Beyond high school: An examination of Hispanic educational attainment

    Authors

    J. L. Jasinski

    Abbreviated Journal Title

    Soc. Sci. Q.

    Keywords

    MEXICAN-AMERICAN CHILDREN; PERFORMANCE; COMPLETION; VARIABLES; DROPOUTS; Social Sciences, Interdisciplinary

    Abstract

    Objective. Low educational attainment has been a barrier to the advancement of Hispanic Americans in the United States, and a number of explanations for this have been suggested. One group of explanations centers around Hispanic Americans' use and exposure to English. A second group of explanations focuses more on socioeconomic disadvantages facing this population. Much of the research that looks at educational attainment among Hispanic Americans, however, does not consider Hispanic group differences. Methods. This research used the National Education Longitudinal Study, a stratified probability sample of approximately 24,000 students, to examine educational attainment among the 6,294 White non-Hispanic, and 492 Mexican, Cuban, and Puerto Rican youth included in all four waves of the survey. Results. The results suggest the importance of both the diversity of the Hispanic population and socioeconomic factors in explaining participation in postsecondary education. Conclusions. Effective policies targeted toward Hispanic educational attainment need to address economic circumstances of these students rather than focus primarily on language deficiencies or immigration status.

    Journal Title

    Social Science Quarterly

    Volume

    81

    Issue/Number

    1

    Publication Date

    1-1-2000

    Document Type

    Article

    Language

    English

    First Page

    276

    Last Page

    290

    WOS Identifier

    WOS:000085986500020

    ISSN

    0038-4941

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