Bordes-Edgar, V., Arredondo, P., Kurpius, S.R., & Rund, J. (2011). A Longitudinal Analysis of Latina/o Students’ Academic Persistence. Journal of Hispanic Higher Education, 10(4), 358-368.
Summary:
It has previously been shown that there is positive correlation between student success and participation in mentoring programs in higher education (Salas, Aragon, Alandejani, & Timpson, 2014; Bordes and Arredondo, 2005). In the article “A Longitudinal Analysis of Latina/o Students’ Academic Persistence” authors Bordes-Edgar, Arredondo, Kurpius, & Rund (2011), use data from a longitudinal study to determine what factors might impact student persistence in higher education, and then re-examine the actual impact of those same factors 4.5 years later. The factors examined included decision making, self-efficacy, mentoring, value of education, family valuing of education, perceived social support (family and friends), and academic factors (including entrance exam scores, high school GPA, and college GPA).
Participants:
Participants in the survey were Latina/o students from a southwestern university. In the original study, there were 112 1st-semester, freshman students. Of those 112 students, 76 students (20 men and 56 women) agreed to be part a follow-up study. Of the 76 students who were part of the follow-up, twenty-one (6 men and 15 women) were still enrolled, 25 (4 men and 21 women) had graduated, 25 (8 men and 17 women) had dropped out, and 5 were withdrawn for academic reasons. It should be noted that those who were withdrawn for academic reason, were not included in the final sample.
Testing:
After receiving consent from each of the participants, researchers accessed student data on all participants involved in the study. Based on admission data gathered, participants were grouped into one of four separate categories. The categories were “graduated, enrolled, dropped-out, and academically withdrawn” (p.361).
The original survey included demographic information and self-report measures. In both the original survey, as well as the follow-up survey, there were several instruments (scales) used to measure correlation of various factors to student success, including, student decision making, self-efficacy, mentoring, value of education, family valuing of education, perceived social support (family and friends), and academic factors (including entrance exam scores, high school GPA, and college GPA). Correlation was determined using Cronbach’s alpha test.
Results:
Results of the study indicate that students who persisted from the initial survey to the second part of the survey (4.5 years later), received more mentoring, made more positive persistence decisions during the initial phase of the survey (i.e., valued education, had positive self-belief in their own ability, received positive social support), and had a higher high school GPA.
Social support from friends was initially a strong predictor of persistence with the freshman. As it turned out, the importance of social support from friends was shown to diminish over time, and students had to rely on other forms of social support (i.e., mentoring), to be successful.
It was noted in the article that students who are isolated from friends, are more likely to drop out of college. The strongest correlation for social support as it relates to student success and persistence, came from mentoring, in which students who graduated perceived that mentoring was a critical reason for their success.
It should be noted that the authors examined the racial/ethnic background of the mentors to see whether having a Latina/o mentor made a difference in persistence. Results of the study indicate that there were no differences found.
Limitations / Recommendations:
As it pertains to my own action research, the most notable limitation in this study, is that it focused on Latina/o students. For my own research, I wish to expand to include first-generation, low-income and students with disabilities. Other limitations include a small sample size, and that most participants were of Mexican origin, so generalizability to other Latina/o groups may be limited. In addition, there were significantly more women than men in the study. I am not sure whether this would have a direct effect of the outcome, but is worth noting and examining in future action research.
Application to my own Action Research / Discussion:
The most telling result of the study, is that the initial connection that we have with students is the most important in helping students to be successful. The initial self-beliefs of students is a strong indicator of future success. Therefore, mentors that are very intentional in how they establish that relationship with students during their freshman year will be critical to the students future success. For example, having the mentors develop and build student self-efficacy.
As it relates to social support, we might assume that social support from friends will increase the likelihood of student success. Results actually show that the importance of friend support diminishes over time. Establishing that social relationship with a mentor during the initial phase of a student’s college career will be important.
It was noted in the article that development of partnerships between high schools and colleges were critical, as student success in high school is a strong predictor of their success in college. As it pertains to mentoring, high school staff could work with college staff in making arrangements to mentoring assignments to happen prior to students start in college. As noted in the article “If students have a mentor at the beginning of their college career, they are more likely to succeed” (p.365). In looking at future action research, explore how ASU might partner with high schools to better prepare students to transition, help those working with high school students understand the importance of having a strong GPA in high school (as a predictor of college success), and establishing mentoring relationship early in their admission to the university.
It has been shown that mentoring has a positive impact on whether college students are successful. At Arizona State University, I have seen the impact that mentoring has had on student success. While the survey focused on Latina/o students, I believe the mentoring component could be applied to any at-risk student group. The student groups that I wish do my own action research include first-generation, low-income and students with disabilities.
References
Bordes-Edgar, V., Arredondo, P., Kurpius, S.R., & Rund, J. (2011). A Longitudinal Analysis of Latina/o Students’ Academic Persistence. Journal of Hispanic Higher Education, 10(4), 358-368.
Bordes, V., & Arredondo, P. (2005). Mentoring and 1st-year Latina/o college students. Journal of Hispanic Higher Education, 4, 114-133.