Clearing the Path for First-Generation College Students : Qualitative and Intersectional Studies of Educational Mobility

Clearing the Path for First-Generation College Students comprises a wide range of studies that explore the multidimensional social processes and meanings germane to the experiences of first-generation college students before and during their matriculation into institutions of higher education. The chapters offer timely, empirical examinations of the ways that these students negotiate experiences shaped by structural inequities in higher education institutions and the pathways that lead to them. This volume provides insight into the dilemmas that arise from the transformation of students’ class identities in pursuit of upward mobility, as well as their quest for community and a sense of “belonging” on college campuses that have not been historically designed for them. While centering first-generation status, this collection also critically engages the ways in which other dimensions of social identity intersect to inform students’ educational experiences in relation to dynamics of race, ethnicity, socioeconomic class, gender, and immigration. Additionally, this book takes a holistic approach by exploring the ways in which first-generation college students are influenced by, and engage with, their families and communities of origin as they undertake their educational careers.