Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Counseling and Educational Psychology / Fred O. Bradley / Statistics published in 2003 indicate that over 67% of community college
students are first-generation students, students from families where neither parent has
graduated from college. First-generation students are disproportionately represented
among those who terminate college prior to graduation. This study explores role theory
as a model for understanding and addressing the problems of first-generation students.
Survey questions linked to role commitment involving intentions to work,
commute and participate in campus activities were administered to 257 first-time full-time
students: 182 students were first-generation and 75 were non-first-generation.
Analysis using the Mann-Whitney U Test indicated first-generation students had
significantly less commitment to the role of student. Later, first-generation students
were divided into "successful" and "unsuccessful" groups based on their two semester
grade point average. The Mann-Whitney U Test failed to demonstrate a significant
difference between "successful" and "unsuccessful" first-generation students. The
ordinal score responses of first-generation students to the three survey questions were
then used as categories and grade point averages of the students in those categories
were compared using ANOVA procedures. The results were mixed but suggested
further investigation was warranted.
The study was concluded with interviews of ten "successful" first-generation
students. The interview results were supportive of conclusions drawn from role theory
underscoring the value of further studies with larger sample sizes and modifications in
methodology suggested by this study.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:KSU/oai:krex.k-state.edu:2097/594 |
| Date | January 1900 |
| Creators | Hemphill, Leslie L. |
| Publisher | Kansas State University |
| Source Sets | K-State Research Exchange |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Dissertation |
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