As immigration rates increase Hispanic and Latino students will continue to grow in population in today’s society, and “despite some progress over the past three decades, Hispanics continue to be underrepresented at all levels of higher education relative to their representation in the U.S. population” (Perna, Li, Walsh, Raible 146). The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) states that Hispanics “represented 14% of all high school graduates in 2004-2005, but received only 11% of associate’s degrees, 7% of bachelor’s degrees, 6% of master’s degrees, 5% of first-professional degrees, and 3% of doctoral degrees in 2005-2006” (as cited in Perna, Li, Walsh, Raible pg. 146). Therefore, in this paper I will be focusing on the education
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To explain, Thompson has identified many possible factors that can be of influence to the Hispanic/Latino underdevelopment in education; she finds that families of these students might be unconvinced of the benefits of achieving a higher education (as cited in Brown pg. 102). Thompson then goes on to quote Tensie Cadenas, who states, “They come from a culture where often education is not as much of a priority” (as qtd. in Brown pg. 102). Therefore, the culture of a Hispanic/Latino student can cause many obstacles; according to Alan V. Brown, a Professor of Spanish and Hispanic studies at the University of Kentucky, some first-generation Latino students encounter the problem of having little to no English skills. This obstacle can hinder a person’s ability to succeed in the educational system here in the United States. In addition, even an instructor of a different upbringing/culture can cause the Hispanic/Latino students to lower their participation efforts in class. For example, in a study done by Brown he questions both a mostly Hispanic filled classroom and a mainly White filled classroom the same question regarding whether they would participate more in class if the instructor was of the same cultural background. When Brown reviewed the responses from these two groups he concluded that “a total of 39% of the Latino students …show more content…
Although they did not answer my research question directly, the studies performed in each have lead me to believe that this certain factor is the most influential on a Hispanic/Latino’s educational achievement. It is apparent that family and prior academic preparation can be of great influence, but in my opinion family influences can also tie into cultural influences. If the Hispanic/Latino’s parents were raised to believe that education wasn’t really much of an importance on their lives that same mentality can be passed to their children. As a result, their children will grow up with that mentality embedded in their heads that educational achievement wasn’t much of an importance. Therefore, I have come to the conclusion that the most influential factor that has played a major part in Hispanics/Latinos educational achievement is his/her
To explain, Thompson has identified many possible factors that can be of influence to the Hispanic/Latino underdevelopment in education; she finds that families of these students might be unconvinced of the benefits of achieving a higher education (as cited in Brown pg. 102). Thompson then goes on to quote Tensie Cadenas, who states, “They come from a culture where often education is not as much of a priority” (as qtd. in Brown pg. 102). Therefore, the culture of a Hispanic/Latino student can cause many obstacles; according to Alan V. Brown, a Professor of Spanish and Hispanic studies at the University of Kentucky, some first-generation Latino students encounter the problem of having little to no English skills. This obstacle can hinder a person’s ability to succeed in the educational system here in the United States. In addition, even an instructor of a different upbringing/culture can cause the Hispanic/Latino students to lower their participation efforts in class. For example, in a study done by Brown he questions both a mostly Hispanic filled classroom and a mainly White filled classroom the same question regarding whether they would participate more in class if the instructor was of the same cultural background. When Brown reviewed the responses from these two groups he concluded that “a total of 39% of the Latino students …show more content…
Although they did not answer my research question directly, the studies performed in each have lead me to believe that this certain factor is the most influential on a Hispanic/Latino’s educational achievement. It is apparent that family and prior academic preparation can be of great influence, but in my opinion family influences can also tie into cultural influences. If the Hispanic/Latino’s parents were raised to believe that education wasn’t really much of an importance on their lives that same mentality can be passed to their children. As a result, their children will grow up with that mentality embedded in their heads that educational achievement wasn’t much of an importance. Therefore, I have come to the conclusion that the most influential factor that has played a major part in Hispanics/Latinos educational achievement is his/her