This study analyzes the relationship between motivation for civic engagement, migration experience, and identity, in first generation migrants. It draws upon the idea that civic engagement is beneficial for democratic societies in general, and that it can also be a source of great support for migrants in the process of integration into a new environment. So far, very little attention has been paid to the civic engagement of migrants in the Czech Republic, especially from the point of view of migrants themselves. This qualitative study aims towards a better understanding of the connections between migration and civic engagement. Personal histories of civic engagement of active migrants are analyzed, with an emphasis placed on the roles migration experience and ethnic/national identity shifts play in the process of civic engagement.

Retention has been a focus of universities and policy makers for decades. However, there is a gap in research of Pell-eligible and first-generation student retention and completion. Researchers have indicated that peers can influence retention of other students. Using the theories of Astin (1993) and Tinto (1993) as the framework, this study explored near-peer coaching effects on retention of Pell-eligible and first-generation students. The study focused on the College Possible Catalyze program which trains near-peer coaches for partnering institutions. near-peer coaches were assigned 120 first-time full-time Pell-eligible or first-generation students at two partnering institutions. The study compared the retention of students being coached and retention of students in the same categories not coached. A series of statistical analyses were conducted including chi-square, t-tests, and logistical regression in order to test for associations of retention of students with and without a coach, associations of GPA of students with and without a coach, and if there is a predictive association controlling for coach, Pell-eligible, and first-generation indicators. All analyses indicated a strong significance between coaching and both spring and fall retention in all groups. Students who were coached were retained at significantly higher rates than students without a coach. There was a positive significant association in GPA and coaching for both groups. Results indicated there were strong predictive association in retention controlling for Pell-eligible and first-generation factors. The results provide clarity on programming that can directly affect first-year retention in the Pell-eligible and first-generation populations.

There is little diversity among earned doctorates in the United States. First-generation college students are especially at-risk for not matriculating to a doctoral degree. This applied dissertation provided an understanding of the obstacles faced by first-generation college students in doctoral programs by studying alumni of the McNair Scholars Program. The study examined the components of the McNair Scholars Program that can help ameliorate obstacles faced by first-generation college students as they enroll and persist into graduate school. This study utilized a sequential exploratory mixed methods approach to evaluate the components of the McNair Scholars Program that prepared students for successful persistence into graduate school and subsequent completion of an earned doctorate.

College preparation for low-income, urban, minority students is the subject of this ethnographic case study. Previous research indicates that for these students the notion that college is the next step after high school graduation may be considered unrealistic, especially if parents or other family members lack postsecondary education experiences. This was a qualitative case study of one comprehensive urban high school located in a predominantly middle to upper class White neighborhood. People residing in this neighborhood were older and the majority no longer had children of high school age. Therefore, over half the student body (70%) were African-American teenagers bused from surrounding low-income, urban areas. The purpose of the study was to look for evidence of indicators believed necessary to create and foster a college-going culture in a low-income, urban, public high school. The findings suggested that students from lower socioeconomic groups, those with high aspirations, and even those who qualify for college acceptance, often lack the information and support necessary to negotiate the postsecondary application and enrollment processes. Adopting a college-going mission is as much a mentality as it is an objective, and requires active awareness and participation by all stakeholders including students, families, schools, and the community.

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This study has examined if there is a correlation between Offline Social Network and voting participation in the European Parliamentary elections. The study has been done through a qualitative method, doing five different deep interviews. The selection has been based upon the group of first generation immigrants coming from a non-EU European country. The study has showed indications that level of education, participation in associations and participation in social activities are affecting the Offline Social Network of a person. The different Offline Social Networks have shown upon different attitudes towards voting politically. It also showed upon different levels of knowledge about the European Union politics and the elections to the European Parliament. The study showed that the number of Offline Social Networks might not be what affects whether the respondents are voting or not, it shows to be rather connected to what kind of social networks. This have been connected to the field-theory of Bourdieu, which claims that a person´s habitus is affected by the volume of for example cultural and social capital which also seems to have an effect on what Offline Social Network that the individual is connected to. The way that a person appears in the social room is affected by the volume of capital and how the social room is letting the individual appear. This shows to affect whether someone votes or not.

According to Kerlin (1995a), first-generation students are not expected to survive to doctorate degree attainment because of vulnerability to negative affects associated with their status; yet persist they do at East Tennessee State University. The desire to study the first-generation East Tennessee State University's Doctors of Education and the limited number of first-generation graduate studies available, especially in the academic field of education, promoted developing this study. It was the intent of this study to offer additional empirical research toward understanding variables associated with first-generation persistence as encountered by East Tennessee State University's Doctors of education. Quantitative analysis derived through survey research served as an explanatory framework to investigate major variables of first-generation persistence. The survey targeted East Tennessee State University's Doctors of Education who received degrees prior to June 2004. Investigation of empirical evidence revealed that unlike previous first-generation studies (Hayes, 1997; Hurley, 2002; Inman and Mayes, 1999; Khanh, 2002; NCES, 1998; Terenzini, Springer, Yaeger, Pascarella, and Nora, 1996) the bulk (73.7%) of East Tennessee State University Doctors of Education were first-generation. Moreover, although previous studies suggested the presence of unique barriers attributed to first-generation status, no significant differences resulted in either identification or ranking of barriers or facilitators to degree attainment between first-generation East Tennessee State University's Doctors of Education and their non-first-generation counterparts. The Survey of ETSU Doctors of Education requested respondents prioritize identified barriers and facilitators. After plotting significant bivariate coordinate pairs among ranked barriers and facilitators, flat line (zero sloped) clusters depicted the presence of six weak monotone associations among variables. Facilitator rankings were associated with a respondent's age, parental college attendance, and education specialist degree, while barrier rankings were associated with a respondent's marital status at the time of degree attainment, secondary support source, and post doctorate employment.

The purpose of the current study was to investigate the relationship between first-generation college students' (FGCSs) help-seeking attitudes, as measured by the Attitudes Towards Seeking Professional Psychological Help – Short Form (Fischer & Farina, 1995); public stigma, as measured by the Perceptions of Stigmatization by Others for Seeking Psychological Help (Vogel, Wade, & Ascheman, 2009); personal stigma, as measured by the Self-Stigma of Seeking Help Scale Working (Vogel, Wade, & Haake, 2006); social support, as measured by the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (Dahlem, Zimet, & Walker, 1991); and perceived discrimination, as measured by the revised Everyday Discrimination Scale (Stucky et al., 2011). The researcher further investigated mediating effects of public and personal stigma in the relationships among the constructs. The researcher found statistically significant relationships among the variables for FGCSs and mediating effects of personal and public stigma. Specifically, public stigma mediated the relationship between perceived discrimination and personal stigma and the indirect effect of perceived discrimination on personal stigma via public stigma was statistically significant (ß = .070, p = .030). Personal stigma also fully mediated the relationship between public stigma and help-seeking attitudes and the indirect effect of public stigma on help-seeking attitudes via personal stigma was statistically significant (ß = -.231, p < .001). Public stigma partially mediated the relationship between social support and personal stigma and the indirect effect of social support on personal stigma via public stigma (ß = -.089, p = .010) was statistically significant. In addition, both public and personal stigma partially mediated the relationship between social support and help-seeking attitudes. The indirect effect of social support on help-seeking attitudes via both public and personal stigma was statistically significant (ß = .062, p = .015). The researcher presented discussion of results, limitations of the study, and implications of the findings.

For decades colleges and universities have been perplexed by the problem of retaining students within systems of higher education. With the advent of more diverse student populations and the increasing demands for more innovative pedagogical approaches, many universities have implemented learning community programs. To study how learning communities impact first generation college students, this study was undertaken to formulate a better understanding of student retention, peer learning, and faculty engagement. This was accomplished by drawing upon both qualitative and quantitative research methods to explore the data concurrently to derive a comprehensive picture of the phenomena under scope. Using a grounded theory approach for the qualitative data analysis, 24 interviews were conducted, an exhaustive document review transpired, and the researcher engaged in 32 hours of observation for a 16-week period. From this analysis, four primary themes emerged: psychosocial integration, intellectual integration, familial integration, and ecological integration. In addition, stages of peer learning were developed from the observations of the students in the learning community setting, as well as positions of faculty engagement in the learning communities program. From the grounded theory analysis, a socialization model was built to explain first year student retention. The study also employed a logistic regression analysis in the quantitative component of the research investigation, to determine how well the following variables could predict first year student retention: high school grade point average (GPA), first semester GPA, first year academic standing, gender, ethnicity, admission status, major decidedness, ESL status, and the number of developmental courses needed upon enrollment in college. A total of 900 archival student records were examined using a forward logistic regression and a 3-predictor model of student retention was yielded with a classification accuracy of 80.1%. The three significant variables in the model included: first semester GPA, first year academic standing, and ethnicity. When this model was applied to a cross validation sample (n = 685), the classification accuracy was found to be 82.0%. Overall, the findings generated from this study help to shed light on factors that might be predictive of student retention among first generation college students in a learning communities program.