| Laura Perna
University of Mayland, College Park
Racial/ethnic group differences in the realization of education plans
FINAL REPORT:
Although more students than ever before are aspiring to attain a college degree, the percentage who actually enroll in college continues to vary by racial/ethnic group. This study contributes to our understanding of the barriers that limit college enrollment for students of different racial/ethnic groups by examining the enrollment decisions of students who reported that they expect to complete at least a bachelor's degree.
This study draws upon the expanded econometric framework described by Perna (2000) to address the following three research questions: (1) How do the characteristics of bachelor's degree aspirants vary across racial/ethnic group? (2) How do two-year and four-year college enrollment rates vary among bachelor's degree aspirants of different racial/ethnic groups after controlling for other variables? (3) How do the predictors of college enrollment vary among bachelor's degree aspirants of different racial/ethnic groups? Data are drawn from the first (1990), second (1992), and third (1994) follow-ups to the National Educational Longitudinal Study (NELS:90/94). The sample used in this research is limited to individuals who, as members of the spring 1990 high school sophomore cohort, reported that they expected to complete at least a bachelor's degree.
The dependent variable, college enrollment, is measured in October 1992, the fall following the student's scheduled graduation from high school, and has three categories: (1) enrolled in a four-year college or university; (2) enrolled in a public two-year college; and (3) not enrolled. A multinomial logistic regression model is used to examine the relationship between race/ethnicity and college enrollment after controlling for measures of expected costs and benefits, financial resources, academic characteristics, and social and cultural capital.
The descriptive analyses show that the percentage of sophomores who enrolled in higher education in the fall after graduating from high school varies by racial/ethnic group. Only 39% of African American and 37% of Hispanic bachelor's degree aspirants were enrolled in a four-year institution, compared with 56% of Whites and 55% of Asians. More than one-fifth of Hispanics and Asians were enrolled in public two-year colleges, compared with 17% of Whites and only 12% of African Americans. The multinomial logistic regression analyses reveal that, after controlling for other variables, African Americans are more likely than other students to be enrolled in a four-year institution but less likely than other students to be enrolled in a public two-year college. The analyses also suggest that the predictors of four-year and two-year college enrollment vary by racial/ethnic group. Among the variables that appear to vary by race/ethnicity are sex, two-year public college tuition, family income, test scores, mathematics coursework, and measures of social and cultural capital.
This study shows racial/ethnic group differences not only in college enrollment rates but also in the college enrollment process. The analyses also suggest that an econometric framework that has been expanded to include measures of social and cultural capital as proxies for differences in expectations, preferences, tastes, and uncertainty is an appropriate conceptual framework for exploring racial/ethnic group differences in college enrollment behavior. The findings from this study point to several barriers to college enrollment for African Americans and Hispanics. One barrier is their relative underrepresentation among students enrolled in at least one advanced mathematics course. Another barrier for Hispanics appears to be the level of parental involvement. While the likelihood of four-year college enrollment increases with parental involvement for both African Americans and Hispanics, parental involvement levels are observed to be lower for Hispanics than for African Americans and Whites. For African Americans, the decision to enroll in a four-year institution appears to be influenced by the characteristics of the high school attended.
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