Bilingual Latino Students' Perceptions of Their Learning Environments and Their Willingness to Attend College

• In Event: Poster Session 5
  In Poster Session: Social and Cultural Processes in Motivation Research

Abstract

This study examines the roles of home and classroom environments on Latino students’ learning attitudes and willingness to attend college. A path analysis using Structural Equation Modeling was performed to examine a theory-based hypothetical model developed based on Latino family’s educational beliefs. Also, the same analysis was performed to examine an empirical model derived from the data collected from 571 bilingual Latino students. The results showed that the empirical model was the better fit model. The results also revealed that the positive reciprocal between home and classroom environments maximize students’ learning attitudes and willingness to attend college. The results further shed light on the potential within the classroom environment at mediating the development of bilingual Hispanic students’ future college-going culture.

Authors

• Hector H. Rivera, Texas A&M University - College Station

• Jui-Teng Li, University of New Mexico