Establishing a psychosocial and needs profile of first generation undergraduate students at an identified historically disadvantaged institution
Abstract
Following the dismantlement of the racial segregationist apartheid system and the
establishment of a democratic republic, South Africa embarked on education policy reform
that established a mandate to increase access to higher education for previously
disadvantaged groups. This has led to an increase in first-generation students at South African
higher education institutions. Despite suggestions from the international literature of
associations between first-generation status, attrition, and poorer academic performance
among first-generation students compared to their continuing-generation peers, there is a
paucity of South African literature on this student population.