Copyright© 2007 by School Services of California, Inc.

                                      Volume 20                   For Publication Date: February 16, 2007             No. 4

Latino Students Perceive Many More Barriers
to College than Do Whites 

According to a recent study in the Journal of Career Assessment, “Perceived Barriers and Postsecondary Plans in Mexican-American and White Adolescents,” both Latino and Whites aspire to go to college, but many more Latinos see barriers to accomplishing that goal than their White peers. 

The study focused on 28 potential barriers, both internal and external, and surveyed 140 Latino and 296 White students at high schools in the midwest and southwest. The barriers that Latinos perceived included: 

• Motivation
• Ability
• Preparation
• Support
• Separation from their families
• Friends
• Teachers

 These students also expected those barriers to be more difficult to overcome. The study did not find any correlation between the educational level of parents’ and students’ perception of barriers. According to Ellen Hawley McWhirter, associate professor of psychology at the University of Oregon’s College of Education, “the study focused on perceptions rather than actual hurdles. Perceived barriers determine the likelihood someone will carry out their goals.” 

Researchers believe the perceived barriers of Latino students are playing themselves out in reality.  According to the National Center for Education Statistics, Latinos fall behind Whites and Blacks in their rate of college degree completion.  In addition, Latinos have higher high school dropout rates in comparison to Whites and Blacks. 

Authors of the study assert that Latino students are not doing anything wrong—rather, the findings of the study indicate that our public education system needs to be reformed to address the needs of at-risk students.  In addition, we as a society must work to dismantle the barriers. You can find the study in The Journal of Career Assessment, Vol. 15, No. 1, 119-138 (2007).  The abstract is available at http://jca.sagepub.com.  

—Jamillah Moore, Ed.D.