Academic Achievement of First-Generation Mexican American Males in a Community College

Academic Achievement of First-Generation Mexican American Males in a Community College
Author: Carlos C. Peña
Publisher: Universal-Publishers
Total Pages: 142
Release: 2012-12
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1612339522

The purpose of this study was to examine the complexities of successful attainment and achievement of 10 Mexican American males in a rural Southwest community college. This study strives to offer insights concerning the questions: (a) what behavioral patterns of current family, peers, and conditions in school have influenced the educational decisions of these Mexican American males? and (b) what social conditions motivate these Mexican American males to seek and achieve higher education despite adversity? This qualitative research was also aimed at establishing and understanding how a selected number of Mexican American males have achieved academic success. The researcher chose 10 men with either an associate of arts or an associate of science degrees for an in-depth interview and used a semi-structured interview guide in an effort to prompt oral discourse. The interviewer posed questions concerning academic conditions, family impact, college environment, and financial issues. The responses to the questions led to similar themes involved in these students' course completion and graduation. The researcher used a theoretical framework using Bandura's Social Learning Theory (1977) in which he suggests that not only environmental factors, but motivational factors along with self-regulatory mechanisms affect an individual's behavior. This research illustrated the conditions that facilitated reaching the participant's educational goal and mission, which was to complete a two-year degree at the community college. The inquiry examined the behavioral patterns that have been an influence on the educational decisions of these Mexican American males, and what social conditions have motivated them to seek and achieve higher education despite adversity.

The Relationship Between Psychosocialcultural Factors and Mexican American College Student Academic Achievement

The Relationship Between Psychosocialcultural Factors and Mexican American College Student Academic Achievement
Author: Nadia Nicole Cano
Publisher:
Total Pages: 222
Release: 2014
Genre: Academic achievement
ISBN:

Previous research has noted the importance of investigating contextual factors and their effect on non-persistence (Gloria, 1997; Gloria & Ho, 2003; Gloria & Robinson Kurpius, 2001) but has not investigated their effects on academic achievement. The current study provides support for including psychosocialcultural (PSC) factors and the PSC framework (Gloria & Rodriguez, 2000) in research with Mexican American college students and specifically in the area of understanding the many factors that affect GPA. The current study examined the relationship between the variables of ethnic identity, college course self-efficacy, social support of family and friends, cultural congruity and university environment and the degree to which they predict GPA. Participants of the study consisted of 100 Mexican American undergraduate college students attending a Hispanic-serving university in the southwest. Participants completed a demographic questionnaire and the University Environment Scale (UES; Gloria & Robinson, 1996), College Self-Efficacy Inventory (CSEI: Solberg, O'Brien, Kennel, & Davis, 1993), Perceived Social Support from Family and Friends (PSSFa & PSSFr: Procidano & Heller, 1983), Ethnic identity Scale (EIS; Umaña-Taylor, Yazedjian & Bamaca-Gomez, 2004) and Cultural Congruity Scale (CCS: Gloria & Robinson Kurpius, 1996) online. The hierarchical regression model used to predict GPA was statistically significant, with 19% of the variance in GPA accounted for (R2 = .19, F = 2.71, p = .01). In the first step of the hierarchical regression, college self-efficacy was a significant predictor, accounting for 5% of the variance in GPA (R2 = .05, F = 5.45, p = .02). Exploratory analyses showed correlations between GPA and CSEI course scale (r = .23, p