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D409College Access: How Is It Structured and Why Is It Unequal?

Dr. Fay M. ButlerSenior Director of Enrollment ManagementLaGuardia Community College/[email protected] S. Jeffers, Ed.M.Director of the Center for Student [email protected],

mailto:[email protected]


This workshop will be presented in four parts

I. The Importance of College Access

II. The structure of College Access using College Choice Models

III. Why College Access is Unequal-Inequalities of and Obstacles to Access

IV. Conclusion – Some solutions to access issues, open discussion

This Workshop will be presented in Four Parts


Theoretical Basis For this Workshop

Theoretical Models used in support of this paper were:

•Hossler’s and Gallagher’s (1987) college choice model (College ChoiceTheory);•Freemans model of college predetermination•Cabrera and LaNasa three task process•Bourdieu and Passeron’s (1990) theory of cultural capital; •Ogbu’s (1992 ) theory of the role of community forces (Status Attainment Theory);

Theoretical Basis For this Workshop


•For this workshop, historically underrepresented groups in education will be defined as Black and Hispanic

•In simplest terms, the concepts of cultural and social capital mean assets, in the form of behaviors, on which individuals and/or families can draw to meet a certain set of established values in a society.


•In 2004, noted researcher Dr. Patricia McDonough wrote about the challenges and prospects for the school to college transition especially for underrepresented students.

•Higher education, a luxury for a tiny minority just a century ago, has now taken center stage in achieving the American Dream.

Why Is College Access Important?


Why College Access Is Important

The great increase in the importance of college has coincided with a huge increase in the percentage of U.S. students who come from historically excluded minority groups, which never had equal access to college and were concentrated in weak high schools, usually segregated by both race and poverty (Orfield, 2005)


Why College Access is Important

•Transition from high school to college is particularly difficult for historically underrepresented urban students who are not academically talented (Butler, 2005).

•Black and Hispanic students are not obtaining postsecondary education degrees at the same rate as their White, non-Latino counterparts nor are they graduating from high school with the same level of academic skills (NCES, 2001a.)




•Access to higher education has taken on crucial importance in debating about social mobility and equality because there is clear evidence that a college education is associated with significant economic and non

economic benefits (Karen & Dougherty, 2005).

•Economic benefits of higher education include higher pay and employment stability.

•Plain and simple education pays: A college education is associated with better access to employment and high earning. (Education Commission of the States, 2003).




Summary

Access to Higher Education is important

•Better Educated Citizens•Significant economic and non economic benefits•Social mobility



Structure of College Access

How do Students get to college?

•Students aspire to, apply to and then enroll in college through a complex, longitudinal, interactive process involving individual aspiration and achievement, learning opportunities and intervention programs in high school and institutional admissions (McDonough, 2004).

•What is college choice ? How do students make decisions to participate or not to participate in Higher Education?




•Models of student college choice have been developed to demonstrate how traditional- age students go about realizing their educational aspirations (Hossler, Schmit, & Vesper, 1999).

•Hossler and Gallagher (1987) created a three-stage model of college choice: predisposition, search, and choice.

Structure of College Access Models of College Choice


Models of College Choice

Traditional College Choice Theory•Predisposition refers to the plans students develop for education or work after they graduate from high school (Hossler, Schmit, & Vesper, 1999). In this stage, a students’ family background, academic achievements, and

peers influence the development of post-high school plans. In this stage, Hossler et al. found that most high school students formalize their educational plans between eighth and tenth grade.

•They also found that parents and other family members and, to a lesser extent, peers had the largest effect on students’ college aspirations.

Structure of College AccessModels of College Choice



Traditional College Choice Theory

•The search stage includes students’ discovering and evaluating possible colleges in which to enroll. In their study on going to college, Hossler et al. (1999) discovered that during the search stage of college choice, students’ educational aspirations tended to remain steady or increased during

sophomore and junior years.

•In the choice stage students choose a school from among those they have considered.

Structure of College Access Models of College Choice



•Dr. Kassie Freeman’s alternate model of college choice called the model of predetermination focuses primarily on the decision making process of underrepresented groups

•Freeman created her model based on the following questions:a) Are the influences that determine the choice to go to college the same for different cultural groups? b) At what age does the process to choose higher education begin?c) What role does economics and secondary school play in the process

for underrepresented groups?

Structure of College Access Models of college Choice



•Her model is meant to address the culturally diverse perspectives not captured by Hossler and others (Smith, 2008).

•Freeman, states that students are bound together by fate to pursue certain postsecondary options as a result of their exposure to values about college in their neighborhood and ethnic environment.

•Cultural and societal forces combine with influence of people, circumstances, or any number of situations to “channel” Black students into different postsecondary directions.

Structure of college Access Models of College Choice



•Further, Freeman presents a dynamic model where multiple, intersecting influences such as school context, economic, outlook, gender and

psychological make up of the individual (knowers, seekers and dreamers) result in either college attendance or the exploration of other postsecondary options.

•In contrast to Hossler and Gallagher’s discrete three stage model, Freemans model instead describes a fluid process that begins with kinship/family influences that intersect with school characteristics to create student cultural characteristics that shape college predetermination.

Structure of College AccessModels of College Choice


Structure of College Access Summary

Summary

•Hossler and Gallagher’s traditional three stage model

•Freeman’s Fluid model of predetermination

Structure of College Access Models of college Choice


Unequal Access

What obstacles do students face as they progress through the stages of college choice models

•Unequal educational expectations•Unequal academic qualifications•Inequalities of information in the College Search Process•Inadequate Financial Assistance•There will be a review of each

Unequal AccessObstacles to and Inequalities of Access for Underrepresented students


Unequal Access

•Socioeconomic status, race, and ethnicity are considered causal or background variables because of how they affect educational expectations, aspirations, and information resources for students about college. The effects of these background variables are direct (Butler, 2005).

Unequal AccessObstacles to and Inequalities of Access forUnderrepresented Students


Unequal Access

•These inequalities are summarized best by reviewing Cabera and La Nasa three critical tasks underrepresented students must complete

•Using college choice theory and the framework of the three stages, Cabrera and La Nasa (2001) identified three tasks that underrepresented students must overcome if they are to gain access to postsecondary education

•The three tasks are: a) Acquiring college qualifications

b) Graduating from high schoolc) Applying to college



Unequal Access

•Completing these tasks, which are embedded within the college choice model, is crucial for underrepresented students

•As a pre condition of the choice stage, students must complete the first two tasks, i.e., securing college qualifications and graduating from high school

•In specifically considering the lack of support needed to complete the initial stage, Cabrera and La Nasa characterized underrepresented students progression through the college choice model as hazardous

Unequal AccessObstacles to and Inequalities of AccessUnderrepresented


Unequal Access

What obstacles do students face as they progress through the stages of college choice models?

Unequal educational expectations•Educational aspirations and plans are important predictors of college

enrollment (Perna, 2000b)•Parental encouragement is a pivotal force in the emergence of

occupational and educational aspirations•The amount of support and encouragement that parents give to their

children influences both their decision to enroll in postsecondary education and their actual postsecondary enrollment behavior (Perna, 2000a)

Unequal AccessObstacles to and Inequalities of Access forUnderrepresented students


Unequal Access


Unequal educational expectations•Parental involvement or the lack thereof is an obstacle to access

•Family/kinship involvement for lack thereof is an obstacle to access

Unequal AccessObstacles to and inequalities of Access for Underrepresented students


Unequal Access


Unequal educational expectations•Educational expectations are also affected by High school counselors,

teachers, and peers (Perna, 20001).•Within the educational system students face challenges based on

educator beliefs (Butler, 2005).•Support or lack thereof from counselors and teachers may shape

students’ actual postsecondary education decisions



Unequal Access

What obstacles do students face as they progress through the stages of college choice models

Unequal educational expectations•Martinez and Klopott (2003) report that research n the relationship

between teachers’ expectations and student performance indicate that teacher’s judgments and expectations of students’ ability clearly influences students . “Underrepresented students are provided less encouragement by teachers who may harbor doubts about their abilities and thereby contribute to a self-fulfilling prophecy of underachievement”.

Unequal AccessObstacles to and Inequalities of Access forUnderrepresented Students


Unequal Access


Unequal academic qualifications•Poor academic preparation is another obstacle for many students.•Students who secure college qualifications while in high school have a

higher chance of enrolling in college than those who do not•Black and Hispanic high school graduates are less likely to be well-

prepared academically to attend a four- year college (NCES, 1997a)

Unequal Access Obstacles to and Inequalities of Access for Underrepresented students


Unequal Access

What obstacles do students faces as they progress through the stages of college choice models?

Unequal academic qualifications•Underrepresented students are more likely to attend crowded, inner-city

public schools, where the quality of counseling is poor and students are neither adequately informed of their postsecondary options nor helped to achieve their goals (NCES, 2001b).

•Venezia, Kirst and Antonio (2002) found that “underrepresented students are especially likely to be hampered by insufficient access to college preparatory courses, and a lack of early and high quality college counseling” (p.8).



Unequal Access


Inequalities of information in the College Search Process

•Research shows that students are particularly less likely to enroll in college when their parents lack accurate information and knowledge about college (Perna, 2000a).

Unequal AccessObstacles to and Inequalities of Access ForUnderrepresented students


Unequal Access


Inequalities of information in the College Search Process

•Access to information about college varies by class more than by race (NCES, 1998; Terenzini et. al, 2001).

•For three decades, socioeconomic factors have also impacted students’ access to information about college (Terenzini et al.).

Unequal AccessObstacles to and Inequalities of Access for Underrepresented Students


Unequal Access


Inequalities of information in the College Search Process•Lowest SES students had few information sources that upper-level

students and also relied on high school counselors as the single-most likely source of information about college (Cabrera & LaNasa, 2001)

•Many families misunderstand the costs associated with attending postsecondary education and many students are unsure about application requirements and financial aid options (LUMINA Foundation, 2003).



Unequal Access


Inequalities of information in the College Search Process•“Parental education also conditions the extent to which parents are

knowledgeable about college qualification criteria and financial strategies to pay for college” (Cabrera & La Nasa, 2001, p 125).

•An informed public must understand the realities of college prices, financial aid and the range of postsecondary options (Price, 2002).

Unequal Access Obstacles to and Inequalities of Access for

Underrepresented students


Unequal Access


Inadequate financial assistance•Another obstacle to access is inadequate financial assistance. Who pays for college and what is affordable are specific concerns of

underrepresented students



Unequal Access


Inadequate financial assistance•Black and Hispanic students and their parents are more likely to be

concerned about affordability than their Asian or White counterparts (NCES, 1997a). Freeman (1997) reported that for African American students, “The issue of lack of money to attend college was also a concern expressed by students across cities and school types” (p.536).



Unequal Access


Inadequate financial assistance•An Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance estimated that

four million college qualified students from low and moderate income families would be denied access to four year colleges in the first decade of the 21st century because remaining costs of college after loans and grants would be higher than the students could afford (St. John, Musoba, Simmons & Chung, 2002).



Unequal Access


Summary•In summary, SES, race and ethnicity, academic preparation,

educational expectations, the lack of information about college and the amount of financial assistance available affect the postsecondary attendance plans of underrepresented students.



Conclusion Solutions to Access

•Thus far, this workshop has suggested that certain groups like low-income students and underrepresented students have difficulty completing high

school and going to college.

•However, in reviewing the literature many solutions emerged to improve access to higher education, especially for underrepresented groups.

ConclusionSolutions to Access


Conclusion Solutions to Access

THIS IS NOT A CONCLUSIVE LIST!!!!!!•There are many solutions to improve access for underrepresented students

Some Suggestions•Increase Educational Expectations, Improve Academic Preparation,

Improve College Knowledge Improve Social Supports, Increase Financial Assistance

•Early Intervention Programs (I have A Dream, GEAR UP.etc)•High School Dual Enrollment Programs (College Now, Running Start,)•Personal Commitment

ConclusionSolutions to Access


References

•Cabrera, A.F & La Nasa, S.M. (2001). On the path to college: Three critical tasks facing America’s disadvantaged. Research in Higher Education, 42 (2) 119-148.

•Cabrera, A.F., Prabhu, R., Deil-Amen, R., Terenzini, P.T., Lee, C. & Franklin, R.E. (Eds.). (2003). Paper presented at the 2003 ASHE meeting: Increasing the college preparedness of at-risk students, Portland, Or.

•Cabrera, A.F.,Burkum, K.R. & La Nasa, S.M. (2003). Pathways to a four year degree: Determinants of transfer & degree completion among

socioeconomically disadvantaged students. In A. Seidman (Ed.) College student retention: A formula for student success. (pp.161). ACE/Praeger series on Higher Education.

References


References

•Education Commission of the States. (2001). Postsecondary Options:dual/concurrent enrollment.

•Freeman, K. (1997). Increasing African Americans participation in higher education. Journal of higher education, 68, 523-550•Hossler, D., Schmit, J., & Vesper, N. (1999). Going to College. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press•Kezar, A. (2000a). Access to higher education. ERIC Review, 8 (1) 2-3•Kezar, A. (2000). Does it work? Research on early intervention. ERIC

Review, 8 (1) 9-12.

References


References

•Kirst, M.W. & Venezia, A. (2004). From high school to college: Improving opportunities for success in postsecondary San Francisco, CA Jossey

Bass•LUMINA Foundation (2003). Restricted access. Lumina Foundation for

Education New Agenda series. Indianapolis, In.•Martinez, M. & Klopott, S (2003). Improving college access for minority, low-income, and first generation students. Pathway to College Network.

Boston, Ma.•McDonough, P (2004). The school to college transition: Challenges and Prospects American Council on Education: Center: for Policy Analysis.

References


References

•McDonough, P. (1997). Choosing Colleges: How social class and How social class and schools structure opportunity Albany. N.Y. State University of New York Press.

•National Center for Education Statistics (1996), National education longitudinal study: 1988-1994, Descriptive summary report

Washington, D.C.:U.S, Department of Education.•National Center for Education Statistics (1997), Confronting the Odds;

students at risk and the pipeline to higher education, Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Education.

•National Center for Education Statistics (1997) Access to postsecondary education fro the 1992 high school graduates. Washington, D.C.,U.S.

Department of Education.

References


References

•National Center for Education Statistics (1998). Choosing A Post Secondary Institution, Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Education.

•National Center for Education Statistics (2001), Educational Achievement in black-White Inequality, Washington , D.C.: U.S. Department of

Education.•Ogbu, J. (2003). Black American students in an affluent suburb. Mahwah, NJ: Earlbaum Associates.•Perna, L.W. (2000). Promoting college enrollment through early

intervention. ERIC Review, 8 (1) 4-8.

References


References

•Perna, L.W. (2000). Differences in the decision to attend college among African American, Hispanics and Whites. The Journal of Higher Education, 71 (2), 117-141•Price, D.V. (2002). What we know about access and success in

postsecondary education. Lumina Foundation for Education, Indianapolis, In.•Roscigno, V.J. (1998).Race and the reproduction of educational

disadvantage. Social forces, 76 (3), 1033-1061.•St. John, E.P., Chung, C.G. Musoba, G.D., Simmons, A.B, & Wooden,

O.S. & Medndez, J.P, (2204. Expanding college access: The impact of state finance strategies. Lumina Foundation for Education New Agenda Series.

References


References

•Venezia, A., Kirst, M.W., & Antonio, A.L. (2003). Betraying the college dream: How disconnected K-12 and postsecondary education systems undermine student aspirations. Stanford University Bridge Project.

References

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