Abstract
The composition of students has changed rapidly in South African universities. The undergraduate student profile has changed as those who were previously marginalised under the apartheid era now have access to the university as well (Terenzini, Springer, Yaeger, Pascarella and Nora 1996; Badat, 2010; Ngcwangu, 2022). First-in-family students are among those who are entering South African universities. First-in-family students are defined as students who come from families where no one in their immediate family has ever been to university, this includes their parents and siblings (O’Shea, 2016). The term is usually confused with the first-generation. First-generation students are students who come from families where their parents have never attended or obtained a university degree, but they may have a sibling(s) who has been to university or obtained a university degree (Moodley and Singh, 2015; Zikalala, 2020). The focus of this study was mainly on investigating the lived experiences of first-in-family black African female students from low socio-economic backgrounds at the University of Johannesburg (UJ). A qualitative research approach was used to conduct this study as it was the most suitable for the study. Eight first-in-family black African female UJ registered students from low socio-economic backgrounds were interviewed.
The findings show that this group of students face multiple challenges, not only as university students but way before they even get to university, due to the intersections of the various identity statuses they hold that play a role in shaping their daily lived experiences. Financial constraints, difficulties with adjusting, and feeling a sense of belonging were some of the challenges that these students face in university. Besides the challenges that these students face in university, they do get to a point of managing to adjust to the university environment and actually come up with various coping strategies that help them to succeed and get through university.