LibGuides: First-Generation College Student Resource Guide: Resources for Faculty and Staff

Resources for Faculty and Staff

Supporting first-generation college students is essential to fostering their success and retention in community colleges. This section provides a collection of resources tailored for faculty and staff dedicated to helping these students navigate their academic journey.

Library Resources

SCC Library has resources to help you help your first-gen students.

Library Research Workshops

Bring your class into the library classroom and allow our librarians to instruct them in one of our library research workshops. We will teach your students about information literacy, how to navigate and use library resources (databases, catalogs, services), and how to conduct their own research effectively.

Books

Geographies of Campus Inequality: Mapping the Diverse Experiences of First-generation Students by Janel E. Benson; Elizabeth M. Lee In efforts to improve equity, selective college campuses are increasingly focused on recruiting and retaining first-generation students - those whose parents have not graduated from college. In Geographies of Campus Inequality, sociologists Benson and Lee argue that these approaches may fall short if they fail to consider the complex ways first-generation status intersects with race, ethnicity, and gender. Drawing on interview and survey data from selective campuses, the authors show that first-generation students do not share a universal experience. Rather, first-generation students occupy one of four disparate geographies on campus within which they negotiate academic responsibilities, build relationships, engage in campus life, and develop post-college aspirations. Importantly, the authors demonstrate how geographies are shaped by organizational practices and campus constructions of class, race, and gender. Geographies of Campus Inequality expands the understanding of first-generation students' campus lives and opportunities for mobility by showing there is more than one way to be first-generation.
Call Number: LC4069.6 .B46 2020
ISBN: 9780190848156
Publication Date: 2020
Student Success in College: Creating Conditions That Matter by George D. Kuh; Jillian Kinzie; John H. Schuh; Elizabeth J. Whitt Student Success in College describes policies, programs, and practices that a diverse set of institutions have used to enhance student achievement. This book clearly shows the benefits of student learning and educational effectiveness that can be realized when these conditions are present. Based on the Documenting Effective Educational Practice (DEEP) project from the Center for Postsecondary Research at Indiana University, this book provides concrete examples from twenty institutions that other colleges and universities can learn from and adapt to help create a success-oriented campus culture and learning environment.
Call Number: LB2343.32 .S79 2005
ISBN: 9780787979140
Publication Date: 2005

Articles

"Is That Paper Really Due Today?": Differences in First-Generation and Traditional College Students' Understandings of Faculty Expectations Social capital plays a key role in college and career success, and research indicates that a dearth of on‐campus connections contributes to challenges first‐generation college students face in effectively navigating the college environment. This study investigates a novel intervention that focuses on the development of skills and attitudes to empower first‐generation college students to cultivate social capital and on‐campus connections during the transition to college. A mixed methods, explanatory design was used to evaluate impacts and processes of the intervention among first‐generation college students (n = 164) in the context of an ethnically diverse, urban, public university in the Northeast. Results indicated that students who participated in the intervention demonstrated improved attitudes and behaviors around seeking support in college, closer relationships with instructors, and higher GPAs at the end of their first year in college. These results suggest the potential benefits of a relatively scalable approach to supporting the needs of first‐generation college students. Highlights Social capital plays a key role in college and career success. Social capital is unequally distributed during the transition to college. Workshops can change students’ attitudes and behaviors related to the acquisition of social capital. A social capital workshop can improve first‐generation college students’ academic outcomes.
Closing the Social-Class Achievement Gap: A Difference-Education Intervention Improves First-Generation Students' Academic Performance and All Students' College Transition College students who do not have parents with 4-year degrees (first-generation students) earn lower grades and encounter more obstacles to success than do students who have at least one parent with a 4-year degree (continuing-generation students). In the study reported here, we tested a novel intervention designed to reduce this social-class achievement gap with a randomized controlled trial (N = 168). Using senior college students' real-life stories, we conducted a difference-education intervention with incoming students about how their diverse backgrounds can shape what they experience in college. Compared with a standard intervention that provided similar stories of college adjustment without highlighting students' different backgrounds, the difference-education intervention eliminated the social-class achievement gap by increasing first-generation students' tendency to seek out college resources (e.g., meeting with professors) and, in turn, improving their end-of-year grade point averages. The difference-education intervention also improved the college transition for all students on numerous psychosocial outcomes (e.g., mental health and engagement).
Experiences, Supports, and Strategies of First-Generation College Students The experiences of first-generation college students (FGCS) can guide the development of effective practices for supporting and retaining these students. Open-ended interviews with 10 FGCS produced themes related to challenges and strategies for success. Applied thematic analysis identified barriers in school, home, and work settings, including a lack of knowledge of administrative processes, financial stress, instructor communication, and familial support. Strategies and needs of FGCS included developing social supports, time management skills, clear and explicit communication, and acknowledgment and reinforcement of academic successes. Findings align with previous research showing FGCS to be underprepared and under-supported in applying for, enrolling in, and paying for college. Implications and future research are discussed.
First-Generation College Students: Goals and Challenges of Community College Objective: This study examines whether there are differences among first-generation and continuing-generation community college students in the importance they place on achieving college-related goals and difficulties they face from college- and other life-related challenges. Methods: Data were drawn from the Community College Libraries and Academic Support for Student Success student survey. Results: Results from MANCOVA show that, after adjusting for age, gender identity, U.S. birth status, and race/ethnicity, first-generation college students (FGCSs) place more importance on achieving college-related goals and face greater difficulties from college- and other life-related challenges than continuing-generation college students (CGCSs). Contributions: These findings indicate that community colleges should offer more support to FGCSs pertaining to students’ goals and challenges so that all community college students may be successful in their academic pursuits. Future research should explore interaction effects among student demographics and their goals and challenges as well as interventions to support community college students. This is because community colleges enroll the largest number of FGCSs compared to other institutions of higher education, and FGCSs and community college students share challenges when it comes to obtaining a college degree.
Learning motivation and environmental support: how first-generation college students achieve success? With the continuous expansion of higher education worldwide, the academic performance of first-generation college students has become an essential topic in the scope of international educational research. This study examines the impact of learning motivation (i.e., intrinsic and extrinsic motivation) and environmental support (i.e., instructional, relational, and campus support) on the academic outcomes of first-generation college students based on the Cultural Mismatch Theory and Self-Determination Theory from both individual and environmental perspectives. A two-stage stratified sampling strategy was adopted to guarantee that the samples were representative of the national populations of college students in mainland China. 87418 data were collected from the China College Student Survey (CCSS) 2020, among which 58,864 were first-generation college students. This study primarily employed descriptive statistical analysis and regression analysis methods. Data analysis revealed that intrinsic learning motivation, relational support, campus support, and academic performance of first-generation college students are significantly lower than those of non-first-generation students. However, this study found no significant differences concerning external learning motivation and teaching support. Regression analysis showed that both learning motivation and environmental support positively predicted learning outcomes, with intrinsic learning motivation having the most substantial influence. Moreover, learning motivation and environmental support interact in jointly promoting the student's academic success. This study highlighted that the academic development of first-generation college students results from the interplay between individual characteristics and the surrounding environment. Postnatal factors, particularly individual learning motivation, and institutional environment support, play a crucial role in their academic achievements.
Navigating the First Year of College: Siblings, Parents, and First‐Generation Students’ Experiences Although college education is a key to upward mobility, students from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds are less likely to enter and complete college than their more advantaged peers. Prior literature has illuminated how cultural capital contributes to these disparities. An alternative conceptualization of cultural capital, however, suggests that it can also play a role in social mobility. In this study, we build on and extend the literature on cultural mobility by proposing that exposure to education can benefit not only individuals but also families. We examine the influence of older siblings who attended college on the experiences of younger college‐going siblings in families where neither parent has completed college (i.e., first‐generation families). We find that students rarely rely on their older siblings as sources of information and advice, except in a few instances where older siblings attended the same institution. However, both the topics and nature of conversations between parents and students differ between families with and without older college‐educated siblings. The primary benefit of having college‐educated siblings is thus related to students’ engagement with and support received from parents. These findings have important implications for cultural capital research and understanding experiences of first‐generation college students.
Reaffirming the Public Purposes of Higher Education: First-Generation and Continuing Generation Students' Perspectives For more than a century, scholars and policymakers have commented and debated on the purposes of higher education. These conversations reflect a combination of public and private goals, with an increasing emphasis on social mobility. The perspective of students, especially those currently enrolled and first-generation college goers for whom social mobility is likely salient, are often not part of these conversations. This study examines how first-generation and continuing generation students describe the purposes of higher education during college. Students note a strong emphasis on the private goals of higher education from society and parents. However, students' narratives reflect how they grapple with multiple purposes with some also recognizing a change in their views. Differences by generational status also emerged, emphasizing a continued need to balance public and private goals.
Self-efficacy and academic success among diverse first-generation college students: The mediating role of self-regulation This study examines whether self-efficacy predicted academic success (via self-regulation) for first-generation and continuing-generation college students (Model 1) and among various racial/ethnic groups (Model 2). The 3,316 ethnically diverse incoming freshmen from a large, urban, public university (53% first-generation) participated in this study (43% Latinx, 24% Asian American, 23% White, and 10% Black). Participants’ ages ranged from 16 to 23 ( M = 17.97, SD = 0.41). Prior to matriculation, participants completed the online institutional survey, including items exploring self-efficacy and self-regulation. This study distinguishes between emotional and behavioral aspects of self-regulation. To assess academic success outcomes, first-semester grade point averages and first-to-second year retention rates were collected from institutional data. Significant direct and indirect paths varied by generational status as well as race/ethnicity. Two types of self-regulation—emotional and behavioral regulation—had divergent effects. Increased behavioral regulation but decreased emotional regulation enhanced academic success. Findings highlight that differentiated interventions should be provided to meet diverse needs.
Sense of Belonging and Student Engagement: A Daily Study of First- and Continuing-Generation College Students To date, most research on sense of belonging in higher education has relied upon between-person correlations (e.g., Murphy and Zirkel in Teach Coll Rec 117(12):1–40, 2015; Ostrove and Long in Rev High Educ 30(4):363–389, 2007). In the current study, first- and continuing-generation college students ( N = 280) reported their sense of belonging and their emotional and behavioral engagement in college every evening for a week. These data were used to examine both person-level and daily dynamics of sense of belonging and student engagement. With few exceptions, sense of belonging was associated with all types of student engagement at both the person and the daily levels. At the person level: replicating previous research, students with a higher sense of belonging than their peers tended to also have higher emotional and behavioral engagement. At the daily level: regardless of students’ typical sense of belonging, if they experienced especially high sense of belonging on a particular day, their emotional and behavioral engagement on that same day tended to be higher than usual. For two measures of student engagement—feelings toward school and in-class engagement—first-generation college students were especially sensitive to day-to-day fluctuations in sense of belonging. There were, however, few other effects of student generation. Overall, results suggest that sense of belonging is an important resource for maintaining student engagement among all students, but especially among first-generation students. In addition, because sense of belonging operates at both person and daily levels, schools can work at both levels to improve students’ belonging.
Supporting the Mental Health Needs of First Generation College Students First-generation college students (FGCS) experience the same challenges as non-first-generation students (NFGCS), but they also face their own unique stressors such as a lack of academic preparation, absence of support from family and friends, and difficult cultural transitions. A combination of these factors may put them at higher risk for mental health problems, lower retention rates, and lower graduation rates. The goal of this study is to assess whether differences in mental health variables, social support, academics, and financial distress exist between FGCS and NFGCS seeking services at a university counseling center. Findings from this study showed that FGCS reported significantly more academic distress, work hours, and financial distress than NFGCS. There were no significant differences in regards to mental health variables, perceived social and family support, or academic success.

External Resources

Access information about national organizations, online platforms, and community partnerships that offer additional support, scholarships, and networking opportunities for first-generation students.

FirstGen Forward
At FirstGen Forward, you’ll find opportunities to engage with dedicated colleagues and learn about First Scholars programming, including training resources, technical assistance options, first-generation success speakers and a national recognition program for institutions demonstrating commitment to first-generation student success.