Family and Consumer SciencesResearch Review

College of Agriculture, Life Sciences and Natural Resources

The academic resilience of Mexican American high school students

Gonzalez, R. & Padilla, A.M. (1997). The academic resilience of Mexican American high school students. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 19(3), 301-318.

PURPOSE: Examined whether a supportive academic environment, a sense of belonging to school, and cultural loyalty enhanced resilience.

LITERATURE REVIEW:

• Alva & Padilla (1995) stressed the importance of taking sociocultural factors into account when using a model of resilience.
• Gandara (19982, 1995) found that family support and individual persistence contributed most to academic success.
• Alva (1991) discovered that students’ subjective appraisal of their preparation for college was the most significant predictor of GPA. Other predictors included educational support, and control over academic future.
• Goodenow (1992) believed that a students’ sense of belonging has a reinforcing effect on positive academic behavior.
• Hernandez (1993) discovered that extracurricular activities increased students’ sense of engagement with school. Also found that teacher support, peer support, and parental motivation contributed to academic achievement.

METHODS:

• Sample: Surveys were collected from 2,169 Mexican American students, 214 met he selection criterion for the study.
• Instrument: 314-item questionnaire that measured self-esteem, delinquency, stressful life events, psychosocial maturity, school bonding, parental involvement, and ethnic pride and awareness.
• Procedure: Factor analysis using varimax rotation, 3-ANOVA using Scheffe pair-wise comparisons, stepwise regression, and discriminant analysis were used to evaluate the data.

RESULTS/CONCLUSIONS:

• Regression analysis revealed that the only significant predictor of student grades was a sense of belonging to school. A supportive academic environment and a sense of belonging to school were predictors of resilience status.
• In t-test analyses on resilient status and regression analyses on GPA, family and peer support and value placed on school were predictors of academic resilience.
• Although cultural loyalty overall was not a significant predictor of resilience, certain cultural influences contributed to resilient outcomes. Cultural pride and awareness were significant predictors of GPA.
• Reinforced that resilience is not a trait, but rather develops in the context of environmental support.

Prepared by Kosha Sabin for UW honors course HP4152, Spring 1999