Practices of Becoming: What and How Do First-Generation Students Learn When Transitioning to University?

Flora Petrik

doi:10.4312/as/19942

Authors

Flora Petrik University of Tübingen, Germany

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.4312/as/19942

Keywords:

first-generation students, learning, higher education, biography, social inequality

Abstract

This paper explores the learning experiences of first-generation students in higher education. While existing studies highlight the risks of social exclusion, they tend to overlook what and how first-generation students learn in their transitions to university. By utilising a theoretical framework that integrates biographical and practice-theoretical perspectives on learning, this study addresses a gap in research on how these students navigate their transition to university by learning. The study draws on 24 biographical case studies developed over three years (2019–2022) across universities in Austria and Germany. The findings demonstrate that biographical learning is embedded in concrete practices of becoming: practices of peer support, engagement, and pedagogical accompaniment. These practices of becoming a student simultaneously transform and reproduce social inequalities. The paper concludes by emphasising the importance of understanding first-generation students’ learning experiences in relation to social inequality, higher education, and societal change.

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