Author: Amber Carmen ArroyoPublisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 76
Book Description
First-generation college students experience a disproportionate rate of challenges on college campuses, reflected by lower academic performance (AP). Research has identified psychosocial factors associated with AP: academic self-efficacy, optimism, goal orientation, and academic stress. However, this research has mostly been done on continuing-generation college students, and results may not generalize to first-generation students. We investigated whether established factors associated with AP hold the same relationships for first- and continuing-generation college students. A sample of 143 undergraduate students at a designated Hispanic-serving institution self-reported on several psychosocial factors that were used to predict midterm exam grade as an indicator of AP. We did not find the same association between AP and many of the psychosocial factors commonly identified in the literature. Further, we did not find a significant difference in AP among first- and continuing-generation students. However, there were other notable differences between these groups. None of the psychosocial factors held an independent relationship with AP for first-generation students, while for continuing-generation students, mastery-approach, performance-approach, and academic behavioral stress all significantly predicted AP. Overall, psychosocial factors explained a very small portion of the variance in AP among first-generation students (13.4%) while it explained considerably more for continuing-generation students (60.5%). Our findings suggest that none of the psychosocial factors included in the current study are effective pathways to improving AP among first-generation students. Our findings highlight that we do not understand first-generation students' AP and we suggest future research aim to identify new factors that may influence first-generation students' AP.