Building Aspirations Through Supportive Systems: Understanding the Career Learning Experiences of Middle School Prospective First-Generation College Students

Abstract

Middle school is a critical period of identify formation, academic achievement, and career exploration, particularly for prospective first-generation college students (PFGCS). This instrumental case study (Stake, 1995) focused on interviews with a sample of 15 8^th graders identified as PFGCS and enrolled in an out-of-school, university-sponsored program supporting college and career readiness to understand what they valued and articulated as protective factors in their career learning experiences. This project emerged out of a large, mixed-methods, longitudinal project studying the implementation of the out-of-school youth program, and the data analyzed were semi-structured interviews. Drawing on social cognitive career theory (Lent et al., 1994) and ecological risk and resilience theory (Masten, 2018), the coding analysis found that participants valued family, mentorship, and joy in their career learning experiences and career decision-making. Middle school represents a critical window for fostering aspirations and addressing systemic barriers that may hinder students’ postsecondary success. The findings from this study contribute to a deeper understanding of the career development process for PFGCS and inform future efforts to enhance college and career readiness programs for students from historically underrepresented backgrounds. More specifically, the study offers implications for embedding career exploration within school curricula, developing joy-centered and experiential learning opportunities, increasing mentoring support, and sustaining school-family-community partnerships.