latino diversity in the top tier of american higher education
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Latino Diversity in the Top Tier of American Higher Education. Margarita Mooney Office of Population Research Department of Sociology Princeton University May 5, 2006. Why Study Hispanics and Education?. Hispanics/Latinos are the minority group in the United States and growing fast - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Latino Diversity in the Top Tier of American Higher Education
Margarita Mooney
Office of Population Research
Department of Sociology
Princeton University
May 5, 2006
Why Study Hispanics and Education? Hispanics/Latinos are the minority group in the United
States and growing fast 35.3 million Latinos in the US in 2002, or 12.5% of population. 57.9% growth rate from 1990-2000.
Hispanic-White education gap is even larger than Black-White Hispanics are less likely to enroll in college than both blacks and
whites. When Hispanics do enroll in college, they are more likely than
whites or blacks to enroll in 2-year rather than 4 year colleges.
Educational Attainment by Hispanic Origin: 2002
Perc
ent
(Population 25 years and over)(Population 25 years and over)
27.0
16.0
27.9
18.0
11.1
4.0
7.3
33.0
26.3
29.4
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
Less than 9thgrade
9th to 12thgrade (nodiploma)
High schoolgraduate
Some college Bachelor'sdegree or
more
Hispanic Non-Hispanic White
Source: Current Population Survey, March 2002, PGP-5
Percent of Population with a Bachelor’s Degree Percent of Population with a Bachelor’s Degree or Higher by Hispanic Origin: 2002or Higher by Hispanic Origin: 2002
Perc
ent
(Population 25 years and over)(Population 25 years and over)
11.1
7.6
14.0
18.617.3
29.4
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
Hispanic Mexican Puerto Rican Cuban Central andSouth
American
Non-HispanicWhite
Source: Current Population Survey, March 2002, PGP-5
Who are Hispanics?
The term “Hispanic” was first used on 1970 census. 2000 census question: “Is this person
Spanish/Hispanic/Latino?” If yes, specify: 1) Mexican/Mexican-American/Chicano; 2) Puerto Rican ; 3) Cuban ; 4) Other Spanish/Hispanic/Latino. Name.
On 2000 census, 17.3% (6.1 million people) of total Hispanic population chose “other” but did not give a detailed origin. This group is second in size only to Mexican origin group.
Percent Distribution of Percent Distribution of HispanicsHispanicsby Type: 2002by Type: 2002
Cuban3.7%
Puerto Rican8.6%
Mexican66.9%
Central and South
American14.3%
Other Hispanic
6.5%
Source: Current Population Survey, March 2002, PGP-5
What is NLSF?
NLSF was designed to provide comprehensive data to test different theoretical explanations for minority underperformance in college.
Data was collected in five waves, twice in freshmen year, and then each spring after that.
Total sample size of 3,924 students at 28 of most selective colleges and universities in the United States
NLSF Respondents by Race/Ethnicity
Black, 1051
White, 998Hispanic, 916
Asian, 959
Schools Participating in NLSF
Liberal Arts Colleges Barnard, Bryn Mawr, Denison, Oberlin, Smith, Swarhmore,
Wesleyan, WilliamsPrivate Research Universities Columbia, Emory, Georgetown, Northwestern, Princeton, Rice,
Stanford, Tufts, Tulane, U. Pennsylvania, Notre Dame, Vanderbilt, Washington U., Yale
Public Research Universities Penn State, Miami (OH), UC-Berkeley, U. Michigan-Ann Arbor,
UNC-Chapel HillHistorically Black Colleges Howard
Research Questions
Do Latinos underachieve relative to their white peers at selective colleges and universities?
How do Latinos of specific national origin groups compare to their White, Black and Asian peers?
Why study Latinos at the most selective schools? Selective universities draw from a
nationwide applicant pool, thus the Latino student population is likely very diverse.
Highly selective colleges and universities don’t just give an education, they shape class culture, inform social consciousness and cultivate leaders.
Latino Diveristy in NLSF
26%
10%
5%
3%5%16%
29%
6%Mexican
Puerto Rican
Cuban
Dominican
Central American
South American
Mixed Race
Other
How do students on NLSF self-report their ID? #1: Why can’t I just be American?
“my mother is Mexican and my father is Asian. I consider myself American.”
#2: Complex Reductionism “my mom’s puerto rican and my mom {dad} is from
Nicaraguan and is black, I have some Irish and some Native American. I mostly just say that I am hispanic Puerto Rican.
#3: All of the above. “While Mexican, I am a mixture of White and Black and
Native America”
How do students on NLSF self-report their ID? #4: I don’t like your categories.
“why does it say hispanic white or hispanic black? I’m just hispanic. I’m assuming hispanic white, but there is no number.”
“Mexican-American. Non-white. Non-Black.” “Central American and Puerto Rican but raised as
Central American. “mestiza” in Spanish” #5: I’m still figuring it out…
“father is puerto rican and my mother is extremely white”
Latino Diversity in NLSF
289, 30%
123, 13%
187, 20%
247, 26%
100, 11%
Mexican/Central American
Puerto Rican/Dominican
Cuban/South American
Hispanic mixed with white
Hispanic mixed with otherminority
Percent Distribution of Percent Distribution of HispanicsHispanicsby Type: 2002by Type: 2002
Cuban3.7%
Puerto Rican8.6%
Mexican66.9%
Central and South
American14.3%
Other Hispanic
6.5%
Source: Current Population Survey, March 2002, PGP-5
GPA by 4 Major Racial/Ethnic Groups
3.39
3.05
3.19
3.38
2.8
2.9
3
3.1
3.2
3.3
3.4
3.5
Asian White Black Hispanic
GPA by Ethnicity & Latino Origin
3.38 3.39
3.053.19 3.17 3.14
3.25 3.25
3.05
2.8
3
3.2
3.4
3.6
Asian
White
Black
Hispa
nic
Mexic
an/Ce
ntral
Ameri
can
Puert
oRic
an/Do
minica
n
Cuba
n/Sou
thAm
erica
n
Hispa
nic M
ixed
with N
H-Wh
ite
Hispa
nic M
ixed
with O
ther
Minori
ty
Overall Graduation Rates
0.86
0.78
0.920.91
0.7
0.75
0.8
0.85
0.9
0.95
Asian White Black Hispanic
Overall Graduation/Diverse Latinos
0.91 0.92
0.78
0.86
0.81
0.900.88 0.89
0.80
0.7
0.75
0.8
0.85
0.9
0.95
Asian
Whit
e
Black
Hisp
anic
Mexic
an/C
entra
lAm
erica
n
Puer
toRi
can/D
omini
can
Cuba
n/Sou
thAm
erica
n
Hisp
anic
Mixe
dwi
th NH
-Whit
e
Hisp
anic
Mixe
dwi
th Ot
her
Mino
rity
On Time Graduation
0.58
0.73
0.55
0.63
0.4
0.45
0.5
0.55
0.6
0.65
0.7
0.75
0.8
Asian White Black Hispanic
On Time Graduation/Diverse Latinos
0.73
0.55
0.63
0.55
0.63
0.69 0.68
0.570.58
0.4
0.45
0.5
0.55
0.6
0.65
0.7
0.75
0.8As
ian
Whi
te
Blac
k
Hisp
anic
Mex
ican
/Cen
tral
Amer
ican
Puer
toRi
can/
Dom
inic
an
Cuba
n/So
uth
Amer
ican
Hisp
anic
Mix
edwi
th N
H-W
hite
Hisp
anic
Mix
edwi
th O
ther
Min
ority
But are these differences statistically significant? Hispanics Compared to Whites
If we just compare Hispanics to whites, we observe an achievement gap. If we break the Hispanics down by national origins, we see that it Mex/CA, PR/Dom, and Hispanics mixed with other minorities drive the differences. One exception: PR/Dom overall graduation rates are not lower than whites.
Hispanics Compared to Blacks Mex/CA and PR/Dom, as well as Hispanic Mixed with Other
Minorities are not much different than blacks. One exception: PR/Dom overall graduation rates are higher than blacks.
Regression Models
3 outcomes: College GPA, Overall Graduation Rate, and On-Time Graduation Rate
3 Models A. Base Model: Comparing Across 4 Major Ethnic
Groups B. Diverse Latinos Model: 3 Ethnic Groups + Latinos
Broken Down by National Origin C. Model B + Control Variables (Respondent/Family
Traits, Parents’ Education, Family Economic Status, HS Attended/Achievement, Psychological Preparation)
Results GPA
Ethnic differences persist in all models Overall Graduation Rates
Mexicans/Central Americans and Hispanics & Other Minorities have a significant effect in ethnic model, but only Mexicans/Central Americans effect persists in full model
On-Time Graduation Rates Mexicans/Central Americans, Hispanics & Other
Minorities, and Puerto Ricans/Dominicans have a significant effect in model B, but only Mexicans/Central Americans effect persists in full model
Control Variables
Other significant effects in full model Male Two-parent Household Parents’ Education Attended Private (Non-Religious High School) (only
GPA & On-Time Graduation) School Segregation (only GPA & Overall Graduation) High School GPA # AP Courses Self-Rated Academic Preparation (only GPA & On-
Time Graduation) Susceptibility to Peer Influence (only GPA) Self-Esteem (only GPA)
Conclusions Is the term Hispanic/Latino doublethink? Do we
use it even though we know it doesn’t mean something clear, or that it means something contradictory? I think Hispanic/Latino may be a meaningful
personal/social identity, but the term may not tell us much about differences in educational achievement compared to whites or blacks.
Conclusions Contexts, culture and social interactions
matter to educational achievement. Subtractive schooling and varying modes of
caring (Valenzuela) We need more qualitative research on the
social integration of diverse Latinos on college campuses and how that affects grades and graduation.How do Latino students interact with other
students (Latino and non-Latino), faculty and administrators?