Investigating Family Support Interventions for Freshmen

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ECR Track II: Investigating Family Support Interventions for Freshmen (IFSIF) Summary Parents from underrepresented and low socio-economic status (SES) backgrounds, like other parents, report that they want “the best” for their children’s future, and higher education is part of parents’ aspirations, regardless of SES. Parents from middle- and high-SES backgrounds usually have the “educational cultural capital” to support their children’s educational aspirations, however, parents from underrepresented and low SES backgrounds often lack that social capital and awareness about financial and other support resources available to facilitate access to higher education. There is a strong evidentiary basis for the effectiveness of outreach to parents of children in primary and secondary school in supporting college access. However, few studies have examined the role of family support in facilitating student success after college entry, and evidence of which elements and resources are most effective for students from underrepresented groups is especially lacking. Delaware State University (DSU) is an Historically-Black university in which over 70% of students are members of groups underrepresented in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), about a third are first generation college students, and over 60% qualify for Pell grants. Most of our students are at the intersection of two or more of these major risk factors for exit from the biomedical career pipeline. Our IFSIF program will test the effectiveness of a familial support intervention designed to help retain students in the academic pipeline in biomedical-related majors and motivate them to continue on to a doctoral program. Our hypothesis is that empowering students’ parents, or family members who fill parental roles, will help them understand the academic and social needs of their college students, detect academic, social or emotional challenges, and help students overcome those challenges before they lead to academic failure or departure. To test this hypothesis we will seek to engage the parents of four cohorts of DSU freshmen in biomedically-related majors in a year-long, multi-component “Parent University” program. The program will include support, engagement and knowledge-building activities that will be offered to parents starting from the time their students commit to enrolling in the university, and continuing into the summer following the academic year. The activities will be designed to help family members learn about the university and its support resources, their student’s academic program and potential career paths, as well as ways that they can support their students and help them succeed. Our study will assess short-, medium- and long-term outcome measures aligned with validated hallmarks of success for students including: persistence in their degree program; participation in mentored research; evidence of competitiveness for transitioning to the next phase in the biomedical career pathway; high academic self-efficacy and science identity; perceived sense of belonging in the university; and intent to pursue a biomedical career.