The principles of diversity and inclusion are valued across the higher education sector, but the ways in which these principles are translated into pedagogic practice are not always evident. Students who are first in their family to attend university continue to report barriers to full participation in university life. They are more likely to leave their studies early, and to achieve lower grades in their final qualifications, than students whose families have previous experience of higher education. The purpose of this study was to explore whether a mismatch between staff perceptions and students’ experiences might be a possible contributor to these disparities. The study explored and compared staff discourses about the experiences of first generation students at two universities, one in the United Kingdom (UK), and the other in South Africa (SA). One-to-one interviews were carried out with 40 staff members (20 at each institution) to explore their views about first generation students. The results showed that staff were well aware of challenges faced by first generation students; however, they were unsure of their roles in relation to shaping an inclusive environment, and tended not to consider how to use the assets that they believed first generation students bring with them to higher education. This paper explores these staff discourses; and considers proposals for challenging commonly-voiced assumptions about students and university life in a broader context of diversity and inclusive teaching practice.

多元化和包容性原则在整个高等教育部门都得到重视，但是将这些原则转化为教学实践的方式并不总是很明显。家庭中第一个上大学的学生继续报告充分参与大学生活的障碍。与那些以前有过高等教育经历的学生相比，他们更有可能提早离开学校，并最终获得较低的成绩。这项研究的目的是探讨员工观念与学生体验之间的不匹配是否可能是造成这些差距的原因。这项研究探索并比较了关于两所大学第一代学生体验的工作人员话语，其中一所在英国（UK），另一所在南非（SA）。与40名工作人员（每个机构20名）进行了一对一的访谈，以探讨他们对第一代学生的看法。结果表明，员工对第一代学生所面临的挑战了如指掌。但是，他们不确定自己在塑造包容性环境方面的作用，并且倾向于不考虑如何使用他们认为第一代学生带来的资产进行高等教育。本文探讨了这些员工话语。并考虑了在更广泛的多元化和包容性教学实践中挑战有关学生和大学生活的通常所说的假设的建议。结果表明，员工对第一代学生所面临的挑战了如指掌。但是，他们不确定自己在塑造包容性环境方面的作用，并且倾向于不考虑如何使用他们认为第一代学生带来的资产进行高等教育。本文探讨了这些员工话语。并考虑了在更广泛的多元化和包容性教学实践中挑战有关学生和大学生活的通常所说的假设的建议。结果表明，员工对第一代学生所面临的挑战了如指掌。但是，他们不确定自己在塑造包容性环境方面的作用，并且倾向于不考虑如何使用他们认为第一代学生带来的资产进行高等教育。本文探讨了这些员工话语。并考虑了在更广泛的多元化和包容性教学实践中挑战有关学生和大学生活的通常所说的假设的建议。