The significance of being first: A consideration of cultural capital in relation to “first in family” student’s choices of university and program. A Practice Report

Ann Luzeckyj,Russell Brinkworth,Sheila Scutter,Sharron King

doi:10.5204/intjfyhe.v2i2.89

Abstract

This presentation explored the differences between expectations of first in family students and students who have immediate family members (parents, care givers, or siblings) who have attended university before them. The authors draw on Bourdieu’s notion of cultural capital to examine how being first in family influences student expectations. Data from a large survey of over 3,000 first year students conducted in 2010 across the three South Australian universities is used to explore the demographic make-up of first in family students, and the choices they make as to what type of university and program they enroll in. Based on qualitative and quantitative data, the authors compare choices of first in family students with those made by non-first in family students. Determining these differences provides opportunities for staff at universities to consider how they may better support students who have the ability, drive and determination to succeed at university but lack the cultural capital and may therefore be thwarted by unforeseen hurdles. Please cite this practice report as: Luzeckyj, A., King, S., Scutter, S., & Brinkworth, R. (2011). The significance of being first: A consideration of cultural capital in relation to “first in family” student’s choices of university and program. A Practice Report. The International Journal of the First Year in Higher Education, 2(2), 91-96. doi: 10.5204/intjfyhe.v2i2.89 This practice report has been accepted for publication in Int J FYHE. Please see the Editorial Policies under the ‘About’ section of the Journal website for further information. © Copyright of practice reports is retained by authors. As an open access journal, articles are free to use, with proper attribution, in educational and other non-commercial settings. ISSN: 1838-2959

Highlights

We are defining first in family students as those students who are the first member of their immediate family to attend university, which means their siblings, parents or primary care-givers have not participated in any form of university education
We explore whether students are more likely to attend a university that acknowledges and recognises their cultural capital
The Institutional Student Equity Performance Data 2007 (DEEWR, 2007) indicates that in 2007, statistics related to access and participation of low socio-economic status (SES) students—a measure which, we suggest, links to first in family access to university—was lower than the sector average for all Go8 and all Australian Technology Network (ATN) universities except University of South Australia (UniSA) yet was higher than the national average at all Innovative Research Universities (IRU) universities except Griffith University

Summary

Introduction

We are defining first in family students as those students who are the first member of their immediate family to attend university, which means their siblings, parents or primary care-givers have not participated in any form of university education. Palmer, Luzeckyj, Burke da Silva, and Brinkworth (2011) provide a general overview of the student expectations material collected for this study, while this presentation focuses on data relating to the choice of

Results

Conclusion