California Students Research Articles

Dreams Delayed: Barriers to Degree Completion among Undocumented Community College Students

Community colleges in the United States (US) remain relatively accessible to students from immigrant families. However, undocumented immigrant students encounter difficulties in staying continuously enrolled in community colleges because they contend with multiple disadvantages. These students often ‘stop out’, or withdraw with intentions to return. This mixed-methods study explores the non-continuous enrolment of students from immigrant families. Drawing on survey data from a randomly selected sample of community college students in California, logistic regression results indicate that although the children of immigrants exhibit an ‘immigrant advantage’ with respect to staying continuously enrolled in community college, those who remain undocumented stop out at disproportionately high rates. Through a comparative analysis of 80 semi-structured interviews with undocumented immigrants and US citizens, I outline the multidimensional ways in which a precarious legal status interferes with students' postsecondary schooling. Specifically, I suggest that undocumented students' legal status often leads them to stop out due to corresponding financial hardship, sub-standard employment options, the precarious legal status of other undocumented family members who rely on their earnings, and excessive stress. This study offers evidence that the condition of ‘illegality’ functions as a ‘master status’ that has an overpowering effect on students' college pathways.

Policy, System, and Environmental Approaches in the High School Setting Affect Student Eating Outcomes

To explore associations between policy, system, and environmental (PSE) approaches and changes in eating behaviors among low-income high school students in California. To test a newly-developed scale to measure PSEs in high school settings. In 2012-2013, five school districts implemented PSE approaches, which varied by type and number by school site. Concurrently, participating schools implemented a standardized nutrition education intervention. Using a pre-post design, districts collected food consumption outcome data from students (n=1,505) using a standardized questionnaire. Investigators used ANOVAs to analyze a 21-item instrument identifying the frequency of specific PSEs in each district in conjunction with its pre-post data. The PSE scale was adapted from various sources including CDC's School Health Profiles, a system of surveys assessing school health policies and practices. Examples of PSE approaches were the availability of healthy foods offered at lower price points, partnerships with nearby stores, self-serve salad bars, and healthy food celebrations. The five districts reported having 9, 12, 13, 14, and 16 of the 21 possible PSE approaches. Group comparisons by ANOVA revealed that the district implementing 16 PSE approaches compared with 14 or fewer showed better self-reported behavioral outcomes for dairy, cereal, water, fruit, vegetable, and 100% juice consumption (all p<0.001). Results suggest that a threshold effect rather than a linear relationship exists when implementing multiple PSEs aimed at low-income high school students. These findings support the importance of utilizing PSE approaches in a setting that serves a population with more autonomy to make their own food-related decisions than younger children.

“Tiffany Does Not Have a Solid Language Background, As She Speaks Only English”: Emerging Language Ideologies Among California Students

Californians often take for granted a split between ethnic and linguistic identities, expecting immigrants to maintain strong ethnic identities while becoming monolingual in English. However, recent immigration has led to increasing diversity at California universities, with no majority ethnic group and many students bilingual. This study explores the language ideologies of diverse university students through an analysis of 100 essays written by undergraduates in an introductory Linguistics class. Specifically, the study asks what language ideologies are constructed when California students write about the language backgrounds of other people, and whether these ideologies appear connected to the writers' own backgrounds. Results show strong tendencies for students, regardless of ethnolinguistic background, to support home language maintenance as an index of ethnic pride and loyalty. The article concludes by discussing the implications of these results for the pedagogy of introductory Linguistics classes.

‘How do I do it if I don’t like writing?’: Adolescents’ stances toward writing across disciplines

This research embedded in the National Study of Writing Instruction examines higher- and lower-achieving adolescents’ stances toward content-area writing through a qualitative discourse analysis of interviews with 40 students in California, Kentucky, New York, and Texas secondary schools. The study asked: (1) How do students’ stances toward writing compare in general and across disciplines? (2) How do stances compare among middle and high school students and among students with different achievement histories? Results suggest that adolescents generally hold positive attitudes toward writing that allows for the expression of subjective stances, which they report is more commonly assigned in English language arts classrooms. Implications for the adoption of new US standards for disciplinary writing are discussed.

Queer Youth v. the State of California: Interrogating Legal Discourses on the Rights of Queer Students of Color

For nearly 2 decades, lawsuits filed on behalf of students who have endured anti‐queer bias in schools have resulted in favorable verdicts and settlements for the plaintiffs, thus spurring an increasing number of school districts across the United States to establish antidiscrimination policies and other initiatives to protect students from homophobic harassment. While these legal victories mark an important turn toward creating safe schooling environments for all students, they also reveal an inattention to the intersections of multiple identities and oppressions that can mediate the harassment experienced by queer students. Drawing upon critical scholarship on queers of color, or a queer of color critique, this article interrogates the absence of race in legal discourses on the rights of queer students in California. Through its focus on the intersections of race and sexual orientation, this article considers new forms of knowledge on queer youth of color that not only may inform legal protections on their behalf, but also may shape the efforts of school districts and community stakeholders to improve the educational experiences of queer students of color.

Using a Body Scanner in Assessing Perceptions of Attractiveness: Cross-Regional Study

Previous research reported that body size measured as Body Mass Index (BMI) and body shape measured as waist-hip-ratio (WHR) are two essential factors that form the perceptions of body attractiveness. However, the debate on the importance of BMI versus WHR is ongoing. In addition, scholarly articles, that focus on the role of geographic and cultural variability on perceptions of attractiveness, report inconsistent results. Some suggested that according to globalization and the rise of mass media, geographic variability of perceptions of attractiveness have been altered, while others believed that it remains. This study cross-regionally investigates the role of body size and body shape on the perceptions of female attractiveness. Samples were composed of 107 female college students in Alabama and 107 female college students in California. Participants viewed 27 three-dimensional body scan images of women in three body shapes (pear, hourglass, and rectangle) and three body sizes (underweight, normal weight, and overweight) and rated their perceptions of attractiveness. Images were shown to students in a random order with an overhead projector and Microsoft Office PowerPoint software. A three-way mixed-ANOVA was conducted to analyze the data. The results of the study showed that some regional differences exist between the two sample groups. However, regardless of the regional difference, hourglass shapes were perceived to be the most attractive shape and underweight sizes were perceived to be the most attractive size for both samples.

Preliminary Development and Validation of the Social and Emotional Health Survey for Secondary School Students

This study reports on the preliminary development and validation of the Social and Emotional Health Survey (SEHS) with a sample of 4,189 (51 % female) California students in Grades 8, 10, and 12. The SEHS was designed to measure the psychological building blocks of adolescents’ positive mental health and is operationalized in the present study by a theoretical model comprised of 12 measured indicators that form four first-order domains (belief-in-self, belief-in-others, emotional competence, and engaged living) that, in turn, contribute to one underlying, second-order meta-construct called covitality. This study was the first to investigate the validity and utility of the adolescent covitality construct, which is conceptualized as the synergistic effect of positive mental health resulting from the interplay among multiple positive-psychological building blocks. Findings from confirmatory factor analyses, invariance analysis, and latent means testing all supported the theoretical model underlying the SEHS, indicating that the second-order covitality model was the best fit for both males and females. Results from a path-modeling analysis indicated that covitality was a strong predictor of students’ subjective well-being (operationalized as a composite of life satisfaction, positive affect, and negative affect), and findings from additional concurrent validity analyses indicated that adolescents’ covitality level was significantly associated with self-reported academic achievement, perceptions of school safety, substance use, and experiences of depressive symptoms. Implications for theory, practice, and future research are discussed.

Endowed, Entrepreneurial, and Empowered-Strivers: Doing a lot with a lot, doing a lot with a little

Based on original data from one-on-one and focus group interviews with high school students in California, this article reveals how consistent access to or deprivation from informational resources influences information synthesis for scholastic work. In order to hold motivation constant, the article delineates three kinds of Striver students: Endowed, Entrepreneurial, and Empowered. The article examines the ways in which Strivers obtain information relevant to schoolwork from digital media, non-digital media, and knowledgeable individuals. Findings reveal linkages between access to informational resources and the internalization of a self-reliant or other-reliant stance towards information synthesis. Endowed-Strivers who enjoy synergistic access to informational resources adopt a self-reliant information habitus. By contrast, Entrepreneurial-Strivers with few home resources engage in linear strategies that facilitate an other-reliant information habitus. The third group, the Empowered-Strivers, benefits from school-based interventions that give them multiple information channels. Such IT interventions can act as substitutes for the rich informational resources enjoyed by Endowed-Strivers at home. Access to IT resources and teacher modeling at school make it possible for Empowered-Strivers to develop a self-reliant information habitus with regard to schoolwork. In showing how a favorable school-based information opportunity structure can compensate for inadequate informational resources at home, the analysis reveals the ways in which informational inequality is both created and sometimes overcome. By illuminating the relationships between access conditions, information opportunity structures, and types of information habitus, the article shows how synergistic use of informational resources plays a critical role in larger digital inequalities.

Education projects: An opportunity for student fieldwork in global health academic programs

Universities, especially in higher-income countries, increasingly offer programs in global health. These programs provide different types of fieldwork projects, at home and abroad, including: epidemiological research, community health, and clinical electives. I illustrate how and why education projects offer distinct learning opportunities for global health program fieldwork. As University of California students, we partnered in Tanzania with students from Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Science (MUHAS) to assist MUHAS faculty with a curricular project. We attended classes, clinical rounds, and community outreach sessions together, where we observed teaching, materials used, and the learning environment; and interviewed and gathered data from current students, alumni, and health professionals during a nationwide survey. We learned together about education of health professionals and health systems in our respective institutions. On the basis of this experience, I suggest some factors that contribute to the productivity of educational projects as global health fieldwork.

Overweight, Elevated Blood Pressure, Acanthosis Nigricans and Adherence to Recommended Dietary and Physical Activity Guidelines Among Hmong and White Middle School Students

This cross-sectional study was conducted among low-income middle-school students (N = 426) in rural northern California to compare rates of overweight, elevated blood pressure and acanthosis nigricans (AN) between Hmong and white students. Associations among rates of overweight, elevated blood pressure, AN, and scores for adherence to recommended dietary guidelines were also examined. Fifty-two percent (52%) of white students were overweight/obese compared to 38% of Hmong students. Higher fruit consumption was associated with a lower BMI among white, but not Hmong students. Whereas 7% of white students were classified as pre-hypertensive/hypertensive, the rate for Hmong students was 17%. Additionally, at 13 versus 2%, six-fold more Hmong students had an elevated blood pressure with a normal BMI compared to white students, respectively. Ethnicity was also an independent predictive factor for AN. Hmong students appear to be at higher risk for both hypertension and AN than white students irrespective of BMI.

Interpreting Differences in Parental Encouragement to learn the host language: California and Catalonia Compared

Este artículo está basado en un subconjunto de datos recogidos en el marco de una investigación predoctoral binacional en relación a las medidas de estímulos por parte de los estímulos paternos comparando grupos de estudiantes de procedencia inmigrante en Cataluña (España) como España (Estados Unidos) (n=233). Los resultados de los ANOVA sobre estos estímulos parentales hechos con datos procedentes de estudiantes autóctonos y los inmigrantes de primera y segunda generación muestran una disminución de los puntuaciones entre los participantes de origen inmigrante en California mientras que se evidencia un incremento en los de Cataluña. La hipótesis propuesta es que en Cataluña los padres recién llegados tardan en darse cuenta de la importancia del catalán, a diferencia de EEUU, donde los padres de los estudiantes recién llegados son conscientes de la importancia de aprender el inglés. Sin embargo, se necesitan más datos para confirmar esta hipótesis. Por lo que los resultados se combinan con una revisión de los estudios recientes para argumentar la necesidad de aportar más datos empíricos sobre cómo los alumnos perciben las actitudes de los padres inmigrantes hacia el aprendizaje de la L2, especialmente en Cataluña.

Exposure of California Kindergartners to Students With Personal Belief Exemptions From Mandated School Entry Vaccinations

Personal belief exemptions (PBEs) from mandated school entry vaccinations have increased in California over the past decade. Infectious disease outbreaks in the state may be associated with the aggregation of intentionally unvaccinated children within schools. We sought to quantify the exposure of California kindergartners to children with PBEs at school. We used cross-sectional California Department of Public Health data on 3 kindergarten cohorts to define and calculate multiple measures of exposure to children with exemptions, including interaction and aggregation indices, for the state as a whole (2008-2010) and by county (2010). In 2010, the PBE rate in California was 2.3 per 100 students, and the school PBE rate for the average kindergartner with a PBE was 15.6 per 100. More than 7000 kindergartners in California attend schools with PBE rates greater than 20 per 100, including 2700 kindergartners with PBEs. Exposure measures vary considerably across counties. Our results suggest increasing levels of exposure among kindergarten students in California to other kindergartners with PBEs. Our data provide a concrete set of metrics through which public health and education officials can identify high-risk areas as targets for policy and programmatic interventions.

Differences in Nutrient Intake Associated With State Laws Regarding Fat, Sugar, and Caloric Content of Competitive Foods

To determine whether nutrient intake is healthier among high school students in California, which regulates the nutrition content of competitive foods sold in high schools, than among students in states with no such standards. Cross-sectional study. California and 14 states without high school competitive food nutrition standards in the 2009-2010 school year. A total of 680 high school students sampled in February through May 2010 as part of the National Youth Physical Activity and Nutrition Study. State laws governing fat, sugar, and caloric content of competitive foods sold in vending machines, school stores, and cafeterias (à la carte). Several measures of nutrient intake assessed by 24-hour recall, overall and stratified by location of consumption (school, home, other). On average, California students reported consuming less fat, sugar, and total calories at school than students in states with no competitive food nutrition standards. California students also reported less at-school intake of vitamins and minerals. All at-school differences in nutrient intake were null after adjusting for total caloric intake; California students consumed a lower proportion of their daily calories in school (21.5%) than students in other states (28.4%). Mean overall intake was lower in California for most measures that were analyzed, particularly added sugars. California high school students consumed lower quantities of fat, sugar, and calories in school than students in states with no competitive food nutrition standards, but the nutrition composition of California students' in-school diet was similar. Policy initiatives should promote competitive foods that are consistent with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

Asthma-Related School Absenteeism and School Concentration of Low-Income Students in California

IntroductionAsthma is one of the leading causes of school absenteeism. Previous studies have shown that school absenteeism is related to family income of individual students. However, there is little research examining whether school absenteeism is related to school-level concentration of low-income students, independent of family income. The objective of this study was to examine whether the proportion of low-income students at a school was related to school absenteeism due to asthma.MethodsUsing data from the 2007 California Health Interview Survey, a population-based survey of California households, we examined the association between attending schools with high concentrations of low-income students and missing school because of asthma, adjusting for demographic characteristics, asthma severity, and health insurance status. Schools with high concentrations of low-income students were identified on the basis of the percentage of students participating in the free and reduced-price meal program, data publicly available from the California Department of Education.ResultsStudents attending schools with the highest concentrations of low-income students were more likely to miss school because of asthma. Students from low-income families, younger students, those with more frequent asthma symptoms, or those taking prescription asthma medications also were more likely to miss school because of asthma.ConclusionThe use of school-level interventions to decrease school absenteeism due to asthma should be explored, especially in schools with high concentrations of low-income students. Potential interventions could include school-based asthma education and disease management or indoor and outdoor air pollution control.

Physical Education Policy Compliance and Children's Physical Fitness

Physical education policies have received increased attention as a means for improving physical activity levels, enhancing physical fitness, and contributing to childhood obesity prevention. Although compliance at the school and district levels is likely to be critical for the success of physical education policies, few published studies have focused on this issue. This study investigated whether school district-level compliance with California physical education policies was associated with physical fitness among 5th-grade public-school students in California. Cross-sectional data from FITNESSGRAM(®) 2004-2006, district-level compliance with state physical education requirements for 2004-2006, school- and district-level information, and 2000 U.S. Census data were combined to examine the association between district-level compliance with physical education policies and children's fitness levels. The analysis was completed in 2010. Of the 55 districts with compliance data, 28 (50%) were in compliance with state physical education mandates; these districts represented 21% (216) of schools and 18% (n=16,571) of students in the overall study sample. Controlling for other student-, school-, and district-level characteristics, students in policy-compliant districts were more likely than students in noncompliant districts to meet or exceed physical fitness standards (AOR=1.29, 95% CI=1.03, 1.61). Policy mandates for physical education in schools may contribute to improvements in children's fitness levels, but their success is likely to depend on mechanisms to ensure compliance.

4-H Participation and Science Interest in Youth

The study reported here investigated the impacts of participation in 4-H on young people's interest and participation in science. Survey data were collected from relatively large and ethnically diverse samples of elementary and high school-aged students in California. Results indicated that although elementary-grade 4-H members are not more interested in science than other youth, by high school, participation in 4-H is associated with a greater number of science classes and higher-level science coursework. These results suggest that the 4-H program may have the ability to influence science interest and participation in the long term among its members.

3. Trauma Prevalence and Outcomes in Two-year and Four-year College Students in California

This paper describes the prevalence of traumatic events among undergraduates at California two-year and four-year colleges and universities. The relationship between traumatic events and outcomes in GPA, health status, depression, and substance use is estimated.

Validation of Social Connectedness in Mainstream Society and the Ethnic Community Scales.

This study examined the psychometric properties of the Social Connectedness in Mainstream Society (SCMN) and the Social Connectedness in the Ethnic Community (SCETH) Scales in two groups of ethnic minorities. We especially examined their theoretical/conceptual and empirical viability in relation to other established constructs of general social connectedness, acculturation, and enculturation. Analyses of two sets of survey data from 200 Mexican American students in California and 134 Asian international students in Minnesota supported (a) construct validity of the SCMN and the SCETH as related but distinct structures, (b) convergent and discriminant validity in relation to acculturation and enculturation, and (c) high reliability. The examination of incremental validity in predicting subjective well-being further supported their distinctive utility in addition to other established constructs of general social connectedness, acculturation, enculturation, ethnic identity, and other group orientation. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.

Science Education at the Polytechnic University of Baja California, M&amp;#233;xico

The educational model that is currently being implemented with the Polytechnic University of Baja California (UPBC) students of Engineering in Manufacturing Technology is presented in this paper. This model gives us the pattern of how to deal with the problem of teaching the nature of science and technology with quality, in particular, questions about how science and technology validate their knowledge and how it works in today's world. The nature of science includes aspects of epistemology and sociology, and the relationships with science, technology and society (STS): complex and innovative contents in science education (Acevedo, 2000). Also shown is the result of applying the Opinions Questionnaire on Science, Technology and Society (OQSTS), which allows an assessment of the views and attitudes of students on STS issues. Understanding these concepts: Science, Technology and Society is considered by specialists as a central axis of scientific alphabetization for all and as such, should be incorporated into the curricula of higher education and especially in Engineering as it enables awareness and changing attitudes of the student to confront ethical and moral dilemmas.

Deconstructing Remediation in Community Colleges: Exploring Associations Between Course-Taking Patterns, Course Outcomes, and Attrition from the Remedial Math and Remedial Writing Sequences

Each year, a sizeable percentage of community college students enroll in remedial coursework to address skill deficiencies in math, writing, and/or reading. Unfortunately, the majority of these students do not attain college-level competency in the subjects in which they require remedial assistance. Moreover, students whose point of entry into the remedial sequence is at the lower end of the hierarchy of skill suffer the lowest rates of attainment by far. Yet, to date, we do not understand fully why students who begin at the lower end of the remedial sequence are so much less likely than are students who begin at the higher end to attain college-level competency. The purpose of this study is to illuminate the junctures in the remedial sequences in math and writing at which meaningful attrition of students is occurring and, in particular, the junctures at which “low-skill” remedial students suffer differential attrition relative to “high-skill” remedial students. To accomplish this end, I use data that address students in California’s community colleges to examine three ways of characterizing and explaining the differential in college-level skill attainment between low- and high-skill remedial math students and, separately, between low- and high-skill remedial writing students. The three characterizations include nonspecific attrition, skill-specific attrition, and course-specific attrition. I find that each of these characterizations contributes to explaining the differential in college-level skill attainment between low- and high-skill remedial students.