“I'm Having a Little Struggle With This, Can You Help Me Out?”: Examining Impacts and Processes of a Social Capital Intervention for First‐Generation College Students

Abstract

Social capital plays a key role in college and career success, and research indicates that a dearth of on-campus connections contributes to challenges first-generation college students face in effectively navigating the college environment. This study investigates a novel intervention that focuses on the development of skills and attitudes to empower first-generation college students to cultivate social capital and on-campus connections during the transition to college. A mixed methods, explanatory design was used to evaluate impacts and processes of the intervention among first-generation college students (n = 164) in the context of an ethnically diverse, urban, public university in the Northeast. Results indicated that students who participated in the intervention demonstrated improved attitudes and behaviors around seeking support in college, closer relationships with instructors, and higher GPAs at the end of their first year in college. These results suggest the potential benefits of a relatively scalable approach to supporting the needs of first-generation college students.

Predictors of natural mentoring relationships and students’ adjustment to college

“…Using a combination of co‐curricular instruction, group activities and experiential assignments, participants can be oriented to explore their new social and academic environment, purposely looking into recruiting a diverse group of individuals (e.g., advanced peers, faculty, and university staff) that may provide them different types of support (e.g., guidance and information emotional, and academic) throughout the year. Schwartz et al () investigation of a YIM intervention found improved attitudes and behaviors in seeking support in college among first‐generation college students as well as closer relationships with their course instructors. It is important to highlight that the burden should not always be placed on students, but on college administration, faculty and staff by making their campus more welcoming and approachable, particularly for underrepresented college students; in particular, training could be offered to faculty, staff, and advanced students on how to reach out to first‐year students and support them.…”

“…Given that help‐seeking behaviors predict students’ development of new NMRs on their college campus, interventions should focus on teaching students how to seek support and find others for guidance as they deal with the typical stressors associated with the transition to college. Youth‐initiated mentoring (YIM) is an innovative intervention that may promote college adjustment and enhance college retention (Schwartz et al, ), in which students are taught networking and help‐seeking skills to identify and recruit mentors from their social networks (Schwartz et al, ).…”

“…throughout the year. Schwartz et al (2018) investigation of a YIM intervention found improved attitudes and behaviors in seeking support in college among first-generation college students as well as closer relationships with their course instructors. It is important to highlight that the burden should not always be placed on students, but on college administration, faculty and staff by making their campus more welcoming and approachable, particularly for underrepresented college students; in particular, training could be offered to faculty, staff, and advanced students on how to reach out to first-year students and support them.…”

Social justice as an expression of caring through holistic admissions in a nursing program: A proposed conceptual model

“…Nursing has long been an advocate in addressing injustice. There has been greater emphasis in recent years on providing higher education opportunities to underrepresented and minority groups, 19 along with a growing body of literature that supports the call for colleges/universities to utilize comprehensive measures of determining applicant suitability. However, despite recognition that current quantitative measures of evaluating student performance (eg, American College Testing and Scholastic Aptitude Test) are flawed, many institutions cling to inherently biased admission practices.…”

Effectiveness and working mechanisms of the InConnection approach in multi-problem families: study protocol of a mixed-methods study

“…Indeed, higher quality mentoring relationships are associated with improved relationships with other adults [ 31 , 32 ]. Moreover, in a qualitative study [ 33 ] youth reported they felt more comfortable seeking help after participation in a mentoring program, suggesting a link between mentoring relationships and social resourcefulness. Social resourcefulness is, in turn, related to positive treatment outcomes, such as increased self-esteem, prosocial behaviors, and reductions in misconduct [ 31 , 32 ].…”