Characteristics of Mexican-American high school stay-ins: The other side of the dropout problem.

Abstract

This study focused on a Mexican-American high-school senior student population in a rural agricultural area in the northwest. The purpose was twofold: (1) to examine the characteristics of the seniors that would graduate; (2) to examine the relationship between a set of nationally identified at-risk characteristics and the high- and low-achievers in the sample population. The data from the student survey yields the following profile of a successful Mexican-American student. The distribution of gender was approximately equal. The student lives with both parents in a low socioeconomic status family of approximately five children with both parents working. Both parents and students in these families are highly bilingual/bicultural. The students' families, especially the mother, are highly supportive of the student. The students like school, do well, and are active in extracurricular activities. They have a good self image, have high aspirations, and are goal orientated. Finally, during the school process, the student has been supported by teachers, friends and counselors. When examining the high- and low-achieving students in the study, it was discovered that the low achieving students exhibit many characteristics typical of high risk students. The students with these characteristics are frequently absent from school and have poor grades. They come from a large, single parent family of low socioeconomic status which is non-supportive of the student's school career. Finally, the students in this group have parents with low-educational level and little involvement in school matters. For the sample in general, the study shows the Mexican-American high-school graduate to be a good student with high aspirations. While some of the at-risk characteristics are useful in differentiating between high- and low-achievement there is doubt about their usefulness in predicting that a student will dropout.