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This article applies the framework of possible selves to the motivation and persistence behaviours of one group of university students. We draw on possible selves to consider how particular goal-focused actions and life experiences may significantly shape movements towards imagined futures. Utilising a narrative approach from longitudinal data, this article considers the ways in which possible selves were articulated by five first-in-family students, all of whom were mature-aged women returning to formal learning. A series of vignettes enabled us to explore how students themselves conceived of this movement into university, and how hoped-for selves were considered and enacted (or not). The ways in which societal expectations and expected life trajectories impact (re)conceptualisation of 'selves' are discussed, particularly when individuals choose an unexpected or non-normative life course.

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This second edition brings further research and analysis to the broad field of first-in-family (FiF) student experience. In the six years since the first edition, the university sector has continued to attract students from a diversity of backgrounds, but access and participation remain differentiated across student cohorts. This disparity in academic outcomes is not restricted to certain settings. Globally, variations in the rates of access to education and progression are pronounced across student cohorts. For those learners who are the first in their family or community to come to university, these disparities are particularly noted, with distinctions in educational outcomes recorded internationally.

This book explores both the experiences of FiF students and those of their family members and 'significant' others. We know that parental educational background has substantial impact on the educational levels of family and dependents. However, what is unclear is how attending a university as a first-in-family student not only impacts upon the individual, but also family and community. How does transitioning into this environment and enacting a student role or building a student identity translate into the private domain of the household? With the continuing requirements for higher education (HE) institutions to increase the participation of students from a diversity of backgrounds and educational biographies, this is a gap in understanding that needs to be addressed.

Edited excerpts from publication.

The contents are as follows: Part one, 'Surveying the first-in-family student terrain', contains the following chapters: Setting the scene; The lack of what ...?: first-in-family learners and their university experience; Disrupting the deficit: beyond notions of lack for first-in-family students; What am I waiting for? Part two, 'Narrating the first-in-family experience', contains: Trailblazing: motivations and relationship impacts for first-in-family enabling students; The online student experience: new challenges for engagement and support; 'So how was big school today?': family perceptions of HE participation; Parents managing university and family life; Motivated men: first-in-family male students; 'Hey you! you've got this and you ARE smart': motivated women drawing on 'Sisu' to persist and succeed at university; Concluding thoughts. Show less

High numbers of students do not complete higher education and disproportionate numbers are from regional and remote areas. Too often it is the individual who is 'blamed' for this departure and perceived as 'lacking' the necessary knowledges. The project intends to disrupt this deficit discourse by innovatively employing a digital storytelling methodology to investigate the subjective experience of this transition. Digital stories are multimodal, digital text, which utilise a combination of photos, and voice compiled via computer video editing software. These short narrative films are highly personal; they act as avenues for self-expression, allowing individuals to represent their thoughts, memories, opinions or ideas. Following one cohort of regional and remote students as they transition into, and move through, their first year of university studies, the project visually explores the ways in which these students enter higher education and how those around them perceive and support this movement, and defines the repercussions that this educational undertaking has for their community of origin.

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The overarching objective of this Fellowship was to explore risks to university completion for those in regional, rural and remote (RRR) locations of Australia. The problem motivating the Fellowship inquiry was the consistently low rates of university completion for RRR students over the past decade. According to Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data (2021), the proportion of RRR people with a degree qualification remains half that of people in major cities. Thus, the aim of the fellowship was to understand what factors contribute to this persistent disparity, and by taking a strengths-based approach to also capture what enables students to persist. To achieve the main objective of how people from RRR areas themselves perceived and experienced higher education, there were three key questions driving the study: (1) How is movement into and through university articulated by people who are from regional, rural and remote areas? (2) What goals and hoped-for futures are students moving towards? (3) What barriers and enablers to higher education participation are perceived and experienced?

To explore answers to these key questions, a qualitative approach was taken to collect rich data from participants through surveys and interviews. The main participant dataset came from university students from RRR areas enrolled across 21 Australian universities (regional and metropolitan) or regional campuses, complemented with data from staff in various roles from 12 institutions. A number of senior secondary school students who were enrolled in a university outreach program also participated, as well as a small number of school staff. The key findings align with the three questions outlined above.

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Increasing competitiveness in the graduate employment field combined with growing numbers of degree bearing applicants means that gaining employment after completing university studies can be a lengthy and complex undertaking. This is even more the case for students who do not have ready access to the social or family capital often required for successful employment, such as those who are first in their family to attend university. This article reveals hidden tensions within the post-graduation employment market when this is negotiated without the benefit of necessary capitals required to do so successfully. Drawing on interview and survey data from recent first in family graduates and alumni in Australia, the ways in which they negotiated employment was explored. This exposed an alternative perspective on graduate employment that highlights the somewhat 'hidden' inequities and unfair expectations within a hyper competitive job market.

Participants' written and spoken reflections reveal the ways in which the graduate landscape is far from being an 'even playing field'. The perspectives presented contribute to broader understanding about the difficulties of moving towards desired employment goals or social mobility particularly when intangible relational and personal capitals are needed. Such insights are needed to inform both policy and practice globally, particularly as nation states come to terms with the repercussions of the current health crisis.

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In2Uni's Year 12 University Preparation Program (UPP), which commenced in 2014, is an innovative program for students in their HSC year working towards an ATAR. It targets schools in UOW catchment areas, and particularly those identified as being from the 39 low-ICSEA (Index of Community and SocioEducational Advantage) areas. Students must meet eligibility criteria, one being that their academic performance is not currently on the trajectory to meet university entry requirements (In2Uni, My Way, 2016). Once accepted into UPP, students attend on-campus study sessions for two hours per week over a 20-week period from April to September. The general aims of UPP are that students (a) receive tips and advice in their chosen HSC subject from undergraduate mentors who excelled in these subjects areas at HSC level; (b) glean information pertaining to successful HSC study; and (c) are provided with a 'taste' of university life as a transitioning strategy. At the culmination of UPP, students who meet requirements of attendance (80 per cent) and task completion are guaranteed an Early Entry Admissions interview at UOW. From this point however, these students are subject to the same entry requirements as all non-UPP UOW applicants. The success of UPP may be reflected in increased enrolments - from 268 in 2014 to 337 in 2015; however an 18 per cent decrease in Early Admission offers in 2015 confirmed the timeliness of this program evaluation. The evaluation project was commissioned by In2Uni to explore the effectiveness of the program, based on data from key stakeholders: current and past students, parents, and In2Uni mentors. In consultation with UPP program coordinators, the evaluation sought to achieve the objectives of: identifying, describing and explaining the impact of UPP on the student experience; and providing In2Uni with an evidence-based understanding of the impact to enable targeted improvements.

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Online learning has an important place in widening access and participation in higher education for diverse student cohorts. One cohort taking up online study in increasing numbers is that of mature-age, first-in-family students. First-in-family is defined as those who are the first in their immediate family, including parents, siblings, partners and children, to undertake university studies. This paper looks at the experience of 87 first-in-family students, for whom the opportunity to study open-entry, online undergraduate units through Open Universities Australia made it possible for them to embark on a university education.

Using a qualitative methodology, in-depth interviews and surveys were conducted with these students as part of a wider study into first-in-family students (O'Shea, May and Stone, 2015). Findings include the important role that opportunity plays in providing the impetus for study, as well as the importance of support and encouragement from family, friends, colleagues and institutions in being able to continue the journey.

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Success in a complex labour market requires astute planning, preparation and foresight, particularly within the context of the massification of higher education, increasing graduate competitiveness, and a discourse of employability which places the onus of employment on the individual. A cohort experiencing noticeably weaker graduate employment outcomes are students who are the first in their family to attend university, a group often representing a diversity of backgrounds and intersecting equity categories. Drawing on interviews and surveys of near completing Australian first in family (FiF) students, recent graduates and alumni, this article explores how employability was experienced and enacted by participants. Through the application of Pierre Bourdieu's work on capital theory, the article contributes valuable insights into the experience of FiF students' graduate employment seeking, specifically how their existing capitals, including those that are social, cultural and symbolic in nature, interacted with the job market to achieve (or otherwise) desirable graduate employment. Findings from this study point to a number of urgently needed strategies for the FiF cohort to achieve professional goals.

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This book examines the university experiences of first-in-family university students, and how these students' decisions to return to education impact upon their family members and significant others. While it is well known that parental educational background has a substantial impact on the educational levels of family and dependents, it is unclear how attending university as a first-in-family student translates into the family and community of the learner. With the continuing requirements for higher education institutions to increase the participation of students from a range of diverse backgrounds and educational biographies, this is a major gap in understanding that needs to be addressed. Exploring how this university participation is understood at an individual, familial and community level, this book provides insights into how best to support different student requirements.

Edited abstract from publisher's website.

The contents are as follows: Part one, 'Surveying the first-in-family student terrain', contains the following chapters: Setting the scene (pages 3-31); The lack of what ...?: first-in-family learners and their university experience (pages 33-53); Disrupting the deficit: beyond notions of lack for first-in-family students (pages 55-71); What am I waiting for? (pages 73-93). Part two, 'Narrating the first-in-family experience', contains: Trailblazing: motivations and relationship impacts for first-in-family enabling students (pages 97-117); The online student experience: new challenges for engagement and support (pages 119-135); 'So how was big school today?': family perceptions of HE participation (pages 137-154); Parents managing university and family life (pages 155-176); Motivated men: first-in-family male students (pages 177-201); Concluding thoughts (pages 203-2015). Show less