The Relationship of Minority Identification, Cognitive Style, Self-Esteem, and Other Selected Factors Related to Academic Success in Higher Education.

Abstract

This study investigated the relationship of college success to selected characteristics of minority and majority students enrolled in a predominately White institution of higher education. The focus of the study was on minority students in general, and Hispanic students in particular, compared to majority students. Measures of self-esteem, cognitive style, and achievement were collected on 183 University of Michigan entering freshpersons during the Fall of 1981. Because co-acting factors related to college success were not controlled in the available sample, the findings are highly speculative and should be interpreted with extreme caution. Two sample T-test comparisons reported higher ratings of majority student's background characteristics, cognitive style, and achievement, and higher ratings of minority students on self-esteem and "proactive" and "reactive" indices. Specifically, Blacks rated significantly higher than Whites on pre and post measures of self-esteem, while Chicano/Puerto Ricans reported significantly higher scores than their "Other Hispanic" counterparts. The personality indices of "proactive skills" (these outwardly exerted on the environment) indicate significantly higher ratings for Chicano/Puerto Rican students than White students. Black students scored significantly higher than Whites learners on the "reactive skills" (internal controls) index. Results of multiple classification analysis indicated race as the most influential factor (eta('2) = .312, beta = .487) in predicting cognitive style, when the independent variables of SES, gender, and college achievement are taken into account. Overall, study findings indicate that in this sample, minority students rate higher on measures assessing affective domains, while majority students rate higher on measures assessing cognitive domains. These results suggest that the higher ratings of minority students on affective measures may be a means by which minority students can be assisted in coping with field independent learning environments.