- Conducted ANOVA to examine differences in students with varying parental education levels 
    - Parental education levels were compared by income and race 
- Then, made five logistic regression equations to see which aspects of students’ experiences and views reflect parental education level after controlling for students’ background characteristics 

Understanding Students’ Parental Education Beyond First-Generation Status: Analyses

-  5,000 students from 9 campuses of the Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD) 
    - The LACCD is a very diverse urban population which is very helpful for this study 
- Info about student backgrounds, activities, goals, and views was collected by the Transfer and Retention of Urban Community College Students (TRUCCS) project during spring 2001. 

Understanding Students’ Parental Education Beyond First-Generation Status: Sample

- Variable of interest was related to the question asked of students: “what is the highest level of formal education obtained by your parents in either the US or in a foreign country?"
    - 10 response options in 5 categories to asses several levels of parental education 
    - Categories: (based on highest level of either parent) 
        - 1) junior high school or less
        - 2) high school
        - 3) community college
        - 4) four-year college 
        - 5) graduate school

Understanding Students’ Parental Education Beyond First-Generation Status: Variable of interest

- The findings discussed align with prior literature on first generation students, but more interesting are the different sets of significant predictors across levels of parental education 
    -  Group A (junior high school parental education vs. high school parental education)
    - Group B (high school parental education vs. community college parental education)
    - Group C (community college parental education vs. four-year college parental education)
    -  Group D ( (graduate school vs. four-year college)

Understanding Students’ Parental Education Beyond First-Generation Status: Findings

-  Sample 
-  Variable of Interest
-  Analyses
-  Findings

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

-  Background & Purpose
-  Research Questions
-  Methods
-  Findings
-  Conclusion

Understanding Students’ Parental Education Beyond First-Generation Status

Lee, J. J., Sax, L. J., Kim, K. A., & Hagedorn, L. S. (2004). Understanding Students’ Parental Education Beyond First-Generation Status. Community College Review, 32(1), 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1177/009155210403200101

- Previous studies have shown the differences between first-generation (no parents that went to college) and non-first generation students with a very dichotomous perspective. 
- Several barriers that first generation students have are well documented, but the reasons for the obstacles that are faced are less known. 
- Since not much is known about how student characteristics vary across different levels of parental education, this study has the goal of understanding how student views and experiences are different in regards to their generational status. This means that this study wants to look not just at the first generation versus non-first generation strict distinction (parents having attended college or not) but rather look at the varying levels of parent education. 

Understanding Students’ Parental Education Beyond First-Generation Status: Background & Purpose

-  This study aims to explore the experiences and views that community college students have across multiple parental education levels. 
- The main research question is: 
    - "How do student views and experiences differ by generational status?"
-  The sub-questions are: 
    - What are some differences among students of different parental education levels by income? 
    - What are some differences by race? 
    - Which experiences and views of students uniquely reflect their parental education levels?

Understanding Students’ Parental Education Beyond First-Generation Status: Research Questions

This study shows the importance of looking at different parental education levels rather than just first generation vs non first generation. Characteristics of students vary when comparing students within and across these multiple parental education level groups (across the five logistic regressions, no similarities were seen). 

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