Campus Location
Abilene Campus (Residential)
Date of Award
5-2021
Document Type
Thesis
Department
Social Work
Degree Name
Master of Science
Committee Chair or Primary Advisor
Malcolm Scott
Second Committee Member or Secondary Advisor
Stephanie Hamm
Third Committee Member or Committee Reader
D'Angelo Sands
Abstract
First-generation college students (FGCS) face unique challenges that could negatively impact their college success. The primary purpose of this study was to examine the experiences of FGCS attending a Christian university in the southwestern United States. A second purpose of this study was to assess whether differences exist between White and non-White FGCS regarding racial and cultural inclusion, academic resources, socioeconomic status, isolation and loneliness, life experiences, sufficient academic resources and financial concerns. An independent sample t-test was conducted to compare the scores of gender and ethnicity of FGCS, and Levene’s test was conducted to assess the equality of variances of the scores. Findings from this study showed that White FGCS reported that they were more likely to feel racially and culturally included while attending ACU. Implementing policies and plans to address mentorship would likely give non-White FGCS a sense of belonging and connection on campus.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Metters, Thurmond Derrick, "Examining the Experiences of First-Generation College Students Attending a Christian University in the Southwestern United States" (2021). Digital Commons @ ACU, Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 342.
https://digitalcommons.acu.edu/etd/342