Counseling First

Generation
College Students
American College Counseling Association
2015 Annual Conference
Jonathan Ricks, MA, NCC, LPCA
Academic Advisor, NC Central University
Doctoral Candidate, NC State University

Introduction
Personal Experience
Work Experience
Strengths-based approach

Learning Goals
Theory of Cultural and Social Capital
Tintos Theory of Attrition
Pre-college characteristics of first-generation college
students (FGCS)
Persistence and college completion trends in FGCS

Strengths of FGCS
Support systems that have proven to help FGCS
The role of belonging and mattering
Survivors Guilt and Logotherapy
Outreach Suggestions

Cultural/Social Capital
First proposed by Bourdieu
Cultural Capital
Embodied dispositions of the mind
Objectified cultural goods
Institutionalized academic qualifications

Social Capital
Network of relationships
Membership in a group

Deficits in Cultural and Social Capital can create

hidden rules
(Bourdieu, 1986)

Hidden Rules
First-generation college students learn different things
than people who grow up with parents who attended
college.
Most colleges operate with middle class norms, and
most professionals grew up learning the hidden rules of
middle class culture.
Analyze the type of taken-for-granted information found
in each section of the questionnaire

what is the knowledge about?

how and where does one learn it?

how do you gain access to the people and places

where it can be learned?
Adapted from A Framework for Understanding Poverty by Dr. Ruby K Payne

Tintos Theory of Student

Attrition (Departure)
Developed by Vincent Tinto
5 Factors that contribute to attrition
Pre-entry attributes (family, skills, prior schooling)
Goals (intentions and aspirations)
Academic and social experiences in college
(performance, interactions with faculty/staff,
extracurricular activities, peer interactions)
Integration (academically and socially)
External commitments (outside of college)
(Pascarella & Terenzini, 2005)

First Generation Students

Neither parent attended college
20.6% of entering 1st year students (4.5 million)*
Challenges (Pascarella, Pierson, Wolniak, & Terenzini, 2004)

1. pre-college characteristics
2. persisting
3. graduating/ post-college
Knowledge of higher education

*(Pryor, Hurtado, DeAngelo, Blake, & Tran, 2010)

Pre-college Characteristics
Decreases in=
academic preparedness
HS GPA, college test scores
SES
family support, understanding about college
Degree expectations, planning
Self-efficacy beliefs
financial resources
Increases in=
minority
ESL
female

Garrison & Gardner (2012); Pascarella et al. (2004); Zeisman (2012)

Persistence and Completion

Decreases in=

knowledge of college student role, college culture

first year credit hours
time studying

extracurricular participation; peer interaction outside

class
first-year GPA

Increases in=
work hours
developmental coursework

attendance at 2-year and less-selective colleges

off-campus residence; part-time attendance
25-50% first- to second-year attrition
Garrison & Gardner (2012); Pascarella et al. (2004); Zeisman (2012)

Strengths
proactivity= willingness to take first steps
goal direction= mission-driven
optimism= hopefulness
reflexivity= personal insight
Educators are like gem cutters
Garrison & Gardner (2012)

Strengths (Garrison & Gardner, 2012)

Proactive
Reflexive

First Generation
Students

challenges

obstacles

social capital

cultural capital

Goal Directed

Optimistic

Effective Supports
Retention= increase academic and social
integration (Tinto, 1993)
Proactive academic advising
Assessment and appropriate course placement

First-year programs
First-year seminar
Tutoring, academic support
Learning communities
Summer bridge
Mentoring

Factors for Focus

Importance of home, culture and family
Financial concerns
Internal Locus of Control (Coping Skills)
Relationships and Emotional support
Communication of information
(Hand & Payne, 2008)

FG College Success
First generation students are nearly 4 times more
likely to leave higher education after the 1st year
than non-first generation students (Engle & Tinto,
2008)
Six years later, nearly half first generation
students have left college without earning a
degree (Stebleton, Soria, & Huesman, 2014)

PBS.org - What is means to be your familys

first college student
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/first-generation-students-face-unique-struggleselite-colleges/#.VgH4R8vaf-U.facebook

Group Discussion
1. What obstacles did the FGCS students in this video face?
2. What role did family play in the success and difficulties these
students faced?
3. What mental health issues could arise from consistently facing
these obstacles?

Sense of Belonging
FGCS often face family, cultural, social, and
academic transition challenges
Living in two cultures but really not belonging to
either
Feel less like they belong on campus

Sense of belonging is related to positive mental

health as it means a student is integrated into the
community and feels valued and needed
Conceptual Framework of Mattering
(Stebleton, Soria, & Huesman, 2014)

Mattering
Mattering is a motive
The feeling that others depend on us and are interested
in us
Others are concerned with our fate
Powerful influence on our actions

Research has linked lack of mattering to depression,

college stress, and self-esteem
Mattering has been applied to counseling through
career development interventions and academic
support
(Stebleton, Soria, & Huesman, 2014)

Survivor Guilt
Excessive worrying about being in a better position than others
Leaving family and friends behind in difficult contexts and lived
experiences
SG Feelings have negative effects on all aspects of well-being
Normal progression through life
Academic success
Developing positive relationships

Tension between a students past experiences and future

possibilities
Individuals who suffer survivor guilt suffer from anxiety, depression,
and other maladaptive emotions
(Tate, K. A., Williams, C., & Harden, D., 2013)

Logotherapy
Assumes that the search for meaning is the primary human
motivation
Awareness and a longing to understand the meaning of life are
unique to the human condition
FGCS have to come to grips with the fact that they are breaking
family traditions by attending college
Embrace the tension between FGCSs two realities and struggle
through it

Assists students in developing direct and productive methods of

working through the difficulty
Recognizing unavoidable difficulties and pain
(Tate, K. A., Williams, C., & Harden, D., 2013)

Steps in Logotherapy
Interventions
1. Contextualizing the Struggle

Build therapeutic alliance by addressing the FGCS

status

Help student come to terms with the effects this status

has on their transition to college
Encourage the student to take responsibility for the
things that are in their control
How do you think being the first in your family to go to
college has affected your experience here?

What is it like to be the first in your family to go to college?

(Tate, K. A., Williams, C., & Harden, D., 2013)

2. Discovering Values
Use Socratic dialogue to facilitate a deeper understanding
of values and how they apply to the tension FGCS may be
feeling
Simultaneously support the student while challenging them
to come to terms with the conflicting values associated
with their transition to college
What does this conflict between those worlds tell you about
yourself and the situation you are in?
How are these two worlds alike and /or different from each
other?

(Tate, K. A., Williams, C., & Harden, D., 2013)

3. Applying Values to Create Purpose

Continue to use the Socratic method to facilitate the students
decisions on how they want to find purpose in the face of their
difficult circumstances
Allows for the rediscovery of a personally meaningful group of
values, thoughts, and motivations
Counselor takes the role of collaborator
Example: If a student is torn between supporting their family with
a financial aid refund and using the money to purchase
textbooks and pay rent, you may ask:
Is there a common foundation or value for both of these paths?
If you had to choose one, which one would you choose and why?

(Tate, K. A., Williams, C., & Harden, D., 2013)

Suggestions for Counselors

Engage in outreach activities with FGCS and their
families
Promote group counseling
Pyschoeducation workshops
Greater counselor-faculty collaboration
Help engage FGCS
Support FGCS with sense of belonging and selfsatisfaction
Address time management and skill-related concerns
Support with adjustment issues
(Stebleton, Soria, & Huesman, 2014)

Person-centered approach
Empathy
Sincerity
Authenticity

Validation
FGCS may be skeptical that college counselors
are willing/able to help them
First impression is extremely important with FGCS
(Stebleton, Soria, & Huesman, 2014)

Appreciative Approach

Bloom, Hudson, and He, 2008

Partner with others on campus

Work with programs geared toward FGCS like
TRiO or summer bridge

Collaboratively offer workshops on mental

health issues
Review the steps involved in accessing mental
health services on campus
Counselors can be more visible in the campus
community and share information about the
services
(Stebleton, Soria, & Huesman, 2014)

Outreach
Activities to help engage FGCS
Educate students about mental health issues
Collaborate with key faculty members who may
serve as allies for the counseling center
Classroom presentations captive audience
Providing professional development and training for
staff and instructors
Hold walk-in hours across campus
(Stebleton, Soria, & Huesman, 2014)

Promotional Considerations
Help shape messages within promotional materials
(flyers, handouts, websites) about counseling services
Positive, prevention focused messages may help
reduce stigma
Emphasizing how taking advantage of counseling
center services could lead to greater student
achievement and success
Student-led promotion mentoring initiatives or other
similar programs
(Stebleton, Soria, & Huesman, 2014)

Students do not choose the circumstances

in which they were born. We must support
each one.

Jonathan R. Ricks, NCC, LPCA

North Carolina Central University
Durham, NC 27707
jricks2@nccu.edu

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