The Experiences of First-Generation Punjabi Students at Simon Fraser University
by Anisha Kaur Arora
M.S., University of Bridgeport, 2003 B.S., University of Connecticut, 2001
Thesis Submitted In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Education
in the Postsecondary Leadership Program Faculty of Education
Anisha Kaur Arora 2019 SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY Summer 2019
Copyright in this work rests with the author. Please ensure that any reproduction or re-use is done in accordance with the relevant national copyright legislation. Approval
Name: Anisha Kaur Arora Degree: Doctor of Education Title: The Experiences of First-Generation Punjabi Students at Simon Fraser University Examining Committee: Chair: Laurie Anderson Adjunct Professor Michelle Pidgeon Senior Supervisor Associate Professor Rebecca Cox Supervisor Associate Professor Hartej Gill Supervisor Associate Professor Department of Educational Studies University of British Columbia Elizabeth Marshall Internal Examiner Associate Professor Kalwant Bhopal External Examiner Professor School of Education University of Birmingham
Date Defended/Approved: July 16, 2019
ii Ethics Statement
iii Abstract
The purpose of the study was to develop a deep description of the experiences of first- generation Punjabi students who have no familial history of Canadian postsecondary education, in order to understand their challenges, their support systems, their community and their overall experiences with postsecondary education. Bourdieu’s (1977a, 1986) social reproduction theory was used as the conceptual framework using descriptive case study methodology to answer the research question: What are the experiences of first-generation Punjabi students at Simon Fraser University?
The interview conversations explored the navigation of multiple worlds, notably the family environment, the university environment, and the Punjabi community. The conversations described the navigation of experiences that inform students' experiences as first-generation Punjabi university students. Core experiences with navigation of race and ethnicity, gender, role as a university student, role within the Punjabi community, and role within family represent multiple and intersecting dimensions significant to students' experiences as first-generation Punjabi university students. The findings show first-generation Punjabi university students negotiated Punjabi values and expectations, Canadian values and expectations, university and family responsibilities, pioneering postsecondary education, responsibility to give back to family and the Punjabi community, and pressure to uphold family honour. Living at the connection of numerous worlds, including experiences as the first family member to attend university and engaging both in Punjabi culture and in Canadian culture. Participants associated five strengths with being first-generation Punjabi university students: family, Punjabi culture, immigration, support network—before university and during university, and a strong sense of seva (i.e., selfless service). This study has implications for theory, research, and practice in Canadian postsecondary education. This research supports the need for university services tailored to students who are the first in their family to attend university.
Keywords: First-generation; Student Services; Bourdieu; Cultural Capital; Case Study; Interview; Punjabi.
iv Dedication
To the #arorables: my son Gurtej, my daughter Daya, niece Amanjot, niece Jasjot, and nephew Arjan, you changed everything for me.
To my husband Amritpal, you are my biggest blessing.
Thank you to my mother, Sardarni Charanjit Kaur, and father, Sardar Kuldip Singh, for all the sacrifices you made for us to have every opportunity. I do not know how to ever thank you enough for all the love you have given us.
To my sister, Jasdeep, and brother-in-law, Sachdeep, I do not know where I would be without you. Thank you both for everything you do for me.
Thank you to my mother-in-law, Sardarni Sukhwinder Kaur, and to my sisters-in-law, Kiran and Kamal, for your love. Thank you to my late father-in-law, Sardar Dalip Singh, who continues to watch over us.
I love you all so much!
v Acknowledgments
I would like to begin by acknowledging that the land on which I am privileged to work, study and live is the traditional and unceded territory of Coast Salish Peoples, specifically the Kwantlen, Semiahmoo, Tsawwassen, Katzie, Kwantlen, Kwikwetlem, Qayqayt, and numerous Stó:lō Nations First Nations.
I extend my deepest appreciation and most humble gratitude to Dr. Michelle Pidgeon; I am so lucky to have been one of your students. I have learned so much from you and am so thankful for everything you have done for me. You inspire so many of us, and I am blessed to call you my mentor.
Thank you to my wonderful committee members, Dr. Hartej Gill and Dr. Rebecca Cox. Dr. Gill, thank you for being such a wonderful role model for the next generation of Punjabi learners. I appreciate your kindness, compassion, and advice. Dr. Cox, thank you for the hallway chats and motivational walks.
Thank you to my UCONN and SFU families who helped to shape me as a student and a professional. To my amazing friends who are family and have supported me along the way, I could not have done this without you!
I extend my heartfelt thanks to the students who shared their stories to open doors for the next generation of Punjabi students.
vi Table of Contents
Approval ...... ii Ethics Statement ...... iii Abstract ...... iv Dedication ...... v Acknowledgments ...... vi Table of Contents ...... vii List of Figures...... xi List of Acronyms ...... xii Glossary ...... xiii
1. From and with Love ...... 1
2. Introduction ...... 4 Personal Context ...... 5 Description of the Problem ...... 7 The Aim of the Study ...... 9 Research Questions ...... 10 The Research Process ...... 10 Theoretical Framework ...... 13 Definition of Terms ...... 14 2.7.1 First-Generation University Students ...... 15 2.7.2 Punjabi Students ...... 16 Significance of the Study ...... 16 Study Limitations and Delimitations ...... 18 Organization of the Study ...... 19 Summary ...... 20
3. Review of the Literature ...... 22 Overview and Introduction ...... 22 The Deficit Discourse of the Literature ...... 23 3.2.1 Definition of a First-Generation Student ...... 24 First-Generation Students...... 25 3.3.1 Preuniversity Characteristics ...... 25 3.3.2 Planning and Support for Postsecondary Education...... 27 3.3.3 Family as a Correlate of Success ...... 28 3.3.4 Summary ...... 28 The Immigrant Population in Canada ...... 29 3.4.1 Immigration and Education...... 30 A. Punjabis in British Columbia ...... 33 B. Postsecondary Research on Punjabi Students ...... 35 3.4.2 The Influence of Language...... 36 Theoretical Framework ...... 36 3.5.1 Social Reproduction Theory ...... 37 3.5.2 Habitus...... 38 3.5.3 Capital...... 40 3.5.4 Criticisms of Bourdieu’s Theory ...... 42
vii 3.5.5 The connection of Bourdieu’s concept of habitus to the study of first- generation Punjabi students ...... 44 Conclusion ...... 46
4. Methodology ...... 48 4.1. Introduction ...... 48 4.2. Qualitative Research ...... 48 4.3. Case Study Methodology...... 50 4.4. Research Purpose and Questions ...... 52 4.5. Case Study Design ...... 53 4.5.1. Purposeful Sampling ...... 53 4.5.2. Interviews ...... 54 4.5.3. Sampling Timeline ...... 55 4.5.4. Interview Process ...... 56 4.5.5. Limitations and Delimitations ...... 57 4.5.6. Researcher Subjectivity ...... 57 4.5.7. Ethical Considerations ...... 60 4.6. Data Analysis ...... 62 4.6.1. Data Managing ...... 62 4.6.2. Reading and Memoing ...... 62 4.6.3. Classifying ...... 63 4.6.4. Data Coding ...... 64 4.6.5. Representing and Visualizing ...... 66 4.7. Summary ...... 66
5. Phulkari – Part 1 (Phulkari) ...... 68 Flower Work (Flower Work) ...... 70 Profiles of Student Participants ...... 73 5.2.1 Jot: ਜੋਤ ...... 73 5.2.2 Mia: ਿਮਆ ...... 74 5.2.3 Amreen: ਅਮਰੀ ...... ਂ ...... 75 5.2.4 Priya: ਿਪ�ਆ ...... 76 5.2.5 Jaya: ਜਯਾ ...... 76 5.2.6 Reena: ਰੀਨਾ ...... 77 5.2.7 Sahej: ਸਹੇਜ...... 78 5.2.8 Gian: ਿਗਆਨ ...... 78 5.2.9 Jai: ਜੈ ...... 79 5.2.10 Karam: ਕਰਮ ...... 80 5.2.11 Arjan: ਅਰਜਨ ...... 80 5.2.12 Gurtaj: ਗੁਰਤਾਜ ...... 81 Support ...... 82 5.3.1 University Support – Student Services ...... 82 5.3.2 Family Support – Building on Family Contributions ...... 87 Role of Family ...... 89 5.4.1 Parental Influence ...... 89 5.4.2 Support of Extended Family ...... 95 5.4.3 The Role of Family Back “Home” ...... 97 First to Navigate University ...... 99
viii 5.5.1 Being the First – The Responsibility as the Eldest Sibling ...... 101 Role of the Punjabi Community ...... 103 5.6.1 Influence of Community on University Experience ...... 104 5.6.2 Negotiating Punjabi and Canadian Cultural Values and Expectations ..... 105 5.6.3 Community – Lokhi and What Will They Say? ...... 105 5.6.4 Pressure to Uphold Family Honour ...... 109 Advice to the Next Generation of Punjabi Learners ...... 111 5.7.1 Community ...... 111 Summary ...... 112
6. Narrative Threads: Phulkari – Part 2 (ਫੁਲਕਾਰੀ) ...... 114 Outsiders without the Secret Language ...... 114 I Do Not Speak the Language ...... 116 Engagement (Academic and Nonacademic) ...... 118 Outsiders without Academic Capital ...... 120 Navigating Life as a New Immigrant ...... 120 Life Roles and Dreams ...... 124 Seva: Selfless Service and Giving Back ...... 127 6.7.1 Seva: The Need to Give Back ...... 127 6.7.2 Seva: Community ...... 129 Summary ...... 130
7. Discussion: Weaving of the Phulkari (ਫੁਲਕਾਰੀ) ...... 132 Punjabi Social Capital ...... 133 Punjabi Habitus and Capital ...... 134 Forms of Punjabi Capital ...... 134 7.3.1 Multilingualism Capital ...... 134 7.3.2 Punjabi Navigational Capital ...... 136 7.3.3 Immigration Capital ...... 137 7.3.4 Aspirations and Expectations ...... 138 Punjabi Cultural Capital ...... 139 7.4.1 Gurdwaras and the Punjabi Community ...... 139 7.4.2 Punjabi Familial Capital ...... 140 Punjabi Economic Capital ...... 141 7.5.1 Immigrant Work Ethic ...... 142 Punjabi Symbolic Capital ...... 143 Summary ...... 144
8. Conclusion ...... 145 Researcher Reflections ...... 145 Recommendations for Policy and Practice ...... 146 8.2.1. Acknowledging Student Support Systems ...... 146 8.2.2. Understanding the Role of Family ...... 149 8.2.3. Understanding the Importance of Attaining Education ...... 152 8.2.4. Exploring the Role of the Punjabi Community ...... 154 8.2.5. Taking their advice ...... 155 Directions for Further Research ...... 156 Supporting Success for First-Generation Students ...... 157 Study Limitations and Delimitations ...... 157 Concluding Stitches ...... 159
ix Phulkari Last Threads ...... 163
References ...... 165
Appendix A. Invitation to Participate in Research ...... 183 Appendix B. Informed Consent Interview ...... 185 Appendix C. Interview Protocol...... 190 Appendix D. Codebook/Coding Protocol ...... 192
x List of Figures
Figure 1. Dr. Gill’s dissertation research question...... 1
Figure 2. My Phulkari that I purchased in May 2008...... 71
Figure 3. A visual representation of how themes were discovered and have been explained in this case study...... 72
Figure 4. The forms of Punjabi capital...... 134
Figure 5. A visual representation of the themes discovered and explained in this case study...... 163
xi List of Acronyms
BC British Columbia
BOG Board of Governors
BOT Back on Track Program
GPA Grade-Point Average
ISS International Student Services
NLSCY National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth
SFU Simon Fraser University
UCONN University of Connecticut
US United States
YITS Youth in Transition Survey
xii Glossary
Term Definition
Baisti Family embarrassment
Beta enhu pooch lai Dear, ask her
Bhua Aunt – dad’s sister
Chacha Uncle – dad’s younger brother
Chachi Aunt – dad’s younger brother’s wife
Dada ji Grandfather – dad’s father
Dadi ji Grandmother – dad’s mother
Fuffard Uncle – dad’s sister’s husband
Gurdwara Sikh place of worship
Lokhi People (usually of the same community)
Ma, chup kar Mom, shhh
Mama ji Uncle – mom’s brother
Mami ji Aunt – mom’s brother’s wife
Nani Grandmother – mom’s mom
Pind Village
Seva The Sikh concept of selfless service; responsibility to help others
Thaya ji Uncle – dad’s older brother
Thayi ji Aunt – dad’s older brother’s wife
Zameen Land holding, typically land owned in Punjab
xiii Chapter 1.
From and with Love
From the beginning of my education and career, both in the United States and Canada, I cannot recall one course, workshop, or meeting that informed me or my colleagues about Punjabis, an ethnic group whose population is dominant in the Lower Mainland. Moreover, with love, I must take the opportunity also to say this is true for knowledge around the Native American and Indigenous populations. I never heard their voices in mainstream literature or even in any of the counselling courses I was required to take. No course or class centred on these important populations. I never felt connected to the experiences of traditional students, because none of the students looked like me or came from a family like mine. A Punjabi student was never the main character in a book or an article I ever read. It was not until I entered my first course in my doctoral program that I fortunate to have an Indigenous scholar, Dr. Pidgeon, open my eyes to Indigenous culture. How could I have gone so many years of my life not understanding and being so disconnected from the people whose land I have settled on? In Figure 1, an image from Dr. Gill’s dissertation mapped out the feelings I did not know how to express as a new graduate student in Canada.
Figure 1. Dr. Gill’s dissertation research question. Note. From Im-person-ating identity in spaces of difference (p. 197), by H. Gill, 2003, Vancouver, Canada: University of British Columbia. Copyright 2003 by Gill. Reprinted with permission.
1 I remember feeling numb after reading Pedagogy of the Oppressed (Freire, 2000) and learning how I may also be contributing to this education system of oppression. I then read Dr. H. Gill’s (2003) dissertation and remember when an older white male became upset in one of our course discussions. He was upset that a colleague at his university asked him to give up his place on a “diversity committee” and how offended he felt at the thought that a junior person of colour could provide a lens that the committee needed. I felt so defeated and at the same time thought, if people do not raise their hands and say something they are also part of the problem. Staying silent is a theme that threads through Dr. Gill’s dissertation, so I slowly raised my hand with a lump in my throat and asked, “Are you seriously offended? Do you know I could write an encyclopedia on all the times my lens has been ignored?” I realized maybe being snarky was not the way to approach helping him unpack his privilege, but at that time it was the only thing that could come out of my mouth without the tears I could feel building up.
In the words of Freire (2000),
Dialogue cannot exist, however, in the absence of a profound love for the world and for people. The naming of the world, which is an act of creation and re-creation, is not possible if it is not infused with love. Love is at the same time the foundation of dialogue and dialogue itself.… Because love is an act of courage, not of fear, love is commitment to others. No matter where the oppressed are found, the act of love is commitment to their cause—the cause of liberation. Moreover, this commitment, because it is loving, is dialogical.… Only by abolishing the situation of oppression is it possible to restore the love which that situation made impossible. If I do not love the world—if I do not love life—if I do not love people—I cannot enter into dialogue. (p. 62)
Moreover, with love, I ask you the reader to explore and further engage in a narrative embedded in the traditional embroidery work of Punjab called phulkari (flower work). The phulkari craft is from the land of five rivers and is an important element of the cultural heritage of Punjab—it is a way of storytelling. Through this work I attempted to thread together the stories of 12 first-generation Punjabi students at Simon Fraser University (SFU) as well as my experiences as the researcher to engage in dialogue around the types of capital Students of Colour1 of the Punjabi community bring with them to
1 I chose to capitalize the terms Students of Colour, People of Colour, and Communities of Colour to reaffirm the experiences of individuals represented by these phrases who have historically been excluded or silenced in the literature.
2 Canadian institutions. Throughout the study terms such as: visible minority, racialized, Students of Colour, People of Colour are often used to “name” things. This posed as a tension for me as the researcher. The challenge in identifying appropriate terms I believe will be an ongoing discussion as terms develop over time as their definitions are debated, challenged and reconstructed to reflect changing social approaches. Some of the terms used are currently established in Canadian and American law, and is required in a legal or administrative framework. At this point I am not sure what the correct terms should be. In order to uncover the story, I needed to use these terms to highlight how Punjabi students are categorised in mainstream literature, policies, and law. This thesis for me has been not only a commitment to further the scholarship around the Punjabi community but also a commitment to continue to learn and help create space for all students.
3 Chapter 2.
Introduction
As a student affairs practitioner who has worked in both the United States (US) and Canada, I have observed many differences in both university systems, but more importantly, I have noted the type of programming offered to students who are the first to attend university in their families. During my 15 years in postsecondary education, I have assisted students at many different points of the student life cycle and have learned that every student must learn how to navigate the university system. While the transition itself is challenging for students, for particular cohorts the challenge seems more significant. During my time as an academic advisor and first-year experience instructor, I often heard students say, “Well, you know how it is for us.” The students who expressed this were often the first in the family to attend university or were Students of Colour. Since relocating to Vancouver, in my role as Assistant Registrar, I have had numerous students seek my guidance as a member of the Punjabi community, and often their parents seek counsel as well.
My focus in conducting this study was on examining factors that are influential in helping first-generation Punjabi students navigate the university system. I conducted this inquiry to develop an understanding of participants’ support systems and what role students’ family members played in their postsecondary experiences. The stories of the 12 participants in this study revealed not only the challenges they faced at university, but also their more significant life experiences and demands during the transition from a secondary to a postsecondary institution. The study also uncovered with which capital these students enter university that is not often apparent in the existing literature or valued by Canadian society. This thesis challenges the deficit-informed research that currently silences and distorts the experiences of Students of Colour. Studies have examined first-generation students regarding their academic preparation, their transition to postsecondary education, and persistence behaviours, but little is known about their university experiences (Pascarella, Pierson, Wolniak, & Terenzini, 2004; Terenzini, Springer, Yaeger, Pascarella, & Nora, 1996) and identity as first-generation university students. I was unable to locate any qualitative studies that focused explicitly on first- generation Punjabi students.
4 My determination in writing this dissertation was to observe themes across the various participant descriptions and to show unique elements in the personal narratives. The interview conversations were framed somewhat chronologically into three broad phases: (a) participants’ support systems and the role their families played in their experience, (b) their university experience, and (c) participants’ experiences as members of the Punjabi community in British Columbia (BC).
Personal Context
I began university in 1997 at the University of Connecticut (UCONN) as a first- generation Punjabi student. My parents had completed university degrees in India, so I considered myself to be a first-generation student because no one in our family had experience with the American university system. I began an undergraduate career in science with the hopes of completing a 7-year medical program at UCONN. I loved the residential life experience and making new friends from the same cultural community. I struggled with coursework academically and felt lost at a large university. In my first year of studies at UCONN, I was placed on academic probation. I continued on academic probation for two more semesters. After the third semester of academic probation, I received an invitation letter from the Program Director of UCONNECTS (UCONN, n.d.), an educational program designed to help students struggling at the university. The director, David Ouimette, invited me to join a mentoring program for students on academic probation. Although terrified that someone I knew would see me, I mustered up the courage to attend the welcome dinner. I prayed that no one from my community would notice me and tell my parents. I decided to join UCONNECTS, and I was introduced to the most wonderful people at the university who worked to help me graduate in 4 years with a 3.4 grade-point average in my major and gain admission into a master’s program in counselling with a concentration in student affairs. That one connection with David transformed my university career; I never left student affairs after that program welcome night.
My struggle and desire to help first-generation students led me to a career in student affairs. During the last semester of my graduate degree, my final internship was with UCONN-Stamford, where I worked for the Dean of Student Life and advised students who were undecided about their majors and faced academic difficulty. I had
5 returned home to the institution that had given me so much. My work in my internship identified a significant need for this advising at the regional campus that was home to the largest population of Students of Colour at UCONN. The Dean of Student Life created a new academic advising position, and I began working for UCONN in 2003. From 2003 to 2008, I was an academic advisor, a first-year experience instructor, and the Director of the UCONNECTS program for a regional campus of UCONN in Downtown Stamford, Connecticut. I had the amazing opportunity to work with students who entered the university with diverse academic backgrounds and with goals to pursue a variety of academic programs. I was able to teach first-year students the skills they needed to be successful at university, and I also was able to work with students on academic probation. I loved my position and the students who attended UCONN Stamford.
In 2008, I moved to Vancouver and began working for SFU in January 2009 as an academic advisor; I later moved positions to my current role as Assistant Registrar for SFU’s Surrey Campus. I noted that students entering SFU often stumbled upon the Registrar’s Office by mistake and began having conversations at the front counter with students around their difficulty with understanding policies or explaining their career choices to their parents. The front counter conversations uncovered so many of the struggles students at SFU face when transitioning to university. I too was in a bit of culture shock moving to an area with the largest Punjabi community outside of India, and I found myself struggling to fit in. I remember the pressure I felt as a Punjabi student in a much smaller community, and I began wondering what it was like for these students who are part of such a large community. I was curious if the transition to university was more natural for Punjabi students since they belonged to a community who takes care of its own, or was it the opposite and did students fear the community and what others would think of them, like I did the first time I went to the UCONNECTS dinner?
Moreover, here I was thinking about the beautiful double-edged sword that being from a community of colour can be. I also remembered experiencing the same feelings of despair and confusion when hearing the stories that these first-generation students shared with me. As I reflect on my university navigation, it seems so easy, but if I sit and think hard, I remember examples of feeling lonely, scared, and upset during my undergraduate career. I wanted to explore these experiences with the students at SFU. I also wanted to give the students space and freedom to talk about their stories with no judgment or fear. As a Punjabi researcher, I felt that it was time to start writing our
6 history down for the next generation and give voice to those who are often voiceless in literature. I entered the doctoral program in Educational Leadership, and I was unable to find any studies on the experience of Punjabi students in university. I thought to myself, “How can this be? Why are our voices unheard, and why are we not writing our narratives?” I knew I had to research to share the experiences of Students of Colour to better understand those students who are at the margins of society. Further, I wondered about the challenges that these students face and what we could do in student affairs that may help these students navigate their university careers more effectively.
Description of the Problem
Currently, there is little Canadian research on Students of Colour and immigrant youth (Dinovitzer, Hagan, & Parker, 2003). The majority of immigrant youth in Canada are members of visible minority racialized groups (Anisef, Brown, Pythian, Sweet, & Walters, 2008; Anisef & Pythian, 2005; Boyd, 2006; Krahn & Taylor, 2005), and most of the research on this population originates from the US. There are differences in the racial composition and the histories of the two countries, so current programming and practices that may be used to support first-generation students in the US may not be practical or relevant in Canada.
In Canadian history, there is a social and economic need to increase the number of young people who enrol in postsecondary education (Canadian Council on Learning, 2007; Lehmann, 2007, 2009a, 2009b). This increase will only occur if those from underrepresented groups, including first-generation domestic and immigrant youth, are more effectively integrated into the postsecondary system (Berger, 2000; Sattler & Academia Group, 2010). There are, however, no Canadian studies that examine the experiences of first-generation students from underrepresented groups, in particular, the Punjabi student population. As a result, many of the programs and services that are available are inaccessible in BC, are based on experiences of first-generation students outside of Canada, and do not consider their personal and familial histories.
According to Pascarella et al. (2004), the majority of research from the US on first-generation students focuses on three areas: (a) comparison of first-generation students to non-first-generation students in terms of their demographics, preparation for
7 postsecondary education, choice of education/programs of study, and their educational expectations; (b) the challenges and difficulties that first-generation students encounter as they transition to higher education; and (c) educational retention, persistence, and attainments of first-generation students.
In Canada, there is comparatively less research that uses the first-generation concept to analyze educational data in relation to student experiences (Grayson, 2011), and even less that focuses specifically on the experiences of Students of Colour who are accessing postsecondary education in higher numbers (Nuñez, Cuccaro-Alamin, & Carroll, 1998; Pascarella, Wolniak, Pierson, & Terenzini, 2003). Much of the American research focuses on Latinx, African-American, and Native American first-generation students, who were not only born in the US but can claim ancestral connections and familiarity with the North American culture. First-generation students from communities of colour in Canada are more likely to be children of immigrants, or immigrants themselves; as such, these students represent many different ethnicities, speak a language other than English or French, and have more of a connection to the culture of their ancestral home than that of Canada (Boyd, 2006; Krahn & Taylor, 2005). Since 1990, in Canada, 75% of all immigrants are members of a community of colour (Boyd, 2006); consequently, these newly arrived immigrants are not as familiar or as comfortable with North American culture when compared to their American People-of- Colour peers.
In the latest Canadian Census, the largest group of newcomers to Canada were from Asia (Statistics Canada, 2013). In Vancouver, it is estimated that by 2017 the majority of the population in Vancouver is likely to be composed of People of Colour (Sandhu & Nayar, 2008). Currently, the only Canadian research that has specifically examined the experiences of first-generation Punjabi students in the university system is by Sandhu and Nayar (2008): Studying the Sikh Diaspora: First-Year University Experience of Punjabi Sikh Students. Sandhu and Nayar (2008) examined the experiences of 82 students enrolled in a Sikh Diaspora course. The 2008 study provides an overview of the relevant sociocultural concerns that South Asian students may experience while obtaining higher education (Sandhu & Nayar, 2008). Studies have examined first-generation university students regarding their academic preparation, the transition to higher education, and persistence behaviours, but little is known about their university experience (Pascarella et al., 2004; Terenzini et al., 1996) and identity as first-
8 generation university students. The small number of inquiries that have focused solely on first-generation university students have typically been quantitative studies (Orbe, 2004, 2008). The literature on first-generation students highlight the barriers that hinder the participation of minority students in postsecondary education, and the theories that provide insight into the experiences of these students operating from a student failure perspective. Much of the research on first-generation students and Students of Colour views these students from a deficit perspective and is full of cultural poverty disadvantages instead of focusing on the types of various forms of capital their communities bring with them (Yosso, 2005). In this study, I aimed to uncover the types of capital that these first-generation students possess that are not apparent in current postsecondary research and change the deficit lens currently in use in postsecondary education with first-generation students.
The Aim of the Study
This thesis presents a descriptive qualitative case study examining the experiences of first-generation Punjabi students at SFU. The research for this thesis was designed to explore the perceptions of a group of undergraduate students as they reflected on navigation of the university system. The participants are defined as first- generation students because they cannot benefit from experiences of university- educated parents by way of information sharing, and they are underprivileged in understanding what skills, attitudes, and abilities are necessary to successfully navigate the university experience (Horn, Nuñez, & Bobbitt, 2000).
To provide context, in writing the thesis I reviewed current research on first- generation university students. I also studied existing research on Punjabis in BC with the aim to lay the groundwork for understanding the experience of first-generation Punjabi students. I found the information about first-generation Punjabi students to be restricted. I used a case study approach on the basis that the students were viewed as best situated to comment on the meanings of their lives and experiences and to consider the weight they gave to those experiences when narrating their university experience.
9 Research Questions
The primary research question for this study was: What are the experiences of the first-generation Punjabi students enrolled at SFU? I developed five research subquestions to understand and answer the overarching question. Although these were not the interview questions, it was my hope that the following five subquestions would be answered during data collection:
1. What support systems do these students rely on during their postsecondary undergraduate career?
2. What role does their family play in their postsecondary experience?
3. What does it mean to the students and their family to be the first to attain postsecondary education in Canada?
4. What role does being part of the Punjabi culture in British Columbia play for the students during their postsecondary careers?
5. What do they wish they understood before entering their undergraduate careers at SFU?
These questions shaped the design, data collection, and analysis of the data gathered through this research. I discuss these processes in the next section and further elaborate upon the methodology in Chapter 4.
The Research Process
This section presents a short description of the research design, including the rationale for its use, the setting, and the population studied and the data analysis techniques. I employed a qualitative case study research design (Creswell, 2008; Gall, Gall, & Borg, 2007), through the method of semistructured interviews, to collect rich, in- depth data from a representative sample of 12 first-generation Punjabi students at SFU. This study, which employed a qualitative descriptive case study research model, was designed to examine the experience of the 12 students and allow them to narrate their university experiences. The study sought to enable students to reflect on their transition into the university, their family lives, and what it meant to be first in their family to attain postsecondary education in Canada.
10 I used a purposeful sampling process to select the participants for this study. Creswell (1998) noted the rationale for the purposeful sampling strategy needs to be established for the selection of participants and for gathering information about them (Gall et al., 2007). In purposeful sampling, the goal is to select a participant that will be rich with information reflecting the purposes of the study (Gall et al., 2007). The chosen participants and documents are intended to help the researcher achieve an in-depth understanding of particular individuals (Gall et al., 2007) and an understanding of the research questions (Creswell, 2003). With case study research, a variety of possibilities for purposeful sampling are available; for example, the researcher can select “ordinary cases, accessible cases, or unusual cases” (Creswell, 2003, p. 75) to show different perspectives on the issue under study.
Following approval from the Office of Research Ethics at SFU, I recruited students to participate in the research study using the snowball technique (Creswell, 2008). Lund Research (2012) defined the snowball approach as a nonprobability-based sampling method that can be used to gain access to such populations. To create the snowball sample, I first identified one or more units in the desired population, and I then used these units to find further groups, and so on, until the sample size was met. To recruit potential research participants, I contacted the Sikh Student Association and Punjabi Student Association at SFU via their current student email lists. I then contacted my colleagues at SFU and known members of the community to help identify potential participants for the study, and I also spoke about the research in the Punjabi Level-1 course offered at SFU Surrey in the fall of 2014.
Participants in this study were current undergraduate students at SFU and met the following criteria to participate in this study:
1. Born in or outside of India to parents who were born in India or Canada.
2. Attended SFU and were in their first, second, third, or fourth year of undergraduate study.
3. Self-identified as the first-generation to go to university in Canada.
4. Self-identified as Punjabi.
5. Fell within the age range of 18–25 years.
11 6. Were willing to reflect on their experiences of being first to attend university in their family.
I intended to randomly select 10 students for the study; however, due to the overwhelming response and to ensure saturation of data (Yin, 2009), I chose to interview 12 participants. Purposeful sampling was employed, as I needed to select participants to provide in-depth and rich details on their lives as students of Punjabi heritage. I set the sample size to 12 students with the hope that this would provide sufficient variation in the gender and age of participants. According to Speziale and Carpenter (2007), sample sizes of 10 to 15 individuals are adequate, provided participants can supply rich descriptions of the phenomenon. I offered participants a $30 gift card to Metrotown Mall to thank them for taking part in the research.
Approximately 89 students at SFU received an invitation to participate in this research study, of which 12 participated in the one-on-one, face-to-face interviews. The participants consisted of six female and six male students; six were domestic and six were international students. Participants ranged from 18 to 25 years of age. All participants were in undergraduate degree programs at SFU. Of the 12 participants, seven were born in India and five were born in Canada. Seven of the 12 students lived with their immediate family, and five lived with their extended family in the Lower Mainland. All participants self-identified as first-generation Punjabi students.
Several researchers have written on the usefulness of case study research designs. Yin (2009) suggested that case study research, with its philosophical underpinnings, provides a framework for exploratory analysis in real-life settings. Qualitative research methods are tools that offer student affairs professionals a venue for uncovering essential issues about students and aid in the evaluation of the effectiveness of services available to them. Qualitative research methods are useful in unfolding, categorizing, and understanding thoughts that are difficult and frequently impossible to quantify (Walters, 2001). Often qualitative research methods can help student affairs professionals supplement “assessment programs that too often are inconsistent, reactive, and predictable” (Walters, 2001, p. 184).
[They are] inconsistent in that they fail to put into place systems of evaluation that can be used year after year; predictable in that they consist of only end-of-semester surveys; and reactive in that they conduct
12 interviews, surveys, or focus groups only in response to particular incidents. (Walters, 2001, p. 184)
In closing the merits of case study research, Walters (2001) emphasized that case study allows the research of real-life settings both rigorously and systematically. As such, case study research was well suited for this research, as the inquiry focused on the experiences of first-generation Punjabi students at SFU.
Theoretical Framework
In his social reproduction theory, Bourdieu (1973) offered a plausible explanation for differences among the experiences of first-generation students and their peers. Pidgeon (2008) noted Bourdieu’s (1973) theory provides insight into the power of the educational system in replicating the central values and beliefs about success. Following Aschaffenburg and Maas’s (1997) suggestion, I utilized Bourdieu’s (1973) conceptual framework to understand first-generation university students’ experiences. From the perspective of Bourdieu (1973), students bring set levels of capital into university, which have been established within previous contexts. Often, these capital factors can systematically exclude certain groups of people from participation. This theory of cultural reproduction posits deficits in cultural capital as the major force, seeking to exclude first- generation students from middle-class dominated institutions (Grayson, 2011, p. 606). Specifically, information, knowledge, and experiences related to academic, career, financial, and personal matters are classified as cultural capital if these traits are perceived as being rewarded by the dominant culture. Cultural capital is the system of factors that define an individual’s social status.
I also lean on the theoretical framework of Yosso (2005) to understand the student experience to answer the main research question through a Punjabi capital frame. Similarities exist between the findings and the six forms of capital that Communities of Colour are believed to possess (Yosso, 2005). Yosso indicated that Communities of Colour have the following forms of capital: (a) aspirational capital, such as a sense of resiliency; (b) linguistic capital, such as knowledge of multiple languages and communication styles; (c) familial capital, which includes support from immediate and extended family and community; (d) social capital, which includes peer networks and
13 community resources; (e) navigational capital, which is the ability to manoeuvre through social institutions; and (f) resistant capital, which is the ability to challenge inequalities.
Punjabi students identified two additional strengths that were not cited in Yosso’s (2005) study: (a) Punjabi culture and (b) seva, which is the responsibility to help. Each of the students felt a great sense of seva and felt a responsibility to help others as a result of being the first in their family to attend university and in recognition of the sacrifice and support of their parents and community. Participants in this study were committed to giving back to their family, peers, and the Punjabi Sikh community. In addition, most of the students selected a major and career path that would allow them to assist their families, siblings, and the Punjabi community in some capacity.
According to the literature, students with less cultural capital may have lower educational aspirations than their peers or may self-select out of particular situations because they do not know the cultural norms of that situation (Lamont & Lareau, 1988). They may also overperform to compensate for cultural capital shortages or be undercompensated for their educational investment (Bourdieu & Passeron, 1977; Lamont & Lareau, 1988).
More specifically, first-generation students are defined in current academic literature as disadvantaged by their lack of support systems with privileged knowledge of university life (Pascarella et al., 2004, p. 267). Several researchers have explored the relationship between capital and student success in university. However, research literature in experiences of first-generation Punjabi students is virtually nonexistent. In conducting this study, I aimed to reframe the current deficit view of first-generation students in postsecondary literature. I choose to specifically use Social Reproduction Theory as the lens in order to dismantle the notion of the “right” type of capitals needed to navigate higher education. This study uncovered different forms of capital Punjabi students come to university with and explored the impact on the experience of first- generation Punjabi students at SFU.
Definition of Terms
Researchers typically define a student's generational status according to the highest level of parental education attained (Chen & Carroll, 2005; Nuñez et al., 1998;
14 Warburton, Bugarin, Nuñez, & Carroll, 2001), but a standard definition has not been applied. I provide the definition used in this study for first-generation university students in the following section. I also offer an explanation regarding the utilization of the term Punjabi in this study.
2.7.1 First-Generation University Students
The first-generation concept initially originated in the US in 1978 at a meeting in Iowa that focused on the nonfinancial impediments to postsecondary education and was then used federally in the US as criteria for postsecondary access and outreach programs (Auclair et al., 2008). Before this formalizing of the term first-generation student, the status of being first to attend postsecondary education in a family was not perceived as a variable that had any impact to access or completion of higher education (Auclair et al., 2008). Since then, many North American researchers have conducted studies on the first-generation concept, and they have used a variety of definitions for the concept (Billson & Terry, 1982; Chen & Carroll, 2005; Inkelas, Daver, Vogt, & Leonard, 2007; Nuñez et al., 1998; Pascarella et al., 2004; Saenz, Hurtado, Barrera, Wolf, & Yeung, 2007; Sherlin, 2002; Somers, Woodhouse, & Cofer, 2004). The definition ranges across Canada and the US. Researchers have defined first-generation university students in a variety of ways. Students have been considered first-generation if the educational backgrounds of both parents did not exceed a high school diploma (Billson & Terry, 1982; Chen & Carroll, 2005; Inkelas et al., 2007; Nuñez et al., 1998; Pascarella et al., 2004; Saenz et al., 2007; Sherlin, 2002; Somers et al., 2004).
Researchers have further distinguished between students who had at least one parent who attended some college or university but did not have a bachelor’s degree, and students who had at least one parent with a bachelor’s degree or higher (Chen & Carroll, 2005; Nuñez et al., 1998; Sherlin, 2002). The role of siblings who may have preceded a student in being the first to attend postsecondary education in one’s family has also been considered. In 1992, Billson and Terry determined an individual is a first- generation university student, regardless of whether the student had a sibling who was enrolling in a college or university. In 2010, a Canadian study by Palameta and Voyer defined first-generation students as those with no parent with a completed credential at the postsecondary level. In 1995, Grayson, in a Canadian study, identified first- generation students as those who did not have at least one parent with a bachelor’s
15 degree to ensure students who had one parent with partial university experience could take part in his study.
For this study, I considered individuals to be first-generation university students if their parents’ educational background did not exceed high school in Canada. I defined a first-generation student as the first person in that individual’s family to attend postsecondary education in Canada. My assessment of the literature did not reveal any studies that explored the experiences of Punjabi university students with a parent (or parents) who attended some university outside of Canada.
2.7.2 Punjabi Students
Punjabi is a term that is used to refer to individuals who are originally from the geographic area of Punjab in present-day India and Pakistan and who live in their homeland or the diaspora (Nayar, 2012). The term Punjab, which translates to the term five waters, was first used by the Persians to refer to the geographic region of the northwestern part of India (Nayar, 2012). This region is where the five rivers, Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej, merge into the Indus river (Nayar, 2012). Punjabi culture grew out of the settlements situated along these five rivers; agriculture has been the significant economic feature of Punjab and has formed the foundation of Punjabi culture, with one’s social status determined by land ownership (Nayar, 2012). Punjabis share a familiar territory, ethnicity, and language but may not share the same religion. Most Punjabis are likely to follow one of the several religions, most often Sikhism, Hinduism, or Islam (Nayar, 2012). In this study, each participant self-identified as a first- generation Punjabi student.
Significance of the Study
Most research regarding first-generation students has been conducted in the US and most often examines demographics, grade-point averages (GPAs), persistence rates, withdrawal rates, graduation rates, and specific ethnic minority groups (McConnell, 2000; Nuñez et al., 1989; Orbe, 2004). I found no research that addressed first-generation Punjabi students’ ability to transition and integrate into postsecondary education and none examining the particular experiences of first-generation Punjabi students. As a result of this gap, educators have called for increased qualitative research
16 exploring the social and cultural transition for first-generation students: “Qualitative research can shed light on the micro-level dynamics of this cultural navigation for first- generation and non-first-generation student” (Nuñez et al., 1998, p. 26).
I found research reflecting on the Punjabi student population to be limited. Much of the current research reflected on the Sikh religion and Punjabi migration history to Canada (Nayar, 2012; Smith & Mann, 2016). The process of becoming Canadian or westernized has long been studied in many ethnographies (Gill, 2007; Jacobsen & Myrvold, 2015); however, research on Punjabi university students and their experiences is not readily available in the academic literature. The goal of this study was to provide a qualitative examination of the experience of this cohort and to accurately capture and describe the phenomena to be able to develop an understanding and description of what it is like to be a first-generation Punjabi student attending postsecondary education, specifically at SFU.
Educators and administrators of postsecondary institutions recognize that they can dramatically affect student experiences and have a responsibility to support their students (Pascarella et al., 2003). The primary objective of postsecondary education is to support students, regardless of their backgrounds, so that they can achieve academic and personal success. More importantly, educators and administrators want their students to graduate. However, these objectives can only be met if the needs of the students entering their institutions are understood (Terenzini et al., 1996).
The gap in qualitative case study research, coupled with the research findings that support that first-generation students do not have cultural and social capital to navigate university as well as their non-first-generation counterparts (Chen & Carroll, 2005; Choy, 2001; Pascarella et al., 2004), led me to ask the following question: What are the experiences of the first-generation Punjabi students enrolled at SFU? At the onset of this research, I determined the answer to this question could best be accomplished by understanding the experiences of this population. As previously stated, the outcomes of this research are necessary to postsecondary institutions in Canada because no prior study has been conducted in this country on first-generation Punjabi students. Furthermore, I found little research that focused on the experiences of this population. Following Terenzini et al.’s (1996) argument, one could argue that postsecondary educators and administrators will not be able to fully support first-
17 generation Punjabi students until they understand the essence of those students’ experiences.
This study provides new data to help student affair practitioners understand the Punjabi student populations and deconstruct current services and policies in place that serve this population. As well, this research provides a starting point for other Canadian researchers to examine the qualitative experiences of first-generation Punjabi students. This study can aid researchers, practitioners, and policymakers in better understanding and support the growing and the diverse number of Punjabi students entering postsecondary education. This study is positioned to address voids in the postsecondary literature by exploring the experiences of first-generation Punjabi students whose experiences are currently absent in the literature.
Study Limitations and Delimitations
This study was conducted at one Canadian comprehensive urban university, SFU, and aimed to describe the experience of the first-generation Punjabi students. The findings are not generalizable to other universities, to other types of ethnic communities, or to other types of students such as college, university transfer students, or to students’ who are not from BC.
There are several limitations to the study due to its design. First, the Punjabi students in this study only represent the perceptions of Punjabi students at one university in the Lower Mainland. Second, the general assumptions of the results may be limited, although the experiences may be similar for other students at other institutions, there is a need to examine this phenomenon at other similar institutions further. Third, researcher bias is a limitation. Having a researcher belonging to the same community may have prevented students from answering openly due to cultural norms, and the idea of lokhi ke kengha (i.e., what will other people say or think if I say this)? Last, because the Punjabi and Sikh Student Associations were used to recruit students to participate in the study, the student elected to join these groups limited the ability to generalize the findings and may have also restricted the pool of the participants.
18 Organization of the Study
Chapters 1 and 2 set up the context of the study to examine the experiences of the first-generation Punjabi students at SFU in BC, Canada. The problem, purpose, research questions and study significant were all presented, followed by a brief exploration of the theories that contextually framed the phenomenology. In these chapters, I provided an overview of the research project in which I sought to understand the experiences of a specialized group of students. I conducted this research with the intention to understand the experiences of first-generation Punjabi students at SFU. My goal was to uncover the stories of 12 students in order to delve into the inner experiences of being first in their families to attend university while also being part of one of the largest communities of colour in BC. I have explored the relationship between their university experiences and revealed resources that have been critical in helping them navigate their journey in postsecondary education.
Chapter 3 outlines and reviews the relevant literature that informs the setting, conception, and design of this study and explains key terms and theories applied in the research. Specifically, the research literature outlined the history of the first-generation student, that student’s place in postsecondary education, and the student’s educational experience. I present an overview of the Punjabi community in BC in an effort to help define the community space from which the students come. I also studied and discussed the theoretical background of Bourdieu’s (1973, 1977a, 1977b) social and cultural capital in depth, as it is the theoretical framework that I utilized to inform the whole experience of the students interviewed. The literature review seeks to produce the essential themes about first-generation students and practices currently in place to support these students in hopes of identifying connections between the literature and the central research questions behind the study.
Chapter 4 provides an in-depth explanation of the research design and a rationale of the methodology used to carry out the study. It details the interview instrument used and contains a description of the research site and the students selected for the study. Also provided is an outline of the data collection and analysis procedures, the position of the researcher, and the ethical guidelines used to protect the participants as well as measures implemented to guarantee that the issues of trustworthiness are adequately addressed.
19 Chapters 5 and 6 narrate the experiences of 12 first-generation Punjabi students at SFU. These two chapters, entitled “Phulkari,” weave together, much like the traditional Punjabi thread work, the stories of the 12 students as well as my personal story as a first-generation Punjabi student. The chapters present the reader with an overview of the participants’ demographic information and reasons for choosing postsecondary education. It is my intention that these chapters tell the story and allow the first-time Punjabi students to be the main characters in this research, rather than background characters who are often lumped under large racialized umbrellas. The chapters explore emergent themes regarding participants’ experiences navigating Canadian postsecondary education as the first university students in their families. Finally, participants will share experiences they believe may help the next generation of Punjabi learners.
Chapter 7 discusses how students’ stories and emergent themes in response to the research questions reinforce and challenge the existing literature. This chapter aims to answer the main research question and the five subquestions. The goal of this chapter is to learn from these students’ experiences to help inform policy and practice within the institution and the field of student affairs.
Chapter 8 provides a conclusion to the research study. The conclusion outlines the significance and implications of the research. Included in this chapter are my final reflections as the researcher. I am define myself as a researcher who is a first- generation Punjabi student who is a practitioner in student affairs. Recommendations for policy changes at the institutional and practice are presented. This dissertation will close with suggestions for future research directions regarding research on first-generation students, Punjabi students, and teachings learned from this research project.
Summary
This chapter introduced the study of the experience of first-generation Punjabi students at SFU. I sought to examine in detail the experiences these students face as the first in their families to navigate postsecondary education in Canada. The chapter described the problem, detailed the research question and subquestions, and established the need for the research and the relevance and contribution of the study
20 outcomes. The boundaries of the study were also determined, and potential limitations to the research described. This chapter has set the stage for an exploration of the relevant literature surrounding first-generation Punjabi experience in university, which I delve into in the following chapter.
21 Chapter 3.
Review of the Literature
Overview and Introduction
This chapter provides a review of the literature related to Punjabi students who are the first to attend postsecondary education in their family. Several of the studies outlined in this chapter provided the foundation for research on first-generation students and explored factors that influence these students' experiences in university.
I conducted this literature review with the aim of situating this research and answering the question: What are the experiences of first-generation Punjabi students enrolled at SFU? This chapter provides the literature on first-generation students focusing first on defining the first-generation status and the types of capital first- generation students bring to postsecondary institutions. The discussion in the second section of the literature review focuses on Punjabis in Canada and the demographic characteristics of the Punjabi immigrant population. The third and final part of this literature review discuses the theoretical framework, social reproduction theory (Bourdieu, 1977a, 1977b, 1986) used to help answer the research question.
In conducting this research study I sought to look beyond the deficit framework that is often used to describe first-generation students (Rose, 2012; Shankar, 2008; Suárez-Orozco & Suárez-Orozco, 2001; Yosso, 2005). I aimed to contribute to addressing the absence in the higher education literature that fails to recognize the contribution that first-generation students make to postsecondary education and challenge deficit perceptions of students who are the first to attend university in their families. In the writing of this dissertation, I found my research committee pushed the boundary and enabled me to see beyond the words of deficit, limitation, inadequate, as well as other statements used in the literature to define first-generation students. As a researcher who is a Person of Colour, I found this the toughest hurdle to overcome while writing my dissertation. My voice is preprogrammed to speak from a deficit framework. I have been trained to believe specific student populations may come to university disadvantaged and have certain limitations. The majority of research on first-generation
22 students places them within a context of nonparticipation; as a result, these students are automatically marked as “lacking” and are often alienated from the very system they have worked so hard to enter. It is critical to conduct research that recognizes the experiential knowledge of Students of Colour is legitimate and appropriate. In conducting this research, I sought to better understand issues explicitly related to the first- generation Punjabi student population at SFU in an effort to address these holistically. As such, I chose to use my dissertation to help expose the deficit-informed research, create spaces for Students of Colour to assert their voices, and challenge traditional research on People of Colour that often silences and distorts their experiences instead of focusing on their strengths.
The Deficit Discourse of the Literature
Existing postsecondary research often describes first-generation student populations through demographic characteristics and outcomes comparison with continuing-generation students (Bui, 2005; Inman & Mayes, 1999; Pascarella et al., 2004; Somers et al., 2004; Terenzini et al., 1996). Much of the existing research tends to work through a deficit model, referring to the challenges first-generation students face without acknowledging the strengths and diversity they bring to the university. In postsecondary literature, students are typically first identified as first-generation with a secondary marker of being working class, of low socioeconomic status, or a Person of Colour (Bui, 2005; Davis, 2010; Inman & Mayes, 1999; Pascarella et al., 2004; Somers et al., 2004). Relevant postsecondary scholarship works mostly through large-scale qualitative surveys and does not offer a detailed understanding of students’ experiences in postsecondary education (Bui, 2005; Inman & Mayes, 1999; Pascarella et al., 2004; Somers et al., 2004; Terenzini et al., 1996). These large survey-based studies offer a macroview of first-generation student experiences in postsecondary education. These studies do not allow students to recount and reflect their full experiences or to express their successes and challenges.
The deficit discourse also results in nontraditional students being recognized as the “other” when compared to more traditional student cohorts, which often alienates students and prejudges their academic potential. Currently, first-generation Punjabi students are not recognized for the contributions that they make to postsecondary
23 education. I position this small body of literature as a starting point for summarizing how the current scholarship perceives first-generation university students and often focuses on the challenges these students face to the exclusion of their strengths and successes.
3.2.1 Definition of a First-Generation Student
The first-generation concept originated in the US at a 1978 Iowa meeting that was dedicated to exploring the nonfinancial barriers to higher education and was then used federally in the US as criteria for postsecondary access and outreach programs (Auclair et al., 2008). Many North American studies have focused on the first-generation concept; however, researchers have used a variety of terms to define a first-generation student. At the narrow end of the scale, first-generation students are defined as only those with no immediate member of their families having pursued postsecondary education, including siblings; these students are described as true firsts without the benefit family who can help guide them through the postsecondary experience (Inman & Mayes, 1999). Other American researchers have expanded the definition to include students whose parents may have had some postsecondary education but did not complete their degree or graduate (Grayson, 1995; Palameta & Voyer, 2010; Willett, 1989).
In a 2009 Canadian study on immigrant students and access to postsecondary education, the authors defined first-generation students as those with parents who had not earned qualifications at the postsecondary level (Finnie & Mueller, 2009). In 1995, Grayson conducted a study on the academic attainments of the first-generation student at York University and defined this cohort as those who did not have at least one parent with a baccalaureate degree.
Many of the studies on first-generation students include those whose parents have some higher education in the US or Canada. For the purpose of this study, individual is defined as a first-generation student if neither of the student's parents has any education continued beyond high school in Canada. The term “first generation” is one that students most often encounter for the first time in university, and I found the term to be constructed and reconstructed often in the current literature (e.g., Grayson, 1995; Palameta & Voyer, 2010; Willett, 1989).
24 First-Generation Students
3.3.1 Preuniversity Characteristics
I found the existing postsecondary research often described first-generation university student population through demographic characteristics and outcomes comparisons with continuing-generation students. In current postsecondary scholarship, I noted a tendency to identify disadvantages first-generation students experience and describe those disadvantages as inherent characteristics that these students bring with them to campus. This deficit model for students often yields compensatory approaches to supporting first-generation students on campus. Essentially, the problems with a deficit model of first-generation students are two-fold: (a) this approach fails to recognize and celebrate student assets and potential contributions to campus and (b) it is unable to identify any kind of lack of shortfall that might exist in the campus environment.
By viewing first-generation students from a deficit framework, postsecondary research focuses on student characteristics, such as having limited information about higher education. The limited information includes preparing academically during high school, completing applications, and understanding the financial aid process of entering, adjusting, and succeeding in university (Berkner & Chavez, 1997; Berkner, Horn, & Clune, 2000; Kojaku, Nuñez, & Malizio, 1998; London, 1989; Stage & Hossler, 1989; Warburton et al., 2001; York-Anderson & Bowman, 1991). Researchers have linked the difficulties first-generation students face to being less academically prepared, as they do not have the same access to academic resources in comparison to continuing- generation students (Warburton et al., 2001).
Current explorations of first-generation university students’ experiences use surveys and questionnaires to gauge students’ perceptions and experiences of campus environment (Bui, 2005; London, 1989; Stage & Hossler, 1989; Warburton et al., 2001). These studies garner self-reported details about students’ backgrounds and ask students to assess their own postsecondary experiences or to report and describe their attitudes about those experiences. In general, the analyses and results of these studies characterized first-generation university students as feeling less academically prepared and more worried about financial aid than their continuing-generation counterparts (Bui, 2005; London, 1989; Stage & Hossler, 1989; Warburton et al., 2001).
25 A large-scale study concluded that first-generation students have also described studying fewer hours, are less likely to be in honours courses, completed fewer credit hours during their first year, and took fewer courses in humanities and fine arts (Terenzini et al., 1996). First-generation students reported that they did not start thinking about postsecondary education until later in their high school careers (Horn et al., 2000), leaving them at a disadvantage concerning academic preparedness. Several studies concluded that parents of first-generation students are less involved with helping their children select high school courses and less inclined to push them to take rigorous courses (Engle, 2007; Padron, 1992). Krahn and Taylor's (2005) study, which examined high school levels of math achievement across all provinces in Canada, uncovered that students with parents who attended university were more likely to enrol in rigorous courses like math, which kept their postsecondary career options open. In contrast, first- generation students did not complete more demanding academic classes because they did not understand the benefit of them (Krahn & Taylor, 2005).
According to some researchers, first-generation students are also less likely to achieve high GPAs in high school (Fischer, 2007; McElroy, 2008), and high school courses and grades are significant predictors of postsecondary enrolment and persistence (Cheung, 2007; Dooley, Payne, & Robb, 2011; Educational Policy Institute, 2008; Grayson, 2011), which leads to the conclusion that first-generation students will have lower postsecondary enrolment and persistence based on their high school GPA.
Research on first-generation students has continuously defined these individuals as less academically prepared for the demands of postsecondary education (Choy, 2001, 2004; Terenzini et al., 1996), and first-generation students in Canada entering community colleges are underprepared in areas such as math, reading, and writing abilities (Human Resources and Social Development Canada, 2007). First-generation students are framed as less likely to take admission tests required by more selective postsecondary institutions, and they tend to perform poorly, which limits their postsecondary choices (Auclair et al., 2008; Canadian Council on Learning, 2007; Engle, 2007; Warburton et al., 2001).
This brief overview begins to uncover how postsecondary research often works through a fixation with the challenges that first-generation students face. While revealing and understanding challenges students face may help researchers, administrators, and
26 teachers work to support these students, focusing on challenges to the exclusion of strengths or successes places first-generation students in the framework of shortfall before they even enter university.
3.3.2 Planning and Support for Postsecondary Education
The following section highlights how current literature has defined the challenges that first-generation students face while planning for postsecondary education and the type of support they receive. In conducting this literature scan, I noted a clear omission of first-generation students’ experiences yet a focus on their inability to plan for postsecondary and the lack of support they receive. York-Anderson and Bowman (1991) conducted one of the most well-cited studies on first-generation students. In their study they concluded that first-generation students lack basic familiarity about how to prepare for postsecondary studies. Several researchers also concluded that parents without any education beyond high school are unable to provide the perspective and reflective experience to engage meaningfully in their children’s postsecondary development and decision-making (Auclair et al., 2008; EKOS Research Associates, 2009; Horn et al., 2000).
First-generation students receive (and perceive) less support from their parents than their continuing-generation peers. Various studies have determined that first- generation students are less likely to receive parental and peer support for their postsecondary ambitions (Nuñez et al., 1998; Padron, 1992; Terenzini et al., 1996; Thayer, 2000). Current postsecondary scholars typically define the term support as the ability to provide “university knowledge” (Nuñez et al., 1998; Padron, 1992; Terenzini et al., 1996; Thayer, 2000) as well as financial assistance. Overall, according to first- generation literature, students are less likely to be motivated by family members and friends to pursue higher education and are more frequently expected to provide a quick financial return by working and helping support their families (Engle, 2007; Réndon, 1994).
Consequently, even before they enrol in a postsecondary program, first- generation students are seen to share a pattern of deficits and background variables that can negatively impact their success. What is missing from the postsecondary literature is the type of support first-generation students receive. While first-generation students lack
27 university insights from their parents, they may receive other forms of support. According to the literature first-generation Students of Colour rely on extended family members and significant others such as family friends for university information (Attinasi, 1989; Pérez & McDonough, 2008).
3.3.3 Family as a Correlate of Success
Researchers have consistently suggested that family relationships aid in a sense of belonging at university rather than hinder it (Hurtado, Cater, & Spuler, 1996), and that they enhance feelings of “validation” (Réndon, 1994, p. 36). Rodriguez (2002) also found in a study that Hispanic first-generation students held a special status in their families because of their university attendance: “Even though these parents cannot provide direct knowledge and personal experiences, they can establish a family value for education” (pp. 20–21).
First-generation students often have a working-class ethic that tells them personal achievement comes from determination, hard work, self-control, ability, and that their accomplishments are a direct reflection of their attributes and strengths, which is a work ethic first-generation students learn from their families’ worldview (Inman & Mayes, 1999; Lohfink & Paulsen, 2005). Therefore, first-generation students often feel their “failure” is because of being less intelligent or because of their lack of effort. They do not often recognize the fundamental influences beyond their control, such as deficits in cultural and economic capital (Billson & Terry, 1982; London, 1978; Reay, Davies, David, & Ball, 2001).
3.3.4 Summary
First-generation university students have been studied primarily regarding how they compare to other students whose parents are university graduates. Although People of Colour are more likely than others to be first-generation students (e.g., Terenzini et al., 1996), most research has centred on first-generation university students as a group rather than focusing on their lived experiences as a first-generation students. A large body of first-generation research includes longitudinal studies at campuses with predominantly white students. In many of these studies researchers described the characteristics of the first-generation status and attempted to delineate the
28 predictors of university outcomes, especially degree attainment (Dennis, Phinney, & Chuateco, 2005; Terenzini et al., 1996).
Research has consistently revealed that first-generation students often enter university with work and other pressures related to university costs, family obligations, and lack of university knowledge. The terminology used to describe first-generation students and People of Colour is problematic, as it positions students as lacking and coming to universities with a “problem.” In sum, much of the research on first-generation students frames these individuals as coming into university with deficits in social, human, and cultural capital to be successful in university. The next section of this chapter reviews the literature related to the immigrant community in Canada, how immigration is often tied to education, and provides an overview of the Punjabi population in BC.
The Immigrant Population in Canada
Currently, in Canada, immigrants and their children make up 35% of the population between the ages 16-65. This is the traditional age range for employment (Finnie & Mueller, 2009). When the number is further broken down to the ages of 15 and 24 years, the traditional age of attending postsecondary studies, approximately 14% of the population is foreign born (Anisef et al., 2008). The current population born outside of Canada has been growing more rapidly than those born in Canada (Anisef et al., 2008). In 2010, Canada welcomed 280,636 new immigrants, the highest level in 50 years, an 11.3% increase over 2009 and 13.5% over 2008 (Statistics Canada, 2016). Since 2006, BC has welcomed on average 42,000 new immigrants (permanent residents) each year (Statistics Canada, 2016). In 2010, BC welcomed 44,176 new immigrants, a 6.6% increase over 2009 (41,440), and a 0.4% increase over 2008 (43,992; Statistics Canada, 2016).
In recent decades, many immigrants to Canada are also members of racialized groups (Boyd, 2006; Krahn & Taylor, 2005). Before the 1970s, 95% of new immigrants to Canada arrived from the northern and eastern parts of Europe or the US (Anisef et al., 2008; Boyd, 2006; Human Resources and Social Development Canada, 2008). By 1996, this percentage declined to less than 22% (Anisef et al., 2008; Boyd, 2006). The 2006 Canadian census revealed that 58% of immigrants now come from East and South
29 Asian countries, and 11% come from African nations (Anisef et al., 2008). If the present rate continues, as it is predicted by 2019 members of minority racial groups will represent 20% of the population of Canada (Anisef & Pythian, 2005). Immigrants to Canada originate from 220 countries and speak over 150 languages (Anisef et al., 2008), a significant difference from previous patterns of immigrants to Canada.
Immigrants to Canada are better educated than the domestic population, typically with advanced levels of education, undoubtedly due to Canada’s selection policy that supports immigration to those that are highly trained and well-educated (Human Resources and Social Development Canada, 2008). In the 1990s, 61% of all working- age newcomers had postsecondary credentials in comparison to 48% of the immigrants who arrived in the last 20 years (McMullen, 2004). Parents of Students of Colour are also more likely to be better educated. A Canadian study of the educational aspirations of 15-year-old youth found that 35% of the minority youth in the study came from a home in which at least one parent had a degree, while only 21% of nonminority youth had a parent with a degree (Krahn & Taylor, 2005). Although some populations of Students of Colour come from more educated homes, the forms of capital that their families bring with them are not the same forms valued by Canadian society.These students often find themselves navigating a system that is not designed to support first-generation students.
3.4.1 Immigration and Education
In several studies, researchers have revealed that immigrant parents value education, and most have hopes of higher education for their children and families (Goyette & Xie, 1999; Sweet, Anisef, & Walters, 2008; Sweet, Anisef, Brown, Walters, & Phythian, 2010). Immigrant parents often state that one of their main reasons for immigrating to Canada was to provide their children better educational opportunities with the hopes of better economic and social stability for their families (Goyette & Xie, 1999; Sweet et al., 2008; Sweet et al., 2010). As the research states immigrant parents are more likely to monitor and be more involved with their children’s educational navigation by setting study time, limiting television watching, and checking homework. Immigrant parents, through their involvement and monitoring of their children's educational progress send the message that obtaining an education is important and valuable (Dinovitzer et al., 2003; Sweet et al., 2008). Compared to their Canadian-born classmates, immigrant children have a more positive view of education and are
30 motivated and engaged, regardless of their country of origin or their immigration history to Canada (Finnie & Mueller, 2009; Schleicher, 2006).
Upon their arrival to Canada, immigrants face various challenges as they assimilate and adapt to culture and living conditions that are often very different from their home countries. Immigration assimilation theories include linear adaptation and segmented assimilation (Anisef et al., 2008; Boyd, 2006; Kao & Tienda, 1995). Proponents of linear assimilation theorize that the longer an immigrant lives in Canada, the more she/he/they will absorb and reflect the values, behaviours, and socioeconomics of Canadian society (Anisef et al., 2008; Boyd, 2006; Kao & Tienda, 1995). Until recently, scholars assumed the linear model to be the typical pathway of immigrants to Canada; however, changes in the ethnicity and linguistic traits of the recent waves of immigrants have led researchers to question the relevance of this model because it ignores the obstacles that many immigrant groups encounter (Anisef et al., 2008). Many immigrants, especially members of minority racialized groups, may experience disconnected assimilation, which has two distinct patterns: instead of integrating into the dominant mainstream culture, minority racial immigrants may slip into permanent poverty, sometimes referred to as truncated assimilation, or, contrarily, they may do well economically but intentionally avoid assimilating to in order to maintain their own cultural and ethnic identity (Aldous, 2006; Anisef et al., 2008; Boyd, 2006).
Immigrant children and children born in Canada to immigrant parents, especially those who deliberately retain cultural and ethnic ties, may be in a better position to be successful academically because they are not as influenced by the peer culture and because they can benefit from the cultural and social capital of both ethnic and nonethnic communities (Dinovitzer et al., 2003; Kao & Tienda, 1995). This is especially the case for young immigrant children or children born to immigrant parents who speak another language other than English or French at home (Kao & Tienda, 1995). The 1999 National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth (NLSCY) uncovered that even though immigrant children enter the Canadian school system with lower math, writing, and reading skills in comparison to their Canadian born classmates, by the time they finish elementary school, they are academically performing at the same level or even better than their peers (Statistics Canada, 2007; Worswick, 2004).
31 Sweet et al. (2008) explored the differences between immigrant and nonimmigrant and revealed that even though immigrant parents were unlikely to speak English or French, the children born to two immigrant parents academically surpassed the children of the other two groups (Sweet et al., 2008). In the Youth in Transition Survey (YITS), researchers also found that the children born in Canada to immigrant parents academically outperform the children of Canadian-born parents (Finnie & Mueller, 2009). Regarding pursuing higher education, another study found that only 16% of young people born outside the country did not continue postsecondary studies in contrast to 25% of all young people born in Canada (Butlin, 1999). These studies strengthen other findings that show children born to immigrant parents achieve more academically than any other groups (Abada, Hou, & Ram, 2009; Dinovitzer et al., 2003; Kao & Tienda, 1995; Richmond, 1986). The Canadian Survey of Labor of Income and Labor Dynamics confirmed that this was the case, even after controlling for parental education, socioeconomic status, and mother tongue (Hansen & Kučera, 2004). These findings are especially true of the children born to immigrant parents with the lowest levels of education (Bonikowska, 2007), which may reflect the immigrant optimism theory and the determination of immigrant parents to give their children opportunities that they did not have access to (Boyd, 2006; Kao & Tienda, 1995). Although the research on youth who are immigrant children show that they perform better than their domestic peers, there is a mismatch in the current literature on first-generation students that does not recognize the types capital children who have immigrant parents may bring with them to North American postsecondary institutions.
The Canadian context is also responsible for some essential characteristics of first-generation Students of Colour, especially when compared to their American counterparts. American research studies have broadened on the educational experiences of a variety of immigrant groups (Bankston, 2004; Fuligni & Witkow, 2004; Goyette & Xie, 1999). Most of the American research related to minority racial status focuses on Latinx, African-American, and Native American first-generation students, who were not only born in the US but also can claim lengthy ancestral connections and familiarity with North American culture. In contrast, apart from the First Nations, Metis, and Inuit populations, most minority racial groups arrived in Canada and most chose to emigrate for the better living standards as well as the educational and employment opportunities Canada has to offer (Anisef et al., 2008; Sweet et al., 2008). The obstacles
32 immigrants experience, including discrimination and lower earnings, may be eased by the hope and expectation of acquiring those benefits with time and hard work (Boyd, 2006; Kao & Tienda, 1995; Sweet, 2005). The children of Canadian immigrants do have higher rates of completing postsecondary studies than their domestic peers, highlighting that these hopes and expectations are being accomplished (Abada & Lin, 2011; Sweet et al., 2010). One can argue that the parental value of postsecondary education and the role of their socioeconomic status has enabled this generation’s social mobility.
Although Canadian children who have immigrant parents academically surpass their peers with Canadian-born parents, this is not always the case with children who immigrate to Canada. As stated above, the age of arrival in Canada correlates with academic attainment, signifying that the age of entry to Canada influences students’ educational outcomes, with younger children having more favourable results (Anisef & Pythian, 2005; Bonikowska, 2007; Dinovitzer et al., 2003; Kao & Tienda, 1995). It is no surprise that immigrant youth need time to adapt to a new educational system and culture. Children who arrive before 6 years of age have the most success, and those who come to Canada by the age of 14 years, when most young people are starting high school, have success rates similar to those of Canadian-born students; however, those who arrive during their high school years are more likely to drop out (Bonikowska, 2007). Students who immigrate to Canada during the end of high school, when young people are typically making decisions about their future education, not only experience a 2-year disadvantage compared to their Canadian-born classmates (Bonikowska, 2007) but they are also less likely to pursue higher education (Human Resources and Social Development Canada, 2008). One study found that youth immigrants tend to enrol in a college program at the average age of 25 years, compared to 22 years for those who arrived in Canada at a younger age (Human Resources and Social Development Canada, 2008).
In the following subsection, I provide a brief overview of the Punjabi population in BC.
A. Punjabis in British Columbia
The Punjabi community is comprised of immigrants who originate from the state of Punjab in India. Many scholars described that the first Punjabis who arrived in Canada
33 were a group of soldiers from Hong Kong who came to celebrate Queen Victoria’s Jubilee in 1897 (Jodhka, 2009). Punjabi immigrants began migrating to BC in the early 1900s and found themselves in manual labour positions in raw resource industries (Jodhka, 2009).
The increase of migration from Punjab to Canada resulted in an establishment of the sponsorship system, which continues to be a part of the Canadian immigration policy today (Jodhka, 2009). Most Punjabis who came to Western Canada during the 1950s immigrated through the family sponsorship program. Many immigrants from Punjab who arrived later on had completed formal education; however, their foreign credentials were not recognized in Canada. As a result, these academically educated immigrants entered blue-collar labour positions (Jodhka, 2009). Many Punjabis come from an agricultural farming community in Punjab, where they still maintain legal ownership of their farmland and have family members managing their property. The ties to land and family in Punjab have established a secure connection to Punjab and its cultural values (Jodhka, 2009). As such, the collective value system of the traditional agricultural societies in Punjab has transferred over to the Punjabi community within Canada (Jodhka, 2009).
The literature highlights traditional Punjabi culture is significantly different from mainstream Canadian culture, and many of the values that are of importance in one culture are not necessarily valued in the other (Dosanjh, Ghuman, & Narwhal, 1998; Kalsi, 2002). Familial connections are significant in both Canadian and Punjabi culture; however, in Punjabi culture, ties to the extended family are extensively maintained, while Canadian culture emphasizes the nuclear family (Kalsi, 2002). It is common for multiple generations of Punjabis to live together under one roof, and typically there are no distinctions between first and second cousins (Smythe & Toohey, 2009). Nonimmigrant Canadian culture is individualistic, and the switch from a collective society to one that celebrates individuality poses many unique challenges for the children of Punjabi parents (Kalsi, 2002). These children become students at schools that are founded on Western ideals and an individualist value system (Jodhka, 2009). There are tensions between Canadian and Punjabi cultures, and students growing up in Canada must negotiate their identities to move between the cultures in which they exist in (Jodhka, 2009).
34 Many Punjabis born in Canada must balance between two cultures and two or more identities. Although family connections tie them to their ancestors’ culture, they must face and adjust to the world that exists outside of their cultural home (Dosanjh et al., 1998; Somerville, 2008). Some Punjabis maintain closer ties to their culture and the values associated with it; as such, they find themselves living in Canada while continuing a Punjabi culture. These individuals may struggle to adjust to keeping customs at home while living another way outside of their homes. According to Asian Indian psychologists, a primary difference between Asian Indian and Western cultural belief systems lies in the concept of the self (Dosanjh et al., 1998). Asian Indians tend to be allocentric, in which the self and the family are integral, rather than separate concepts. Emotional dependency is fostered within the family and across the lifespan, women are expected to be dependent on males, and children remain physically close and deferential to parents long after marriage, employment, and leaving home (Dosanjh et al., 1998). Since self- identity is defined by the family and is established by a surname that affiliates individuals to religion, social class, language, and a state in India, first-generation adolescents face conflicting cultural allegiances. The conflicting cultural allegiances often faced by first- generation Punjabi students is discussed later in the discussion chapters.
B. Postsecondary Research on Punjabi Students
Based on data from the 2006 census, Statistics Canada (2009) indicated that ethnic diversity is increasing across the country. In major cities in Canada, such as Toronto and Vancouver, visible ethnic minorities are about 37% of the population (Statistics Canada, 2009). In 2005, a study published by Statistics Canada estimated that nearly one out of every five people in Canada might be a member of the visible group, and the South Asian population is predicted to be the minority majority (Statistics Canada, 2009). Although South Asians make up most of the visible ethnic minorities in BC, I was only able to find one research study that specifically examined Punjabi students in postsecondary education. In their 2008 study, Sandhu and Nayar examined the effectiveness of the “Sikh Diaspora” (p. 33) course regarding enhancing the first-year higher education experience of Punjabi Sikh students attending a postsecondary institution in BC. The lack of research on the Punjabi students in higher education is an area that needs to be studied and narrated.
35 3.4.2 The Influence of Language
Although not frequently examined as a variable in postsecondary studies of first- generation students, language issues do impact immigrant student educational attainment at all levels. According to the 2000 YITS, almost 66% of all minority ethnic students in Canada, both immigrant and native-born, had a first language other than English or French (Krahn & Taylor, 2005). Approximately 84% of immigrants to Canada between the ages of 15 and 24 speak another language at home (Anisef & Pythian, 2005). At SFU, data from the 2015 university’s undergraduate student survey found 61% of the student population at SFU spoke a language other than English at home (SFU, n.d.-c, 2016a).
Despite the fact that immigrant youth who speak another language at home may initially perform more poorly academically, having a mother tongue other than English or French may have a long-term positive outcome on educational attainment, specifically for those arriving to Canada at a young age or those who are Canadian born and have immigrant parents (Dinovitzer et al., 2003; Hansen & Kučera, 2004; McMullen, 2004). In 2000, the Program for International Assessment revealed immigrant children who spoke a language other than French or English at home were disadvantaged initially in school with lower writing, reading, and math abilities, but they could catch up after living in Canada for about 14 years (McMullen, 2004). In 1999, the NLSCY found that children from immigrant families who began school with deficits in core reading, writing, and math skills typically caught up to their domestic peers by the time they reached high school regardless of their mother tongue (Statistics Canada, 2007; Worswick, 2004). Researchers have also indicated bilingual young people have enhanced intellectual or cognitive development and, because they are fluent in at least two languages, they have higher resilience in thought, positive relationships with their parents, as well as access to social resources in their ethnic communities (Dinovitzer et al., 2003; McMullen, 2004).
Theoretical Framework
As more and more first-generation students enter university, it becomes increasingly important to identify the cultural perspectives and the characteristics that can either contribute to or impede their academic success. It is time to look beyond
36 superficial, comprehensive statements of deficit and limitation to understand first- generation students. One method of understanding their experiences is by examining these differences through the lens of sociologist Bourdieu’s (1977a, 1986) theory of social reproduction, which I discuss in the subsection that follows.
3.5.1 Social Reproduction Theory
The theoretical framework for this study focuses on Bourdieu’s (1973, 1977a, 1984, 1986, 1993) theory of social reproduction to understand the experiences of first- generation Punjabi students at SFU. Bourdieu, a leading sociologist, argued that all human action takes place within the societal structure, which in turn regulates an individual’s place in society (Bourdieu, 1984, 1986; Bourdieu & Passeron, 1977). The educational system held a central position in Bourdieu’s work because he saw it as the primary institution controlling and allocating power, privilege, and capital (Swartz, 1997). Habitus affects the selection process about education because ambitions and expectations arise from early class socialization and the internalization of perceived opportunities. Swartz (1997) described the process below:
Working-class youth do not aspire to high levels of educational attainment because, according to Bourdieu, they have internalized and resigned themselves to the limited opportunities for school success that exist for those without much cultural capital. In contrast, upper-middle-class youth internalize their social advantages as expectations for academic success, and stay in school. (p. 197)
Like his predecessor and one of the founding fathers of sociology, Emile Durkheim (Bourdieu, 1986), Bourdieu (1973, 1984, 1986, 1993) was interested in how societies duplicated class hierarchies. Unlike Durkheim (Bourdieu, 1986), who saw social reproduction as the basis for an orderly, operating society, Bourdieu (1973, 1984, 1986, 1993) was interested in explaining why people accept their positions in the hierarchy, even if it does them great harm (Wexler, 2009). Bourdieu (1973, 1984, 1986, 1993) examined social inequity through the lens of analyzing how and why it continues to repeat from generation to generation with the acceptance of those most disadvantaged by it. As Bourdieu (1990) asserted, “I can say that all my thinking started from this point: how can behaviour be regulated without being the product of obedience to rules” (p. 65). As a sociologist, Bourdieu (1990) felt his responsibility was to peel away the layers to show how society functions and reveal what is nontransparent because it is
37 so routine (see also Branson & Miller, 1991, p. 37). Bourdieu’s (1973, 1984, 1986, 1993) objective was to expose how cultural resources, processes, and even social institutions hold back individuals and groups in self-perpetuating fixed hierarchies of influence that they then accept as natural or normal (Swartz, 1997).
Bourdieu (1973, 1984, 1986, 1993), in his analysis of the reproduction of social stratification, grounded his theory in studies that focused on the French academic system and on the development of cultural differentiation, such as artistic taste (Swartz, 1997). Bourdieu (1977a) asserted that, as an institution beyond the framework of the family, the educational system played an essential role in the reproduction of class function. According to Bourdieu’s (1973, 1984, 1986, 1993) analysis, the educational system presents itself as a “neutral” body, an equal system in which individual merits or abilities are identified and rewarded regardless of social class. The structure of the educational system is based entirely on the belief that all participants share the same cultural and linguistic proficiency of the dominant class. The educational system does not provide these skills, but essentially demands and benefits that which can only be formed by family upbringing when it transmits the dominant culture (Bourdieu, 1977a). Class structures are not outwardly set but are reproduced within families through learned cultural dispositions or habitus —the collected values, attitudes, and behaviours— that correspond with a family’s position in the social hierarchy. Those who are of working- class origins and therefore lack the valued dispositions of the predominant culture are trapped by their cultural deficiency and their lack of economic, cultural, social, and symbolic capital (Bourdieu & Passeron, 1977). It is this process of the transference of capital that lies at the centre of Bourdieu’s (1973, 1984, 1986, 1993) theory.
3.5.2 Habitus
Temperaments and expectations are developed through socialization in homes, families, and other social arenas. Individuals internalize and establish limits of what is possible and create perceptions that correspond to the structuring properties of the class system (Swartz, 1997). These ideas and expectations are understood as habitus. Habitus negotiates between objective structures and practices and shapes people’s understanding of themselves and the world around them (Bourdieu, 1977a, 1986; Bourdieu & Passeron, 1977). Grenfell (2010) found that habitus encompasses the
38 observable actions and decisions made about the field of power and capital accumulation.
When an individual enters a new space like a college or university, which Bourdieu (1973) described as a field, that her or his habitus mostly determines the individual's actions, an embodied set of behaviours and values, entitlement, and confidence, that can either facilitate or interfere with her or his agency in that space. Bourdieu's (1973) imagined habitus is the individual’s perception of himself or herself in society and encompasses how that knowledge, in turn, effects that a person’s behaviour or relationship within society. Bourdieu (1973) defined habitus as an internalized system of long-term, transposable dispositions, formed early in life through familial socialization that operates at every moment to influence our perceptions, aspirations, actions, and reactions. It is “a system of internalized structures, schemes of attitudes, conception, and action familiar to all members of the same class or group” (Bourdieu, 1977b, p. 86). Class habitus is not obtained by children consciously or deliberately; it is transmitted from parent to child individually through “a whole system of techniques.… Charged with a host of social meanings and values” (Bourdieu, 1977b, p. 87). These techniques include family practices and customs, the obtaining of a style of communication, as well as personal and familial experiences. Even the gestures, facial expressions, and tones of voice expressions that children reflexively assimilate play a role in social differentiation (Bourdieu, 1977b). People’s habitus create the perceptions and behaviours that connect to them to their class origins. Socialization is learned through an individual’s position in the social hierarchy as well as the dispositions that will ensure that she or he remain in that situation.
Bourdieu (1973, 1984, 1986, 1993) also indicated that habitus allows people to internalize, reconcile, and connect to their social locations or situations with their way of being, usually without intended awareness. An individual’s habitus is self-motivated and moulded through experiences and position in the field of power and capital. It signifies “a system of lasting, transposable dispositions which, integrating past experiences and actions, functions at every moment as a matrix of perceptions, appreciations, and actions” (Bourdieu, 1973, p. 83). Through habitus, individuals establish their sense of entitlement, the anticipation of success in a social space or field, and live correspondingly. People’s habitus functions to assess personal practices or interests, on an unconscious or partly conscious level. It is the operation of an individual’s habitus that
39 estimates chances of success in a social location, like in college or university, by adjusting interests with what people recognize internally to be “sensible … [and] probable” (Bourdieu, 1977b, p. 79) for an individual of a particular class.
For instance, a student raised in a home in which at least one parent has a college or university education is more likely to have internalized the value that attending a postsecondary institution is a reasonable expectation and is more likely hold the habitus of the dominant culture. The educational system is rooted in dominant cultural dispositions, and when that student begins college or university, she or he is more likely to feel a sense of security, confidence, and entitlement. That student expects to be successful and is well equipped to interact and compete. In contrast, a first-generation student who does not have a parent with postsecondary education and lacks the habitus of the prevalent culture is more likely to feel doubtful or hesitant about attending college or university. Many first-generation students do report feeling an uncomfortable sense of being out-of-place when they first enter the postsecondary environment (Collier & Morgan, 2008; Corea, 2009; Dumais & Ward, 2010; Housel, 2012; Lara, 1992; Lehmann, 2007, 2009a; London, 1992; Wilson, Andrews, & Foley, 2012). Expectations, aspirations, and capital determine in large part the field in which individuals choose to operate as well as potential success. Understanding the capital valued by the institution and how that value supports an individual’s habitus makes it possible to recognize the hierarchically structured nature of the educational system.
3.5.3 Capital
Social reproduction theory is gaining ground in the social sciences to explore the inequities that exist in social systems, including higher education. Capital, once thought of as a purely economic resource, has become a multidimensional concept that includes economic, cultural, social, and symbolic capital (Bourdieu, 1986). The educational system held a central place in Bourdieu’s (1973, 1984, 1986, 1993) work because he saw it as the primary institution controlling and allocating power, privilege, and capital (Swartz, 1997). Capital is essential because it assists in understanding the core values and knowledge preserved and reproduced within the educational system (Pidgeon, 2008). Bourdieu (1973, 1984, 1986, 1993) theorized that the unfairness of social stratification is duplicated through the series of cultural reproduction. All social connections or institutionalized places of interaction are, in fact, symbolic battlegrounds,
40 in which individuals and groups constantly compete or struggle to attain, maintain, or improve their situation in the social hierarchy (Swartz, 1997). Bourdieu (1973, 1984, 1986, 1993) defined the resources employed in this endeavour as capital, which not only forms the basis of social power but is also transmitted from one generation to the next. Although the family is the primary setting for the transference of capital, other institutions, like education, also serve to reinforce and authorize its transference (Bourdieu, 1986).
Bourdieu (1973, 1984, 1986, 1993) identified four types of capital—economic, social, cultural, and symbolic—that individuals use as assets when competing in a social space or field, a competition intended to maintain or increase that capital, and therefore, power. Economic capital is associated with individuals’ access to money or property, while social capital refers to their social networks, the people they know or the systems they belong to that can help to further increase capital. The third category, cultural capital, is more complicated, merging an extensive range of observable resources, such as access to books, computer equipment, and tutors, which all require a monetary expenditure, as well as intangible or embodied resources, such as behaviours, attitudes, choices, expectations, expertise, communication style, and information (Bourdieu, 1986). The dominant class sets the preferred cultural capital in society. Those who do not have access to dominant cultural capital and have not internalized the habitus it generates, therefore, lack a natural familiarity or similarity with those of the dominant class and will struggle with cultural exclusion when interacting in settings that demand and merit the preferred cultural capital. Lastly, symbolic capital refers to the method of having individuals’ capital legitimized within a field or social space when others welcome or internalize people’s demand for recognition and influence within that social space (Bourdieu, 1986). In society, the dominant classes have their cultural capital legitimized, which is then dictated on the dominated classes, a system Bourdieu and Passeron (1977) referred to as “symbolic violence” (p. 5).
The imposition of “symbolic violence” (Bourdieu & Passeron, 1977, p. 5) on the lower classes is most evident in the educational system and the dominant discourse on low-income, first-generation students, particularly Students of Colour, as these individuals are presumed to share the same dominant class habitus and are evaluated and judged accordingly, often to their disadvantage (Bourdieu & Passeron, 1977). Recognizing the fundamental role of habitus in educational frameworks is, therefore, at
41 the centre of understanding how the educational system is critical in the reproduction of social hierarchies.
3.5.4 Criticisms of Bourdieu’s Theory
In Bourdieu’s (1973, 1984, 1986, 1993) effort on cultural reproduction, cultural capital functions to replicate social benefit (Swartz, 1997). Through cultural reproduction, elites have become able to transmit their position to their children by controlling the educational system. Bourdieu’s (1973, 1984, 1986, 1993) work has led to various studies that have examined the impact of parental cultural resources on educational and occupational achievement. Bourdieu’s theory has not been without criticism. Bourdieu (1973, 1984, 1986, 1993) did not provide comprehensive lists of variables to operationalize the concept of cultural capital, such as the types of activities, experiences or possessions that would be characteristic of the dominant class (Swartz, 1997). Bourdieu (1973, 1984, 1986, 1993) initially conceived cultural capital as socialization into and preference for scholarly cultural activities, for example, interest and familiarity with art, classical music, history, literature, and dramatic art (DiMaggio & Ostrower, 1990; Kalmijn & Kraaykamp, 1996; Lareau & Weininger, 2003). Another critique of Bourdieu’s (1973, 1984, 1986, 1993) theory is the lack of agreement around how interest and familiarity in intellectual culture present social advantage (Collier & Morgan, 2008; Dumais, 2002; Lareau & Weininger, 2003). Unlike Bourdieu’s (1973, 1984, 1986, 1993) mid-20th-century France, North American society does not have a strong single dominant culture but is made up of a range of cultures that may place different value on interest and participation in the arts.
In a diverse society, Bourdieu’s (1973, 1984, 1986, 1993) conception of cultural capital may not be as useful for examining the processes through which the gaining of cultural capital leads to social stratification and upward mobility (Dumais & Ward, 2010; Lareau & Weininger, 2003; Swartz, 1997). Lareau and Weininger (2003) have argued that cultural capital should be recognized as the necessary use of skills and knowledge when interacting with institutionalized guidelines of evaluation and access. In an educational setting, cultural capital may be reflected in role mastery, in how capable a student is negotiating and dealing with institutional “gatekeepers” (Dumais & Ward, 2010, p. 245), such as professors, teachers, and administrators. Although the North American context is very different from Bourdieu’s (1973, 1984, 1986, 1993) France,
42 students in North America develop a set of attitudes, beliefs, behaviours, and intentions that can either contribute to or impede academic success, and educational achievement remains a fundamental element in social stratification and reproduction (Swartz, 1997).
If one interprets Bourdieu’s (1973, 1984, 1986, 1993) concept of cultural capital as a meta concept, an idea intended to transform timelines, societies, and places, then expanding the definition to include broader knowledge and competencies is entirely appropriate. Therefore, one strength of Bourdieu’s (1973, 1984, 1986, 1993) theory is its ability to be relevant to culture and time, to provide a stable means of revealing fundamental social forces, such as cultural capital and habitus, which function across cultures and time periods to maintain social stratification.
Bourdieu (1973, 1984, 1986, 1993) has also been criticized for giving priority to the cultural capital of the dominant group, which during his time was made up of white, middle-class and upper-class males (Carter, 2003). Other groups in society have cultural capital—shared attitudes or beliefs, communicating, expectations, skills, and knowledge—but theirs is not legitimized or influential in fields like postsecondary education, which grant the credentials that lead to economic and social success (Carter, 2003). The truth remains that it is still the dominant culture that sets the distinctions of social stratification and that the capital and habitus of other groups are not valued equally.
Bourdieu (1973, 1984, 1986, 1993) has also been criticized for overlooking the role of personal agency, one's ability to use her or his personality and power to overcome the authority that social stratification exerts over them as an individual (Swartz, 1997; Wacquant, 2006). Bourdieu’s (1973, 1984, 1986, 1993) theory, however, is more concerned with how society replicates social inequity from generation to generation, referred to as the “statistical regularity” (Bourdieu, 1977b, p. 77) of the behaviours of groups of people, such as employment rates, income, and access to postsecondary education. Although Bourdieu (1973, 1984, 1986, 1993) did not specifically focus on the process of social change, he did indicate that becoming aware of how inequitable social reproduction occurs “points to the social conditions under which these hierarchies can be investigated, transformed, and overturned” (Wacquant, 2006, p. 3; see also Swartz, 1997).
43 3.5.5 The connection of Bourdieu’s concept of habitus to the study of first-generation Punjabi students
Bourdieu’s (1973, 1984, 1986, 1993) theory of social reproduction, especially the concepts of acquired cultural capital and habitus, is relevant to the study of first- generation Punjabi students for three reasons. First, Bourdieu (1973, 1984, 1986, 1993) recognized that differential capital leads directly to differential educational outcomes. Schools reinforce inequities in cultural capital by implicitly favouring those with the cultural capital and habitus of the dominant class and penalizing those without. Teachers can identify more readily with students who share their cultural capital and habitus and respond by rewarding these students with more attention and positive evaluations (Bourdieu, 1977a; Dumais & Ward, 2010). As a result, those not in possession of the capital of the dominant class fall behind, even in their early years (Aschaffenburg & Maas, 1997). Parents with lower incomes, especially those who have only a high school education or less, have different behavioural expectations for their children. They expect them to behave in class, to follow the rules, to not question the teacher or any other person in a position of authority, and to do as they are told—behaviours that suit lower class or working-class employment.
However, the habitus of dominant first-generation students may not be the same as for first-generation Students of Colour because immigrant parents and their children have higher expectations for postsecondary education, even those parents who have no postsecondary education themselves (Bankston, 2004; Fuligni & Witkow, 2004; Goyette & Xie, 1999; Kao & Tienda, 1995; Vernez & Abrahamse, 1996; Wells, 2010). Immigrant parents may intentionally engage in transmitting these intentions, along with the habitus to support these purposes (Bankston, 2004; Goyette & Xie, 1999; Lehmann, 2009b; Wells, 2010). There is evidence that those who immigrated to Canada, including those with education, may have done so primarily to improve their children’s opportunities for social advancement through education for their children (Anisef et al., 2008; Finnie & Mueller, 2009; Sweet, 2005).
Today's first-generation students, even those with the ingrained disposition or habitus in favour of postsecondary education, may find themselves enrolled in a postsecondary institution without the cultural capital or knowledge about how the educational system works (Collier & Morgan, 2008; Dumais & Ward, 2010; Engle, Bermeo, & O’Brien, 2006; Hudley et al., 2009; Sullivan, 2002; Wilson et al., 2012). The
44 impact of cultural capital is probably the most critical factor in the decision to enter postsecondary education after high school (Aschaffenburg & Maas, 1997; Dumais & Ward, 2010). Whether the same knowledge gaps characteristic of Canadian-born parents with lower incomes and their children also apply to immigrant parents and their children is yet not clear.
Although Bourdieu’s (1973, 1984, 1986, 1993) theory was situated in the social and educational context of the mid-20th century France, it can be readily transferred to any other society and culture, such as Canada’s, where social hierarchies do exist and reproduce themselves. However, what may be recognized as valued indicators of cultural capital here may be very different elsewhere and produce a habitus at distinct odds to the habitus of those students who are most successful at Canada’s colleges and universities. For example, in the dominant culture of North America, individualism and personal achievement are admired, meaning that someone raised within this dominant culture will have this ingrained cultural capital functioning as a resource for academic success. In contrast, in Punjabi cultures, individualism is perceived as a weakness, as an unacceptable self-centredness that undermines, even challenges, the collective needs of the family or group (Jodhka, 2009; Kalsi, 2002; Réndon, 1994; Stein, 1992). For a student from a Punjabi culture, the emphasis on individualism and personal achievement is not deep-rooted and, therefore, can present a serious obstacle to academic integration and success. Not only must the cultural capital and habitus of students who are not members of the dominant culture be considered, but also the cultural capital and habitus of students who come from immigrant families must be taken into account.
Current postsecondary studies do include factors that could potentially be described as reflecting the ingrained dispositions of class habitus, such as academic aspirations, confidence levels, feelings of belonging and validation, and support from family and friends (Auclair et al., 2008; Choy, 2001; de Broucker, 2005; Dumais & Ward, 2010; Engle & Tinto, 2008; London, 1978; Nuñez et al., 1998; Paulsen & St. John, 2002; Thayer, 2000).
A more focused assessment of first-generation Punjabi students has the potential to reveal the specific factors that impede or contribute to their academic success. Issues of grades, money, and race will always be essential and demand a voice in
45 postsecondary research. As an increasing number of Students of Colour and first- generation students enter Canada’s colleges and universities, it is equally important to recognize other forms of capital students bring with them to postsecondary institutions, only then can Canadian colleges and universities adjust or introduce more comprehensive measures intended to benefit all students.
Conclusion
The focus of this study was on first-generation Punjabi university students, those who have parents with no postsecondary education in Canada and are the first to attend a Canadian university in their family. Specifically, in conducting this study I intended to provide a qualitative examination of the experience of this cohort of students. I hoped to help begin the narrative around the navigation process, struggles, and successes of these students. Much of the research on the first-generation status assumes all young people who are the first in their families to seek a college or university education share similar characteristics. Many first-generation students in Canada are immigrants or the children of immigrants who have very different familial and educational experiences, academic practices, and postsecondary aspirations, all of which are influenced by social networks, culture, and the family.
Most postsecondary institutions in Canada recognize that first-generation students are at higher academic risk and have implemented a variety of student support programs, and even offer entire courses intended to increase both their participation in higher education and their success in achieving a credential. However, most of these programs are based on long-standing American initiatives, mainly because there is a substantial body of American research on first-generation students and far less Canadian research. Ontario is the only province in Canada to recognize the need for federally supported programs to support first-generation students. Currently, at SFU, there is no program in place to assist first-year students, let alone students who are first to attain higher education in their family. Much of what we think we know in Canada about first-generation students has been informed by American data, without full recognition of significant differences relating to the Canadian context. Current strategies that Canadian post-secondary institutions use for integrating their first-generation population may not recognize two critical distinctions: most of these programs are based
46 on American data and initiatives that are arguably less relevant in Canada and first- generation students do not form a homogenous group that would uniformly benefit from the same programs or initiatives. My hope in conducting this study was to challenge the deficit frameworks with which first-generation and Students of Colour are assumed to enter university. I sought to uncover forms of capital that first-generation Punjabi students bring from their homes and communities into SFU.
This chapter has provided a general overview of literature and research that informed this study of first-generation Punjabi students. Chapter 4, which follows, describes the research methods employed in this study.
47 Chapter 4.
Methodology
4.1. Introduction
For this inquiry, I used a descriptive case study design to investigate the experiences of first-generation Punjabi students at SFU. This chapter explains why and how a qualitative case study methodology was used to answer the research question: What are the experiences of the first-generation Punjabi students enrolled at SFU? I begin this chapter with a general description of qualitative research methods. I then move to describe the specific methodology of case study, discuss the research purpose, list the research questions, and end with details of the case study design.
4.2. Qualitative Research
Qualitative research methods are tools that offer researchers a venue for uncovering essential issues concerning students and aid in the evaluation of the effectiveness of services provided to them. Qualitative research methods are useful in unfolding, categorizing, and understanding thoughts that are difficult and often impossible to quantify (Walters, 2001). Often qualitative research methods can help student affairs professionals supplement “assessment programs that too often are inconsistent, reactive, and predictable” (Walters, 2001, p. 184).
[They are] inconsistent in that they fail to put into place systems of evaluation that can be used year after year; predictable in that they consist of only end-of-semester surveys; and reactive in that they conduct interviews, surveys, or focus groups only in response to incidents. (Walters, 2001, p. 184)
Qualitative forms of inquiry aim to gather in-depth analyses while emphasizing processes and meaning making (Creswell, 2008). Researchers can uncover findings that could lead to far more knowledge about issues related to student life and development. This type of inquiry examines the process, not just outcome (Bogdan & Biklen, 2003). According to Creswell (2008), “the focus of qualitative research is on
48 participants’ perceptions and experiences, and the way they make sense of their lives” (p. 199).
Stake (1995) described qualitative research that encourages the “understanding of the complex interrelationships among all that exists” (p. 37). Creswell (2007) indicated qualitative research “emphasizes the importance of the participant's view” (p. 42). This approach gives meaning to the views expressed by study participants (Creswell, 1998). For this to happen, the researcher and the method must be open and allow the participants to tell their stories the way they want to tell them, rather than merely responding to a preset questionnaire.
When scoping this research project, I chose case study as the research method and design for this inquiry. Prior to determining this, I examined four other qualitative traditions of investigation that could be used: biography, phenomenology, grounded theory, and ethnography. These methods share similar characteristics, such as the fact that they take place in the natural world, use multiple methods that are interactive and humanistic, allow information to emerge rather than be preconfigured, and are fundamentally interpretive; however, they all differ in form, terms, and focus (Marshall & Rossman, 1999). Following the biography tradition, the researcher studies an individual, rather than a group; this approach has roots in anthropological perspectives (Creswell, 1998). In contrast, in phenomenology the researcher examines the experiences of individuals as they relate to a concept or phenomenon; this approach has roots in philosophical perspectives (Creswell, 1998). In the third tradition, grounded theory, the researcher seeks to generate or discover a theory that explains a particular phenomenon or situation; grounded theory is rooted in sociological views (Creswell, 1998). Lastly, ethnography is the description and interpretation of a cultural or social group or system. Applying this approach, the researcher examines the learned behaviours and patterns of that group; ethnography manifests its roots in cultural anthropology (Creswell, 1998). Much like the four traditions mentioned above, the case study also engages in interrelated activities that focus on gathering useful information to answer pertinent research questions (Creswell, 1998). In the following section I specifically outline case study methodology and answer what it is, how it is conducted, the strengths and limitations of this methodology, and why I chose to use the case study methodology for this research.
49 4.3. Case Study Methodology
I chose to employ a qualitative descriptive case study to examine the university experiences of first-generation Punjabi students. Case study research has many differences depending on the purpose of the inquiry, the size of the study, the people involved, and the theories developed and tested (Merriam, 2015). Merriam (2015) recommended that researchers conduct a qualitative study when “the focus is on process, understanding, and meaning; the researcher is the primary instrument of data collection and analysis; the process is inductive, and the product is richly descriptive” (p. 14). This study met all four of these criteria.
First, the study's principal concern was to develop a qualitative description of individual students' perceptions of what occurred during their experience as a first- generation Punjabi student at SFU (Creswell, 1998). The descriptive, qualitative approach of this study and its emphasis on students' perceptions and experiences guided an in-depth inquiry into the meanings individual students attached to experience as a university student to be the first to attain postsecondary education in Canada in their family. Second, as outlined in detail later in this chapter, I was the primary instrument of data collection and analysis. Third, analysis of the data incorporated inductive coding, allowing for patterns, themes, and categories to emerge from the data. Finally, the dissertation is “richly descriptive” (Merriam, 2015, p. 16). Data in the forms of quotes are included in support of the findings of this study. According to Merriam (2015), “these quotes … contribute to the descriptive nature of qualitative research” (p. 16).
Case study relies on multiple forms of data to build an in-depth case. It allows the researcher to develop groupings and themes surrounding the statements of the research participants, provides a description of the experiences, and extracts information that addresses the primary research question (Maxwell, 2005). This study primarily incorporated the case study tenets of Gall, Borg, and Gall (1996), Stake (1995), and Merriam (1998). These researchers stated that the main characteristic of qualitative research is the study of specific examples or cases of phenomena (Gall et al., 1996; Maxwell, 2005; Merriam, 1998; Stake, 1995). The interest in the individual defines a case study as opposed to the methods of inquiry, and that qualitative research builds concepts, hypothesis, and theories rather than tests them (Gall et al., 1996; Merriam, 1998; Stake, 1995). A case study is typically not an experiment and is not statistical;
50 however, it does test theory, and its emphasis is on the process, context, and discovery, as opposed to outcomes, specific variables or confirmation. In addition, case studies are detailed analyses of a single unit or bounded system (Merriam, 1998). Stake (1995) stated that a case study looks for the “detail of interaction with its contexts” (p. xi) yet can make grand generalizations because throughout the case there are generalizations that are refined and modified (e.g., a large percentage of first-generation students are from lower socioeconomic status homes, etc.).
Additionally, understanding the reason why is a primary rationale for conducting qualitative research. The case study can obtain the answer to the research question and provide an in-depth analysis of the information acquired. The characteristics of case study focus on specific instances or cases, offer a comprehensive review of each case, study the phenomenon in its natural setting, and uncover the study participant’s viewpoint (Gall et al., 1996). According to Gall et al. (1996), a case study is suitable for this research study because it addresses specific instances (processes, events, people, or things of interest to the researcher). With a case study, each member of the sample can represent a separate case or unit of analysis, and the researcher can select a focus for investigation and the aspect that data collection and analysis will concentrate upon.
A case study is an appropriate method when the researcher wants to explore participant perspectives through interviews. The case study method is defined by the interest of the individual, as opposed to the methods of inquiry, and is grounded in the premise that qualitative research builds concepts, hypothesis, and theories rather than testing them (Gall et al., 1996; Mariam, 1998; Stake, 1995). Case study research can be an in-depth study of a single case or multiple cases. Gall et al. (2007) stated, “A case is a particular instance of the phenomenon” (p. 447). The first step in case study research is to find the case to study (Creswell, 1998). This involves selection of sites or individuals to study (Creswell, 1998). Specifying the case is comparable to specifying the population in a quantitative study (Gall et al., 2007). The case in this study was a group of 12 individuals who self-identified as first-generation Punjabi students. This case was bounded by time through 3 months of data collection from January to April 2014 and was bounded by place in that student participants were currently enrolled at SFU. Creswell (1998) explained, in case study research, the context of the case needs to be described. Establishing the context “involves situating the case within its setting” (Miller & Salkind,
51 2002, p. 163), which requires the examination of a wide array of contextual material about the setting of the case to provide an in-depth picture (Creswell, 1998).
Merriam (1998) described the case study method as an “intensive, holistic description and analysis of a bounded phenomenon” (p. xiii). The bounded system relates to what will be studied (Merriam, 2015). For this study, the phenomenon of interest encompassed the experiences of first-generation Punjabi students. I chose the case study methodology because I wished to examine one particular group of students (12 first-generation Punjabi students) at one particular institution (SFU). As Merriam (2015) observed, “The single most defining characteristic of case study research lies in delimiting the object of study, the case” (p. 40).
Case studies are tailor-made for exploring new processes or behaviours and allow the opportunity for a holistic view of a process (Merriam, 1998). The purpose of a case study is “to gain an in-depth understanding of the situation and meaning for those involved” (Merriam, 1998, p. 19). Merriam (1998) explained that a case study is “useful in presenting. Information about areas of education where little research has been conducted” (p. 38). It was an appropriate methodology for addressing the limited research on this student group and more importantly the research questions because university administrators and student affairs practitioners know relatively little about the experiences of first-generation Punjabi students.
4.4. Research Purpose and Questions
The primary research question guiding this study was: What are the experiences of first-generation Punjabi students enrolled at SFU? I developed the following five research subquestions to understand and answer the overarching question:
1. What support systems do these students rely on during their postsecondary undergraduate career?
2. What role does their family play in their postsecondary experience?
3. What does it mean to the students and their family to be the first to attain postsecondary education in Canada?
4. What role does being part of the Punjabi culture in British Columbia play for the students during their postsecondary careers?
52 5. What do they wish they understood before entering their undergraduate careers at SFU?
Section 4.5 presents an overview of the design of this case study research project. This includes descriptions of purposeful sampling, the interviews, the research site, the sampling timeline, the interview process, limitations and delimitations, researcher subjectivity, and ethical considerations.
4.5. Case Study Design
4.5.1. Purposeful Sampling
The purposeful sampling process was used to select the cases for this study. Creswell (1998) noted the rationale for the purposeful sampling strategy needs to be established for the selection of cases and for gathering information about the cases. The purpose of selecting cases is to develop a deeper understanding of the phenomenon (Gall et al., 2007). In purposeful sampling, the goal is to choose a case that will be rich with information reflecting the purposes of the study (Gall et al., 2007). The selected participants and documents will best help the researcher achieve an in-depth understanding of particular individuals (Gall et al., 2007) and an understanding of the research questions (Creswell, 2003). With case study research, a variety of possibilities for purposeful sampling are available; for example, the researcher can select “ordinary cases, accessible cases, or unusual cases” (Creswell, 1998, p. 50) to show different perspectives on the issue under study.
Participants in this study were current undergraduate students at SFU and met the following criteria to participate in this study:
• born in or outside of India to parents who were born in India or Canada; • attended SFU and were in the first, second, third, or fourth year of undergraduate study; • self-identified as the first-generation to go to university in Canada; • self-identified as Punjabi; • fell within the age range of 18–25 years; and • were willing to reflect on their experiences of being first to attend university in their family.
53 Approximately 89 students at SFU received an invitation to participate in this research study, from which 12 participated in the one-on-one, face-to-face interviews. I randomly selected 12 students for the study. I employed purposeful sampling, as I needed to select participants for providing in-depth and rich details on their lives as students of Punjabi heritage. I set the sample size to 12 students with the hope that this would provide a variation in the gender and age of participants. According to Speziale and Carpenter (2007), sample sizes of 10 to 15 individuals are adequate, provided participants can supply rich descriptions of the phenomenon. I offered participants a $30 gift card to Metrotown Mall to thank them for taking part in the research.
The participants consisted of six female and six male students; six were domestic and six were international students. Participants ranged from 18 to 25 years of age. All participants were in undergraduate degree programs at SFU. Of the 12 participants, seven were born in India and five were born in Canada. Seven of the 12 students lived with their immediate family, and five lived with their extended family in the Lower Mainland. All participants self-identified as first-generation Punjabi students.
4.5.2. Interviews
Interviews were the primary source of data for this study. I conducted semistructured interviews with 12 first-generation Punjabi students. The semistructured interviews included a mix of more- and less-structured questions, which are commonly used in qualitative investigations when specific information is wanted from all the participants (Merriam, 1998). Although I guided the interviews using the list of questions in the interview guide (see Appendix A), I formulated new and follow-up questions during the discussions in response to participants’ answers or new ideas on the topic that emerged during the interview (Merriam, 2015).
Guided by the theoretical frameworks and informed by the literature review, I created the interview guide (see Appendix A) with questions designed to gain an understanding of the factors that may have influenced or shaped participants’ experiences as first-generation Punjabi student. The interview guide was purposely intended to gain information about the impact of familial, social, and academic factors on experience as the first to attend university in their family in Canada. I identified some factors (e.g., parental support, the role of family, the role of the Punjabi community) that
54 helped inform the design of the interview guide. Table 1 presents a sample of the questions in the interview guide and concepts from the theoretical framework as they corresponded with the interview questions.
Table: A Sample of Interview Questions to Illustrate how they Relate to the Theoretical Framework Question Theoretical Framework
Why did you come to university? Bourdieu’s (1973) social reproduction What kinds of things did you do to theory: prepare yourself for university? o The educational system as a primary institution controlling and allocating power, privilege, and capital o Social capital: Information about university; assistance with university processes
What level of education do your parents Bourdieu’s (1973) social reproduction have? theory: Can you tell me a little about your family o Cultural capital: Cultural knowledge and where you come from? o Habitus: socialization in homes, What types of conversations do you have embodied set of behaviours and at home regarding education and values, that can either facilitate or university? interfere agency in university
What could the university do to support Bourdieu (1973) social reproduction you? theory: Suppose I was a first-generation o Social capital: Assistance with Punjabi high school student, who had university processes decided to attend university, what o Community context: other forms of advice would you give me? capital owned in the Punjabi What do you wish you knew before community entering your university career?
4.5.3. Sampling Timeline
Following approval from the Office of Research Ethics at SFU, I recruited students to participate in the research study using the snowball technique (Creswell, 2008). Lund Research (2012) defined the snowball approach as a nonprobability-based sampling technique that can be used to gain access to such populations. To create the
55 snowball sample, I first identified one or more units in the desired community, and I then used these groups to find further units, and so on, until the sample size was met. To recruit potential research participants, I contacted the Sikh Student Association and Punjabi Student Association at SFU via their current student email lists. Also, I contacted colleagues at SFU and known members of the community to help identify potential participants for the study, and I also spoke about the study in the Punjabi Level-1 course offered at SFU Surrey in the fall of 2014.
4.5.4. Interview Process
Interviews occurred throughout a two-week period. These interviews were face- to-face and lasted 45 minutes to 1.5 hours. The purpose of this discussion was to begin to understand students' experience as first-generation Punjabi students. After transcription of the interviews, I requested students review their transcripts and I asked additional follow-up questions. The purpose of the follow-up email interview was to make inquiries about “things [that did not] quite make sense” (Patton, 2002, p. 383), follow up on something said during the first interview, and review with students ideas and interpretations that emerged following the first discussions.
I recorded each interview and had them professionally transcribed. After each interview, I guaranteed the quality of the data by making sure that it was “useful, reliable, and authentic” (Patton, 2002, p. 384). To do this, I first listened to the interview recording and wrote a postinterview memorandum to document any additional “interpretations, thoughts or ideas” (Patton, 2002, p. 383) that were not captured in the interview notes. Second, I reviewed interview email transcripts “to make certain that they [made] sense … [and] to uncover areas of ambiguity or uncertainty” (Patton, 2002, p. 383). Third, I emailed participants their interview transcripts within a month of their interviews so they could review and verify the accuracy of their transcripts and, if they wished to do so, offer any clarifications or additional information.
The transcripts also included short-answer questions that asked the participants for clarifying or further information. I asked participants to return transcripts via email within 2 weeks of receiving their transcript. Of the follow-up emails that I sent to 12 participants, eight of the students responded that they were happy with the transcription
56 and had nothing further to add to their interview and three students responded to the follow-up questions that I had posed, which were as follows:
1. Can you please describe how you felt at this time?
2. How did this interaction make you feel?
3. Can you please describe how you navigated this scenario?
4.5.5. Limitations and Delimitations
As opposed to other qualitative or quantitative research strategies such as grounded theory or surveys, there are no specific requirements guiding case research (Creswell, 1998). This is both the strength and weakness of case study approach. It is a strength because the lack of requirements grants researchers the freedom to tailor the design and data collection procedures to the inquiry questions. On the other hand, this is also a weakness, as there are no strict design protocols to follow and there are some choices that need to be addressed in a principled way (Creswell, 1998). Without a discrete beginning and end, determining the boundaries can be difficult (Creswell, 1998). Deciding how the case can be constrained regarding time and events is difficult if the boundaries need to be unnatural (Creswell, 1998). The cases within this study did not have a discrete beginning or ending points; therefore, I decided that a 3-month period of data collection would bind the study due to my maternity leave and so that I would have the time to complete data collection before returning to work.
I conducted all interviews at the SFU Surrey Campus in a private boardroom. I chose this location because of its convenience for both the students and I. Being on maternity leave gave me space from my professional role at the institution at the time of conducting this research and allowed me to be fully immersed in the data collection. This helped address some of the potential and perceived conflicts of interest, as at the time of the study I was not in a position of authority, yet I was familiar to the students due to my association with the SFU campus before my maternity leave.
4.5.6. Researcher Subjectivity
I recognize that my role in this inquiry was that of a novice researcher. I knew I had to take the time to read and reread methodologies. As the researcher, I took the time to review guidelines on building a case study step by step. The first step I took was
57 to develop the case study research questions. One may reason this would be the simplest task for the researcher; however, as a new researcher, I found this process took time and practice. Once I had developed the research question and subquestions, I moved to the stage known as binding. Binding allowed me to determine what my case would not be (Yin, 2003). Next I determined the type of case study (Stake, 1995; Yin, 2003) and specified that I wanted to conduct a descriptive case study. This type of case study is used to describe an intervention or phenomenon and the real-life context in which it occurs (Yin, 2003). One of the final steps as a novice researcher was completing a researcher identity memo. Cox (2012) recommended creating a researcher identity memo as a helpful exercise to identify how prior experiences and assumptions about my research topic may affect my approach to the topic. The memo along with the bracketing that I conducted during the research process allowed for the narration of my story into this dissertation. Cox advised that researchers ask themselves the following question posed by Maxwell (2005): “What potential disadvantages do you think these [goals, beliefs, and experiences] may create for you, and how might you deal with these?” (p. 28). In asking myself this question and creating the identity memo, I was able to take into considerations potential disadvantages while completing the data collection for the research study.
I am the assistant registrar at SFU’s Surrey Campus. My role is to support SFU students, promote areas of resources for students, and act as gatekeeper for their university records. My responsibilities as a staff member in the Registrar and Information Services division are as follows:
1. Understand the needs of students at SFU Surrey campus.
2. Analyze the resources available to students.
3. Conduct projects to develop, promote, and support the knowledge, capabilities, and potential of students at SFU.
4. Provide support and resources for students and make appropriate referrals.
As a researcher, I was interested in how students who are the first to attend university in their families learn to navigate university, and with what resources they are connected with. McLeod (2011) stated that the role of the researcher is to work with the participant to construct an account of the phenomenon that has mutual meaning. I define
58 myself as a member of the American-Punjabi diaspora. Due to my close connection to the community being interviewed, I ensured my biases, beliefs, and personal interests in the research topic were made clear. I was interested in how first-generation students navigate their postsecondary experience here in Canada, given that my own undergraduate experiences were in the US context. I was curious about the various narratives through which they described their worlds and wished to make space for participants to give voice to their stories and experiences of being first-generation university students. As a researcher, I imagined and knew there would be trials in negotiating between their cultural identities and the postsecondary experiences. As a researcher, I viewed my participants as being the experts on their narratives; therefore, I was always willing to challenge my own biases and possible misinterpretations of their university experiences. I strove to report their experiences and avoid biased analyses.
One of my main concerns was if the interviewees would trust me enough to share their experiences with me. I was worried that they would not share their thoughts with me because, generally, people in the Punjabi community do not discuss personal matters with anyone outside their family, especially people who may have a connection to their community. I imagine my role at SFU may have created hesitation for students to participate because my role at times is on the front line. At the same time, my role at SFU stood to benefit me in gaining trust with students because I had been able to establish my identity on the campus.
While conducting interviews, I answered any questions related to my personal experiences that the interviewees had for me. I did this to build trust with participants. In the interviews, I ensured participants of the privacy of their information as students and the security of their identity on campus. To ensure the privacy of these students, I kept my records confidential and in a secured locked file and used alias names for their files. I asked the participants to meet me on campus in areas away from the Registrar’s Office or off campus if needed. I also created a social distance between the participants and me. Social distance has been defined as the participants’ level of identification with the researcher but also incorporates the participants’ level of interest and involvement in the research process, which could be seen as (a) an educational activity, (b) an instrument for practical benefit, or (c) a scientific tool to be used for the purpose of initiating new policies for the advancement of a particular group (Mani, 2006).
59 Culturally, in the Punjabi community, elders are seen to be authority figures, as those who have more knowledge. In the context of this research, I had to make sure that the students felt that they had authority over their stories and held the knowledge. Establishing a collaborative relationship was significant (Mani, 2006). Another primary concern I had is that my own biases and life experiences may interfere with what the participants shared with me. Upon the recommendation of my supervisor, I cowrote my story and narrated my postsecondary education experience. As a researcher, I hope I was able to create space for narratives on this research topic and made sure that all relevant pieces of information were duly examined and considered when conducting data analysis.
4.5.7. Ethical Considerations
Before I began the research, I submitted my study proposal for the SFU Ethics Review Board approval (Application #38661), and the board reviewed and approved my proposal. Although the participants in the study were not minors or people with disabilities, they could have been considered vulnerable. A power differential existed between the students and I (in my role as a researcher), which may have increased the likelihood of risk to participants. Speaking about the experiences of being a first- generation Punjabi student had the potential to evoke feelings and emotions in the students. The students also had the opportunity to express various emotions openly when recounting their experiences or reflecting on their family situations. In the event that one of the students became upset during an interview, I had planned to stop the conversation and provide emotional support to the student if needed. I was also aware that, as a staff member of the university, I may have been required to refer the student to resources on campus, had I found that the student was struggling with an area during her or his university career. Although I knew it could be challenging for the students to speak about their experiences, I had hoped the interviews would give them an opportunity to share their stories with me as a person genuinely interested in what they had to share.
As Gall et al. (2007), the SFU (1992) Research Ethics Board policies, and the Tri-Council Policy Statement (Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, & Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, 2014) outlined, I needed set measures in place to ensure
60 participants provided informed consent and their confidentiality was maintained. To ensure the participants were informed about the research, I issued each participant a document that explained what would occur during the analysis (see Appendix B for the Study Information Document). The Study Information Document explained what information would be disclosed, how the collected data would be used, and the conditions of participation. I informed participants that they could withdraw from the study at any time without penalty. To ensure participants provided informed consent, I obtained informed written consent from each participant before each interview (see Appendix C). As all the participants were adults, they could give written consent. I ensured research participants received a hard copy of the informed consent form before the interview.
The Study Information Document also described how participants’ confidentiality would be maintained (see Appendix B). I explained to research participants before conducting the interview that I would be the only person to have access to the data. I also informed the participants that only I would have a complete list of the names of the study participants. As the students were all enrolled in undergraduate programs at SFU, it was possible for participants to know one another; however, I interviewed participants individually and protected their identities to ensure no one was aware of who chose to take part in the study. I also informed participants that their names would not be included in any reports or publications that resulted from the study.
Following requirements for due diligence, I protected the identities of the students involved in the study using pseudonyms for both the university and the participants. I ensured any individual names or other references that might identify the student participants or other individuals were removed from the transcripts. I also assured that the participants in the study understood the purpose and scope of the study. To this end, I provided project information and consent forms to all participants (see Appendices B and C), and I asked all participants to sign the forms before the beginning of the interviews. The consent forms included information about the purpose and goals of the study, any risks to the participants, and the potential benefits of the study. The consent forms also clearly indicated that participation was entirely voluntary, and participants could withdraw from the interview at any time if they wished to do so. Since, at the time of this research, I was in a position as a staff member in Student Services, I informed the
61 participants that their decision to participate in the study (or not) would not influence their evaluations or acceptance to courses or programs of study.
4.6. Data Analysis
Qualitative data analysis is a process of systematically searching and arranging relevant qualitative information that the researcher accumulated to derive findings (Bogdan & Biklen, 2007). It is a type of classification system through which emerging regularities and patterns become the categories into which data are sorted (Merriam, 1998). The process involves the identification of themes, or categories, through careful review and reading of the data (Bogdan & Biklen, 2007; Merriam, 2015). In this section, I describe the processes undertaken to analyze each data source and then explain the subsequent steps involved in developing categories and themes.
4.6.1. Data Managing
I analyzed the data using methods described by Creswell (1998) and Maxwell (2005), who suggested procedures for managing the data. The first section for analyzing the data was what Creswell (1998) and Maxwell (2005) referred to as data managing. Once I had completed all of the interviews, I arranged for the audio-taped information to be transcribed verbatim by professional transcription service. I considered each interview to be a unique unit of analysis (case and participant responses were assigned codes that correlate with each other). I assigned each participant’s information to different computer files within the same data folder.
4.6.2. Reading and Memoing
After data managing came reading and memoing. I read transcriptions of interviews and made notes and interpretations on the information gathered. At this time, I realized that because some of the students spoke in Punjabi the transcription service was not able to capture some of the interview data correctly. It is commonly known that language use is embedded with more than the technical element of sentence structure and word choice. It is deeply loaded with emotions and cultural understanding. I realized here that I needed to go back and reread each interview and transcribe the Punjabi words spoken to gather the true meaning of the interviews. Here is where I had a
62 moment of realizing “I am the researcher” because I could understand the students in a way that no one else could. Following the transcriptions, I cross-referenced my memo notes with the transcribed interviews to provide more of a narrative synopsis of the information. I introduced horizontalization techniques to develop lists of nonrepetitive, nonoverlapping statements. This process provided greater clarity and tied together themes that I later developed (Creswell, 1998).
The following three processes were interrelated and comprised the third step in data analysis. In the first process, defined as describing, I reviewed the study field notes and personal reflections to link related information from each participant interview (Creswell, 1998). I identified variables associated with cultural capital, such as students' participation in cultural and extracurricular activities, attendance in nonschool-sponsored academic enrichment programs, parental involvement in course selection and then categorized these according to their similarities. I made distinctions concerning each participant's information. I actively worked to ensure descriptions of my perceptions of the information, as the researcher, were not included in the data analysis.
4.6.3. Classifying
In the next step, I classified and further analyzed the groups that were developed through the describing procedure. I linked the cultural capital variables that I identified as the researcher to the statements of the study participants by their similarities (i.e., categories and themes). For example, if three participants discussed their academic struggles during their university career, then a category would be created as academic struggle. Additional data that could link to this category was the number of students who completed the Back on Track (BOT) program at SFU. Although there were two distinct groups, they both were related to each other, because academic difficulty often meant joining the BOT program; thus, they fell under the same theme.
Once the classification strategy was implemented, I developed more concrete definitions or interpretations from the themes identified known as interpreting (Creswell, 1998). Under each theme or category, I created a detailed description of its meaning and how each participant experienced the phenomenon (i.e., exposure to postsecondary education as first in their family; Creswell, 1998). I noted clear statements about what happened and how it happened. I captured the data precisely since I arranged for the
63 interviews to be taped and took field notes. Interpretation involved making sense of the data (Creswell, 1998). I examined all of the information, drew upon the similar experiences of each participant, identified a central experience, and used it to describe the essence of the phenomenon (i.e., family and its influence on their postsecondary educational aspirations).
4.6.4. Data Coding
After importing all electronic data into Microsoft Excel, I undertook a comprehensive process of identification of themes and data coding. A characteristic of qualitative research is a continuous association between data collection, searching for patterns, and developing ideas about the findings (Merriam, 1998). Ideally, these processes are concurrent and are “more or less completed” (Bogdan & Biklen, 2007, p. 160) at the same time. It is also customary to do primary analysis as the data are being collected and conduct a more formal and intensive analysis once all the information about a case is brought together (Bogdan & Biklen, 2007; Merriam, 1998). In this study, I employed the latter approach. Some analysis took place during data collection. For example, I continuously made judgments about which ideas and themes to pursue with participants during interviews, which follow-up questions to ask, and when to deviate from the interview guide to pursue topics that arose in the interview. These types of decisions were based on an analysis of participants’ interviews before all the data were collected.
The further intensive analysis necessary for the construction of categories or themes occurred mainly after interviewing was complete, and all interview transcripts were available for review, reading, and coding. The data sources for this study consisted of the transcripts from participant interviews, interview notes, follow-up email responses, and the notes I took during data collection. In these journal notes, I documented the data analysis that occurred as data were being collected and included such information as “reflections, tentative themes, hunches, ideas, and things to pursue” (Merriam, 1998, p. 161) that were derived from an interview. It is important to note that information from my interview notes and post interview journal was not coded because I used that data to supplement information gathered through interviews.
64 The primary objective of data analysis was to create a comprehensive picture of the experiences of first-generation Punjabi students. The theoretical frameworks guided the entire investigation. I applied the theoretical framework of Bourdieu’s (1973, 1984, 1986, 1993) social reproduction to the data. The theoretical frameworks alerted me to instances of the variations of first-generation capital students bring with them to SFU, the absence of the capital students with which students come to university, and findings that were uncovered that these students experience that are not currently reflected in research. The theoretical framework was sensitizing (Patton, 2002) because the concepts helped me make sense of and present participants’ narratives.
To assist my approach in coding, I developed a codebook (see Appendix D), used as a guide to help analyze the data collected. The codebook served as a set of instructions for myself as the researcher. It allowed for me to organize which codes should be place in which categories. Codebooks are used by survey researchers to serve two main purposes: to provide a guide for coding responses and to serve as documentation of the layout and code definitions of a data file. Data files usually contain one line for each observation, such as a record or person Codebooks are used to document the values associated with the answer options for a given survey question. Each answer category is given a unique numeric value, and these unique numeric values are then used by researchers in their analysis of the data.
I chose a hybrid approach for analyzing the qualitative data because it incorporated both a data-driven inductive approach and an existing framework-driven deductive approach (Patton, 2002). A hybrid approach complemented the research questions by allowing the theoretical concepts from Bourdieu’s (1973, 1984, 1986, 1993) social reproduction theory to be central to the process of deductive analysis while allowing for patterns, themes, and categories to emerge from the data using inductive coding. Inductive coding involves searching for substantive patterns in the data and developing coding categories for these patterns before data interpretation (Bogdan & Biklen, 2007; Merriam, 1998). According to Merriam (1998), a good code is one that reflects the purpose of the research and is exhaustive, mutually exclusive, sensitizing and conceptually congruent. Coding organizes the data so that the researcher is then able to identify themes and develop categories from the data. Patton (2002) defined themes as the “core meanings found thorough analysis” (p. 453).
65 In addition to an inductive analysis approach, I also used a deductive method (Fereday & Muir-Cochrane, 2006), which involves analyzing the data using codes as a guide. I applied these codes to the interviews to organize the data for subsequent interpretation. When conducting deductive qualitative analysis, a researcher defines the codebook before commencing analysis of the data (Fereday & Muir-Cochrane, 2006). For this study, I developed the possible categories, patterns, and themes included in the codebook based on the research questions, the theoretical frameworks, and the review of the literature.
Following the data collection, I tried to enter data into NVivo, qualitative research software. NVivo does not analyze the data for the researcher but instead provides a way to classify, sort, and arrange information so that it is accessible to the researcher (QSR International, n.d.). I did not have much success with NVivo as it was new to SFU and there was not must support of NVivo users. I decided to continue with my manual codebook (Appendix D) and used Microsoft Excel to organize my coding.
4.6.5. Representing and Visualizing
In the last step of representing and visualizing, I wrote the characterization of the home, family, and community practices of the study participants based upon my interpretation, as the researcher, about the phenomenon. I continued to draw upon the themes that were established and further detailed the information that was reported by each participant. The participants provided input to the accuracy of the transcribed interview responses and theme development, and analysis was specific to my perspective as the researcher (Gall et al., 1996).
4.7. Summary
In this chapter, I provided the steps that were involved in the process of data analysis and described an approach that demonstrates rigour (Merriam, 2015) in the analysis of the data. I outlined a detailed method of data analysis using a process of coding that involved a balance of deductive coding (data were analyzed according to the theoretical frameworks) and inductive coding (discovering patterns, themes, and categories in the data; Patton, 2002). This process enabled me to identify precisely how categories or themes were generated from the data to develop ideas about the college
66 choice process of the participants. I present this thorough description of the steps in data analysis to show other researchers how they may replicate this qualitative study. Providing this detailed account of the methods, procedures, and a decision made during data analysis also demonstrates that there has been rigour in carrying out the study (Merriam, 2015). This sets the stage for Chapters 5 and 6, in which I detail the specific themes uncovered from the data collection.
67 Chapter 5.
Phulkari – Part 1 (Phulkari)
The focus of this research project was to study the experiences of first- generation Punjabi students as the first to navigate postsecondary education in their families in Canada. I also conducted this inquiry to develop an understanding of participants’ support systems and the roles their family members played in their postsecondary experience. The stories of the 12 participants in the study revealed not only the challenges these students faced at university, but also their more significant life experiences and demands during their transition to university, in particular, SFU.
The purpose of this research was to examine themes that were apparent in the participant interviews while inquiring into aspects of their experiences that were uncommon and unique. As a student affairs professional, I regularly interact with first- generation students and often wonder whom these students rely upon to help them navigate university. What are their conversations at home like, how does being part of a large community impact them, and what can student affairs leaders do to help these students succeed in postsecondary institutions?
Although the educational journeys of first-generation students represent ambition, hope, and access to Canadian higher education, they are by no means a standardized group. These students have complex, and often multiple identities. They do not have the same story, but aspects of their narratives weave together like a phulkari to form a pattern reflecting both the richness they bring to our campuses and the obstacles
68 they face in academia. Despite their differences, what binds first-generation students together are their aspirations and hopes that a university education will translate into more significant opportunities and security for their families and their communities. They also share the challenge of moving through multiple worlds that appear to have little in common. As a result, they must learn to wear many hats and to switch from one identity to another.
This dissertation uncovers the stories of 12 first-generation Punjabi students and gives voice to a group of students who are currently unrepresented in current Canadian postsecondary literature. I draw upon their voices, stories, and reflections to demonstrate the experiences of these students to learn from them and determine how their insights might inform and shape the learning spaces postsecondary institutions create for them.
This chapter discusses and interprets the data from the one-on-one interviews with the student participants. The primary research question for the study was: What are the overall experiences of first-generation Punjabi students enrolled at SFU? I also explored the following five research subquestions to deeply understand and answer the overarching question:
1. What support systems do students rely on during their postsecondary undergraduate careers?
2. What role does family play in the student’s postsecondary experience?
3. What does it mean to the students and their families to be the first person to attain postsecondary education in Canada?
4. What roles does being part of the Punjabi community in British Columbia play for the students during their postsecondary careers?
5. What do they wish they understood before entering their undergraduate careers at SFU?
As a Punjabi researcher, I chose to centre the dissertation findings in a Punjabi worldview. I intentionally use the phulkari (flower work) embroidery technique as a metaphor to explore and present the experiences of the 12 Punjabi students participants, who were the first in their family to go to university in Canada.
69 Flower Work (Flower Work)
Phulkari, which translates into flower work, is a technique of embroidery from Punjab. The phulkari dates to the early 19th century and, like gold, is passed down for generations. Phulkaris signify a woman’s material wealth and are deemed an essential part of her wardrobe (Gupta & Mehta, 2016).
Embroidery in Punjab is a community activity. Punjabi women sit in groups and embroider during their leisure hours. Each piece of embroidery becomes a canvas, personifying imagination and skill (Gupta & Mehta, 2016). Togetherness indoctrinates feelings of caring, sharing, exchanging of ideas, and bonding. There are dozens of phulkari patterns: geometrical shapes including squares, triangles forming various designs as kites, peacocks, fruits, as well as figured designs and familiar objects in the rural environment. Some of these objects include animals, plants, farm, fields, sun, moon, jasmine, marigold flowers, and mirrors (Gupta & Mehta, 2016). These designs and motifs are an expression of the embroiderer’s thoughts and aspirations or observations of life around her (Gupta & Mehta, 2016). The threads of phulkari have since endured much: partition, industrial reforms, colonialism, changing economic and fashion trends (Gupta & Mehta, 2016). Punjabi phulkaris are legacies with history woven into them. A phulkari is a symbolic structure of the Punjabi consciousness.
To guide the reader through the next journey of the 12 students and the researcher, I present two images that set the framework of the story. The first image, presented in Figure 2, is a phulkari I purchased before marriage while doing wedding shopping in India. It reminded me of the phulkari pillowcases on our couch growing up, the smell of my Nani Ma’s (maternal grandmothers) home in Rohtak. She always made sure the house would get painted before we would arrive and new phulkari bedspreads were ready for us on her bed. I know that if I went to Rohtak today, I would be able to find the gully (alleyway) to her house even though she is no longer with us anymore. The second image, presented in Figure 3, represents how I visually understand and explain the themes uncovered in this case study. This image maps out the narratives of the students in the study and my voice as a first-generation Punjabi student. On the left side of the drawing, the pink state of Punjab (post-colonial) starts the phulkari, and the stories weave in and out of British Columba on the right side. Each purple phul (flower)
70 represents a student in the story. The pink phul represents my personal contributions to the narrative. Blue leaves represent experiences, stories, the types of capital the students carry with them, which will be uncovered in the pages to come. The yellow threads are the weaving of the narratives and the connection to seva (selfless service) that has kept the students and me grounded throughout our academic journeys. Like phuls, our family and community, surround us to help us grow. They may not possess the type of capital (water) that is regarded in traditional postsecondary research, but the types of capital the Punjabi students do have will be uncovered in this journey. Throughout this dissertation, I have highlighted my reflections as a first- generation student and the researcher with my phul (the pink flower) next to my voice. I cite these excerpts of my own reflections using the identifiers “Anisha the Student” and “Anisha the Professional.”
Figure 2. My Phulkari that I purchased in May 2008.
71
Figure 3. A visual representation of how themes were discovered and have been explained in this case study.
In the next section I present the participant profiles as well as the conceptual themes that emerged from this study. I explain the conceptual themes using a rich description, which includes direct quotes from the participants as well as passages in my voice (as the researcher) threaded throughout the phulkari. In this chapter, it is my intent to explore and weave together common themes across their stories and to uncover the unique elements in their narratives to create a narrative stole. The following is my reflection on the process.
Phulkari … a story stole stitched together by the stories, struggles, hopes, and dreams of twelve students who are grounded in immense gratitude. The foundation of this phulkari a strong sense of seva- craving to give back to parents, community, home, and others. Each flower on this phulkari is a theme representing the journeys of these students. How can I ever explain to you the amount of gratitude they all have? They are always thinking about where they came from and where they need to go. (Anisha the Professional)
The students who took part in this study were diverse and were eager and willing to discuss their experiences at SFU. The purpose of this chapter is to present background including demographic information about the study participants in order to provide context when considering the individual interviewee responses.
72 The study participants ranged in age from 18 to 25 years. Of the 12 participants, 11 entered SFU directly from high school and had no experience at any other university. One participant completed 2 years at a community college in the US before moving to BC and transferring to SFU. Six of the participants were female, and six participants were male. Five individuals in the study were international students living in BC with extended family and relatives in the Surrey area. Seven of the students were domestic students living with their immediate families in the Surrey area. Five of the participants in the study were born in Canada, and seven students were born in India. Two students were born in India and immigrated to Canada during their elementary school years.
This chapter provides detailed demographic information for each participant as well as 12 individual profiles or case studies. Each profile is based on information gathered through face-to-face interviews as well as follow-up questions via email. Appendix E details the demographic characteristics of first-generation Punjabi student participants in this study. In the sections that follow, I have organized the data for each participant around the research questions.
Profiles of Student Participants
In this section I provide brief descriptions of the participants using pseudonyms for the students (see Appendix E). The profiles include self-reported information from the one-on-one interviews and the follow-up emails with the first-generation Punjabi students.
5.2.1 Jot: ਜੋਤ
Jot is a 19-year-old Punjabi female. She is an international student who is living with her chacha, chachi, dada, and dadi ji in Surrey, BC. Her family in Surrey support Jot financially and provide her with housing, food, clothing, and tuition expenses. She is from a small pind (village) in the district of Jalandhar in Punjab, India. Jot has one younger sister and is the first to attend any postsecondary education in her family. She is currently studying computing science and hopes to attend graduate school to become a software engineer. She hopes to finish her degree in Canada, gain employment, and
73 become a Canadian resident. For Jot, obtaining a Canadian degree is not only her victory but also one for her whole family.
Jot has a small social circle on campus. She spends most of her social time with her three best friends who are also Punjabi females. Two of her best friends are also international students, and the third is an extended family member. Jot feels thankful for being on a campus with other Punjabi students. She explained to me that she feels relieved when she meets other international students who are Punjabi. For fun Jot and her friends love to hang out downtown or try the latest makeup trends on each other. Jot and I joked how it would be great to be makeup artists on the side.
Jot is quite homesick and feels she is unable to adequately express her feelings while living with extended family and speaking to her parents via Skype (Microsoft, n.d.) or Facetime (Apple, n.d.). She experiences isolation and feels pressured to be successful. She does not feel a connection to the university and does not utilize Student Services on campus. Jot does not feel connected to International Student Services (ISS) on campus. She did use ISS when she had to travel back to India when her Nani passed away. Jot describes that ISS helped her with securing a travel visa and navigating the policy of withdrawal under extenuating circumstances at SFU.
5.2.2 Mia: ਿਮਆ
Mia is a 22-year-old Punjabi female. She is currently in her second year of university and is majoring in education. Mia lives with her immediate family in Surrey and is the first sibling to attend university. She has a younger brother and a younger sister. Mia spends most of her time in school or helping with the family business. She is hoping to become an elementary school teacher. For Mia’s family, getting an education is defined as a good life. Mia always knew she would attend university. Both of Mia’s parents do not have an education past high school in India. Mia says her mother is “super” involved and invested in her education. She is hoping the lessons she learns at SFU will be passed down to her siblings. For example, one of Mia's wishes is to study abroad. She realizes that because she has spent so much time trying to learn the university system, she may not have the opportunity to study abroad. Mia has come to terms with this and hopes she can pass what she has learned to her siblings so they may pursue opportunities she was unable to.
74 Mia has struggled academically at SFU and for a couple of semesters questioned if SFU was the right fit for her. She has managed to get herself off academic probation but continues to feel the pressure of now having to “catch up” with all the semesters in which she did not do well at SFU. Mia feels she was proactive about learning about the services at SFU and expressed to me that she did extensive research before beginning university. Mia described her experiences at SFU as being “tough.” She wishes she was better equipped with the language that is used at university and wishes she had the opportunity to take a course on university life before entering SFU.
5.2.3 Amreen: ਅਮਰੀ ਂ
Amreen is a 22-year-old Punjabi female in her third year at SFU. Amreen is studying business and comes from a large farming family. She works full time, helping to run the family business, and hopes to become a certified public accountant. Her father completed Grade 10 in India, and her mother finished Grade 11. She believes that education will open many doors for her and her family. She is hoping her degree will allow her to have a more comfortable life than her parents. Amreen does not have any immediate siblings but considers first cousins to be her siblings. She lives in an area where her dad's brothers and their families also live next door to each other. Amreen recalled, when growing up, she would weave between the houses and backyards. For her and her family, there is no familial difference between her mother and her younger aunt. During her second year, Amreen lost her 14-year-old cousin who lived next door to her. Her cousin's death has impacted her and her university experience in many ways.
Amreen describes that living in an area with so many Punjabis is often frustrating for her. She feels watchful eyes surround her regularly. When Amreen is home at any given moment, a relative may stop by. When she goes to the mall, for example, she feels the chances of running into a member from the community is quite high. She wishes she had studied somewhere outside of the Vancouver area but living away from home was not an option for her. Amreen's family is dependent on her to help with the family business and with the care for younger cousins and elderly family members. Amreen explains that she often feels frustrated because she does not feel her family understands how difficult university is and the pressures that come along with it. She often feels she has to “make up” fake events at school to get time to study or have some alone time.
75 5.2.4 Priya: ਿਪ�ਆ
Priya is a 23-year-old Punjabi female. She is in her fourth year of university with a double major in computing science and accounting. Priya lives with her immediate family and has three other siblings. Priya grew up and attended high school in Surrey. Priya states she has noticed a population explosion of Punjabi people in Surrey, but she feels that the Punjabi community is frozen in time. She believes with the new immigration from Punjab some of the old-school cultural norms are becoming normalized and the community is going “backward.” For Priya and her family, obtaining a university degree is the top priority. Her parents immigrated to Canada to take advantage of educational opportunities. Priya describes university as the balancing of her two lives. She says she must live a Punjabi life and a Canadian life. She feels that she should be more open with her parents, but she is so scared of what the Punjabi community may have to say.
Priya had no idea about services available to students at university. She described feeling connected to SFU when she began to take classes at the Surrey Campus. The size of the campus forced her to interact with staff who connected her to services such as career advising and counselling. Priya feels that high school in Surrey did not prepare her for university, and she wished she had taken some initiative on her own to learn about university before starting. Priya only applied to one university because she was not aware of the admissions process of any other school. Also, due to the location of SFU, she felt that attending SFU made the most sense for her family financially.
5.2.5 Jaya: ਜਯਾ
Jaya is a 25-year-old Punjabi female. She is in her third year studying education and hopes to become a high school biology teacher. Jaya is an international student from Punjab and lives with her mama ji, mami ji, and their two children in Surrey. She has a younger brother who lives in India and is in the process of applying to study at SFU as well. Jaya feels immense pressure around finishing her degree. She has been on academic probation and is afraid she may not get into the post teaching degree program. Jaya is hoping she can get into the teaching program so by the time her brother finishes university she can help him and her two younger cousins financially.
76 Jaya does not feel connected to the Punjabi community in Vancouver; she feels out of place and senses a great deal of competition within the community. Jaya, who was initially very excited about moving to an area with a large Punjabi population, feels lonely and is looking forward to her brother arriving in Canada.
Jaya admitted that she has a great fear of failure. She often stays awake at night thinking about what would happen if she does not become a teacher. She has not thought of any other career path and is not aware of other options. For Jaya, one of her biggest challenges as a university student is the navigation of cultures. Jaya described the need to “learn so many cultures—Canadian culture, extended family culture, and university culture.” Jaya sometimes finds it hard to focus on her needs because she feels pressured to please her family.
5.2.6 Reena: ਰੀਨਾ
Reena is a 21-year-old Punjabi female. She is in her third year of SFU majoring in health sciences. She lives with her immediate family in Vancouver. Reena was born in India, and her family immigrated to Canada when she was 2 years old. Reena's mother has a bachelor’s degree from Punjab University, and her father completed high school. Reena carries the trauma of the 1984 Operation Bluestar (Chopra, 2010),2 as it impacted many members of her family. Reena’s family members have lost homes, children, and loved ones to Operation Bluestar. She considers herself to be one of the lucky ones because she had left Punjab before Operation Bluestar. She has one younger sister and one younger brother. Reena will be applying to medical school and wants to become a family physician. Reena feels she did not fully understand university and all the services available until her third year.
Reena described how she wears the “hats” of many. Reena feels she is very Canadian and westernized, but at the same time she feels she must also be very Punjabi and she is working toward lifting her family up. Reena believes that if she goes to medical school and does well economically, she will be able to help her family afford things in the future. Reena believes that it is up to her to do well so she can help
2 Operation Bluestar was the storming of Sikhism's holiest shrine, Darbar Sahib in Amritsar by the Indian army in June 1984 (Chopra, 2010).
77 establish a path for her younger siblings. Reena enjoys the independence that university brings, but wishes she did not have to think about the impact of her decisions on everyone. She hopes that when she enters medical school, she may have the chance to live away from home and have more independence. Reena describes that some of her friendships with other Punjabis are very superficial and seem “fake.” She describes feeling that she cannot be “real” with other Punjabis because typically they are in competition with her and do not want to see her succeed.
5.2.7 Sahej: ਸਹੇਜ
Sahej is a 23-year-old Punjabi male. He is a second-year international student in computing science student and lives with his bhua, fuffard, and their two children in Surrey. He has one older sister in India who is married with two kids. His mother is a widow, and he feels a great deal of pressure to finish university and find a good job so he can begin contributing financially to his family. Both of Sahej's parents do not have education beyond Grade 10. He currently works part-time with his fuffard, and the money he makes he gives to his uncle to help pay for his expenses. He hopes that if he gets permanent residency in Canada, he can bring his mother to Canada and alleviate his sister of the “burden” of taking care of their mother. For him, it is the role of the Punjabi male to take care of his mother, and he feels stress and guilt around his mother’s care. Sahej described his education as a collective effort—if he does well, his whole family will benefit.
Sahej has an active social life at SFU and loves being in Canada. He experiences so much more freedom in Canada compared to Punjab. Sahej expresses if he were in Punjab, he most likely would be running a business or working for someone else. In Canada, he has the freedom to earn his own money and travel. Sahej feels his ability to earn a degree in Canada is a significant privilege and hopes to work hard to bring success to his family.
5.2.8 Gian: ਿਗਆਨ
Gian is a 19-year-old Punjabi male. He is in his first year as a business student at SFU. Gian lives with his immediate family and he has one older sister who has completed high school but did not attend college or university. Gian feels, because his
78 sister did not attend university, she is limited in her options. He feels a great deal of pressure to do well and obtain a university degree. Gian's mother completed Grade 12 in India, and his father finished Grade 5. Gian explained the power of education has been talked about in his home quite extensively. He believes there is more pressure on him because his sister did not complete a university degree and it is something “his parents are not over.” He works part time off campus and does not feel a connection to SFU.
Gian feels being part of the Punjabi community benefited him when beginning university. Gian commented that because his parent's social circle was quite large, he had access to older Punjabi students who were willing to share their experiences about university with him. Gian does feel, however, that the Punjabi community in BC is not equipped with the knowledge to “move ahead” like other communities. He hopes that when he graduates, he can teach the younger generation about the university process and maybe help some students avoid some of the mistakes he feels he made during his university career.
5.2.9 Jai: ਜੈ
Jai is a 25-year-old Punjabi male. He lives with his immediate family in Surrey. Jai immigrated to the US at the age of 20 and then migrated to Canada at the age of 23. He has one younger brother and is majoring in education with the hopes of becoming of a certified public accountant. Jai has struggled as a transfer student to SFU. He feels that there is no support in place for transfer students and that the American university system is very different from the Canadian system.
Jai feels that he negotiates several identities at any given time. He is very connected to his Indian roots; however, he now feels he is also Westernized. Jai states that his parents left India so he and his younger brother could have educational opportunities. He also knows that how he does in school will reflect on this younger brother and feels pressure to do well. Jai echoed the feeling of many of the study participants that when families immigrate to Canada there is a “restart” and there is more pressure for immigrant students because they are often the ones helping their families acculturate. Jai feels stress around helping his family become settled in Canada, doing well academically, and wanting to experience university as his peers do.
79 5.2.10 Karam: ਕਰਮ
Karam is a 24-year-old Punjabi male. He is a fourth-year computing science student. Karam is an international student at SFU and lives with his thaya and thayi ji in Surrey. Karam is an only child but considers his younger cousin to be his brother and wants to help him in the future. Karam works part time off campus to help offset some of the financial burdens his family has taken on to help him study at SFU. Karam's mother and father both completed Grade 10 in India and work “terrible” labour jobs. His hope is to get educated in Canada and bring his parents to Canada. For him, the Punjabi community in BC has a different value set then the Punjabi community back home. He does not feel education is as much of a priority for the Punjabi community in BC as it is for the Punjabis that live “back home” because the Punjabi community in BC does not have to struggle as much as Punjabis in India.
During his interview, Karam explained extensively how his family was his main reason to continue postsecondary education. While on academic probation, Karam often thought about leaving university and possibly starting to work full time. He, however, decided not to leave and took fewer classes to bring his grades up slowly. I asked Karam if he spoke to anyone about his decision, and he stated that he just figured it out on his own. Karam did not feel speaking to an advisor or a counsellor would be beneficial because he believes “they won't be able to understand the family pressure I have. Only I know what it would mean to drop out.” Karam did not think counselling would benefit him. He feels that when you have life problems its best to resolve them in the home, so members of the community do not know what is going on in your personal life.
5.2.11 Arjan: ਅਰਜਨ
Arjan is a 23-year-old Punjabi male. He is a first-year software systems student at SFU. He is an international student who lives with his thaya ji and thayi ji in Surrey. He has one older sister in India. For Arjan, everything his family does revolve around him getting a university degree. Arjan's mother has a Grade-10 education, and his father has a Grade-5 education. Arjan feels enormous pressure to do well in school because it not only impacts him but also his mother, father, and sister in India. His degree may allow him to gain residency in Canada and possibly bring his family from India to Canada.
80 Arjan explained, “I want to get my family out of India, so they actually can have a good life. There is no opportunity for them in India.”
Arjan was very soft-spoken during the interview and very direct with his answers. At times, I felt that I had to ask several probing questions and give Arjan space to share his experiences with me. For Arjan, university is a task that must get done. He is not involved socially with the university and does not see his undergraduate career as a time for experiences but rather a time to decide to study and move onto the next life phase. Arjan did not feel that SFU did anything to help him through his university career. He found that when he did ask questions for help, they often would respond by stating, “Well, if you go online it’s listed on the website.” Arjan also commented that he feels that the staff at SFU do not “remember that we do not know everything they know that is why students ask questions.” Arjan also feels disconnected from his friends that he left back home in India. He thinks that they no longer have things in common and that his friends in India feel that he has become too Canadian.
5.2.12 Gurtaj: ਗੁਰਤਾਜ
Gurtaj is a 22-year-old Punjabi male. He is in his third year of biology at SFU and is applying to attend medical school. Gurtaj lives with his immediate family in Burnaby. Gurtaj's mother has a master’s degree in Math from a university in India, and his father has a bachelor's degree in Economics from a university in Mumbai. Gurtaj explained, “Education is the most important thing for my family. It is the reason my parents immigrated to Canada.” Gurtaj has struggled academically at SFU and has completed the BOT program designed to help students on academic probation. He feels that the Punjabi community could benefit from learning the university system to help students before they begin postsecondary education.
Gurtaj explains that being part of the Punjabi and Sikh communities has benefited him in many ways. He hopes that when he completes his degree, he also helps the next generation with navigating the university system. Gurtaj currently teaches Punjabi class to high school students at a Gurdwara in Surrey and says that high school students often ask him for advice about university. Gurtaj believes that if there was a program for Punjabi students in high school to prepare them for university, it would benefit the next generation of Punjabi students. Gurtaj also commented that when the
81 community comes behind something they believe in, there is no stopping the community financially from making it happen.
In the next section, I discuss the themes that emerged during data collection and analysis. The themes are structured to align with the interview questions.
Support
The participants described university as both stressful as well as an exciting time of discovery. The students essentially navigated university systems (e.g., application process) and experiences on their own, as the first in their family to attend university in Canada. Students displayed a determination to enrol and graduate from the university. The participants created and defined their path into and through higher education. Students in the study discussed the support systems they rely on during their careers in postsecondary.
As the researcher, I was interested in understanding the experience of first- generation Punjabi students at SFU. As a staff member at SFU, I find myself helping students navigate the system, and I often become a point of contact for many of them. In this section of the report, I present students’ reflections of their support systems while at the university.
5.3.1 University Support – Student Services
In the interviews, I asked students about what university services they have used or are planning to use while at SFU. Interviewees identified the concept of student services as supports they often stumbled upon while in trouble at SFU. The students described having to use services on campus when in some financial or academic trouble. Reena explained that she did not understand the scope of services available until her third year at SFU. The students all commented on their interactions with student services and how they learned of the assistance offered to them as an SFU student.
Where do I even start? I seriously, seriously, wish I knew about all the services SFU had before I started. I always heard the terms—exchange, study abroad, co-op—but no one actually tells you what the heck these are. Like, how are you supposed to learn about these things? I never once had
82 a professor tell me, “Hey, you should go study abroad,” or even an advisor. I only decided to look into these things because someone at a family function was talking about how their daughter was in London to study for the summer from UBC [University of British Columbia], so then I started Googling. I Google everything about SFU. Honestly, if you don’t do any of your own research, no one will do it for you. It’s not like our parents are going to say, “Oh, you should think about this, or explore major options.” They just want us to graduate, and they don’t understand outside the classroom experiences. Unfortunately, university, in their eyes, isn’t about learning about yourself. It’s a means to get a degree to advance in your career. (Reena)
Didn’t you go on any college road trips before you applied? (Anisha the Student)
When I say I had no idea what Student Services was, I really mean it. I think the only time that I went to talk to anyone about my university career was when I would stand in line for 3 hours to pay my tuition at SFU Burnaby, but, now that I take classes at SFU Surrey, I am more connected to SFU. When you need help here, someone is willing to listen to you and try to connect you to staff or a department that can help. I was able to do two co- op terms because I had a friend that took me to a workshop at SFU Surrey about study abroad, and from there I learned about co-op. I think the services that are here are good, but if students are not expecting them, then how would you know they are offered, right? Who tells students when they come to SFU that there is so much opportunity to take? Sometimes when my friends are upset about a school-related issue, I tell them to talk to the registration desk, that maybe that is a place they can start to get help, because I know that there are things at SFU that exist. (Priya)
I still don’t know what all of the Student Services is or was. There are about 30+ units that exist in this department and students are central to our work. Confessions of a student affairs professional. (Anisha the Professional)
How many times do I need to walk around until I try to find someone that looks like me and might understand where I am from? (Anisha the Student)
My first experience with Student Services was around dealing with the death of my cousin who lived next door to me. It was sudden, and she was only 14 and died in a car accident.… It really shook our entire family and tore us apart in so many ways. She was my sister and to my parents a daughter. It was a collective grieving process, and I remember spending weeks next door just to help my aunt and uncle out while they dealt with the death. My grades suffered so badly, and I just couldn’t make it to class.
83 I went to the Registrar’s office and asked about withdrawal deadlines. Luckily, I ended up with a staff member who went to SFU, so she told me about the WE [withdrawal under extenuating circumstances] application. She was able to show me how to fill out the application and told me what type of documents to get. I was able to withdraw for the semester and get some tuition money back. That was the first time I felt connected to SFU. From then on I realized there are resources for students, so I try to help my other friends and encourage them to ask for help. It’s important for SFU staff that you care for them, for that moment, that helping the student is the one thing on your mind. I don’t always feel that the staff in Student Services remembers that. They seem distracted or bored with the amount of questions students ask. … I think I went off track,… but that has to be put out there. … Students are just lost and confused, and I think that’s the whole point of being first generation. I am the first to do this, so why do you assume I already know this?… [Laughs.] But really it’s a problem at SFU. The staff forgets that we haven’t gone to university already. That’s why we are here, and it’s hard when no one in your house can help you either. (Amreen)
I am so sorry that this is your first interaction with us and it is centred around grief and pain. They do seem jaded because they answer the question 7,000 times, but for you, this is the first time you are dealing with this, and if we took the time to understand your grief maybe we would not be so jaded. (Anisha the Professional)
I had no clue what I was doing when I got to SFU; I was a transfer student and so lost. It took me about three semesters to finally figure out what I was doing and that I needed to switch majors. Finally, an education prof asked me if I was okay one day, and I just broke down and told her how miserable and frustrated I felt. She saw that I needed academic and emotional help. She referred me to health and counselling and an academic advisor. I didn’t even know that we had academic advising or counselling … [Sigh]. Maybe if I knew before I would have been graduating on time [Laughs]. Yeah, so, maybe Student Services should advertise their services. They need a communications department that just tells students what they offer. (Jai)
It was helpful but too much information for one day. I had some people in my high school that were older than me at SFU, so they would tell me where to go for things. I don’t really feel that Student Services does anything special to get their message across. (Gian)
How do these people already know where the dorms are and the dining hall? (Anisha the Student)
84 Oh yeah, my mom went here and lived in Belden when she was a freshman too! OMG! I already can’t stand this sharing of space with someone who is getting ready to go party during orientation. (Anisha the Student)
The university could be better at supporting those of us that have no experience with university. I wish there were a class in high school or SFU that was around surviving university. My family needs the class too.… They were no help in this process, even though they live in Canada. The family I live with in Surrey has no idea how to do anything.… I did some of the Learning Common workshops, and those were helpful, but I only found out about them because I saw a flyer while coming to pay tuition. (Karam)
Hmm, my experience with Student Services has been interesting [Laughs]. My first real experience with Student Services is when I was OAP [on academic probation] and then COAP [continued on academic probation]. Then I did the BOT program. This was the first time I actually talked to anyone outside of my classroom. … They make you register for a BOT class, where you go and learn how to schedule and get help with study techniques. … This BOT program made me understand that I was struggling because I was taking courses I had no interest in. (Gurtaj)
I have no idea what I am going to do if my parents find out that I am on academic probation. This literally is $6,000 in tuition and housing per semester out the window. (Anisha the Student)
I think the mailman comes around 3:30, so I can grab the letter from the Dean of Students before Papa and Mom do, but just in case you get home before me, please check the mail and take out any letters in a UCONN envelope. (Anisha the Student)
Uh, yeah, no real help with anything at SFU. Sometimes it feels you are a burden when asking questions from staff because maybe they heard the question so many times, but for us, it’s the first time we are having the trouble or experience.… Staff should be trained or reminded that they need to be helpful, not annoyed. (Arjan)
And here is exactly why I wanted to pursue a career in student affairs; I never want a student to feel like they are a burden. I have heard the question too many times, and I have said the answer too many times, but I will continue to say it until you all know. (Anisha the Professional)
As an international student I had some contact with ISS to help with the visa application and coming to Canada, and they do keep in touch with us students. The side that I think it is really lacking is academic support and knowing where to go.… So, like, when we need help, who should we
85 see?… I always ask my ISS advisor, but it would be good if we could go to one place or meet with someone to help us. (Sahej)
I cannot even imagine what it must be like for our international students. I hardly survived the move from Connecticut to Vancouver, and you are making a major move and attending school with no family. I cried when my parents left my dorm, and you flew away from your families to help set them up. (Anisha the Professional)
Yeah, as an international student ISS did get in touch with us newcomers to help us make it to SFU. They had an orientation and talked to us about health and counselling, financial aid, student clubs, interfaith centre, and I think something for students with disabilities. I know there are more student services, but I think until you have to go through something you don’t really think about it. I had a friend from India who came the year before me to SFU, so she helped me so much and showed me how to apply for co-op, and that is how I got my work experience and went to career services. ISS should try to match students up with older students, maybe from the same country, to help. That would be something I would want to suggest. (Jaya)
I knew some of the services because I was really anxious in high school and went to my high school counsellor about coming to SFU. My high school counsellor had told me to go to the sessions they had for admission for students that were accepted to SFU. So I came to the evening program and from there tried to sign up for all the workshops like from Student Learning Commons and orientation. It was good that I did that early because you can miss important things if you don’t start early. From the research commons, I learned about academic advising and career services, which has helped me so much. Yeah so there are services but you, like, gotta find out about them. (Mia)
Hi everyone, welcome to First-Year Experience. My name is Anisha Chanana, and I will be your instructor for the term. I need to teach these students everything that I did not know and help them gather resources. How many students are the first to attend university in their families? (Anisha the Professional)
I think I didn’t really know about too many services at SFU until I started going to ISS. I had to go home because my nani passed away, and ISS helped me with like with telling professors and making sure nothing would happen with my student visa, so mentally I didn’t have to worry about that. I think ISS needs to help teach us about whatever else we can do at SFU. (Jot)
86 When was the last time you made a connection with an international student and made sure they were okay and allowed them to grieve all the things they left behind to pursue dreams to help settle their families in the future. (Anisha the Professional)
No need to thank me. That is what I am here for. So much gratitude for the tiniest amount of help. Have to remind myself to stay grounded in compassion. I have no idea what they are facing here. (Anisha the Professional)
Students stated it was essential to learn how to find resources on their own and try to find out about services before attending SFU. According to all international students in the case study, ISS played a significant role in their experience at SFU. No student spoke of the Indigenous student centre, the SFU Student Society, or recreation or athletics at SFU. Many students stated that they felt it would have been helpful to have connections with Student Services, and they offered several recommendations. Some of the recommendations include extended orientation and mentoring programs.
5.3.2 Family Support – Building on Family Contributions
The importance of the path to higher education for Punjabi students was attributed to the sacrifice and support of their parents. All the participants had an awareness and respect for their parents’ journey, mainly emigrating from their home country to Canada, which was viewed as the starting point for their educational opportunities. Entering higher education was a goal that was nurtured by messages the participants received at a young age from their parents regarding the importance of education. The students appreciated the foundation their parents laid for them and the continued support offered by their family.
Students expressed in many ways that they felt their postsecondary education was a valuable opportunity for them and their families. Every student commented on how attaining a university degree was not only a benefit for them but can also help to advance and provide opportunity for their families. They also commented on the joint effort needed to attain their degrees. Buddel’s (2014) narrative inquiry on first-generation university student persistence also discussed how parents and grandparents integrate a family narrative and habitus toward pursuing a university degree. Much like the participants in this study, the students in Buddel’s research were profoundly affected by
87 their families’ financial struggle to survive, which served as a powerful impetus to pursue higher education.
I feel that my degree is not only something for me to get but for my whole family. Since I am the first to get a degree, this means finally anyone in our family can now have the opportunity in the next generations. (Jot)
My father often says, “I came to America with $23.00 in my pocket … everything we are doing is for you and your sister.” I know Papa you left everything. (Anisha the Student)
I want to drop this medical program, but everything they do is for me. How can I disappoint them? (Anisha the Student)
Attaining a university degree is one of the main reasons that my parents immigrated to Canada.… It is their hope and my hope that I get a degree and can help my younger siblings when I am done.… It’s really their degree in some ways too, because even though they don’t understand what I am doing or how hard it is, they have invested everything to help me get it. (Priya)
Everything my parents have done is for me to get educated in Canada. I owe everything to my family for this big advantage. Some people in my pind will never even go outside the pind, and I have the means to get educated in [a] foreign country. (Karam)
I was born in India and my parents came to Canada when I was 2 years old. They left India because, at that time, the political climate in Punjab was not stable, and after 1984 they felt they needed to be out of Punjab. I know that I am lucky to be here in Canada. I know that even though I feel totally lost sometimes at SFU, I would rather be lost here than in India, so for that, this is a blessing. (Reena)
Our families again are going through trauma. They lost their homes in 1947 and started again, and now in 1984, they are losing it all. (Anisha the Student)
I can’t even count how many times my dad has said, “Do you know that I came to Canada with only 19 dollars?” I truly feel that I am so, so, so lucky to be getting a degree. I feel really fortunate, especially when we visit India and I see firsthand what privilege I have. (Amreen)
88 All Dads pull this line out when they need to get us to check our privilege. And what will I say to my children? I never suffered the heartache and suffering of partition and 1984? I have so much privilege. (Anisha the Professional)
The students reflected on how they feel in pursuing their education. Many participants expressed feeling guilt for what they have and for the opportunity to be in Canada. This is reflective of habitus dislocation—a “painful dislocation between an old and newly developing habitus” (Lehmann, 2009a, p. 633). All of the participants had an awareness of the sacrifice and struggle that their parents endured immigrating to Canada from their home country. The students viewed the sacrifice and support of their parents as a source of motivation. The students expressed that they were attending college for themselves as well as their family.
Role of Family
The interviews were structured to include participants’ perceptions of the role of their parents and family involvement in their university experience. Many participants in this study attended high schools in BC, with some having attended schools in other Canadian provinces and five having been schooled in India. The value of attending university for many of the students in the study was ingrained from as long as they could remember. Several students stated that they always knew they would attend university, but they did not understand of how that would happen. For the international students, seeking a degree abroad was their path to achieving a better life for themselves and their family in India.
5.4.1 Parental Influence
While parents’ educational levels are a strong determinant of college matriculation, parents’ perceived expectations, support, or values about attending university also impact their children’s journey toward postsecondary education.
I know my parents try really hard. My dad always says to me, “Beta, I know I do not have a university degree, but you need one, and your mother and I will do whatever we can to make sure you get one.” Even though they
89 didn’t go to school, it is the most important thing I can do to have a future and have a good life. (Reena)
Everything I am is because two people decided to pursue more for us. (Anisha the Student)
Mom, you came and you brought phulkari pillowcases stitched by Nani. I never realized how much I loved those pillowcases on our rocking chair. (Anisha the Student)
Reena’s comments echoed what other students described as parents who have a strong belief in the value of education and that they play significant roles in helping their children achieve university attainment. As Jehangir (2010) noted,
The journey to university can be thought of stages: predisposition, preparation, and matriculation. Predisposition refers to the extent to which family background beliefs and values concerning education predispose students toward a particular view of university (Hossler & Gallagher, 1987; Hurtado, Inkelas, Briggs, & Rhee, 1997). Richardson and Skinner (1992) use the term opportunity orientation to capture “beliefs students develop about valued adult roles and about the part played by education in structuring access to these roles” (p. 30). (p. 21)
Therefore, it is not at all surprising that all the students in this study reported that education is a fundamental value in all their homes, and obtaining an education is an expectation for all these students. Some students commented that their parents immigrated to Canada for the opportunity to send them to university. All the students interviewed had the “predisposition” (Jehangir, 2010, p. 21) to attend university; it was in the second stage, “preparation” (p. 21) in which all the students faced difficulty. The second stage is when students are reporting having no support at all. This process of preparing to matriculate and choose a university involves parental expectations, support, and understanding of the university system. It can also involve other sources of social capital. This is the area in which students reported not having the social capital they needed.
My parents always talked to me about education and the importance of it. I know that leaving India had so much to do with them wanting us to get educated abroad and have more opportunity, but they were no help when it came to applying to university and adjusting to it. I remember my friends in high school having mentors and having access to people that
90 could help with their applications. I just applied to two schools and hoped I got into at least one. (Gian)
Here Gian highlighted the social capital he did not have, which in his case (and for many of the student cases) was networks of people and community resources who are equipped with the knowledge to inform, guide, and help these students through the process of making choices and applying to university (Yosso, 2005). “Access to a strong social capital network can enhance and motivate students toward postsecondary educational opportunities despite other constraints” (Jehangir, 2010, p. 22).
My mother told me, “Nisha, your education will go with you wherever you go. That is one thing no one can ever take away from you.”
I asked her, “Mom, why did you go to the pind to teach?”
She responded, “Nisha, Education is the only tool that will help get our girls out; we need to keep teaching them to give them options.” (Anisha the Student)
A number of the participants also noted the importance that extended family plays in the university education. The extended family was the primary source of motivation for interviewees to succeed in university, and this arose as a central theme in the research. Many of the students expressed that they wanted to do well to give back to their families who have taken them in. For this particular cohort of international students, this added another level of complexity to their university experience; however, there is little research that has sought to understand the experiences of first-generation international students. Not only were these students new to Canada and postsecondary education, but they also left their support system in India. At the time of this inquiry, I was unable to find research that was specific to international first-generation students.
What is harder for us people are having to make our parents back home happy and the family we live with here happy. It is double pressure to do well. (Karam)
I feel extra pressure in some ways. I know my parents have sacrificed so much to get me here, but also the family here who has allowed me to stay and their support is pressure. It is a big investment by all. (Jot)
91 I said to my friend, “I am going to be in big trouble, Nish, if anyone finds out I got kicked out—if one cousin finds out I am so screwed. So okay if I crash in your dorm until I figure out what to do I need to pretend I am in school?” (Anisha the Student)
Apparent in these interviewee comments is that participants felt additional pressure to do well. These international students who live with extended family have to do well and succeed for their family in India and well as the family they rely on in Canada. They struggle to adjust to a new country, a new university, and new family members, all at once.
The universal impression gained from the interviews with the participants regarding parental support and involvement is that all students felt their parents and family are supportive of their university attainment, but they do not have the needed capital to offer to them. Of the participants in this study, Jai offered the most detailed comments about the support he receives from his parents and their involvement:
I am not trying to put down my parents in any way, but they aren’t really supportive in the ways I need them. Financially they have taken on the burden and encouraged me to do well, but that’s about it. At home, I can never talk about the books or ideas that I am learning in my classes. They do not ask questions or seem interested. No one in my family has probably even read a novel, and so they don’t care about what I am learning. Their concern is that I finish and get a good job. I try to ask them questions about the religion or the history they have passed down to us about Punjab, and they ask me why I ask so many questions, and to just take their word. (Jai)
They are so clueless about how hard this all is. It is so competitive, and all these kids already know everything because their family told them how to play this game. (Anisha the Student)
She already knows where she wants to study abroad in her third year. But when I try to explain that to my mom, she gets so mad and is like shouting “I don’t care about the other kids and what they are doing!” (Anisha the Student)
Jai highlighted what many first-generation students face. In Billson and Terry’s (1982) study of the effects of parental education on the attrition of first- and second- generation university students, the authors found that although first-generation parents
92 were emotionally supportive and often financially supportive, students felt they received less family support than their peers. Citing the work of Billson and Terry (1982), Jehangir (2010) speculated,
This lack of support is primarily because FG [first-generation] parents know so little about the college themselves, and that despite intentions to be supportive, these parents do not have the resources or insight to offer support that could be useful. (p. 23)
For parents and families of first-generation students, “their child might begin to express ideas, aspirations, and perceptions of the world that are both alien and contradictory to their values (London, 1989; Rendón, 1992)” (Jehangir, 2010, p. 23). Jehangir (2010) further explained,
Often it is that the unsaid expectations are even harder for FG [first- generation] students to negotiate: in other words, “go out and learn things, be smart, but not too smart.” Leaving home brings inevitable changes for all students, and these changes are coupled with the development of emerging adulthood. (p. 23)
All students in this study extensively discussed the importance of family with regard to their university education. Students frequently commented about how their family is their motivation for attending postsecondary education. Students living with extended family in Canada were able to describe the importance of their family in the pursuit of an education in Canada. According to students, their family is one of the most significant support systems they have while attending postsecondary. Although their parents do not have postsecondary degrees from Canada, they play crucial roles in their education. Students stated that if their parents were more integrated into their studies, it would be beneficial for the parents.
Even though my mother has no knowledge about university and what the set up really is, she is super involved. She makes sure to ask me how everything is and if I ever need help with anything. Sometimes I feel bad for her because I know she wants to help me so bad, but she doesn’t understand what it is like for me. Last semester I was on academic probation, and I didn’t have it in me to tell her because I thought she would blame herself. So I pick and choose what I think will be good for her to know. It would be really good for parents to go through an orientation like students do. They could then have some idea on how things are set up, and the importance of studying so many hours after class. We have had a lot of bumps because she does not always understand why I need to be on campus to study so late, and then I have my dad that just allows me to do
93 whatever I have to do. To him, he doesn’t want to know too much about the process; he just wants me to finish and get a degree. (Mia)
I live in Canada with my chacha and chachi. They basically have told my parents they will support me financially and help me get settled in Canada. They provide me with housing, clothing, food, and money to pay tuition here. For me as an international student, I pay a lot of money, and my family does not allow me to take loans to pay; they do it for me.… If it wasn’t for my chacha and chachi, I would be in India hoping to find some sort of work. I am the first one to leave the pind, and so I owe many things to my family. (Jot)
Students also comprehensively discussed the concept of being “settled” in relation to the attainment of a university degree and what it would mean for the students and their families. Students discussed the importance of being able to attain a university degree and eventually give back to their families once they were done. For many of the female students, seeking and obtaining a degree meant that they would be able to pick from a larger pool of suitable partners in the future.
My friend asked, “She is getting married? She literally just graduated this May? What is the rush?”
I responded, “Yeah but her parents basically told her that once she was done with college, they were going to start looking for her.” (Anisha the Student)
All students in various ways stated that the choice of academic degree was dependent on the hope of attaining employment in secure positions after graduation that could help provide for their families.
I am majoring in computing science. I am doing well in computing science, but I love to read history. I picked computing science because I thought job opportunities would be more available and I would make more income. I want to make enough money so I can help my mother in India and my sister. I also will help my two younger cousins if I am able to stay in Canada [and] if I get residency. (Sahej)
We own a blueberry farm in Abbotsford.… [I’m] learning the business, and I am majoring in business, so I can help my father with his business…. There is so much technology that I have been able to incorporate into the family business. (Amreen)
94 I am looking toward finishing my education degree, and then I will apply for teacher certification. For my parents and relatives, education seems to be a good track. I really want to work with elementary school kids, so it is a good fit. Becoming a teacher will be good because I will always have a stable job, and it is a respectable career choice in our culture. I will then be able to be settled and hopefully not have to cause worry for anyone. (Jaya)
I must think of everyone and everything because we are all connected, and I am grounded in seva and wanted to give back. Some days it is tough to think of everyone and how your decisions will impact them, but I have gratitude for what came before me, for me, and what I can do for others after me. (Anisha the Professional)
Female students, in general, expressed the importance of the university degree attainment to allow for security in professional employment. Attainment of a university degree also meant giving back to their family members and helping support younger siblings in the future.
5.4.2 Support of Extended Family
Extended family played an enormous role for many of the students in this case study. Four of the 12 students lived in the Lower Mainland with extended family and expressed how vital those family members are in the pursuit of their postsecondary education. Students who live with their extended family described the sacrifices both their immediate and extended family have made for them to pursue their education in Canada. All the students described the gravity of succeeding for both their immediate and extended families.
I live with my chacha, chachi, my dada ji, dadi ji, and two cousins in Surrey. My father is the only one in his family that did not immigrate to Canada. He decided to stay in India to maintain the family zameen and did not want me to miss out on a better life like he did, so it has been the family plan to have me study in Canada since I was in secondary school. I came to Canada on a student visa one year ago. I feel so much pressure because I have to really prove myself because so much has gone into supporting me to do well in my studies in Canada. I sometimes have to hide from my parents my feelings on Skype because I do not want them to see me homesick or having a bad day. How do I say this … basically, eight people put lots of effort into me, like my father’s fields, so much care and support to hope for a fruitful season. I feel intense stress about doing well, so everyone feels their efforts did not go to waste. (Jot)
95 I am living in Surrey with my mama and mami ji and their two kids who are younger to me. They have provided financial, social, and emotional support for me while at SFU. My younger brother is in India with my mom and dad, and they are hoping he will get admission to a Canadian university too, so like they are thinking, when I am done, I can hopefully get a position and apply for residency. I hope to get residency so when my brother comes I can support him in his degree, and then help my mama ji’s kids. (Jaya)
I live with my bhua, fuffard, and two cousins who are much younger to me, in White Rock. My father passed away when I was 16, and I also have one sister in India who is married with two kids. My mother lives with my sister, which usually does not happen in Punjabi culture. My bhua took me in in hopes of helping me get established so I can take care of my family. I work part time while studying and send money to my mother, so she does not have to worry about the house bills and daily living costs. It is very hard in India to be a widow and to have your only son live far from you. All family is sacrificing to make sure I succeed and is helping each other. (Sahej)
I am 24 and live with my thaya and thayi ji in Surrey. They have one daughter who is younger to me. My parents both live in a town outside of the capital of Delhi and have sent me to Canada with the hopes of me having a better future. My thaya ji is a second father to me. He is fully supporting me financially and makes sure I am able to pursue my dreams of finishing my computing science degree. My thayi ji fully supports me emotionally with the difficulties of student life and being so far away from home. I get lonely here because most of my friends are back in Pani Pat, but my thayi ji is really good. She is always telling me to invite people over, so I am surrounded by others. I am lucky I have another set of parents who are taking care of me. My cousin sister is also so good and helpful. One day, when she goes to university, I can help her because I will have experience to share. (Karam)
“Seriously? Why does everyone come live with us? It gets so cramped and can’t they come when I am back in the dorm room?” I asked my mother.
She responded, “You better get used to this, this is how we support each other and help one another get settled. Everyone must start somewhere.” (Anisha the Student)
All the students identified that their extended family members are critical in their university experience. The students found living with extended family much more comfortable than having to be here alone. The role of the extended family often serves as motivation for the students to want to do well and give back to younger family members.
96 “Don’t worry I can teach you everything I wish I knew before and learned; it will be much easier for you,” I said to my cousin. (Anisha the Student)
5.4.3 The Role of Family Back “Home”
Five students currently have family that live “back home.” Back home for these students refers to India. Many of these students also have siblings back home that they feel accountable for. Students identified that being far from home and away from family is often one of the hardest adjustments about their university experience. Two students also commented that, although they live in an area with such a high concentration of Punjabis, they feel disconnected from the Punjabi community here. Some students stated that although their immediate family is back home, they still consult with their family on a regular basis for guidance and advice, while some felt their family back home did not understand their experiences. One student discussed feeling distant from her family back home because she could no longer relate to their lifestyle because her life in Canada is so different.
My parents and sister are in India. I usually try to call or Skype them almost every day. I am very close to my parents and sister and feel responsible for their happiness and health even though I am not there. I think they get more worried about my daily routine then I do! I would settle in Canada after graduation and help my sister come here for university if that is possible. God willing I can do that. (Sahej)
How can you fly away from your parents to pursue your dreams but the whole time you always think about flying back to them? (Anisha the Professional)
Two students commented on the disconnect they feel with the Punjabi community in Vancouver:
I miss my family back home, especially my parents. I feel lucky that my family here lives in Surrey, where there are a lot of Punjabi people and extended family, but it still doesn’t feel like home. How do I explain this? It is just [a] different culture in some ways. I feel my parents had more trust for me than my family here does. I feel the community here does not support education.… So many times extended family just tells me to work with my uncle in his business and make money. Nobody ever says, “Good for you for working so hard in school.” (Karam)
97 I have one sister who is back home. I really miss her and talk to her on Whatsapp every day. It is hard being far from the ones that understand you the most. I don’t have to explain myself to them. (Jaya)
Both Jaya and Karam felt that there was a lack of support from other Punjabis in the community. Jaya especially felt that instead of feeling encouraged by fellow Punjabi peers or older community members she feels pressure and competition. Jaya explained that when she first arrived in Vancouver, she was excited because she saw signs in Punjabi and would see Sikhs around Vancouver.
I was really happy that I got to come to SFU in Vancouver. Vancouver has the biggest Punjabi community, so I felt happy and secure. I remember when I landed in the airport, and I saw airport signs in Punjabi and was like, “Okay, I will be fine.” I would see Sikh families and feel good and have so many Gurdwaras to go to. But now I feel I want to avoid these places and peoples. Nobody here cares about you like in India. There you are everybody’s child; here you are nobody. I know maybe it’s just for me and my experience, but some of my friends and I talk about this a lot. (Jaya)
Today I counted 12 sardars [male Sikhs who wear turbans] at Metrotown! Holy, I can’t get over how big the community is here … why don’t you guys say hi like we do back home when we see other Sikhs? (Anisha the Student)
My mother said to me, “Family over everything … seva starts at home. The only way we are going to grow as a community is if we take care of our family first, so stop complaining about it. This is just what we do.” (Anisha the Student)
In addition to the central role of family for all the students, the theme of having to uphold family honour is also another theme that plays a considerable role for these first- generation Punjabi students. In the following section I uncover and explore the theme of family honour and the importance in the role of first-generation Punjabi student experience.
98 First to Navigate University
Adapting to the university system was one of the most challenging learning curves for students in this case study. All students commented on the complexity and difficulty of starting university and the challenges they faced. All students consistently described having to learn how the university worked in order to succeed. All student participants faced challenges during their university career. Jaya commented, “I needed to learn so many cultures, Canadian culture, extended family culture, and university culture.” Jot described the university in this way: “It was like driving in India. No rules— just get in the building and go to class.” Mia stated that she wished she had taken a class on how to be in university before starting SFU. Mia wished she understood how the university was set up before beginning and what needs to be done regarding studying before actually taking courses. Karam also described his first semester at SFU as a “comedy of errors” and having to learn a whole new set of rules and regulations.
I am not gonna lie, that first year at SFU was brutal. It is a bunch of people throwing terminology around and expecting you to understand it. You don’t fully understand the words anyone is using until maybe after your second year. Lucky me was on academic probation, so I did the BOT [program], so I got to go a seminar that taught me skills to do better academically and, in whole, I wish I had that class before I started at SFU. Why did I have to wait until I had a failing average? You can understand that someone is doing badly in their classes, so you reach out to them. But what happens if you do okay? Then nobody is looking to help you. That is one good thing about the Surrey campus. I think the staff and faculty here still care, so even if you are just doing okay, someone can help you do better than that. (Mia)
Crap, I already walked by this building, who came up with the name Bursars Office to pay tuition? (Anisha the Student)
Is it crazy that academic probation is what saved me in school? I had to almost fail out for staff to look at me and think that maybe I need help. (Anisha the Student)
I never thought SFU would be such a big headache like it was. As an international student, I needed to do so much paperwork for my visa and study permit and had to keep running around to different offices in India to get the documents I needed.… I come to SFU and it’s the same thing: go
99 from one office to another office to another office to get one thing done, and everybody looks at you like you should know how to do this already. Actually, you need a computer software program to figure out the university. After I finish my computing degree, maybe I can fix the SFU websites. Terrible information and layout. … [Laughing]. Okay, yeah … I felt like an ant when I started here trying to figure out some puzzle. (Karam)
So go to Academic Services, get the form to change programs, then head to the Human Development and Studies Program, get your form filled out by an advisor that is located in the Family Studies building, and then come back here. (Anisha the Student)
I still don’t think I know what I am doing at SFU. You need a class on how to live in the bubble world of SFU. Everyone just moves in waves, and you are expected to just move along with it. I try to explain this to my parents, that not everything is laid out clearly, and they have no clue what I am talking about. (Reena)
I asked interviewees to reflect on their experiences with classes, professors, and non academic involvement at SFU. Overall, participants had very little interaction with professors and non academic involvement with SFU outside their classroom.
I don’t really interact with my professors at SFU. I think you just go to class and do your assignments. We aren’t really taught to have a connection with our professors. I don’t know, in Punjabi homes, we don’t hang with our elders. They are more of authority figures that you leave alone. (Gurtaj)
Mad love to the professors who think I am disrespectful for not making eye contact; that’s not how we do it. (Anisha the Student)
My experiences have been fine. You go to class, and the professors have office hours if you need them. I do not do any outside SFU activities. I try to go to the Punjabi Student Association meetings if I am on campus, but I am not a big part of it. (Karam)
Professors are good. If you need help, you can go to your TA [teaching assistant], or you can email your professors. I do not do any extracurricular activities. I work full time with my family, and I go to school. That’s all I do. My parents don’t really want me out of the house too much. They are pretty strict with my schedule; my mom especially is super concerned about me being out and is super paranoid about lokhi [people in the community]. (Amreen)
100 So far no major experiences I would say. Right now I am not really involved in anything at SFU. I was part of the PSA [Punjabi Student Association] and SSA [Sikh Student Association], but I couldn’t find a time to really go to anything. I work 30 hours a week helping my parents run their business, so, outside of school, I am mainly at work with my parents. I do the bookkeeping, ordering, and some customer service. I want to do things, but don’t have the time right now. (Mia)
Experience has been okay so far. No, I am not involved in any extra clubs or anything. I work with my uncle to help him with his building. It is good because I help him because they are helping me so much in my studies. I mainly go to my classes and work as much as I can. (Arjan)
Generally, the 12 students who participated in the case study had very little interaction outside the classroom. Nine students commented on working more than 10 hours per week while attending SFU. Many of the students work with their family to help run a business. No student is involved with the student government. Two students currently volunteer outside of the university, and several participated in cooperative education. Of the 12 students interviewed for this case study, eight reported experiencing academic difficulty at SFU.
5.5.1 Being the First – The Responsibility as the Eldest Sibling
Sahej, Arjan, Gurtaj, Mia, and 2 other students talked extensively about the pressure of being the first sibling to attain a university education. Although all participants were the first in their family to attend a Canadian university, these six explained the pressure of being the oldest sibling. These students felt that it was up to them to do well to help younger siblings or cousins in the future. Sahej described this pressure “first and right” as not only being the first to go but making sure he did it right, so the younger generation did not have to struggle as much as he did. One of the most important things for these students was learning as much as they could so they could pass it on to their siblings or cousins. They wanted to be able to prevent their siblings from making the same mistakes they made.
I think there is lots of pressure when you are the eldest. I think that everybody is looking to me to do well so I can help my brothers, sisters, and cousins. I do want to do good too, so I can help them, and they won’t have to struggle as much as I do. (Sahej)
101 You’re not just coming to Canada to go to school, you are coming to Canada to go to school, so maybe other family members can have a chance too. It is a big burden sometimes that my accomplishments will help set up the next family members, so you have to do very good. (Arjan)
Sometimes it feels really good to be the first to achieve the things I get too. Sometimes it feels scary. I think if I can learn as much as possible then I can help out ahead of time. Some of the things I learned in my third year I can help my sister learn about in her first year, and hopefully, it is easier for her than it was for me. (Gurtaj)
My parents are really busy. They work really hard, and there are days that I don’t really see my dad because he is working the graveyard shift. I help my younger brother and sister out with their homework and anything else they may need. Right now my sister is in Grade 10, so I can actually have conversations with her about university and what she wants to study. My mom helps so much with everything, but this is where I can help. It feels really good to be able to tell my sister she can study anything she wants and there are so many options. I feel bad sometimes; I feel I am setting my sister up to do everything I wish I did [Laughs]. I really want her to study abroad. It is something I wish I had the opportunity to do, but I didn’t know about it. It is really cool to give back. It feels good, and you think, “Okay, all of this will get easier. If not for me, then at least for the next generation.” (Mia)
If I can learn all these things, then I will be able to help Jess when she starts school. I cannot imagine all those years Papa worked those late shifts and did overtime, so mom could be home with us. They continuously put their dreams on hold in order to give us the opportunity to pursue our dreams in the future. (Anisha the Student)
Another student commented how the fear of failure and not being able to be a good role model for the next generation had impacted her experience in university.
I had and sometimes still have this scary thought of just failing, and everybody will look at me as a big waste of time. As an international student, it takes so many people working so hard to put me in university and get me to Canada. If I don’t do well, then my sister may not get the same opportunity. My parents and family will say, “What is the point? If Jaya couldn’t do good, we won’t waste our time sending her sister over.” It is a very big investment for everyone. (Jaya)
The first-generation students who have younger siblings or cousins who also hope to attend university experienced a great sense of pressure to succeed. They felt that their university experience and their successes would eventually impact the future
102 for their siblings or cousins. For all of these students, the university experience is a collective joint effort dependent on help from their families, and it is important to do well so the next generation in their family could also do well. London (1989) used the psychoanalytic theory of Stierlin (1977) (as cited in London, 1989) to analyze first- generation students’ life histories. He explained that, within a traditional society, people receive messages from their families regarding their roles and ideas associated with work, family, religion, and community. These role assignments are passed down through the generations resulting in “intergenerational continuity” (London, 1989, p. 168).
Similarly, the students in this study knew what was expected of them, and they understood their role assignments in their families. For many of these students, their role assignment in their family set the expectation that their success (or lack thereof) would benefit (or hinder) the next member in their family.
Don’t screw up because you know if you do people notice.… They notice how we look, our names, everything. We don’t have the luxury of hiding as white people can. You represent the Sikh Sangat (community). (Anisha the Student)
Role of the Punjabi Community
I structured the interview conversations to invite the participants to comment on the experiences and frameworks that they felt had influenced their choice to attend university. All students reported that education is a fundamental core value in their families. In several cases, participants stated that attending SFU was the only option they believed they had. While these experiences were included in participants’ discussions, the focus of the conversation was on their decisions about their choices to obtain a university degree and what types of conversations took place at home in regard to education. The interviews typically included participants’ thoughts about their early university experiences, especially regarding transitioning from high school, as well as the role of families and friends in their early decisions. Participants also commented on any sources of information that they may have used in choosing their university programs.
103 5.6.1 Influence of Community on University Experience
A significant catalyst for conducting this research was to uncover the experiences these students have with being part of the Punjabi population. As a Punjabi researcher, I am continually thinking of seva and wanting to give back to the community and feel privileged to live in an area where such a large Punjabi community exists. I know from my own experience as a first-generation Punjabi student I often felt that my community did a poor job of providing opportunities, resources, to help the younger generation navigate American culture. I wonder about community access to resources for the students I meet at SFU and in particular those in this research study. Many participants reported experiencing pressure from the community and felt they have to negotiate several identities while attending university. In some cases, participants felt that the community is behind in promoting and advocating the importance of education.
I was born and raised in Surrey, and when I went to school, there were very few Punjabi kids in my school. Now I would say the school I attended for elementary school has probably tripled in the Punjabi students it has. I have noticed a shift in the cultural norms over the years. In some ways, I feel our community is frozen in time with old-school thinking and values. I remember dinner parties where parents and kids talked about going to university and what they wanted to be when they grow up. Now I go to parties, and so many of the kids are not in school. You can’t generalize the Punjabi community here. There are varying degrees to who values education, and who holds on to old-school gender-specific values. (Priya)
The community has helped me in some ways. I attend some of the workshops that the SSA [Sikh Students Association] puts on and there are some local Gurdwara programs that are helpful. The community is that it’s so big, so no real central venue or people that control communication. We almost became too big, and now resources are scattered all over the place. We have community resources around Sikhism and learning the religion, but nothing around education or careers. It would be cool if we had mentors in the community that could guide younger Punjabi youth through the university process. (Gurtaj)
Participants in the study described the community as somewhat disconnected and not informed enough about the importance of university and the navigation. Several students recommended that in addition to Punjabi classes at the local Gurdwaras, the community should start to offer classes on education. Three students said they wished they had older mentors in the community who would talk about their own experiences at university and would offer advice. Many of the international students felt that the
104 community often judged them, and they tended to shy away from the Punjabi community.
Before leaving Punjab, my friends told me not to worry because I was going to Surrey and so many Punjabis could help me. I do not feel this way. I feel that there is a class difference Canadian Punjabi versus Indian Punjabi, and the Canadian Punjabis treat us different. The only advantage is the food and comforts of India are available here, but I do not feel emotional support from the community. (Sahej)
For international students, the need to be connected to a community was a significant reason for selecting SFU. They felt that moving to an area with a large Punjabi community would help them feel less homesick and far from home. They appreciate having access to the comforts of home, such as food, clothing, and local Gurdwaras. However, many of these students also felt because the community is so big they did not feel important in the community and are often seen as “another one from there” (Sahej)—or another new Punjabi. In some ways, it worked as a disadvantage because we are seen as privileged Punjabis whose families could afford to send them abroad to be educated in Canada.
5.6.2 Negotiating Punjabi and Canadian Cultural Values and Expectations
Many participants reported experiencing pressure from the community and felt they must negotiate several identities while attending university. In some cases, participants felt that the community is lagging behind in promoting and advocating for the importance of education.
How is that we can spend thousands of dollars on lavish weddings and invite people we never met, but we cannot figure out a way to get our children away from gangs. (Anisha the Professional)
5.6.3 Community – Lokhi and What Will They Say?
First-generation students with deficits in cultural capital have a lower likelihood of experiencing beneficial mentorship relationships to navigate their university institution. For these particular students, this also means that often they do not look to their community for support because of a lack of cultural capital in the community as well as
105 cultural roles. Several students expressed their struggle with pursuing their dreams in university while also having to worry about what lokhi—people in the community—would say or think. These students shared feeling great insecurity and hesitation at times with navigating a new environment as well as negotiating community ties.
I still think about lokhi, and I am married with two kids. I think I get it from my mom. I wonder if this is some genetic disorder we are born with. (Anisha the Professional)
I don’t know how to explain it.… Big brother is what it feels like. Everyone in our community kind of has an eye on you, but I don’t know if I want it any other way.… Our community still has a lot of learning to do. You never see Punjabi parents really involved in the university scene. There needs to be a community-wide promotion of education and how to help the next generation succeed in university. (Amreen)
By asking what role does the Punjabi community play for me in my experience in university is that I can tell you it makes it harder. It’s hard to describe, but it is not openness, more of hiding or feeling you cannot show weakness because you will be the subject to people talking. Even in my family, I feel they are watching and waiting for some downfall, so they can say and point out you are not successful. (Jaya)
I actually had this conversation with my white friend the other day. She was telling me that I should be more open with my parents and not hide the fact that I have a boyfriend from them. What I was trying to explain to her is that I am not scared of my parents but the community consequences that come with it. I do not want to be labelled as a girl “that goes around with boys.” When you are part of a cultural community what you do is subject to scrutiny. (Priya)
When I was on academic probation and did BOT [program] I was so freaked man.… I really did not want to go to the class because I knew everyone in that class would know that I also was not doing well. I didn’t want any other Punjabi kids in there because then it meant people would find out about my probation status. I went through because if I didn’t, I would be kicked out, and that is worse, but yeah, you gotta be mindful of who is watching. Like I said, so many of my parents’ friends’ kids don’t go to university, so if people found out I wasn’t doing well, my parents would be so embarrassed. (Gurtaj)
I hope that annoying girl from ISA doesn’t see me here. She will tell everyone we are on academic probation. She will say, “You are on
106 probation? I always thought you were the smartest one in our class. I mean you got into a 7-year medical program. I don’t get it.” (Anisha the Student)
Mia and Gurtaj stated that they felt despair the first year at SFU and felt at different points during the year that withdrawing from the university was what they felt they needed to do. Both students ended up in the BOT program and used this program to make decisions about their major and career choices. They also explained how academic probation affected their relationships with their families.
Yeah, so, faking it—I would go to class, go home, and pretend that I was doing well. I was on academic probation and kept making advising appointments and would nod my head, but I didn’t really know what I needed. I thought maybe I should just leave SFU, but what would I tell my parents? At that point, I didn’t even have a high enough GPA to transfer to another university. There was no way UBC [University of British Columbia] would take me, and I could only imagine the baisti [family embarrassment] I would be doing if I dropped out. I felt so much anxiety. I stopped doing anything and lost contact with my friends. I was frozen because I didn’t know any options. My advisor told me to register for BOT or I would not be able to come back to SFU without having to do some courses at the college in order to reapply to SFU. I was like so low at this point. I joined BOT, and for the first time, I felt safe. I had some type of support, finally. The BOT advisors and workshops helped me so much. I started to feel like myself again, and I saw all the options at SFU. I didn’t even know we had so many majors, you know. I just got out of it luckily, started taking courses I enjoyed and felt like I was a real SFU student, not a fake one. I hid this from my parents for a long time. (Mia)
Mia and I spoke about her reference to baisti. Mia commented that this meant embarrassment upon her family. This common term used in Punjabi culture often refers to the humiliation of a person or family’s honour (izzat), which also surfaced in many participant interviews. Mia felt that if others in the Punjabi community found out about her academic struggle, “the community would make sure they reminded my parents about it as much as possible. Our community looks for opportunities to put down other families.” For Mia, being part of a tight-knit Punjabi community means she is often in the spotlight and does not feel free to be herself. Mia explained that many of her life choices depend upon how her family members will react to them. Her decision to pursue her major in education was heavily influenced by what her family wanted her to study. Three students also commented on this feeling of community pressure while at SFU.
107 I did BOT, so that’s how I learned about SFU and how the structure was set up. But I was more stressed about what other people were/are going to say if I don’t make it instead of my immediate family. I don’t know; I wish I could be real with people in our community and say, “Here is how it really is,” but I think that would make me look like a failure. You gotta walk a walk that isn’t always true. I wish our community learned more about the system so we could tackle it together, rather than pretending we know everything and holding kids to such high expectations. (Gurtaj)
Why wouldn’t you want to help each other? Why are we so afraid to be vulnerable and share our struggles? (Anisha the Professional)
Back home and here sometimes I feel a sense of jealousy in our community. I do not relate to my friends in India anymore because they think I am too “Canadian” now, and I do not see people here supporting either. So I am just caught between so many identities and lives. (Arjan)
I think sometimes our generation is lucky because we are the first to have so many privileges, but at the same time, I think we are worse off because we have so many roles to figure out. Where I go to Gurdwara, so many of the kids my age aren’t going to university. So I think they think I am now a snob. But then there are people in our community who are really up there, and doctors and lawyers who think the rest of us are just working class and have no life goals. Sometimes I have to remind myself that I just have to do the best for me and stop worrying about everyone else. (Reena)
These experiences highlight that first-generation students often feel a tension between the cultural mismatch in capital. Stephens, Hamedani, and Destin (2014) explained that universities often perpetuate middle-class values, especially through notions of independence. Independence is seen as the foundation of university life, from living to enrolling in courses (Stephens et al., 2014, p. 7). This independence does not hold meaning for many of these students who come from a culture that promotes collective values. Often students struggle to fulfill the idea of the student role and being part of a community. All the students in the study cited motivations for being at a university such as “helping my family out” (or “to help my siblings/cousins” (Mia). Granfield (1991) described this as identity ambivalence, in which in individuals are no “longer able to connect with members or ideas of their community, nor are they able to completely let it go” (p. 343).
108 5.6.4 Pressure to Uphold Family Honour
For the study participants, the theme of upholding family honour or izzat had a considerable influence on their experience as first-generation Punjabi students in university. Many of the students explained in depth and often with great emotion how they understood the sacrifices their families made for their education and the pressure around being successful. The attainment of a degree and career is layered between the need to uphold family izzat and doing well. Especially echoed by the international students, there is an extreme need to do well to save their families back home from embarrassment if they do not do well in Canada. Students identified that honour came in many forms. For some students upholding family honour meant not doing poorly in school and graduating, and for other students it meant keeping a good “reputation” in the Punjabi community and not giving people the opportunity to “talk” about them or their family, which I unpack later in the discussion section (see Chapter 7).
I have heavy feelings for myself and having to keep my parent's honour while I am studying in Canada. Although my family is in India, I still feel pressure to do well because even though I am far, my actions here are connected to my family back home. (Jaya)
Please cover if my parents call your dorm. Just tell them I am at the library, okay? (Anisha the Student)
I do feel that my parents trust me more than my family does here. I think my extended family is thinking about the reputation of the family, and it is hard for them because they worry about finding suitable partners for their children, so my family here is always afraid of who I am talking to or hanging out [with]. Some of the family has directly told me that even though my parents are back home that my actions here can have impact on them. (Karam)
There was this one time when I was working with my dad in the office in Abby, and one of my coworkers and I started to get close and my dad pulled me aside to tell me to be careful of how much I talked to him because he was seriously like, “your talking to him doesn’t make me look good.” Talk about having to worry about everyone and what they think, as if being a student was not enough pressure. I am always thinking about who I am talking to and what others may be thinking when they see me. Honestly sometimes being first-generation is so confusing because we have to try to be normal and Canadian and then we also have to be all Punjabi and be
109 worried about family reputation that is attached to our every move. (Amreen)
My friend asked me, “Do you think they saw me? I told my parents I was going to stay at your dorm and now Rekha Aunty’s kids are here. What if they go home and tell their mom?” (Anisha the Student)
You know in addition to that first-generation opportunity guilt that comes along with knowing how your parents left everything for you also comes that you represent the entire family so be good awesomeness [Laughs]. I have this little, sometimes huge, chip on my shoulder of carrying this devil/angel type thing that keeps reminding me to be careful because what I do could reflect on my parents or possibly my siblings, so I have to do really good, you know, because what I do can set them up later. First of all, everyone is connected. Even if you think you are not, you probably are to another Punjabi person, so you gotta be on guard and make sure you do well. (Gian)
I am anxious to begin with, so I do have anxiety around keeping my family reputation. I have seen how especially women in our community are judged. I have heated arguments with family and friends that we take so much time judging what others are doing and typecasting. If you have a boyfriend, it is not good, but then at the same time, there is pressure around finding a suitable partner. How can you find a suitable partner if you do not know what you want in a partner or understand who you are compatible with? I have a cousin who was with someone for over 5 years and when they didn’t get married so many people said stuff about her and dismissed the fact that she is intelligent, kind, and about to go to medical school and be the first doctor in her family, but the focus is on the fact that she did not follow through with her engagement.… It is so frustrating because it’s a fine line of being the first to do everything, not just education. (Mia)
Yeah, lucky for my sister, because I break the ground for her by pushing the boundaries. (Anisha the Student)
As such first-generation Punjabi students are also the first to navigate cultural expectations in their homes. In addition to the pressure of learning university culture, they must also learn to balance Punjabi culture as the first group to understand all the details of family expectations as a student, son, daughter, nephew, niece, and so forth in addition to the role as a student. Part of my reason for conducting research was to see if izzat plays a role in some of the decision makings by first-generation Punjabi students. I have seen the need to uphold family honour for many of the students is such an underlining issue for many of our students and have heard this narrative as an academic
110 advisor, instructor, and now as a researcher. I do believe many of our students on campus come with unique challenges that are not often recognized by the university. The students in this case study highlight the various social, cultural, and professional identities they bring with them.
Advice to the Next Generation of Punjabi Learners
The participants in this study all shared the common thread of wanting to help the future generation with navigation. Many of the students wanted to “play it forward” or felt it was seva for them to help their younger siblings, cousins, and community members learn from their “mistakes.” This section will uncover the wisdom these students would like to with the next generation.
5.7.1 Community
Participants in the study feel that the community is somewhat disconnected and not informed enough about the importance of university and the navigation it involves. Several students recommended that in addition to Punjabi classes at the local Gurdwaras, the community should start to offer classes on education for students and their families. Three students said they wish they had older mentors in the community who would talk about their own experiences at university and would offer advice. Many of the international students felt that the community often judged them, and they tended to shy away from the Punjabi community.
For international students, the need to be connected to a community was a significant reason for selecting SFU. They felt that moving to an area with a large Punjabi community would help them feel less homesick and far from home. They appreciate having access to the comforts of home, such as food, clothing, and local Gurdwaras. However, many of these students also felt because the community is so big they did not feel important in the community, and are often seen as “another one from there” (Sahej)—or another new Punjabi. In some ways, it worked as a disadvantage because they are often seen as privileged Punjabis whose families could afford to send them abroad to be educated in Canada and did not have to struggle like their Canadian born Punjabi peers.
111 As much as I struggle with the community and feeling a bit stuck in the middle of both cultures, I do think so much of what I learn I can pass down. I do feel blessed to be able to get educated. I hope that once I become a CPA and learn how to get into the School of Business, I can do the same for younger students. I think for Punjabi females I can role model for them and hope to encourage them to get educated as well. I really hope the cousins in my family will be able to come to me for advice and when they need it when they go to school. (Priya)
Participants in the study feel that the community played a significant role in their education but felt that the resources are often disorganized and lack direction. The students, however, did feel that even if the community was so big, it was a central way of connecting back with their culture, language, and comfort of ease of belonging. As Gurtaj commented,
At first I felt really stressed that I was on academic probation, but now I would tell students that it's okay, and because of that experience I learned so much. I would tell students that it might help to find people in the community who have gone through similar experiences. We could help teach one another. We shouldn’t be afraid of the community. Instead, we should look at the similarities we share and help raise the next generation to do better. (Gurtaj)
Summary
I wrote this chapter with the intent to represent the experiences of the participants regarding the topics covered by the interviews through a selection of passages taken directly from the transcripts. A complex set of themes emerged from the exploration of the experiences of these students. Each alone adds its own thread and contributes to forming a complete picture. These students have to navigate a journey formed by an interplay of many pressures—familial, cultural, and, for international students, transitional roles or pressures present a unique set of challenges for this group. Adding to this is the pressure of being the first to navigate university and a perceived lack of support from the institution. It is apparent from the interviews that all the students all display a deep sense of gratitude and appreciation for their opportunities. Their outlook is coloured by a deep sense of needing to give back to those who have supported their journey or pay it forward to those whose journeys are yet to begin.
112 In this chapter, I chronologically detailed the stories that emerged from participants’ interviews as they detailed their lived experiences as first-generation Punjabi students at SFU. The next chapter I will explore some of the reoccurring themes of confusion and apprehension that wove throughout the interviews.
113 Chapter 6.
Narrative Threads: Phulkari – Part 2 (ਫੁਲਕਾਰੀ)
In this chapter, I highlight some of the reoccurring themes of confusion and apprehension that surfaced throughout the interviews. The students in the study expressed their fear of being in university and their place in it. The students also explained that they felt they do not possess the secret language that their non-first- generation students seem to have.
Do you know what comes with these flowers? Grounded in seva. How can you say they have no capital when you fail to recognize all that they bring with them? Is it because you never let them write their history because keeping them voiceless is so much easier? (Anisha the Professional)
Outsiders without the Secret Language
All 12 participants in their voices described their confusion and fear during their first semester at SFU. Some of the students said the confusion lasted for about a year until they felt comfortable with the terminology and university. The 12 students reflected on the fear and anxiety they all felt when entering SFU. The students spoke of feelings of isolation, which have been widely researched as a critical problem for first-generation students (Jehangir, 2010).
114 When I came to SFU I had no idea what anyone was talking about. I kept faking [it] and nodding my head when advisors would say words like GPA, major selection. Why would I know these words? I never heard these words at home. (Mia)
This experience of isolation results partly from their challenges in navigating the social environment but is “also reinforced by a curriculum and pedagogy that does little to reflect their worldviews” (Jehangir, 2010, p. 30). Isolation in this social environment is explained by the fact that the nature of higher education is entirely different for first- generation students in comparison to their non-first-generation-student counterparts. First-generation students are more likely to be from racialized communities, to be older, and to be foreign born (Ishitani, 2003; Warburton et al., 2001). Consequently, first- generation students find their experiences of transition and isolation are amplified by other social factors, ranging from economic and language struggles to racism and cultural negotiation. These barriers present themselves in the form of anxieties, a sense of displacement, and challenges in navigating a cultural landscape often alien to first- generation university students (Lara, 1992; Pascarella et al., 2004; Réndon, 1992; Terenzini et al., 1994).
Students in this study attended very few campus activities and did not seem to have a keen interest in being engaged with the university community. I can only speculate that part of this disinterest in the university community has to do with their feelings of isolation and not feeling a part of the university. Many participants also had limited time, as they also worked part time jobs. Isolation for first-generation students profoundly limits their engagement, involvement, and persistence in higher education (Nuñez et al., 1998). This isolation for these students manifested in different ways. Some explained that they would attend courses and go home, and others explained that they only hung out with other Punjabi students because they felt they did not relate to anyone else on campus.
I am happy that there are other Punjabi students here at SFU Surrey because I do not know who else I would talk to if they were not here. We eat the same food, speak the same language, and I do not need to explain myself. (Jot)
Jot explained what London (1992) described as “status group membership” (p. 7). London (1992) noted, in higher education, and particularly in predominantly white
115 4-year institutions, the social norms are shaped by white, male, and middle-class students; as such, first-generation students often experience a status mismatch. For all of the students in this study who were first-generation, Students of Colour, and those from immigrant families, can feel isolated by the fact that the cultural capital of postsecondary education often does not acknowledge or value the cultural experience of these first-generation students (Jehangir, 2010).
I Do Not Speak the Language
Universities have their forms of institutional habitus and capital. Pidgeon (2008) highlighted that academic language is fundamentally assumed in the institution, which presumes students already own knowledge of the type of language used within the institution. As discussed in Chapter 4, a significant challenge for most of the students in the study was that they did not know the university language. In the case of this cohort of students they felt that they had to learn to speak “SFU,” a new set of terms and language that they needed to navigate the university on their own. First-generation students, like their peers, must learn how to build a class schedule, enrol in courses, adapt to course loads, and learn how to manage the expectations of their professors.
The first-generation students who took part in this study had less preparation and family guidance to support them for this experience. There is no one for them to turn to at home or in the community to help with the new academic language they are learning. These students commented on not knowing when to speak up and feeling as if they could not question their professors. Sahej stated, “My econ [economics] class has over 100 students in it. I do not want to be known as that brown kid that asks the stupid question. My name is different, I look different, and people usually remember me.” Sahej echoed what many of the students highlighted in this study, uncertainty about their role and if they can and should voice and share their ideas. These students must learn how to navigate the university and express their voices in academia and determine how and where they belong.
I am afraid to ask questions because I do not want to seem stupid because this is knowledge university students are expected to have. In Canadian culture, there is a distinct shift when you turn into an adult, so when you are an adult you should not have to ask questions but try to figure
116 it out, but I don’t think that should be the way it is. I can’t know this stuff if I have never been exposed to it. (Reena)
A communication barrier between first-generation students and the university was evident. Other participants, including some who reported academic difficulty, found asking for help to be particularly difficult. They described not knowing the right words to use to ask for help. Many students explained that being placed on academic probation and having to do the BOT program forced them to be more vocal about needing help. For many, the BOT program was the first time they spoke to student service staff at SFU. Furthermore, the international students in this case study explained that in their schooling in India they were not encouraged to ask questions. Many of the students explained that in India there is no dialogue with professors or teachers and that the expectations are very different in the Canadian school system.
Each student in this case study reflected on the need to learn a new language when coming to SFU. The students felt unprepared and often confused by the terminology used by administers and faculty members. Students identified the complexity of SFU terminology.
For me one of the hardest things was learning the SFU language code. In India, we have different ways of explaining things, and at SFU they have a different way of explaining things. I was not used to all the short-cut ways of speaking … Yes, I can give an example. So one time I asked about the requirements for co-op, which I didn’t understand what co-op was. The advisor spoke to me for 10 minutes, but at the end, I still was not sure what co-op meant. (Jot)
You know if you live in India and you are speaking Punjabi or Hindi, and English, you come to SFU and have to learn SFU. It was very hard adjusting to having to speak in English more, but also learning what the things mean. We have different terms. So like we call tuition in India extra help in subjects, and here in SFU, it is the amount of money you have to pay. We could use a guide with some of the definitions. It is confusing and not easy I would say. (Sahej)
So one of my experiences that were tough was all the words at SFU that everyone thinks you should know. We don’t sit around the table at home saying, “Hey, what’s your GPA, are you OAP [on academic probation]?” We aren’t growing up hearing those words, so when you come here for the first time, you have to learn these things. Yeah, high school prepares you a little bit, but even in high school things are different. Like we go to our school counsellor, not an academic advisor, or faculty advisor.
117 For so long I didn’t know the difference between an academic advisor, or my faculty advisor, and I got in trouble for booking an appointment with an academic advisor when I should be going to my faculty advisor because I was “declared in my major.” How are you going to know those things when you are new to the system? It seems minor now, but in the beginning, it was so frustrating. I just felt everyone knew all this stuff, and here I was just faking it. (Mia)
Do you know what the difference is between an academic counsellor and a counsellor, sweetie? I can’t help you with switching to a new faculty. That’s what your Academic Advisor is for. Maybe this is why you are on academic probation? (Anisha the Student)
First-generation students are often introduced to university terminology upon entering the institution. Students are also introduced to career and major paths by family members or based on suggestions of family friends or community connections. Deriving notions from Bourdieu (1977a, 1977b, 1986), Stephens et al. (2014) stated this tension occurs because universities perpetuate middle-class values of independence that contradict the interdependent motivations that first-generation students expressed when citing reasons for attending university, such as helping the family out or giving back to the community.
Engagement (Academic and Nonacademic)
In addition to learning the new university terminology and the expectations of postsecondary education, first-generation students must also learn how to balance the demands on their time and to prioritize their various roles as student, worker, and family member. Part of the transition to SFU for many of these students was the reality of the amount of freedom they would have compared to high school. Many of the students in this study expressed how they felt that they were just “let go” (Priya) with no guidance or a roadmap for the future.
In high school you have your guidance counsellor and a schedule that they put together for you. I was shocked how little anyone from SFU is involved in helping you pick classes or help guide you. At first, I was excited to have freedom in university, and then I realized it wasn’t freedom; it was a full-time job to learn how to do everything. I don’t feel high school prepared me for university, and I don’t feel university helped me learn university. (Priya)
118 Many of the students voiced that they now had to learn how to balance multiple roles and how to adjust to the rigours of university life. Some studies suggested that first- generation students enter college and university with less academic preparation than traditional students. They also have lower scores on precollege reading and math skills (Terenzini et al., 1996). First-generation students are also less experienced in time management and study skills (Bui, 2005; Cabrera & La Nasa, 2001). Many of the students in this study began their journeys at SFU with less preparation academically in addition to the multiple life roles that they must balance.
Also, members of this particular cohort of first-generation Punjabi students were not engaged in academic and social experiences. According to Tinto (2003), “the more students are academically and socially involved, the more likely they are to persist and graduate” (p. 4). The students in this study did not feel a particular connection to SFU and its community and expressed how did not feel engaged in the classrooms.
I had an image of being really into SFU. Like TV, all the kids in the states are really into their schools and attend sporting events, but I sadly don’t feel that school spirit. I don’t think SFU creates that type of pride where students feel connected to SFU on another level. (Mia)
I don’t really do anything with SFU. I work part-time off campus and go to class, and then go off campus. I don’t participate in anything at school, and even in class, there is nothing really to participate in. (Gian)
Mia and Gian both highlighted the familiar feeling of all the study participants—a lack of connection to the university socially, and little to none regarding classroom engagement. Research has suggested that classroom and social engagement have a beneficial impact on all students, in particular with first-generation students (Filkins & Doyle, 2002). The classroom is where students in this study spend the most significant amount of time on campus. As such, their opportunities to interact with peers and faculty are primarily in the classroom; however, these students, in particular, did not feel connected to their classes or faculty members. This lack of community and academic participation can be credited to their social capital shortfalls. Social capital provides students with the skills and resources to manage their student role (Soria & Stebleton, 2012). Therefore, these first-generation Punjabi students may not be aware of the many benefits these types of interactions can bring to their development and success (Soria & Stebleton, 2012). It is pertinent that SFU faculty and staff acknowledge that many first-
119 generation students feel uncomfortable engaging because of their inability to access mainstream capital, and it is the faculty and staff’s responsibility to create a sense of belonging on its campus.
First-generation students display lower levels of nonacademic engagement in comparison to their middle-class counterparts (Lehmann, 2009a). Lehmann (2009a) suggested that first-generation students are more likely to be living off campus, which was true for all 12 of the study participants and have work and family responsibilities that take them away from engagement opportunities. As a result, these students are much less likely to participate in extracurricular activities, volunteer, or have casual interactions with their peers (Pascarella et al., 2004). Their nonacademic engagement in university which is one of the main ways to accumulate capital and their inability to otherwise access social and cultural capital made it difficult for the students in this case study to engage with the university, academically and socially.
Outsiders without Academic Capital
In this section, I uncover some of the reoccurring themes of confusion and apprehension that the students in this study described in their interviews. The students in the study expressed their fear of being in university and their place in it. The students also explained that they felt they do not possess the secret language that their nonfirst- generation students seem to have.
Can I just say something? I know for you this all seems super easy, but I am finding adjusting hard and I am struggling academically, and I hate my roommate. I am wondering if I should take a semester off or maybe consider transferring. (Anisha the Student)
Navigating Life as a New Immigrant
For five of the study participants, attaining a postsecondary degree also meant moving to a new country and beginning life as an international student at SFU. According to the Fall 2017 International Student Report (SFU, 2017a), there are a total of 4,908 undergraduate international students at SFU, and 304 are students from India,
120 at 6.2% of the total international student population at the university. International students represent 19.4% of the undergraduate student population at SFU (2017b). During the interviews, participants in this position discussed how being an international student significantly impacts their university experience. Not only are these five students first generation, but they are also navigating a new country, language, and culture in addition to the university system.
Like I said before, there is a class difference in my feeling between Canadian Punjabis and Indian Punjabis. It is so hard, because I think the Canadian Punjabis have access to everything. I have to live with family. I have never lived within their household under their rules. My parents are far, I get homesick, and I miss my family and friends. Sometimes I doublethink and [wonder] if I should be here, but I keep telling myself that I am lucky and might be able to create a life. I don’t think anyone ever thinks this must be all so hard for international students being alone, because it is hard; international students have the least support. (Sahej)
I hardly survived the move from Connecticut to Vancouver, and here you are having to learn a new language, culture, and academic structure. (Anisha the Professional)
All the international students in this study reiterated Sahej’s statement. Every student reflected on the difficulty of being an international student and a university student. For international students in this study, they felt more pressure to do well because their journey in Canada will impact their families abroad. Not only do the international students feel obligated to do well for their families back home, but they also feel a responsibility to their families that they live with in Canada. International students face many changes such as moving to a new country, leaving behind friendships, and having to adapt to academics in Canada. Many of the students used the word “stress” to describe the changes they were facing including the pressure to do well, stress when they felt they were blocked from reaching a goal, and stress from feeling frustrated with the system.
Although international students are increasing at our institutions, researchers have often described international students as the “most quiet, invisible, underserved groups on campus” (Mori, 2000, p. 143). Most commonly international students reported difficulties they experienced, which included language barriers, academic demands, homesickness, loss of social support, lack of study skills, and decreased self-esteem
121 (Mori, 2000). This rang true for the five students in the study who are international students at SFU.
It’s hard to explain to anyone. I feel alone because I do not understand the Canadian education system. Things are done so differently in India. Here you become an adult when you come to school, and nobody understands that yes I am old enough to make some choices, but I do not understand the system I am making choices about. My English is good but the language used in school here is different, and it’s really hard. (Arjan)
I feel very homesick … here I do not know where to go when I need something. When I lived in India, and I needed something I knew where to go; I knew the city and how to get around. Now I feel I have to be so dependent on my cousins to teach me how to get things done on top of the studying. I feel out of place because I feel that when you grow up here, it is still your city, your town, your people, but when you are not from here, nothing is yours. (Jot)
I asked Jot to uncover further her view of “nothing is yours” because I wrote this quote in my reflective notes after the interview and had highlighted and underlined it. Jot’s quote sparked a feeling that I often felt in university. Jot explained her view in a follow-up email:
“Nothing is yours” to me means that I do not always feel that the situation I am in is under my control or what I want to be doing. I am here because my family felt it would help me get settled and educated in Canada. I do not always feel that the decision was all mine. I do not feel part of the university; the students are not mine. I did not pick them as my friends. The topics in some of the classes do not make sense to me because no one thinks that maybe students not from here won’t understand some of the references to I feel that when you grow up here it is still your city, your town, your people, but when you are not from here nothing is yours. This includes decisions around what to study sometimes, and what to do and think. International students must think about how their journey will be reflected on so many people, so that is what I meant. (Jot)
The current literature relating to international students is like that of first- generation students and usually highlights students’ experiences from a deficit perspective. The intent of the case study was not to explore the psychological and sociocultural adjustment of first-generation international students, but the adjustments that these students must face while attaining their degrees is something I hope to reflect further on in future research.
122 For me I have to keep thinking about the amount of financial investment it takes to get a degree as an international student. The pressure is triple because I feel that is how international students must feel. We pay three times the amount of money for credits at SFU, and when you convert that to the currency of our country, it can be up to 40 times the amount of money that a student in Canada pays. I think SFU tries very hard to market itself as the global university that is “thinking of the world” and “engaged,” but I feel that when international students are here, they are not “engaged” with us. For the amount of money that is being paid for the same coursework as domestic students, I expected more language preparation and more counselling. I can say I do not feel [I receive] extra attention as an international student. (Jaya)
Although the transition for the five-international first-generation Punjabi students often came with many adjustments, it also came with positive experiences as well. Students reflected on the positive experiences of having the opportunity to be an international student in Canada.
Even though it is very stressful academically and socially, there is a sense of freedom that comes with being able to study in Canada. I feel I was able to have a new chance of living for myself also. I get down thinking of the pressure I feel, but I also get happy when I think about the freedoms I have that not all my friends do. I do not have to answer to professors, teachers, or staff. If I do not like a course, I can drop and try something different. I try to balance the pressure I feel with remembering all the options I have. (Jaya)
I like the way students can make decisions here. I can come and go when I need to on campus. I can try a different course if I want too, or I can build a schedule and work. These are some of the great things of studying abroad. I am able to travel within Canada and see so many different things. I have friends from different countries, and we share our food and cultures together. (Karam)
I feel safe in Canada as a Sikh. Minorities in India do not feel a sense of freedom in India, especially in Punjab. As a visible minority in Canada, I feel people are open to learning about me and even though not everyone looks like me, I feel a sense of belonging. For me, it has been fun to be able to learn about my own culture and history and other histories as well. (Arjan)
Studying in SFU has exposed me to many different cultures and different ways of thinking. It is challenging to be in a new place, and I like the way students can make decisions here. (Sahej)
123 For the international students in this study, in addition to learning life as a university student, they also had to learn life as a new Canadian. Along with their navigation of higher education also comes the navigation as a new immigrant. Despite the challenges international first-generation Punjabi students feel, they also hold a great sense of gratitude and the need to give back to others.
Life Roles and Dreams
During the participant interviews, the discussion turned to how the students juggled with multiple complex identities. Some of the participants stated that they often felt worn down from the many hats and identities they have to juggle while in university. Other participants were more concerned with degree completion to help younger siblings and cousins achieve university degrees as well. Several female students noted that the completion of a university degree would lead to more life partner options and allow them to pick from a “higher level” of potential matches according to their families.
My parents left India in 1983 to come to Canada to hope to have a better life and have children who would grow up in a country where options would be available to them. It was very hard for them, and I know they struggled so much. After all the struggling and suffering my parents have been through, I think I have to work really hard to make all their sacrifices worth it. It is also my hope that I can do well so I can give back to them and help them with my younger siblings. (Priya)
All of the students in this study reiterated Priya’s statement. Every student reflected on the sacrifice their parents and families have made to give them the opportunity to be in Canada and attain a university degree. Students who are the first- generation often go to university with a heavy weight on their shoulders to do well because they feel so much is at stake. Many of the participants also stated that they were working part time to help their parents out or to help run the household. This was of particular importance for the international students living with extended families. These students carry a debt to their extended families, and any income they can make helps them to reduce their need for financial support.
For many first-generation students, family obligations take centre stage in their lives (Jehangir, 2010). This rang true for seven students who shared that they lived in large extended families or in developments where multiple generations of family
124 members live on the same street. Many of them have weekly obligations, like taking older grandparents to physical therapy and medical appointments. These obligations played out differently for each student, but it was a common theme among all of them. These additional family roles often prevented these students from being actively involved with their campuses. It is important to note that most of the interview participants in this study made minimal mention of extracurricular activities. As Jehangir (2010) noted, “Many FG [first-generation] students of color are from immigrant families and cultural backgrounds where the role of family is central to one’s life, and ‘housework and child care’ (Ginorio & Huston, 2001) are expected and required” (p. 25). In many cases, students simply made their course schedules so that they could minimize the amount of time coming to campus to avoid having to drive from campus to complete their household chores.
It is hard to explain to my friends that I have so many more obligations. I get mad sometimes because I wish I did not have to deal with the family pressures that come with being in a Punjabi family. My white friends don’t ever have to worry about driving their parents to appointments, but I do this on a daily basis. I try to schedule all my classes on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, so on Tuesday and Thursday I can do what my family needs. (Mia)
These results are consistent with the research Padron (1992), who stated first- generation students, particularly from immigrant families, are often called on to serve as “cultural brokers” (p. 60) and translators on behalf of their parents and family elders. Students in this study explained that they escorted parents and grandparents to medical appointments, assisted with completing paperwork, and often served as translators between their parents and social agencies (Kiang, 1992). This results in a role reversal that may be distressing yet necessary for both the students and their parents. For female students, in particular, they explained that they felt resentful about all the additional duties they have to complete in addition to being a university student. They also highlighted that their parents have no idea about the demands or schedules of university life. As their parents did not attend university, they are not supportive of giving them the time they need to focus on their studies.
All of the participants shared that it was difficult to study at home because they often get pulled to help with household or family obligations. Orbe (2008) described a similar tension experienced by first-generation students due to negotiating “established and emerging identities” (p. 88). First-generation students negotiate an individualist
125 identity, associated with being a university student, with a more collectivist identity at home (Orbe, 2008).
I get so frustrated with my mom sometimes. She just assumes that I am always available to help random family members with life tasks. I actually have created an extra class on my schedule, so I give myself a time block to study. One day I came home from class and had a random auntie waiting for me to fill out some papers for her husband when I had a huge exam the next day.… In some ways I understand that they need help, and I feel guilty that they need help, and some of the really hard things for them are super easy for us, but I wish our parents would be more aware of how much work we really have to do. (Amreen)
Parents who have no experience with college may not understand the demands and schedule of collegiate life and may resent their interference with family obligations (Fuligni, Tseng, & Lam, 1999; Phinney, Ong & Madden, 2000). These obligations can then become a “major source of stress and concern, especially in conjunction with academic pressures” (Constantine & Chen, 1977). (Jehangir, 2010, p. 25)
For this particular cohort of students, participants reflected on the amount of pressure they feel to succeed in university and how they carry the aspirations of their family community with them. Arjan stated, “I feel pressure to help everyone and try to be successful in my studies too. Too much has been sacrificed for me to get here. “
Jehangir (2010) asserted, “Students who are the first in their family to attend university must navigate through a complex web of roles, identities, and obstacles to get to college” (p. 26). Then, once they arrive on campus, they have to go through the process of finding their way. Many of the students commented how some of the hardest challenges for them have been trying to figure out their sense of place and their identity in university. Citing the work of Réndon (1992), Jehangir stated, first-generation students, “particularly students of color, often question whether they can manage the academic demands of college, and … [because they are constantly questioning themselves, typically] enter higher education filled with self-doubt” (p. 26). As these students feel that they are representatives and models for their extended families and community, failure in school is not just their own to bear but also a reflection of their families as well.
First-generation students who are from communities of colour must learn how to bridge the divide between their home and school worlds and learn how to manage their
126 aspirations as well as the demands of their family and community. The next section of the discussion explores the concept of seva: selfless service to others.
Seva: Selfless Service and Giving Back
The concept of seva or selfless service is the service to others without any expectation of result or award for performing it. Seva is any service that can be performed to others or humanity in general. In Sikhism and other religions seva underpins many fundamental values (Singh, 2009). The students in this study repeatedly stressed the importance of selfless seva and how education served as a form of seva. Obtaining an education, and learning the university system would allow them to work toward the principles of sarabat da bhalla: working towards the common good of all (Singh, 2009). Many of the students in this study stated that they must give back to their family and communities for the opportunities they have been granted. The participants expressed an abundance of gratitude for their education, families, community, and university. Despite the challenges they faced while attaining their education, these first- generation Punjabi students are grounded in their sense of seva and need to give back and play it forward.
6.7.1 Seva: The Need to Give Back
All the students expressed a desire to give back to their family, community, and peers. The students felt a sense of responsibility to perform seva to help others, their family, and other Punjabis or Sikhs in their community. All the participants recognized and appreciated how their parents’ sacrifice and support, particularly immigrating to Canada, enabled them to enter higher education. For many of the students, it also meant the sacrifice and support of their extended families and younger cousins who have accommodated their living situations for them. As a result, the participants wanted to one day give back to their family financially and serve as a role model to younger relatives. Participants wanted to show their relatives and other Punjabis that attending university is possible by providing guidance regarding the university application process and higher education experiences. Some of the participants were involved in the Punjabi and Sikh communities on campus and off campus in some capacity, including language outreach efforts to teach Punjabi and Sikh history courses to middle school and high
127 school students. Participants’ desire to give back to the Punjabi community was also reflected in decisions made regarding their majors and possible career paths.
I know, I said before that Punjabi parents aren’t really involved in the university scene and their needs to be a community-wide promotion of education and how to help the next generation succeed in university. I think I can help with that; I hope once I graduate I can be more involved after and make this hard learning a bit easier for some. I try to help cousins and family members because I do not want anyone to struggle like I did. (Amreen)
Even though I think that I cannot share how I always feel in our community, I still want to help it. I think once we take away this layer of competition underneath is a great sense of wanting everyone to better their community and moving the next generation forward. My family is very big on seva, and typically we are doing it in the Gurdwara, but I think seva can be through education and helping others get educated. I hope to be successful so I can do seva and help the next generation do the same. (Jaya)
I know I worry about embarrassing my family and felt really scared that they would find out that I was on probation, but part of the extra worry is wanting to do well so I can help change this struggle. I hope I can do something to help the next generation. I think every generation comes with challenges, for many of us it's having parents who were not born here, or we weren’t born here. I think for the next generation university may be more competitive. I do hope to be able to give back to my family who has worked so hard to give me the education they did everything they could to give me. (Mia)
The international students in this study expressed feeling privileged to be in Canada because the opportunity to obtain a degree will allow them to give back to their families both locally and back home in India.
I do feel caught in between so many lives, but I do think everything I am doing is for a reason. One day I am excited to think that maybe I can do something for the pind that I came from, or even help my younger cousins do really well in school. I believe I can help my family move further here and help my family back home. Getting educated in Canada and being able to share what I am thinking can actually help our community come up more. One day I think it would be great if I could maybe go to a Punjabi class and share my experience. I could explain how even though it seems so terrible sometimes getting in academic trouble is good because you end up learning more and about more resources. (Arjan)
128 I want to help the community once I am finished and more settled. I would really like to help my family here who has helped me so much. I would feel very happy if I could help them financially and pay some of their expenses. I also think I would be good at helping new students that are coming from India. I could relate to them (Sahej)
I hope to one day I can give my family everything they have given me. I hope I get a good job and make good money so I can take care of my relatives and give back to my cousins who have taken care of me while I am living with them in Canada. (Karam)
I get scared when I think about the effort that has been put into me to come to Canada and study, and I make myself stress out. I wish that when I am done, I can help other students in this same situation. Maybe I can teach international students, I know I will be teaching my cousins in my family. I want to give back all the things they have helped me learn. (Jot)
6.7.2 Seva: Community
The students in this research study all identified as being part of the Punjabi community. For many of the students, attaining a university degree also meant being able to help the Punjabi community move forward. Along with their stories of navigating higher education lies a great responsibility of adding value to the greater community. For all the students in this study, there was an abundance of gratitude for family, extended family, Canada, and the community for offering the privilege to study and pursue an undergraduate degree. For me, on a personal level, I feel grateful for the ability to impact the next generation; it is this passion as well as my hope to help Punjabi learners that drove me to conduct this research.
I do think our community has ties to some old-school thinking.… I hope that when I finish school and am a bit more finically stable, I can help other Punjabi kids go to school. I always try to talk to the Punjabi kids at parties that aren’t attending college or university and help answer any questions for them. It is hard to break that barrier of trust and explain that if I do well, then you do well. I want to work to help eliminate that competition that is so alive in our community and make it, so everyone helps one another out. I know for me I wouldn’t be here if my family and friends did not help me. (Priya)
One day I think it would be great if I could maybe go to a Punjabi class and share my experience. The community has helped me in some ways. I attend some of the workshops that the SSA [Sikh Students Association] puts on and there are some local Gurdwara programs that are helpful. The
129 community is that it’s so big, so no real central venue or people that control communication. Resources are scattered all over the place. We have community resources around Sikhism and learning the religion, but nothing around education or careers. It would be cool if we had mentors in the community that could guide younger Punjabi youth through the university process. (Gurtaj)
When listening to the students speak about their experiences in university, even when they seemed stressed or lost, I also felt a great sense of appreciation for their stories.
I do not feel emotional support from the community … but it may take time, and maybe I have to make effort too. I think God has given me a great blessing and before I graduate and even after I graduate, I will do some seva to give back to everyone who has been helping me here. (Sahej)
I hope if I finish medical school I can do some programming for the Punjabi community in the health area. We need more family doctors that speak Punjabi to help the community with some of the diseases that are prominent in our culture like heart disease and diabetes. My goal would be to have a medical centre that is based in the community that can speak in Punjabi to the patients that come to it and offer outreach programs at the Gurdwaras. (Reena)
I know I talked a lot about feeling the need to hide things from the community, like probation and stuff but I do think if I become a teacher I will help change some of the pressure Punjabi girls feel in our community. If we empower our girls to get educated and have open conversations with our parents instead of hiding things, that would be a way to progress the community forward. I really want to give back to the community one day. (Mia)
In addition to becoming something to help my family who helped settle me, I think I can help change the thinking around education in the Punjabi community. It is very important for so many of our families and for others it seems like a dream. I struggled, and I did not want to go to counselling because I didn’t want people to know about my personal life but I have to change thinking too. If we do not talk about our community, or talk to our community, no changes will happen. I am trying to be open-minded and will try to give back. (Karam)
Summary
The primary purpose of this chapter was to summarize the themes from 12 first- generation Punjabi students. My aim in this chapter was to thread together their
130 experiences and highlight some of the challenges and opportunities for these students. In the next chapter, I relate these findings to uncover types of capital these students bring with them to university that are not found currently in the literature on first- generation students.
131 Chapter 7.
Discussion: Weaving of the Phulkari (ਫੁਲਕਾਰੀ)
This investigation began with the following question: What are the experiences of first-generation Punjabi students at SFU? The stories participants shared provided an understanding of the research subquestions regarding their experiences as they transitioned into university as the first in their family to pursue higher education. The stories also revealed influencing issues that contributed to their navigation in higher education, their struggles, and the resources they leaned on during their academic careers. In this chapter, I discuss how students’ stories in response to the research questions relate to the existing literature and contribute to research in postsecondary education.
The discussion reveals the forms of capital first-generation Punjabi students bring to the university and makes a connection to the literature related to the experiences of first-generation students for pursuing higher education. The discussion frames students’ stories within the themes of social, cultural, economic, and symbolic capital centred from a Punjabi worldview. The results are centralized within the frameworks of Bourdieu’s (1973, 1984, 1986, 1993) and Yosso (2005) that informed this investigation. In this chapter, I aim to explain what I have learned about capital and its
132 influence on the Punjabi student experience. The narratives can help inform policy and practice within Student Services at SFU, the university, and the field of student affairs.
Punjabi Social Capital
My focus in this study was to examine the experiences of first-generation Punjabi students within the framework of social reproduction theory. The framework for social reproduction theory allowed for an in-depth analysis of broader issues that may impact students experience in university. While Bourdieu (1973, 1984, 1986, 1993) suggested that inequality is perpetuated because of one’s access to particular forms of capital, the theory does allow for upward mobility. In this section, I uncover my interpretation of social reproduction theory through a Punjabi worldview and move against deficit perspectives of the application of this theory. Punjabi students bring different capital with them to university. Unfortantely their capital is often minimized, misunderstood or undervalued. Consistent with interpretations of Bourdieu’s (1973, 1984, 1986, 1993) work, the value of capital is reliant on a field in which it is found and it is in that filed that it is assigned valued or ultimately devalued (Yosso, 2005). The social reproduction theory framework is useful when examining the experiences of individuals who have been historically marginalized in education. Within the Punjabi household, the student’s habitus is shaped by family, through which they are provided with various forms of capital (see Figure 4).
133
Figure 4. The forms of Punjabi capital.
Punjabi Habitus and Capital
As I discussed at the beginning of the thesis, the educational experiences of Punjabi students have not been thoroughly examined. I was able to find one study in Canada that examined Punjabi student experience in Canada (Nayar, 2012) and one study in the US that examined Sikh Punjabi students in high school (Gibson, 1988). Although I found studies of the Punjabis, few education scholars focus on this population. My search for scholarly journals resulted in no current academic writing on the experiences of first-generation Punjabi students in a university in Canada beyond the two cited studies mentioned above. The Punjabi student experience in Canada remains largely underresearched in academic literature in Canada.
Forms of Punjabi Capital
In order to rework the deficit framework, it is crucial for educators to consider the knowledge, history, and various resources that students bring with them to Canadian institutions. “The concepts, explanations, and interpretations that students derive from personal experiences in their homes, families and community cultures constitute personal and cultural knowledge” (Banks, as cited in Singh, 2014, p. 20). This type of
134 knowledge is the lens through which students view their worlds and function within the school system. Families inherently provide children with financial, human, social, and cultural capital (Mickelson & Smith, 2009; Singh, 2014). The ability of students to benefit from this capital as well as the value of their cultural knowledge is often dictated by how closely the family culture aligns with that of the dominant culture (Singh, 2014). Therefore, these funds of knowledge often go unacknowledged. Yosso (2005) used the social-justice-oriented lens of critical race theory to develop a model of community cultural wealth. In this model, communities of colour are viewed as nurturing “cultural wealth through a least 6 forms of capital” (Yosso, 2005, p. 77): aspirational, familial, linguistic, navigational, resistant, and social capital.
Punjabi capital is not simply ethnic capital. Ethnic capital is defined as the is the inherent trust and advantages which stem from, and belong to, a certain ethnic/cultural group (Yosso, 2005). At this time the literature on ethnic capital generally adopts either ethnic concentration or linguistic concentration that members bring from their country of origin. Ethnic capital is limited and is narrowly defined by White middle-class values, and places Punjabi students to be studied under a culturally homogenous group of being from India. Ethnic capital is unable to uncover the layers of capital within the Punjabi community and Punjabi families.
Punjabi capital is used to reveal the accumulated assets and resources in the histories and lives of Punjabi students. Punjabi capital is used to challenge the cultural deficit theorizing and reveal the knowledge, skills, abilities and networks that are possessed and utilized by Punjabi students (Yosso, 2006). The narratives of these 12 participants of my research presented four majors forms of capital this cohort of student brought with them as undergraduate students at SFU. These include Punjabi social capital, Punjabi cultural capital, Punjabi economic capital, and Punjabi symbolic capital (see Figure 4). I describe each of these four forms of capital in the subsections that follow.
7.3.1 Multilingualism Capital
Yosso (2005) classified this type of capital as “cultural knowledge nurtured among [family] that carry a sense of community history, memory and cultural intuition” (p. 79). Linguistic capital reflects the idea that Students of Colour arrive at school with
135 multiple language and communication skills (Yosso, 2005). In addition, Students of Colour most often have been engaged participants in storytelling tradition, which may include listening to and recounting oral histories (Yosso, 2005). Social norms such as respect for elders, cooperation, and acceptance of authority are often central to the traditional values held by immigrant families. Bankson and Zhou (1995) and Gibson (1988) found these to be a positive influence on academic achievement in the children of immigrant communities. Although linguistic barriers often keep university administrators from connecting with families, research has shown that these students, who may be passive observers in the classroom, are active in their households (Gonzalez et al., 1995). Orellana (2003) examined bilingual children and found that the youth in her study had multiple social tools of vocabulary, audience awareness, as well as civic and familial responsibility.
The data gathered from students in this study contradicted the deficit framework that assumes the dominant language (e.g., English) is the only language required to navigate institutions and fields. Bilingual students act as translators for their elders and are provided with more advanced caring, cooperative, and interpersonal skills (Gonzalez et al., 1995). The current literature also noted the tension first-generation students often feel navigating their university lives and their home lives. The ability to be a cultural broker for a family is a strength and leads to self-efficacy, allowing students to complete a task or reach a specific task. It is competence, not a deficit.
7.3.2 Punjabi Navigational Capital
The experiences of the 12 students in this study uncovered that the ability to adjust and navigate had been nurtured in similar ways for both the domestic and international students in this study. The study revealed how the international students, in particular, were able to leverage their skills to locate resources, information, and key people to help them succeed. As a first-generation Punjabi student and staff member, I receive several emails a month from other Punjabi students who have searched SFU phone books and directories to find a person from their community with whom to connect. I often have other colleagues ask me if I find it “annoying” or “frustrating” that these students assume I am available to help them at any given moment. I consider it a form of navigational capital, and this is what I experienced my first day of living in the dorms. Two of my Black friends who lived in my hallway came and knocked on my door
136 and asked to see Anisha (our resident advisor had all our names on our doors). I looked at them and said so happily, “I am Anisha,” and the response was, “You are Anisha? You have a Black name!” Both Maya and Tia went up and down the halls to search for other students in their community. Although I was not Black, I became an honorary member of their community because Women of Colour needed to stick together at this school in the middle of nowhere Connecticut. Both Priya and Gurtaj highlighted what Yosso (2005) referred to as navigational capital strategies, which are needed by People of Colour to negotiate often racist educational institutions to become high-achieving students despite the obstacles of the system.
I joined PSA [Punjabi Student Association] so I could meet other Punjabis and met the new first years. It is a form of being able to connect and share what you know and maybe learn something you don’t. I also am in the business club, but that is purely for my career (Priya)
I attend some of the workshops that the SSA [Sikh Students Association] puts on and there are some local Gurdwara programs that are helpful. Being a part of SSA helped me learn about co-op and helped me land a position at a major company. (Gurtaj)
The students in this study uncovered the Punjabi navigational capital that connected them to social networks (i.e., Sikh Students Association and Punjabi Student Association) and allowed them to facilitate landing jobs and learning systems that they had previously not known. The students in this study also explained how they hoped to use their experiences navigating university to advocate for and teach the younger generation, including their siblings, cousins, and youth in their community. This study helped uncover how navigational capital is acquired and applied to other members of the Punjabi community.
7.3.3 Immigration Capital
Immigrant parent’s nontraditional ways of participating in their children’s schooling have often been framed as a deficit. The research frames first-generation students’ as having limited proficiency with English and lack of understanding of North American culture and systems are constructed as deficits, preventing them from adequately participating in their university careers. My critical assumption based on my experiences is that immigrant students and students of immigrant parents as well as immigrant educators bring their whole selves into the university, including their lived
137 experiences. While their funds of knowledge and capital might be subtle and need to be carefully uncovered, they are rich, full, and valuable. The 12 students in this study revealed that their experiences with new immigration (or their parents’ experiences with immigration) brought a wealth of knowledge to their classrooms connected to their background experiences, cultural practices, stories, and interests.
Attaining a university degree is one of the main reasons that my parents immigrated to Canada. It is their hope and my hope that I get a degree and can help my younger siblings when I am done.… It’s really their degree in some ways too, because even though they don’t understand what I am doing or how hard it is, they have invested everything to help me get it. (Priya)
Everything my parents have done is for me to get educated in Canada. I owe everything to my family for this big advantage. Some people in my pind will never even go outside the pind, and I have the means to get educated in [a] foreign country. (Karam)
This study was not intended to help in the conceptualization of international student’s experiences or the experiences of students from immigrant families, but I was fortunate that I was able to see the agency these students bring with them. The stories highlight resilience, courage, and faith. The life lessons that immigrant parents bring with them are ultimately translated into educational messages for their children. These messages are saturated with educational aspirations and expectations.
7.3.4 Aspirations and Expectations
By leveraging their immigrant experience into their educational messages, immigrants’ expectations for educational attainment are a strength, not a shortfall. Immigrant parents make many sacrifices to ensure greater opportunities for their children.
My parents always talked to me about education and the importance of it. I know that leaving India had so much to do with them wanting us to get educated abroad and have more opportunity, but they were no help when it came to applying to university and adjusting to it. I remember my friends in high school having mentors and having access to people that could help with their applications. I just applied to two schools and hoped I got into at least one. (Gian)
138 Although many of the students in this study had parents with high levels of education, they still struggled to find jobs and opportunities that aligned with their skill set; there was still value placed on their skillset as evidenced by their abilities to navigate the system to find some employment. Punjabi students from immigrant families and international students bring immigration capital; it is an intrinsic part of rebuilding life as an immigrant in a new country.
Punjabi Cultural Capital
This section discusses the types of Punjabi cultural capital that were discovered through the examination of student narratives. First-generation Punjabi students come from households that provide influential capital, and the community around them contributes to their identities as well. In contrast to the current academic literature (e.g., (Berkner & Chavez, 1997; Berkner, Horn, & Clune, 2000; Kojaku, Nuñez, & Malizio, 1998; London, 1989; Stage & Hossler, 1989; Warburton et al., 2001; York-Anderson & Bowman, 1991). I argue that Punjabi students bring kinship capital with them while attending Canadian institutions of learning. Kinship capital is closely tied to the habitus the household family capital but extends beyond blood relations to family friends and other community members. In the case of the students who took part in this study, it extends to the lokhi in their community. This section highlights how kinship capital in a Punjabi worldview combines the concepts of social and cultural capital and how the two are inseparable in Punjabi identity,
7.4.1 Gurdwaras and the Punjabi Community
Central to the experiences of the 12 students who participated in the study was the connection to the Punjabi community and the Gurdwara (Sikh Temple) as a centralized hub. In their community scan on Canadian Punjabi Sikhs, Smythe and Toohey (2009) uncovered that a prominent theme in the lives of the students and families was their connection to the local Gurdwara. As immigrants, not only do Gurdwaras serve as a “place of worship, but [they] also function as a community centre and language school” (Smythe & Toohey, 2009, p. 49)
The community has helped me in some ways. I attend some of the workshops that the SSA [Sikh Students Association] puts on and there are
139 some local Gurdwara programs that are helpful. It is a central resource, but we could do better at incorporating programs at the Gurdwaras that would be helpful for the next generation (Gurtaj)
I used the Gurdwara a lot in the beginning. At any given time you can walk into Gurdwara and eat langar. (Jaya)
The social support system and sense of community generated within Sikh temples have aided the Sikh population to honour and preserve their distinct culture (Gibson, 1988; Ozanne, 2010). Ozanne (2010) explained that while parents worship, socialize, or help in the langar hall (community kitchen), children learn Punjabi and Gurmukhi (written scriptures). Gurdwaras provide close-knit, kin-like relationships, much like those developed in Christian church cultures (Ozanne, 2010). The influence of Punjabi cultural practices and immigrant family experiences often heighten these connections to a familial level. For many of the students in this study, Gurdwaras provided shelter and meals when they first arrived in Canada.
The Punjabi community and support of extended family provide its members with the habits and skills for socioeconomic status. Punjabi families do not exist in isolation; they are directed by an entire Sangat (community members), and they rely on reinforcement from community members. The habitus for Punjabi students extends beyond the household and into the community. Students who were closely linked to the community received greater support and control and were helped to produce patterns of behaviour that increased their likelihood of upward socioeconomic mobility.
7.4.2 Punjabi Familial Capital
As Yosso (2005) pointed out, “families transcend the adversity in their daily lives by uniting with supportive social networks” (p. 80). The students in this study all provided examples of familial capital in the ways siblings, parents, and extended family members offered emotional support, encouragement to persist, desire to make their families proud, and helping with homework. The emotional support these students receive from their family is immense. There are profound examples of parents supporting their students with life tasks such as laundry, food preparation, and household chores so they could solely concentrate on their education.
140 I am living in Surrey with my mama and mami ji and their two kids who are younger to me. They have provided financial, social, and emotional support for me while at SFU. (Jaya)
My parents and sister are in India. I usually try to call or Skype them almost every day. They keep me motivated and provide me support. (Sahej)
Even though my mother has no knowledge about university and what the set up really is, she is super involved. She makes sure to ask me how everything is and if I ever need help with anything. (Mia)
For the international students, their extended family in Canada provide economic and emotional support to allow them to concentrate on the task of navigating university. The examples of emotional support that the participants received are clearly types of social and familial capital Punjabi students possess. Students in this study also narrated how they consider their parents, grandparents, and other members in their families and their communities (e.g., teachers and Gurdwara sangat) as their significant academic others. Positive social and cultural expectations held by significant people in their lives helped cultivate positive self-concept and ability. In his research, A. Singh (2000) showed that grandparents were deeply involved and concerned with the education of their grandchildren in their homes and communities. Singh (2000)3 also uncovered that although the grandparents did not grow in the context of North American society, they strongly valued and believed that formal higher education was the main route to social mobility for their grandchildren and youth in their community.
Punjabi Economic Capital
The value of education is embedded deeply in its ability to provide access to life stability and mobility. Economic and social mobility are intimately tied to the Punjabi worldview of education and achievement of immigrant success for the students and their families in this research study, thus illuminating how various kinds of social capital are leveraged to develop educational messages that highlight the importance of education.
3 An example of how deficit language is so deeply embedded that as Punjabi researchers we consistently frame ourselves as “have nots” and not having the “right” or “dominant” capitals.
141 Participants also discussed issues concerning career opportunities, marriage marketability, and personal development relative to the value of education.
7.5.1 Immigrant Work Ethic
All the students in this study described coming from working-class families who immigrated to ensure their children had access to an education that would provide opportunities for them in Canada. The Punjabi students in this study typically came to Canada because their families sponsored them, or they came on a study visa. The six international students who took part in this study are almost entirely dependant on their extended families and work diligently to become self-reliant. Smythe and Toohey (2009) noted the many barriers to the “recognition of immigrants’ professional or educational qualifications” (p. 44), such as language, which often result in parents employed in low- wage positions that “underutilize their previous education and experience” (p. 44).
Punjabis do not shy away from hard work, and many students in this study have parents who came from hard farming work in Punjab. In fact, Sikh values stress the importance of kirat karo—or working at an honest calling (Cole, 2004). The students explained that their parents accepted any work to survive, and, in turn, many of the families are now business owners. A common thread uncovered in these narratives is how often how many of these students would work for the family business and help employ other extended family members.
Our blueberry farm has grown so quickly over the last couple of years. I am happy that I have been able to bring in technology to help my parents keep up with the demand. This demand has also allowed my parents to bring other family members from Punjab and help them immigrate to Canada. (Amreen)
After all the struggling and suffering my parents have been through, I think I have to work really hard to make all their sacrifices worth it. It is also my hope that I can do well so I can give back to them and help them with my younger siblings. Their hard work is inspiring, and it definitely makes me want to work hard too (Priya)
142 Punjabi Symbolic Capital
Although the intent of this thesis was not to explore religious identity and their experience as first-generation Punjabi students, stories of resilience to violence and inequality weaved silently in the background of the student narratives. It is essential for educators to understand the political and social struggles, the historical events of Punjab, and the part they play in students’ family histories. The most prominent form of capital that these 12 first-generation Punjabi students bring with them is the embedded value of seva and being grounded in it. Seva (i.e., selfless service) was a core thread in all of the students’ narratives. For many of the students in the study who identified as Sikh through their visible identity or stories, seva was the anchor and purpose of their educational journeys. In Sikhism, seva refers to selfless service for altruistic purposes on behalf of and for the betterment of a community. Seva is an early term for “string,” which symbolizes the interconnectedness between an individual and others (Singh, 2009).
Seva is a core belief in the philosophy of Sikhism (Sohi, Singh, & Bopanna, 2017). Sikhism states that seva can be done in anything one does and in any form—at work, home, school, and so on (Sohi et al., 2017). As such, community members can perform seva in many different forms. Irrespective of the form it takes, it is reiterated in the Sikh philosophy that acts of seva ought to be a “labour of love” (Sohi et al., 2017) and the sevadar (volunteer) should perform it sans any intention of recognition or compensation (nishkam), intention (nishkapat), and with utmost humility (nimarta; Sohi et al., 2017). Contributing to the wellbeing of humanity be it by giving one’s labour, resources, or any other form of assistance was advocated as a way of life for the Sikhs right from the time of the first guru, Guru Nanak Dev whom himself worked immensely for the betterment of the people (Sohi et al., 2017).
I do hope to be able to give back to my family who has worked so hard to give me the education they did everything they could to give me. Getting a degree means the ability to give back. (Mia)
My goal would be to have a medical centre that is based in the community that can speak in Punjabi to the patients that come to it and offer outreach programs at the Gurdwaras. I think this generation can really help change the quality of life for the community. (Reena)
143 My family is very big on seva, and typically we are doing it in the Gurdwara, but I think seva can be through education and helping others get educated. I hope to be successful, so I can do seva and help the next generation do the same. (Jaya)
Each of the 12 participants in this case study illuminated the importance and impact that seva had on the experience as first-generation Punjabi students. Students highlighted that seva came in so many forms by so many people in their lives. They felt it was their responsibility to take the knowledge they learned and be able to share with their families and the community. Some of the examples of seva included parental immigration to better their children’s lives, seva of extended family through sponsorship, seva of the Punjabi community and the Gurdwara system, and the need to do seva for the next generation of Punjabi students. Grounded in a habitus of seva each participant was able to thread the importance of their education and experience on their families, community, and for themselves. The framework of seva allowed them to utilize family and community resources to deal with the navigation of university as the first in their families.
Summary
This chapter sought to challenge the deficit analytical lens that first-generation Students of Colour are often examined through and focus on learning from these students and the cultural assets and wealth they bring to SFU. This shifting of research allows scholars in postsecondary research to see multiple forms of cultural wealth and the forms of capital that first-generation Punjabi student draw on when they enter institutions. In Chapter 8, the concluding chapter, I offer several recommendations for institutional policy and practice. Chapter 8 will put forward students’ suggestions regarding ways to enhance the first-generation Punjabi experience at SFU and discuss how the institution can take greater responsibility to recognize the forms of capital they bring to university.
144 Chapter 8.
Conclusion
Researcher Reflections
As a Punjabi researcher, I wanted to take the opportunity to aid in reshaping the lens that is often ingrained about the students that we serve. Similarly, to Indigenous youth and their families, students from diverse linguistic and cultural communities are often blamed for their failure to achieve in schools, and this belief is rooted in deficit theories (Hare & Pidgeon, 2011). In presenting the stories of their experiences, these 12 Punjabi university students challenge deficit thinking and present a reframing of how to better understand and support them. What is required is a fundamental shift in the way educators and administrators view and subsequently treat students who are the first to attain higher education.
Theory can assist researchers and practitioners to better understand students’ experiences. Theory is often used to help understand complex processes, including the development of university students and how the environment impacts their development (McEwen, 2003). The exploration of the whole student and what they bring to university campuses as strengths rather than deficits is an important area of research. This research uncovered the complexity associated with the participant’s identity as a first- generation Punjabi student during a particularly important developmental time in their lives. First-generation Punjabi students are navigating multiple roles and environments as the first in their family to attend higher education in Canada. Practitioners can better support first-generation Punjabi students through enhanced awareness of students’
145 experiences as they engage in culturally and educationally distinct environments and how this engagement influences the experiences of first-generation Punjabi students.
Recommendations for Policy and Practice
This inquiry began with the following question: What are the experiences of first- generation Punjabi students at SFU? Five research subquestions were developed to understand and answer the overarching question. I also explored the following five subquestions:
1. What support systems do these students rely on during their postsecondary undergraduate career?
2. What role does their family play in their postsecondary experience?
3. What does it mean to the students and their family to be the first to attain postsecondary education in Canada?
4. What role does being part of the Punjabi culture in British Columbia play for the students during their postsecondary careers?
5. What do they wish they understood before entering their undergraduate careers at SFU?
The stories shared by the 12 students provided insight into the research subquestions regarding their experiences as the first in their families to attend postsecondary education in Canada. This chapter discusses how students’ stories in response to these questions relate to the existing literature and contribute to the scholarship around the first-generation Punjabi student experience. This chapter aims to illuminate what has been learned about the student experience that can help inform policy and practice at SFU and elsewhere.
8.2.1. Acknowledging Student Support Systems
This study contributes to the literature about first-generation Punjabi student support systems as it explores who students turn to during their postsecondary experience. For all the students in this study, attending postsecondary education was not just an individual journey. Families view the journey as a point of collective pride; students’ academic successes were their families’ successes as well as their failures.
146 Current literature has painted first-generation Students of Colour as lacking family support. However, the narrative threads in Chapter 5 strengthen several of the themes known to be support systems for first-generation Punjabi students.
All 12 students in this study expressed that their support systems extended beyond their nuclear family; in fact, the very definition of family for Punjabi students does not align with the traditional North American definition. For these 12 Punjabi students, family included their nuclear family, extended family, family back home in Punjab, and the local Punjabi community. Each student expressed acknowledgement of the sacrifices their parents, family, and community have made to provide them with the opportunity to attend postsecondary education in Canada.
Currently, there are no outreach programs for first-generation students and their families before their application to SFU. Efficiently engaging families and students to provide information about the university and its academic requirements could help to bridge the transition for these students when they enter university. Similar bridging programs have been launched in Canada. For example, a bridging program exists between the Toronto District School Board and York University’s Advanced Credit Experience Program (Coward, 2015). This program targets first-generation students by giving high school students from the Jane-Finch area a chance to experience university with in-class experiences, work experiences on the campus, and alumni and peer mentorship (Coward, 2015).
The Ontario College of Art and Design University in Toronto currently has the COMPASS program, a 2-day orientation designed to provide students with the skills necessary for success in the first year (Ontario College of Art and Design University, n.d.). Topics include time management, learning supports offered by Student Services, and meeting more experienced first-generation peers (Ontario Universities’ Application Centre, 2016). The COMPASS program is part of a broader framework of services available to first-generation students, including workshops, study groups, and community building events for its first-generation student's population (Ontario College of Art and Design University, n.d.).
The University of Toronto Mississauga (UTM) campus offers first-generation students and their parents access to orientations and workshops. UTM offers an
147 orientation session designed for parents and families of new students to learn about the transition to life at UTM (n.d.). Sessions focus on Student Services, academic expectations, and other topics related to the university experience. The parent and family orientation feature students, staff, and faculty. This session includes a tour of the campus and gives parents and students the opportunity to meet with student service representatives. In addition, UTM (n.d.) offers individual workshops for parents on topics such as financing education, health, and wellness, and helping students transition into their second year. The University of Windsor (n.d.) offers a Connecting4Success mentorship program for first-generation students. Through this program, first-generation students are paired up with more experienced peers to support their transition to the university. Students also have access to academic workshops and social events throughout the year (The University of Windsor, n.d.).
I believe that SFU could benefit greatly from creating a bridging program with the local school district to provide first-generation students with the skills and knowledge they need to be successful at SFU. This could be as simple as creating an additional day of orientation for first-generation students or offering additional workshops from the Student Learning Commons. This would also allow for SFU educators and administrators to understand the types of support with which their students are coming to the university. It would allow institutions to understand that many of their students may not be living with their nuclear family and may receive emotional, financial, and academic support from the local Punjabi community as well.
Several of the students in this study also highlighted the support they received from academic advisors, faculty members, and staff members at SFU. Student affairs administrators and faculty can nurture students’ existing capital by prioritizing students as whole individuals whose status as first-generation Punjabi is only a piece of their identity. I often hear sweeping statements, such as, “Well, this is how these students are,” “They are not aware of the system,” and my favourite “They just don’t get it.” Staff, administrators, and faculty can spend time getting to know what is essential to students. I believe they should take the time to care about students as people and value other aspects of their lives outside of academics. Acknowledging the experiences and relationships (social capital) that students bring with them before university would help academics, administrators, and educators to encourage students to attend conferences,
148 workshops, and seminars, thereby providing an opportunity to build relationships and accrue cultural capital.
The impact of even one staff member is profound. For me, on a personal level, the support and encouragement of one staff member, Dave, allowed me to explore the types of capital I had and needed. Despite my mentor’s prominent role on campus, Dave always reminded me that he was there to support me. Dave asked me about experiences beyond academics and counselled me on academic matters because he knew my strengths and areas for growth. Dave shared cultural capital that was valued at UCONN (course loads, major requirements, and GPA requirements), and what he shared with me was grounded in the capital that I brought to campus. Dave created a space where I could have conversations about my family and values my community held for me, and this allowed me to accrue cultural capital that I needed to use across campus. I received honest and realistic information that allowed me to overcome obstacles such as academic probation. This relationship with a caring, nurturing, and honest staff member allowed the transition of valuable capital that helped me to navigate university.
8.2.2. Understanding the Role of Family
As outlined in Chapter 2, family members play a significant role for first- generation students. Current scholarship in postsecondary education identifies parental educational level as one of the characteristics to be closely associated with student persistence and success in education. Bourdieu and Passeron (1977) proclaimed that students are more likely to be successful in postsecondary education if their parents belong to higher socioeconomic statues and have university education, because these students can build on their family habitus, their socioeconomic capital, as well as their cultural capital. Knowledge of higher education in the family is cultural capital for students (Bourdieu & Passeron, 1977). The findings from my research study stand in direct contrast to the social reproduction theories that have been discussed. The findings of this study challenge the current literature relating the role of family and the types of capital first-generation students “lack.” All 12 of the participants in this study acknowledged that the role of their family extends beyond the traditional definition of a Canadian family and includes extended family, family in Punjab, and members of the Punjabi community. As outlined in the literature review, the studies I reviewed examined
149 first-generation students in terms of their academic preparation, the transition to higher education, and persistence behaviours, but little is known about their university experience and the role that family members play in it (Pascarella et al., 2004; Terenzini et al., 1996). First-generation students are defined so because in current scholarship they cannot benefit from experiences of university-educated parents by way of information sharing (Horn et al., 2000). However, contrary to the belief that first- generation students cannot benefit from their non-Canadian-university-educated parents, this study found participants’ parents provide support and skills not recognized in the literature.
In the current deficit discourse, parents are seen as unable to provide the perspective and reflective experiences to engage meaningfully in their children’s postsecondary development and decision making (Auclair et al., 2008; EKOS Research Associates, 2009; Horn et al., 2000). Consequently, although parents may be excited about their children’s choice to pursue higher education, it is not unusual for the parents of first-generation students to begin feeling inadequate (Davis, 2010). Regarding their inability to provide support and engage meaningfully, participants felt their parents and families were very supportive and often sacrificed well-paying jobs back home in order to provide opportunity for their children to attend university. Several participants also reflected that were it not for their parents and the hard work ethic, they would not feel so much pressure to do well and continue with their education.
Various studies have revealed first-generation students are less likely to receive parental and peer support for their postsecondary ambitions (Nuñez et al., 1998; Padron, 1992; Terenzini et al., 1996; Thayer, 2000). In exploring this view, I found that parents were very supportive and valued education greatly. Participants stated several times that they understood that one of the main reasons for immigration to Canada was to allow them to pursue postsecondary education. Social learning theory suggests that the more parents value education, the higher their children’s educational achievements (Aldous, 2006). Parental involvement and reinforcement is a critical predictor of postsecondary aspirations, regardless of familial background, educational accomplishments, or socioeconomic status (Looker & Thiessen, 2004). In their study of the educational ambitions of Canadian youth, Looker and Thiessen (2004) found that young people’s aspirations closely aligned with the significance that their parents placed on education. Seven students in the study had parents that had earned a college diploma or university
150 degree in India. The value and cultural capital placed on university education from these parents influenced many of the students to pursue secondary education. They recognized the sacrifices that their parents and family made by immigrating to Canada and for many having extended family support them as an international student. All the international students in this study expressed understanding the collective effort that their parents’ siblings, grandparents, and community put into their university experience.
The deficit narrative in postsecondary literature also predicted that one of the reasons why parents of first-generation students are “less supportive” may have to do with their lack of attentiveness of the personal and financial benefits of a college or university education (Engle, 2007). The deficit research framework also portrays Canadian parents and young individuals from all income levels have inadequate knowledge, even incorrect experience, about the benefits of attaining a postsecondary credential, which may form another distinctive hurdle to further education entirely separate from the capability or willingness to pay (Usher, 2005). For example, a Canadian study of youth who did not pursue postsecondary education found that both parents and their children had limited knowledge of the relationship between postsecondary education and the advancement of knowledge and expertise (EKOS Research Associates, 2009). First-generation students are more likely to believe that postsecondary education is not necessary to obtain a respectable profession (Berger & Motte, 2007), and they often do not understand the link between education and career (Richardson & Skinner, 2000). The deficit language used these studies is problematic and was contrary to the findings of my research. I noted an incongruence between the results of this study and the literature on first-generation students and their families. All of the students who took part in this study explained that their families felt and knew the significance a university degree would have on their future advancement and obtaining a respectable profession. In fact, four of the students stated chose to pursue certain degrees because they felt their family wanted them to attain professional positions such those in as business, medicine, and computing science. Most of the participants in this study knew that a university degree would not only lead to their advancement of knowledge but that of their family members and the community. All 12 of the students in this study did not see their university degree as just their degree but one that would help elevate the status of their family and community.
151 Overall, according to the first-generation literature, students are less likely to be motivated by family members and friends to pursue higher education and are more frequently expected to provide a quick financial return by working and helping support their families (Engle, 2007; Réndon, 1994). First-generation students who do persist and enrol in a college or university can find themselves having to defend their decision, placing them in an uncomfortable and often distressing position that is rarely shared by their continuing-generation peers (Auclair et al., 2008). In addition, parents from certain cultures pressure their children to live at home while attending college or university, possibly to maintain the familial and cultural ties (Cushman, 2007). Language in the literature portrays families of first-generation students as uninvolved, unattached, and unable to support their student in postsecondary education. Contrary to these findings, the 12 students in this study recall feelings of parents and families at times being overinvolved, both wanting and willing to learn what their student was studying in university. The role of the family played a central part for all of the students in this study, especially for the international students who relied on their extended family to support them in Canada.
8.2.3. Understanding the Importance of Attaining Education
In discussing attrition rates and the importance of attaining an education, scholars have often depicted parents of first-generation students as lacking an understanding of the personal and financial benefits of college or university education (Engle, 2007). When attrition rates are studied, current research shows that first- generation students are overall more vulnerable when compared to non-first-generation students (Billson & Terry, 1982; McCarron & Inkelas, 2006; Nuñez et al., 1998; Pascarella et al., 2003; Warburton et al., 2001). The 2006 YITS (as cited in Finnie & Qui, 2008) reported that 24% of students whose parents had no education beyond high school withdrew from postsecondary studies compared to fewer than 1% of students who had at least one parent with a university education. In a qualitative study of first- generation Canadian university students who dropped out, Lehman (2007) revealed that many of the students had been encouraged by their family members to drop out even though the students demonstrated high-academic performance. Contrary to this exiting literature, the 12 students in this study did not drop out of university; in fact, those in academic trouble sought ways to continue their education and felt that their families would not support their decision to leave. Many of the students in this study felt that it
152 was their role in the family to continue in order to learn the system so that they could pass it down to younger siblings, cousins, and others in the Punjabi community.
The importance of education for first-generation students is under researched, especially in Communities of Colour. Family is described as lacking and unable to understand the amount of time and academic focus required for students to succeed in higher education. If institutions perceived Families of Colour as supports rather than deficits, work with families could happen early. Institutions could provide parents with workshops on important needed institutional information about time, academic focus, and commitment required to pursue a university degree. Institutions could partner with families to create levels of emotional support to enable them to further understand the commitment necessary for students to thrive in university settings. Many of the students in this study did not seek support early in their academic careers, as they were unaware of the resources available to them through the university. Involving parents and families early on in high school or through community programs to increase awareness of opportunities in higher education as well as the potential challenges. Although certain student groups may arrive at university unfamiliar with the institution’s landscape, it is possible for the parents and the university to provide resources to help the students navigate these issues.
I recommend educators and administrators focus on elements that can contribute to the success of first-generation Punjabi students and how educational professionals can connect to these students to make sure they receive support and have opportunities to grow. It is evident in this study that first-generation Punjabi students had a strong sense of familial obligation and expressed an aspiration to pursue careers that will increase their ability to become financially independent as they continue to assist their families and community. These students have problem-solving skills and several forms of capital to navigate the university process and become academically successful. Despite the numerous obstacles, a growing number of first-generation Punjabi students attain university success with a combination of university readiness, family support, university support, and personal courage. Through interventions initiated by universities and student affairs, first-generation Punjabi students can be set up to overcome the deficit discourse and give back to the next generation.
153 8.2.4. Exploring the Role of the Punjabi Community
It is apparent that scholars are not focussed on how to support Punjabi first- generation students or their community. Therefore, these students are often clumped together under broad umbrella terms such as Indo-Canadian, South Asian, and Asian. 12 first-generation students who took part in this study stressed the importance of the Punjabi community and Punjabi culture in Canadian university settings. Students in this study explained how they seek support from the Punjabi community, and how access to Punjabi culture and community played a vital role in choosing SFU for international students. Students explained the happiness they felt when arriving at the airport and seeing signs in Punjabi as well as the ability to speak in Punjabi and eat familiar foods. Forming friendships for many of these students often started because of the shared culture and comfort of not having to explain who they were. This research study also uncovered the types of capital Punjabi first-generation students bring with them that are not considered in the current literature. Understanding access to the various forms of capital, including immigration, navigational, Punjabi cultural, familial, economic, and Punjabi symbolic capital, could help educators establish rapport with their Punjabi students to offer support and learn how to connect with Punjabi students beyond the deficit discourse.
As one of the largest communities in the Lower Mainland, universities in BC cannot continue to ignore the communities from which their students hail. Universities will need to rely on the Punjabi community if it is going to produce citizens who will be caring, working, living, and educating this community in the future. Researchers have found that academic performance and retention is correlated with increased engagement including involvement in peer groups and social activities (Hurtado et al., 1996). Understanding the Punjabi community and creating venues for students to connect with other students from their community would strengthen these students’ sense of belonging within the institution. Engaging with students in their communities outside of university is just as important as keeping students engaged in their institutions through academic and social activities.
Another area to explore is the role of the Gurdwara and understanding the functions the Gurdwara carries out for the Punjabi community. In addition to being a place of worship, the Gurdwara also acts as a community centre for many in the Lower
154 Mainland. Gurdwaras offer community members a place to take part in seva and allow the community to come together. At various times, the Gurdwara provided shelter and food for many of the students who took part in this study. Each Gurdwara contains a langar hall, which is a community kitchen, in which food is prepared by volunteers. The langar hall is free for everyone and symbolizes equality and the duty to take care of others in the community. Many Gurdwaras in the Lower Mainland not only serve as a house of worship but include functions such as distributing food and clothing to the homeless, raising money for other charities, raising awareness about diseases such as diabetes, raising awareness about healthy eating, providing English courses for adults, providing Punjabi classes for youth, and offering courses for the local community to learn about Sikhism and the Punjabi community. For the Punjabi community, the Gurdwara is seen as the knowledge centre, where one can go connect with its own community as well as other communities. Institutions could explore ways to reach out to students prior to attending university at the Gurdwara by offering workshops on the university admission process, or begin mentoring programs with current Punjabi students with future Punjabi students, and connect with the families who will be sending their children to our institutions.
8.2.5. Taking their advice
The students who took part in this study have contributed to the existing literature by offering their own advice from their lived experiences as first-generation Punjabi students. Currently, SFU has the BOT program to help students who face academic difficulty. For many of the students in this study, BOT was their first intentional interaction with the university staff. Participants indicated that such guidance would have been helpful during their first year at SFU. The current orientation program at SFU is 1 to 2 days in length, depending on the campus, and is unable to cover all the information and skills needed for students to be successful at SFU. Students recommended that the orientation program begin in high school and continue upon arrival through the first year of university.
First-generation research demonstrates that first-generation students struggle to assimilate academically4 (Nuñez et al., 1998; Pike & Kuh, 2005), and the current
4 Problematic language research: goal should be to integrate not assimilate.
155 practice at SFU is to wait for students to be placed on academic probation before teaching them the skills they need to integrate academically. Postsecondary staff and faculty can positively influence first-generation students’ experiences on campus through intentional measures, including seeking ways to increase formal and informal interactions with students (Lardner & Malnarich, 2008). Researchers have found evidence suggesting that student–faculty and student–staff interactions are positively associated with persistence and other positive student outcomes, including students’ views of the campus environment and overall satisfaction (Astin, 1993; Kim & Sax, 2009; Kuh, 2003; Kuh & Hu, 2001; Kuh, Kinzie, Buckley, Bridges, & Hayek, 2007).
The students in this study reported experiencing positive interactions with staff through the SFU BOT program. Many students expressed that the BOT program was the first time they felt a connection to the university and experienced a sense of belonging. To create a sense of belonging on campus, first-generation Punjabi students may benefit from having access to communities of belonging (Cartney & Rouse, 2006; Hardy-Cox & Strange, 2010; Parks, 2000), such as a first-year experience course explicitly designed for first-generation students. First-generation students in this study benefited from the BOT program and being significantly involved in this learning community. According to Jehangir (2010), first-generation students benefit from learning communities as they enhance academic and social engagement for all students. Although all students may benefit from such programs, first-generation students and other historically underserved groups, in particular, may experience increased benefit (Kuh, 2008). As such, a BOT-type program would be beneficial for all first-year students at SFU, not solely first-generation Punjabi students.
Directions for Further Research
The focus of this research was on a group of participants who shared their experiences as first-generation Punjabi students. From the beginning of their university careers, research has set the framework that first-generation students often experience challenges when pursuing postsecondary education (Berkner & Chavez, 1997; Berkner et al., 2000; Kojaku et al., 1998; London, 1989; Stage & Hossler, 1989; Warburton et al., 2001; York-Anderson & Bowman, 1991). I believe in supporting first-generation students,
156 particularly at SFU, educators and administrators must consider a holistic framework that supports students in different academic life cycles.
Additional research that focuses on understanding first-generation Punjabi students from diverse backgrounds can build upon the findings of this study. Researchers should explore whether the experience of first-generation Punjabi university students may differ in other parts of Canada. Researchers can also draw upon the research and experiences of Black, Latinx, and Asian students in the US.
Supporting Success for First-Generation Students
The University of Windsor (n.d.) offers a Connecting4Success mentorship program for first-generation students. Through this program, first-generation students are paired up with more experienced peers to support their transition to the university. Students also have access to academic workshops and social events throughout the year (University of Windsor, n.d.).
The participants in this study benefited from the BOT program and being significantly involved in this learning community. According to Jehangir (2010), first- generation students benefit from learning communities, as they enhance academic and social engagement for all students. Although all students may benefit from such programs, first-generation students and other historically underserved groups, in particular, may experience increased benefit (Kuh, 2008). As such, a BOT-type program would be beneficial for all first-year learners at SFU, not only for first-generation Punjabi students.
Study Limitations and Delimitations
This dissertation has provided an account of a collection of conversations with a small group of first-generation Punjabi students who enrolled at SFU in 2014. The 12 participants were all unique individuals with diverse histories. This diversity among the participants offered a broad range of academic journeys and provided a unique perspective and a snapshot of the types of students who choose to attend SFU.
157 The participants volunteered to take part in this study based on an invitation letter sent out by the Punjabi Student Association and the Sikh Student Association or because they had contacted me directly after I spoke to students enrolled in the Punjabi 101 course at SFU. The students self-selected, determining for themselves whether they met the study criteria. I did not cluster participants according to years of age or semesters completed. The participant group included (a) relatively recent entrants as well as those who were closer to completion of their studies, (b) men and women, (c) individuals spanning a broad age range, and (d) international students who are in Canada on student visas. As a result, I did not enter conversations with a set of expectations formed in advance about first-generation Punjabi students, nor did I hold preconceived notions about the individuals themselves. As I listened to the conversations, topics emerged that were entirely unexpected. I did not try to frame the conversations around existing concepts of first-generation students, because I did not wish to fit the participants into theoretical categories as the conversations proceeded. I myself had been a first-generation Punjabi student; as such, during the data collection, I found myself having to refrain from saying, “I know how you feel,” as I did not want my own experience to filter into the interviews.
I conducted the interviews as private and personal conversations, one on one with each participant. Most of the participants chose not to review the transcripts. Grouping students into a focus group to compare experiences might have been useful. However, since the participants did share membership in a shared cultural community, I felt that a group interview would not have been as productive. I also imagined that students would be hesitant to share their personal experiences with other members of the Punjabi community and be afraid of breaches to confidentiality. While the results of the research generated thought-provoking questions and suggested implications for the curriculum and policies of the university, the highly qualitative and individualistic nature of the data necessitates caution in making any action proposals. In the future I hope to be able to reflect future on the study and begin to implement strategies to support students before they find themselves in academic trouble.
158 Concluding Stitches
I felt a need and desire to conduct this research due to my personal experiences as a first-generation Punjabi university student. My experience attaining a university education was difficult, isolating, and frustrating before I became engaged with the UCONNECTS program (UCONN, n.d.). I was fortunate enough to be paired with the Program Director, David Ouimette, as my mentor. I genuinely believe that had I not received support from Dave, I would not have made through university. For me, one staff member changed my entire university experience. I entered postsecondary education to help ease university navigation for first-generation students, in particular for Punjabi students, and never imagined I would eventually move to an area with the largest Punjabi population outside of India.
In some ways, one could say that everything I wished for the universe has provided. When I began my position at the Assistant Registrar at SFU I had a conversation with first-generation Punjabi student and her mom that started what I call “stories from the front”—the beginning of a group form of Punjabi students and their parents, who come together to share their stories, frustrations, and seek advice from me.
Student: I need to pay my tuition.
Mom: Beta enhu pooch lai… [Dear, ask her/referring to me at the front counter]. Student: Ma, chup kar please [Mom, please shh]. Anisha: No, please ask me! What do you need help with? Student: I am so sorry I didn’t know you understood her. [Laughing in joking manner] Ma!! Anisha: Don’t be sorry, that’s why I am here and trust me. Our mothers are just trying to look out for us. Student: I just have no idea what to do or where to even begin. All I know is I have to pay tuition, but what do I do after? How do I get my books, and when I get to class what do I do? Anisha: You are in the right place; I promise to help you through this.
This conversation occurred on my sixth day in the office, new in my role and without my colleague to fall back on. As an advisor and first-year experience instructor, I listened to stories told in my office by the students seeking information about their
159 possible career paths and academic options, frustrations, and personal dreams. However, this interaction at the front desk was the first time I felt I that my connection to the community and ability provide seva to the community was a possibility. I wanted to learn more about the Punjabi students at SFU, and I wanted to go beyond the anecdotal stories I heard through my interactions with them at the front counter.
What materialized from listening to and transcribing the discussions was as much a series of opportunities and questions as a set of constant themes. The students fully engaged and shared their fears, hopes, and dreams about their university experiences.
I found that almost all the participants felt excited about being able to share their journeys with me and felt that their experiences could help future students. For many of these students, the interview conversations were their first opportunity to share their narratives. I found that almost all the participants understood their experiences and goals in the context of how important family and the ability to give back to their family was to them. If they saw a need or opportunities to help their family and extended family, that often took precedence over other priorities. They see a clear linkage between their studies, current goals, and the future of their families’ livelihood. The words opportunity, sacrifice, and blessed were words that students often used to explain the gratitude they felt in being able to attain a university degree. In many cases, participants expressed their frustration with university policies and not knowing where to go for help. Some participants appreciated the opportunity to be in academic distress because it led to connecting with programming, staff, and faculty at the university. In some ways, academic probation is what helped these students get out of majors, careers paths, and programs that were not a good fit for them.
Failing probably saved me; it finally made me learn about all the resources at SFU. Who knows if I didn’t make those changes and learned those skills? Wish I had that knowledge before entering university. (Gurtaj)
My conversations with those participants who found themselves struggling academically and socially still found ways to make the best of their situations. I find this to be of critical importance; as a researcher, I cannot adequately describe this lesson learned—despite all the challenges many of these students faced—they still expressed so much appreciation and gratitude for their experiences. Furthermore, in all instances, the concept of seva was so deeply embedded in each of these students. Seva is the
160 capital these students bring and carry with them to Canadian institutions. The participants who did poorly in their academics, who struggled to understand university policy, and even those who felt that SFU did not understand their experiences, all expressed enormous gratitude and a desire to give back. Gian, one of the students who expressed his disconnection to the university, expressed great appreciation for the opportunity to get his university degree:
Even though I don’t make much effort to connect, I am still thankful that I get this opportunity. I think about all those kids I went to high school with that aren’t going to school because they can’t or don’t have the opportunity too. (Gian)
For many of the participants, along with this opportunity came great pressure to do well and succeed. Many students expressed how so many people were relying on them to do well and succeed. These pressures for some students prevented them from seeking help or potentially pursuing interests they had a passion for.
I feel pressure to help everyone and try to be successful in my studies too. Too much has been sacrificed for me to get here. I sometimes wonder what life would be just to do what I want, but I have to think about everyone. (Arjan)
All these students struggled with multiple roles, as students, caretakers, siblings, cousins, nieces, nephews, sons, daughters, and grandchildren. A common theme for all these students was that they shared the challenge of living in multiple worlds and often having to manage multiple identities. As Jehangir (2010) noted, first-generation students “must navigate many conflicting life roles, not only to gain access to postsecondary education but also to help sustain themselves and often their families during their academic journey” (p. 3). In fact, some scholars have termed the experiences of first- generation students as similar to entering an alien culture (Chaffee, 1992; Rose, 1989), complete with unusual ways of seeing, doing, and communicating about things (Bartholomae, 1985). First-generation students do not have the benefit of parental experience to guide them, either in planning for university or in helping them understand what will be expected of them after they enrol (Orbe, 2004; Riehl, 1994). In addition to trying to learn an alien culture of academic and social rules, first-generation students must also negotiate issues of marginality—on both ends—as they work to bridge the worlds of their homes/families/communities and university life (Brooks-Terry, 1988;
161 Orbe, 2003). A significant characteristic of this ongoing process involves negotiating multiple layers of identity (Orbe, 2004).
When examining the literature, I found that the results of this study connect to research on student engagement. This particular cohort of students had very limited interaction with the university and social experiences. These factors can be attributed to first-generation students’ lack of social capital; for example, Engle and Tinto (2008) noted research has shown that low-income and first-generation students are less likely to be engaged in academic and community involvements that promote success in university, such as learning in groups, interacting with faculty and other students, partaking in extracurricular activities, and using support services (Soria & Stebleton, 2012). Students who lack social capital may not be aware of the many benefits these types of academic and social engagement can bring to their development and success (Soria & Stebleton, 2012). Many of the study participants indicated that they often felt isolated and disconnected from SFU. When students are not engaged in college life, their entire experience can be isolating and disconnecting; unfortunately, these challenges can be magnified when students enrol at larger research universities (i.e., the institutional context of the present study), where classes tend to be large and interactions with faculty are limited (Soria & Stebleton, 2012).
I am hesitant to make proposals about the programming or academic policies of SFU based on this qualitative study. However, based both on what the interview conversations offer and the finding of the current research on first-generation students, it would seem reasonable to suggest that the university create programming that is proactive for its students, and also consider the growth of a community among students, faculty, and staff while offering experiences that allow for first-generation students to connect with the university before they experience academic difficulty.
I believe that in student affairs, administrators and staff often work from a reactive, deficit or shortfall framework; as such, many of the staff’s efforts for students are aimed at their distress. The student affairs office offers counselling for crises, BOT for students who are in academic difficulty, and services for students who are usually in their third and fourth years, such as career planning, but lacks programming that fosters and expands upon successes that students bring to the institution. I also would like to acknowledge that in the stories shared by students that racism, preconceptions and
162 stereotypes thread in the stories shared by students as well as my own experiences.. These experiences merit a more analytical examination and investigation that was beyond the limits of this current study. There are recommendations for practice, policy, and further research when considering the negative impact racism has on our Punjabi student experiences.
When administrators and staff judge traits in individuals, such as being a Person of Colour, Indigenous, of humble economic means, or whose parents did not attend university, as a sign of potential failure, they undermine the potential of students. My last hope is that students, in particular, Students of Colour, continue to write their narratives. If we do not write our stories, they remain untold, and we remain voiceless in literature.
Phulkari Last Threads
Figure 5. A visual representation of the themes discovered and explained in this case study.
It has been 8 years since I began my doctoral program, and I feel thankful for the opportunity to help create change for current and future students at SFU. At the time of this writing, of the 12 participants I interviewed, eight have graduated, four moved onto graduate programs, and three students are now married. It has been an amazing journey!
163 I genuinely care about each student I meet at SFU and learn so much from each of them. As a student affairs administrator, my next step is to keep helping voice the narratives of students to advocate for change in programming. I hope to improve the connection students have with SFU and make the process more comfortable for the next generation. I am forever grateful to my senior supervisors and committee. I am blessed to have been your student.
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182 Appendix A.
Invitation to Participate in Research
FACULTY OF EDUCATION
Central City Galleria 5 TEL [telephone number] [email address] 250 – 13450 102nd Avenue FAX [fax number] www.educ.sfu.ca Surrey, BC, V5A 1S6 Study Title: The Experiences of First-Generation Punjabi Students at Simon Fraser University
Project Number: 2013s0876
Principal Researcher: Anisha Arora EdD Candidate Faculty of Education Simon Fraser University Email: [email address] Phone: [telephone number]
Supervisor: Dr. Michelle Pidgeon Assistant Professor, Faculty of Education Academic Coordinator, Educational Leadership Simon Fraser University Email: [email address] Phone: [telephone number] Dear Student: You are being invited to participate in a study titled: The Experience of First-Generation Punjabi Students. I am currently a doctoral candidate in the Faculty of Education at Simon Fraser University and I currently work in the Registrar and Information Services Office at the Surrey campus. As a graduate student, I am particularly interested in first generation students of Punjabi background. As such, the purpose of this study is to learn more about the experiences of first generation Punjabi students at Simon Fraser University. A first generation Punjabi student is a student who has parents that have not attended a post-secondary institution at any time and identifies with the Punjabi culture. The goal of this study is to find out what it is like for you to attend university. Simply, I would like you to talk about your experiences at school. If you agree to volunteer for this study, you will be asked to participate in two face-to-face interviews with me. The first interview will be conducted sometime between February 5, 2014, and March 8, 2014, and will be about 60-90 minutes long. You can determine the date, time, and location to meet so it does not conflict with other commitments you may have. With your permission, I will make an audio recording of the interview so I can capture your thoughts and answers to the questions. The audio recording will then be transcribed by me and then printed in written form. I am happy to return a copy of the transcript to you. Names will not be included in the written transcript of the interview or the final paper. At the conclusion of this interview, you will receive a thirty-dollar gift card to Metrotown mall. The second interview will be held between February 13, 2014, and April 18, 2014, and will take 30-60 minutes of your time. During this time you will be able to read over the transcript of your experiences.
183 At this follow-up interview, you can make changes to your “story”, so you feel that it truly captures what it is like for you at university. It will also provide you with the opportunity to add any additional feedback to the research. At the conclusion of this follow-up an interview, you will receive a ten-dollar gift card to Metrotown mall. As there is little research conducted in Canada regarding the experiences of first generation students in particular those of Punjabi background, your participation will be very helpful. Furthermore, it is hoped the data collected from this study will help Simon Fraser University to better support their first generation students. This research has met all the requirements of the Research Ethics Board. If you agree to participate please contact me no later than February 1, 2014 to set up an interview. I can be reached via email at: [email address], or by phone: [telephone number]. Thank you for your time! I look forward to meeting with you! Warm Regards, Anisha Arora EdD Candidate in the Faculty of Education Simon Fraser University
184 Appendix B.
Informed Consent Interview
FACULTY OF EDUCATION
Central City Galleria 5 TEL [telephone number] [email address] 250 – 13450 102nd Avenue FAX [fax number] www.educ.sfu.ca Surrey, BC, V5A 1S6 Study Title: The Experiences of First-Generation Punjabi Students at Simon Fraser University
Project Number: 2013s0876
Principal Researcher: Anisha Arora EdD Candidate Faculty of Education Simon Fraser University Email: [email address] Phone: [telephone number]
Supervisor: Dr. Michelle Pidgeon Assistant Professor, Faculty of Education Academic Coordinator, Educational Leadership Simon Fraser University Email: [email address] Phone: [telephone number] This consent form, a copy of which has been given to you, is only part of the process of informed consent. It should give you the basic idea of what the research is about and what your participation will involve. If you would like more details, feel free to ask at any time. Please take the time to read this carefully and to understand any accompanying information. I have been invited by Anisha Arora doctoral candidate, Faculty of Education, Simon Fraser University, to participate in a research project entitled The Experiences of First- Generation Punjabi Students at Simon Fraser University, which encompasses the following:
Study Background and Procedures: The main goal of the research project is to explore the experiences of first generation Punjabi students at Simon Fraser University. A first generation student is defined as a student who has parents who have not attended a post secondary institution at any time. The research will explore the following question: What are the experiences of first generation Punjabi students enrolled at Simon Fraser University? As part of this project, I am being invited to participate in two interviews as a current first generation Punjabi student at Simon Fraser University. I understand that this project has
185 undergone an ethical review with Simon Fraser University Research Ethics Board. This board aims to protect the rights of human research participants. I understand I will be asked to participate in two face-to-face interviews sometime between XXX 2014 and the end of XXX 2014. I can choose location, date, and time for the interview, so it does not conflict with my other commitments. During the first interview, I will be asked questions about what it is like for me as a first generation Punjabi student at Simon Fraser University. During the second interview, we will review the transcript of the first interview, and I am able to add or change anything at this time. Interviews can range from 1 to 2 hours long. I understand the interviews will be recorded by a digital recording device with my permission and then transcribed to written form. All transcripts will be confidential, and my real name or any personal identifiers will not appear anywhere in the reports. I understand the audio recordings of the interviews will be locked in a secure filing cabinet at SFU in a secure office. The principal investigator and senior supervisor will be the only individuals who have access to the audiotapes. Recordings will be destroyed soon after transcription. I also understand the findings of the project may be presented in reports, at conferences, and in research journals. My confidentiality will be maintained by presenting only group results so that individual identity is concealed. My identity and all records will be kept confidential. Participation is completely voluntary. I understand that I may withdraw from this study at any time without giving reasons and without negative consequences to my status as a SFU student. I also understand that if I decide to withdraw, all data collected about me during my enrolment in the study will be destroyed.
Benefits of Participation: This research will help to gain an understanding of the Punjabi first generation student experiences. As such, it will help guide Simon Fraser University to meet its responsibility to support first generation, Punjabi students. This research is significant to the University as well as other post-secondary institutions in Canada as there is little research conducted in Canada regarding what it is like to be the first generation Punjabi in higher education. As such, the data collected from this study will provide a starting point for other Canadian universities to examine their support of first generation Punjabi students. As a participant of this project, I can contact the lead researcher, Anisha Arora to receive a copy of the transcript of my interview and a copy of the final report.
Risks to Participants: Overall, potential risks associated with participation in the study are unlikely and of low risk.
Physical: There is little likelihood of any physical risk as a result of participation in this research project. I will not be asked to perform any tasks as a part of the interview schedule that could result in physical harm.
186 Psychological: I will be asked to provide information about my self-reported university experience, home environment, and demographic data. These questions have a low psychological risk.
Remuneration: I will be offered a $20 gift card for the first face-to-face interview, and the gift card will be given to you at the conclusion of the interview. You will also receive a $10 gift card immediately after the second follow up interview.
Confidentiality: My identity and all records will be kept confidential. The findings of the project may be presented in reports, at conferences, and in research journals. The data will be kept in a locked office and password protected on a computer hard drive. I understand that my identity and any identifying information obtained will be kept confidential in the final report and any subsequent publications and presentations. To guarantee reasonable confidentiality, any documents will be located in a locked cabinet in the researcher’s office. I understand that data can be removed from the study if I withdraw from the study. The interview transcripts will be coded so that my real name or personal identifiers does not appear in the document. Electronic data will be kept on a password- protected computer to which only Anisha Arora and Dr. Michelle Pidgeon will have access. For the final report, my real name or personal identifiers will not be used. I understand that I may refuse to participate or withdraw my participation in this project at any time without consequence. My involvement or non-involvement in this project will have no adverse effects on my grades or evaluation in the classroom, course, or program of study to my current or future status at Simon Fraser University. I will be asked the following questions during the interviews, and there will be other questions: a) Can you tell me a little bit about your family and where you come from? b) What kinds of things did you do to prepare yourself for university? c) What does it mean to you and your family to be the first one to attain a university education in Canada? d) What role does being part of the larger Punjabi community in British Columbia play for you during your university career? e) What role do your parents play in your university life? f) Suppose I was a first-generation Punjabi high school student, who had decided to attend university, what advice would you give me? g) What do you wish you knew before entering your university career?
Contact for more information: I understand that I may ask any questions I might have about the project with either the chief researcher Anisha Arora, [telephone number] or [email address] or Dr. Michelle Pidgeon, Senior Supervisor: [email address] or [telephone number].
187 Contact for concerns about the study: I understand that if I have any concerns about my rights as a research participant and/or my experiences while participating in the study, I may contact Dr. Jeffrey Toward, Director, Office of Research Ethics at [email address] or [telephone number].
188 INTERVIEW CONSENT FORM My signature on this form indicates that: I understand the information regarding this research project, including all procedures and the personal risks involved, and that I voluntarily agree to participate in this project as a participant. I have received a copy of this consent form. I consent to participate in the interview as outlined in the letter I understand that I have a right not to answer any question and withdraw from this study at any time. That my withdrawal of participation will not have any adverse effects to my relationship with SFU as a student. I also understand that if I decide to withdraw, all data collected about me during my enrolment in the study will be destroyed. I understand that my personal identifiers will be kept confidential in any reports, presentations, or publications resulting from this research project. Name: (Please Print) Participant’s signature Date Investigator and/or Delegate’s signature Date I agree to have the interview audiotaped. The audiotapes will be destroyed after 3 years by erasing all audio files. Signature Date
189 Appendix C.
Interview Protocol
FACULTY OF EDUCATION
Central City Galleria 5 TEL [telephone number] [email address] 250 – 13450 102nd Avenue FAX [fax number] www.educ.sfu.ca Surrey, BC, V5A 1S6 Study Title: The Experiences of First-Generation Punjabi Students at Simon Fraser University
Project Number: 2013s0876
Principal Researcher: Anisha Arora EdD Candidate Faculty of Education Simon Fraser University Email: [email address] Phone: [telephone number]
Supervisor: Dr. Michelle Pidgeon Assistant Professor, Faculty of Education Academic Coordinator, Educational Leadership Simon Fraser University Email: [email address] Phone: [telephone number]
Opening Remarks Thank you for agreeing to participate in this study. Before we begin, I would like to go over the consent form with you. During this interview, I would like to talk to you about what it is like for you at university. I do have some broad questions for you, but please feel free to talk about anything that you would like to about your life at university. You can stop the interview at any time, and can also refuse to answer any questions and still remain in this study. Are you comfortable if I record this interview?
Interview Questions: 1. Why did you come to university? 2. What has it been like at university? 3. What level of education do your parents have? 4. Can you tell me a little bit about your family and where you come from? 5. What types of conversations do you have at home regarding education and university? 6. What kinds of things did you do to prepare yourself for university?
190 7. What does it mean to you and your family to be the first one to attain a university education in Canada? 8. What role does being part of the larger Punjabi community in British Columbia play for you during your university career? 9. Tell me about your social life? Do you volunteer? Do you work? (Why or Why not) 10. What role do your parents play in your university life? 11. What have your experiences been with classes, teachers, and involvement? 12. Can you tell me about the services you have used at university? (student services, cultural services, etc.) 13. What could the university do better to support you? 14. Suppose I was a first generation Punjabi high school student, who had decided to attend university, what advice would you give me? 15. What do you wish you knew before entering your university career? 16. That is all the questions I have. Is there anything else you would like to share with me?
Interview Closing: Before the end of the interview, I have some background questions to ask. (Only ask if not revealed in the interview)
a. What is your age? b. What program are you in? c. Do you attend school full time or part time? d. Where do you live while at university? e. Where does your immediate family currently live?
191 Appendix D.
Codebook/Coding Protocol
This code book/protocol provides a set of instructions for each category ensure coding is consistent and rigorous. The need for coding is simple: “Text data are dense data, and it takes a long time to go through them and make sense of them” (Creswell, 2015, p. 152).
Support Systems students rely on during their postsecondary career Label/Category Definitions/Codes University Support References to advisors, student services, faculty members, library, mental health resources, advising of any form, staff members at the university Family Support References to parent’s education, grandparents, extended family, family in Canada, nuclear and extended family
Community Support References to larger Punjabi community, Gurdwaras, Punjabi student association, Sikh student association, cultural clubs at SFU. Role of Family in Postsecondary Experience Label/Category Definitions/Codes Parental Influence Remarks related to parental education, parental support, reasons for immigration, career expectations, economic capital, work ethic Extended Family References related to non-immediate family members, uncles, aunts, grandparents, cousins, community members Family Back Home References to family outside of Canada, references about community in cities/villages in India, communication with family not in Canada, references made to skype, whatsapp Being First in the Family Label/Category Definitions/Codes First to Navigate University References to different learning style, high school experiences, more work, less help, integration, student services, unaware of resources, Back on Track, academic probation, engagement, dreams, the need to give back, cultural values, expectations
192 Oldest Sibling Remarks related to being the first, oldest sibling, oldest cousin, first in city/village to get educated, pressure to uphold honour Role of the Punjabi Community Label/Category Definitions/Codes Influence of Punjabi community References to Gurdwara, other Punjabi students, resources for new immigrants, interaction with other Punjabi students, upholding honour, hesitation disclosing struggles in undergraduate career, seva, giving back, trust
Advice to Future Generation Label/Category Definitions/Codes Giving Back/Next Generation References to wanting to give back, community disconnection, classes on education at gudwaras, first year experience class, international students, building relationships, faculty members, student services advice
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