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Descriptors:
Access to Education; Higher Education; Educational Policy; Policy Formation; Federal Legislation; Criticism; Educational Research; Family Income; College Preparation; College Attendance; Longitudinal Studies

Abstract:
Student's access to college is influenced both by their level of academic preparation to do college-level work and the cost of participating in postsecondary education--on this point researchers and policy makers seem to agree (Perna, 2006). The relative importance of each, however, is very much a subject of disagreement and that debate has implications for policy formation, particularly when resources are scarce. In this article, I begin by summarizing the evolution of this debate from the late 1990s through today. Much of this conversation took place on the federal stage in anticipation of the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act (HEA). Next, I examine one particular report issued by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) and I respond empirically to several of the critiques levied by the education research community. In this reanalysis of the report on college access by Berkner and Chavez, I make several adjustments to illustrate how a number of methodological limitations affect the inferential claims in their report. My conclusions suggest that the definition of "college qualified" has important implications for these sorts of analyses and that the cost of college influences students' decisions to attend college both directly in terms of their perceived ability to attend college and through family income and the choices they make to prepare for college. Considering a fuller range of post-high school alternatives reveals important influences of race and class, which are masked by the focus on 4-year college attendance. (Contains 8 tables.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Academic Achievement; Adolescents; Social Capital; Friendship; Comparative Analysis; College Graduates; Graduation; Family Income; Mothers; Parent Influence; Cultural Influences; Grade Point Average; Peer Influence; Secondary School Students; Racial Differences; Educational Attainment

Abstract:
Research on social capital in education rarely considers how the resources students can access through their friendships affect educational outcomes later in life. Using the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, we explore how having resource-rich best friends impacts adolescents' college completion. We compare the influence of friends' material and cultural resources and their effects relative to adolescents' family resources. We find that having a best friend with a college-educated mother significantly increases the likelihood of college completion, though having a best friend whose parents are high income does not. This positive effect of best friends' cultural resources is not explained fully by school achievement or by the expectations of respondents, best friends, or parents. We conclude that adolescent friendships are an underrecognized source of social capital. (Contains 5 tables and 14 notes.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Foreign Countries; Early Adolescents; Late Adolescents; Educational Attainment; Influences; Socioeconomic Status; Family Income; Welfare Services; Mothers; Age; Sex; Relocation; Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder; Behavior Disorders; Family Relationship; Mental Health; Predictor Variables; Hierarchical Linear Modeling

Abstract:
This paper explores the relative importance of social factors and health measures in predicting educational achievement in early and late adolescence using population-based administrative data. The sample was made up of 41,943 children born in Manitoba, Canada between 1982 and 1989 and remaining in the province until age 18. Multilevel modeling nests each individual (level 1) within a family (level 2) residing within a neighborhood (level 3). Most important in predicting adolescent achievement were a broad socioeconomic status index (and a narrower measure of household income), being on social assistance, mother's age at first birth, gender, residential mobility, the presence of ADHD/Conduct disorders, and measures of family functioning (child taken into care or offered protection services and family structure history). Family size, birth order, and newborn characteristics (birthweight, APGAR, gestational age) were statistically significant but of little importance in explaining the outcomes. Both examining regression coefficients and systematically omitting variables showed social factors (often emphasized by epidemiologists) to have markedly greater effects than the combination of health measures (often stressed by economists) in predicting achievement. However, mental health in childhood is identified as among the important predictors. Record linkage across population datasets from health, education, and family services ministries allowed: tracking health and educational attainment at different times in a child's life, following a large number of cases across childhood, considerable sensitivity testing, controlling for unmeasured family and neighborhood effects, generating an extensive list of predictors, estimating effect sizes, and comparing Manitoba results with those of well-known American studies. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Academic Achievement; Tutoring; Foreign Countries; Probability; Private Schools; Family Characteristics; Family Income; College Entrance Examinations; Parent Background; Educational Attainment; Regression (Statistics); Equal Education; Social Mobility; Scores; College Preparation

Abstract:
This paper examines the determinants of students' performance on the entrance test at Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Brazil. Particular attention is paid to the importance of family background variables, such as parents' education and family income, on students' performance and how they relate to the probability of attending public schools and private tutoring classes. Results suggest that parents' education and study environment are key determinants of students' achievements. Also, they are positively related to the probability of attending private schools and private tutoring classes, which are both estimated to have a positive effect on test scores. Finally, the quantile regression estimation shows that the effect of parents' education and family income varies across the conditional score distribution. These results highlight the need for developing policies that seek to improve the equality of opportunities in access to higher education. They are of special importance for a developing country like Brazil, in which not only the level of inequality is among the highest in the world but also the level of social intergenerational mobility is among the lowest compared to international standards. (Contains 4 tables, 2 figures and 17 notes.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Educational Attainment; Job Satisfaction; Young Adults; Structural Equation Models; Outcomes of Education; Career Development; Adolescents; Socioeconomic Influences; Parent Influence; Predictor Variables; Expectation; Success; Gender Differences; Family Income; Grade Point Average; Employment Level

Abstract:
Building on the Wisconsin Model of Status Attainment, this study examined the contextual process of obtaining educational attainment and the subsequent work outcomes and career satisfaction. This study used the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) with structural equation modeling techniques to assess US participants from adolescence to young adulthood (N = 8309). Socioeconomic resources provided by parents in adolescence directly predicted education outcomes and were partially mediated by family success expectations. Family success expectations were an important predictor of education outcomes. Neither socioeconomic resources nor success expectations directly predicted work outcomes or career satisfaction. Instead, education was the direct predictor of career satisfaction with work outcomes partially mediating. A multiple group analysis was conducted to compare outcomes between men and women. The discussion explores the implications of the findings and educational attainment for young adults in a global society. (Contains 3 tables and 2 figures.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Academic Achievement; Grade Point Average; College Attendance; Student Attitudes; Paying for College; Parent Financial Contribution; Graduation Rate; Probability; Student Characteristics; Financial Support; College Students; Family Income; Socioeconomic Status; Educational Attainment; Family Structure; Racial Differences

Abstract:
Evidence shows that parental financial investments increase college attendance, but we know little about how these investments shape postsecondary achievement. Two theoretical frameworks suggest diametric conclusions. Some studies operate from a more-is-more perspective in which children use calculated parental allocations to make academic progress. In contrast, a "more-is-less" perspective, rooted in a different model of rational behavior, suggests that parental investments create a disincentive for student achievement. I adjudicate between these frameworks, using data from nationally representative postsecondary datasets to determine what effect financial parental investments have on student GPA and degree completion. The findings suggest seemingly contradictory processes. Parental aid decreases student GPA, but it increases the odds of graduating--net of explanatory variables and accounting for alternative funding. Rather than strategically using resources in accordance with parental goals, or maximizing on their ability to avoid academic work, students are satisficing: they meet the criteria for adequacy on multiple fronts, rather than optimizing their chances for a particular outcome. As a result, students with parental funding often perform well enough to stay in school but dial down their academic efforts. I conclude by highlighting the importance of life stage and institutional context for parental investment. (Contains 26 notes, 6 tables and 2 figures.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Profiles; Child Care; Parents; Educational Quality; Child Development; Infants; Risk; Educational Attainment; Mothers; Correlation; Outcomes of Education; Employed Parents; Parent Attitudes; One Parent Family; Family Income; Minority Groups; Caregivers; Teacher Student Ratio; Certification

Abstract:
Building on prior variable-oriented research which demonstrates the independence of the associations of child care quality, quantity, and type of setting with family factors and child outcomes, the current study identifies four profiles of child care dimensions from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development. Profiles accounted for 73% of total variance in 10 child care variables measured for 489 6-month-olds in nonparental child care including type of setting, quantity of care, and structural/process quality indicators. Dominant marker variables were used to label the four profiles which revealed complex patterns. Lower family risk, especially higher maternal education, was associated with profiles marked by features associated with better child outcomes, but only maternal belief in the harm of maternal employment protected against child care profiles with features associated with poorer child outcomes. By allowing child care characteristics to correlate freely with dimension profiles using a person-oriented approach, results facilitate examination of the contributions of each individual characteristic to each profile, suggesting ways to improve child care provision and to examine child care selection. (Contains 6 tables, 1 figure, and 1 footnote.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Parent Attitudes; Paying for College; Higher Education; Money Management; Parent Financial Contribution; Family Financial Resources; Parent Responsibility; Economic Factors; Motivation; Family Income; Racial Differences; Ethnicity; Student Loan Programs; Grants; Goal Orientation

Abstract:
Sallie Mae has conducted an ongoing study, "How America Pays for College," annually since 2008. Through that study, the researchers are able to provide a clearer picture of how the typical American undergraduate is paying for college today. This report is the third in the "How America Saves for College" series conducted since 2009. Interviews took place in August 2012 with a nationally representative sample of more than 1,600 parents. Sallie Mae's "How America Saves for College 2013" shows American families overwhelmingly expect their children to attend college and that most parents are optimistic about their ability to save for it. It also shows that anticipated savings often don't tie to the amount that families are currently saving, nor meet with the reality of the cost of college. Families who have set a savings goal for themselves plan to save close to $39,000 for each child's college education costs. When asked another way, parents who are saving plan to save about 32 percent of the future cost of college. Based on families' current savings behaviors, actual savings will amount to about half their goal amount. (Contains 10 figures, 54 tables, and 10 footnotes.) [For 2010 report, see ED540411.] Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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 ERIC Full Text (2262K)

Descriptors:
Higher Education; Population Growth; Family Income; High School Graduates; Tuition; Fees; Undergraduate Students; In State Students; Educational Attainment; Educational Finance; Academic Achievement; Access to Education; Benchmarking

Abstract:
Benchmarks: WICHE Region 2012 presents information on the West's progress in improving access to, success in, and financing of higher education. The information is updated annually to monitor change over time and encourage its use as a tool for informed discussion in policy and education communities. To establish a general context for the benchmarks, it is useful to understand that three demographic characteristics of the West are central to issues of Access, Success, and Finance. First, median household income in the West is slightly higher than in most other regions; while the national median household income in 2011 was $50,054, the average for Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE) states was $51,721. However, average tuition and fees for resident undergraduates in 2012-2013 at public four-year institutions in the West were significantly lower: $7,553 in the region compared to $8,655 nationally. Second, on average, a slightly higher proportion of the region's population holds at least a bachelor's degree (29.4%) than is found nationally (28.2%). Finally, although population growth has been strong in the West, preliminary projections suggest that the era of uninterrupted growth in the number of high school graduates, both nationally and in the West, is nearing an end. Still, the West is home to states that are among the fastest-growing in the nation, as well as those which will see continued declines in the size of high school graduating classes, while all are likely to see continuation of a trend in the rapid diversification of high school graduates. (Contains 15 figures.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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 ERIC Full Text (263K)

Descriptors:
Academic Achievement; Undergraduate Study; Economic Factors; Lecture Method; Family Income; Study Habits; Attendance; Prediction; Policy Formation; Personality Traits; Occupational Aspiration; Futures (of Society); Student Behavior

Abstract:
Undergraduate study behaviours, principally lecture attendance and additional study, are shown to predict better student achievement by many researchers. Despite this, there is not much evidence on the determinants of these behaviours. This is the first paper to explore the determinants of study behaviours across multiple subject areas; and is the first to incorporate students' noncognitive traits into such a model; that the authors are aware of. This enables the formation of policy that can improve academic achievement by encouraging study behaviour. The results show that students' noncognitive traits, in particular conscientiousness and future-orientation, are important determinants of lecture attendance and additional study hours. In fact, there is very little that explains undergraduate study behaviour besides noncognitive traits. Standard economic factors, such as family income, financial aid and parental transfers, are not predictive of study behaviours. Some comments are provided on a potential behavioural economics approach to encouraging study behaviours. (Contains 2 tables and 2 figures.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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