Degree Date

4-2024

Document Type

Dissertation - Public Access

Degree Name

Ed.D. Doctor of Education

Academic Discipline

Higher Education Leadership

First Advisor

Dr. Jaclyn Rivard

Second Advisor

Dr. Eddie Phillips

Third Advisor

Dr. Brian Hamluk

Abstract

Low-income, first-generation college students experience unique obstacles in their pursuits of a college degree. One of the biggest stressors that exist within this population is financial stress which has led to money being the number one reason students do not persist to graduation. Despite this being one of their biggest stressors, many higher education institutions do not put an emphasis on financial literacy initiatives that research has shown can help alleviate this type of stress. This mixed methods study explores the impact financial literacy and financial capability has on a students’ self-efficacy. This research is guided by Albert Bandura’s Self-Efficacy Theory. Student participants from National Louis University voluntarily completed a twenty-six-question survey which included a question at the end inviting them to an optional ten minute follow up interview. Five themes emerged from survey and interview analysis: financial guidance, proactive financial education, student loans, effect on academics, and financial stressors. Implications for practice include the transparency and clarification surrounding the student financial aid that is awarded, promote and train students on the financial literacy tool that institutions oftentimes make available to students, and expand the visibility, outreach, and ease of implementation for students to begin using the financial literacy tool that may be available at an institution. Recommendations for future research include gaining a greater understanding of why student awareness of financial literacy initiatives is so low at many institutions and how to recreate successful practices that already exist at institutions to implement them more broadly.

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