Considering the Cultural Strengths of Older First Generation University Students: An Australian Perspective

Drawing on research conducted with older first generation (FG) students studying at

a regional Australian university, this chapter explores how attending university

interacted with the apriori life experiences of both learners and their families.

Adopting a narrative inquiry approach, participants in two studies were encouraged

to reflect deeply on their experiences of ‘moving into’ the university environment with

particular reference to how they drew upon their life and work experiences in their

transition and engagement with higher education. This analysis draws upon the

Community Cultural Wealth framework developed by Yosso (2005), which recognises

the cultural strengths of diverse student groups. In addition the work of Sen (1992,

2003) provides further theoretical framing to contextualize how older, FG students

managed this return to learning, with particular reference to the relative freedoms

individuals had access to during this transition. The focus of this chapter is the ways

in which older students defined and enacted ‘success’ within the tertiary

environment, including the ways in which they utilised existing knowledges and skills

in this enactment.