An Initiative Of NASPA and The Suder Foundation

Journal & Research

Dedicated first-generation research allows for evidence-based decision-making that is critical to student success. This section highlights both foundational research and recent scholarship that informs understanding of the student experience, institutional approaches to programming, and identification of supports and barriers for first-generation students. Timely updates on public policy discussions shaping first-generation student success are also provided. In addition to the filters below, please utilize the “search” bar in the top, right corner to search by keyword, author name, or publication title.

The Journal of First-generation Student Success is available! The Journal joins other publications of NASPA - Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education, and is a NASPA member benefit. Visit the page to learn more about the priority submission timeline and access the latest issue.

Evidence on Experiences and Outcomes

This study exlpores how first-generation students experience college and benefit from it in a more comprehensive analysis data.

The Journal of Higher Education / June 2004

Pushing the Boulder Uphill: The Persistence of First-Generation College Students

This study examines the impact of background, achievement, college experiences, and price on persistence of first-generation college students.

NASPA Journal / January 2004

Identifying Variables that Predict College Success for First-Generation College Students

This study explores self-regulated learning variables in comparison to traditional college admission test scores for first-generation students.

Journal of College Admission / September 2003

two female students sitting with male professor

Behavior Among First-Generation Students

This study investigates the longitudinal effect of being a first-generation student on attrition.

Research in Higher Education / August 2003

Students Whose Parents Did Not Go to College

This essay summarizes the findings of a series of recent NCES studies about the experiences of high school graduates and postsecondary students whose parents did not attend college.

National Center for Education Statistics / December 2001

Retention of Students from First Generation and Low Income Backgrounds

This article focuses on the retention of first-generation students from low-income backgrounds.

The Journal of the Council for Opportunity in Education / May 2000

A Hope in the Unseen

Cedric’s odyssey during his last two years of high school, follows him through his difficult first year at Brown, and now tells the story of his subsequent successes in college and the world of work.

Suskind / August 1998

First-generation college students: Characteristics, experiences, and cognitive development

This study explores the result of precollege characteristics, differing experiences, and educational consequences on first-generation college students.

Research in Higher Education / February 1996

Validating Culturally Diverse Students

This article focuses on how students who come to the academy consumed with self-doubt or expecting to fail are being transformed into students excited about higher learning.

Innovative Higher Education / October 1994

First-Generation College Student Experiences of Intersecting Marginalities

This book breaks new ground by examining highly diverse populations of FGCS, rather than predominantly White undergraduates at four-year public universities.

Heinz Housel /