Educationally successful families? Intergenerational and interdisciplinary perspectives on First Generation Students (BiFam)

What is the study about?

In the project "Educationally successful families? Intergenerational and interdisciplinary perspectives on first generation students" (BiFam), we are looking at people who are the first in their family to study - so-called first generation students. Based on interviews with families, we want to find out what stories and experiences are made about studying in the families. For this study, we are comparing different types of universities and subjects. In this way, we want to understand what similarities and differences students experience between the courses.

What is special about our study?

Students who are the first in their family to study can have special experiences during the transition to university and during their studies. Until now, researchers have mainly asked students about their individual experiences, but we would like to broaden the view to include the family. Although it is known that the family plays a central role in studying, researchers have rarely spoken to other family members.

Why is your participation so important to us?

Your experiences help us to understand how families experience and shape the transition to university and studying, but also whether and how studying has an impact on families. The findings can help us to better support families and students on this important life path.

Who can participate?

In our research, we have an open understanding of what constitutes a 'family' in individual cases. For a family interview, we only require two participants: the person who is the first student in the family and a parental caregiver. Other family members such as siblings or grandparents are also welcome to participate and can contribute to enriching our findings.

We are looking for students in the early (1st and 2nd semester) and late stages of their studies (from the 5th semester) in the following disciplines:

• Social work
• Educational science / pedagogy
• Law / Jurisprudence
• Engineering sciences

How does the study work?

We conduct family interviews - in which both students and at least one parent take part. We are interested in your experiences as families in your educational pathways. No preparation is necessary - we are interested in what is important to you personally. We will compensate you €80 for your participation.

The talks are expected to last one to two hours and can take place at the following locations:

• At our premises at TU Dortmund University
• At home with one of the family members involved
• At a quiet, neutral location near you (e.g. on the university premises).

The interviews are recorded as audio files and transcripts of the conversations are made. We as the project team analyze the original texts of the interviews. We will change all the information you provide in the interviews so that it is no longer possible to draw conclusions about the people involved.

Are you interested?

If you are interested in participating or would like to know more about the project, please contact us by phone or via e-mail.