"The First but Not the Last": An Exploration of Community Cultural Wealth Among First-Generation Master's Students

Abstract

This dissertation explored the experiences of 14 first-generation graduates who had recently completed a master?s degree, analyzing the saliency of their first-generation identity with a strengths-based focus. Much literature exists regarding the experiences of first-generation undergraduate students and doctoral students, yet few studies center the experiences and insights of first-generation master?s students, and many such studies historically focus on deficits rather than strengths. To address this gap, I employed the qualitative methodologies of narrative inquiry and photo elicitation interviewing while utilizing Yosso?s (2005) Community Cultural Wealth framework. My overall research questions were: What types of cultural wealth do first-generation master?s students bring with them into academia to successfully navigate graduate school? And how do they leverage these capitals to achieve success? This study revealed the complexity and ongoing salience of the first-generation identity during master?s studies. The participants in this dissertation had strong connections to others, which inspired feelings of obligation, motivation, and commitment, both to others and toward their own degree completion. Fueled by the support, encouragement, and wisdom that they received from family, peers, and mentors, they felt pride and motivation in being a trailblazer, and they navigated the duality of pressures to repay their families and pave the ways for those who would come after them. As participants deepened their knowledge of structural inequity, especially in education, they solidified their commitment to become agents of social change for social good.