Browsing by Author "López, María José"

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    Academic performance and adjustment of first-generation students to higher education: A systematic review
    (Taylor & Francis, 2023) López, María José; Santelices Etchegaray, María Verónica; Taveras Alcántara, Carmen Maura
    Scholarly work conducted before 2010 consistently reported a gap between first-generation and continuing-generation students in college success, as measured by grades, persistence, and graduation rates. Through a systematic literature review, this study aimed to examine the most recent findings, from 2010 until 2020, regarding the academic adjustment process of first-generation students to higher education institutions and the institutional factors that help them in the process. The results report lower performance of first-generation (FG) students and compared to that of continuing-generation (CG) students and measured by grades and persistence. When looking at other variables, such as learning outcomes, intellectual development, learning skills, integration and engagement with the academic environment, we find scarce and mixed evidence. There is also an increased interest in the academic process, and not just in describing academic outcomes of first-generation students. These findings suggest that interventions promoting social belonging, support from peers, parents ' involvement and a welcoming campus climate should be fostered by institutions interested in the access and graduation of FG students.
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    Understanding the adjustment of first-generation students to Higher Education: a meta-ethnographic synthesis of qualitative research
    (2025) Santelices Etchegaray, María Verónica; Bravo, Paulina; López, María José
    Existing research on how first-generation students experience theirtransition to higher education has identified multiple issues thatcould affect their successful adjustment to the new life as students.Through a systematic review of qualitative studies, this researchidentifies and synthesises the most common issues reported in theliterature and assesses them against the Critical Cultural WealthModel. The findings revealed that issues related to socio-emotionalcrossroads and cultural wealth dimensions, along with their corre-sponding subdimensions, are the most commonly reported amongstudies. Still, some additions should be considered to incorporaterelevant issues that cannot be associated with the current subdi-mensions. The article also highlights differences between groups ofFGS addressed in the literature that show specific issues affectingtheir transition experience. Finally, implications for better support-ing first-generation students to navigate higher education success-fully are discussed.