- The intervention in this study effectively mitigated the SES achievement gap in first-year college students.

- This intervention suggests value in acknowledging differences, rather than taking a more difference-blind approach.

- Similar difference education should be investigated in domains of other achievement gaps, such as those corresponding to race, gender, and English language learning.

Hamilton College

Stephens, N. M., Hamedani, M. G., & Destin, M. (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. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797613518349

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

-Independent variables: generational status (first-gen or continuing-gen students), intervention condition (differrence-education or standard control)

-Dependent variables: end-of-year GPA, end-of-year survey on understanding of different perspectives, frequency of seeking help from professors, psychosocial measures 

-Before the start of the semester, participants (college freshmen) attended an hour-long discussion panel with 8 senior student panelists who discussed their particular college experiences and provided advice on strategies for success

-In the difference-education condition, panelists attributed elements of their experience to their backgrounds (e.g., "Because my parents didn't go to college, they weren't able to provide me with the advice I needed... I learned that I needed to rely on my adviser more than other students."

-In the standard control condition, panelists made no such link of their experiences and advice to their backgrounds


Method

This study sought to investigate the efficacy of an intervention seeking to mitigate the first- vs continuing-generation achievement gap in first-year college students (wherein first-generation students, who are often also of lower SES, struggle more and have lower GPAs). This intervention involved difference-education, or learning about how older students with diverse backgrounds have applied their backgrounds throughout their college experiences and adjusted their strategies for success in accordance with their backgrounds and what they needed.

Research Question and Summary

Conclusion and Reflection

A difference-education intervention demonstrated a main positive effect on college students' academic performance, specifically leading to higher GPAs. In the study's standard control condition, a 0.30 GPA gap existed between first- and continuing-generation students. However, in the difference-education condition, this GPA gap was eliminated, resulting in no significant GPA difference between the two groups. The intervention's effect on GPA was mediated by resource-seeking behavior, as first-generation students in the difference-education condition sought marginally more resources than those in the control condition. Additionally, participants in the difference-education condition reported experiencing less stress and anxiety, alongside a greater appreciation for differences and perspective-taking, compared to those in the standard control condition.

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