Individual, family, and institutional factors that propel Latino/a students beyond high school

The study was designed to determine the extent to which individual and institutional support variables can predict Latino/a students successful completion of high school and enrollment in post-secondary institutions in the U.S. Current research suggests that the Hispanic population will constitute approximately 25% of the national workforce in the USA by the year 2050. However, according to the NCES (2002) data, the high level of dropout rates from high school among Latino/a (11.5 for males and 10.3 for females) is alarming. The study examined individual student factors as well as institutional and family variables that may enhance the likelihood of Latino/a students completion of secondary education and enrollment in post-secondary institutions. Using the 2002-2006 Education Longitudinal Study data, consisting of a sample of 2,217 Latino/a students, the binary logistic regression model identified students socioeconomic status, their educational aspirations as well as the aspirations of their parents, and school support programs to be significant predictors of high school completion as well as enrollment in post-secondary education. The findings indicate significant differences between the predictive power of the individual and institutional variables on the completion of high school and enrollment in post-secondary institutions of first, second and third generations of Latino/a students in the U.S. In this study, females of first and second generation Latino/a students were found to be two times more likely than males in the same group to complete high school on time. This trend did not apply to third generation female students who were found to be less likely than males of the same group to complete high school on time, with males holding 20% more chances of completion of high school. The presence of institutional based Dropout Prevention Programs was significantly associated with less likelihood of Completion of High School and Enrollment in Post-Secondary Institution across all generation of Latino/a students. The presence of Mentoring Programs was found to significantly predict Completion of High School only for second and third generation of students, and Enrollment in Post-Secondary Institutions only for third generation Latino/a students.;The model correctly classified approximately 79 percent of the observations. The findings contribute towards drawing new conclusions regarding Latino/a students completion of high school and their enrollment in post-secondary institutions in the U.S. The study also informs educational policies regarding school environment and institutional support available for Latino/a students in the U.S. The study recommends that schools should design targeted support programs in order to enhance Latino/a students success beyond high school. Further research to study the phenomenon of Latino/a students completion of high school and enrollment in post-secondary institutions, targeting areas with high concentration of Latino/as in the U.S. is recommended.