<p> With a considerable focus to increase America’s degree completion rates amongst our diverse population, higher education policymakers and researchers have examined the college access, persistence, and completion rates of first-generation students. However, minimal research has addressed the heterogeneous student population through a gendered or intersectional lens. To provide nuance to first-generation scholarship and identity development, the dissertation employed a narrative inquiry approach to examine the meanings five first-generation women made as they understood their intersecting identities within unique institutional contexts. Findings from the study are the following: the women defined themselves as individuals with multiple identities and not solely on their first-generation status; the saliency with which individuals associated with a first-generation identity varied; an initial identity conflict regarding first-generation status catapulted the women’s understanding of other social dimensions and allowed them to transition from processing each identity in isolation to an intersectional conception of self; identity development was an evolving process with the saliency of social dimensions fluctuating based on temporal and situational contexts; and some women were not adequately challenged to reflect on their gender identity. The conclusions from the study will add to the knowledge base not only on first-generation students, but undergraduate women’s <i>advantaged</i> experiences, and identity intersectionality within higher education.</p><p>
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:PROQUEST/oai:pqdtoai.proquest.com:10600980 |
| Date | 25 October 2017 |
| Creators | Kouzoukas, Georgia |
| Publisher | University of Pennsylvania |
| Source Sets | ProQuest.com |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | thesis |
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