- It was hypothesized that the difference-education intervention would help first-generation to understand how their difference matters which would in turn give them the means to transition better and improve their academic performance, thereby closing the social-class achievement gap. 

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Although earning a 4-year college degree is the most reliable way to end up with a higher socioeconomic status, college students without parents who attended 4-year colleges get lower grades and are more likely to drop out than students who have at least one parent with a 4 year degree. 
-  First -generation students are those that do not have parents with a 4-year college degree 
-  Continuing generation students are those that have at least one parent with a 4 year degree

A paradox exists in social mobility in the United States 

Nicole M. Stephens, MarYam G. Hamedani, & Mesmin Destin. (2014). Closing the Social-Class Achievement Gap: A Difference-Education Intervention Improves First-Generation Students’ Academic Performance and All Students’ College Transition. Psychological science, 25(4), 943–953. Randomized Controlled Trial, Los Angeles, CA: SAGE Publications.

Closing the Social-Class Achievement Gap: A Difference-Education Intervention Improves First-Generation Students’ Academic Performance and All Students’ College Transition

-  Many colleges have programs to help integrate first-generation college students. These programs typically focus on helping first generation students with financial resources and academic skills. However, these two resources are not enough to ensure the success of the students. 
- First generation need psychological resources to help them believe that people like themselves are worthy of attending college and can be successful. 
- They also struggle with the “middle-class culture” of higher education, in that they have a hard time using the resources at colleges to their advantage. 
- Issues like above make it more difficult for first-generation college students to succeed and many universities don’t do an affective job to mitigate these problems. 

Problems that first generation students come across

-  “Over the past 50 years, U.S. colleges and universities have continued to reproduce and widen, rather than close, the social class achievement gap” (Duncan & Murnane, 2011”
-  Some research has shown that educating students on how their different backgrounds matter helps to provide insight that helps students thrive in the college setting. 
-  This study asked if educating first-generation students about how their different backgrounds matter can help them with their transition to college and also help them deal with background-specific hurdles to being successful. 

Closing the Social Class Achievement Gap: Research Question and Purpose

- 147 participants completed the full study, 66 of which were first generation and 81 of which were continuing generation. The majority of first-generation students were also low income while a minority of continuing-generation students were low income. Participants race and ethnicity was not significantly different. 
- To evaluate the effectiveness of the difference-education intervention, they compared it with a control condition which was similar to bridge programs which are currently used by several colleges and universities. 
-  The main difference between the intervention and control group was that the intervention group learned content that was background specific. 
- After the intervention, participants did a survey and made a video testimonial. 

Closing the Social-Class Achievement Gap : Methods

Closing the Social Class Achievement Gap: Hypothesis 

- They controlled for race and ethnicity, gender, income, highest SAT scores, and high school GPA in all analyses
- A gap of .30 grade points was seen between first-generation and continuing-generation students in the standard condition, while in the intervention group their grades were not significantly different. Matter of fact, the achievement gap was 63%. Smaller with the intervention. 
- Results also showed that the first generation students in the intervention group had higher GPAs than first generation students in the standard condition. On the other hand, continuing education students in the intervention and control group did not differ significantly. 
- The intervention also helped first generation students to use resources at college and therefore improve their academic performance. However, in the control group their was a gap between first generation students and continuing education students using college resources. 

Closing the Social-Class Achievement Gap: Results

-  The study found that an education program helping students understand how difference matters can in fact be used to help first generation students with their transition to college and tackle obstacles related their their background. 

Closing the Social-Class Achievement Gap: Conclusion

-  They made an intervention in which students learned about difference and why it matters and specifically they were taught about how their social-class backgrounds can have an impact on their time at college. The intervention helped give a better understanding of how different social class backgrounds can effect the college experience both positively and negatively and how these students can use different strategies in order to thrive with their backgrounds in mind. 

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