a prestigious university, first woman in the family to go to university and so on. First generation graduate students, following the work of Lunceford (2011), Gardner and Holley (2011) and others. Long-term health effects, particularly as some scholars have noted the ‘negative health effects of relentless striving’ particularly for black people from disadvantaged backgrounds (Hamblin 2017).

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First generation professionals; does imposter syndrome persist once first generation students enter their professions? Other forms of representing the experiences of first generation students, such as creative non-fiction, memoir and drama. Further theorization.

Closing reflections Barbara Grant writes: I treasure those moments in academic writing when people and ideas, somehow rendered vividly alive, seize our hearts and minds. (2015: 226)

We hope that the students’ stories and images have captured your interest and evoked an emotional response, what Ursula Lucas calls ‘being pulled up short’ (2008). Yet beyond speaking to hearts and minds, we also hope that the stories and images in this book serve as a call to action: Social imagination [is] the capacity to invent visions of what should be and what might be in our deficit society, on the streets where we live, in our schools.  … This kind of reshaping imagination may be released through many sorts of dialogue. … Apathy and indifference are likely to give way as images of what might be arise. (Greene 1995: 5) 

What can you do beyond simply listening to these stories of first generation students? We have drawn your attention to the things we noticed on close reading of the chapters – the ‘data that glows’ (MacLure 2013: 661). What did you notice? What resonated with you? We invite you to contact any of the authors to continue the conversation. There is plenty that we need to act on, but also plenty that we need to think deeply about, and discuss, with other staff members, with senior leaders and with our students. The book opened with a quote from Vanessa, an Indigenous Australian first generation student. You can hear the pride and persistence in her words and see the huge change that higher education has brought to her family in just one generation. We leave you with the words of one first generation student from each chapter: Seeing students with their cap and gown reminds me of why I’m doing this, my family members saying – you are the hope for us – reminds me to keep going. I am first in my family. (New Zealand, Chapter 2)

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Circle represents earth, earth represents me in high school. Mars represents me getting my degree. On the side you see my friend, he’s outside – he is not sure about whether he is going to go or not. Below, that is me visualising the space ship. The spaceship is what is going to take me to university. (Mandla, South Africa, Chapter 5) I’ve got my family and that’s what’s pushed me in the direction I’m going. It’s made me see I guess – opened up whole other options, like I would never have considered being a teacher before I had my two boys. (Rose, Australia, Chapter 7) Working with machines is one of my favorite things to do. I love taking things apart and seeing how they work. Although it is seen more as a man’s job to work with machines, I believe that that needs to be changed. Anyone can work in whatever field they desire, and I want to break down this belief. … I want to make my own decisions and be the one to break the stereotype. (Nou, the United States, Chapter 8) My mum and dad encouraged me to go to university because they never went, so they wanted me to do that and build up a good profession. You know when you’ve got into university, so you’re on the path with what you want to do, so it put me a bit at ease. That made me feel like I was going to be someone important, because nobody else in my family had been to university. (Alice, UK, Chapter 6) I waited for my son to leave school and then thought I would have a go. I’m the only person in my family that’s ever been to university. I didn’t finish my Year 12, neither did anybody else, so – winning! (Vanessa, Australia, Chapter 3) Coming here [to Knowledge Makers] made me think well maybe we can change the face of Canada. … We have a lot to teach the world. (Indigenous student, Canada, Chapter 4)

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Index

Page references for tables and notes are given as, for example, 13t, 67n1. Abes, E. S. 14, 50 Aboriginal peoples (Australia) 11t, 18, 47–67 academic culture 29–30, 32, 40, 49, 59, 61–2, 63–5, 80–1, 83–5, 87–9, 99, 121–6, 137, 146–7, 159, 200, 206–8 academic literacy 30, 51, 63–4, 123 academic staff, workload 207–8 admissions criteria 48, 56, 59, 67n1, 98, 167–8 African students 3, 12t, 18–19, 51, 97–117, 176, 183, 196 African-American students 176, 177, 178 agency 101, 105–6, 174–5 Ahmed, A. 63 AIATSIS map (2016) 49 Airini 16–17, 18, 73, 79, 196 Ako 35 Alfred, T. 16 Alim, H. S. 33 Allen, Q. 13t, 169 Anae, M. 73 Anderson, H. 32 Andreotti, V. de Oliveira 209 Aotearoa New Zealand 3, 17–18, 27–43, 79, 200 apartheid 18–19, 98, 105, 118n2 Appadurai, A. 166 Arbon, V. 64 Archer, L. 12t Archer, M. S. 100–2, 107, 108, 112 Arnouse, M. 91 Ashwin, P. 199 Asian students 122–3, 174 Asmar, C. 201 aspirational capital 150, 154–5

Assembly of First Nations 80 Association of American Colleges and Universities 208–9 Association of Canadian Deans in Education 84–5 Association of Canadian Universities and Colleges of Canada 79–80 ATAR (Australian Tertiary Admission Rank) 48, 56, 59, 67n1 Auclair, R. 77, 78, 167 Australia Indigenous students 11t, 18, 47–67, 196 mature students 13t, 19–20, 49, 143–61 non-Indigenous students 47–9, 51, 52–61, 63–4, 65–6 Australian Indigenous Mentoring Experience 50 autoethnography 211 Ball, S. J. 4, 6 Balogun, J. 128–9 Bangeni, B. 100, 112 Barcan, R. 195–6 Barnett, R. 51, 122 Barney, K. 63 Barnhardt, R. 11t Batalova, J. 167 Battiste, M. 86 Baxter, A. 12t, 121 Bell, A. 9, 18, 35, 36, 73, 205 Bell, L. 86 belonging 99, 121–2, 125–6, 136, 178–81, 194 Benton, M. 18 Berk, R. 168 Bessarab, D. 53 Bhabha, H. 77 Biersteker, L. 12t, 102

220

Index

bilingual students 12t, 13t, 40, 98–9, 102–17, 158, 174, 200, 210 Birani, A. 77 Bishop, R. 35 Black students 12t, 122–3, 174, 176, 177, 178, 196, 211 Bolton, P. 122 Bonin, S. 77 Bourdieu, P. 125, 149 Bovill, H. 146 Bowman, D. 151 Bozalek, V. 12t, 28, 102 Bransford, J. 35 Brant Castellano, M. 84 Braun, V. 54 bridges 184, 185 Britton, C. 12t, 121 Bryson, C. 125, 126 Buckskin, P. 47, 49 Burbules, N. 168 Burke, P. J. 5, 15, 16, 203, 205, 206, 207, 211 Burns, A. 147 Burris, M. A. 169 bursaries 124. See also scholarships Cadigal programme 51–2, 58 Canada 11t, 18, 73–91 capability theory 150–1, 158–60 Carroll, C. D. 29 Carter, B. 128 case studies 105–16 celebration 193. See also success challenges 7–8 Charmaz, K. 153 Chen, X. 29 Chenard, P. 77 Chilisa, B. 33, 201 Chow, K. 125 Chowdry, H. 123 Choy, S. 167 Christian, B. 203 Christie, H. 121 Chuateco, L. I. 136 Chun, E. 14, 16 Clandinin, D. J. 127 Clarke, V. 54 Cleverley, J. 51 co-authorship 201, 204–5 code-switching 98–9, 200, 210

Cole, T. 186 Collier, P. J. 29–30 colonialism 16, 50, 61–2, 84, 85–6, 99, 209–10 Colyar, J. 3, 5, 6–7 Community Cultural Wealth framework 19, 149–50 commuting 59–60, 134 Complete University Guide (2016) 123 complexity 6 'conceptual silences' 66 Connell, R. 50 Connelly, F. M. 127 Connidis, I. A. 8 constant comparison analysis 153 content analysis 175–84 Cooney, G. 147 Corr, E. 49 Council on Higher Education (South Africa) 99 Crenshaw, K. 15 critical pedagogy 13t, 166, 168, 169 Crozier, G. 206, 207, 211 culture 78–80, 100–1, 181–3 academic culture 29–30, 32, 40, 49, 59, 61–2, 63–5, 80–1, 83–5, 87–9, 99, 121–6, 137, 146–7, 159, 200, 206–8 cultural capital 30–2, 42, 43, 51, 125, 149–50 cultural dissonance 58–9 curriculum design 64–5, 124, 171–3, 208 Daniels, C. 65 Darling-Hammond, L. 35 data collection 102–5 Davenport, Z. 8 David, M. E. 4, 5, 6, 9, 143 Davis, J. 7, 15, 193, 199 Dawkins, P. 48 Day, A. 49 de Oliveira Andreotti, V. 209 Deasy, R. J. 170 decolonialization 16, 50, 54, 61–2, 73–4, 77, 80, 84, 85–6, 99, 209–10 Deenanath, V. 20, 185, 192, 206 deficit model 28, 124–5, 147–8, 149, 167, 172 Dei, G. J. S. 62

Index Dennis, J. M. 136 Devlin, M. 7, 47, 205, 207 Dimmock, C. 2 diversity 6–7, 64–5 Douglas, H. 148–9 drawings 102–16, 129, 199 drop-out rates 19, 28, 32, 76, 100, 159 Dumais, V. 30 Dunford, R. 128 Durie, M. 81, 90 Durrington, D. 144 Edvardsson, D. 127 Edwards, D. 48, 49, 50, 143 Elias, S. 10t, 15 Elliot, D. L. 170, 199 Ellis, C. 211 empowerment 52, 61–2, 63 English as a Second Language (ESL) 12t, 13t, 40, 98–9, 102–3, 117, 158, 210 Erikson, E. H. 14 ethical issues 52, 74 Evans, A. 14, 16 familial capital 150, 156–7 families and identity 178 student parents 6, 60, 110–11, 148, 157, 159, 195 support for students 36, 37–9, 41, 57, 60–1, 107–8, 110–11, 130–1, 147, 156–7, 194–5, 205–6 and work/life balance 40, 59–60, 134–5 Families USA 171 Feagin, J. R. 10t, 15 Field, J. 145 financial aid 59–60, 64, 99–100, 112–13, 114, 115, 124, 135 Findlay, L. M. 86 Finnie, R. 77, 78 first generation students 1–20 Aotearoa New Zealand 3, 17–18, 27–43, 79, 200 Australia 11t, 13t, 18, 19–20, 47–67, 143–61, 196 Canada 11t, 18, 73–91, 196 definition 2–4, 29

221

family support for 36, 37–9, 41, 57, 60–1, 107–8, 110–11, 130–1, 147, 156–7, 194–5, 205–6 financial and practical issues 59–60, 67n2, 98–100, 112–13, 114, 115, 131, 134–5, 195 health issues 211 informal support networks 42, 56–7, 58, 65, 113–14, 147, 156, 180, 194, 207 motivation 38–9, 41, 43, 54–6, 61, 62, 79–80, 108–10, 129, 130–1, 136, 193–4 South Africa 3, 12t, 18–19, 51, 97–117, 196 student parents 6, 60, 110–11, 148, 157, 159, 195 support services 40–1, 49–50, 56–8, 63–6, 80, 99, 108, 113–14, 116–17, 135–7, 170–86 United Kingdom (UK) 12t, 19, 121–38 United States 20, 165–86 and work/life balance 40, 59–60, 134–5 First Nations students 11t, 18, 73–91 Fitzsimons, P. 77 Fleras 10t focus groups 11t, 12t, 28–9, 102–3, 104 Talanoa 34, 35–6, 39–41, 53 yarning 11t, 18, 53–4, 64, 65 Forsyth, H. 211 Forsyth, R. 19, 124 foundation programmes 99, 118n3 Fredericks, B. 65 Free University movement 209 Freire, P. 9, 168 friends 42, 56–7, 58, 65, 108, 113–14, 147, 156, 180, 194, 207 Gadigal people 47, 67n3 Gale, T. 48, 49, 50–1, 63, 66, 206 Garrod, A. 16 Gay, G. 204 Gee, J. P. 32 Gibson, B. 206 Gilfillan, G. 210 Gillen, A. 170, 199 Glynn, T. 35 Gómez, C. 16 Gordon, J. 210

222

Index

Graham, H. 152 Grant, B. M. 212 Grant, Uncle Brian 64 Green, J. L. 32 Greene, M. 212 Greenwald, R. 167 Guba, E. G. 33 Gubrium, J. F. 127 Gurin, P. 50 habitus 125 Haigh, C. 52 Hall, M. 47 Hamblin, J. 211 Hamshire, C. 19, 99 Hardy, C. 126 Harper, D. 170, 174 Harper, S. R. 206–7 Harvey, L. 126 Hau'ofa, E. 85 Healey, M. 125 health issues 211 higher education costs and benefits 28–9, 48–9, 59–60, 79–80, 99–100, 112–13, 124, 146–7, 211 curriculum design 64–5, 124, 171–3, 208 drop-out rates 19, 28, 32, 76, 100, 159 ethical issues 52, 74 inclusive strategies 65–6, 77, 78–89, 159–61, 167–8, 203–9 institutional culture 29–30, 32, 40, 49, 59, 61–2, 63–5, 80–1, 83–5, 87–9, 99, 121–6, 137, 146–7, 159, 200, 206–8 institutional structures 85–6, 135–7 language requirements 12t, 13t, 40, 98–9, 117, 158, 200, 210 multi-institution initiatives 208–9 national programmes 208–9 outcomes 7, 28, 32, 61, 63, 75–7, 79–80, 81, 90, 144, 151 outreach programmes 50, 51–2, 62, 77–8, 98, 148, 191, 210 participation rates 31–2, 48, 64, 74–7, 81, 97–9, 100, 118n1, 122–4, 147–8, 151, 167–8 transition 121–38, 145, 149

Higher Education Academy 200 Hinton-Smith, T. 145 Hinyard, L. J. 128 Hispanic students 174, 177, 179–80, 183 Hmong students 174, 177, 181–3, 184 Holm, G. 170 Holstein, J. A. 127 hooks, b. 202–3 Horn, L. 167 Hurst, E. 210 identity

10t–15, 32, 41, 50, 56, 64, 82, 100–2, 107, 112, 121–2, 125–6, 146, 166, 167–8, 170–86, 192–3, 200, 210 illustrations 102–16, 129, 199. See also photovoice immigrants 13t, 39–40, 167, 174, 176, 181–3, 184, 195 imposter syndrome 195–6, 207, 212 inclusive policies 65–6, 78–89, 159–61, 167–8, 203–9 Indigenous Knowledge Makers programme 11t, 64, 76–7, 81–91, 200, 205 indigenous methodologies xiii, 10t–11t, 16–17, 33–6, 52–4, 64, 65, 79, 199–203 Indigenous students Aotearoa New Zealand 17–18, 27–43 Australia 11t, 18, 47–67, 196 Canada 11t, 18, 73–91, 196 inequality 4–5, 49. See also inclusive policies informal support networks 42, 56–7, 58, 65, 113–14, 147, 156, 180, 194, 207 institutional culture 29–30, 32, 40, 49, 59, 61–2, 63–5, 80–1, 83–5, 87–9, 99, 121–6, 137, 146–7, 159, 200, 206–8 institutional structures 85–6, 135–7 intercultural communication 79–80, 206–7 intergenerational research 34–5 intersectionality 10t–13t, 15–16, 29, 41, 50, 64, 192–3, 200–1 Jehangir, R. 6, 7, 8, 15, 20, 32, 50, 185, 192, 206 Jones, D. 128

Index

223

Laming, M. 147, 148, 149 language policy 98–9, 105, 117 Latinx students 174, 177, 179–80, 183 Le Boutillier, S. 100 learning partnership model 13t, 166, 168–9, 204–5 learning and teaching techniques 35, 40, 42, 49–50, 65, 79, 87, 88–9, 98–9, 132–3, 204–7, 208, 210 Lee, H. 144, 146–7 Lee, T. 33 Lehmann, W. 77 Lemert, C. C. 102 Levin, J. 14 limitations (methodology) 202–3 Lincoln, Y. S. 33 linguistic capital 150, 158, 200, 210 loneliness 108–9, 113, 116–17, 137, 181 Low, R. 66, 210 Lucas, U. 212 Lueke 206 Lynham, S. A. 33

Magolda, M. B. B. 168–9, 172 Majombozi, Z. 18–19 Mallman, M. 144, 146–7 manaaki 200 Mandela, N. 97 Māori students 10t, 17–18, 27–43 Marginson, S. 48 Martin, G. 49–50, 63 Martin, K. L. 53 Martin-Lynch, P. 147, 148, 149 Mashele, S. 18–19 mature students 6, 13t, 19–20, 36, 49, 60, 143–61 May, S. 35 Mbembe, A. 99 McCarty, T. 33 McKay, J. 207 Mckinnon, C. 53 McLachlan, R. 210 McLaren, P. 168 McLeod, J. 202 McMillan, J. 48, 49, 50, 102, 143, 144 McMullin, J. A. 8 Medicine Wheel teaching 79 mentoring 57, 80 Mercer, J. 145 Mertova, P. 127 methodology xiii, 10t–13t, 16–17, 28–9, 35–6, 52–4, 65, 79, 87–9, 102–3, 126–9, 138, 151–3, 165–6, 169–73, 199–203, 211 Mila-Schaaf, K. 73 Misiaszek, L. I. 206, 207, 211 Mitchell, C. 183 Moller, E. P. 89 Mooney, J. 51 Morgan, D. L. 29–30 Morris, A. 147, 148, 149 Morrow, W. 98 motivation 38–9, 41, 43, 54–6, 61, 62, 79–80, 108–10, 129, 130–1, 136, 193–4 multilingual students 12t, 13t, 40, 98–9, 102–17, 158, 174, 200, 210 multiple identities theory 10t

Maaka, R. 10t MacLure, M. 212 Macqueen, S. 148–9

Nabobo-Baba, U. 35 Naepi, S. 18, 79, 196 Nakata, M. 87

Jones, S. R. 14, 50 journeys 102–16, 183–4, 195 Kakala Framework 35 Kapp, R. 100, 112 Kegan, R. 168, 185 Kelly-Laubscher, R. 18–19, 122 Kezar, A. 8 Kilkenny, R. 16 Kim, B. 14 Kincheloe, J. L. 168 King, P. M. 168–9 King, S. 48–9 Kinnear, S. 65 Kirkness, V.J. 11t Kloshe Tillicum 87 Knowledge Makers programme 11t, 64, 76–7, 81–91, 200, 205 Koori people 67n8 Kovach, M. E. 201, 202, 203, 208 Krause, K.-L. 48, 144 Kreuter, M. W. 128

224

Index

narrative inquiry 12t, 13t, 28–9, 126–9, 138, 151–3, 165–6 Natharius, D. 170 National Student Financial Aid Scheme (South Africa) 99–100, 112–13 navigational capital 150, 155 Nettleton, S. 127 Ng'andu, B. 53 Nitseane, G. 33 non-Indigenous students 47–9, 51, 52–61, 63–4, 65–6 Nwosu, C. 167 Oliveira Andreotti, V. de 209 oral tradition 11t Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) 3, 4, 74, 143, 147 O'Shea, H. 47, 125, 145, 146, 148, 151, 154, 158, 204, 205, 206 Ostrove, J. M. 126 outreach programmes 50, 51–2, 62, 77–8, 98, 148, 191, 210 Page, S. 201 Palmer, M. 12t, 121 parents (student parents) 6, 60, 110–11, 148, 157, 159, 195 Paris, D. 10t, 33 Parker, S. 51, 66, 206 participatory action research 12t, 13t, 28–9, 102–3, 165–6, 169–73 Pasifika students 10t, 17–18, 27–43 pastoral support. See support services Paxton, M. 18–19, 117 Peabody, M. 167–8 Pechenkina, E. 63 persistence 7, 50, 56, 63, 74–5, 156–7, 159–60, 167–8, 171, 193–4, 212 personal identity 101–2, 107, 112, 125–6 Pettigrew, T. F. 206 Phinney, J. S. 136 photovoice 165–6, 169–73, 199. See also illustrations Pidgeon, M. 80, 83, 85, 86 Pitt, B. 146 Player, C. 19 Polkinghorne, D. E. 152 Potentials Approach 79–81, 82–3

power relations 35–6, 51, 61–2, 77, 78–89 professional identity 125 Pym, J. 117 queer theory 16 Quinn, J. 3, 4, 7, 8 racism 49, 63, 87, 209 Reay, D. 4, 6 reciprocal learning 35, 200 reconciliation 79–80 reflexivity 101, 110–11, 113, 115–16, 153, 174–5 reliability (methodology) 202–3 Renn, K. A. 16 research questions 66, 85–6, 166, 211–12 research and teaching 87–9 researcher identities 200–1 residential schools 79–80 resistance capital 150, 157 retention rates 32, 48 Rigney, L. I. 202 Robeyns, I. 151 Rochecouste, J. 50, 65 role theory 29–30 Rolleston, A. 32 Rubin, M. 148–9 Russell-Mundine, G. 52, 65 Santamaría, A. P. 35, 66 Santamaría, L. J. 17–18, 35, 66 Scanlon, L. 126 Scevak, J. 49, 148–9 scholarships 59–60, 64, 99–100, 124 Scott, C. 147 Scott, I. 100 self-authorship theory 168–9 self-determination 10t, 11t, 80 self-portraits 176–7 Sen, A. 19–20, 144, 150–1, 158–9 Senate Canada 77 Shaw, B. 191 Sherwood, J. 11t, 18, 52, 53, 65 Siegel, M. J. 8 Skøien, A. K. 126 Sleeter, C. 35 Smit, R. 51, 63 Smith, L. 34, 35–6, 43, 201

Index social capital 150, 156 social identity 102 social justice 206–7, 208, 209 socialization 78 South Africa 3, 12t, 18–19, 51, 97–117, 196 Southern Theory 50–1 Southgate, E. 148–9 Spivak, G. 77 Staklis, S. 167 Stebleton, M. J. 185, 192 Stein, S. 209 Stephens, N. M. 7–8 Stevenson, L. M. 170 Stewart-Harawira, M. 87, 89 Stich, A. E. 5, 9 storytelling 53, 65, 127, 128–9, 136–7, 152–3, 158, 165–6, 199 student associations 42, 58 success 7, 28, 32, 61, 63, 77, 79–80, 81, 144 support services 40–1, 49–50, 52, 56–8, 63–6, 80–1, 99, 108, 113–14, 116–17, 135–7, 170–86 supportive learning environments 32, 64–6, 87–9, 124, 126, 200, 207–9 sustaining methodologies 33–6, 199–203 Tajfel, H. 14 Talanoa 34, 35–6, 39–41, 53 Tawhai, V. M. 208 Te Puni Kokori/Ministry for Māori Advancement 79, 91n8 teaching and learning techniques 35, 40, 42, 49–50, 65, 79, 87, 88–9, 98–9, 132–3, 204–7, 208, 210 Thaman, K. H. 35 thematic analysis 54 theoretical frameworks 10t–16, 29–30, 50–1, 149–51, 168–9, 191–3 Thiong'o, N. W. 210 'third space' 170 Thomas, G. 65 Thomas, L. 3, 4, 7, 8, 125 Thompson Rivers University 18, 81–91 Tinto, V. 32 Tongan students 32, 34

225

Torres Strait Islanders 49–50 transformation 9, 28, 49, 77–8, 81, 82, 192–3 transition 121–38, 145, 149 translanguaging 210 Treaty of Waitangi (1840) 31 TRIO Student Support Services 170–86, 207 Tropp, L. R. 206 Truth and Reconciliation Commission (Canada) 79–80 Turkle, S. 181 Turner, J. C. 14 United Kingdom (UK) 12t, 19, 121–38 United States 20, 165–86 Universities Australia 47 Universities Canada 80, 86 University of Cape Town 99, 105 University of Sydney 47–8, 51–62, 65–6 Unterhalter, E. 150, 160 Vågstøl, U. 126 Vaioleti, T. 33, 34, 36 validity (methodology) 202–3 Vanua Research Framework 35 visual methodologies 102–16, 129, 165–6, 169–73, 199 Waddell, E. 85–6 Waitangi, Treaty of (1840) 31 Walker, A. 2 Walker, M. 150, 160 Waller, R. 146, 153 Wang, C. C. 165, 169 Ward, L. 8 Waugh, E. 125 Webster, L. 127 Western, J. 144 White, N. 66 widening participation 50, 51–2, 62, 77–8, 98, 148, 191, 210 Wigan, M. 129 Williams, B. 51 Williams, P. 148–9 Wilson, S. 14, 201, 202 Wingara Mura-Bunga Barrabagu schools 51

226 Witham, G. 52 Wolfgramm-Foliaki, E. 17–18, 27 Woodfield, R. 147, 149 work/life balance 40, 59–60, 134–5 Worldwide Universities Network (WUN) 9

Index yarning 11t, 18, 53–4, 64, 65 Yau, J. 174 Yee, A. 8, 63–4, 207 Yosso, T. J. 19, 144, 149–50, 152, 154, 157, 158 Zembylas, M. 206