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Uncovering the complex ways that first-generation students sort themselves and are sorted into very different college worlds, Benson and Lee show that these experiences are deeply shaped by organizational practices and vary by class, race, and gender with both immediate and long-term implications for climbing the socioeconomic ladder.
List of contents
- Chapter One: Introduction
- Chapter Two: First-Generation Students at Selective Colleges
- Chapter Three: Play Hard
- Chapter Four: Work Hard
- Chapter Five: Multisphere
- Chapter Six: Disconnected
- Chapter Seven: Connecting to Post-College Life and Locating Success
- Chapter Eight: Conclusion
- Appendix A
- Appendix B
- References
About the author
Janel E. Benson is Associate Professor of Sociology at Colgate University. Her research investigates sources of risk and resiliency in the transition from early adolescence to young adulthood to understand how contexts of development in early life shape identity, health, and social mobility. As a first-generation student, she is dedicated to mentoring other students who are first in their families to attend college through the A Better Chance program in Fayetteville-Manlius.
Elizabeth M. Lee is Assistant Professor of Sociology at Saint Joseph's University. Her research examines class inequality, primarily within higher education settings. Much of her research focuses on how low-income, first-generation, and/or working-class (LIFGWC) college students at selective campuses manage class inequality among their peers through day to day interactions and relationships. Other work focuses on faculty members from LIFGWC backgrounds and on how students interact with their campus structures.
Summary
Uncovering the complex ways that first-generation students sort themselves and are sorted into very different college worlds, Benson and Lee show that these experiences are deeply shaped by organizational practices and vary by class, race, and gender with both immediate and long-term implications for climbing the socioeconomic ladder.
Additional text
... this thoroughgoing analysis should be of considerable value to college counseling personnel hoping to better serve their resident students and promote more enhanced adjustments at their colleges.
