Sage Journals: Discover world-class research

Abstract

Data from the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 were used to describe and compare postsecondary education enrollment patterns of first- and continuing-generation students. Social cognitive career theory was used to explain the processes of educational and career pursuit and attainment, as well as personal, behavioral, and contextual/environmental factors influencing these processes. Postsecondary educational self-efficacy (i.e., a belief or confidence in future educational success) had a significant positive influence on establishing higher postsecondary educational goals for all adolescents. Postsecondary educational self-efficacy and goals, together, also had a substantial positive influence on postsecondary enrollment patterns of both groups. Self-efficacy exerted a stronger total effect for first-generation students. Contextual supports and barriers directly influenced students’ goals but played different roles depending on generational status.

Keywords

first-generation students high school longitudinal study postsecondary education enrollment social cognitive career theory

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Bandura

(1986). Social foundations of thought and action: A social cognitive theory. Prentice Hall.

Bandura

Barbaranelli

Caprara

G. V.

Pastorelli

(2001). Self-efficacy beliefs as shapers of children’s aspirations and career trajectories. Child Development, 72(1), 187–206. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8624.00273

Bell

Rowan-Kenyon

Perna

(2009). College knowledge of 9th and 11th grade students: Variation by school and state context. The Journal of Higher Education, 80(6), 663–685. https://doi.org/10.1080/00221546.2009.11779039

Cheema

J. R.

(2014). Some general guidelines for choosing missing data handling methods in educational research. Journal of Modern Applied Statistical Methods, 13(2), 53–75. http://dx.doi.org/10.22237/jmasm/1414814520

Chen

(2016). Remedial course taking at U.S. public 2- and 4-year institutions: Scope, experiences, and outcomes (NCES 2016-405). U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics.

Dent

A. L.

Koenka

A. C.

(2016). The relation between self-regulated learning and academic achievement across childhood and adolescence: A meta-analysis. Educational Psychology Review, 28(3), 425–474. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-015-9320-8

Engle

(2007). Postsecondary access and success for first-generation college students. American Academic, 3, 25–48.

Falcon

(2015). Breaking down barriers: First-generation college students and college success. Innovation Showcase, 10(6), 1–8.

Furquim

Glasener

K. M.

Oster

McCall

B. P.

DesJardins

S. L.

(2017). Navigating the financial aid process: Borrowing outcomes among first-generation and non-first-generation students. The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 671(1), 69–91. https://doi.org/10.1177/0002716217698119

10.

Garriott

Hudyma

Keene

Santiago

(2015). Social cognitive predictors of first- and non-first-generation college students’ academic and life satisfaction. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 62, 253–263. https://doi.org/10.1037/cou0000066

11.

Gibbons

M. M.

Borders

L. D.

(2010a). A measure of college-going self-efficacy for middle school students. Professional School Counseling, 13(4), 234–243. https://doi.org/10.1177/2156759X1001300404

12.

Gibbons

M. M.

Borders

L. D.

(2010b). Prospective first-generation college students: A social-cognitive perspective. Career Development Quarterly, 58, 194–208. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2161-0045.2010.tb00186.x

13.

Gibbons

M. M.

Borders

L. D.

Wiles

M. E.

Stephan

J. B.

Davis

P. E.

(2006). Career and college planning needs of ninth graders as reported by ninth graders. Professional School Counseling, 10(2), 168–178. https://doi.org/10.1177/2156759X0601000207

14.

Gibbons

M. M.

Shoffner

M. F.

(2004). Prospective first-generation college students: Meeting their needs through social cognitive career theory. Professional School Counseling, 8(1), 91–97.

15.

Gottfried

Owens

Williams

Kim

H. Y.

Musto

(2017). Friends and family: A literature review on how high school social groups influence advanced math and science course taking. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 25, 26–48. https://doi.org/10.14507/epaa.25.2857

16.

Holland

(2011). The power of peers: Influences on postsecondary education planning and experiences of African American Students. Urban Education, 46(5), 1029–1055. https://doi.org/10.1177/0042085911400339

17.

Honicke

Broadbent

(2016). The influence of academic self-efficacy on academic performance: A systematic review. Educational Research Review, 17, 63–84. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2015.11.002

18.

Hooker

Brand

(2010). College knowledge: A critical component of college and career readiness. New Directions for Youth Development, 127, 75–85. https://doi.org/10.1002/yd.364

19.

Hox

J. J.

Bechger

T. M.

(1998). An introduction to structural equation modeling. Family Science Review, 11, 354–373.

20.

Bentler

P. M.

(1999). Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives. Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 6, 1–55. https://doi.org/10.1080/10705519909540118

21.

Ingels

S. J.

Pratt

D. J.

Herget

Bryan

Fritch

L. B.

Ottem

Rogers

J. E.

Wilson

(2015). High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 (HSLS:09) 2013 update and high school transcript data file documentation (NCES 2015-036). U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Institute of Education Sciences. https://nces.ed.gov/surveys/hsls09/usermanuals.asp

22.

Jakobsen

J. C.

Gluud

Wetterslev

Winkel

(2017). When and how should multiple imputation be used for handling missing data in randomised clinical trials—A practical guide with flowcharts. BMC Medical Research Methodology, 17(162), 1–10. http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s12874-017-0442-1

23.

Jerrim

Chmielewski

A. K.

Parker

(2015). Socioeconomic inequality in access to high-status colleges: A cross-country comparison. Research in Social Stratification and Mobility, 42, 20–32. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rssm.2015.06.003

24.

Kena

Musu-Gillette

Robinson

Wang

Rathbun

Zhang

Wilkinson-Flicker

Barmer

Dunlop Velez

(2015). The condition of education 2015 (NCES 2015-144). U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics.

25.

King

(2012). Increasing college-going rate, parent involvement, and community participation in rural communities. The Rural Educator, 33(2), 20–26. https://doi.org/10.35608/ruraled.v33i2.415

26.

Kline

R. B.

(2011). Principles and practice of structural equation modeling (3rd ed.). Guilford.

27.

Knaggs

C. M.

Sondergeld

T. A.

Schardt

(2015). Overcoming barriers to college enrollment, persistence, and perceptions for urban high school students in a college preparatory program. Journal of Mixed Methods Research, 9(1), 7–30. https://doi.org/10.1177/1558689813497260

28.

Lent

R. W.

(2005). A social cognitive view of career development and counseling. In Brown

S. D.

Lent

R. W.

(Eds.), Career development and counseling: Putting theory and research to work (pp. 101–127). Wiley.

29.

Lent

R. W.

Brown

S. D.

Hackett

(1994). Toward a unifying social cognitive theory of career and academic interest, choice, and performance. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 45, 79–122. https://doi.org/10.1006/jvbe.1994.1027

30.

Lent

R. W.

Brown

S. D.

Hackett

(2000). Contextual supports and barriers to career choice: A social cognitive analysis. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 47, 36–49. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0167.47.1.36

31.

Leonard

(2013). Maximizing college readiness for all through parental support. School Community Journal, 23(1), 183–202.

32.

Lohfink

M. M.

Paulsen

M. M.

(2005). Comparing the determinants of persistence for first-generation and continuing-generation students. Journal of College Student Development, 46, 409–428.

33.

Long

B. T.

(2017). Access to higher education: Barriers to enrollment and choice. In Shin

J. C.

Teixeira

(Eds.), Encyclopedia of international higher education Systems and institutions (Vol. 42, pp. 1–4). Springer.

34.

Shea

(2019). First-generation college students’ perceived barriers and career outcome expectations: Exploring contextual and cognitive factors. Journal of Career Development. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/0894845319827650

35.

Morisano

Hirsh

Peterson

Pihl

Shore

(2010). Setting, elaborating, and reflecting on personal goals improves academic performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 95(2), 255–264. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0018478

36.

Moschetti

Hudley

(2015). Social capital and academic motivation among first-generation community college students. Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 39, 235–251. https://doi.org/10.1080/10668926.2013.819304

37.

National Center for Education Statistics. (2018). Immediate college enrollment rate. https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator_cpa.asp

38.

Pascarella

E. T.

Pierson

C. T.

Wolniak

G. C.

Terenzini

P. T.

(2004). First generation college students: Additional evidence on college experiences and outcomes. Journal of Higher Education, 75, 249–284. https://doi.org/10.1080/00221546.2004.11772256

39.

Perna

L. W.

(2010). Toward a more complete understanding of the role of financial aid in promoting college enrollment: The importance of context. In Smart

J. C.

(Ed.), Higher education: Handbook of theory and research (Vol. 25, pp. 129–179). Springer.

40.

Pew Research Center. (2014). The rising cost of not going to college. https://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2014/02/11/the-rising-cost-of-not-going-to-college/

41.

Plasman

(2018). Career/education plans and student engagement in secondary school. American Journal of Education, 124, 217–246. https://doi.org/10.1086/695608

42.

Redford

Hoyer

K. M.

(2017). First-generation and continuing-generation college students: A comparison of high school and postsecondary experiences (NCES 2018-009). U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics.

43.

Schmitz

Wiese

B. S.

(2006). New perspectives for the evaluation of training sessions in self-regulated learning: Time-series analyses of diary data. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 31, 64–96. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cedpsych.2005.02.002

44.

Wei

Wagner

Hudson

J. W.

Javitz

(2016). The effect of transition planning participation and goal-setting on college enrollment among youth with autism spectrum disorders. Remedial and Special Education, 37(1), 3–14. https://doi.org/10.1177/0741932515581495

45.

Xing

Huerta

Garza

(2019). College and career preparation activities and their influence on students’ post-high school education and work attainment. Journal of Career and Technical Education, 34(1), 8–28. https://doi.org/10.21061/jcte.v34i1.a1

46.

Zimmerman

B. J.

(2002). Becoming a self-regulated learner: An overview. Theory into Practice, 41(2), 64–70. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15430421tip4102_2

Understanding Postsecondary Education Enrollment of First-Generation Students From a Social Cognitive Perspective

Abstract

Keywords

Get full access to this article

References