Degrees of Obviousness: First-Generation Studentship as a Lesson for Science

Description

Lecture on the phenomenon and concept of 'first-generation students' in the Netherlands - Calls for equity and inclusivity in Dutch tertiary education in recent years have fueled attention for ‘first-generation’ or ‘first-in-family’ students. But what constitutes first-generation studentship? Research focused on variables such as educational pre-trajectory, migration background and parental levels of education struggles to account for students’ widely varying lived experiences, as well as for the impact of societal discourse. Moreover, 'first-' or 'continuing-generation' is not an emic identity marker. We do not grow up understanding ourselves in these terms: Many students and staff only learn it applies to them later in life, and many do not identify with it at all. So, what reality does the concept ‘first generation’ reflect? What do we learn and what do we miss about inequity and exclusion in academia in the way we study it? In this lecture, I discuss these questions, present findings from several research projects on first-generation student experiences and reflect on what the lens of ‘becoming’ may have to offer.

Period	30 Sept 2025
Held at	Universiteit Twente, Netherlands
Degree of Recognition	National