Bringing Higher Education into the Family?A Case Study Examination of Liquid Education Effects, as First-Generation Parents and their Children attend Higher Education Concurrently.

Abstract

One assumption within higher education practice, policy and research, is that higher education is an individualised transition and experience, where students are atomised from their familial contexts. This research uncovers a collective higher education experience for first generation students and their families. The overarching research question was, What are the experiences of first-generation families with an intergenerational dyadic pair, engaging in higher education? There was a phenomenon observed in higher education, where first generation parents and their children were studying at the same time. My original contribution to knowledge lies in the examination of the effects that the dyadic pairs experiences in higher education exerted on the family, utilising the theoretical frame of Berger and Luckmann (1966) a topic previously largely unexplored in academic higher education research. A multiple case study approach was taken combining quantitative and qualitative research methods. A quantitative study was employed to identify the participants and five families were identified. Secondly, their qualitative experiences were captured through educational biographies, individual interviews and family focus groups over a two year period. Sitting in the shadows of higher education experiences are the family members who are not engaging in Higher education. This research captured their voices, of children, siblings and partners of the dyadic pairs. Berger and Luckmann (1966) was the theoretical framework employed for this research, it was embedded within the research process, applied to the findings and employed in the discussion. The theoretical frame served to focus the research on language, socialisation, roles and relationships. The family's role in higher education has been underestimated in research, policy and practice historically. The dyadic pair bring their higher education experiences into the family home; these liquid higher education effects leave no one in the family untouched. The pre-higher education `taken for granted reality' of the home was thrown into crises; the language in the family home changed resulting in new norms around communication. A seven-step process to higher education language acquisition for first generation students was identified. Roles within the home went through a three-stage process of change, from role conflict to role re-negotiation to role transformation, which ultimately led in the majority of families, to a more egalitarian household. The non-higher education family members were socialized into higher education as the dyadic pair brought home books, language and knowledge, changing the very fabric of the family home. The liquid higher education effects set new norms around HE participation. One way educational values were transmitted in the family was through repetitive conversations in the home about the value of education. The findings also revealed the enduring importance of relationships in the family home and examined the shifts in relationship power dynamics due to knowledge acquisition in higher education. The experience brought siblings closer together, children became more independent, increased parental conflict and resulted in a fundamental shift in all familial relationships. These sifts in familial relationships necessitated the family activating its mycorrhizal role, to survive the liquid higher education effects experienced in the home. The research findings suggest that the family occupies the `in-between space' between the individual and the higher education institution. The dyadic pair are `the carriers' of higher education knowledge and language. This research locates the mycorrhizal role played by the family; the dyadic pairs are not alone in their higher education pursuits. They are enmeshed in a web of relations and the family redirects support to them in order for the individuals and family to survive the Higher education experience. This may explain why there was evidence of collective familial transformations occurring and not solely transformations at an individual level. The family was the `safe harbour' for the dyadic pairs, they were anchored to it and it served the purpose of re-affirming the new higher education reality. Higher education institutions are educating families and the family must also endure higher education. Higher education institutions must utilize their superpower, families and acknowledge the mycorrhizal role they play, engage them in their family members learning, prepare and support first generation learners as a collective entity rather than as individuals replete of familial ties. Higher education institutions must acknowledge that the family is continually imbricated into the lived experiences of individual students.