ABSTRACT
This chapter sets the context for the narratives that follow by establishing what it means for students to be the first in their families to attend Canadian universities and, as such, to represent a significant and growing proportion of today's university students. Using a community-referenced approach informed by critical theories of schooling and education, this chapter discusses the ways in which community serves as an integral and valuable resource for marginalized individuals for whom, because of power structures and social inequities, social class, race, gender, sexuality, citizenship, and refugee status mediate how they understand and experience university. We present the data-gathering methods and the literature upon which we build our examination of how first-generation students approach their education, make choices, set aspirations, perceive opportunities, navigate university, exercise agency, and take action (individually and collectively) to realize their ambitions. This chapter invites readers to critically reflect on the resistance, resilience, political action, and problem-solving strategies of students as represented in their stories and voices. It asserts that working with first-generation university students requires acknowledging and appreciating their sense of self and their understanding of their possibilities—as informed by society's perceptions and representations of them and their communities.
