Date of Award
2025
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Education (Ph.D)
Department
Education Specialties
First Advisor
Ekaterina Midgette
Second Advisor
Danielle DiMarco
Abstract
This qualitative study aimed to determine how the external experiences of first-generation college students of color (i.e., both outside of the classroom and the influence of on-campus resources and programs that target the transition from high school to post-secondary education) and internal factors (i.e., perseverance, engagement, perceptions of equality/inequality, and sociological elements) influence how FGSOCs view their academic success and belonging at College X. A total of 10 undergraduate students at College X participated in one-hour, in-depth interviews involving both initial and follow-up questions. Participants self-identified as first-generation college students of color and were identified as FGSOCs using the Banner electronic campuswide administrative system. First-year and continuing students were identified by the number of credit hours completed, 12-23 and 24 and over, respectively, and participants originated from the geographic regions directly adjacent to College X. Study participants included a total of five males and five females. First-year participants ranged in age from 18 to 56, and continuing education participants ranged in age from 19 to 65. Participants identified their ethnicity as Black (n = 4), Hispanic (n = 2), Asian (n = 2), and Native American (n = 2). The instruments used for data collection included an initial survey designed to select participants, followed by one-hour-long interviews, which were comprised of a series of ten initial questions and follow-up questions asked during an interview session with each of the ten students via face-to-face sessions at Office of Institutional Research Effectiveness and Planning on the College X campus. The study employed a phenomenological design due to its inherent focus on a common meaning for both individuals and the collective in terms of their lived experiences surrounding the phenomenon of being first-generation students of color. Following the grouping of answers to interview questions through categorization and structural coding, themes and meanings were drawn from the data set, and a narrative ultimately emerged. The goal of the study was to investigate the perspectives and experiences of FGSOCs, as well as the supports that influence their college success and potential retention, to provide recommendations towards fostering the success and achievement of FGSOCs.
Recommended Citation
Watson, Arati Jambotkar, "PERSISTENCE INSISTENCE: THE ACADEMIC SUCCESS AND ACHIEVEMENT OF FIRST-GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENTS OF COLOR" (2025). Theses and Dissertations. 887.
https://scholar.stjohns.edu/theses_dissertations/887