Hispanic Heritage, Intervening Variables and Its Correlation with Educational Attainment

The United States Hispanic population continues to increase each year. In turn, school populations of Hispanics increase as well. Hispanics, although improving academically, continue to have high school dropout rates, higher than other racial and ethnic groups and continue to lag behind school peers. The discrepancy between Hispanic students and other students’ achievement is the result of many factors, including acculturalization, language acquisition, poverty, and school factors. Schools

Tuition and finances are among the most commonly inquired topics regarding college. Socioeconomic status, one’s social and economic position within society, directly and indirectly influences the ability to attend college. It directly relates to the financial aspect of higher education. One explanation for this is the human capital theory, which suggests a negative correlation exists between parents’ income and educational level and the amount of student loan debt their

This paper will try to explain the variety of hardships many Mexican-American students endure in hopes to gain a higher education. Many are driven by the “American Dream”, which is the idea that individuals living in the U.S. have the equal opportunity to achieve success and prosperity through hard work, determination, and abilities. The American Dream often motivates foreigners to enter the United States illegally, hoping for that “equal opportunity” to success. However, not everyone living in the U.S. has equal opportunities, compared to native-born American citizens. This is why it can be difficult for Mexican-American students to attend colleges and universities. A higher education is difficult to obtain for Mexican-American students because of their low socioeconomic status, their differing cultural and structural characteristics, and the social and political institutions in our current society. Although this paper does not focus on the educational opportunities in Mexico, this paper will mostly focus on the educational system in the United States, particularly California State University, San Bernardino. In addition, this paper will refer to Mexican-American students as first-generation college students.

The achievement gap between Hispanic students and non-Hispanic students is alarming due to the high dropout rates and the increasing Hispanic population in the United States. To better understand why Hispanic students dropout out of high school it is important to explore the perspectives and experiences of high school dropouts. Examining the root causes of whys Hispanic student’s drop out of high school can assist to improve dropout retention early on. As a significant number of Hispanics continue to dropout of high school annually, educational decision-makers continue to search for solutions to effectively address the high percentage of Hispanic dropouts. In 2008, Behnke, A., Gonzalez, L., & Cox, R. researched why Hispanic youth drop out

At Laredo Community College where we have both Mexican-American and Mexican students which we see the difference of intelligence. Those students show the difference of their abilities regarding the Texas Success Initiative which have different rates of passing. The intelligence capabilities of both Mexican-American and Mexican students are different in three levels and the methodology of testing.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the detrimental effects institutional racism in education has on Latino academic achievement. Consideration is given to the role of educators in perpetuating racist attitudes; the ineffective acculturation measures and the adverse effects resulting from the diminished academic expectations. Latino children exit K-12 systems deficient of the necessary skills to thrive in higher education or in the workplace; facts which foster complacency. Qualitative and quantitative data are used to support arguments and observations.

Cultural tendencies have a huge impact on the way children tend to participate in educational activities. The ethnicity of a child may change the way that teacher view a child. Suppose you had an Asian child in previous years who was quiet and reserved. You get a new child, you expect this one to be the same way, but he is not. We as teachers have to learn that each child is their own individual self, and they do not act the same way, no matter what race, gender, or social status they are.

Thesis Statement: While Hispanic/Latino graduation rates continue on an upward trend, they are still the second highest dropout rates amongst all minorities influenced by a lack of bilingual education programs, low participation in early childhood education programs and a lack of respect for the Hispanic/Latino culture are leading contributing factors to their continued high dropout rate.

When one thinks about Hispanics, all too often the image of a field full of migrant workers picking fruit or vegetables in the hot sun comes to mind. This has become the stereotypical picture of a people whose determination and character are as strong or stronger than that of the Polish, Jewish, Greek, or Italian who arrived in the United States in the early 1900's. Then, the center of the new beginning for each immigrant family was an education. An education was the "ladder by which the children of immigrants climbed out of poverty into the mainstream." (Calderon & Slavin, 2001, p. iv) That ideal has not changed, as the Hispanic population has grown in the United States to large numbers very quickly and with little fanfare. Now, the

Colleges and university have slowly become one of the stepping stones into the working world today. People go to colleges for higher education with the intention of earning degrees in which they can use in their respective fields. Some example degrees that people pursue are Medical, Law, Business, Accounting, and Science Degrees. Through the years the idea of college was that it was optional and it was a door for better life and job. However in the modern times, it become a necessity. It all started when the colleges once single- gender institutions target specific students in their respective demographics. Today, the college market has now been divided into two major categories:

Texas’ government must work towards narrowing the income gap between the White and Hispanic populations, caused by the underwhelming socioeconomic status of many Latin American immigrants. This could be done by reforming the state’s educational system to better help Hispanics succeed. “…a lack of proactive efforts to address the unique needs of [Hispanics] in the educational system has untold implications for the future economic and social prosperity of the country…” (Saenz, et al,76) If Hispanics are to be the majority, the state should put more emphases on bi-lingual education. This will help reduce language barriers and make it easier for Spanish-speaking Hispanic children to succeed in the educational system. To combat statistics showing that a Hispanic student with poor socioeconomic status is heavily prone to taking drugs, committing crime, joining a gang, and going to prison, the state should invest in mentor programs. A 2008 study on the effects mentor programs have on Hispanic children showed that: “…having a mentor translated into positive academic outcomes, including greater expectancy of success, higher educational expectations, fewer absences, and a greater sense of school belonging.” (Saenz, et al, 80) These efforts will result in Hispanics having greater preparedness for higher education. The state would also benefit from investing in vocational

A conversation ingrained in my memory involved two adolescent boys from San Antonio Independent School District (SAISD). When asked about their future ambitions, one student casually responded that he would “go to prison like his father.” The other expressed a desire to rise above his inner city milieu, but had little sense his abilities or of his options. In stark contrast, students from Alamo Heights, an affluent neighboring district, held ambitions to become doctors, lawyers, and politicians, and demonstrated an understanding of the prerequisites for their desired career path. The graduation rate of Alamo Heights stood at 98% while SAISD’s graduation rate lingered around 60%. The contrast between these two districts grows more disturbing when considered through the lens of racial equality. While SAISD’s population is 98% minority, the Anglo population in Alamo Heights totals slightly over 55%. Yet, 74% of Alamo Heights graduates achieve a four-year college diploma, while only 4% percent of SAISD alumni attain a bachelor’s degree. An opportunity gap results from this discrepancy, ultimately proving detrimental to social mobility.

Without education one can only get so far in life and considering that most of the parents of the students did not have the proper education. Adelante’s goal was to offer them educational assistance the best way possible. Even though, you may think that learning may come easier to a child that knows two language simply for the fact that he has those two languages under his/her belt on the contrary for most Latino students it is much more difficult to understand certain subjects in the regular public school system. The key question to this is what is the public-school system doing to help Latino students achieve their goals and to continue in school? You may think that the answer to this would be easy to answer but, believe it or not, it’s not. According to Fry, “Latinos are far more likely to enroll into two-year colleges than any other group” (Fry, pg. 6) Another question you may ask yourself when reading this statistic is why not go ahead and shoot for a four-year institution? Well, let me break this down for you, Hispanic parents, just about 65% of them, know what the importance of going and attending college. They see not only the financially benefit that will come along with it but, they also see the maturing process it will bring to their child when doing so. But, wait, so if parents are supporting their child to go to college why do Latino students short–hand their selves with just a two-year Associates Degree? Which goes back to the first question, what is the public-school system doing to help these students out? One of the few programs offered out there is Adelante, their entire goal is to help, involve, and open the eyes of the Hispanic community that there is much more out there for their Children and even for them. The issue with this is that there is only one program that is doing this for the Latino community in Louisville, Kentucky.

This creates a situation where both the student and parents are unfamiliar with the enrollment process and requirements. There is also a hesitancy to allow their child to go to college and become indebted with large student loans just to get an education. This reluctance clashes with the social and economic norm of the student being an actively contributing worker to the family’s income (Tornatzky 2006). Some Latino families may not see the economic value of getting an education for four years, when they believe that their son or daughter could have spent those four years in the workforce, or supporting the family with child-care. These family priorities and demands create friction and misunderstanding in the Latino community, where parents actually encourage their children to attend local community colleges, where the quality of education may not be very good, instead of going to an out-of-state public university. These financial conditions, family obligations, and demanding STEM-related courses may prolong the degree attainment process and raise the likelihood of Latinos withdrawing from

According to Marta Tienda and Faith Mitchell in the book “Hispanics and the future of America” another problem may be teacher’s perceptions of their student’s abilities.