“I’m proud to say I was the first in my family to go to college”: How students perceive professor self-disclosure of first-generation status

First-generation college students, who are the first in their family to attend a four-year college, often face barriers while attending college. In a series of studies, we tested whether a professor self-disclosing their own status as a first-generation student would positively impact current studen...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Social psychology of education 2023-12, Vol.26 (6), p.1499-1526
Main Authors: Hansen-Brown, Ashley A., Lavigne, Collin, Frade, Kerrie
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
College Faculty
College professors
College Students
Disclosure
Education
Educational psychology
First Generation College Students
First generation students
Intervention
Perceptions
Personality and Social Psychology
Positive Attitudes
Self Disclosure (Individuals)
Sociology of Education
Student Attitudes
Teacher Background
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Summary:First-generation college students, who are the first in their family to attend a four-year college, often face barriers while attending college. In a series of studies, we tested whether a professor self-disclosing their own status as a first-generation student would positively impact current students (particularly first-generation students). In each study, college students read a hypothetical professor’s introduction on the first day of class, in which the intervention was embedded, and then answered questions about their perceptions of the professor and expectations for the class. Across several studies with several versions of the professor’s introduction, the results generally showed that multiple variations of disclosure resulted in positive perceptions of the professor from both first-generation and continuing-generation college students, though our findings were somewhat inconsistent between studies. This research provides new insight into the power of self-disclosure and avenues for future research to continue testing interventions which may benefit first-generation college students.
ISSN:1381-2890
1573-1928
DOI:10.1007/s11218-023-09791-1