DUAL BENEFITS OF ENGAGING FIRST-GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENTS

By both family income and race and ethnicity, first-generation college students in the United States are more diverse than continuing-generation students: 51% are nonwhite, 22% speak English as a second language, and 77% are from families that earn less than $50,000 annually. These percentages compare to 30%, 10%, and 29%, respectively, for continuing-generation students (Redford and Mulvaney Hoyer Reference Redford and Hoyer2017). In addition to having intersectional racial and economic identities that are underrepresented in higher education, first-generation students face other challenges of navigating a new college environment, often removed from valued family networks. When educational spaces do not engage and support these diverse identities, student retention suffers. The six-year student retention rate at four-year institutions is 18 points lower for first-generation students compared to continuing-generation students (Cataldi, Bennett, and Chen Reference Cataldi, Bennett and Chen2018). As colleges and universities admit cohorts that are racially and economically more diverse (Fry and Cilluffo Reference Fry and Cilluffo2019), best practices in pedagogy highlight how also to make learning spaces more inclusive, particularly for first-generation students. This article defines “inclusive” as being responsive to diverse learning styles, lived experiences, and student needs while engaging varied perspectives and student interests. It highlights pedagogical best practices that can be used in undergraduate courses to promote greater inclusion of first-generation learners and to encourage new research directions in social science.

We highlight teaching strategies shown to have particularly positive effects among first-generation students and demonstrate how these strategies can be applied in political science courses to foster learning and diversify research in the discipline. We describe how teams of primarily first-generation students designed, implemented, and analyzed original survey experiments to gain hands-on understanding of political psychology, and we present examples of their results. Our insights are from University California, Merced (UC Merced), a Hispanic-Serving InstitutionFootnote ¹ where 73% of undergraduates are the first in their immediate family to attend college and only 10% of students identify as non-Hispanic white.Footnote ² The university ranks high nationally for its share of Pell Grant–eligible students (65%), which is an indicator of financial need.Footnote ³ These undergraduates represent the new, more diverse face of scholarship, and their research questions—often informed by lived experience—have the potential to take political science in groundbreaking new directions—especially when inclusive courses engage their learning styles, needs, and interests.

The article demonstrates how a semester-long research endeavor, designed to teach upper-division undergraduates the basic tools in experimental design and statistical analysis, seeded novel research insights. First, we describe the project’s structure and its grounding in pedagogical best practices, particularly for first-generation learners. Second, we present data from four illustrative, student-designed experiments that highlight topics of interest to first-generation learners and where findings have the potential to advance political science conversations about race, public opinion, and policy. Results expand knowledge of within-group implicit biases, the effect of comparative context on public opinion, negative media portrayals of immigrants, and co-partisan support for immigration policies. Specifically, we show that colorism, including within the Hispanic community, affects perceptions of criminality, that presenting the US criminal legal system in a comparative context increases support for reform, and that source cues and imagery affect support for immigration policies, including among immigrant families.

Research exercises that use best practices to be more inclusive of first-generation learners can inspire students to pursue further research opportunities while also providing a springboard for a more diverse research agenda. In political science, limited attention has been devoted to increasing classroom diversity or making these more diverse spaces inclusive for diverse student needs and interests (see Holland Reference Holland2006, Owen Reference Owen2020, and Rasmussen Reference Rasmussen2014 for notable exceptions). Our goal is to provide an example of how instructors can integrate best practices into political science courses, promote first-generation student success, and serve as a pathway for deeper research contributions.

Community Relevance

Course content engages first-generation learners more effectively when it is relevant to their lived experiences (Jehangir Reference Jehangir2010). Learning that is framed using community-focused values (rather than individual values) boosts first-generation students’ success and their sense of belonging (Stephens et al. Reference Stephens, Townsend, Markus and Phillips2012). For our experiments, students were motivated by discrimination within the Hispanic community based on skin color, a perceived low public interest (and high need) for prison reform, and personal importance of immigration policy as immigrants and/or children of immigrants. Most teams explored public opinion on social policies and repeatedly emphasized how topics such as healthcare, immigration, criminal legal reform, gun safety, and student debt are salient for their communities (figure 1).

Figure 1

Team Survey Experiments by Topic

46 student teams, 2018–2020

ASSIGNMENT STRUCTURE

For the project, students were divided into five-person groups based on shared interests and diversity in math fluency. Each student group designed a theory-grounded survey experiment with randomization of treatment conditions. Students were given freedom to choose their research topic and were encouraged to explore social science questions of particular interest or relevance to their group. Whereas students designed the experiment in teams, the final analysis—written as a short research paper—was submitted individually.

Learning goals were communicated clearly to students at the beginning of the semester and in framing the assignment. A main goal was growth in their ability to design, conduct, and analyze original survey research. Other learning goals included an ability to think critically about the implications (and limitations) of findings, being a thoughtful consumer of political research, communicating results effectively in writing, and working efficiently as a team. Students were reminded that both the hard and soft skills sharpened in this exercise are valuable for various careers that rely on behavior research (e.g., political consulting, public health, program evaluation, and marketing)—messaging that increases first-generation students’ awareness of how college skills can translate into a broad range of career options. Furthermore, because the survey “subjects” were the students themselves, the exercise gave them an opportunity to consider their own within-group and out-group biases. Their findings could promote perspective taking and make space for more inclusive classroom conversations.

The research project encompassed a series of benchmark assignments that paced learning and provided regular feedback to promote growth. Each group submitted (1) their research question with treatment and outcome variables, (2) a draft hypothesis and a short survey instrument, and (3) a final survey instrument incorporating instructor and teacher assistant feedback. (See the online appendix for sample assignment prompts.) After coding the experiments into a combined instrument on Qualtrics, the class took the survey and could use their social networks to solicit additional responses; all responses were anonymous. Students received access to a cleaned dataset and used t-tests to analyze their results. For the final paper, they followed a rubric that set expectations and provided familiarity with the research article format. Each student submitted a first draft and received feedback from two peers before the final submission. The peer-feedback process helped both the reviewer and the reviewee to think critically about their own work.

EXPERIMENTAL INSIGHTS

This section describes four illustrative studies designed by student teams. These experiments are highlighted because of their novel research questions and the significance of their findings. Figure 2 presents the distribution of experiment types used across three student cohorts (2018–2020). In these results, we replicated the teams’ initial experiments (conducted on a within-class sample) by using a larger and broader sample of university students, collected through UC Merced’s undergraduate student research pool.

Figure 2

Experiment Designs Chosen by Student Teams

46 student teams, 2018–2020

Study participants for these data were recruited in late 2020 using the university’s undergraduate research pool (N = 296).Footnote ⁵ Demographics are reflective of the university’s upper-division social science majors: 65% Hispanic, 92% students of color, 74% female, and 56% first-generation college students. (See the online appendix for survey questions.)

EXPERIMENT 1: HISPANIC SKIN COLOR AFFECTS PERCEIVED RECIDIVISM

“Racism” refers to discrimination based on racial or ethnic group; “colorism” refers to prejudices and discrimination due to skin color. Colorism is “built on the foundation of institutional racism and white privilege,” affecting workplace opportunities and others’ perceptions of threat and beauty (Hunter Reference Hunter and Hall2013, 247). Darker skin correlates with longer sentences, harsher penalties, and a greater perceived threat to society (Hunter Reference Hunter and Hall2013). Colorism can affect people within their own race or ethnic group. For example, lighter-skinned Hispanics may experience racism, whereas darker-skinned Hispanics may be victims of both racism and colorism. A hierarchy based on skin tone, established by Spanish conquistadors, continues affecting indigenous, darker-skinned Latin Americans (Chavez-Dueñas, Adames, and Organista Reference Chavez-Dueñas, Adames and Organista2014).

We hypothesized that people assign a harsher punishment to individuals with darker skin and that darker skin color increases their expectations for recidivism. We focused on Hispanic men in our experiment because existing literature and the authors’ personal experiences suggest that colorism continues to influence perceptions within the Hispanic–Latino community, and the majority of our respondents were Hispanic.

We randomly presented photographs of two men with different skin tones but with the same fictional rap sheet and education level (figures 3a and 3b). The two key outcomes were length of jail sentence recommended by respondents and the likelihood of committing future crimes.

Figure 3

Colorism Treatment Images

A t-test comparing recommended sentencing for the light- and dark-skinned images revealed no significant difference. However, respondents, on average, stated that the darker-skinned person was 0.2 point (on a 5-point scale) more likely to commit another crime, significant at 95% (figures 4a and 4b). The results appear to be driven entirely by Hispanic respondents. These results supported our expectation that skin color continues to affect how people perceive another’s criminality, even within racial or ethnic groups.

Figure 4

Colorism Study Results Overall and by Hispanic Ethnicity

EXPERIMENT 2: CONTEXT CHANGES ATTITUDES ABOUT THE US PRISON SYSTEM

What information about the US prison system affects attitudes about the criminal legal system’s appropriateness and effectiveness? In the past four decades, US prisons have grown increasingly overcrowded, and many correctional facilities are plagued by violence, sexual assault, and suicide (Ahalt et al. Reference Ahalt, Haney, Ekhaugen and Williams2020). By comparison, correctional systems in countries such as Norway prioritize health, humanity, and rehabilitation (Hurlburt Reference Hurlburt2018). Recent work highlights how prison design impacts public perceptions of prisons (Adler Reference Adler2019). We tested whether information about the Norwegian prison system changes attitudes about incarceration. We randomized photographs of a US cell alone and contrasted with a Norwegian cell. Under each image were facts regarding the country’s prison system (figure 5). After viewing, participants reported their perception of the US system’s efficacy.

Figure 5

Prison Opinion Treatment Images

Presentation of the Norwegian information strengthened disagreement with the statement that the US system reduces crime by an average of 0.6 point on a 7-point scale (99% significant). The Norwegian information also made respondents less likely to believe that the US system provides sufficient resources for reintegration (95% significant) (figures 6a and 6b). These results supported our expectations.

Figure 6

Results of Prison Attitudes Study

EXPERIMENT 3: IMAGERY SHAPES OPINIONS OF IMMIGRANTS

This experiment was inspired by negative media portrayals of undocumented immigrants and the impact on students’ communities. Many Hispanics feel targeted and stereotyped as undocumented despite being legal citizens, and 32% stated that the situation is worsening (Lopez, Morin, and Taylor Reference Lopez, Morin and Taylor2010). We tested how visual imagery affects attitudes toward undocumented immigrants. We randomly presented either farmworkers or a group of tattooed men who all appeared to be Hispanic–Latino (figures 7a and 7b). We expected that the farmworkers’ image would earn more support for undocumented immigrants compared to the stereotypical “bad hombre.” We then measured attitudes toward “illegal aliens.”

Figure 7

Immigrant Treatment Images

Even in our sample, in which 84% self-identified as ideologically liberal, the farmworkers’ image increased agreement that immigrants are hardworking by an average 0.3 point on a 7-point scale (95% significance) (figures 8a and 8b). Subgroup analysis suggests that this result was driven not by a more negative reaction to the tattooed image but rather a positive reaction to the farmworkers’ photograph.

Figure 8

Results of Undocumented Immigrants Study

Of our respondents, 57% were first-generation college students and often came from immigrant families. These first-generation respondents were 0.4 point more likely to agree that undocumented immigrants are hardworking when shown the farmworkers’ image; other respondents showed no significant difference between treatments. These results show that a positive congruence between the portrayal of immigrants and the respondents’ own experience may heighten positive perceptions of undocumented immigrants.

EXPERIMENT 4: SOURCE MATTERS FOR IMMIGRATION ATTITUDES

People’s bias for co-partisan candidates and policies is stronger than the proximity of their ideological positions would predict (Jessee Reference Jessee2010). Even among informed citizens, partisan bias moderates voter behavior. We tested how partisanship affects attitudes toward US immigration policy. Both Presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump promoted restrictions on immigration. We tested whether individuals’ opinions conformed to co-partisan presidents’ statements. Our sample was 84% Left-leaning, so we expected that overall participants would disagree less with anti-immigration statements when informed that the quote was by Obama (a co-partisan president). Because Trump was not a co-partisan president for most of our sample, we did not expect sentiment toward his statements to change based on attribution. The control group was given two anti-immigration quotes without attribution. The treatment group was informed of the statements’ source (i.e., Obama or Trump). All respondents were asked to rate how strongly they agreed or disagreed with each statement.

When Obama’s quote was attributed, participants were 0.8 point (on a 5-point scale) less likely to disagree with the anti-immigration statement (99% significance). By comparison, the Trump attribution had no significant effect (figure 9). This indicates that immigration restrictions may face less opposition when associated with co-partisan leaders.

Figure 9

Immigration Attitudes by Obama Attribution