Help increase the number of college students
This document reports the findings of ongoing research partnerships with inclusive classrooms and with selective and competitive outreach programs that seek to bridge school, college, and college-based occupations for Latino and other underrepresented youth. The findings are based on qualitative methods (interviews, field observations, and case studies) and quantitative methods (surveys, ratings, test scores, and statistical analyses) involving more than 850 students. This study sought to answer the following questions:
A. What are the parents’ immigration and education history(s)?
b. What challenges do students’ families, peers, schools, and communities present, and what resources do these different “worlds” provide?
vs. What are the student pathways through the classes required for college eligibility? and
d. How do students’ family backgrounds, resources, challenges across the world, and school trajectories predict college eligibility and enrollment?
By answering these questions, five key findings were uncovered about how Latino children build pathways to college.
Finding 1: Demographics is not fate, but democracy requires vigilance
Demographic profiles of students participating in competitive extension programs revealed very different patterns for African Americans and Latinos. The African American students in the competitive program sample, all but one US-born, likely had US-born parents with a college education. Latino students, more than 19% of whom were born abroad, likely had immigrant parents with a high school education or less. Thus, African American youth in the sample were following their parents’ path to college, and Latino youth were beginning to outpace their parents’ education. However, other research studies have consistently found different participation rates based on social class, immigrant generation, and gender in college extension programs among African American and Latino youth, who are similarly underrepresented in four-year universities throughout California. ; and there is concern that more low-income African American youth and second- and third-generation Latino youth were not participating in outreach programs. One possibility is that the extension programs’ Saturday and summer academies conflicted with student work schedules; another is that the distribution of information and the recruitment of extension programs do not reach all families equally.
When factors predicting students’ long-term school trajectories were examined, little predictive power was found in family demographic history for African-American or Latino families. Other research shows correlations between parental education and children’s academic success, so why weren’t any found here? One possibility is that parental education generally predicts activities such as getting children to participate in programs like the ones in this study. Focusing only on students in such programs may have missed detecting the impact of parent education. But the actions of families can matter more than demographic background.
Finding 2: Ethnically diverse youth begin to develop career and college goals in childhood from unique challenges and resources in their worlds
One hundred and sixteen sixth graders of Mexican descent who applied to the selective community college extension program described their dreams of becoming doctors, lawyers, nurses, and teachers, as well as secretaries, police officers, firefighters, and mechanics. The challenges the children saw in achieving their dreams included not having enough money to pay for school, as well as the expectations of family members and peers. The children saw their families (parents, siblings, and cousins); your teachers, school counselors, and coaches; his friends; and themselves as their greatest resources.
Finding 3: Math paths to college diverge early, but some return to normal
Math classes and grades are useful indicators of college eligibility and career opportunities. In the competitive program sample, slow-decreasing, fast-decreasing, increasing, and “back on track” (decreasing and then increasing) pathways were found. Youth who maintained or returned to college eligibility and enrollment found resources from families, teachers, coaches, tutors, or youth workers and reported the challenges of their siblings’ and parents’ modest levels of education.
Finding 4: Challenges and resources in students’ lives affect program participation, college eligibility, enrollment, and progress
Addressing the realities of students’ lives—at home, at school, in the community, and with friends—is crucial to both improving the program and making it profitable. In the inclusive classroom sample, parents considered that their main role was to guide their children morally and sought to protect their children from negative peer influences. For these parents, a strong moral education includes support for academic achievement. However, not all parents are aware of the academic rigors their children face. For example, Mexican immigrant parents had high aspirations for their children to be doctors, lawyers, or teachers; however, many were unaware that these goals required a college education.
Teachers and school counselors may act as institutional gatekeepers when assessing students against standardized performance benchmarks that determine eligibility for college preparatory, vocational, or remedial classes. When elementary school teachers and counselors disproportionately place Latino students in special education classes and low-ability reading and math groups, they send these students to remedial courses in middle and high school. But teachers and counselors, of any ethnic background, can also act as cultural brokers who help Latino children succeed in school and achieve their dreams.
Students report that religious, sports, and outreach organizations and leaders influenced them to take jobs that would help their communities. For these reasons, underrepresented youth and their families often benefit from instrumental support from community organizations that bridge school, college, and college-based occupations.
Finding 5: Ingredients of effective bridging programs
Beginning in elementary school, teachers can discuss the links between career dreams and college, define GPAs and scholarships, and explain practical college issues that would be meaningful to school-age children. Such an education can get young children excited about college and help them set realistic goals to get there. At the middle school level, college student tutoring, parent involvement activities, and academic advising can help “at risk” students stay on track for college. Continuing these programs in high school, as well as increasing minority enrollment in college preparatory classes, will also help increase the number of students who will attend college.
By helping Latino youth find pathways to success, programs can forge cross-generational bonds that span leadership, young adults, and the families they serve. These loose networks can foster new leadership with the cultural skills that today’s children need to succeed in an increasingly diverse world.
The young adult staff also provides children with the opportunity to speak and write about their career dreams, education, families, and their communities. Young adults value students’ communities of origin and many share a common language and family history with the children. Many have learned to be bicultural and can pass on their understanding of how to preserve community traditions by entering and succeeding in schools, universities, or local government. In the screened program sample, it was found that, like Latino parents, young adult staff defined success in life both in moral terms and in terms of school success. When mentoring the youth, the staff drew on the positive and negative aspects of their past experiences. They understood the importance of grades, helped children with homework, and provided a broad overview of schools, universities, and other leading institutions that helped children connect their family, school, and community with their personal dreams and fears for the future. future.
Our common goal is to improve access to higher education for children of diverse ethnic, racial, and economic communities. America’s ability to be a “diversity works” nation is based on customizing outreach programs for communities while serving common goals and collaborating among many diverse stakeholders: students, families, schools, organizations communities, legislators, the business sector and the media. These goals will be achieved by building clear conceptual models of change, testing them with evidence, and strengthening communication between stakeholders. Student progress through the academic pipeline from kindergarten to college and careers is often depicted as a ball rolling straight through a sturdy pipe. Rather, unlike the ball, which remains unchanged as it moves through the pipe, students change as they progress through elementary, middle, and high school toward college and adulthood. In fact, the developmental paths of students are more like those of explorers navigating through unmapped territories, here the worlds of families, peers, schools, and communities; As students pursue their school, career, and other personal goals, they encounter barriers that can slow or stop their progress. Finally, unlike the resilient pipeline, programs that bridge gaps or barriers in student pathways are changing in response to funding sources, pressures and losses, as well as changing political arenas.