Mexican American women are among the most poorly educated of all U.S. citizens. Although the gap is narrowing, their gains have not kept pace with the increase in population. Research indicates that only a small number of Mexican American women complete a 4-year degree and even fewer go on to enter a graduate program. However, there has been little research on the characteristics that contribute to the enrollment in graduate studies of the few who do go beyond the 4-year degree. The primary goal of this study was to determine the characteristics that contribute to Mexican American women continuing their education in graduate studies.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Astin, A. W.
(1984). Studentinvolvement: Adevelopmental theory forhighereducation. Journal of College Student Personnel, 25, 297-308.
2.
Carter, D. J.
, & Wilson, R. (1991). Ninth annual status report: Minorities in higher education. Washington, DC: American Council on Education, Office of Minorities in Education.
3.
Chacon, M. A.
, Cohen, E. G., Camarena, M., Gonzalez, J., & Strover, S. (1982). Chicanas in postsecondary education: An executive summary report. Palo Alto, CA: Stanford University, Center for Research for Women.
4.
Gandara, P.
(1982). Passing through the eye of the needle: High-achieving Chicanas. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 4, 167-179.
5.
Green, M. E.
(Ed.). (1989). Minorities on campus: A handbook for enhancing diversity. Washington, DC: American Council on Education.
6.
Proctor, S.
(1970). Racial pressures on urban institutions. In D. C. Nichols & O. Mills (Eds.), The campus and the racial crisis (pp. 43-58). Washington, DC: American Council on Education.
7.
Quezada, R.
, Jones-Loheyde, K., & Kacmarczyk, R. (1984). The Hispanic woman graduate student: Barriers to mentoring in higher education. Texas Tech Journal of Education, 11(3), 235-241.
8.
Rodriquez, C. J. (1982). Characteristics of Mexican-American students who graduatedfrom the University of California, LosAngeles, in 1979. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of California, Los Angeles.
9.
Simoniello, K.
(1981). On investigating the attitudes toward achievement and success in eight professional U.S. Mexican women. Aztlan: International Journal of Chicano Studies Research, 12(1), 121-137.
10.
Turner, J.
(1985). Sociology: The science of human organization. Chicago: Nelson-Hall.
11.
VonDestinon, M. A. (1989). The integration, involvement and persistence of Chicano students. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Arizona.
