Ecological Theory Studies Of Minority Students

The article “Motivating Firs-Generation Students For Academic Success and College Completion” by Tanjula Petty describes the additional challenges first generation students have to overcome while attending college. A well-heeled diversity and world of opportunities are a few of the positive outcomes of attending college. According to Tanjula Petty (2014), “Yet, the most cited and widely used definition for first- generation students is someone whose parents has not completed a college degree”. Students whose parents did not acquire a college degree, have a lack of support at home. Their family members are not equipped to provide information required for college difficulties students may have. They lack knowledge and resources that students that students with college-educated parents have. The article states that these students are less psychologically prepared for college. Many low-income families do not understand the benefits of graduating from college. First generation students spend more time working and less time studying unlike their classmates. (Petty 2014) Coming from low-income families, many of these students have to divide their time between college and working. Leading students to prioritize money before school. Many work full time while going to school. Working more hours than studying can potentially harm students ' success.

Although a proportion of colleges and universities create programs and interventions that would provide support for all students equally, the collegiate achievement gap among the racial/ethnic minority is still a pressing issue. Researchers suggest that college students from minority groups are susceptible to the five sources of chronic strain (Schneiderman, Ironson, & Siegel, 2005). For example, having a full-time job, or problems between role sets (students and parents). As such, students may struggle with finding funds for college tuition and supplies, resolving housing and safety issues, finding help them care for dependent children, and accessing healthcare. Those situations are especially true for the minority students because they may face more challenge while developing time management and coping skills.

This study was also conducted by interviewing to get results and was to analyze the desire for higher education . The study for Ms. Olive revealed that parents’ education is important for students as it can either encourage or discourage the students from seeking higher education (2014). The study stated that the Hispanics students might not seek higher education as they feel that they are less prepared psychologically and academically (2015). Along with those some factors, the study revealed that to influence them, the students, to seeking higher educations it helps when they are “influenced by respected others: resilience, persistence, and self-efficacy: need for distinction and career satisfaction: spirituality and divine influence,” (2014 p.87). The results that were found among between both researchers are important to understanding the causes of the

In a 2004 journal by Susan Auerbach, the concept of parental influence and support for Latina/o students is addressed. Auerbach shares that, “Research suggests the pivotal role of parents in promoting students’ college going” (Auerbach, p.127). It is no mystery that parents have great influence over their children, and when a parent is uneducated on how to best advise their child regarding higher education, they are unable to use this influence to encourage attendance. Auerbach states, “Families without a tradition of college going do not have sufficient knowledge to help their children navigate pathways to college” (Auerbach, p.140). According to the Latino Eligibility Study, the single most important barrier to college access for Latino students in California is lack of active knowledge of the steps needed to go to college (Gandara, 1998,2002). Parents of first generation students need tools that can aid in the child’s success and serve as a means of knowledge on what can be a challenging and confusing process. Another issue tied to parent involvement and understanding is that, “Poor and working class Latino families come to college preparation relatively late in students’ careers, with fewer resources and more obstacles” (Auerbach, p.136). The journal supports the idea that Latino/a parents are in need of early access to college preparation education in order to be able to challenge and support their

Research suggests that students of color and economically disadvantaged students are likely to have low academic achievement, in comparison to their White middle class counterparts. Studies show that these disparities are a result of environmental, historical, sociopolitical, sociocultural, and institutional factors, and not necessarily students’ capabilities (Bemak & Chung, 2008). These environmental, sociocultural and sociopolitical factors can result to depression, low self-esteem, and a lack of educational and career opportunities. Thus, counseling professionals in the school settings need to develop advocacy plans to cater for these environmental factors that are barriers to academic, career and personal development (Ratts & Hutchins,

An observation that was important as it relates to the persistent and the resistance of the African American male and how we can tie to this to the African American Male Theory, for the most part only two factors would identify as external factors that motivated the participants which would be campus environment and wanting the change the dynamics of one’s house hold. The rest of the responses are internally motivation which allowed the graduates to persist toward being motivated. The graduates looked at having a drive and part of that drive was also because of family memebers and mentors encouraging them along the way. (AAMT model to validate it)

This same topic was both supported and echoed in an article by Nunez and Crisp. The data set provided by Nunez and Crisps elucidates that 41% of Mexican Americans and 42% of Puerto Ricans shared that family reasons affected their choice in pursuing higher education (Nunez & Crisp, 2012). When further investigated that data went on to conclude that “family reasons” specifically meant that the family had in some way held the student back from achieving the higher education. Particular instances identified were that the students were being advised against attending a four-year institution due to distance from the family home or lack of familiarity with the four-year college model. However, not all research is consistent in supporting the idea of family influence serving in a negative role. On the contrary Kristin Calaff’s article states that, “Many first generation Latino parents encourage their children with stories of a successful relative, either real or invented, to help solidify the importance of higher education” (Calaff, 2008). Calaff’s research goes on to explore that intense determination instilled in these students from the parents to provide and encourage for a future and life better then their own (Calaff, 2008). Calaff’s evidence that Latino parents want more opportunities for their children really coincides with Auerbach’s reasoning on why it is vital that parents are aware of

Despite all of the challenges that Latino/a college students face, they are still able to navigate through the rigors of college. Social support, ethnic identity, and individual factors all play a pivotal role in Latino/a college student self-efficacy. These strengths help to assist students in adjusting to college life and to further persevere through the many adversities that they may encounter throughout higher education. One of the strengths and protective factors that Latino/a college students have to help them cope and buffer stress during their time in college is through social support.

Adam Gorlick in “ Got an hour? Boost your grades. Stanford psychologists design 60-minute exercise that raises GPAs of minority student” talks about the transition from high school to college and the difficulties many students face. In his article Adam Gorlick brings up various questions many freshman ask for example, will they fit in but also brings up the issue of being a minority in a new college campus. He later goes on to talk about how these situations during the transition to college are situations that everyone goes through.

The obstacles faced by first-generation families are often steeped in poverty (First-Generation College Students: How Co-Curricular Involvement Can Assist with Success). Although first-generation students often cross all racial, ethnic, socioeconomic status, and gender lines, the path to college-completion is fraught with

The population increase of Hispanics has made the youth group the largest minority group in the United States (Cohn, Lopez, & Passel, 2011). The growth in U.S. born Hispanics has also increased the amount of first generation college bound going students. Unfortunately, many latina/o students come from poor communities and attend under services schools. These students are faced with the task of seeking academic outreach programs to show them the way to higher educational endeavors. The sample in the study are all college bound students based on the eligibility requirement to join the Higher Education Mentoring Program. The participant criteria is maintaining at least a 2.5 gpa, and actively striving to constantly improve performance on A-G courses. The purpose of this study was to identify the psychological, social and cultural factors that influence theses students college aspirations. This study used the Psychosociocultural (PSC) model that encourages the examination of academic self-efficacy, peers,parental, and faculty support and school environment to further understand educational perseverance. The literature on first generation students shows that those who participate in outreach programs

“Kids who are the first in their families to brave the world of higher education come on campus with little academic know-how and are much more likely than their peers to drop out before graduation” (1). Many people believe that school isn’t for everyone, and whoever goes is privileged for doing so. Countless people in the world today do not attend college, and this is mainly due to an influence of those in their family. Perhaps they are unsupportive of higher education, their parents and family members may view their entry into college as a break in the family system rather than a continuation of their schooling and higher learning. Most of the first-generation students decide to apply to colleges, because they aspire to jobs which require degrees. However, unlike some students whose parents have earned a degree, they often seek out college to bring honor to their families, and to ensure they make a decent amount of money for their future.

It is a well known fact but there are many people including counselors, parents, teachers, and friends who resist saying it out loud for fear it will sound like discouragement and negativity: college is definitely not for everyone. The pressure on high schools students, especially those that excel, to attend a college or university is enormous. And in the case of a bright, industrious and motivated high school student, attending a college or university is an obvious career choice. For those students, it's only a matter of what university to attend, whether one's SAT score is high enough, and the availability of the money. Then there are the millions of high school students who are not really personally motivated but are being pressured by their counselors, teachers and parents should they attend college if they really don't care? This paper examines those issues.

Students from all over the United States are told all through their life that they need to attend college if they ever want to be successful, however, this is far from the truth. Often schools are culprits for driving students to attend money driven colleges, in other cases it is family. While schools all too often make the push on students to continue their schooling, parents can cause the same situation, as they may not have a degree and be working a low-paying factory job. Now kids already don’t want to be like their parents when they get older, so seeing them suffer in poverty or barely above the poverty line can cause some dissatisfaction, further seeking a degree to live a life that they never got. What many

Success comes easier to a student’s if they are in their comfort zone. students who feel at ease with their environment, have a higher tendency to achieve success in college, for example studies have shown that African American students that attend predominantly white universities are more likely to either have lower grade point averages or drop out at higher rates than their white counterparts and African Americans at historically black colleges. (Allen, Epps & Hanuf, 1991; Braddock & Dawkins 1981) This is a common example of how change could affect a student’s ambition unconsciously. Studies have shown that students who attend Historically Black Colleges and Universities are more likely to have higher self worth, positive self images, strong racial pride, and higher aspirations, opposite of black students on white campuses. This is true for almost all commonalities: race, gender, age, and even backgrounds. Students that feel more “at home” will more than likely receive higher grade point averages.