Ethnicity and higher education: The role of aspirations, expectations and beliefs in overcoming disadvantage

Ethnicities ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 457-470 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nabil Khattab
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Educational Attainment ◽  
Ethnic Minorities ◽  
Immigrant Students ◽  
Explanatory Power ◽  
Further Education ◽  
Structural Barriers ◽  
Italian Case ◽  
Immigrant Optimism ◽  
Value Of Education

The papers in this issue examine various aspects of ethnic differences in higher education. The first three papers, all of which focus on Britain, attempt to explain the very high motivation behind enrollment in higher and further education by ethnic minority students. These papers argue that investment in higher education is a defiance strategy that is used by ethnic minorities to counterbalance the effect of ethnic penalties. It seems that aspirations are still significant in shaping the educational attainment and are fuelled by the grim structural barriers facing ethnic minorities. The anticipation of labour market discrimination on the one hand, and the belief in the value of education as the main means for social mobility on the other hand, lead ethnic minorities in Britain to over-invest in education. The fourth paper tells a different story, in that immigrant students experience systematic disadvantages throughout their school careers including a much lower enrollment in higher education. These young immigrants hold more negative perceptions towards the value of education, not only in comparison with their Italian counterparts, but it seems also in comparisons with minority young people in Britain. However, in the last paper, the results resemble the British case, in that the second generation students hold higher academic expectations than their non-immigrant origin peers, and that these higher expectations are associated with higher levels of persistence and attainment. The authors here highlight the importance of the theory of immigrant optimism in explaining the between-groups differences. However, this theory does not seem to have strong explanatory power in the Italian case, if anything, perhaps ‘immigrant pessimism’ is a better theory to explain the low aspirations for higher education and poor educational attainment among immigrants in Italy. Of course, further evidence is required to substantiate this claim.

Gender gap among second-generation students in higher education: the Italian case

2019 ◽  
pp. 195-218
Author(s):  
Alessandro Bozzetti
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Gender Gap ◽  
Foreign Students ◽  
Second Generation ◽  
Immigrant Students ◽  
Descriptive Analysis ◽  
Italian Case ◽  
Educational Paths ◽  
The University ◽  
The Impact

Italy is experiencing a structural and multigenerational migratory presence in which new generations are increasingly obtaining access to the highest social and educational levels, including university. The presence of foreign students in Italian secondary schools has been extensively covered by research (especially regarding their presence in technical and vocational institutes, which formally open up to a university career but often cause a sort of school marginalisation that frequently results in social disadvantage) but little is known about their presence at the university level. It would be simplistic to assume that those students who enrolled at university had never experienced any trouble in their pre-university or university career. In this chapter, the phenomenon of second-generation immigrant students will be quantitatively contextualised, with specific regard to foreign students in Italian universities, and with a descriptive analysis on the impact of gender on education. The aim of the chapter is to analyse the multifaceted educational paths of young people, those under 35 years old, born in Italy to foreign parents (or who moved to Italy later), their expectations and the real opportunities offered to them.

Overconfidence of vocational education students when entering higher education

2015 ◽  
Vol 57 (4) ◽  
pp. 429-447 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark P. Bowden ◽  
Subhash Abhayawansa ◽  
John Bahtsevanoglou
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Further Education ◽  
Small Sample ◽  
First Year ◽  
Education Students ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose – There is evidence that students who attend Technical and Further Education (TAFE) prior to entering higher education underperform in their first year of study. The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of self-efficacy in understanding the performance of students who completed TAFE in the previous year in a first year subject of microeconomics in a dual sector university in Melbourne, Australia. Design/methodology/approach – The study utilises data collected by surveys of 151 students. Findings – A student’s self-efficacy is positively associated with their marks in a first year subject of microeconomics. However, the relationship between final marks and self-efficacy is negative for those students who attended TAFE in the previous year suggesting that they suffer from the problem of overconfidence. When holding self-efficacy constant, using econometric techniques, TAFE attendance is found to be positively related to final marks. Research limitations/implications – The findings are exploratory (based on a small sample) and lead to a need to conduct cross institutional studies. Practical implications – The research points to the need for early interventions so that TAFE students perform well in their first year of higher education. It also points to potential issues in the development of Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning (VCAL) programs. Originality/value – To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first paper to examine the inter-related impact of attendance at TAFE in the previous year and self-efficacy on the subsequent academic performance of TAFE students.

scholarly journals Financing Higher Education in Palestine

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hisham Kuhail ◽  
Arthur M. Hauptman
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Study Abroad ◽  
Education System ◽  
West Bank ◽  
Further Education ◽  
National Authority ◽  
Higher Education System ◽  
Financing Strategy ◽  
Financing Higher Education ◽  
Ministry Of Higher Education

Despite great obstacles over its relatively short threedecade history, Palestinian higher education has helped to meet the rising demand for further education, providing access in West Bank/Gaza to those who had been forcibly deprived of the chance to study abroad. But longstanding demographic and fiscal pressures, coupled with inadequately defined priorities and chronic economic and political problems only heightened by the recent turbulence, have led to a higher education system in fundamental need of repair. In recognition of these facts, the Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE) of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) has decided to develop a financing strategy for the purpose of creating a more effective, accessible, efficient, and accountable higher education system.

The Road to College: Hmong American Women's Pursuit of Higher Education

1997 ◽  
Vol 67 (4) ◽  
pp. 803-828 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stacey Lee
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
The United States ◽  
Cultural Transformation ◽  
Early Marriage ◽  
Structural Barriers ◽  
Welfare Policies ◽  
American Women ◽  
The Road ◽  
Educational Persistence ◽  
Hmong American

In this article, Stacey Lee examines the phenomenon of low educational participation and achievement among Hmong American women. She argues that the focus on cultural differences as the sole explanation for this fact ignores the existence of economic, racial, and other structural barriers to Hmong American women's educational persistence and success. Lee shares the stories of several Hmong American women who are pursuing or have completed higher education in the United States, investigating the factors — economic, racial, and cultural — that helped or hindered their decisions to continue their education. These women are part of a movement within the Hmong community that questions traditional expectations for women and girls, in particular early marriage and motherhood. Lee illustrates how these women's experiences are also shaped by social factors such as welfare policies and racism. Their stories demonstrate that cultural transformation is neither a smooth nor unambiguous process.

scholarly journals School Performance and Educational Attainment as Early-Life Predictors of Age-Related Memory Decline: Protective Influences in Later-Born Cohorts

2018 ◽  
Vol 74 (8) ◽  
pp. 1357-1365 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Pudas ◽  
Michael Rönnlund
Keyword(s):  
Educational Attainment ◽  
School Performance ◽  
Cognitive Aging ◽  
Early Life ◽  
Population Based ◽  
Further Education ◽  
Growth Curve Models ◽  
Age Cohorts ◽  
Memory Change ◽  
Age Related

Abstract Objectives Evidence is accumulating that early-life characteristics and experiences contribute significantly to differences in cognitive aging. This study investigated whether school performance at age 12 predicted late-life level and rate of memory change over 15–25 years, and whether its potential protective influence on memory change was mediated by educational attainment or income. Methods Latent growth curve models were fitted to 15–25 year longitudinal memory data from a population-based sample, stratified on age cohorts (n = 227, born 1909–1935; n = 301, born 1938–1954). Results A latent-level school grade variable significantly predicted both memory level and slope in later-born cohorts. Higher grades were associated with higher level and reduced decline, measured between ages 45 and 70 years, on average. In the earlier-born cohorts, grades predicted memory level, but not slope, measured between ages 66 and 81 years. Follow-up analyses indicated that the protective influence of higher school grades in later-born cohorts was partially mediated by educational attainment, but independent of income. Discussion The results suggest that higher childhood school performance is protective against age-related cognitive decline in younger or later-born cohorts, for which further education has been more accessible. Education may exert such influence through increased cognitive reserve or more well-informed health- and lifestyle decisions.

scholarly journals The Business Studies University: Turning higher education into further education

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick Ainley
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Undergraduate Student ◽  
Further Education ◽  
The Other ◽  
Student Choice ◽  
Disciplinary Knowledge ◽  
Business Studies

This paper argues that changes to both further and higher education that are already well underway are clarified by what can be called the model of the Business Studies University (BSU). The BSU elevates undergraduate student choice of equivalent level modular courses to the 'heart of the system' (DBIS, 2011). This is rejected by those few institutions not part of the current competition to cram in funded students; instead, they adhere to traditional academic disciplinary knowledge. As a result, at one pole of a bifurcating hierarchy higher turns into further education, with 'cramming' for academic higher education at the other.

scholarly journals Barriers to Success? The Role of Statewide Education Governance Structures in P-20 Council Collaboration

2015 ◽  
Vol 23 ◽  
pp. 74
Author(s):  
Jennifer Rippner
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Comparative Case Study ◽  
Governance Structures ◽  
Structural Barriers ◽  
Barriers To Success ◽  
Education Governance ◽  
State Education ◽  
Organizational Relations ◽  
K 12 ◽  
Barriers To Collaboration

Collaboration between K-12 and higher education sectors has not been as productive as participants and policy leaders would like – especially in an era of emphasis on college readiness and completion, which requires such collaboration. Various mechanisms have been used to foster collaboration including state P-20 (early learning through higher education) councils, however these have not always produced the results participants desire and research on why this is so is limited. This study utilizes state education governance and inter-organizational relations literatures to hypothesize that structural barriers to collaboration prevent P-20 councils from reaching their potential. This comparative case study of three state P-20 councils finds that state education governance structures may erect barriers to collaboration. However, this research also shows that P-20 councils, if thoughtfully structured, can help ameliorate these barriers.

scholarly journals What has the Constitutional Court Given Us? Afriforum v University of the Free State 2018 (4) BCLR 387 (CC)

Obiter ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 40 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mokgadi Margaret Mokgokong ◽  
Moses Retselisitsoe Phooko
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Further Education ◽  
The State ◽  
Constitutional Court ◽  
Official Language ◽  
National Party ◽  
The Right ◽  
To Receive

The history of South Africa is an unpleasant one. It was a society based on racial segregation with the promotion of Afrikaner culture and the Afrikaans language above all other languages. This can be traced to the architect of apartheid, the Afrikaner National Party, which introduced apartheid. Afrikaans-speaking people, through the Afrikaner National Party, dominated South Africa politically. Their language too, was promoted above all other languages. For example, Afrikaans enjoyed more privileges than other languages in that it was used for drafting laws, as the language of record in the courts and was also the only compulsory subject for learning. The apartheid government, through its racial policies, used the Afrikaans language as a tool to control Black South Africans in almost all spheres of life, including education, which had to be undertaken in Afrikaans. It is therefore no surprise that there were five universities that offered education mainly in Afrikaans. These are Stellenbosch University, University of the Free State, University of Pretoria, Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education (now North-West University) and Randse Afrikaanse Universiteit (now University of Johannesburg). The use of the Afrikaans language as an instrument for social control was not sustainable. The new constitutional dispensation ushered in an era wherein respect for fundamental human rights and freedoms is at the top of the South African agenda. The right to further education is constitutionally recognised in section 29(1)(b) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996. Section 29(2) of the Constitution further recognises and embraces the diversity of South African society and provides that “everyone has the right to receive education in the official language or languages of their choice in public education institutions where that education is reasonably practicable” (s 29(b) of the Constitution). The State has an obligation to take reasonable measures on a progressive basis to ensure that further education is available and accessible (s 29(1)(b) of the Constitution). In ensuring “effective access to and implementation” of the right to further education, It is notable that, in its endeavour to make further education available and accessible, the State is required to consider several factors such as language policies. In an effort to facilitate the realisation of the right to further education, the Higher Education Act (101 of 1997) was enacted in order inter alia to “redress past discrimination and ensure representivity and equal access to higher education institutions” (preamble to the Act).In the UFS case (CC), the Constitutional Court applied section 29(1)(b) of the Constitution, which provides for the right to further education and the “right to receive education in the official language or languages of [one’s] choice”. This note centres on this decision and seeks to critically discuss and analyse both the majority and minority decisions of the Constitutional Court. The question presented is whether the Constitutional Court has given the public a solution to the issue surrounding the use of either Afrikaans or English as a language medium of instruction in the higher education sector and what the effect of this has been on the development of other languages. The case note is divided into five sections. The facts of the case, the issues put before the court for consideration and the finding of the court are discussed in part 2. Part 3 contains an analysis of the minority and majority judgments. Part 4 considers whether the court has given us any solutions. Part 5 sets out the authors’ recommendations and their conclusions.

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