First-in-Family Web Resource
The First-in-Family website is designed to support and inform current and intending university students who are the first in their immediate family to go to university, as well as their families and all of those who work within the higher education sector.
This open resource has been informed by research with a diverse cross-section of First-in-Family students and their families. The project was developed as part of an Australian Government Office for Learning and Teaching (OLT) Seed Grant and National Teaching Fellowship.
More information from the project team:
About the Research
We interviewed and surveyed two main groups: current First-in-Family students, and their families. The students ranged in age from teenagers to people in their sixties. They were studying in a range of different ways—online, on-campus, distance, full-time and part-time—and were at different stages of their university journey, including some who were in an enabling program and just about to commence a university degree.
As well as the students, we also wanted to include the “voices” of family members, most of whom play such significant roles in the student’s academic journey. So we also interviewed and surveyed a range of family members including parents, siblings, children, partners, grandparents and aunts/uncles. Their reflections focus on what it is like to witness a family member move into university and the impact this transition has on both the students and others close to them.
Aims
Our main aims in the research were to explore how universities can support First-in-Family students more effectively — by removing, or at least reducing, institutional barriers and by helping students to overcome other personal barriers that they encounter in their quest for higher education. We also wanted to explore ways in which universities can respond more effectively to student diversity and how they can connect with families and community of First-in-Family students. However, when we talked with the students, a number asked how their stories would directly provide other students with guidance as they navigated their way through university, and so the idea for this website was born!
About the Resources
We wanted this website to be authentic and so the content is based upon the stories told to us in interviews and via surveys. As you navigate through the pages, you will see that we have included resources designed for a range of audiences from the young children and teenagers of parents who are learners, through to the students themselves, and of course the university staff involved in teaching and supporting learners. Our study participants provided tips and strategies that helped them to succeed and so we have condensed these into the “Top Five Study Hints” as well as advice about “What I wish I had known before starting!” We have compiled a range of student stories as we believe that reading about someone else’s journey can help you better understand the path others have taken as well as your own. The family members who participated provided great insight into how families can not only support learners but also survive!
For practitioners, we have included an overview of key considerations when teaching and supporting First-in-Family students, recognising that modes of delivery and also contextual factors can impact how best to approach this support.
Visit the First-in-Family website for more information and to access the full suite of resources.