Doctoral Dissertation Research: Striving Together? Second-Generation Americans' Path to College

University Of California-Irvine, Irvine CA

Investigators

Abstract

We know that there are enduring differences in the rates of educational attainment across different social groups. Because some social groups in the United States have higher levels of college educated adults than others, these adults become an educational and social resource for working-class background youth from these same groups, who subsequently complete more years of schooling than they would otherwise. Thus initial differences in educational attainment are duplicated over time, thus posing challenges to some striving for upward mobility. This project will advance how this process of resource activation unfolds across different social groups. Moreover, the present study will examine whether these resources can be shared beyond the originating social communities to support academic achievement among peers of other social groups through youths? friendship networks. The study will identify conditions under which high-school level social resources from some groups not only serve to enhance emerging educational mobility strategies of in-group members, but also advance the social opportunity of working-class students from other social groups through peer networks. Findings will provide guidance for K-12 schools as they strive to encourage higher rates of enrollment in higher education and as well as achievement of post-secondary education among many social groups who are enrolled. This project analyzes observational and interview data from 120 high-school aged children of several social groups that vary in terms of average adult educational attainment and in terms of social resources. The project will interview respondents using a questionnaire and semi-structured interview guide that collect demographic information, college preparation strategies, and access to various forms and origins of social resources. This project will also incorporate similar data from an existing sample of 45 parents and young adults whose help may be useful to high school students striving for upward mobility. The project will use MaxQDA, which is a qualitative data analysis software that facilitates first and second cycle data coding, to manage, store and analyze all data gathered for this project. The project will also conduct participant observation in several high school settings, including campus sporting events, student free time and during parent-teacher-student organization meetings, to contextualize data produced via questionnaires and interviews. By understanding what facilitates positive cross-group relationships of adolescents, the study will inform sociological theories regarding social mobility, educational access and inter-group relations. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.