Ambition is Priceless: Parental and Student Aspirations as Predictors of African American Academic Achievement

• In Event: 534 - Section on Children and Youth Roundtables (one-hour)
  In Refereed Roundtable: Table 05. Aspirations and Expectations

Abstract

Rationale. How do they achieve excellence when the odds are against them? The African American Success Foundation funded this research to examine the resilience and agency African American students exhibit to cope positively with high vulnerability levels. In 2014, Darensbourg and Blake identified limitations in the current research that include predominantly White populations, small sample sizes, and self-reported grade measures. These limitations are particularly noteworthy in light of the Obama administration’s 2010 call to congress to reduce the achievement gap and the African American Success Foundation’s call for research exclusively on African American populations.
Objective. This study examines the capacity for parental and personal aspirations to predict academic achievement and moderate the effect of academic risk factors among African American students.
Methods. I employ Hierarchical General Models to analyze a sample of 846 African American students from the 2012 Education Longitudinal Study conducted by National Center for Education Statistics.
Results. Findings indicate that student aspirations correlate with academic achievement across the life course and moderate the effect of academic risk factors. Academic risk factors were inversely related to math achievement and college access. Student and parent aspirations both positively influence math achievement even when considering alternative explanations established in expert literature. Also, student and parent aspirations decreased the negative effects of academic risk factors.
Conclusion. By understanding the factors that foster resilience and predict successful educational careers, policy-makers can create evidence-based programs that benefit all students, especially those at-risk for academic failure.

Author

• Micah Johnson, University of Florida