Bridging the Gap: Evaluating the Impact of a First-Generation Mentoring Program on Sense of Belonging and Self-Efficacy

Many higher education four year institutions define a first-generation student as any individual whose parents did not complete a bachelor’s degree. Prior research on this population has shown that various factors, such as socioeconomic status, academic support, and sense of belonging contribute to their decreased graduation rates compared to continuing-generation students. Student feedback from an independent study with this population at a four-year institution indicated a need for a specific mentoring program for first-generation students. Additional prior research suggests this intervention, while few evaluate the effects of a pilot mentoring program for first-generation students. This thesis aims to do exactly that, measured by a difference in their self-efficacy and sense of belonging. Following a quasi-experimental design, a total of 21 and 6 participants are included in pre-test and post-test analyses, respectively. The statistical analyses proved insignificant, indicating the mentoring intervention did not have a significant impact on first-generation students’ self-efficacy and sense of belonging. Drawing from the qualitative responses, students reported increased benefits such as understanding university systems and connecting with other students. A significant challenge included time conflicts for meeting times, which remained consistent throughout the intervention. In conclusion, differences found between groups in our analyses could have been due to random chance, and we suggest future assessments with the mentoring program to include larger cohorts with more structure for mentoring meetings.