When most children are little they aspire to graduate college, to be the president of the United States, or to be an astronaut. They have certain goals and expectations for their future which they aspire to achieve and which they use as motivation to continue throughout their education. However, research shows that there is a drastic difference between the educational expectations of Latino youth and their white and black counterparts. The disparity in future expectations contributes to the growing achievement gap between students.
Students’ academic expectations have been shown to predict educational outcomes and thus, are an important factor in understanding educational disparities. Historically, there is a significant gap between the academic achievement of Latino students compared to the rest of American youth. Previous studies have shown that students of color are less likely than White students to endorse higher education goals and this is one factor that contributes to lower educational achievement among students of color.
A study performed by professors at the University of Connecticut, Viana Y. Turcios-Cotto and Stephanie Milan, demonstrated the importance of children believing in their future selves to achieve. Specifically, their study examined racial/ethnic differences in the types of future expectations held by high school freshmen projecting 5 years into the future. As you can see in the graph below, Latino students had the lowest expectations of higher education at only 57.20% of Latino students endorsing higher education. Comparatively, 72.8% of Black students and 80.4% of White students were likely to hold higher education expectations. According to the data, Latino students future expectations are more orientated toward family and social aspects of life rather than academic achievement. While only 4.1% of white students mentioned having their own children and their own family in 5 years, 13.3% of Latino students mentioned such expectations. These discrepancies may result from cultural differences of family beliefs such as Latino families greater emphasis on family ties and community.
This graph represents what percentage of students believed they would achieve each category of future expectations (academic, higher education, romantic, work, specific career, own family, and social) 5 years into the future.
Nevertheless, the importance of promoting future educational expectations should not be overlooked. In-school interventions in which students are directed to picture themselves in a successful academic context in the future have been shown to result in improvement in grades, fewer absences, greater concern about doing well in school, and fewer depressive symptoms (see here).
From an early age, teachers should demonstrate to children the possibilities and potential they have if they continue with their education. Latino children, especially, need to be more aware of the success and opportunities that come with a higher level of education. If children have a goal to reach and realize what it means to graduate high school or college, their motivation to achieve and succeed in school will increase. Their increased motivation will help lower the achievement gap because children will begin working towards graduating and having a successful future from an early age.
Post By: Katharine Dougherty