Literature Review #2

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Citation

Engle, Jennifer, and Vincent Tinto. Moving Beyond Access: College Success for Low-Income, First-Generation Students. St. Paul, Minnesota: 3M, 2008. 1-38. eBook.

Summary

This book provides statistics on many first generation college students - from the number who enroll, to the number who stay after the first year as well as how long they stay, and even the average aid they can expect to receive. It also looks at some of the issues that cause these numbers.

Authors

Jennifer Engle - vice president for policy research at the Institute for Higher Education Policy and focuses on underserved student populations. Also was a senior research analyst.

Vincent Tinto - senior scholar at the Pell Institute and a professor at Syracuse University for sociology. He is also a theorist for the retention for students and learning communities.

Key Terms

Attrition - the action or process of gradually reducing the strength or effectiveness of someone or something through sustained attack or pressure.

Quotes

"For most of the 4.5 million low-income, first generation students enrolled in post-secondary education today, the path to the bachelor's degree will be long, indirect, and uncertain. Fr many, the journey will end where it begins."(2)

"Low-income, first-generation students not only face barriers to their academic and social integration, they also confront obstacles with respect to cultural adaptation."(21)

Value

This book provides me with abundance of raw numbers and statistics that quantify specific aspects of the college experience for most first generation students, such as percentage that stick with their majors or how long they typically stay in college for.  It also gives insight into some of the problems which cause the statistics to look the way they do. Using both the numbers and causes of the problems, I can perhaps come up with unique solutions in my research that work for first generation students who are the children of immigrants.