The Role of Family Cultural Capital to Predicting Study Abroad Participation in First-Generation U.S. Undergraduates

This study contributes new empirical using longitudinal national data on the factors explaining study abroad participation in U.S. undergraduates using Roksa et al.’s asset-based concept of family cultural capital. Specifically, this study found that parental nativity and frequency of family vacations were positively associated with study abroad participation. Increased parental academic involvement among first-generation college students, however, was negatively associated with study abroad participation, suggesting a hierarchy of priorities in parental advice in the educational decision-making process. This paper also considers how study abroad offices and parent orientations can promote study abroad for first-generation college students.

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