“Through Their Fingers Like Water”: How Community College Students View Family as Sources of Financial Education

Abstract

ABSTRACT As community college students often come from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, report greater financial challenges, and experience higher cohort default rates on student loans compared to peers attending four-year institutions, it is important to understand how community college students develop a sense of financial wellness. Moreover, research has also found that community college students, many of them students of Color, rely heavily on family to persist toward graduation. As a result, this study analyzes qualitative data from 14 community college students who reported on whether they viewed their family as financial education resources and what specific lessons they learned from their family to improve their financial wellness. Results suggest many community college students may not have family with extensive experience in and knowledge of financial sectors (e.g., banking, finance, investment) and education concepts (e.g., savings accounts, building credit, budgeting), and therefore, have little financial education to impart. In addition, many community college students’ financial education was limited to knowledge of saving, with students rarely reporting their family imparting any education about many other finance concepts. Finally, community college students witnessed reverse role modeling when it came to money management from their parents, often teaching these students what not to do with their finances. Implications for community college research, policy, and practice are addressed.