An array of family, school and community characteristics clearly work together in shaping students’ access to postsecondary non dual teacher. Our research identified a number of factors, many of them interrelated, that act as barriers to students continuing their education after high school.
– Being from a family in which neither parents nor siblings have gone to college;
– Having parents who are not actively involved in school and in post-high school planning;
– Being from a community with low educational expectations, a community where a college education is not perceived as being particularly valuable, or a community where college is not perceived as being affordable;
– Not being in the top academic track in high school; and
– Not saving for college, not planning ahead about how to finance postsecondary education, and/or coming from a family with limited resources for college.
Undeniably, parents play a key role in shaping students’ attitudes toward college. They have the potential to be the greatest resource in helping their children prepare for postsecondary education, but if they fail to be actively involved, parents can instead create a barrier to college.
– In families where a parent completed college, college attendance is much more likely to be expected for the children. Not surprisingly, parents who completed college themselves report much higher comfort levels with assisting their child in college planning and financing than parents who do not have college experience.
– The extent to which parents have investigated financing options for college emerged as a key factor in students’ college aspirations. Students with high aspirations are much more likely to report that their parents have taken tangible steps toward planning to pay for college than are students with moderate or low aspirations.
– Educators name low student aspirations as the number one barrier to college. The next three factors educators see as key barriers to college for their students involve parents: parents’ lack of a college education, parents’ lack of involvement in planning, and parents’ perception that college is unattainable.
– Students who have a sibling in college have more positive attitudes toward college and tend to get an earlier start with college planning.
Survey respondents were asked which of three main academic tracks they (or their children) were placed in: Advanced Placement/Honors (about 30% of students), College Prep (about 50%), or General/Vocational Prep (about 20%). While some educators reported that their high schools do not explicitly track students, virtually all students and parents were able to identify their (or their child’s) academic track. This study found dramatic differences in students’ aspirations, post-high school planning approaches, level of parental involvement and overall school experience based on their academic track.