Closing the Social Class Achievement Gap With Utility Value Interventions

• In Event: 52.032 - The Social Class Achievement Gap: Interventions to Promote Performance for First-Generation College Students

Abstract

Objective
Many students start college intending to pursue a career in biosciences, but too many first-generation students abandon this goal because they struggle in introductory biology. Keeping students interested in college science courses is crucial to keeping them on track for careers in biomedical science.

Theoretical background
One way to develop interest in activities is to find meaning and value in those activities, and one type of task value that has proven to be a powerful predictor of interest and performance is utility value (UV). Recent experimental research indicates that it is possible to promote perceived utility value with simple interventions that ask students to write about the relevance of course topics to their own life or to the life of a family member or close friend. These interventions work best for people who doubt their competence and for students with a history of poor performance. For example, Hulleman et al. (2010) found that a UV intervention promoted interest in a psychology class for students who had performed poorly on early exams, relative to a control group. We hypothesized that UV interventions might be particularly effective with first-generation students who are uncertain about their background and preparation for college science courses. We also examined the effects of underrepresented ethnic minority status in moderating the effects of UV interventions.

Method and results
The utility value intervention was administered in a randomized field experiment in four semesters of an introductory college biology course. A total of 1048 students participated; 426 were majority continuing-generation students (Caucasian/Asian), 128 were minority continuing-generation (African-American/Hispanic/Native American), 430 were majority first-generation students, and 64 were minority first-generation students. This sample allowed us to evaluate the independent and interactive effects of generational and ethnic minority status. The achievement gap in this course was significant for both first-generation and minority students, and greatest for the minority first-generation students (compared to all other groups).

The experimental intervention consisted of three 500-word paper assignments, for credit, assigned during the second week of each of three 5-week units of the course. Students in the control condition wrote a summary of course material. Students in the UV conditions wrote essays describing the relevance of course material to their own lives and/or a letter describing the relevance of the material to the life of a close friend or family member. We found that the UV intervention significantly improved grades for all students, but had a particularly strong effect for minority first-generation students, relative to all other groups (i.e., we found a significant three-way interaction between UV intervention, first-generation status and minority group status). These students have the “double challenge” of contending with both minority and first-generation status, and our results suggest that the UV intervention was most effective for the most challenged group.

Significance
Our results highlight the importance of supporting task values for at-risk students and further suggest the importance of considering the separate and combined effects of generational and ethnic minority status in designing effective interventions.

Authors

• Judith Harackiewicz, University of Wisconsin

• Elizabeth Ann Canning, University of Wisconsin - Madison

• Yoi Tibbetts, University of Wisconsin

• Janet S. Hyde, University of Wisconsin - Madison