Belonging, Academic Stress and Intentions to Discontinue: The First-Year Experience in a Widening Participation Context

Abstract

Many first-year students discontinue their studies, creating a concerning challenge for institutions, especially those with widening participation policies. Chilean higher education provides a case study for understanding the first-year experience (FYE) in a widening participation context and rapidly expanding university sector. This study examined the experiences of 179 first-year undergraduate students from two universities in Chile and explored FYE factors influencing students' intentions to discontinue their studies through quantitative survey data. Findings show low sense of belonging and high stress associated with managing academic demands influenced students’ intentions to discontinue their studies. There were no differences between first- and continuing-generation students in their intentions to discontinue. Equity program participants reported significantly higher stress levels and were more likely to consider discontinuing their studies. These findings reinforce the need to support students’ sense of belonging to their universities and management of academic demands to encourage their persistence in university.