Asset, Not Deficit: The Growth Mindset of a First-Generation Doctoral Candidate

Melinda Harrison

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Chapter 4 Asset, Not Deficit

The Growth Mindset of a First-Generation Doctoral Candidate

In: Curating the Self and Embracing the Community

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Melinda Harrison

Melinda Harrison
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Type:: Chapter

Pages:: 68–84

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004688063_005

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Abstract

Discussions of first-generation students (FGS s) in academic spaces can easily fall into talks of deficits. Indeed, FGS s may lack the benefit of a parent or guardian who can act as a knowledgeable guide to and through post-secondary contexts. However, FGS s may also draw upon unique personal assets and characteristics to succeed academically. One crucial element for success that I have identified in my own first-generation academic journey is the importance of a growth mindset amidst a lack of capital (Bourdieu & Passeron, 1977), namely, the (academic) cultural knowledge possessed by continuing-generation students. In this autoethnography, I chronologically explore my post-secondary journey as a first-generation doctoral student, identifying points in time in which I lacked capital but employed the asset of a growth mindset to fill in the gap. The data reveal how a growth mindset developed during the undergraduate and early-graduate years due to my first-generation status, and how this new outlook resulted in a meandering yet fulfilling doctoral journey.

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Curating the Self and Embracing the Community

Autoethnographic Evocations of U.S. Doctoral Students in the Fields of Social Sciences and Humanities

Series: The Doctoral Journey in Education, Volume: 1

Cover Curating the Self and Embracing the Community

E-Book ISBN:: 9789004688063

Publisher:: Brill

Print Publication Date:: 21 Sep 2023

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- American Studies
  - General
- Education
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Chapter 4 Asset, Not Deficit

The Growth Mindset of a First-Generation Doctoral Candidate

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Citation Info

Share link with colleague or librarian

Curating the Self and Embracing the Community

Autoethnographic Evocations of U.S. Doctoral Students in the Fields of Social Sciences and Humanities

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