Fostering Academic Self-Efficacy in First-Generation Students Through Shakespeare Reading Groups (2019)

Tis in ourselves we are thus, or thus.Our bodies are our gardens, to the which our wills are gardeners."Othello, ow best can we encourage our first-generation students to engage Shakespeare's works, and through and beyond that, to gain the confidence to practice the forms of deep reading and inquiry necessary for academic success?While Iago's words in Othello are often suspect, his counsel to a lovesick Roderigo in act 1, scene 3 proves instructive in addressing my initial question.The answer involves providing various forms of support to encourage students' connection with challenging material, nurture their will to persist in their learning efforts, and promote personal and social development.The embodied motivation to persevere, as Iago's body-garden metaphor illustrates, is something that can and must be cultivated, particularly in the face of weeds and foul weather, those economic, social, and cultural challenges that can sap our students' ability to participate fully in their studies. Ostrategy to promote academic literacy and self-efficacy is incorporating Shakespeare reading groups into early college experiences for first-gen students.Through the process of studying Shakespeare, we may assist them in building a sense of academic community and strengthening their will to pursue success despite adversities.First-generation students bring many ideas, strengths, and goals to the academic table.However, intrinsic and extrinsic challenges can become obstacles to their achievement, leaving them wondering about college terms and processes (the hidden curriculum) and unsure about their place in higher education institutions (experiencing imposter syndrome). 2The remedies to these problems-academic self-efficacy and college acculturation-are not innate qualities.They, too, must be developed through maintaining a growth mindset, taking advantage of resources, asking for help, and leaning on one's support team.Faculty and staff are central to helping students acquire these habits for success.They can extend guidance and connect students with resources, role models, and other mentors on and off-campus. HFostering Academic Self-Efficacy Early Modern Studies 14 147 While faculty, staff, and other mentors provide crucial just-in-time support for first-generation students, there are other potential allies to be found in literature.Shakespeare's drama is one such source, offering a rich range of characters from different classes and backgrounds who struggle to understand themselves and others and strive to succeed in a complex world.His plays are full of opportunities for connection, whether learners are fresh out of high school, coming from industry work or military service, older, or otherwise "nontraditional."Even across four hundred years, a less familiar genre, and cultural differences, these works offer tangible models (good and poor) for selfdevelopment, goal setting, persistence, and achievement.Students may recognize elements of their lives in the struggles of these literary figures.The embedded stories of self-fashioning also may resonate with the daily code-switching first-gen students often do as they shift between the culture of home or community and academic culture.Sharing Shakespeare in the informal, low-stakes forum of a reading group helps students explore how his work can be meaningful to their educational development and lived experiences.When a group is voluntary in terms of participation, does not require extensive preparation in advance, and is not associated with a grade, the anxiety and stress of performance are alleviated, promoting learning and discussion for their own sakes, with no strings attached.For students likely less familiar with college culture, this risk-free outlet for intellectual and social discovery may be especially appealing.Shakespeare reading groups provide an opportunity to get involved on campus and integrate into the college community-another key component to personal and academic success.This essay will discuss the rationale for offering informal Shakespeare reading groups to support first-generation student success and share initial reflections about one particular example of this, the Grizzly Book Club at Georgia Gwinnet College.But why Shakespeare?Certainly, first-year common reading programs and book club activities using other authors and texts have proven engaging and successful.What else do we gain (besides sharing our own enthusiasm and fascination with these works) by placing Shakespearean literature front and center?And will students buy into the notion of a Shakespeare book club?Each class or group's affective relationship to Shakespeare necessarily will vary, as individuals' personal backgrounds, learning experiences, and reading preferences are different.Many students express consternation when they are asked, and in some cases required, to study Shakespeare's works.Others express anxiety or ambivalence, if not apathy.Alternately, others are excited and/or curious.Some recognize Shakespeare as part of institutional English education, a canonical writer "must-have."While Shakespeare has become less required in higher education English programs around the country in the last decade, secondary school curricula have not followed suit.Reading at least one Shakespeare play during middle or high school is pretty standard fare.Depending on the approach, instructor, and student's receptivity at that time, their first Shakespearience will mean differently to them and affect their attitude about his works going forward.They may see his inclusion on a syllabus or book club