Higher Educational Aspirations Research Articles

How variation in internet access, digital skills, and media use are related to rural student outcomes: GPA, SAT, and educational aspirations

Some have pointed to divides in the availability of fixed home broadband Internet access as a contributor to rural students’ lower levels of educational attainment. Based on standardized exams (SAT Suite) and a survey of rural Michigan students in grades 8–11, we find that rural students with broadband home Internet access are more interested in school and leave homework incomplete less often. However, the relationship to classroom grades (GPA) is relatively trivial. Yet, we find that students who are not dependent on a cell phone for Internet access and those with higher digital skills, especially social media skills, rank considerably higher on the SAT. Rural students with broadband Internet access are able to participate in a more diverse array of online media activities, which supports building digital skills. Any negative relationship between time spent on social media, video games, other digital media and educational outcomes is outweighed by the benefit to digital skills. However, aspects of rural culture; including the emphasis on activities such as sports, as a path to postsecondary schooling and upward, social mobility; may be stunting the positive relationship between access, digital skills, and educational aspirations. Whereas extra-curricular sports have no direct relationship to SAT performance, students who spend more time on sports receive higher grades and have higher educational aspirations than those with more digital skills. We discuss the implications for rural students’ access to human capital and how the unequal relationship between digital skills and performance in the classroom and on the SAT may perpetuate inequalities.

Gender and social class in the construction of higher education aspirations among parents of girl students in Urban India

ABSTRACT In this article we describe evolving educational aspirations and practices of female high school students and their families in the context of rapidly changing education and employment markets in Kolkata. We interviewed 35 families of girls attending two government high schools. The families are from lower middle-class and lower income backgrounds. The latter see access to education as a way towards upward social mobility. Using gender and social class as axes of analysis, we explore how these families negotiate educational aspirations and practices in connection with married life and motherhood. We also look at the influence of social, cultural, and economic capitals on the formation of aspirations, knowledge about careers, and the ability to put aspirations into practice. This work contributes to the domain of research on education and social class in India with a gendered perspective and a unique setting in government high schools for girls.

Aspirations for Higher Education: Evidence from Youth Living in Kenneth Gardens Municipal Housing Estate (Durban)

This paper explores the obstacles that prevent young people from accessing higher education. Inadequate and unequal access to higher education internationally and in South Africa, in particular, has undermined young people’s potential to contribute to national development. In South Africa, limited access to higher education for the majority remains a major problem. Hence, young people are underdeveloped socially, economically and academically. Thus, lack of educational opportunities relegates young people to the periphery of the mainstream socio-economic development. This paper uses Kenneth Gardens as a case study to interrogate a lack of access to higher education and its implications for youth vulnerability and non-participation in their own development. The research was qualitative in nature. The imperial data were solicited from semi-structured interviews with Kenneth Gardens youth. In addition, participant observation was used as a research instrument. The major findings from the research were the lack of aspirations as one of the major obstacles that hinder youth from accessing higher education, and the research also found that lack of funding, lack of awareness and inability to meet the minimum university entry requirements were underlying factors. Additionally, a lack of career guidance in schools and unemployed graduates were found to be fundamental for poor access to higher education.

Determinants of Middle School Students’ Participation in Shadow Education in Japan

Although previous studies have examined the likelihood of students’ participation in shadow education (private supplemental education), these studies have not explained the complex nature of shadow education. The author in the present study examined how eighth graders’ characteristics and their environments in Japan influenced the likelihood of advanced and remedial shadow education in learning mathematics compared to no participation. Data from 4745 8th graders from the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2015 in Japan were used for statistical analyses. The theoretical framework was Bronfenbrenner’s ecological theory Results from multinomial logistic regression analyses revealed that students’ background characteristics and their environments affected the likelihood of students’ enrolling in advanced and remedial shadow education. Females with higher mathematics scores were more likely to take part in advancement; however, higher educational aspirations, having Internet access, and parental importance of mathematics were negatively related to advancement. Contrarily, students with lower mathematics achievement, higher educational aspirations, having Internet access, and parental importance of mathematics were negatively associated with remediation. The implications for educational policy were addressed in order for the public officials to set up some guidelines for students’ use of the Internet.

Who aspires to higher education? Axes of inequality, values of education and higher education aspirations in secondary schools in Luxembourg and the Swiss Canton of Bern

AbstractThis article reports a study that investigated secondary school students’ higher education aspirations (towards university studies, ISCED 6 and above) and how these differ between student groups as well as how these are impacted by values of education. Panel data of more than 300 secondary school students in two countries, Luxembourg and Switzerland (the Swiss Canton of Bern) was analysed. Schools are structured differently in the education systems of Luxembourg and the Swiss Canton of Bern. The results of our analysis show that students in the Luxembourgish sample more often aspire to higher education than in the Swiss sample. Disparities in higher education aspirations were also more pronounced in the Luxembourgish sample, boys and students from families of low socio‐economic status (SES) were less likely to aspire to higher education. While the effects of values of education are generally scarce, stimulation in terms of anticipated enjoyment and interest derived from participation in higher education seems to have a positive effect on higher education aspirations.

Parents or teachers: whose guidance matters more in students’ alignment of educational plan and achievement? A comparative study of Taiwan and Hong Kong

ABSTRACT While existing research has well-recognized educational plan as an important predictor of students’ educational achievement, the alignment of educational plan and achievement should not be taken for granted. As plan-achievement misalignment is liable to negative psychological and social consequences, this study aims to examine the extent to which parents vis-à-vis teachers could guide students into plan-achievement alignment. Specifically, this study is set within two comparable cases of Taiwan and Hong Kong to explore whether the relative importance of parents’ and teachers’ guidance would differ according to the institutional contexts of education systems. Methodologically, society-specific (multinomial) logistic regression analyses are conducted based on the data of the Taiwan Education Panel Survey and the Hong Kong Survey on High School Students’ Aspirations for Higher Education and Employment. In Taiwan, we find students not only received more guidance from parents, but parents’ guidance was also more effective in helping them reach plan-achievement alignment. By contrast, teachers are found to have played a key role in these regards in Hong Kong. The findings provide support to our propositions that the relative importance of parents’ and teachers’ guidance may vary by the opportunity structures of post-secondary education and the level of school-based parental involvement.

“It’s very hard, but I’ll manage.” Educational aspirations and educational resilience among recently resettled young refugees in Norwegian upper secondary schools

ABSTRACT Purpose: This article explores the question: what shapes young refugees’ often high educational aspirations? A sense of mastery and future hope are among the numerous factors that can positively predict school achievements. High aspirations may thus contribute to both young refugees’ improved educational outcomes and wellbeing. Method: We discuss findings from semi-structured interviews in three Norwegian upper secondary schools in light of theories and research into the often high educational aspirations of immigrant youth. Results: Several of the study’s findings support the dual frame of reference theory which has been used in prior discussions of migrants’ aspirations. However, we argue that aspirations can be supported not only by comparisons with the country of origin, but also by comparisons with different stages of the refugee experience. Conclusions: The findings suggest that temporal aspects of high aspirations should be empirically and theoretically explored further. Moreover, this and other studies’ findings on young refugees suggest that research into the educational aspirations of young immigrants should address/control for migration category.

The role of peer groups in adolescents’ educational expectations: a stochastic actor-based model

ABSTRACT Adolescent educational expectations predict educational attainment, which leads to labour-market success. Given peers’ similarity in educational expectations, it is methodologically challenging to differentiate whether adolescents select friends who are similar in their educational aspirations or whether adolescents influence each other’s educational expectations. To overcome this methodological challenge, the analysis utilizes stochastic actor-based modelling. This study uses survey data from the U.S. National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health). The results show that selection effects may be more prominent than influence effects in the relationship between educational expectation and adolescent friendships. Educational interventions to promote friendship formation with peers with higher educational aspirations may not result in greater educational expectations. Family bonding is associated with greater educational aspirations. Greater support of the families through work–life balance public policies and tangible strategies for improving family bonding opportunities in schools and in local communities may be needed to increase educational aspirations among adolescents.

Latinx Adolescents’ Reading Motivation Profiles and Associations with Higher Education Aspirations

ABSTRACT Reading motivation may help explain some discrepancies in higher education attainment among Latinx adolescents. Using a person-centered approach to understand underlying reading motivation profiles among N = 254 Latinx adolescents, results identified four ordered classes of reading motivation including, (a) a “High” class characterized by high motivation across dimensions, (b) a “High-Practical” class characterized by moderate to high levels of motivation with particular emphasis on practical reasons for reading, (c) an “Apathetic” class with moderate to low motivation across dimensions, and (d) a “Low” class who consistently endorsed low levels of motivation across dimensions. Results also showed reading motivation class membership was significantly associated with demographic covariates (e.g., gender and parent education) and higher education aspirations, consistent with previous research. Practical implications are also discussed.

Support of students in primary schools: a comparative case study in a selective education system

ABSTRACT Previous research has demonstrated that school processes can be significantly associated with (in)equality in schools. However, it is unclear what these practices in schools look like. This study aims to understand support practices for students in primary schools in a highly selective education system. The findings are based on a contrastive case comparison of five primary schools in Switzerland with a large percentage of children with a migration background. Quantitative surveys with students in Grades 4, 5, and 6 (n = 372) and qualitative analyses of group discussions with teachers were conducted. The results of the qualitative study, and in part also of the quantitative study, show that schools differ systematically in providing support for students. None of the schools was found to have a support milieu that could be described as non-discriminatory. In the majority of the schools, the support milieu is oriented towards high performing students with a higher socio-cultural family background or high educational aspirations; this may lead to the reproduction of inequalities. Only two schools seem to have implemented compensatory support strategies, at least partially. Further, the schools can be differentiated regarding the teachers’ perceived degree of their active participation in supporting students.

The Development of Educational Aspirations and Expectations From Adolescence to Young Adulthood: A Longitudinal Study of Mexican-Origin Youth

Mexican-origin youth are at increased risk for school dropout and low educational attainment. High educational aspirations and expectations provide a potential source of resilience, given their association with positive educational outcomes. Using data from a longitudinal study of 674 Mexican-origin youth, we examined the development of educational aspirations ("how far would you like to go in school?") and expectations ("how far do you actually expect to go?") from 7th grade (Mage = 12.8) to 2 years post–high school (Mage = 19.8). Results indicate that Mexican-origin youth enter adolescence with very high aspirations and expectations (e.g., 67% expect to graduate from college) and maintain them even after transitioning into young adulthood. Several demographic and cultural factors, including parent education level, family income, the cultural value of familism, ethnic identity, and Spanish language use, were associated with higher aspirations and expectations.

Does Cooling Out Still Apply? Community Colleges and Educational Expectations

ABSTRACT “Cooling out” is the theoretical process in which community college counselors and faculty seek to adjust the academic goals of low achieving students. Though the rationale behind the concept has changed since it was proposed almost 70 years ago, it is still relevant in the present political environment in which leaders are stressing community colleges as ways to increase higher education opportunities for the public. This research uses data from the 2002 Educational Longitudinal Study to investigate the effects of enrolling in and taking classes at a community college on the likelihood of a student achieving his or her 12th grade higher educational aspiration. About 65% of students who started at a community college had aspired in high school to get a bachelor’s degree. This study found that starting at community colleges or receiving associate degrees has a negative effect on the likelihood that students meet or exceed their bachelor’s degree aspirations within eight years after high school. In contrast, more hours earned improves the likelihood of meeting their aspirations. Furthermore, students who are from a low socio-economic background, or earn low grades, are more likely to not meet their educational aspirations. This research highlights the importance for practitioner interventions for community college students to help more meet their educational aspirations.

Субъективное благополучие школьников в ситуации самоопределения

This exploratory study aims to analyse the factors that influence subjective well-being of high school students. The purpose of the study is to formulate hypotheses about the impact of the situation of self-identification on the school students’ subjective well-being. The research is based on 14 interviews with school students in 10th and 11th grades. These interviews showed how adolescents perceive the situation of transition from the status of schoolchildren to the status of school graduates, what aspects of this transition cause anxiety and stress, and what changes in the behavior and everyday life of schoolchildren are caused by the need to make educational and life choices. The results suggest that in schools with a highly competitive environment, in which students have higher educational aspirations, the stress from self-determination and planning for the future in adolescents is higher than in schools with a less competitive environment. The obtained data place the subjective well-being of the high schoolchild in a broader context of life path design and allow to formulate a hypothesis that it is the need to solve the age-related problem of self-determination that has a decisive influence on the experiences of adolescents of this age. Understanding how well-being is related to the characteristics of this transitional stage in adolescents’ life, on the one hand, and social factors, on the other, creates the basis for further analysis: identifying risk groups of schoolchildren, studying and revising strategies to improve their well-being.

The Educational System and the Ethnic Skills Gap among the Working-Age Population: An Analysis of 16 Western Immigration Countries

Research shows that children of immigrants, the “second generation,” have comparatively high educational aspirations. This “immigrant optimism” translates into ambitious educational choices, given the second generation’s level of academic performance. Choice-driven (comprehensive) education systems, which allow the children of immigrants to follow their ambitions, are therefore regarded as facilitating their structural integration. The authors focus on an underappreciated consequence of these findings. If the second generation strives for higher qualifications than children of native-born parents with similar performance, working-age children of immigrants should have lower skills than children of native-born parents with comparable formal education. This could result in (statistical) employer discrimination and ultimately hamper integration. This pattern should be particularly pronounced in choice-driven education systems and in systems that emphasize vocational education. Two-step regression models using data on 16 countries support these expectations. The authors explore implications of these findings for comparative research on ethnic gaps in labor market attainment.

Assessing the significance of course materials for graduate program admission

Enrollment into graduate programs continue to increase. Given major changes occurring within education (e.g., online courses and OER integration), it is imperative for faculty and students to be aware of the impact these changes could entail to those with higher education aspirations. The use of Open Educational Resources (OER) is one important change that has occurred with respect to the types of academic materials used in higher education courses. The use of OER has significantly expanded over the past decade. Resources accessible under the caption of OER are free and available in the public domain. Currently, there is little information regarding how these changes might affect graduate school applications or admission. The purpose of this study was to examine the importance of academic materials used in undergraduate classes in the evaluation of individuals for graduate admission. The results indicated that academic materials are the least important factor utilized for admission criteria. This result may indicate that the use of Open Educational Resources, low cost or free course materials with a copyright license that allows for reuse, should not impact the likelihood of a student being accepted into a graduate program.

Elementary school pupils’ aspirations for higher education: the role of status attainment, blocked opportunities and school context

ABSTRACT This paper discusses the contributions of variables commonly used within the status attainment and blocked opportunities models in addition to school context variables in predicting pupils’ aspirations for higher education prior to the transition to differentiated upper secondary education in Croatia (14–15 years). The findings, arising from a longitudinal design, indicate that the school context does not contribute to the explanation of pupils’ aspirations for higher education. In contrast, gender, parental educational aspirations for their child, maternal academic support, the pupil’s possession of a work desk, pupil grades and school satisfaction predict aspirations. Arguably, pupils who attend different schools but have similar individual characteristics will likely have similar aspirations for higher education.

The Relationship between Educational Aspirations and Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) Performance in Mombasa County, Kenya

The Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) performance plays an important role in determining the educational pathway of students. This examination is done in Kenya at the end of four years of secondary schooling. Those who excel are able to join institutions of higher learning and become valuable human resource who are able to play their rightful role in nation building. The declining level of KCSE performance in Mombasa County is a cause for concern among education stakeholders; the study therefore sought to address this concern by finding out if there is a relationship between educational aspiration and KCSE performance. The study was carried out in Mombasa County. Mombasa County is located in the southeastern part of the coast region of Kenya. It is the economic hub not only of the coastal region but also of the entire nation because it is the gateway to East Africa. Educational aspiration is expressing a desire to achieve in the academic domain. High educational aspiration in this study is when students show a desire to achieve in school academic performance and strive for progression whereas low educational aspiration indicates that a student shows no desire to achieve in school academic performance and progression for higher education. Education Aspiration level was measured by using educational aspiration Likert scale. The study adopted correlation research design and exploratory research design. It was conducted in Mombasa in all the six sub counties namely Mvita, Kisauni, Nyali, Jomvu, Changamwe and Likoni. The target population had 8648 form four students in 126 secondary schools, 126 academic Masters and Mistresses and six sub county Directors of education. Purposive sampling was used to select 864 students 21 academic Masters/Mistresses and six sub county Directors of Education. Stratified and simple random sampling techniques were used to divide the student population to private and public. The two categories were further stratified to sub groups that included; boys' day schools, girls' day schools, boys' boarding schools, girls' boarding schools, mixed day schools and mixed boarding schools. Data was analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. Quantitative data was analyzed with aid of Statistical Package for Social Sciences Version 20 and qualitative data applied thematic analysis Results from correlation analysis on the relationship between educational aspiration and KCSE performance (r=0.404, N=864. p<0.001) illustrates a positive and significant relationship between educational aspiration and students KCSE performance

Making moral migrants? Exploring the educational aspirations of Black African and Caribbean boys in a New York City public school

ABSTRACTDrawing on 48 in-depth interviews with Black immigrant and second-generation boys at Bridgewood secondary school in New York City, this article points out how the high educational aspirations expressed by Black African and Caribbean boys are strategically deployed as features of an ethnic project to counter anti-immigrant sentiments and anti-Black racism in US society. The findings indicate that in a context of rising xenophobia along with the historical and continual stereotypes of Black people in the US, participants’ aspirations for elite higher education function as strategies to enhance their individual and ethnic reputations. High educational aspirations were also used to justify emigration to and worth within the US. At its core, this article illustrates how participants mobilized aspirations to represent themselves as moral migrants and ‘worthy’ ethnic minorities. Moral claims and ethnicity-based campaigns associated with aspirations are problematized because they reinforce the hierarchical racial order that informs US society.

What 'Race' Has to Do With It: A Student Perspective on Experience inside British Higher Education (Presentation Slides)

All but absent from academic literatures at the time of this inquiry were candid accounts of lived experience inside British Higher Education as articulated through the lens and voices of students of Black African-Caribbean heritage. In official documentary sources, where the presence in British Higher of students of Minority Ethnic heritage was acknowledged, data about the population tended to be aggregated and discussed in terms of undifferentiated data sets (Allen, 1998; Bird, Ching Yee and Myler, 1992; Davis, 1994, Higher Education Statistics Agency, 1997-1999; Metcalfe 1993). These records also signalled the limited possibility of Black African-Caribbean students completing or attaining Higher Education outcomes on par with their majority background peers. But evidentially rare were sustained official attempts to interrogate the nature of these findings or the influences that had given rise to them. The few attempts to do so seldom moved beyond fairly rudimentary statistical associations with school leaving examination scores and literacy assessments (c.f. Modood and Shiner, 1994). The following presentation outlines interim findings from an exploratory inquiry which employed a qualitative data handling strategy. This approach offered opportunities for Black African-Caribbean Higher Education (HE) students to tell their education related stories in their own words and on their own terms. Participants were also offered the option of being as closely involved in the framing and direction of the rest of the inquiry as a formally assessed doctoral programme would permit in the late 1990s. Outlined is what Black African-Caribbean heritage students’ say their perceptions are of significant experiences, from inside the HE academy, which had the greatest potential to undermine their Higher Education aspirations. 36 students were interviewed in 2 cohorts across 6 Higher Education institutions during the mid 1990s and mid 2000s. The students offered narratives of experience from which it was possible to identify recurring themes. They perceived critical moments that adversely defined them as ‘raced’, and/or pathologised them as ‘othered’. They recounted experiences which invalidated their world views and the knowledges that had sustained their sense of self. They were able to articulate experiences which served to promote or hinder the aspirations that had taken then into Higher Education. The exploratory inquiry offered useful insights into: sector related and institutional policy, professional and pedagogical practices as well as research practices that had so comprehensively obscured the issues discussed by the students; the close attention to ontological, epistemological and methodological challenge and alignment required whilst framing the main part of the doctoral study. In summary, the inquiry highlighted sites of attention we may need to prioritise in future if we are to improve Higher Education experiences and eliminate disparities of outcome and benefit for students of Black African-Caribbean heritage.

Key influences on aspirations for higher education of Australian school students in regional and remote locations: a scoping review of empirical research, 1991–2016

Despite numerous equity initiatives aimed at increasing participation in higher education, students from regional and remote communities continue to be underrepresented in Australia. This paper presents a scoping review of empirical studies, published between 1991 and 2016, that examined aspirations for higher education of students from regional and remote areas. Analysis of the 65 articles revealed an emphasis on enablers and barriers to participation in higher education including: cost and distance, supportive environments, attachment to home, schooling and academic achievement, knowledge of pathways, and individual characteristics. However, much of the research offers a homogeneous view of regional and remote communities which elides location-specific characteristics that are powerful in shaping educational aspirations. We argue that there is a critical need for greater understanding of the diversity of experiences, influences, and aspirations among students within rural and remote communities to underpin the provision of appropriate infrastructure and support for their higher education aspirations. We identify some key avenues for further research into the aspirations of students in rural and remote communities and the ways in which this research can inform and improve outreach activities.