Marginalization of First-Generation College Students

Abstract

Almost half of the students beginning postsecondary education in today’s colleges and universities hold first-generation status (Choy, 2001). Despite first-generation students being more likely to hold underrepresented identities that often intersect across race and social class, the cultural experiences encountered by this student population as a whole have not been quantitatively explored. The current study surveyed 257 undergraduate college students across 30 different states to investigate feelings of marginalization according to Berry’s acculturation model (1980) in first-generation college students (FGCS). The General Belongingness Scale (GBS; Langhout et al., 2007) was used to assess belongingness in regards to the family environment and the college environment. Independent t-tests and regression models were used to explore generation status differences and predictors of marginalization. FGCS reported significantly less belongingness with their family and college environments suggesting that they are in fact more likely to experience marginalization in the higher education setting than continuing-generation college students (CGCS). Despite these differences, results also suggest that generation status is not independently sufficient in predicting feelings of marginalization in college students. Across all college students, experiences with citational classism and having lower perceived access to resources were able to predict less belongingness with college friends and peers while lower parental household income was able to predict less belongingness with family and friends from home that did not go on to attend college. Generation status does seem to play a unique role in predicting family belongingness as it interacts with student experiences with citational classism (jokes and comments that belittle or mock those with lower social class identities). These findings come together to form the basis for understanding what predicts feelings of marginalization in higher education.