First-generation students’ educational outcomes: the role of parental educational, cultural, and economic capital - a 9-years panel study

Abstract

We examined the role of parental educational, cultural, and economic capital in differences in educational outcomes of first-generation students (FGS) and continuous-generation students (CGS). We considered four educational outcomes: enrollment in a selective university, university educational performance, dropout, and whether the student pursued a master’s or PhD program. We studied whether compared to CGS, FGS have poorer educational outcomes (1), possess less or more family capital (2), whether these capitals explain the difference in educational outcomes between FGS and CGS (3), to what extent these capitals affect educational outcomes through primary and secondary parental effects (4), and whether FGS benefit less from those capitals compared to CGS (5). We analyzed nine waves of Russian panel data of a cohort of 5,000 students surveyed yearly in 2012-2020. We applied structural equation modeling that allowed to conduct a multiple multivariate regression analysis and to correct for measurement error. We found that 45.6% of the cohort under investigation were FGS. FGS’s educational outcomes are poorer compared to CGS, with the exception of the likelihood of dropout that does not differ. FGS have lower educational, cultural, and economic capital, and this partly explains differences in educational outcomes, but mostly via primary parental effects. We did not find evidence that FGS and CGS benefit differently from parental capital.