Addressing the Cultural Transition to College for First-Generation College Students

• In Event: 61.054 - Challenges and Opportunities: Exploring First-Generation College Students' Lived Experiences and Interventions to Support Their Success

Abstract

Objectives and Theoretical Framework
Although college enrollment of first-generation (FG) college students—those whose parents have not graduated from a four-year university—is increasing, the transition to college still poses unique challenges. FG students have to learn a new cultural system, including new norms, language, behaviors and ideas, that may be in conflict with norms and values of the home context. Specifically, FG students are likely to endorse interdependent values and connections that conflict with independent norms of the university. According to cultural mismatch theory, this conflict undermines their wellbeing and performance. Past work has documented this mismatch using various methodologies (e.g., self-report, lab experiments, longitudinal designs), but has yet to conduct behavioral explorations. Even fewer studies have aimed to address the cultural mismatch for students. To address these limitations, the current talk reviews two studies that 1) document the mismatch through behavioral explorations and the consequences on wellbeing (i.e., experiences of guilt), and 2) address the cultural mismatch with a low-cost, low-resource interactive conversation with FG students.

Methods and Results
Study 1 drew from in-depth semi-structured interviews with 34 Latinx and Asian American FG students (25 females, 8 males, 1 non-binary; Mean Age = 19.89, SD = 1.35) to examine students’ interdependent familial roles and the tension these roles created, including experiences of guilt. Grounded theory analysis revealed six family role behaviors. Students described providing parents with emotional support and advocacy, language brokering, financial support, physical care, life advice, and heavy sibling caretaking. Based on the same interviews, FG students also described experiencing five forms of guilt related to abandoning family and home responsibilities; recognizing inequity in privileges; becoming different from family; being a financial burden to family; and feeling pressure to do well academically.

Study 2 aimed to address these mismatching experiences, and the college transition more generally, with 19 first-year FG students (14 women; 14 Latinx, 2 Black, 1 White, 2 Mixed-race). Our curriculum drew from multiple disciplinary perspectives to engage students in reflective story sharing and discussion. The aim of the conversation was to provide students with evidence-based language about the cultural transition, build community among students, and share relevant campus resources. Students completed open-ended surveys assessing their 1) transition experiences, 2) gains from the conversation, and 3) reflections for faculty, staff, and families about how to support them. Grounded theory analysis revealed that students shared transition themes of family interdependence and cultural mismatch (e.g., bringing honor to the family, balancing family and school roles), campus belonging (e.g., lacking a sense of community), and personal growth (e.g., being resilient). Students also shared gaining community, a sense of belonging, and a knowledge-base of campus resources by participating in the conversation.

Significance
These findings contribute novel understandings of the lived experiences of FG students and offer direct suggestions for how institutions (e.g., faculty, staff) can support FG students through the cultural transition to college, including potential mismatches they experience.

Author

• Rebecca Covarrubias, University of California - Santa Cruz