| Deborah Faye Carter
Indiana University
The structures of opportunity: The effects of social constraints and institutional environments on college students' degree attainments
FINAL REPORT:
Equity in educational outcomes has been difficult to achieve and although there has been a great deal of research on lower-income and minority youth, there still are significant gaps and contradictions in our collective understanding of why fewer minority youth go on to college. There were two main research questions that guided this study: What are the early educational, family, and peer experiences that later affect the degree aspirations of African American, Latino and White students? How are these experiences and aspirations related to college attendance? A particular focus of this study is the effect of school structures on students' educational aspirations and college attendance. There has not been much research on the effect of school structures on educational aspirationsÑparticularly at the secondary school level. One of the aims of this study is determine how school structures have lasting effects on student outcomes.
Findings: Educational Aspirations
There are some general factors that seem to contribute to the degree aspirations of all groups of students. Mother's educational attainment (whether mother has earned a postsecondary degree) has a significant relationship with the degree aspirations of all three groups. This variable and parent's actual educational expectations for their child are the main aspirations variables that have similar effects across all three groups. Surprisingly, educational aspirations in the eighth grade did not have a significant relationship to aspirations six years later for all groups. Latino and White students who aspired to complete college in eighth grade were more likely to have this expectation later, but there was no significant relationship for African American students. Two achievement variables have significant relationships to degree aspirations: math standardized test score and grade point average. No matter which racial/ethnic group, students who are more skilled in mathematics and perform better academically tend to be more likely to expect to earn a four-year degree two years after high school graduation. School structural variables had varying effects across the racial/ethnic groups. African American students in more diverse schools are more likely to expect to earn a four-year degree, but White students in schools with lower teacher-student ratios tend to be more likely to expect to earn at least a baccalaureate degree.
Findings: College Attendance
Unlike the results for students' degree aspirations, father's educational attainment (whether father earned a postsecondary degree) is significantly related to students' attendance at a four-year institution for all groups. The only other two variables that are significantly related to students' college-going is the standardized math score and their grade point average.
The logistic regression models for students' attendance at a four-year institution are much less similar to each other than the models for degree expectations even though the models correctly classified similar proportions of students. It seems that what is important for students' college-going across all three groups are their parents' education and their academic performance and aptitude. School structure and school experiences in eighth and tenth grade vary depending on the group and do not seem to play a major factor in students' attendance at a four-year institution.
Discussion
The aspiration-achievement paradox where minority students have high aspirations despite low attainments is an area in need of further research. This study shed some light on the complex factors affecting African American, Latino, and White students degree aspirations and college attendance by completing separate group analyses. The main reason for such high aspirations in minority and White youth seems to be the support of parents. What is unusual is that students' aspirations are not dampened over time. For all groups of students, academic achievement and performance on standardized tests increase the likelihood they will attend a four-year institution and aspire to a four-year degree. Since achievement and standardized test performance is increasingly becoming more important in affecting educational opportunity, schools (and colleges in partnership with schools) will need to structure experiences that are encouraging and supportive to students and reinforce their feelings of academic competence. A main issue with respect to increasing access to college for minority youth is the negative effect of low parental education. Perhaps one structural change that schools can make to increase the numbers of students who go on to college is to provide earlier information about college preparation to students and their families. School-college partnerships like Early Outreach programs are strategies for increasing student educational attainment and helping to assure that students' educational goals become a reality.
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