When they enter institutions of higher education, students typically leave behind one culture to join another. Despite the higher rates of attrition for first-generation students over continuing-generation students and undecided students over declared students, little research has been focused on undeclared first-generation students. To understand…

Educational research indicates that teachers revealing and utilizing students' prior knowledge supports students' academic learning. Yet, the variation in students' prior knowledge is not fully known. To better understand students' prior knowledge, I drew on sociocultural learning theories to examine racially and ethnically diverse college…

The purpose of this qualitative case study is to describe the relationships between first-generation college students and faculty through their own experiences at this rural private four-year institution. It is well documented that positive outcomes are linked with faculty-student interaction which include grade point average (Anaya and Cole…

Many minority, first-generation, and low-income students aspire to college; however, the college application process can present a significant obstacle. These students cannot always rely on their parents for college information and must instead turn to their high schools, where counselors are in a key position. Drawing on a two-year field study at…

The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to describe how culture, disability, and prospective first-generation college student status influenced the transition decisions of five native Hawaiian students with specific learning disabilities who attended a Hawaiian-focused charter school. Students had strong ties to their history and…