Successes and Challenges of College Readiness Curriculum for First-Generation Students

A raising issue in education is the prevalence of first-generation college students and their ability to succeed in institutional spaces. First-generation college students are defined as the first individual in their immediate family to go to college and complete a BA degree. First-generation students differ from continuing generation students in that continuing generation students have a parent that has attended a 4-year institution and completed a BA degree. The difference in rather or not a student is the first to graduate from college is a significant predictor of their success and can present many additional barriers. These barriers include access to college, cultural knowledge about college, academic preparedness, social preparedness, degree attainment, well-being in college, and more. Due to these differences, first-generation college students require additional support before and throughout their college careers that are not widely available. Many studies have explored this topic and identified specific factors that affect first-generation students and student needs. There has also been research evaluating various college readiness programs that has proved successful in supporting first-generation students, yet there are very few college readiness programs available to students and very few studies outline how and why these programs are significant. This presentation will focus on the challenges and success of integrating college readiness curriculum by addressing the following question through a mixed-methods design: What are the challenges and successes related to designing and teaching college readiness curriculum for first-generation middle and high school students?