Designing Utility-Value Interventions 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
Research suggests that the achievement gap between first-generation (FG) college students (i.e., for whom neither parent has a four-year degree) and their continuing-generation (CG) peers is due, in part, to the cultural mismatch between FG students’ interdependent goals for their education (e.g., giving back to their families and communities) and the independent norms of higher education (Stephens, Fryberg, Markus, Johnson, & Covarrubias, 2012). Recent work has aimed to reduce this mismatch by changing students’ perceptions of university norms (Stephens et al., 2012) or having students reflect on their values that are consistent with those norms (Tibbetts et al., 2016). In the current study we test different versions of a utility-value (UV) intervention designed to help FG students reflect on the usefulness of academic tasks for achieving their goals.

Theoretical Framework
Expectancy-value theory (Eccles et al., 1983) posits that motivation and performance are improved when students perceive academic tasks to have utility value (i.e., to be useful for achieving personal goals). UV interventions are designed to increase perceived utility and performance by having students write about the personal usefulness of academic material/tasks. Evidence suggests this intervention can close achievement gaps for students who are helping-oriented (Harackiewicz, Canning, Tibbetts, Priniski, & Hyde, 2016). However, it is important to understand the nature of FG students’ interdependent values and develop an intervention that will suit their needs. In the current study we measured students motives for attending college and compared the efficacy of UV interventions that targeted different types of motives for promoting FG students’ perceived utility and performance.

Methods
550 undergraduates at a large, Midwestern university (26.9% first-generation; 55.4% women; 71.5% White) participated in a laboratory study. Students reported their motives for attending college (adapted from Stephens et al., 2012), watched an instructional video about the biology of fungi, completed a writing exercise (the experimental manipulation), and took a test. They were randomly assigned to write a summary of the material (control) or write about the utility of the material for themselves, their family, their community, or society. Primary outcomes were performance on a 30-item multiple-choice test and perceived utility value (α = .91).

Results and Significance
FG students reported stronger family-oriented motives than CG students, but similar levels of community-oriented, society-oriented, and independent motives. However, contrary to our hypothesis, we did not find the most positive outcomes for FG students in the family condition. In fact, the increase in perceived utility compared to the control condition was smallest among FG students in the family condition. Furthermore, students in the family condition performed more poorly on the test than students in the control condition, especially among FG students. Moderation analyses revealed that students with lower levels of independent motives (i.e., those who would experience more of a cultural mismatch) had more negative outcomes in the family condition. This study underscores the importance of considering FG students’ independent and interdependent motives when seeking to understand and improve their experiences, and the results can inform the design of improved interventions for FG students.

Authors

• Stacy J. Priniski, University of Wisconsin - Madison

• Tanja Skiljevic, The University of Wisconsin - Madison

• Judith Harackiewicz, University of Wisconsin