The development of educational aspirations and expectations from adolescence to young adulthood: A longitudinal study of Mexican-origin youth

Abstract

Mexican-origin youth are at increased risk for school dropout and low educational attainment. High educational aspirations and expectations provide a potential source of resilience, given their association with positive educational outcomes. Using data from a longitudinal study of 674 Mexican-origin youth, we examined the development of educational aspirations (how far would you like to go in school?) and expectations (how far do you actually expect to go?) from 7th grade (mean age = 12.8) to 2 years post–high school (mean age = 19.8). Results indicate that Mexican-origin youth enter adolescence with very high aspirations and expectations (e.g., 67 percent expect to graduate from college) and maintain them even after transitioning into young adulthood. Several demographic and cultural factors, including parent education level, family income, the cultural value of familism, ethnic identity, and Spanish language use, were associated with higher aspirations and expectations.

Publication
Social Psychological and Personality Science

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