عنوان

A Case Study of the Experiences of First-Generation Female Students in the United Arab Emirates

Number

TL47906

.Language of Text, Soundtrack etc

انگلیسی

Title Proper

A Case Study of the Experiences of First-Generation Female Students in the United Arab Emirates

General Material Designation

[Thesis]

First Statement of Responsibility

Sepideh Mahani

Subsequent Statement of Responsibility

McNamara, Patrick

Name of Publisher, Distributor, etc.

Northcentral University

Date of Publication, Distribution, etc.

2014

Specific Material Designation and Extent of Item

204

Text of Note

Committee members: Cleghorn, Dana

Text of Note

Place of publication: United States, Ann Arbor; ISBN=978-1-321-09628-6

Dissertation or thesis details and type of degree

Ph.D.

Discipline of degree

School of Education

Body granting the degree

Northcentral University

Text preceding or following the note

2014

Text of Note

As many as 80% of the current students enrolled in the United Arab Emirates' federal colleges and universities are first-generation students. Although the number of first-generation students is tremendously high, there is a lack of information on the experiences of these students. The lack of information on the academic, social, familial and financial experiences of the Emirati female first-generation students stymies governmental and educational initiatives to address special needs of these students. For that reason, investigating the problem could help identify programs and resources that can assist first-generation students meet their academic aspirations. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to gain an understanding of the academic, social, familial and financial experiences of first-generation Emirati students in a higher education institution in the United Arab Emirates. Six female first-generation Emirati Bachelor students from the Higher Colleges of Technology participated in open-ended, in-depth, semi-structured interviews to discuss their academic, social, familial and financial experiences. A series of in-depth and follow-up interviews were conducted until data saturation was reached. Eight themes emerged from the data: (a) parental influence and support, (b) sibling influence and support, (c) marital status influence and spousal support, (d) cultural influences, (e) financial experiences, (f) academic experiences, (g) social experiences, and (h) future aspirations. The findings of this study showed that first-generation female students experience a variety of academic and non-academic challenges such as succeeding in their foundation math courses, facing English language difficulties, effectively using college resources, finding their way in the college, choosing courses and selecting their degree programs. Meanwhile, since the participants were unable to reach out to their parents for help and guidance, many of them reached out to their older siblings, mostly their sisters for help.

Higher Education Administration; Womens studies; Higher education

Subject Term

Social sciences;Education;Emirati;Female;First-generation students;United Arab Emirates;Women students

Banton, Robyn

McNamara, Patrick

Subdivision

School of Education

Northcentral University

Call Number

1614473097; 3631244

Electronic name

p

[Thesis]

276903

a

Y