What are the Barriers for Hispanics' Educational Attainment

Abstract

This study uses data from the Education Longitudinal Study (ELS) to better understand the factors that are associated with educational expectations and the eventual educational attainment of students, particularly Hispanic youth. Guided by theoretical perspectives on segmented assimilation, by looking at aspects of social capital, human capital, and cultural capital, this study hypothesizes that lower levels of capital can lead to lower educational expectations and educational attainment, first testing for relationships using a national sample and second using a sub-sample of Hispanics. The research findings support two of the three hypotheses and finds that Hispanics have low educational expectations and lower educational attainment when compared to other racial and ethnic groups. Within the Hispanic sample, I find that there are variations; Cuban-Americans have higher educational expectations and educational attainment compared with Mexican-Americans. This research contributes to the literature by acknowledging that Hispanics have barriers, with the implication that these barriers can be overcome with help from educational institutions to empower minorities to seek and attain upward mobility.