Strengthening Persistence of Underrepresented Groups in Higher Education

Presentation of a research project as part of the "Jeudis de la Maison Suger", a residents' research seminar.

This session will welcome Franziska Lessky for a presentation of her research on the perseverance of students from underrepresented groups in higher education. She will present the results of qualitative surveys conducted in Australia and Austria, highlighting the resources mobilized by first-generation students to pursue their university studies.

The project

"Globally, university students, particularly those from underrepresented groups, continue to depart early from university at significant volume. Whilst leaving university without qualifications impacts everyone, for those who are from historically underrepresented groups (e.g., first-generation students), the repercussions can be significantly greater. This talk will report on qualitative research conducted in Australia and Austria considering why first-generation learners persist in the university environment. Findings focus on recurring resources that learners drew upon to enact persistence and indicate how they are not only rooted in biography but also contradict and challenge dominant discourses within university."

Speaker

Franziska Lessky is Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Department of Education at the University of Oxford, and Assistant Professor at the University of Innsbruck. She is also a Fellow at the Institute for Advanced Studies Vienna and an Adjunct Professor at the Australian Centre for Student Equity and Success (ACSES). She serves as co-convenor of the Bourdieu Study Group of the British Sociological Association (BSA) and has been board member of the German-speaking Society for Research in Higher Education (GfHf). Her research focuses on student equity in higher education, educational transitions, graduate employability and careers in academia.