The impact of academic resilience, academic self-regulation, and academic self-efficacy on First Generation College Students’ academic performance in online education.

Abstract

There are increasing number of First-generation college students (FGCS) entering academia, however the rate of attrition for this population is high, additionally drop-out rate for students taking their courses online is also high. FGCS are faced with added interdependent responsibilities such as financial limitations, parental or sibling caretaking, lack of guidance both from parents/guardians and high school counsellors. Additionally, some FGCS are afraid to speak up in class or ask questions fearing being judged or not belonging. Many of these factors can lead to attrition. Research of traditional in person programs has shown that the psychological features of resilience, academic self-efficacy and academic self-regulation interplay and contribute to a student’s academic success. This body of work aims to investigate how these psychological features contribute to a student’s success in an online environment. By understanding these features educators can mitigate attrition rates amongst this population who clearly set out to pursue an education to better their socioeconomic status and life outcomes.