Theorizing the social-class achievement gap of first-generation university students: A socio-emotional skills perspective – Skills2Flourish

The Skills2Flourish project addresses the interconnected effects of different social, emotional, and behavioral (SEB) skill domains in shaping the social class achievement gap of first-generation university students—whose parents did not attend higher education—in academic achievement and longitudinal university trajectories. In doing so, Skills2Flourish proposes a ground-breaking theoretical understanding of this achievement gap for first-generation university students, providing a novel model of the complex interplay of different SEB domains on academic achievement and how this drives social inequalities over time. The Skills2Flourish project rigorously tests this new model through the validation and assessment of a new French-language version of a SEB skill inventory and through ambitious longitudinal experimental testing of an innovative digital gamified skills training module that will provide theoretical and practical tools for broad impact.