First-generation Learners Research Articles

While stairing up: perceiving shades of academic motivation of high school first-generation learners and desired academic outcomes

What motivates a first-generation learner to go to school? The question haunts a social scientist when exploring dimensions of academic motivation of the first-generation Learners in rural and remote context. Learners from the low Socio-Economic Status are ‘at risk’ of academic motivation, cohere with specific psychological behaviours leading to academic failure. Gathering quantitative and qualitative data, the study opts to capture dimensions of motivational constructs of first-generation Learners. The study adopts explanatory sequential research design that entails triangulating quantitative statistical results with qualitative findings to validate the outcome of the study. The student participants were 1554 selected through stratified random sampling using gender, social affiliation and grade as criteria for getting hierarchy. The findings include steady decline of academic motivation of Learners in the secondary level of school education under the lens of socio-economic context, home environment and school and neighborhood quality perceiving academic, and psychological hardships as the outcome.

Breaking Math Anxiety: A Success Story From an Indian Government School

Mathematics anxiety and fear among children pose significant educational challenges worldwide. This study examines the efficacy of a hybrid learning approach that combines digital game-based learning with hands-on activities to enhance mathematics engagement, reduce anxiety, and improve numeracy skills while fostering algebraic and mathematical thinking. The research was conducted at Government School, Ramagondanahalli, Bengaluru (RGHL), involving over 400 children aged 6-10 years from grades 1-5. Participants were primarily first-generation learners from economically disadvantaged backgrounds with limited access to educational resources. The intervention comprised weekly 70-minute sessions over six months, featuring the digital game "Magic Math Spell Caster" alongside modified traditional board games such as Snakes & Ladders, Bingo with Place Value Cards, and a custom Memory Card Game. The curriculum also incorporated activity worksheets with math manipulatives and practice sheets. The didactical approach underpinning the intervention was based on six key principles: Treating mathematics as a language to be spoken, promoting algebraic thinking; Structuring games into levels with well-defined learning objectives to scaffold mathematical thinking; Connecting concrete and abstract concepts to deepen understanding; Employing a hands-on approach to reinforce learning; Providing resources to every child to ensure equal access; Integrating assessments as digital interactive worksheets within gameplay. This approach allowed children to explore, make connections, and construct knowledge independently, fostering both algebraic and broader mathematical thinking skills. The program encouraged peer-to-peer learning by grouping children with different math proficiencies. Students progressed through game levels at their own pace, often exceeding curriculum expectations. This study contributes to the growing body of evidence supporting hybrid learning approaches in mathematics education for all children, emphasizing the development of robust mathematical and algebraic thinking skills.

Aspirations for Higher Education among Mahadalit Students and Strategies for Overcoming Urban Marginalities in India

This paper seeks to understand the aspirations of first-generation learners for higher education and overcoming urban marginalisation in Indian higher education. It also aims to understand how students from the most disadvantaged social group, mahadalit, overcome their marginalities in accessing and obtaining higher education. Access and equity in higher education have been important goals for Indian policymakers and planners. The study, which is qualitative in nature and uses the ethnography method, provides a deep and nuanced understanding of the aspirations for higher education and Strategies for Overcoming Urban Marginalities among the mahadalit students in Bihar, India. Various educational and equalising programs focusing on disadvantaged groups have created aspirations among first-generation and marginalised learners like Mahadalit students. These mahadalit students are also from non-urban backgrounds and come to cities for higher education. In pursuing higher education, these students face social and economic marginality in their villages, schooling, and urban marginality. They use their social networks to find space at the transformative Dr B. R. Ambedkar hostel, which helps them sustain their higher education in the city. The Dr B. R. Ambedkar hostel becomes the site of educational and career aspirations for the mahadalit students in Bihar, India.

Overcoming the learning disadvantage for the first-generation learners: evidence from rural India

Overcoming the learning disadvantage for the first-generation learners: evidence from rural India

Studying the impact of government's employability enhancement drive <i>Finishing School</i> on tribal students of a college in the South Gujarat region in India

<abstract> <p>We described an exploration of the impact of India's state Gujarat Government's Employability enhancement drive, 'Finishing School' (FS) training on the graduate level tribal college students in Gujarat, India. A literature review on employment skills (ES), vision, mission, and ES set module of FS was used to formulate the tool–Employability Enhancement Measuring Scale (EEMS). Data generation methods include pre and post-tests by EEMS survey questionnaire. SPSS 24 statistical package program was used for data analysis. The values before and after the training were compared using the Paired and Independent samples t-test and descriptive statistics. Results indicated a significant positive effect on tribal students' employability skills. The tool traced what students became by improving upon the ES sets by the end of the 'FS' training. The study's significance lies in the focus on tribal groups, aligning with the state's long-term vision for holistic growth. With a majority of students from the underprivileged Dang Forest area, the research suggested that FS training promoted inclusive growth, contributing to New India @ 75, and supporting Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 4, 8, 10, and 16. It could be inferred that the experimental group in this study constituted 93% tribal students, many of whom were first-generation learners, making the Gujarat experiment a valuable model for potential adoption in diverse regions globally.</p> </abstract>

Towards an improved involvement of parents in educating girls: a study on Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups in India

ABSTRACT Parental involvement in educating children remains a crucial first step in building an informed citizen. It becomes a routine matter for children to follow the footsteps of educated parents. However, for the first-generation learners, e.g. particularly vulnerable tribal groups (PVTGs), it is an arduous task because they belong to the least developed communities in India, with poverty and illiteracy forming the base of their existence. This paper examines the extent of involvement PVTG parents have in educating their daughters and identifies ways for improvement. Findings based on this original study suggest that the parents realise involvement, but their knowledge of involvement differs from the general population and the Western context. Hence, the study proposes four types of Cs to integrate their involvement: Concern, Communication, Condition, and Cooperation.

The Caste of Campus Habitus: Caste and Gender Encounters of the First-generation Dalit Women Students in Indian Universities

This article critically examines the university academic spaces and the campus culture determined by a particular form of the dominant habitus which is, in effect, actively excluding the first-generation women students belonging to the marginalized sections of Indian society. As this dominant habitus is constantly reproduced on university campuses, with or without contentions, entering the academic spaces of Indian universities for first-generation Dalit women—who are deprived of both cultural and social capital—is invariably becoming a herculean task. Therefore, this article analyses the concealed forms of dominant campus habitus that structurally create a conducive environment for privileged students and a rigid glass ceiling for first-generation Dalit women students in their journey toward higher education. Notwithstanding the limitations associated with their social status of being first-generation learners, the formations of alternative cultural capital and resilience of the Dalit women students have been analysed from a feminist perspective, proving that one could overcome these social challenges through the acquired cultural capital. The analytical concepts and theoretical frameworks of this article have been developed based on empirical/ethnographic data collected from women research scholars at a prominent university in South India. The narratives were collected in the academic year 2020–2021 through in-depth interviews and focused group discussions.

An Exploratory Study on the Difficulties Faced by First-Generation Learners in Writing Skills

Language is a complex process, especially its written mode. To write better, one must be well acquainted with vocabulary and contextual expressions. The difficulties faced by the first generation learners of English in India are numerous because exposure is a bigger issue. The remedies for their difficulties are elaborately discussed in this paper. The aim is to throw light on the obstacles of the first generation learners at the tertiary level who had studied English as the second language or as a medium of instruction at the school level. Eighty such participants were selected using random sampling technique and a semi￾structured interview was conducted. A mixed-method approach was used and a questionnaire was administered. The present study identifies difficulties in writing skills faced by first generation learners. And also, this paper focuses on the impact of difficulties in writing skills on them. Additionally, remedial measures to enhance writing skills are also discussed.

STUDY OF THE INSTITUTIONAL ENVIRONMENT: A CASE OF ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AT ELEMENTARY LEVEL IN THE SCHOOLS OF NCT OF DELHI

Over the past two decade since the beginning of the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) programme in india, there has been a significant increase in the number of schools and in the enrolment of children in Government schools, most notably a large proportion of children from amongst Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Muslims and Girls have joined the schooling system. Most of these children are also first-generation learners. In this regard SCERT Delhi conducted an achievement survey for classes II, V and VIII and gathered the information about the academic environment pertaining to school, teachers and students. This study reflected the background of the students such as locality, parents education, community and the same was followed of the teachers and schools. Majority of the sampled schools (71%) were managed by Municipal Corporation. More than 80% schools were located in urban areas and about half of the schools were Co-Educational, while 22% and 28% schools were Boys and Girls schools respectively. About 96% of schools responded that they have the provision to monitor classroom teaching regularly and 92% of the schools were monitored by the Head of the school. Fathers of 2% students and 0.6% mothers were in the academic field. In the surveyed schools, 28% were male and 72% were female teachers. Majority of teachers (54%) had attended in-service training programmes. In more than ninety percent of the sampled schools Maps, Charts, Globe, Mathematics kit and Library were available. About 90% and 98% of the schools annual medical check-up facility and first aid facilities were available Nearly 70% students reported that their homework was checked regularly. This document has helped education planners as a reference research document to improve the education administration and planning systems in the state.

Education as the Medium of Upward Mobility: The Case of Dooms of Jammu

The current study explores the multifaceted and entwined structure of constraints and spaces of the possibilities of moving ahead among the Dooms of Jammu, India, where the possibilities of upward mobility through education as a means have been observed. Interviews and detailed case study were done with eight cases. Four overlapping super-ordinate themes developed during the course of study: (a) challenges of different generation learners, (b) lack of different forms of capital, (c) dis-identification from own and emulating others and (d) mushrooming of hybrid and mimic generation. The participants experienced the very process of change and continuity through education in their lives. It is observed that education helped in converting the morphology of their existing structure. Each of the interviewee has some exclusive experiences to share, offering significant insights into their lives, struggles and their conditions. The results indicate that the first-generation learners have to face many obstacles. The study concludes that education gives better results under certain circumstances. The chances of low caste children performing better are higher if the educational institutions run with mixed batches with students belonging to all the sections of the society.

An Exploration on Evolution in the Teaching and Learning System

When the whole world is going through a pandemic, a global shift in the teaching-learning system has become a necessary measure. The physical classroom lectures are replaced by the virtual classroom lectures with the help of technology and resources. But was this shift really required? How will this change affect the lives of the students and the teachers? Is it beneficial for the learners or one should resist the technological changes? Researchers and analysts opines this global pandemic as an opportunity for the students to learn new and extra skills which would give their careers a thrust start, yet some analysts believe that this new and advanced pedagogy is robbing the students off of their moral and ethical conduct. Online education is both a boon and a bane, where it is proved to be advantageous it also carries along with it its own disadvantages. For students suffering from poverty, it is a great opportunity as it cuts the costs and time of travel and the fees for the courses. It is comparatively less as compared to the offline courses but while it is beneficial for these students we must also consider the fact that some of these learners might be the first-generation learners and might not have the same resources or opportunities or knowledge as others. If efficiently used online education can prove to be very beneficial, a student has to be determined, motivated and dedicated when it comes to attending classes which are not supervised. This paper intends to explore the role of ICT’s in the teaching-learning system and its impact on the skills, patience, determination level and working ability in an individual.

Colonial design, postcolonial facade

The expansion in the 1990s of policies to reserve seats for students from historically disadvantaged castes opened up Indian universities to many first-generation learners from underprivileged back...

The Role of Translation activities as a Teaching Strategy in English Language Teaching for Rural Students

The human race on the globe lined with the letters and sounds of English. The English language has been proved as significant for a long time now. In this computerized era language is a nightmare to first-generation learners because it is costly in the market where they cannot afford to own. So, this paper is going to address the importance of the Translation and Translation Activities in language classrooms to teach first-generation learners and justify why the Translation method is suitable to rural background students to learn LSRW skills. It also explains how these learners are going to improve vocabulary, writing, and speaking styles, filling vocabulary gaps in L1 and L2, understanding concepts and word recall and retention.

Outsmarting your parents: Being a first‐generation learner in developing countries

AbstractWe use data from the Young Lives surveys, in Ethiopia, India, Peru, and Vietnam, to highlight an underappreciated phenomenon—that a substantial proportion of students in developing countries are the first in their families to go to school. We term these students first‐generation learners (FGLs). We both propose a simple “static” definition of FGL status—where a child’s parents have no education attainment—and utilize the panel dynamics of the Young Lives data set to look at a “dynamic” definition—where the child, in any given round of data collection, is enrolled at a level which his or her parents did not reach. We show descriptive statistics on the scale of this problem across the four countries. We find strong, consistent patterns of relative educational deprivation for FGLs. We tentatively explore the pathways through which FGL status may affect outcomes and find possible explanations through an inability to support with homework and lower aspirations. We look at how becoming an FGL affects the probability of being in school using child fixed‐effects estimations and find it increases the vulnerability of children to drop out.

Challenges for social work education in China: findings from three metropolises

ABSTRACT Social work education was reintroduced into China in 1988 by the Communist Party of China. Since then, many research studies have been initiated both in Chinese and English aimed at understanding the development of social work education and practice in Mainland China. However, a growing body of literature has not focused much on the students’ perspective and the challenges they face in social work education in contemporary China. In order to contribute to addressing this gap, the present study reports on qualitative interviews with a group of social work postgraduate (n = 33) students from five schools of social work covering Shandong, Shanghai and Beijing provinces in the country. The study finds that there are four major challenges for social work education in China: (i) the use of Western concepts in the Chinese context; (ii) a journey from the unknown to the known; (iii) first-generation learners; and (iv) the lack of professional identity.

Transition to HE and Equitable Learning Outcomes: Challenges for Indian Higher Education

Indian higher education (HE) system has undergone rapid expansion over the last two decades, emerging as one of the largest HE systems in the world. Expansion is accompanied by the challenge of ensuring comparable quality education across a diverse institutional spectrum. Simultaneously, academic reforms in the sphere of general HE have been pursued in recent years to align HE with global quality assurance frameworks. This creates an intrinsic pull in the system where international benchmarks juxtapose against demands made on HE institutions (HEIs) to meet the needs of and support first-generation learners coming from disadvantaged backgrounds to enable them to transition successfully to academic cultures of colleges. This article addresses the challenge for equity and institutional challenge to find ways to engender the pedagogical and scaffolding processes accountable to the ‘educational outcomes’ through ensuring attainment of specified graduate attributes.

Tribal Folklore as ELT Material for First-Generation Learners

An important component of any ELT programme is the content. A course-book ensures that the required course content is presented in a uniform format for ready implementation. In most cases where English is taught as the second or foreign language, a course-book is ‘the only point of contact with the language’ for learners. Available research has established that appropriate language content motivates learners to acquire language skills. In the eastern Indian state of Odisha, that has a high tribal population, a government sponsored scheme named Anwesha exists, which aims at providing quality English medium education to underprivileged rural tribal children, in urban public schools. But it is widely observed that these first-generation tribal learners in the English Medium Instruction (EMI) system are being deprived of the desired results. Finding no motivation to study a foreign language with unfamiliar content, and facing unfair competition from city-bred privileged learners, many of them drop out midway. Tribal communities in India have a rich tradition of folklore but it has by and large remained oral and no serious attempts have been made to use it as material for ELT. A pilot-project with ELT material drawn from the local tribal-folklore, aimed at providing familiar course content, was conducted to encourage students to learn better. Improvements in compliance of the assigned classroom tasks were noticed and the familiar content did bring in an element of enthusiasm among the young learners. It is believed that the findings of this study will be helpful in contextualising ELT course content using materials from learners’ own folklore.

Differential Entry of First and Non-first-generation Students in Higher Education with Reference to India

In India, the inequality in education from the perspective of first-generation learners has drawn little attention. So there is an urgent need to pay attention on the issue of how robust is the effect of first generation in causing educational inequality as the first-generation students are typically confronted with the dynamics of caste-based inequality in addition to their deficiency in the cultural and social capital. In this context, the purpose of the present study is to investigate the rationale behind first- and non-first-generation students’ entry into higher education and factors which influence their decision. Methodology of the present study involves a mixed method approach, and data have been collected from the sample of 400 first-year students from Jammu and Kashmir State of India which comprises 200 first- and 200 non-first-generation students. Self-structured questionnaire and semi-structured interviews have been used for data collection. Factor analysis and independent sample t-test have been used for analysis purpose. Findings of study highlight that perceived family influence, relative functionalism, self-efficacy and significant others to be less powerful factors affecting their pursuit of higher education than non-first-generation students.

The Curiosity of Nations: Shakespeare and International Electronic Collaboration

The Curiosity of Nations:Shakespeare and International Electronic Collaboration Sheila T. Cavanagh (bio) The World Shakespeare Project (WSP)—www.worldshakespeareproject.org—co-directed by Sheila T. Cavanagh and Kevin Quarmby of Emory University, is crafting a model for global twenty-first-century higher education through an interconnected series of live, interactive collaborations that cross international, institutional, disciplinary, sociocultural, religious, linguistic, economic, and other disparate academic divides. As the recent Observatory on Borderless Higher Education Report suggests, traditional conceptualizations of tertiary education are rapidly becoming outmoded, but new educational constellations are often problematic: Although branch campuses and partnerships with foreign universities are on the rise, they require a level of investment and risk management that can be intimidating, even for universities with big endowments. But investment in online learning will allow universities to benefit from economies of scale and meet increasing demand from developing countries. (Katsomitros par. 1) [End Page 121] The twenty-first century offers complex financial, technological, and internationalization issues that demand more rapid change than American universities traditionally provide. In response to this need, the WSP is creating, evaluating, and disseminating a multi-faceted educational structure that can be adapted for use globally and across the disciplines. It was recognized in 2012 as the only recipient of Emory University Research Committee's "High Risk/ High Potential Initiative," which was established to promote non-traditional interdisciplinary collaborations, innovative methods, and inquiries regarding emerging areas. It has also received several other internal grants and a US Challenge Grant from the Royal Society of the Arts in order to expand its partnerships with North American Indian Colleges. The WSP links disparate international Shakespearean faculty and students together electronically. The expertise of Emory's Educational Technology staff allows us to establish live communication with institutions lacking comparable facilities. Cavanagh is WSP's founding director, and she has made regular academic visits to India since 2000. Consequently, the WSP has forged numerous connections between Atlanta and communities in India, including, for example, tribal colleges serving first-generation learners in West Bengal and other regions in Eastern India. The WSP also possesses significant links with the United Kingdom, drawing in part from Quarmby's lengthy prior career as a professional actor in London. In addition, the WSP currently works with Université Hassan II and Al Akhawayn University in Morocco, with universities associated with Fundación Shakespeare Argentina, and with Shakespearean faculty and students in Brazil. With the cooperation of the American Indian Higher Education Consortium, it has also expanded its collaborative network to reach American Tribal Colleges, such as Cankdeska Cikana Community College in North Dakota and Saginaw Chippewa Tribal College in Michigan. In addition, we are partnering with Gretchen Minton from Montana State University and Scott Jackson from Shakespeare Notre Dame to investigate the further inclusion of western American Indian students. These tribal connections, along with our growing international community, deepen all WSP collaborative experiences. Our live and electronic guest lecturers as well as our undergraduate research, internship, collaborative, and exchange opportunities enable us to involve an eclectic local and "virtual" group in meaningful ways. Emory's Halle Institute for Global Learning and its Hightower Fund, for example, have generously sponsored residencies with London stage and opera director Stephen Unwin and with Peabody Award-winning documentary maker Steve Rowland. Future residencies, such as the 2013 visits of [End Page 122] Shakespeare in Prison directors Curt Tofteland and Tom Magill, will broaden the diverse scope of WSP classroom endeavors. WSP sessions typically involve live videoconference discussions and performance exercises shared between faculty and students in each location. For some of our partners, Shakespeare holds an important place in the curriculum; for others, these mutual classes primarily promote internationalization efforts or offer opportunities to join broad educational discussions. We aim to create a widely accessible learning environment, which constitutes one of the most challenging, but essential, aspects of our venture. Some of the international and tribal college students are the first in their families to receive a formal education and have had limited travel experiences. Other WSP students live in cosmopolitan regions, such as Kolkata or Casablanca. Most of our international partners encounter English as non-native speakers. Each student population, however, whether at Emory...

Literacy and Reading

Picture books for children presume the prior existence of a set of reading practices and conventions, as well as institutions that promote reading. In the Indian context, however, picture books have to do double duty to meet other needs as well, like enhancing literacy for one, and also satisfying the social and cultural needs of children who are first-generation learners. This article examines the issues at stake for publishers and educators interested in furthering reading and in producing books that render the act of reading by children socially and culturally meaningful.