Motivation and Achievement of Hispanic Students in the United States

• In Event: Researching Race and Ethnicity in the Study of Motivation in Educational Contexts

Abstract

Hispanic students in the United States are a diverse and growing segment of the student body. These students differ in their familial country of origin, generational status, and socioeconomic background. In addition, Hispanic students engage in the complex developmental task of developing social, ethnic, and academic identities within two distinct cultural contexts: the native culture of the family and the broader culture of U.S. society (Padilla, 2006). In this paper, we explore how factors associated with the bi-cultural identity of Hispanic students in the U.S. influence their motivation and achievement in school.

In the U.S., the proportion of college students that is Hispanic is growing much faster than any other ethnic group. In fact, among high school graduates, Hispanic students are more likely to enroll in college than are White students (Krogstad & Fry, 2014). Despite these tremendous gains in college enrollment among Hispanic students, these students are more likely than White students to attend community college, less likely to matriculate to a 4-year college, and more likely to drop out of college. Much of the difference between the 4-year college attendance and graduation rates of Hispanic and White students is attributable to differences in economic status and academic preparation (Pew Hispanic Center, 2009), but there is also evidence that both conscious and unconscious processes associated with ethnic identity may contribute to the college attendance choices and achievement patterns of Hispanic students. For example, a desire to remain near family may cause more Hispanic than White students to attend 2-year community colleges rather than apply to 4-year colleges further away from family (Perez, 2010). Similarly, concerns about racism or a lack of social belonging may cause many Hispanic students to avoid applying to more selective 4-year colleges.

Research indicates that a strong ethnic identity (i.e., belief that one’s ethnicity is a central part of one’s overall sense of self) may be associated with lower academic achievement and motivation for students who are members of ethnic groups with negative stereotypes about their group’s academic abilities (Armenta, 2010; Guyll et al., 2010; Steele & Aronson, 1995). In our research, we have found that academically successful Hispanic college students are as likely as their White peers to unconsciously associate academic success more strongly with the White than with the Hispanic ethnic group. In addition, we found that Hispanic college students tended to disassociate their ethnic identity from their academic self-concept. These patterns of conscious and unconscious associations among Hispanic college students may indicate sources of stress that make college completion more challenging for Hispanic students than for White students, especially at colleges with majority-White student bodies.

Our recent research has examined methods for breaking the stereotypical pattern of associating academic success more strongly with being White. In our paper we will present evidence from experimental manipulations of these implicit association and discuss the implications of this research for the academic motivation and achievement of Hispanic college students.

Author

• Tim Urdan, Santa Clara University