Paying back student loans is a challenge for many Canadians. Seven female students who belong to the category of the first generation group shared their experience of student loan-debt. Since the amount of financial support is limited or unavailable, student loans are an option for those families who cannot provide financial support for their children to participate in higher education. This thesis deploys the experience of first generation women student loan borrowers as a part of the growing role of finances in higher education. It examines their stories of negotiation and challenges from the perspective of feminist social enquiry. Participants shared their present situation, future planning, and overall experience of taking student loans. Above all, this study attempts to explore those aspects of life of first generation females which are affected through the process of repaying student loans.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Ohio University, June, 2007. / Title from PDF t.p. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Ohio University, November, 2007. / Release of full electronic text on OhioLINK has been delayed until November 30, 2009. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 118-126)

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Ohio University, November, 2007. / Title from PDF t.p. Release of full electronic text on OhioLINK has been delayed until November 30, 2009. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 118-126)

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of North Carolina at Greensboro, 2005. / Title from PDF title page screen. Includes bibliographical references (p. 165-179)

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2007. / Title from first page of PDF file. Includes bibliographical references (p. 121-126).

This study explored whether the effects of student-faculty interaction on various outcomes - degree aspiration, college GPA, satisfaction with faculty contact, and satisfaction with the college experience - vary by student gender, ethnicity, social class, and first-generation status. The study used data on 95,537 students attending nine colleges who took the 2011 administration of the Student Experience in the Research University (SERU) survey. The findings revealed differences in the frequency of student-faculty interaction by social class and ethnicity, differences in the level of satisfaction with advising and access to faculty by social class, and positive relations between degree aspiration and specific interaction behaviors. The findings provide implications for educators, administrators, and others charged with maximizing the benefits of student-faculty interactions for all students to positively affect college persistence and retention.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Counseling and Educational Psychology / Fred O. Bradley / Statistics published in 2003 indicate that over 67% of community college students are first-generation students, students from families where neither parent has graduated from college. First-generation students are disproportionately represented among those who terminate college prior to graduation. This study explores role theory as a model for understanding and addressing the problems of first-generation students. Survey questions linked to role commitment involving intentions to work, commute and participate in campus activities were administered to 257 first-time full-time students: 182 students were first-generation and 75 were non-first-generation. Analysis using the Mann-Whitney U Test indicated first-generation students had significantly less commitment to the role of student. Later, first-generation students were divided into "successful" and "unsuccessful" groups based on their two semester grade point average. The Mann-Whitney U Test failed to demonstrate a significant difference between "successful" and "unsuccessful" first-generation students. The ordinal score responses of first-generation students to the three survey questions were then used as categories and grade point averages of the students in those categories were compared using ANOVA procedures. The results were mixed but suggested further investigation was warranted. The study was concluded with interviews of ten "successful" first-generation students. The interview results were supportive of conclusions drawn from role theory underscoring the value of further studies with larger sample sizes and modifications in methodology suggested by this study.

Purpose: The purpose of this research is to identify and describe the impact of the support system on the career development of first generation college graduates. Research Questions: --What comprises the first generation college graduates' support system for each generation (i.e. social network, friends, family and colleagues and mentors)? --What is the relative importance/influence of each support system component in career development for each generation? Design/Methodology/Approach: There were a total of 21 in-depth interviews with equal number of participants for all three generations (Baby Boomers, X and Y). The interviews were recorded, transcribed and then coded. Further, there are cross case and within case analyses. Research Limitations: No participants were born outside of the range of 1946 to 1990. While women were equally represented during the purposeful sample selection, the research did not delve into gender differences study.

This dissertation was undertaken to answer the following research question: What is the relationship between parental involvement and college generation status with the persistence of Hispanic Millennial college students? Social capital theory (Coleman, 1988) was used as a theoretical framework to analyze and gain a greater understanding of the factors that correlated with the persistence of first-generation Hispanic Millennial college students. This dissertation used an ex post facto with hypothesis research design. The research hypothesis was that parental involvement would be positively related with the second-year persistence of first-generation Hispanic Millennial college students. This dissertation used the data collected from 1179 Hispanic students who participated in the ELS: 2002 and enrolled in college. Logistic regression analysis of data from 972 of the students with completed surveys were used to examine the relationship between the dependent variable, which was student persistence to the second year, and the following independent variables: socio-economic status, family income, high school grade point average, gender, financial aid, highest degree ever expected, academic engagement, social engagement, college generation, and parental involvement. This dissertation’s findings show that parental involvement was not statistically associated with persistence to the second year of college, but that high school grade point average, highest degree expected, academic engagement, and the interaction between parental involvement and college generation were. While the findings do not support the hypothesis, they provide some evidence that may be supportive of the argument that recommendations that may affect degree expectations, high school GPA, and academic engagement of first generation Hispanic Millennial college students may be positively related to their college persistence.