High School Students’ Perceptions of College-Going Cultures and the Mismatch With School Demographics

• In Event: Poster Session 14
  In Poster Session: Postsecondary Research 2

Abstract

This study was designed to identify the dimensions of a college-going culture perceived by students, and the overlap between schools grouped by these dimensions and grouped by demographic variables. The analysis focused on data from (a) a subset of survey items administered to 3,751 students in 11th grade at 17 high schools in the southwestern US, and (b) school size, racial and economic statistics. Despite wide demographic differences among schools, the proportions of students interested in attending college was consistently high (M = 93%, SD = 2.94%). The subset of 17 “college-going culture” items comprised two dimensions: school supports and self-efficacy. Schools clustered by dimension scores did not match their clustering by demographics. Research and practice implications are discussed.

Authors

• Jason T. Hurwitz, The University of Arizona

• Kris Bosworth, The University of Arizona

• Cecilia Rios Aguilar, Claremont Graduate University

• Regina J. Deil-Amen, The University of Arizona

• J. Robert Hendricks, The University of Arizona

• Eliane Rubinstein-Avila, The University of Arizona