Date of Conferral

2022

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Education

Advisor

Leslie Van Gelder

Abstract

African American, female, first-generation students face unique social and academic challenges due to their triple minority status of being Black, female, and first-generation and often perceiving low social support. The problem this study addressed is the role that self-efficacy and social support play for this group of students is insufficiently known. The purpose of this study was to explore the role that self-efficacy and perceived social support play for first-generation African American females at a Historically Black College and University. Theoretical frameworks for this study were Bandura’s self-efficacy theory which analyzes self-efficacy relating to mastery and Bandura’s social cognitive theory, which examines the role of social support in shaping self-efficacy. Addressed by the research question of this quantitative study is the extent, if any, that self-efficacy and perceived social support predict academic achievement among first-generation, African American females. A quantitative, correlative research design consisting of a survey to collect data and multiple regression analysis was utilized to investigate relationships between the variables. Findings of this study revealed that self-efficacy significantly predicted academic achievement, while perceived social support did not significantly predict academic achievement. Potential implications for positive social change lie in raising awareness of an academically at-risk student population and empowering those in decision-making roles at higher education institutions with knowledge to design and implement programs, practices, and pedagogy that lend to reducing social inequalities.

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