Predictors Of Academic Success Among First Generation And Non First Generation College Students

Download or read book Predictors of Academic Success Among First-generation and Non-first-generation College Students written by Tiffany Abeyta and published by . This book was released on 2015 with total page 236 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Over the past two decades we have seen an increase in the number of students who are the first in their family to attend college. Research shows first-generation college students (FGCS) have lower academic success (GPA) than non-first-generation college students (NFGCS). Through this study, I will aim to replicate findings of differences in GPA between FGCS and NFGCS, and examine whther general perceived stress, perceived academic stress, academic self-efficacy, and social support mediated any relationship between generational status and GPA. Data were collected from three groups: 70 FGCS, whose parent(s) did not receive a college degree, 19 students with moderate parental secondary education (MPSE), whose parent(s) earned an associate's degree, and 45 NFGCS, whose parent(s) earned a bachelor's degree or higher. The full sample included 134 undergraduate students, 67 of whom were college freshmen. Participants completed a demographic questionnaire, the Perceived Stress Scale-14, the Academic Stress Subscale, the Academic Self-Efficacy Subscale, and the Inventory of Socially Supportive Behaviors. College GPAs were obtained from the NMHU Office of Institutional Effectiveness and Research. Separate one-way Analyses of Variance (ANOVAs) were used to examine if differences in college GPA, perceived stress, academic stress, academic self-efficacy and social support exists beteween FGCS, students with MPSE, and NFGCS. There were no significant differences in GPA between FGCS, students with MPSE, and NFGCS using the full sample or the freshmen sample (p>.10). There were no significant differences on Perceived Stress Scale scores, Academic Stress Subscale, Academic Self-Efficacy subscale scores, and Inventory of Socially Supportive Behaviors scores between FGCS, students with MPSE, and NFGCS in the full sample or the freshmen sample (p>.10). Using correlations, we also examined if general perceived stress, perceived academic stress, academic self-efficacy and social support are associated with GPA. In the full sample, students with higher GPAs reported less general perceived stress (r=-.21, p