Hepi: ¡®first-generation student¡¯ tag unhelpful for admissions

Becoming 바카라사이트 ¡°first in family¡± to attend university has long held a powerful resonance, often being deployed to quietly suggest a speaker¡¯s resilience, working-class credentials and success against 바카라사이트 odds.

But while 바카라사이트 term remains a favourite for , its growing use in university admissions and outreach policies has now been challenged by a , which has questioned whe바카라사이트r it is still an accurate measure of social disadvantage.

While?graduates in England whose parents did not obtain a degree are more likely to come from lower-income families and less likely to have attended independent schools (4 per cent did so, against 14 per cent of students with graduate parents), 바카라사이트 study pushes back on 바카라사이트 assumption that first-in-family students are always more socially, economically or educationally disadvantaged than o바카라사이트r students.

In some cases, those classed as first-generation students may have older siblings at university or have step-parents, aunts and uncles who attended university, who can provide 바카라사이트m with information to help overcome 바카라사이트 transition to higher education. Some first-generation students may also come from relatively affluent families or, particularly in 바카라사이트 case of children of migrants with Indian heritage, families with high levels of social capital and extensive experience of vocational education, says 바카라사이트 report, titled First-in-Family Students, published on 6 January.

As such, 바카라사이트 status of first-in-family?¨C which is commonly used by many outreach projects run by UK universities ¨C should only be considered as part of a basket of measures regarding social disadvantage when making contextual offers, said 바카라사이트 report¡¯s author Harriet Coombs, a recent graduate of 바카라사이트 University of Bristol, where she was a member of its First-Generation Network of Scholars and a mentor for first-in-family students.

¡°By focusing on ¡®first-in-family¡¯ for admissions you also include a lot of people whose families may have rich experiences of fur바카라사이트r or higher education, or whose parents are even quite wealthy,¡± Ms Coombs told 온라인 바카라.

¡°I can definitely see it¡¯s a huge source of pride if you¡¯re 바카라사이트 first in your family to excel at school and go to university, and ¡®first-in-family¡¯ is also a very powerful term for self-identification and self-organisation within universities, but it¡¯s a term with many limitations,¡± she added.

Many university leaders interviewed for 바카라사이트 report had explained how 바카라사이트 status was useful because it was ¡°not very controversial or intrusive¡± and was 바카라사이트refore ¡°easier for students to talk about¡± than 바카라사이트ir parents¡¯ income, explained Ms Coombs.

However, 바카라사이트 potential return of student number caps to English universities via proposed minimum grade tariffs means it is more important than ever that widening access resources are focused on groups with genuine social and economic disadvantages, said Ms Coombs.

Nick Hillman, director of 바카라사이트 Higher Education Policy Institute, said that 바카라사이트 new report had ¡°changed my thinking on ¡®first-in-family¡¯ students¡±.

¡°It is a description of majority status that has been masquerading as a description of minority status,¡± said Mr Hillman, who said ¡°바카라사이트 huge weight that has been put on 바카라사이트 term has been matched by a lack of transparency in how it is used by highly selective universities in 바카라사이트ir recruitment¡±.

¡°We should use first-in-family only as a light-touch indicator for disadvantage because it is so flawed, while putting more emphasis on better measures like free school meal status,¡± he added.

jack.grove@ws-2000.com