Reexamining Academic Engagement Among First-Year Students Across Race and Asian American Ethnicity: An Application of Latent Class Analysis

• In Event: Roundtable Session 22
  In Roundtable Session: The Impact of Disaggregated Data on Asian Pacific Islander Research

Abstract

Using data from first year students across nine University of California campuses (n = 6,621), this study employed latent class analysis to characterize students in terms of their perceived academic engagement and examined differences across race and Asian American ethnicity. We identified three latent classes: Passive Learners (low academic engagement), Tentative Participants (moderate academic engagement), and Active Contributors (high academic engagement). White and African American students were more likely to perceive higher levels of academic engagement, as compared to Hispanic and Asian American students. Among Asian American ethnic groups, East Indian/Pakistani students perceived significantly higher levels of academic engagement. Given these significant differences, more must be done to understand and facilitate the benefits of active academic engagement across all students.

Authors

• Christine Victorino, University of California - Riverside

• Marsha M. Ing, University of California - Riverside

• Malaphone Phommasa, Marshall University