Latino Students’ Perspectives on Home and School Factors and Their Influence on Academic Goal Orientation

• In Event: Roundtable Session 10
  In Roundtable Session: Families First: Involvement, Identity, and Influence

Abstract

Based on the work of Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory, this study examined students’ perceptions of home and school environments’ role in student academic goal orientation. The purpose of the study was to examine student perceptions of the environmental factors that may influence students’ goal orientation. Participants in this study were 220 urban middle school students recruited from a small school district in Los Angeles County. Findings indicate that students’ perceptions of parental expectations contribute significantly to students’ goal orientations. Other contributing factors included perceptions of parental involvement and teacher expectations. The results indicated that schools located in urban environments should work towards building a collaborative relationship with parents in the community to promote mastery goal orientations among students.

Authors

• LaShonda Toston, Paramount Unified School District

• Ruth Gim Chung, University of Southern California