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A Longitudinal Exploration of First-Generation College Students' Academic Help-Seeking During a Pandemic

Thu, April 11, 10:50am to 12:20pm, Pennsylvania Convention Center, Floor: Level 100, Room 111B

Abstract

Our study’s purpose was to follow first-generation college students (FGCSs) across a semester to examine their (a) meaning-making process transitioning from remote to hybrid/in-person instruction; (b) academic help-seeking perceptions, behaviors, and attitudes during this transition.

Theoretical framework
We employed a culturally adapted approach (Stern et al., 2022) to Bronfenbrenner’s (1974) ecological systems theory. This allowed for a socially and contextually situated perspective on the systems FGCSs are navigating, ranging from the immediate environment (ethnic-identity salience, peers/mentors) and the connections with the indirect environment (school systems, physical/mental health systems), out to broader social/cultural values and socio-historical conditions. We also used Ajzen’s (1991, 2020) Theory of Planned Behavior which posits that human behavior is largely determined by intentions. In turn, intentions are influenced by behavioral attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived control over the behavior.

Methods & Data Sources
Thirteen FGCSs participated in the semester-long study (Fall 2021) which consisted of interviews or focus groups at semester’s beginning and end, plus a mid-semester survey. The students attended a large historically white public institution in the southwest (FGCS population: 22.8%). Self-reported ethnicities included: Hispanic/Latine(4), Asian(3), Multiethnic(3), white(2), and Black(1), their gender identities self-reported as woman(10), gender-queer woman(1), man(1), with first-years(5), juniors(3), and seniors(5) represented. Thematic analysis was used to code the data (Braun & Clarke, 2006). The research team coded individually and engaged in several consensus discussions and member-checking to finalize the codebook.

Findings
We identified three themes: (a) Attitudinal vs Behavioral change; (b) Peers, Community, Connection; (c) Transition².
Through introspection, students gained deeper understandings of their help-seeking attitudes and inhibitions; however, most students did not experience a stark behavioral change in help-seeking (“I feel like I'll probably work on that next semester…now that I'm able to recognize it and know that's a thing. I can probably work on it”).
FGCSs spoke about their help-seeking conceptions/processes as they related to others or in tandem with their communities. This came in the form of being concerned about judgments (“I don’t ask questions in class because I’m afraid of what people think”), and in developing relationships with professors/mentors or peers/mentees.
The participants described transitioning to college as FGCSs, navigating the educational system without help from parents or prior institutional knowledge (“They don’t really know what the full process of college is like, so they left it up to me to figure out a lot”). Students also described difficulties navigating pandemic-related transitions that impacted their learning and help-seeking (“We all got thrown onto computers for almost two years…going in person is so overwhelming or tiring”).

Significance
This study is one of the few to provide a longitudinal exploration of how FGCSs navigated and made sense of their time in university, generally, and in the pandemic context. By taking a systems approach, this study acknowledges how socio-historical factors and backgrounds can influence help-seeking. Given the diversity of this sample, this elucidated many of the participants' motivations/rationale for their behaviors. The findings of this study have relevant implications for FGCSs advising, student support programing, and inclusive classroom practices.

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