The Conversations on Engaging and Retaining First-in-Family Learners in Higher Education on Friday 25th November at the University of Wollongong was the finale for this OLT Fellowship – and what a great day it was! We began planning the forum in earnest in March and drew on what we’d done the previous year for the… Read More
‘I have learnt [university] is not as daunting as I thought…’ (Grandmother of School Student, Survey Respondent 2016) The quote above is derived from research that I have been conducting with the parents / caregivers of future university students, concerning respondents’ perceptions and understandings about university. The data from this research, combined with interviews and surveys… Read More
Details of the program and also presentations for our upcoming National Forum: Conversations about Retaining and Engaging First-in-Family Learners in HE have just been released; we are also now calling for Lightening Presentations on Best Practice. So, if you are doing something interesting with first-in-family learners and want to share it, follow the link to our… Read More
“My sphere of influence is small but my awareness has been raised and I can respond more appropriately to possible FiF learners” (Participant: OLT Fellowship Workshop) In February 2015 we held the inaugural First-in-Family Forum at University of Wollongong, the Forum attracted 113 participants from over nineteen universities across Australia. At the culmination of the… Read More
‘[The] benefits [of attending university] are not limited to the learners; the narratives…point to a more collective benefit for students and family members, with attendance at university frequently being the realisation of a collective ambition.’ (O’Shea, Stone, Delahunty & May, forthcoming) Recognising the particular challenges for first-in-family students has been a focus of my research… Read More
‘We must not forget that the poorest students in our society are often those studying without the emotional or financial support of their family.’ (New Starts: The challenges of HE without the support of a family network 2015, p.26) The last few weeks have flown past with travel to the UK and Ireland as well… Read More
Did you know that over half of Australian students are first in their families to attend university? And that over a quarter of them consider leaving in their first year? Or, that during the difficult times, students are more likely to turn to family (or their community) for support? If you’d like to: Learn… Read More
As part of the Engaging Families to Engage Learners (EFEL) OLT Fellowship, I have been conducting workshops at various universities across Australia. These workshops are designed to both disseminate findings from previous research conducted with first-in-family learners and also, ‘start conversations’ about how this cohort can be best supported as well as how institutions… Read More
“For those of us who work in the support roles or are involved in teaching students, there is a responsibility to not only acknowledge [students’] strengths but also foreground them in how we define and also, assist student cohorts. This then is the challenge as student populations increase in number and diversity, working within… Read More
“Rather than focus on what people lack, better understanding is gained from focusing on strengths in order to develop ways of understanding first-in-family students that seek to challenge notions of access and participation.” (O’Shea,2015) In November 2015, I was invited to the QUT Caboolture Campus to run a workshop on first-in-family learners. During the day,… Read More