High Educational Expectations Research Articles

Familial Transmission of Educational Plans and the Academic Self-Concept: A Three-Generation Longitudinal Study.

This research investigates the social reproduction of inequality by drawing on prospective longitudinal data from three generations of Youth Development Study respondents. It examines intergenerational influence on the relatively unexplored academic self-concept as well as educational plans, a critical component of the status attainment model. A structural equation model, based on 422 3-generation triads, finds evidence that the sources giving rise to the development of children's (Generation 3) achievement orientations do not only result from parental (G2) contemporaneous influence. Prior influences implicate grandparent (G1) educational attainment and income, grandparental expectations for the G2 adolescent, the G2 academic self-concept and educational plans measured more than twenty years earlier (in G2's adolescence), and G2 educational attainment. A familial culture emphasizing academic self-confidence and high educational expectations may be an important component of "family capital" that supports educational attainment and contributes to the maintenance of social class position in each successive generation.

The role of parental expectations and students' motivational profiles for educational aspirations

The present study examined the stability and change of students' motivational profiles from Grade 7 (Time 1) to Grade 9 (Time 2), using task values and self-concepts of ability in mathematics, Finnish language, and arts as indicator variables. The study also examined the effects of students' (Grade 7: N=231; Grade 9: N=237) motivational profiles and of their parents' educational expectations at Grade 7 on their short- and long-term educational plans at Grade 9, controlling for gender and academic achievement. The latent profile analysis identified four motivational profiles: (1) low motivation group; (2) high motivation group; (3) math-motivated group; (4) practical group, which were highly stable from Grade 7 to Grade 9. The results showed that, compared students in the practical group at Grade 7, the students' in the high motivation group and in the math-motivated group were significantly less likely to aim for a degree from a vocational school than a degree from an academic track (short term), or a university (long term). Furthermore, mothers' and fathers' high expectations for students' short- and long-term plans at Grade 7 contributed positively to high educational expectations among adolescents at Grade 9.

Immigrant optimism or anticipated discrimination? Explaining the first educational transition of ethnic minorities in England

Recent studies have shown that ethnic minorities of immigrant origin are more likely to continue in education than students of the majority group with similar levels of achievement. Even though most research on this topic is still descriptive, different explanations have been proposed for these findings. The first explanation emerges from the social stratification literature on primary and secondary effects, which considers students’ decisions to continue in education a product of a rational strategy. According to this literature, the perception of labour market discrimination increases the costs of dropping out for ethnic minority students, who will therefore decide to continue into upper-secondary education more often than native majority students performing at the same level. The other explanation emerges from the literature on immigrants’ optimism and the positive selection of migration flows. According to these theories, ethnic minorities’ high continuation rates in education are a reflection of their ‘immigrant optimism’ and drive for success in the destination country. Building upon these prior investigations, this study aims to explain the high continuation rates to upper secondary education of ethnic minorities in England. First, I examine whether students’ anticipation of labour market discrimination motivates an ethnic compensation strategy in education, which translates into high educational expectations and, subsequently, high continuation rates to post-compulsory education. And second, I analyse the impact of students’ prior educational expectations on their transition rates to upper secondary education, particularly whether ethnic minorities’ early optimism eventually translates into actual educational choices. The survey Longitudinal Study of Young People in England (LSYPE) and the student census National Pupil Database (NPD) are used to test the hypotheses. The results show that the ethnic gap in expectations relative to the White British majority is not related to anticipated discrimination, and ethnic minority students who anticipate labour market discrimination do not make different educational choices compared to those who do not anticipate discrimination. In contrast, prior educational expectations represent the main factor driving the transitions of ethnic minority students, thus supporting the immigrant optimism explanation.

Planning for the American Dream: The College-Savings Behavior of Asian and Latino Foreign-Born Parents in the United States

Rapid growth in the population of children of immigrants has occurred during an era of soaring college costs in the United States. Despite well-established knowledge that immigrant parents hold high educational expectations for their children and that children of immigrants will make up a large share of the U.S. college-aged population, little is known about how immigrant families prepare financially for their children’s postsecondary education. We use data from the Education Longitudinal Study of 2002 to examine the patterns and predictors of college savings behavior among Asian and Latino foreign-born parents of high school students in the United States. Relative to white U.S.-born parents, Asian immigrant parents have higher odds of saving and have more money saved for their 10th-grader’s college education. In contrast, Latino immigrant parents are less likely than white U.S.-born parents to save for their children’s college education. However, among parents who save, Latino immigrant parents do not differ from white U.S.-born parents in the amount saved. For both Asian and Latino immigrant parents, income is less predictive of saving than it is for white U.S.-born parents, and the odds of saving increase with U.S. experience. Findings improve understanding of college access and the long-term socioeconomic prospects of children of immigrants in the U.S.

The Asian American Advantage in Math among Young Children

Asian American children exhibit stronger math and reading skills than white children at school entry, a pattern that has motivated scholars to examine early childhood to determine when and why these gaps form. Yet, to date, it has been unclear what parenting practices might explain this “Asian Advantage.” Analyzing more than 4,100 children from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study –Birth Cohort, we find that the role of parenting is complex. Asian American parents have high educational expectations compared with whites but are less engaged in traditional measures of parenting (e.g., reading to the child, maternal warmth, parent-child relationship), and these differences matter for understanding the Asian American/white math advantage in early childhood. Thus, even by age four, Asian American parents (across ethnic subgroups) play an important but complex role in the development of a child’s cognitive skills in the first few years of life.

Does Political Socialization at Home Boost Adolescents’ Expectation of Higher Education? An Analysis of Eighth-Grade Students in 35 Countries

This study uses comparative data to examine the impact of political socialization in the home on adolescents’ expectations of university participation. The first part of the study is an international partial replication of design and findings of an earlier Norwegian study published in 2011. It examines, in socioculturally diverse countries, the association between political socialization at home and adolescents’ expectation of higher education, before and after control for educational achievement, gender, and family socioeconomic status (SES). The study uses publicly available data collected in 2009 by IEA (International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement) from large nationally representative samples of eighth-grade students in 35 countries. The second part of the study examines differences among countries with regard to the strength of net association with strong home-based political socialization, using country-level indicators to explore macro conditions associated with the relat...

Growth trajectories of Mexican-origin adolescent mothers’ educational expectations

Pregnant and parenting adolescents are at significant risk for educational underachievement. Educational expectations play a critical role for understanding subsequent educational attainment; yet, limited empirical attention has been given to changes in educational expectations across the transition to parenthood among adolescent mothers. This longitudinal study explored stability and change in educational expectations across the transition to parenthood among 191 first-time pregnant Mexican-origin adolescents (Mage = 16.76, SD = .98). The current study also examined how several contextually relevant risk and protective factors were associated with differential patterns of educational trajectories across this transition and subsequent educational attainment. Latent class growth analyses revealed three educational expectation trajectories: low and stable (< high-school degree), moderate and increasing (≈ associate degree), and high and increasing (≈ bachelor’s degree). Adolescent mothers in the low and stable group encountered several educational risk factors that partially explained their probability of membership in this trajectory and subsequent lower attainment. Conversely, probability of membership in the high and increasing expectations class was partially explained by adolescents’ on-track school status at the time of pregnancy and their mother figures’ educational expectations for their pregnant daughters. These findings have implications for understanding the malleable factors that help to explain why some adolescent mothers describe consistently high educational expectations and subsequent higher attainment, while others do not.

Understanding gaps between student and staff perceptions of university study in South Africa: A case study

“Under-preparedness” of students entering higher education is an issue that many academic institutions in South Africa are currently trying to address. Such students are seen as disadvantaged, lacking the skills, knowledge and/or language proficiency to navigate their way to success in highereducation. This paper seeks to identify students’ understanding of the behaviour they should display in higher education and how this clashes with the expectations of academics, through the lenses of different discourses and academic literacy models. Specifically, the focus is on how students try to engagewith the institutional discourse and how they try to identify a “sense of being” through a case study of the Extended Curriculum Programme in Nature Conservation at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology. Here, qualitative research was used through the administration of student essays, as wellas individual face-to-face interviews. Lecturers were also interviewed so that a comparison could be made between what students perceive and the expectations of higher education. Different themes were identified through the analysis of the data, using an inductive approach; by developing the themes, the gaps are better identified and analysed with a view to redress.

Understanding Gender and Race Differences in High School Achievement in the United States

The purpose of this study was to examine gender and racial/ethnic differences in high school achievement measured by students’ high school GPAs and their standardized math and reading test scores. The Education Longitudinal Study of 2002 was used to investigate the following question: To what extent do school behaviors, attitudes toward school/teacher, students’ educational expectations, and parental involvement and expectations impact gender and racial/ethnic differences in high school achievement? Results supported gender-role socialization theory given that female students than their male counterparts have higher educational expectations, parental support and expectations. Male students are more likely to have negative school behavior and are also more likely to spend less time on homework compared to female students. The results suggested that oppositional culture does not account for racial/ethnic differences but for gender differences in high school achievement given that gender differences in school resistance and educational expectations are consistent whereas race/ethnic differences are not.

The Role of Grandparents in Single-Parent Families in Taiwan

Using data from the Taiwan Education Panel Survey, this study explored the role of co-resident grandparents in Taiwan's single-parent families. Single fathers were more likely to settle in multigenerational living arrangements than single mothers. Grandparent co-residence was positively associated with adolescents’ cognitive scores, but the benefit was even larger for youths from single-father families. Grandparent co-residence was correlated with greater parental investment, although in different ways for different types of single families. Single fathers interacted more with the child and had higher educational expectations if living with a grandparent. Single mothers in three-generation families spent more tutorial expense than other single mothers. These results suggest that the grandparent role may be supplementary to weak family functioning.

The MOOCs: origin, characterization, principal problems and challenges in Higher Education

MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) are an innovation that have attracted public academic attention in recent times, and which have resulted in the evolution of e-learning (electronic learning) and so far have not achieved their expectations in Higher Education. This is due to the fact that from the outset these courses have faced a number of problems and questions regarding their acceptance, credibility, quality, methods of assessment, learning outcomes and more; which has generated controversy among their opponents, fans and even the creators of MOOCs. This work forms part of a doctoral investigation; in essence these are the results of the preliminary and exploratory stages in the research process, in which projections on the solution of some problems will be included. MOOCs: Their evolution, problems and challenges up to 2015, will surely help to minimize the high dropout rates of students in MOOCs, supported by mobile technology.

Effects of Motivation, ACT/SAT, GPA, and SES on College Choice for Academically Advanced Students and Other Students

&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;The purpose of this study was to examine the differences in the effects of &lt;/em&gt;&lt;em&gt;motivation factors on college choice between academically advanced students and other students.&lt;/em&gt; &lt;em&gt;College choice ranged from no college, two-year college, four-year college, moderately selective four-year college, and highly selective four-year college. &lt;/em&gt;&lt;em&gt;Restricted data from the nationally representative Education Longitudinal Study (ELS) of 2002 were used for the analysis. Using the ELS questions, 8 motivation&lt;/em&gt;&lt;em&gt; constructs (general intrinsic motivation, math intrinsic motivation, reading Intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, general academic self-efficacy, math self-efficacy, English self-efficacy, and educational expectation) were developed. Structural equation modeling was used to investigate the direct and indirect effects of the factors on college choice. The results indicated that although ACT/SAT scores, followed by GPA, are the most important factors for both academically advanced students’ and other students’ choices of more selective colleges, their choices are mediated by their intrinsic reading motivation and math self-efficacy. Compared to other students’, academically advanced students’ extrinsic motivation more negatively affected, while &lt;/em&gt;&lt;em&gt;S&lt;/em&gt;&lt;em&gt;ocio&lt;/em&gt;&lt;em&gt; E&lt;/em&gt;&lt;em&gt;conomic &lt;/em&gt;&lt;em&gt;S&lt;/em&gt;&lt;em&gt;tatus (SES) less negatively affected, their choices of more selective colleges&lt;/em&gt;&lt;em&gt;. Other students’ high general academic self-efficacy and educational expectations positively affected their ACT/SAT scores, GPA, and choices of more selective colleges, which did not affect academically advanced students.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

Effects of Motivation, ACT/SAT, GPA, and SES on College Choice for Academically Advanced Students and Other Students

&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;The purpose of this study was to examine the differences in the effects of &lt;/em&gt;&lt;em&gt;motivation factors on college choice between academically advanced students and other students.&lt;/em&gt; &lt;em&gt;College choice ranged from no college, two-year college, four-year college, moderately selective four-year college, and highly selective four-year college. &lt;/em&gt;&lt;em&gt;Restricted data from the nationally representative Education Longitudinal Study (ELS) of 2002 were used for the analysis. Using the ELS questions, 8 motivation&lt;/em&gt;&lt;em&gt; constructs (general intrinsic motivation, math intrinsic motivation, reading Intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, general academic self-efficacy, math self-efficacy, English self-efficacy, and educational expectation) were developed. Structural equation modeling was used to investigate the direct and indirect effects of the factors on college choice. The results indicated that although ACT/SAT scores, followed by GPA, are the most important factors for both academically advanced students’ and other students’ choices of more selective colleges, their choices are mediated by their intrinsic reading motivation and math self-efficacy. Compared to other students’, academically advanced students’ extrinsic motivation more negatively affected, while &lt;/em&gt;&lt;em&gt;S&lt;/em&gt;&lt;em&gt;ocio&lt;/em&gt;&lt;em&gt; E&lt;/em&gt;&lt;em&gt;conomic &lt;/em&gt;&lt;em&gt;S&lt;/em&gt;&lt;em&gt;tatus (SES) less negatively affected, their choices of more selective colleges&lt;/em&gt;&lt;em&gt;. Other students’ high general academic self-efficacy and educational expectations positively affected their ACT/SAT scores, GPA, and choices of more selective colleges, which did not affect academically advanced students.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

The Role of Muslim Chaplains in Higher Education: Should They Be Doing What They Are Doing?

Muslim chaplaincy in Britain is fairly new particularly in higher education. Currently there is no extensive study of what Muslim chaplains in higher education do and what the result of their actions is. With new legislation on Counter Terrorism and Security (CTS) imposed on universities and colleges, this article explores the role of Muslim chaplains in higher education, what they do and in evaluating what they do, identify certain valuable factors, for example if their role includes how they might support vulnerable students. This article first describes chaplaincy in general and then Muslim chaplaincy in higher education in particular, in order to find explanations for the purpose and role of Muslim chaplaincy in higher education. It then explores what Muslim chaplains might do and critically analyzes three areas to examine whether they might contribute towards the fuller, more appropriate development of the role of Muslim chaplaincy: Islamic tradition, Christian chaplaincy, and expectations of higher education. Finally, it reflects on the implications of these findings.

Why High School Students Aspire to Emigrate: Evidence from Greece

This paper investigates why Greek high school students aspire to emigrate, in relation to their educational and socio-economic background. Through fieldwork research conducted at three specialist high schools in Thessaloniki, three main conclusions have been drawn. Firstly, potential emigrants are ambitious, with high educational and professional expectations and a clear migration plan. Secondly, they are middle and upper middle class and excel at school—in socio-economic and educational terms, they therefore constitute the most dynamic Greek youths. Thirdly, in a period of recession on a European level, the alarming fact is that student emigration can undermine recovery for a country in crisis such as Greece. That is, middle-class shrinkage caused by the recession can be aggravated by emigration, which in turn might cost the loss of developmental human resources for Greece and a deepening of the recession. This can further stimulate migration, resulting in a vicious circle between crisis and emigration. Furthermore, if potential emigrants do not return because temporary emigration for studies becomes permanent migration for work, the economic crisis is worsened, and Greece’s prospects for development are further undermined.

High-school seniors' college enrollment goals: Costs and benefits of ambitious expectations

High school students with high long-term educational expectations attain higher levels of education than those with lower expectations. Less studied is the role of students' short-term college enrollment expectations for the year after high school graduation. The purpose of the current study was to examine the costs and benefits of ambitious short-term expectations and the impact of falling short of these expectations on mental health, motivation, and educational outcomes. Over 1000 youth with expectations to attend college were surveyed during their senior year of high school, one year later, and four years later. Participants who did not achieve their short-term expectations had lower educational attainment four years later but were not less satisfied with their educational progress. The negative consequences of falling short of one's expectations were restricted to individuals with less ambitious short-term expectations. Thus, the benefits of ambitious short-term expectations for youth may outweigh the costs.

The role of child and parent savings in promoting expectations for university education among middle school students in Ghana: A propensity score analysis

The volume of research on high educational expectations among young people is increasing. Yet, there are still research gaps in what we know about the key predictors of young people's educational expectations, especially in the Sub-Saharan African context. This study aims to complement existing research on asset effects by testing two related propositions about how child and parent savings relate independently to children's expectations for university education. We use propensity score analysis with data from a random sample of junior high school students in Ghana. Findings reveal that parent savings are positively associated with higher probability of children having higher educational expectation. We also find that parents' savings have stronger effect on children's educational expectations compared to children's savings. We discuss implications for early exposure of young people to savings opportunities and its potential to ensure educational progression and optimum psychological and economic benefits to students.

Mismatched Educational Expectations and Achievement and Adolescent Women’s Risk of Unprotected First Sex

Many scholars highlight the benefits of high educational expectations. The study of adolescent women’s sexual risk-taking focuses on college expectations and high achievement for buffering young women from negative outcomes. But one’s expectations and level of college preparation could be mismatched, which may have negative effects. Congruent expectations and achievement are likely to be most beneficial, while inflated expectations (high expectations and low test scores) and deflated expectations (low expectations and high test scores) are expected to be associated with higher risks. College preparatory versus lower coursework in high school may also moderate or mediate these effects. This study used National Educational Longitudinal Study (NELS:88) data with event history and logistic regression analyses to examine how expectations, achievement, and college-preparatory math coursework interact to affect adolescent women’s risk of unprotected first sex. Results show that the effects of expectations are conditional on achievement and coursework: Inflated or deflated expectations (relative to test scores) are associated with the highest risks of unprotected sex, as are low expectations among women in non-college-preparatory math. Theoretically, this has implications for understanding “rationality” in the relationship between educational factors and adolescent women’s sexual risk-taking, as well as for reconsidering the notion that high educational expectations always benefit youth.

The impact of role identity on student expectations

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present the viewpoint that student role identity, its dimensions and salience, impact strongly on student expectations of college-based higher education (CBHE) within the UK. Design/methodology/approach – The paper draws on doctoral research undertaken within the context of CBHE in the UK and is further supported through engagement with a range of pertinent literature. Findings – The paper suggests ways in which the individually constructed student role identity may impact on the expectations of the experience of CBHE. In so doing, the paper highlights the way in which expectations of higher education recursively influence, and are influenced by, perceptions and actions played out from within the student role. Research limitations/implications – The empirical research, from which the paper draws its theme, was undertaken in one large institution. The author recognises that a wider, longitudinal study would be beneficial in recognition of the diversity of provision in the CBHE sector. Practical implications – The paper proposes that greater awareness of the way in which students construct and moderate their perceptions and understandings of studenthood would be beneficial to a range of strategic considerations, such as promotional information, partnership activity, peer relations and the nature of pedagogies and learning architectures. Social implications – The paper foregrounds the political remit of CBHE as a progression route for “non-traditional” students, and considers the varied understandings of the meaning of the student role adopted by students attending colleges. Engagement with issues of multiple roles, identity salience and variable role porosity highlights social and pyschosocial issues faced by many such students. Originality/value – The paper considers role identity in the context of Kurt Lewin’s conceptualisation of life space and uses this framework to highlight issues that may face students and colleges in raising awareness of student expectations. It challenges the homogenous conceptualisation of the term “students” through consideration of the psychic state at a given moment in time.

‘We offer unparalleled flexibility’: Purveying conceptual values in higher educational corporate branding

Observations have been made about branding’s shift from a material to conceptual focus. Consequently, corporate branding has become more focused on associating and imbuing corporate brands with supposedly positive values and attributes. This article locates this emphasis in the context of Singapore’s marketized higher education sector, and examines how conceptual values like flexibility, freedom and empowerment are expressed linguistically and, more significantly, symbolized in and through photographic images in corporate brand communication. It is argued that while the circulation of conceptual values in branding has arisen in part due to the imperatives of branding, the privileging of values like flexibility, freedom and empowerment is symptomatic of neoliberal capitalist influence and the subjection of higher education in Singapore to a knowledge-based economic logic. This helps to shape stakeholders’ concepts and expectations of higher education as well as public attitudes towards the neoliberal knowledge-based market system more broadly.