Social Networking and First Generation College Student Success:
Using Social Network Theory to Enhance 'Critical' Engagement and Persistence Efforts
This paper offers a conceptual framework for the use of social networking technology to promote critical engagement and success among first-generation college students. Drawing on critical theory to scrutinize principles of student engagement in college, this paper proposes a conceptual framework to map a "college staying culture" among first-generation college students. Specifically, the authors posit that online social networking is instrumental in the transmission of social capital for equitable postsecondary outcomes. The authors suggest that this conceptual framework offers valuable insight into how university administrators and scholars of higher education might consider the role of social media to promote engagement that takes into account college students' cultural and social experiences and the use of social media as a means to transmit social capital.
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