1-096 - Minority Youth’s Educational Pathways: A Focus on Context, Culture, and the Educational Institutions Serving Youth

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Integrative Statement

In late adolescence, U.S. youth face the age-graded challenge of transitioning out of high school and into early adult roles (Crockett & Beal, 2012). Enrolling and completing a college education is one step that many youth take towards the goal of becoming an adult as a bachelor’s and graduate degree are associated with higher rates of economic stability and mobility (Kena et al., 2015). Within minority youth, especially Latino and African American youth, college enrollment and retention rates have been historically low (Kena et al., 2015). In recent years, enrollment rates for undergraduate degrees have increased although completion rates still lag behind (Krogstad & Fry, 2014) and enrollment into graduate degrees lag further still (Ryan & Bauman, 2016). The following symposium explores factors that influence minority youth’s educational pathways, with a focus on undergraduate and graduate education. Authors of Paper 1 explore the impacts of sociopolitical context on Mexican-American young adults’ post-high school transitions and highlights the interactive role of perceived economic hardship, discrimination, and familism values on academic achievement. Authors of Paper 2 employ a structural equation modeling technique to model the individual and institutional factors that predict Latino and African American student’s enrollment into graduate school. Authors of Paper 3 propose a comprehensive model of educational trajectories for Latinos from high school to post-secondary education and examines the risk and protective factors that influence Latinos’ educational trajectories from a culturally sensitive perspective. Finally, Dr. Victor Saenz will discuss the common themes and avenues for research and intervention.

Sub Unit

• Education, Schooling

Chair

• Norma J. Perez-Brena, Texas State University, School of Family and Consumer Sciences

Discussant

• Victor B. Saenz, University of Texas at Austin, College of Education

Individual Presentations

• The Educational and Career Adjustment of Mexican-Origin Youth in the Context of the 2007 Economic Recession - Presenting Author: Norma J. Perez-Brena, Texas State University, School of Family and Consumer Sciences; Lorey A Wheeler, University of Nebraska-Lincoln; Sue A. Rodríguez De Jesús, Arizona State University, Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College; Kimberly Updegraff, Arizona State University; Adriana Umana-Taylor, Arizona State University

• Marginalized to Masters: Exploring Individual and Institutional Factors of Advanced Degree Attainment among Minority Youth - Presenting Author: Kelly A Minor, University of Texas at Austin; Aprile Benner, University of Texas

• The Educational Pipeline May Not Be Linear: Latinos’ Educational Trajectories from High School to Post-Secondary Education - Presenting Author: Samantha Sang, Arizona State University, T. Denny Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics; Kimberly Updegraff, Arizona State University