Religious Involvement, Educational Aspiration, Academic Self-Efficacy, School Engagement, and Academic Achievement of African American Students

• In Event: Roundtable Session 2
  In Roundtable Session: A Focus on Historically Black Colleges and Universities

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to explore the impact of religious involvement on educational aspiration, academic efficacy, school engagement, and academic achievement of African American students. This study utilized data from the base-year of the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 (HSLS:09). The results of MANOVA and path analysis showed that religious involvement has positive influences on African American students’ educational aspiration, their parents’ educational aspiration, students’ academic self-efficacy and mathematics achievement. However, no association between gender and religious involvement was determined. The overall path model displayed that religious involvement influences academic achievement through several intermediating variables. Implications and recommendations were discussed.

Authors

• Hae-Seong Park, Azusa Pacific University

• Pamela M. Christian, Azusa Pacific University