Hispanics and Educational attainment

Still in progress--
As of 2011, Hispanics make up 52.0 million of the US population making them the largest minority group in the United States. From the year 2000 to 2011 alone, there has been a 37% increase in population. The projection for the year 2050 is 132.8 million (Nora, 2009). Although immigration has been blamed for this rapid increase, it is believed that the continuing increase is due to high birth rates among the 2nd and 3rd generations. In the US, the Hispanic population is primarily composed of 3 Latin American regions; Mexico, Puerto Rico, and Cuba. 58% of the Hispanic population is Mexican, 9.6% are Puerto Rican, and 3.5% are Cuban (Macartney, S. 2013). Because Mexicans make up a large proportion of the Hispanic population, more emphasis will be placed on them.
Of the 52.0 million Hispanics, 23.2% are below the poverty line compared to 11.6% of the White population. The poverty rate across all races is 14.3%, still significantly lower than the Hispanic population (Macartney, S. 2013). Along with high poverty rates comes low educational attainment. Low levels of formal schooling earned have contributed to the overrepresentation of the Latino population in low-skill occupations that pay less, and have higher unemployment rates than other groups keeping them below the poverty line (Nora, 2009). The rate of high school completion among Hispanics is considerably lower than their White counterpart. Nearly half of the Hispanic population fails to graduate from high school, 13% of the population receives their bachelors and an even smaller number of 4% receive their graduate or professional degree (Sepúlved, J. 2010).
Being the largest minority group in the US, the Hispanic minority group has become a great influence on American society. The grand population increase only goes to show how important the Hispanic population is to the future of the United States. As they become larger, they will be shaping the future. With low educational attainment and poverty rates the way they are, the future is not looking so bright, but attention is finally being paid to this phenomenon.
The purpose of this paper is to explore the many influences on Hispanic educational attainment in the United States. This paper will look into the various aspects of a Hispanic’s life that may influence the lag in educational attainment. I will begin with a historical overview and facts about the phenomenon. I will continue with a summary of the various theories and concepts applicable, and will then review previous research and articles written on this topic, compare their finding, and discuss trends. With the information gathered, I will bring issues together and create my own interpretation of the phenomenon. The paper will be concluded with a summary of the topic and findings. I will address any limitations to my paper and reasons why it is important to further research this topic.
This phenomenon cannot be explained simply, and no one theory could fully address the many issues that arise once exploring this phenomenon. Many theories and concepts will be used to explain the different variables impacting educational attainment. Within the topic of educational attainment among Hispanics comes a variety of issues. Being a Hispanic in America brings about certain issues such as acculturation and assimilation. In the United States assimilation is highly stressed. It is a necessity to conform to the values and norms of mainstream society. Because the great difference in culture and language, full assimilation is hard to achieve. The Hispanic culture emphasizes the concept of familialism. This concept varies greatly from traditional views of the American culture, because it places more emphasis on the community instead of the individual. The tension to conform brings about a concept called acculturated stress that will be further discussed in the following paragraphs. The language barrier causes problems in its own. The Sociocultural Theory will be used to identify the problems with the education system and the struggle to advance as an ESL student.
The concept of meritocracy is emphasized in our society, as well. Those who work hard should be rewarded, so they say. It is believed that you can achieve the “American Dream” by simply pulling yourself up by your boot straps. This notion, however, does not take into consideration the many inequalities in our society that keep this from being achievable. The Critical Race Theory and Structural Discrimination Theory will be used to examine this inequality. The concept of self-efficacy will be used to explain the effects of having high expectations with little resources that allow you to succeed. The Defeatist Theory will be used to explain the low educational attainment of someone with low self-efficacy.
No one theory mentioned above could single-handedly explain why Hispanics lag in educational attainment. It is necessary to examine the different aspects of living as a Hispanic in the United States and how they overlap and influence one another.
Historical Overview The Hispanic population has grown dramatically over the past generations, and continues to grow. In 1970, the Hispanic population was 9 million and the largest language minority. The increase in population from 1970 to 1980 was found to be due to high birth rates and increasing immigration (Library of Congress, 1983). As stated in previous paragraphs, the projected population in 2050 is 132.8 million (Nora, 2009). As it is now, in 1970 there was a concern about the social and economic disadvantage to Hispanics, especially Spanish speakers (Library of Congress, 1983). Social disadvantages are to be defined as racial or ethnic prejudice based on membership in a group. Some examples are unequal access into institutions of higher education, credit, and jobs or promotions. Economic disadvantages will be defined as a poor financial condition due to social disadvantages. It was belied that the language barrier and lack of proper bilingual programs in the education system brought a great disadvantage to Hispanics. A proper bilingual program should provide lessons in both languages that incorporate both cultures in order to create a smoother shift into learning a different language. Of the 3.5 million bilingual children enrolled in primary and secondary schools, 80% of those were Hispanic (Library of Congress, 1983). Educational attainment was found to be strongly correlated with family income and parental education. From 1973 to 1981, there was a disproportionate amount of Hispanics unemployed. Compared to the overall workforce, Hispanics were concentrated in occupations with low pay and low skill requirements which was found to be connected with their low educational attainment, as well (Library of Congress, 1983). In regards to housing, it found that 84% of Hispanics at that time were living in neighborhoods with few resources readily available to them, most facing discrimination in the housing market. Even moving into the 1990s, Hispanics had a disproportionately high drop-out rate (Rodriguez, J. L.). Studies were done to examine the link between low educational attainment and culture. An individual’s social capital such as family, friends, and teachers were found to have a strong influence on academic achievement (Rodriguez, J.L.). Social capital shall be defined as social relations with positive benefits. Almost all of these trends and statistics from the 1970s to the 1990s have remained the same in the preceding generations. Many of the same issues continue in this generation and contribute the persistent low educational achievement of Hispanics in the US.
Theoretical Overview
Structural Discrimination Theory By looking at the structures of society one can gain a better understanding of the many ways the average Hispanic is affected negatively. Structural discrimination will be defined as racial inequalities in structures of society. Institutional discrimination will be defined as laws, regulations, policies, and informal practices of institutions that result in subordination. The educational system is the most influential institution affecting educational attainment. The educational system provides access to free public education for all, but that does not mean it is an equal opportunity. Segregation must be taken into consideration of what it means to have an equal opportunity, because different populations experience different processes. An issue with some schools is tracking. Hispanics are often tracked into vocational schools instead of colleges (Garcia, L. M., & Bayer, A. E. 2005). Tracking creates unequal opportunities, and minorities tend to be limited the most. Academic grouping has a negative effect, as well. By separating children into bilingual programs or remedial classes places a feeling of superiority on those placed in the upper level tracks (Garcia, L. M., & Bayer, A. E. 2005). This increases the likelihood of dropping out for the students being segregated. Segregation by school location also limits a child’s opportunities. Children living in poor inner city neighborhoods are forced to attend poor schools that lack funding and have very few resources (Garcia, L. M., & Bayer, A. E. 2005). When children are surrounded by positive role models and other children with goals to attend college, their likelihood to drop out is lower than those without them. However, two thirds of Hispanic students are enrolled in schools with 50% of the population being minorities, thus decreasing their likelihood of having peers with aspirations to go to college
Defeatist Theory The Defeatist Theory stresses that the student falls into a fatalistic perspective where academic success is not a possibility (Cruz, V. 2009). The numerous obstacles keeping them from upward mobility and witnessing their family and peers keeps them from believing there are promising opportunities for them. Self-efficacy plays a major role in how we think or feel about ourselves. Self-efficacy shall be defined as the belief in oneself to be successful in any given task or situation. One factor contributing to self-efficacy is encouragement and support from others (Suarez-Mccrink, C. 2002). According to Solberg, S. (1997), Hispanic college students lack social support which in turn causes a negative self-efficacy and physical distress. Poor adjustments to college due to a lack of social support keep students from returning to school. 46% of college distress was caused by negative self-efficacy due to lack of social support (Solberg, S. 1997). Without proper support and encouragement a student could feel incompetent or lack the confidence they need to achieve academic success. The segregation discussed in the paragraph above plays a part in a child’s self-efficacy. Placing children in classes separate from others creates self-doubt (Garcia, L. M., & Bayer, A. E. 2005). The feeling of inferiority could cause the student to fall into the very fatalistic perspective discussed above, making them feel that they will not measure up to their superior white counterpart. They lack a positive environment that will reassure their capabilities and keep them from doubting the possibility of educational success.
Critical Race Theory
This next theory places its emphasis on race and its influence on education. In this theory, race is considered a major factor in determining inequity in the US , especially in the education system. In the book Critical race theory in education (2006), it states that the US society is based on property rights. As we all know, property tax is what funds schools. More affluent communities provide children with better schooling and more resources. The quality of schooling is then based on property values (Critical race theory in education, 2006). Less affluent neighborhoods are left with few resources therefore less opportunities. It has been argued that the minorities in these less affluent neighborhoods are not suffering because of their race, but because of poverty. CRT argues that instead, they are facing institutional and structural racism because of their poverty and their inadequate schooling. In the US, the concept of meritocracy is emphasized. Meritocracy assumes that all individuals have equal opportunities, and your success or failure is based on your own individual attributes (Zamudio, M., 2010). It is believed that because free public education is provided for that this education provides an equal opportunity for all. If there is a problem in schools, the attention is placed on the individual not the system itself (Zumudio, M., 2010). CRT also discusses tracking within the schools expressing that minorities are disproportionally paced in the lowest tracks (Dixson, A. D., & Rousseau, C. K. 2005). As discussed in the Structural Discrimination theory, these tracks are geared towards vocational schools rather than colleges limiting their opportunities. In Dixon and Rousseau’s article (2005), the students’ lack of voice is brought to the attention of scholars. Voice meaning the “assertion and acknowledgement of the importance of the personal and community experiences of people of colour as sources of knowledge” (Dixson, A. D., & Rousseau, C. K. 2005). In the story of Pablo, a Latino college student, he expressed a lack of academic rigor, too much emphasis on discipline, and low expectations from educators. The struggle of self-doubt brought upon by the education system creates a voice that only gets ignored in the education system.
Sociocultural Theory Within this voice comes a variety of aspects that make it one, language, playing a major role. Language is part of culture, identity and a way of learning and understanding. It is easier to learn and understand things when in a cultural context you are familiar with. “Symbolic tools empower humans to organize and control such mental processes as voluntary attention, logical problem-solving, planning and evaluation, voluntary memory, and intentional learning” (Lantolf, J. P. 1994). One of the most important symbolic tools is language. It is believed that human mental functioning is mediated by language (Duff, Patricia A. 2007). This, therefore, makes bilingual programs a necessity. The problem in most classrooms today is that even though special help may be provided to bilingual children, most educators are not familiar with the native language or culture (Tae-Young Kim 2010). The Sociocultural Theory then claims that the lack of efficient bilingual programs limit a student’s academic success (Zsembik, B.A., 1996). According to the 2000 census, three-fourths of all Hispanics spoke a language different than English at home. For Dominicans and Central Americans, nine out of ten did not speak English at home (Mellander, G. A. 2005). The great amount of Spanish speakers demands an efficient bilingual program, although this is not the case in most schools. Bilingual programs tend to isolate children into separate groups which in turn create the opportunity for other students to apply stereotypes (Thao, N., & Gonzales, G. 2005). Contact with different races helps eliminate stereotypes which can help a child’s self-esteem and greater chance of succeeding academically. The bilingual programs also have the tendency to slow down the pace of learning and don’t challenge the student enough. This keeps them from competing with their white counterpart, because their education is not permitting them to learn and reach their full potential (Thao, N., & Gonzales, G. 2005).
Research Trends Hispanic’s low educational attainment is a vicious cycle. Nearly all the research done on this topic recognized a continuous pattern. The cycle of poverty is one of the greatest contributors to this phenomenon. The parent’s educational attainment had a strong correlation to a child’s educational attainment, because education is a strong predictor of personal income (Wojtkiewicz, R. 1995). Over the past decade, tuition has increased faster than inflation rates (Rosenzweig, R., 2004). Over a time span of 10 years, tuition raised 50% for 4-year universities (Arbona, C. and Amaury, N., 2007. According to Rosenzweig (2004), public policy and financial aid are indeed crippling the poor and denying them the appropriate aid to attend college. Without government aid the opportunity to attend college for most of these low-income minorities is minimal. White families with high educational attainment provide an environment that encourages the pursuit of high educational attainment (Wojtkiewicz, R. 1995). These parents tend to be more involved in school functions and homework, while those with low socioeconomic status tend to avoid participation in school functions due to school discrimination and issues with language barriers (Zsembik, B.A. and Llanes, D., 1996). Parent’s involvement has shown to increase a student’s self-esteem and academic success (Hwang, Y., 2010). With a parent’s low educational attainment comes low socioeconomic status and lack of resources. Those with high educational attainment also have more disposable income available to finance their child’s education. The lack of resources can include poor college preparation and lack of access to networks to engage in seeking and acquiring college information. Low income schools do not provide the same curriculum as the more affluent neighborhoods. The lower income schools provide less advanced courses and gifted and talented programs (Kao, G., 2003). It was shown in the National Education Longitudinal Study that only 12% of Hispanics scored in the top quartile in math and reading tests compared to a nearly a third of White students (Amaury, N., 2009). Hispanic students entering college with similar educational backgrounds as affluent whites have the same likelihood of achieving academic success insinuating that race has no direct link to low educational attainment (Arbona, C. and Amaury, N., 2007). If the children living in poverty had the same academic resources available to them, then academic success could be in their future, as well. The environment these children are being raised in provides them with few mentors and minimal access to college information (Sepúlveda J., 2010). Misinformation may lead to poor decisions. Their white counterpart has the ability to draw on their own academic experiences to make informed decisions (Amaury, N., 2009).
The culture of Hispanics in the US plays a strong role in education. The values and customs of a culture shape the thought and actions of an individual. Within the Hispanic culture there is a focus on the family. The term familialism is used to describe the importance on the family or community within the culture. This idea places the needs of the overall community above the needs of an individual. In the US, individualism is embraced and the concept of meritocracy is used heavily. Meritocracy implies that one’s own success’ and failures are due an individual’s attributes and work ethic. This differs strongly when compared to the Hispanic culture which deemphasizes the individual’s needs and concerns. It is shown that through assimilation into American culture and adapting the views of society, students have more academic success (McKinney, K. L., 2000), implying that their own culture is keeping them from the success they are trying to attain. Along with culture comes language. Because 80% of the 3.5 million bilingual students are Hispanic, a strong bilingual program is necessary to academic achievement (Library of Congress, 1983). Those with low English proficiency have restricted opportunities, and the lack of commitment to bilingual programs in the educational system restricts children even further (Zsembik, B.A. and Llanes, D., 1996). The assimilation theory states that the transition into English is a step closer to full acceptance into the different aspects in society including the educational system and places a strong emphasis on the English proficiency as a key to educational success (Lutz, A., 2004).

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