Trials in transition: examining the role of cognitive load as a factor in first generation college student achievement

This study explores the relationship between generational status (first-generation versus continuing-generation), sense of navigational capital and belonging at the institution, and persistence to degree completion as mediated by cognitive load. Understanding this relationship can provide insight into effective programming and approaches to learning both inside and outside of the classroom during the critical transition phase into higher education. As firstgeneration students often persist at lower rates than their peers, it is important to understand the mechanisms through which this occurs to inform institutional approaches to improving firstgeneration student outcomes. A quantitative approach was employed via a combined instrument including questions about self-efficacy, navigational capital, belonging, and a measure of cognitive load developed to target specific changes traditional students face in the transition into higher education. Data were collected from 150 participants and a mediation analysis was completed utilizing structural equation modeling (SEM) as well as statistical analysis techniques. This study found that a mediating relationship does not exist for first-generation or continuinggeneration students, but there is a strong positive relationship between navigational capital and belonging to cognitive load for first-generation students that does not exist for continuinggeneration students. Analysis also revealed statistically significant differences in self-efficacy, belonging, navigational capital, and several measures of cognitive load for first-generation students. These findings suggest that reducing cognitive load can lead to increases in academic outcomes such as grade-point average as well as social gains in sense of belonging as evidenced by lower overall reported cognitive load and higher sense of belonging and grade-point average reported by continuing-generation students. This research provides insight into the connections between cognitive load and student success and opens the door for further research to explore effective methods to address these challenges.