Posts Tagged: college degree
Hispanic, black parents see college degree as key for children’s success
Today, 86% of Hispanic parents and 79% of black parents with children under 18 say it is either extremely or very important that their children earn a college degree. By comparison, about two-thirds (67%) of white parents say the same.
This gap may be linked to differing views on a college degree's importance in moving up the economic ladder. Roughly half (49%) of Hispanics and 43% of blacks say that a college education is a requirement to be part of the middle class, compared with just 22% of whites. However, white adults are more likely than black or Hispanic adults to already bein the middle class or higher, which may account in part for the fact that fewer whites see college as essential.
Over the past two decades, educational attainment and college enrollment have increased substantially among Hispanics, the nation's largest minority group, and blacks. For example, the high school dropout rates among Hispanics and blacks ages 18 to 24 reached record lows in 2014: just 12% for Hispanics and 7% for blacks, down from 33% and 16%, respectively, in 1993.
College enrollment has grown among all races and ethnicities since 1993, but gains have been biggest among Hispanics. In October 2014, 2.3 million Hispanics ages 18 to 24 were enrolled in either a two- or four-year college – up from 728,000 in 1993. Among blacks in the same age group, 1.5 million were enrolled in college in 2014 – up from 897,000 in 1993.
And while the share of Hispanics who have finished college hit a new high in 2014, they still lag other groups on this measure. Among adults ages 25 to 29, 63% of Asians, 41% of whites, 22% of blacks and 15% of Hispanics had earned at least a bachelor's degree in 2014. This gap is partly due to the fact that Hispanics are less likely than other groups to enroll in four-year schools, attend academically selective colleges or study full-time.
Source: Pew Research Center, Hispanic, black parents see college degree as key for children's success, by Renee Stepler, February 24, 2016.
Over 50% of Girls in 3 States Are Latinas – What Does That Mean for Colleges?
For higher education, these figures hold significant meaning, as colleges and universities enroll more young Latinas. A report released by the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics shows that Latinas have made significant progress in earning college degrees, with college completion rates increasing by eight percent for two-year degrees and six percent for four-year degrees between 2003 and 2013.
Latinas are still finishing college at much lower rates than their female counterparts. In 2013, about 19 percent of Latinas age 25 to 29 had a college degree, compared to 44 percent of white women, 23 percent of African-American women, and 64 percent of Asian women. When it comes to degrees in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, there are even fewer Latinas with degrees in STEM fields.
For graduate degrees, these numbers are even lower, with only about four percent of Latinas holding an advanced degree in 2013. This doesn't mean Latinas haven't made significant strides, doubling their share of graduate degree holders from two to four percent in just ten years. However, compared to other non-Hispanic groups – 11 percent of white women, five percent of black women, and 22 percent of Asian women have an advanced degree – there remain large gaps.
OBSTACLES LATINAS FACE TO EARNING A COLLEGE DEGREE
Latinas are more likely to live in poverty than other demographic groups, with one-fourth living below the poverty line and more than half living near poverty, finds the White House report. Similar to African-American girls, they're also more likely to attend high-poverty high schools, characterized by “inadequate facilities, lack of high level curricula, under qualified teachers with less experience, more behavior problems, lower expectations for their students, and both students and school personnel who rapidly come and go.”
What's more, nearly half of Latina girls start school speaking Spanish as their first language. “Instead of recognizing their native language skills as an asset to build on, they are often placed in remedial programs that track them into lower level curricula and slow their academic progress,” notes the White House report. As Latinas learn English in school, their Spanish skills are not similarly developed and even lost. Latinas who lose their language have lower levels of college enrollment, compared to Latinas who learn English while maintaining their Spanish at high levels.
The UCLA study “Making Education Work for Latinas in the U.S.” also found that Latinas “are often expected to prioritize family responsibilities above school; they often feel that they “don't belong” in school, a feeling that can be reinforced by discrimination and low expectations; they see few models of Latinas who have excelled educationally that they can emulate, and too many lack any understanding of how or even why to pursue a college education.”
Latinas that are first-generation college students face a disadvantage compared to non-first-generation peers who often receive more guidance on navigating and succeeding in the university from college-educated parents. “Latinas need real information about higher education, WHY they should pursue it, HOW they can do it, and how it will change their lives. Too many young Latinas don't really understand what higher ed is all about. It's something that “other people” do,” Patricia Gándara, Ph.D., author of the White House report and co-director of the UCLA Civil Rights Project/Proyecto Derechos Civiles, tells GoodCall.
“We also need to figure out how these young women can make it through a college degree without going deeply into debt and also be able to attend full time,” says Gándara, pointing out that Latinas are likely to enroll in school only part-time and work at the same time, which can prolong college and result in additional student debt.
LATINAS STILL MISSING IN HIGHER EDUCATION
Despite these challenges, increasing numbers of Latinas are enrolling at universities across the country. However, with the exception of Hispanic Serving Institutions and some other Minority Serving Institutions, what college-going Latinas are finding are campuses where Latinos and other minorities make up much smaller shares of the student body than is reflected in the general U.S. population, and even fewer Latina and minority faculty members.
Women, in general, account for only 42 percent of full-time college professors. And Latinas, in particular, are even less represented in university faculties. “Only 4 percent of tenured or tenure-track female faculty members in the United States are Latina (78 percent are white, 7 percent are African American, and 7 percent are Asian American), and only 3 percent of female full-time professors are Latina,” according to the American Association of University Professors
FINDING SUPPORT, MENTORS, AND COMMUNITY
Having a mentor is often key to helping Latinas overcome the obstacles that come with being a low-income student, or a female minority at the university or in their profession. However, with so little Latina faculty and a lack of cultural diversity competency among the other faculty and staff, finding this mentor at the university can be difficult for many young Latina women.
Because of this, many Latinas are taking action to create opportunities for Latinas for find mentors, from university initiatives to building online communities for Latina career advancement. Latinitas is one example of an online community for Latina teens age 13 and older to share knowledge about how to succeed in school and college, find scholarship opportunities, and to share the experience of being a young Latina in the U.S. What they're sharing has important implications for schools, universities and the country as a whole. Below are some excerpts from Latinitas:
“I'm white comple[xion] and most people don't think that I am Hispanic, even though I'm 100% Latina… Growing up in a border town I never saw prejudice or racism towards our race/culture until I left my hometown to attend college. It was a shocking experience as I saw some of my friends get treated differently than me just because they looked more Hispanic than I do. I've had people complain to me about Hispanics not knowing that they're complaining about Hispanics to a Hispanic. It's hard to believe that in 2015 these types of acts still occur and [are] very relevant in the world today.”
“I am a first generation so… I wanted to know EVERYTHING [about college] but in the end I would of liked to just know tips on what “not to do.” For example, I wish I would of know[n] what organizations were good to do and which were… not too good. I overwhelmed myself my first year with organizations and had to learn on my own what was worth it and also had to learn which ones were know[n] on campus for their good deeds or not good deeds. In all honest[y] I wish I had a mentor in my pocket my first years.”
“I was lucky that someone shared this brilliant nugget with me: if you are worried about money, apply to good private liberal arts colleges. They have a ton of money and great aid scholarships, often covering more than your aid at a state school. [A]lso because of their large endowments, more money is invested per student for resources, services, activities, travel, etc… Private schools have huge price tags, but don't be intimidated. Myself and many friends are on full rides thanks to the amount of green in my school's bank. So go for it!”
“When I was in high school, I thought I felt like I knew a little too much about college. Being the youngest in my family, I had watched my brother and my sister go through their college application, acceptance, and graduation process. I thought to myself, “I've seen it all!” But honestly, when it came to being my turn to go to college, it was as if I had never knew anything about college at all… you need to realize that there are going to be people who are completely different from you in college. I had a difficult time dealing with this issue – something many refer to as “culture shock.” I believe this is one of the biggest things I should have been told about when I was younger.”
HIGHER EDUCATION FOR LATINAS, A TOP PRIORITY
The posts describe how these young women feel alienated when they go to college – many of them of first-generation college goers, how they experience prejudice against them as Latinas, their need for mentors, and show the advice they are giving young Latinas planning to go to college. What's more, they point to a very diverse set of experiences occurring across the young Latina population. With the growing population of school-age Latinas looking toward and enrolling in college every year, for colleges and universities, it will be essential that they understand who the Latinas they are serving are.
Despite the fact that Hispanics, in general, are going to make up the biggest share of U.S. population growth between 2015-2060, “There are people that don't really care about Latinos in the U.S.,” Marybeth Gasman, director of the Penn Center for Minority Serving Institutions expressed concern in an interview with GoodCall. Though not her personal position, she went on to say, “But, even if you don't care about Latinos, you should care about yourself because your interests [as a country, state, or community] are wrapped up in those young ladies.”
By ensuring more young Latinas in the U.S. earn a college degree, these young women are going to be able to contribute more to their local communities and to the nation. And that's in everyone's best interest. Predictions for 2020: 65 percent of jobs in the U.S. will require postsecondary education beyond high school. And in California, one of the states with the largest young Latina populations, more jobs – 67 percent – will require higher education.
Source: Published originally on Goodcall.com, Education News as Over 50% of Girls in 3 States Are Latinas – What Does That Mean for Colleges? by Monica Harvin, January 22, 2016.
59% of college-educated Latinos have trouble meeting monthly expenses, report says
Despite attaining higher education levels in recent decades, many Latinos find themselves in a "fragile financial state," according to the study released Monday by the TIAA-CREF Institute, the research arm of the New York investment giant.
The report draws on data from the vast 2012 National Financial Capability Study, a national survey of 25,000 American adults, and examines in detail the personal finances of 1,553 respondents who described themselves as Hispanic and reported at least some college education.
"[W]hile growing in economic importance, Hispanics are set apart from the general U.S. population by gaps in wealth and income, as well as less integration with traditional financial institutions, differences that were only exacerbated by the 2008-2009 recession," the report said. "Such disparities affect even college-educated Hispanics, a growing sub-group."
The study, done in collaboration with Global Financial Literacy Center at George Washington University, adds to a growing body of research on the troubled state of Latino finances, including among the college educated, in the wake of the financial crisis of 2008. Among all U.S. ethnic groups, Latinos were the hardest hit by the crisis and subsequent Great Recession, researchers have found.
Earlier research cited by the TIAA-CREF study shows that from 2005 to 2009, Latino household wealth fell 66%, compared with 53% for African American and 16% for white households.
Unemployment among Latinos doubled from 2007 to 2011, and the poverty rate rose six percentage points from 2006 to 2010, both increasing faster than any other ethnic group, the study said.
The TIAA-CREF survey found that 59% of respondents said they have trouble covering monthly expenses.
It also found that more than half of respondents said they were unable to save at all, and 20% said they spent more than their income over the past year. One third of respondents said they spent as much as their income.
Homeownership among Latino households trails the broader population, with only 53% reporting owning a home compared to 71% for whites, according to the survey.
Illustrating both a cause and symptom of Latino financial difficulties, half of the respondents reported engaging in expensive credit-card practices that can run up interest charges and fees, including paying the minimum monthly balance only, using a card for a cash advance or incurring a late fee.
Source: Originally published on The Los Angeles Times as 59% of college-educated Latinos have trouble meeting monthly expenses, report says, byDean Starkman, May 18, 2015.
More Hispanic high school graduates enrolling in college
This milestone is the result of a long-term increase in Hispanic college-going that accelerated with the onset of the recession in 2008. The rate among white high school graduates, by contrast, has declined slightly since 2008.
The positive trends in Hispanic educational indicators also extend to high school. The most recent available data show that in 2011 only 14 percent of Hispanic 16- to 24-year-olds were high school dropouts, half the level in 2000 (28%).
Despite the narrowing of some of these long-standing educational attainment gaps, Hispanics continue to lag whites in a number of key higher education measures. Young Hispanic college students are less likely than their white counterparts to enroll in a four-year college (56% versus 72%), they are less likely to attend a selective college, less likely to be enrolled in college full time, and less likely to complete a bachelor’s degree.
It is possible that the rise in high school completion and college enrollment by Latino youths has been driven, at least in part, by their declining fortunes in the job market. Since the onset of the recession at the end of 2007, unemployment among Latinos ages 16 to 24 has gone up by seven percentage points, compared with a five percentage point rise among white youths. With jobs harder to find, more Latino youths may have chosen to stay in school longer.
Another factor, however, could be the importance that Latino families place on a college education. According to a 2009 Pew Hispanic Center survey, 88% of Latinos ages 16 and older agreed that a college degree is necessary to get ahead in life today (Pew Hispanic Center, 2009). By contrast, a separate 2009 survey of all Americans ages 16 and older found that fewer (74%) said the same (Pew Research Social & Demographic Trends, 2009).
Young Hispanics are much less likely to drop out of high school than they were in 2000. In October 2012 there were 134,000 Hispanic recent high school dropouts. By definition these were Hispanic 16- to 24-year-olds who reported not being enrolled in school in October 2012 but were enrolled a year earlier and did not have a high school diploma. This compares with 101,000 recent Hispanic high school dropouts in October 2000. Although the absolute number of Hispanic recent high school dropouts has risen, there are many more Hispanic students enrolled in school in October 2012 compared with October 2000.
Evidence also suggests that Hispanic students are increasingly likely to graduate from high school (in this instance “graduate” refers to those who obtain a regular high school diploma and does not include students obtaining a GED). A recent comprehensive investigation of high school graduation rates finds that 78% of Hispanics graduated from high school in 2010, an increase from 64% in 2000
Source: Published originally on Pew Research Hispanic Center, as Hispanic High School Graduates Pass Whites in Rate of College Enrollment by Richard Fry and Paul Taylor, May 9, 2013.
Latinos aspire to better education
96 percent of Latinos would like to see their kids earn a college degree.
![Camino a la Universidad Spanish Camino a la Universidad Spanish](http://ucanr.org/blogs/LatinoBriefs/blogfiles/8259.jpg)
When it comes to their children’s education, Latino voters have clear and high aspirations: a new poll revealed that an overwhelming 96 percent—almost all—would like to see their kids earn a college degree, whether it is a bachelor’s, master’s or professional degree.
What is not so clear is whether these voters can achieve this, at least from the financial point of view, since 59 percent do not think they will be able to continue paying their children’s tuition if it increases again next year. And 40 percent thinks that in general, even today, it will be difficult to pay all the costs associated with having their children attend college.
These are some of the results of an impreMedia/Latino Decisions poll, the fourth in a series of six national polls exploring the opinions of the Latino group that has best integrated into American society: registered voters.
An interesting poll finding is that, when it comes to seeking solutions for problems related to education and the low high school graduation rate, Latino voters are not so attached to ideological solutions (read: liberal or conservative) and freely choose from both options, sometimes in contradictory ways.
For example, the poll revealed Latinos consider the participation of parents the most important or crucial issue in tackling education problems. Only 17 percent blamed the state, 10 percent the school district and 5 percent teachers. In fact, Latinos usually have a high opinion of their children’s schools and teachers. Of respondents, 73 percent think their children’s teachers are good or excellent, while 67 percent think the school their children attend is good or excellent.
Also, 74 percent oppose reducing teachers’ salaries. However, 53 percent support the idea—generally considered conservative—of basing salaries on performance rather than seniority, an option supported by 37 percent.
Regarding solutions to education problems, voters support different things. The use of tax credits to pay for private school or college tuition obtained the support of 51 percent (school) and 84 percent (college) of voters. Nevertheless, history has shown that, when push comes to shove, a high percentage of Latino voters reject vouchers.
The poll also shows overwhelming support for facilitating education for undocumented students (76 percent) and bilingual education (80 percent), and opposition to reducing the school calendar (84 percent) and reducing art and music classes (65 percent). These voters are willing to pay more taxes for bond measures or to collect money and invest it in education (63 percent), all of which are the most liberal options within the political spectrum.
Education continues being an issue of the utmost importance for Latinos in the U.S.—although in recent months, other issues such as the economy and immigration have had more of a presence in the public arena and have demonstrated a higher priority in recent polls of Latinos in the United States.
In these types of polls, it was traditional for education to be the number one issue for these voters, but in this particular poll, education came third after the economy/jobs and immigration. This makes sense especially today, when the educational opportunities for young people are connected to their immigration status and the swings of the economy.
The economic situation has led states and school districts to make cuts in school spending and increase tuition in colleges and universities frequently in the last few years. This severely impacts the aspirations of Latinos, since a majority of their children count on public education in order to progress, according to the experts.
Source: La Opinión, Hispanics aspire to better education, by Pilar Marrero, August 18, 2011.