This study examines the influence of parental involvement on the educational aspirations of first-generation college students. Additionally, the researcher investigates the changes in first-generation students’ educational aspirations over time as well as the differences in students’ educational aspirations and actual attainment. Differences in educational aspirations and attainment are analyzed by race, gender, and SES.

For this study, longitudinal data from a nationally representative sample of students generated by the National Educational Longitudinal Study 1988-2000 (NELS:88/2000) was used. Statistical measures employed included multiple regression, repeated measures ANOVA, and crosstabulation. Results indicated that parental involvement, among other variables, explained some variance in first-generation students’ educational aspirations. Additionally, these students’ educational aspirations increased over time, and, for the most part, students did not attain their aspirations. Differences in aspirations and attainment by race, gender, and SES were also discovered.