Factors that predict Hispanic persistence in a predominantly white institution: A comparison with African American students.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to test an explanatory model of Hispanic student persistence and determine if the factors that predict persistence for Hispanic students are the same for African Americans. Specifically, this study examined and contrasted the between-group factors (African American and Hispanic) that predict persistence both through quantitative and qualitative approaches. In addition, this study examined and contrasted Hispanic within-group factors to provide a more comprehensive understanding of Hispanic subgroups. The sample for the study was drawn from a four-year longitudinal study of first-year students who entered a large, research university in the Fall of 1990. The sample for the quantitative study consisted of 95 Hispanic and 186 African American students who had answered a survey about their university experiences the second semester of their freshman year. The sample for the qualitative study consisted of ten Hispanics and twenty African American students who had left the University during their first year and failed to enroll for the Fall 1991 semester. Data was collected from these students through telephone interviews. This study compared students who did and did not return in the Fall of 1991 for their sophomore year. It revealed that there are factors that predict persistence differently for Hispanic and African American students. The results indicate that college grades and financial concerns are important factors in persistence for Hispanic and African American students, but they differ in other factors such as certainty of returning, family interference, and social ease. For example, Hispanic student persistence was affected by certainty of returning and family interference. Furthermore, differences were found between Hispanic subgroups on the predictors included in the exploratory model such as, generational citizenship status and language spoken at home. The results suggest that more complex factors than have been previously studied might be important in determining factors that predict persistence for students of color, such as Hispanic and African American students, as well as for the different subgroups of Hispanics.