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Is 'First in Family' a Good Indicator for Widening University Participation?

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  • Adamecz, Anna

    (University College London)

  • Henderson, Morag

    (UCL Institute of Education)

  • Shure, Nikki

    (University College London)

Abstract

Universities use 'first in family' or 'first generation' as an indicator to increase the diversity of their student intake, but little is known about whether it is a good indicator of disadvantage. We use nationally representative, longitudinal survey data linked to administrative data from England to provide the first comprehensive analysis of this measure. We employ parametric probability (logit) and non-parametric classification (random forest) models to look at its relative predictive power of university participation and graduation. We find that being first in family is an important barrier to university participation and graduation, over and above other sources of disadvantage. This association seems to operate through the channel of early educational attainment. Our findings indicate that the first in family indicator could be key in efforts to widen participation at universities.

Suggested Citation

  • Adamecz, Anna & Henderson, Morag & Shure, Nikki, 2019. "Is 'First in Family' a Good Indicator for Widening University Participation?," IZA Discussion Papers 12826, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp12826
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    Cited by:

    1. Edwards, Rebecca & Gibson, Rachael & Harmon, Colm & Schurer, Stefanie, 2022. "First-in-their-family students at university: Can non-cognitive skills compensate for social origin?," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    2. Adamecz-Völgyi, Anna & Henderson, Morag & Shure, Nikki, 2021. "Intergenerational Educational Mobility – The Role of Non-cognitive Skills," IZA Discussion Papers 14580, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    3. Anna Adamecz-Völgyi & Morag Henderson & Nikki Shure, 2023. "The labor market returns to “first-in-family” university graduates," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 36(3), pages 1395-1429, July.
    4. Anna Adamecz & Morag Henderson & Nikki Shure, 2024. "Intergenerational educational mobility – The role of non-cognitive skills," Education Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 32(1), pages 59-78, January.
    5. Adamecz-Völgyi, Anna & Henderson, Morag & Shure, Nikki, 2020. "Is ‘first in family’ a good indicator for widening university participation?," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    predictive models; machine learning; educational mobility; first generation; first in family; widening participation; higher education; socioeconomic gaps;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I23 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Higher Education; Research Institutions
    • I24 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Inequality
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity

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