Understanding Postsecondary Education Enrollment of First-Generation Students From a Social Cognitive Perspective

2020 ◽  
pp. 089484532095807
Author(s):  
Xue Xing ◽  
Jay W. Rojewski
Keyword(s):  
Postsecondary Education ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
First Generation ◽  
Social Cognitive ◽  
Positive Influence ◽  
Generational Status ◽  
Educational Goals ◽  
First Generation Students ◽  
Enrollment Patterns ◽  
Education Enrollment

Data from the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 were used to describe and compare postsecondary education enrollment patterns of first- and continuing-generation students. Social cognitive career theory was used to explain the processes of educational and career pursuit and attainment, as well as personal, behavioral, and contextual/environmental factors influencing these processes. Postsecondary educational self-efficacy (i.e., a belief or confidence in future educational success) had a significant positive influence on establishing higher postsecondary educational goals for all adolescents. Postsecondary educational self-efficacy and goals, together, also had a substantial positive influence on postsecondary enrollment patterns of both groups. Self-efficacy exerted a stronger total effect for first-generation students. Contextual supports and barriers directly influenced students’ goals but played different roles depending on generational status.

Navigating the Financial Aid Process: Borrowing Outcomes among First-Generation and Non-First-Generation Students

2017 ◽  
Vol 671 (1) ◽  
pp. 69-91 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fernando Furquim ◽  
Kristen M. Glasener ◽  
Meghan Oster ◽  
Brian P. McCall ◽  
Stephen L. DesJardins
Keyword(s):  
Financial Aid ◽  
Postsecondary Education ◽  
First Generation ◽  
Student Loans ◽  
Student Characteristics ◽  
Generational Status ◽  
Financial Resources ◽  
First Generation Students ◽  
Federal Loans ◽  
Student Indebtedness

A growing number and proportion of students rely on student loans to assist with the costs of postsecondary education. Yet little is known about how first-generation students use federal loans to finance their education. In this article, we examine each of the decisions that culminate in student indebtedness: the decision to apply for aid, whether to borrow, and how much to borrow. We find significant differences by generational status at each step of the student borrowing process. First-generation students are more likely to apply for financial aid, borrow, and take out larger loans than their peers, after controlling for a rich set of covariates for costs and financial resources. We find that student characteristics cannot fully explain these observed differences in borrowing outcomes across generations.

scholarly journals Illuminating Differences in The Psychological Predictors of Academic Performance for First- And Continuing-Generation Students

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
Keyword(s):  
College Students ◽  
Academic Performance ◽  
Goal Orientation ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Psychological Factors ◽  
First Generation ◽  
Academic Stress ◽  
First Generation Students ◽  
Factors Associated ◽  
Academic Self Efficacy

First-generation college students experience a disproportionate rate of challenges on college campuses, reflected by lower academic performance. Research has identified academic self-efficacy, optimism, goal orientation, and academic stress all as psychological factors associated with academic performance. However, this research rarely distinguishes between first- and continuing-generation students, and there may be unique effects for each group. We investigated whether the previously identified psychological factors associated with academic performance hold the same relationships for firstand continuing-generation college students. A sample of 143 undergraduate students self-reported levels of academic self-efficacy, optimism, goal orientation, and academic stress. Academic performance was measured using their midterm exam grade. There were differences found in the mean levels of psychological factors and their associations with academic performance for first- and continuing-generation students. Overall, the psychological factors explained a very small portion of the variance in academic performance among first-generation students (13.4%) with none of the psychological factors holding an independent association with academic performance. Conversely, psychological factors explained considerably more of the variance in academic performance for continuing-generation students (60.5%), with domains of goal orientation and academic stress being independently associated with academic performance. Our findings suggest that new pathways to improving first-generation students’ academic performance should be identified, and that

College Freshmen's Perceptions of Their High School Experiences

2009 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 438-471 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cynthia Hudley ◽  
Roxanne Moschetti ◽  
Amber Gonzalez ◽  
Su-Je Cho ◽  
Leasha Barry ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
College Students ◽  
High School ◽  
Postsecondary Education ◽  
Low Income ◽  
First Generation ◽  
Peer Group ◽  
First Generation Students ◽  
Strong Argument ◽  
Positive Attitudes ◽  
Talented Students

Among academically talented students, SES and racial group membership predict both college expectations and matriculation, and youth less often attend and complete postsecondary education if their parents did not go to college. For successful adjustment to college, significant adults during high school matter more than they might imagine. Talking to teachers and counselors had strong relationships with social and academic adjustment as well as with positive attitudes for all students. Interestingly, the more participants talked to teachers in high school, the more academically competent they felt in college, and this relationship was especially strong for first-generation students. Such findings suggest that “getting ready” experiences may prepare students to more effectively balance the multiple developmental tasks they face as college students on the threshold of adulthood. This preparation may be especially important for persistence among vulnerable populations, including first-generation students, who spend the least time of any group talking to teachers outside class. Students in low-income, urban communities may be in reasonable proximity to a community, vocational, or 4-year college; students in rural schools may more often see relatively few opportunities for higher education. An academically oriented high school peer group also may prepare students to become socially engaged on the college campus. These preliminary findings are a strong argument for policies and practices that bring all new college students together in personalized social interactions as quickly as possible rather than focusing on groups perceived to be “at risk.”

scholarly journals Small Fish Out of Water

2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin P. Heinisch
Keyword(s):  
Postsecondary Education ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
First Generation ◽  
College Education ◽  
Economic Recession ◽  
Poverty Rate ◽  
Rural Students ◽  
Economic Research ◽  
Small Fish ◽  
First Generation Students

Changing rural economies are making it difficult for youths in rural areas to maintain job security without a college education (Tieken, 2016). After the 2008 economic recession, rural unemployment reached nearly 10%, and the poverty rate increased to 16.6% for nonmetropolitan areas, compared to 13.9% in metropolitan regions (Economic Research Service, 2011). This reduction in career opportunities has encouraged rural youths to think more seriously about attending college to increase their earning potential (Meece, et al., 2013; Tieken, 2016). Compared to the average American, rural students are less likely to have college-educated parents (Provasnik et al., 2007). These first-generation students are coming to college unprepared, due to their parent’s lack of institutional knowledge, creating challenges for them academically and socially as they transition into an unfamiliar environment (Forbus, Newbold, & Mehta, 2011; Lightweis, 2014). These rural students are also challenged by their lack of experience with large campuses and the diversity often found in college (Schultz, 2004). Few studies are dedicated to the rural student experience, and even fewer regard the intersection of rural and first-generation identities. Understanding their experiences as they transition to college will be key to providing this population with resources for their postsecondary education. This study utilized Schlossberg’s Transition Theory (Chickering & Schlossberg, 1995) as a framework to describe the first-year experiences of rural first-generation students at a large Midwestern university and identify important implications for practice.

scholarly journals Understanding the Transient Nature of STEM Doctoral Students’ Research Self-Efficacy Across Time: Considering the Role of Gender, Race, and First-Generation College Status

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kaylee Litson ◽  
Jennifer M. Blaney ◽  
David F. Feldon
Keyword(s):  
Doctoral Students ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
First Generation ◽  
Future Research ◽  
First Generation Students ◽  
Demographic Groups ◽  
Transient Nature ◽  
Random Intercept ◽  
First Generation College ◽  
Over Time

Developing research self-efficacy is an important part of doctoral student preparation. Despite the documented importance of research self-efficacy, little is known about the progression of doctoral students’ research self-efficacy over time in general and for students from minoritized groups. This study examined both within- and between-person stability of research self-efficacy from semester to semester over 4 years, focusing on doctoral students in biological sciences (N = 336). Using random intercept autoregressive analyses, we evaluated differences in stability across gender, racially minoritized student status, and first-generation student status. Results showed similar mean levels of self-efficacy across demographic groups and across time. However, there were notable differences in between-person and within-person stability over time, specifically showing higher between-person and lower within-person stability for racially minoritized and first-generation students. These findings indicate that racially minoritized and first-generation students’ research self-efficacy reports were less consistent from semester to semester. Such results may indicate that non-minoritized and continuing-generation students’ experiences from semester to semester typically reinforce their beliefs about their own abilities related to conducting research, while such is not the case for racially minoritized nor first-generation students. Future research should examine what types of experiences impact self-efficacy development across doctoral study to offer more precise insights about factors that influence these differences in within-person stability.

scholarly journals Information Seeking Anxiety and Preferred Information Sources of First-Generation College Students

2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-24
Author(s):  
Josefine Smith ◽  
Stacy Brinkman
Keyword(s):  
College Students ◽  
Information Seeking ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
First Generation ◽  
Information Sources ◽  
First Generation College Students ◽  
Generational Status ◽  
First Generation Students ◽  
Parental Experience ◽  
First Generation College

Objective – To determine whether information seeking anxieties and preferred information sources differ between first-generation college students and their continuing-generation peers. Methods – An online survey was disseminated at two public college campuses. A total of 490 respondents were included in the results. Independent variables included institution, year in college, and generational status. Instead of using a binary variable, this study used three groups for the independent variable of generational status, with two first-generation groups and one continuing-generation group based on parental experience with college. Dependent variables included 4 measures of information seeking anxiety and 22 measures of preferred information sources. Responses were analyzed using SPSS. One-way independent ANOVA tests were used to compare groups by generational status, and two- and three-way factorial ANOVA tests were conducted to explore interaction effects of generational status with institution and year in college. Results – No significant differences in overall information seeking anxiety were found between students whose parents had differing levels of experience with college. However, when exploring the specific variable of experiencing anxiety about “navigating the system in college,” a two-way interaction involving generational status and year in school was found, with first-generation students with the least direct experience with college reporting higher levels of anxiety at different years in college than their peers. Two categories of first-generation students were found to consult with their parents far less than continuing-generation peers. The study also found that institutional or generational differences may also influence whether students ask for information from their peers, librarians, tutoring centers, professors, or advisors. Conclusion – This study is one of the first to directly compare the information seeking preferences and anxieties of first-generation and continuing-generation students using a non-binary approach. While previous research suggests that first-generation students experience heightened anxiety about information seeking, this study found no significant overall differences between students based on their generational status. The study reinforced previous research about first-generation college students relying less on their parents than their continuing-generation peers. However, this study complicates previous research about first-generation students and their utilization of peers, librarians, tutoring centers, professors, or advisors as information sources, and suggests that institutional context plays an important role in shaping first-generation information seeking.

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