“I Never Thought I Was Gonna Do Anything Else”: Examining the College-Going Motivation Patterns of Black Immigrant and Native-Born Students

• In Event: Roundtable Session 30
  In Roundtable Session: Understanding Students’ Racialized Experiences in and Through Higher Education

Abstract

A growing field of scholarship emphasizes how differences in socioeconomic status, self-esteem, support systems, and environment play roles in shaping Black students’ academic achievement and college pathways (Fries-Britt & Griffin, 2007; Harper & Nichols, 2008; Stewart, 2009). However, Black student data is rarely disaggregated by nativity to consider the role of ethnicity in academic achievement and college going. The purpose of this study is to compare and contrast Black immigrant and native-born students’ motivation to pursue college-going aspirations. Findings suggest that irrespective of ethnicity or nativity, students’ motivation patterns reflect integrated internal and external orientations. Students shared similar external sources of motivation; yet, distinctions emerged across ethnicity and nativity in perceptions of how family, identity, and opportunities impacted academic motivation.

Authors

• Chrystal George Mwangi, University of Massachusetts - Amherst

• Nina Daoud, University of Maryland - College Park

• Kimberly Griffin, University of Maryland