Abstract
Using a qualitative approach, we sought to understand the social networks and decision-making strategies of minority males as they choose to attend a postsecondary institution. Data were obtained from interviews where students self-report perceptions of their college transition process. Our findings suggest that students’ social networks are inefficient, disrupted, and fractured resulting in prominent informational gaps that impacted matriculation decisions. We liken students’ knowledge about the transition to college to a tip of an iceberg; that is, participants only developed a surface-level understanding of the college process. We conclude with implications for policy and practice.
Although students in high school often verbalize intentions to attend college (Pitre, 2006; Toldson, 2008), astonishingly low numbers of students, especially minority students, successfully transition to college (Cuyjet, 2006; Chen, Wu, Tasoff, & Weko, 2010; Kaufman, Alt, & Chapman, 2001). In particular, we know that African American and Latino men have unacceptable and disproportionate rates of failure when exiting high school and entering postsecondary education (Harper, 2006; Strayhorn, 2010). Understanding the cause of enrollment disparities of men of color necessitates examination of the process by which students are exposed to, prepare for, and make decisions about postsecondary options.
One aspect of the college choice process that has been linked with a successful college transition is access to college-related information, particularly because many students begin the college search process with only a vague understanding of institutional differences in terms of selectivity, reputation, and funding sources (Cabrera & La Nasa, 2000; Hossler, Braxton, & Coopersmith, 1989; Venezia, & Kirst, 2005; Person & Rosenbaum, 2006; Wimberly, 2002). But access to college information is not uniform across all student groups, often to the detriment of low-income and minority students (Cabrera & La Nasa, 2000; McDonough, 1997; Teranishi, Ceja, Antonio, Allen, & McDonough, 2004). Indeed, persistent socioeconomic group differences in college enrollment behaviors have been attributed to a lack of college knowledge (Conley, 2005) and limited access to college information (McDonough, 1997).
The goal of this study is to understand how students’ perceptions of school context, and family and peer environments help shape their college selection process. More specifically, we sought to understand how formal and informal social networks serve as a catalyst for students to gather information and engage in the college choice process. We use a qualitative approach to explore students’ perceptions of access to and use of school, family, and peer networks as they glean information, and form and act on a postsecondary plan.
A Social Capital Perspective
Research on educational attainment shows the most successful students are those whose aspirations, background, and goals fit with an institutional environment (Bean & Metzner, 1985; Cabrera, Castenada, Nora, & Hengstler, 1992; Tinto, 1987). Therefore, the process by which students select their institution of enrollment, termed college choice, is critically related to longitudinal educational attainment. Models that examine the college choice process (e.g., the Hossler-Gallagher Model; see Hossler & Gallagher, 1987) emphasize how access to information influences how students prepare for, search, and make postsecondary selection decisions. Within this context, social capital, in the form of formal and informal networks, is the primary conduit through which students gain access to college-related information (Hossler & Gallagher, 1987; Hossler, Schmit, & Vesper, 1999).
Social capital refers to contacts, relationships, and networks (Stanton-Salazar, 1997) that afford individuals with knowledge about resources and opportunities available (Coleman, 1988). Lin, Cook &, Burt (2001) defined social capital as “resources embedded in social relations and social structures, which can be mobilized when an actor wishes to increase the likelihood of success in a purposive action” (p. 24). Within educational contexts, social capital refers to resources and key forms of social support embedded in one’s network or associations, and accessible through direct or indirect ties with institutional agents that helps individuals achieve educational goals (Stanton-Salazar, 2004, 2011). Institutional agents are powerful socializing agents situated in a student’s social network who work to transmit resources. For instance, through instrumental agents students are exposed to pro-academic and pro-social “ways of being” (Stanton-Salazar, 2011, p. 7).
In terms of college access, instrumental agents can provide information about college and the nuanced process of selecting an institution that best “fits” a student’s needs and persona and is most likely to result in degree attainment. As students progress through their educational trajectories in general, and the college choice process specifically, reliance on social capital in the form of family, peers, and schools networks predominate (Goff, Patino, & Jackson, 2004).
Parental Information Networks
Parents are often deemed a student’s primary instrumental agent (Coleman, 1988) and parental influence on the educational outcomes of children has been well established (Coleman, 1988; Kim & Schneider, 2005; McNeal, 1999; Morgan & Sørensen, 1999; M. H. Smith, Beaulieu, & Seraphine, 1995; Stanton-Salazar & Dornbusch, 1995). In terms of college choice, parents play a particularly pivotal role in shaping aspirations and in the establishment of a college preparatory frame of mind (Hossler & Stage, 1992). However, the role that parents, especially parents of minority students, play in providing college-related information has received less attention. Person and Rosenbaum (2006) examined the factors influencing the enrollment and persistence of Latino students using chain migration theory and found social contacts, including parents and friends, help students enroll and be persistent in college. Most relevant to the present study, Ceja (2004), using a social capital framework, found that due to minimal exposure to the U.S. educational system, parents of Chicana students were precluded from acting as important sources of information and could only assist their daughters in the college choice process in limited ways.
Peer Informational Networks
Peers can be powerful influencers in the education process. Research has shown that peers generally influence one another’s academic engagement, achievement, and motivation (Cunningham, Corprew, & Becker, 2009; Duncan, Boisjoly, & Harris, 2001; Griffin, Allen, Kimura-Walsh, & Yamamura, 2007; Johnson, Duffett, & Ott, 2005), and there is also evidence of peer influence on the development of postsecondary aspirations (Griffin et al., 2007; Hossler et al., 1999; Johnson et al., 2005; Perez & McDonough, 2008). Within the context of college planning of minority students, research has shown that peers can instill a college-going culture that encourages academic preparation for college and the development of postsecondary plans (Bedsworth, Colby, & Doctor, 2006).
Mounting evidence also suggests peer culture may be more influential than parental encouragement in terms of college enrollment (Bedsworth et al., 2006; Perez & McDonough, 2008; Sokatch, 2006). Empirical evidence has shown students are 4 times more likely to enroll in college if their friends express similar postsecondary plans (Choy, 2002), an effect that appears to be even more prominent for low-income and minority students (Holland, 2011; Perez & McDonough, 2008; Sokatch, 2006). Sokatch (2006) found friends’ postsecondary plans to be the single best predictor of 4-year college enrollment for low-income, urban, minority students. Similarly, Holland (2011) found low-income, African American students were particularly receptive to peer influence predominantly as it relates to the establishment of pro-academic norms and behaviors associated with college enrollment. Yet, how peer networks, especially the networks of low-income, and minority students who often lack information about college, or “college knowledge”, are utilized in the provision of college-related information has been understudied.
School Informational Networks
Access to school-based resources is indispensable in the college counseling and choice process (Bryan, Moore-Thomas, Day-Vines, & Holcomb-McCoy, 2011; Corwin, Venegas, Oliverez, & Colyar, 2004; McDonough, 2005). In particular, we know school counselors are instrumental in the development of postsecondary aspirations as well as application and matriculation behaviors (e.g., McDonough, 2005; McKillip, Rawls, & Barry, 2012). For low-income and minority students, who are often first-generation college students, counselors are especially influential serving as a primary, and sometimes sole, source of assistance and social capital (Kimura-Walsh, Yamamura, Griffin, & Allen, 2009). In fact, Lindsey and Gable (2013) found school counselors were the most referred to school source of college assistance. Yet, urban schools where minority and low-income students are concentrated also tend to have fiscal constraints and school policies that inhibit the provision of effective counseling (Corwin et al., 2004). Factors such as excessive caseloads, administrative responsibilities, and non-counseling duties impact the extent and quality of counseling services (McDonough, 2005; Plank & Jordan, 2001).
Rationale for the Present Study
Despite evidence linking social capital to educational outcomes, there is a paucity of research on how social capital affects the educational attainment of men of color (Epps, 1995; Stanton-Salazar, 1997, 2001; Wimberly, 2010). In addition, prior research has suggested the educational obstacles faced by minority males are not attributable solely to intra-individual factors, but rather to the confluence of intra-individual and contextual factors including school environment (Livingston & Nahimana, 2006). Accordingly, we use a social capital frame to explore how minority male students leverage their personal resources and parental, peer, and school networks to gain access to information that helps them prepare for and select college and if these networks are not available, how they form and act on decisions. By using a qualitative approach, we can begin to explore the potential degree to which formal and informal personal networks drive or impede the transition to college. We can also understand how student attitudes and behaviors affect their access to reliable and useful information. Although the literature treats African American and Latino male students as distinct populations, we purposely grouped them in hopes of understanding the similarities of their experiences. Findings of similar experiences could provide insight into the development of interventions with broader impact.
Method
A recent publication, Advancing the Success of Boys and Men of Color in Education (Consortium of Seven Centers, 2014) mandated postsecondary institutions to conduct self-studies of student experiences and outcomes. More specifically, they championed for use of a combination of research methods that allow for the authentic voices of males of color to be heard such as interviews. In line with their recommendation, we employed Hill, Thompson, and Williams’s (1997) Consensual Qualitative Research (CQR) methodological strategy. CQR was specifically selected because it incorporates elements from well-established qualitative methods including phenomenology (Giorgi, 1985), grounded theory (Strauss & Corbin, 1998), and comprehensive process analysis (Elliott, 1989). CQR also emphasizes the importance of a well-formulated interview protocol and follows a consensus-driven approach to construct meaning in data. Hill et al. (2005) identified essential components that must be considered when using this methodology including composition of the research team, protocol development, data analysis and the consensus process, and audit checks. We also added a validation technique to ensure that the interpretation of our findings was consistent with the thematic analyses.
Composition of the Research Team
The research team comprised three primary team members: two females, one White and one Latina, and one African American male. Both females have experience in education administration and extensive knowledge about K-16 educational transitions. The male was a former high school teacher at a large comprehensive high school in an urban area.
Protocol Development
We used both theoretical and practical sources to inform our interview protocol. First, we relied heavily on the theoretical space from the research literature on social capital and college choice. From this review, we identified critical topics such as social networks, relationship with guidance counselors, realistic self-appraisal, help-seeking behavior, and predisposition toward postsecondary education from which to develop our protocol questions. Second, based on our personal connections to the field, we reached out to five high school and college administrators, most of who taught in urban areas, to review our established protocol. We specifically asked the administrators to review our protocol based on their past experiences working with minority male students. Finally, after the practitioner review, we created a mapping matrix detailing our final protocol with connections to the research literature, research questions, and administrator review (Table 1).
Semi-Structured Protocol Questions Mapped to Conceptual Framework.
Data Analysis and the Consensus Process
The data analysis process involved three critical steps: (1) creation of domains, (2) development of core ideas, and (3) conducting cross-analysis. At all points during data analysis, the research team met to reach consensus. Consensus is paramount in CQR to ensure researchers are free from subjective bias.
Creation of domains. A domain is a topic used to cluster or segment the data (Hill et al., 2005). Our hybrid approach included deriving unique topics identified in the literature as well as those topics covered in our interview protocol. The initial domain list was applied to the first three transcripts to engage in domain coding by all three team members who coded them independently. Consistent with CQR, the team met after initial coding to revise and refine the domain list until the team reached consensus.
Development of core ideas. Constructing core ideas is generating summaries of the data that capture the essence of what was said in fewer words and with greater clarity. Core ideas should remain as close to the data (participants’ perspective and explicit meaning) as possible and be free of assumptions or interpretations, reduce redundancy, and then argued through to consensus. This stage is a process of “editing” the participant’s words into a format researchers are able to compare across cases.
Conducting cross-analysis. This is the process of identifying common themes across interviews that we conducted domain by domain. For each domain, frequency labels were generated as recommended by Hill et al. (1997). See Table 3 for our domains, core ideas, frequency labels, and additional information on the labeling of cases.
Audit Checks
Two external individuals served as auditors for project. These auditors reviewed the cross-analysis to ensure that the data have been captured adequately. The initial team discussed and agreed on any necessary changes.
Respondent Validation
To ensure the validity of our findings, we employed member checking at several points through the data collection and analysis processes. Member checks are an important procedure for corroborating or verifying findings, ensuring the findings are valid, and meeting the criterion of confirmabililty (Creswell, 1994). Participants were able to verify whether the reality of their statement was captured and interpreted accurately by the researchers. During the interview, we performed informal member checking by confirming participant’s statements, and subsequently, we provided copies of interview transcriptions and our analysis for participant review.
Participant Selection and Recruitment Process
Given our focus was on understanding the decision-making and selection process of students entering a postsecondary institution, we purposefully targeted minority male students who had been accepted and declared intentions to attend a postsecondary institution. Using a convenience sampling strategy (Lincoln & Guba, 1985), we used personal contacts at several postsecondary institutions to obtain emails of potential participants and circulated our recruitment materials. Thirty-two students consented to participate in the study, however only 27 participants (response rate = 84%) completed the interview. Participants were male students of African American or Latino descent from low socioeconomic backgrounds and, in almost all cases, the first in their family to attempt college. More detailed characteristics describing the sample can be found in Table 2. Participant attrition accounted for less than 20% of the total sample as they failed to attend their scheduled interview. We saw no clear differences across the completion and non-completion groups.
Sample Characteristics.
Note. GPA = grade point average; ELL = English language learner.
Results
The three themes or core ideas that emerged from the data are presented in Table 3, where, in accordance with CQR, they are broken down into subcategories, which are ordered by frequencies, to illustrate the salience of each core idea. Consistent with the CQR methodology, we used the labels of general, typical, and variant to categorize the frequencies of each core idea (see Table 3 for additional information about categorization).
Summary of Core Ideas, Representativeness, and Frequencies Broken Down by Domain.
Note. A total of 27 students were interviewed. General = 20-27; Typical = 6-19; Variant = 1-5. Tabulation of these labels was generated as dictated by the CQR methodology. The general category was employed when data from at least 80% of the participants were present. The variant category was employed when data from less than 20% of the participants were present. The typical category was employed to capture data in between general and variant.
Family and Peers
Parents as champions and supporters
Consistently across African American and Latino students, parents played a pivotal role in the conception and development of postsecondary aspirations, particularly by encouraging their sons to pursue postsecondary education and to establish career and educational goals. Much of this encouragement occurred through ongoing conversations between parents and their sons, some of which occurred years before college attendance. Antonio, a Latino student, detailed how his mother repeatedly told him, “‘you can do whatever you want in your life if you get a degree’ that’s her same words, you can do whatever you want in your life if you get a degree.” These messages were consistently received across participants irrespective of where their racial/ethnic backgrounds. Some participants used their parents’ lives as motivation to pursue higher education largely because they wanted to avoid their parents’ struggles. Jamal, an African American student, spoke of his father who dropped out of school: After 8th grade [he couldn’t] go back to school due to problems at home . . . my grandfather committed suicide . . . then my dad had me . . . so he had a lot on his plate. He worked at McDonald’s and after McDonald’s he would go to Burger King and that’s all in the same day. And after Burger King he would work at Checkers. So he always had a job, he always was working and he instilled in me that he wants me to be better than him. He doesn’t want me to have to work three jobs in order to eat every night . . . seeing him struggle everyday inspires me to do better than him. I see him as a really strong model.
Across African American and Latino participants, students spoke of college attendance as a norm or expectation despite the fact that most participants were first-generation college students. For example, George, an African American student, indicated “As far as I know it’s been an expectation ever since I was as young as I could remember. You’re going to college . . . as a kid it was more expected… I knew that from my parents.” When asked what would happen if he told his parents he did not want to attend college, George responded, I think they . . . probably won’t accept that. First of all they’d probably ask me . . . what my reasoning is behind not wanting to go to college? And they’d probably tell me all this stuff that would happen if I didn’t and compared to what would happen if you did. And probably use some of my cousins as an example, just people they know as an example and what happened to them. And just how going to college will make your life easier. Not easier but kind of easier in a way like have a good life and a good future.
Parents as limited informational sources
Although parents championed the expectation that college was important, and often essential, for their children, as participants underwent the search and selection process, a majority of the participants reported receiving superficial or limited assistance from their parents. This finding was consistent across students of African American and Latino backgrounds. The major way in which parents contributed was by giving practical advice during the selection process. For example, Louis’ parents encouraged him to pick the school that offered him the most scholarships, while Mateo’s father told him to pick a school that was close to home. Eight students mentioned their parents providing limited assistance, such as assisting with financial aid forms or by exposing their sons to the names of postsecondary institutions that could be explored as potential colleges (though many of these institutions were suggested simply because of geographic proximity to home or because an older sibling or relative had attended the institution).
Finally, some participants explicitly reported they did not receive any assistance from their parents in terms of the application and decision-making process. We found nearly half of the Latino participants in our sample reported no assistance in contrast to just two African American participants. When asked with whom he had discussed where he would apply, Andrew, a Latino student, indicated he had only spoken to “my friends, where they’re applying to see if they liked it or not.” Many participants point to their parents’ lack of knowledge about higher education. Nicholas, an African American student, indicated, “I did all on my [own], I did my forms on my own, I did my applications by myself. I didn’t really ask for my parents help for any of it. I just handed in that stuff on my own.” In some cases, decisions were discussed with parents simply as an afterthought and the channels of information flowed reverse to what is commonly expected, with students providing parents with college-related information. Oscar, a Latino student, indicated, I sat down with [my mom] and I actually explained it to her step by step . . . this is my financial aid package… I explained [it] . . . and she was like, “Oscar if you really want to do this, I’m going to support you and it’s what you want,” because at the end of the day I know it all falls on me I’m going to make the decision where I want to go.
Alternative informational networks: Siblings and extended family
Many participants, especially those from non-traditional families, spoke of relying on older siblings and extended family throughout the college application process. This finding was consistent across the sample. Again, more participants were able to describe the ways in which these family members encouraged and emotionally supported them, rather than ways in which these family members provided concrete assistance. Pedro, a Latino student, spoke about how his grandparents instilled in him a drive to succeed and pursue higher education.
[My grandfather] said that . . . there isn’t anything I can’t do in this world and if I push harder I can do it, I can achieve greatness . . . and don’t slack, it’s okay to have fun but to know where to draw the line, that I have to put my priorities first and then my fun second.
Robert, an African American participant, mentioned encouragement he received from his aunt: “All her life she is been in school. She has a higher [degree in] nursing. She is always telling me that don’t stop at one level of education just keep going and in the end it will pay off.”
In a handful of instances, participants described how extended family members provided concrete assistance. John, an African American student, spoke about how his sister helped him understand the process for obtaining financial aid: She definitely had conversations with me regarding college just to make sure that I was keeping it as an option and I always was, but she was the main person who influenced me to go . . . she used to just ask me where I’m going . . . where I might want to go to school, scholarships I could apply for, types of financial aid.
Peers as surrogate informational sources
As individuals who were experiencing a similar postsecondary search process, peers were cited as the main means by which participants gained information about different postsecondary options. In fact, nearly every participant cited using peers as an informational source, most commonly citing peers as a main source for learning about the existence of different institutions. Across both African American and Latino students, participants indicated peers served as an information channel for learning about college characteristics. For instance, when asked how and what he heard about a particular institution, Tim, an African American student, mentioned, I have a friend that goes to [private college] now . . . she said it was a good school, even though it was pretty small, it’s not like big . . . and another friend who attends [public college] . . . he plays football there and he said it’s a cool place but nothing going around in the town, it’s just like football or the sports and then nothing to do after that.
In other cases, participants were able to glean more nuanced reputational information of particular colleges or information about particular majors and programs at different institutions. For instance, Robert, an African American student, commented, “one of my friends told me that [private college] has a really good nursing program . . . they have a really good program there . . . that’s what I heard.” Similarly, Juan, a Latino student indicated he did not apply to a particular institution because he heard “they call it the party school and you can still get your degree… I know so many people who went to [public college] and are like cashiers in Shoprite.” However, it is important to note that some students received information from peers that was erroneous or incomplete. Charles, an African American student, indicated he had applied to several state institutions because “one of my friends went there and they told me that it was an open admissions college, so I applied because from my understanding open admissions colleges accept students with low GPAs and SAT scores.” In reality, the institutions Charles had applied to were selective institutions not open enrollment colleges.
At first glance, it appears peer networks played a significant factor in the college search and selection process, however, upon closer inspection, only a handful of participants spoke of continual discussions with peers about college from which in-depth information or concrete assistance was garnered. For example, John, an African American student, and his friends shared college-related information especially about financial aid and scholarships. According to John, Since I was in [a program], I used to be like the small counselor for all my friends. They used to come to me and it was …how do you apply and all that stuff . . . [but] sometimes they knew the . . . dates for a lot of important different meetings, scholarship opportunities . . . different student internships and all that . . . we used to share a lot of information, basically . . . financial aid, applying for financial aid . . . how to apply, deadlines, and all this information about different colleges, universities, colleges and everything . . .. . . we shared information with each other.
High school environment
Given our participants were first-generation college students it was imperative to understand the role schools, teachers, and counselors may have played in their college choice process. Our analysis showed that more than one third, or a typical response, of our sample transferred to another high school at one point in their secondary school career. This was true irrespective of racial/ethnic background. Of predominant concern and the greatest rationale for changing schools was safety and school violence.
For example, when asked why he transferred schools Michael, an African American student, said, “Everybody was violent . . . in school where everybody just bugged out . . . fighting’s every day, food fights every day, never going to class . . . and teachers are not really caring too much.” Similarly, Raul, a Latino student, said his school was A mixed school, you have Blacks, you have Hispanics, you have Asians . . . there was a lot of tension, there were a lot of gangs. I’m from [inner city], you got the Cribs, you got the Bloods, you got the Latin Kings . . . so we couldn’t be in one lunch room. He continued that there were “Black people fighting with the teachers, Dominicans bringing weapons . . . they are all bringing weapons, they’re all fighting, they all siding with gangs.”
Intensity of college counseling from guidance counselors
Across our sample, we found nearly three quarters of our sample utilized their guidance counselors as a college resource. Yet, we also found large variation in the type of assistance rendered to students.
Almost half of our participants, including equal proportions of Latino and African American participants, reported receiving cursory assistance from their counselors. This group reported receiving assistance through the provision of superficial information such as reminders of deadlines, completion of admissions-related forms, and processing of applications. Much of these interactions revolved around providing students with the mechanics of getting into college and not receiving assistance about the more nuanced elements of the college choice process, such as determining institutional fit. Some participants only received this level of assistance after they initiated contact with their counselor. Perhaps for this reason, many students expressed frustration at the lack of assistance. For instance, Enrique, a Latino student, indicated his guidance counselor, “was helpful, but not as helpful as I would have liked.”
More than one quarter of participants reported receiving no assistance from their counselors. This finding was consistent across Latino and African American participants. These students saw their high school counselors rarely and when they did, conversations about college largely occurred after a matriculation decision had been made. For instance, William, an African American participant, indicated the only time he met with his guidance counselor was to “hand in my stuff but I never really sat down and talk.” More importantly, some participants indicated their counselors expressed doubts in their ability to complete their educational goals. Greg, an African American student, stated his counselor, didn’t help me prepare for college . . . we didn’t talk about college cause she had no faith in me . . . [at the end of the school year] she put me down, she’s like you’re not going to make it.
Although only a handful of participants indicated they received intrusive counseling (Glennen, Farren, & Vowell, 1996) throughout the admissions process (e.g., exposure to different postsecondary options, guidance in determining fit, help making a final selection), our findings show that more African American than Latino participants received intrusive counseling. For instance, Thomas, an African American student, indicated his counselor helped him through discussions about, what I wanted to get out of going to college, what will be a good school for me to attend. We spoke a lot . . . she was definitely concerned about my financial aid. . . she’d take out what we’d say we wanted to get out of college and she’d help us find the best college fit for us. So . . . she kind of did help us push us into the direction where if you liked this you need to go here or look into this or apply here.
Informed Decision-Making and Selection Factors
The final theme centered on the factors that impacted final matriculation decisions including finances and knowledge of cost attending, geographic location, and programs of study (or major).
Finances and knowledge of costs to attend
Finances played a major role in both limiting the choices of schools to which students applied and in making a final determination as to where they matriculated. More than three quarters of our sample, and especially our Latino participants, stated that a college’s tuition was a factor that affected their decision-making process. Some students simply excluded consideration of institutions on the basis of cost. For some students, finances led them to select a community college over more costly 4-year colleges. For example, Enrique, a Latino participant, indicated, “community college was cheaper obviously and that was the reason why [I chose to attend].” In the process of researching colleges, Steven, another Latino student, noted, “I saw the price of it and I was like yeah, I can’t afford that. So I just stuck with [a local community college].”
More commonly, and across racial/ethnic designations, students waited until they obtained their financial aid package from particular institutions to base matriculation decisions on net cost. Many of our Latino participants considered scholarships as well and simply selected the institution which offered the greatest grant aid. For instance, Pedro, a Latino student, noted, “because basically it almost a full scholarship here so I’m going to take that.” In some cases, students had prioritized another institution as their top choice, but ultimately selected on the basis of aid. Personal preferences in terms of geographic location, reputation, and positive evaluations of the campus environment were set aside once grant aid and net cost entered the picture. Antonio, another Latino student, commented, I’ve had so many bad experiences here. I just didn’t want to live here . . . I wanted to try to go somewhere else. I lived in Florida for two years so I was looking at Miami a little bit and then I just after I got the scholarship here I said I don’t mind.
Despite the important role finances played in college choice decisions, both African American and Latino participants displayed limited, and sometimes inaccurate, understanding of the cost of college attendance and financial matters. Students were often in the dark about actual costs to attend. For instance, in discussing the cost of a nearby private university, Steven, a Latino student, indicated the tuition was $50,000, when in reality, the total cost of undergraduate tuition, fees, and boarding was approximately half that sum.
Despite the prevalence of finances in the decision-making process, we found students lacked an understanding of the composition of their financial aid package. Some students did not know whether their package consisted of grants or loans. Other students were unclear what was covered under their package. Antonio, a Latino student, was a recipient of a large need-based grant that covered nearly all his college costs, though he nonetheless had to take a minimal loan to cover the remaining costs. When asked, “What does [your grant] cover?” Antonio replied, “Tuition, I think it’s just tuition, and the books, tuition and books, but not every book.” This finding was consistent across both racial/ethnic groups.
Location
Participants, especially Latino participants, emphasized geographic proximity to home in the college selection process. There appeared to be two main reasons for this. Some students indicated that they wanted to remain close to family for support and comfort. For instance, Oscar, a Latino participant, said he wanted to stay close to home because he was concerned about possible family emergencies.
God forbid something would have happened, I wouldn’t want to be, you know, a hundred, two hundred miles away from home . . . I’m here at [nearby college], that’s a 10-15 minute drive to get here from my house, so, you know if, something is going on . . . I can call a family member [and be there] in a couple of minutes.
Another student commented that his support from his family would help keep him grounded. Daniel, an African American student, indicated, Home is where I got all the basic skills on how to succeed through school and how to go through school . . . I didn’t want to stray from that because I felt like if I left home I would leave all those skills behind me . . . no matter how old you are your mom is always going to remind you to do this or that.
Choice of major
Participants placed a great deal of emphasis on the availability of a particular program of study in considering a college. This seemed to predominately affect the college search phase during which students excluded colleges if their choice of major was not available. Interestingly, many students later either changed their mind regarding a major or learned that their current institution did not have the major they wanted. When Louis was asked why he had not originally considered a local community college he said, “cause at that time I was only focused on mechanics and industrial [engineering] . . . and this school doesn’t have mechanics or industrial.” Similarly, Bobby, another student said, it didn’t seem fit for me ’cause it didn’t . . . the major I wanted was Marine Bio and they didn’t have Marine Bio. So, I wasn’t really interested that much in [large private college]. Here they had, I didn’t see Marine Bio but they had Environmental [Biology] which is close enough ’cause it feeds into Marine Bio.
Discussion
The overarching goal of this study was to understand how minority males used their social capital networks to inform and shape decisions regarding postsecondary education. It is important to note our goal was not to distinguish between racial and ethnic participant groups but rather examine the experiences of minority males as a whole group with multiple race/ethnicities. By grouping minority males together we hope to advance discussion about commonalities among this disenfranchised group and prompt interventions that can equally address challenges faced by this population. As a means for substantiating similarities of experiences, we highlight racial and ethnic similarities and deviations in our results.
Fundamentally, we found three core ideas, or themes, related to the role of peers and family as information sources, high school environment, and informed college decision-making. Our findings show across Latino and African American students, parents and extended family played a pivotal role in encouraging participants to pursue higher education and in the establishment of postsecondary aspirations consistent with much literature on minority students (e.g., Hossler & Stage, 1992; Smith & Fleming, 2006), but inconsistent with literature on first-generation college students (Ishitani, 2003; Lohfink & Paulsen, 2005; Ting, 1998; Warburton, Bugarin, & Nunez, 2001. However, most African American and Latino participants gleaned very little information that could be used in the college selection process from parents or family. In some cases, peers provided an alternative mechanism for accessing college-related information; but, with the exception of a few participants, much of this information was superficial in nature and sporadic.
Consistent with prior research, we found participants utilized their guidance counselors to obtain college-related information (Bryan, Holcomb-McCoy, Moore-Thomas, & Day-Vines, 2009), though there was great variation in the type of assistance rendered to participants. Most African American and Latino participants reported receiving minimal assistance which generally related to the mechanics of gaining admission to college such as processing applications and reminding students of deadlines similar to other studies that have found minority males experience limited contact with their school counselors (Owens, Simmons, Bryant, & Henfield, 2011). Furthermore, one quarter of participants reported receiving no assistance whatsoever from their counselors. As a result of limited assistance from parents and counselors, we found our participants lacked accurate information on pertinent aspects of the college admissions process. Although participants relied heavily on cost of attendance, geographic location, and choice of major to inform their matriculation decision, they also possessed erroneous or incomplete information on these factors.
Overwhelmingly when we attempted to look at differences between groups, we found that both African American and Latino participants reported very similar experiences across most themes. Several reasons could explain the apparent overlap. First, students in our sample identified as first-generation college students, or students whose parents have not attained any education beyond high school (Stephens, Fryberg, Markus, Johnson, & Covarrubias, 2012). We know from the literature that first-generation students share certain characteristics including, but not limited to, the fact they tend to be from low-income families, they tend to have lower college entrance scores, and they tend to be less well prepared academically for college (Ishitani, 2003; Lohfink & Paulsen, 2005; Ting, 1998; Warburton et al., 2001). Second, the majority of our sample attended urban public schools. Their reported experiences involving guidance counselors and high school were uniquely similar and consistent with literature on urban high schools. Research has reported urban schools are plagued with student behavior problems, particularly in the areas of student absenteeism, classroom discipline, weapons possession, and student pregnancy which can impact the availability of counseling personnel and resources (Lippman, Burns, & McArthur, 1996).
Despite commonalities, the reported experience of our participants different in several ways. First, African American participants reported receiving more parental assistance and intrusive counseling in the selection process than did Latino students. We believe this is attributable to the immigrant status of many of our Latino students and their parents’ limited understanding of the educational system. We also found Latino participants were more likely to selected their college based on geographic proximity to home similar to other research on the college choice process of Latino students (Santiago & Cunningham, 2005). Finally, finances had a differential impact on the selection process of Latino students. More than three-fourths of Latino students reported college tuition was a major factor in their decision of where to matriculate. This finding suggests Latino students were concerned about college costs and disproportionately based their matriculation decision on cost of attendance consistent with prior research on Latino students (Santiago & Cunningham, 2005).
Tip of the Iceberg
We believe the development of social networks through which college information could be obtained was especially impacted by several school environmental factors including the act of transferring schools and the under-developed relationships with guidance staff—the very individuals in place to provide college assistance. Although transitioning from one high school to another often provided students with a safer educational environment, we hypothesize it also may have disrupted existing social ties with peer groups, teachers, and guidance counselors. These students essentially had to learn the values, rules, and behaviors associated with their new school and at the same time, they needed to rebuild social networks both inside and potentially outside of the school. For these students, the act of transferring may have especially impacted relationships and ties with the teachers and school counselors. Prior research has shown minority male students face innumerable obstacles in school settings including negative peer pressure, higher incidences of suspension, and stereotyping regarding academic ability and educational aspirations (Freeman, 1997; Gándara & Bial, 2001; Polite & Davis, 1999). At the same time, we know, female students are more likely to use counseling services than male students (Bryan et al., 2009). These contextual factors may have culminated in an inability to establish new and trustworthy relationships which could be relied on for college-related information. As a result, we believe students’ formal social networks, were somewhat inefficient, disrupted, and fractured resulting in limited engagement with school personnel who could assist them with information about college.
Due to fractured formal social networks, students from our study may have called upon their informal social networks and relied heavily on family and peers for information about college. We believe this resulted in many African American and Latino participants only developing a surface-level understanding of the college process. We liken students’ knowledge about the transition to college to the “tip of an iceberg” phenomena (Hutchens, 2001). Students understand just the tip of information, and more importantly, do not understand the lack of vital information. We found participants possessed erroneous knowledge about institutional characteristics, admissions criteria, the cost of college attendance, and financial matters, which included both a realistic conception of what college costs and an understanding of differences between grant aid and loans. This finding is consistent with Post (1990) who found that Chicano students lacked knowledge of college costs and had “unfounded beliefs about the costs of college,” (p. 185). More importantly, our findings show how students’ uninformed decisions impacted their matriculation consistent with Schneider, Martinez, and Owens (2006) who found lower socioeconomic status students had limited social networks from which college knowledge could be gleaned. The students we interviewed indicated no reason to believe the information they had acquired was insufficient, incorrect, or incomplete. Again, possibly due to fractured social networks with institutional agents, participants lacked guidance to help them critically analyze the quality and trustworthiness of the information they received.
We believe fractured social networks that resulted in the acquisition of only superficial knowledge about college admission also impacted the factors relied on in making matriculation decisions. The majority of participants were unable to access the more nuanced factors about particular institutions, which would result in selection of the best fitting institution. As a result, participants place considerable emphasis on tangible factors about institutions such as cost, geographic proximity to home, and whether choice of major was offered. Such findings are consistent with McDonough (1997) who found social networks interacted with social class to critically impact the breadth and prestige of institutions students considered. Her findings highlight how the limited social networks of lower income students result in a contracted search ultimately limiting educational opportunity. We believe a similar effect was in place for our participants resulting in over-reliance on concrete institutional factors.
Implications for Policy and Practice
Findings from this study have several implications for policy and practice. First, research has shown that higher income students gained access to college-related information through high school counselors, visits by admission staff, and school-based collaborations with local colleges (Hoxby, 2010). However, low-income students are unlikely to be reached through these traditional information channels due to geographic constraints and taxed guidance staff (Hoxby, 2010). In this study, we sought to gain a better understanding of the informational channels minority male students utilized to gain access to college information. We found although family, peers, and school personnel can serve as a network in the provision of college-related information, participants failed to access critical college information from these networks resulting in prominent informational gaps. At the same time, recent research has shown minor, cost-effective interventions aimed at providing students with college-related financial and admissions information produce significant outcomes in terms of matriculation behaviors (Hoxby & Turner, 2013). Findings from this study suggest such interventions aimed at providing college-related information should be examined more closely by admission staff and policy makers given they may have a significant impact on the educational outcomes of this disadvantaged population.
Our findings also suggest the continued need for programs aimed at helping this population as they prepare for and transition to college. Our study suggests that the establishment of relationships with non-parental instrumental agents may have resulted in a vastly different college choice process. Programs, such as the Federal TRIO programs, provide students with the opportunity to network with instrumental agents who can provide socialization opportunities and information leading to opportunities to achieve postsecondary educational goals (Goff, Patino, & Jackson, 2004). President Obama’s My Brother’s Keeper’s (2014) initiative goal is to help every boy and young man of color who is willing to succeed. The President has created a functional task force aimed at determining what public and private efforts are working and how to expand upon them. One charge is to create an administration-wide “What Works” online portal to disseminate successful programs and practices that improve outcomes for boys and young men of color.
Limitations and future research
This study has several limitations. First, our sample is limited to a small group of students in the Northeast. Therefore, although findings cannot be generalized to a larger population, findings from our study can help inform the development and design of future studies to investigate the relationship between capital frameworks and college choice and persistence for minority male students. Second, findings are based on data captured from one interview with students. Further research is needed on how these students progressed during their first year of college, and what factors are associated with persistence to complete their educational and career aspirations. Finally, we limited our study to interviews with minority male students and did not extend our sample to include faculty and administrators from participants’ respective high schools or postsecondary institutions. In an effort to comprehensively understand the transition process, it would be important to interview adults who interact with these students on a daily basis to capture how information is delivered and guidance is offered. Gathering such information would also allow for a comparison of adult perceptions with those of the students.
Footnotes
Authors’ Note
All statements expressed in this chapter are the authors’ and do not reflect the official opinions or policies of the any of the authors’ host affiliations.
Declaration of Conflicting Interests
The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Funding
The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: The author(s) received support for this study from the Educational Testing Service (ETS).