The High School–College Disconnect: Examining First‐Generation College Students’ Perceptions of Their Literacy Preparation

Abstract

Abstract The transition from high school to college is challenging for many students, especially first‐generation college students. College courses require disciplinary specific reading, writing, and thinking skills not often taught in high school, such as reading and analyzing complex texts and constructing original arguments in discipline‐specific genres. Drawing on interviews with 18 first‐generation college students in their first year at a four‐year university, the author sought to understand their perceptions of their preparation for the literacy demands of college. Students reported multiple ways that they wished their high schools had better prepared them, including more complex reading assignments and opportunities to engage in original research. Additionally, students wished that they had received more guidance in developing and supporting their ideas in writing. The findings from this study suggest specific changes that secondary teachers from all content areas should make to their instruction to better prepare students for postsecondary literacy demands.