Understanding Assimilation within Higher Education
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.32674/0pmctq56Keywords:
Assimilation, Education, Hispanics, English Fluency, Higher EducationAbstract
Latino immigrants who often experience discrimination lack assimilation. The purpose of this exploration was to better understand the historical lack of assimilation and the relationship, in particular the access to higher education. In this study, assimilation was measured according to English mastery by Spanish speakers. The research question was focused on what extent the level of education relates to assimilation for Latinos in the US. A correlational design with multiple regression analysis was used in this study to analyze the Latino National Survey of 2006 secondary data (N =8634). Results indicated that education was significant. Further, current trends show an increased opportunity for education in the Latino group. There is also an increased need for higher education beyond 2030 in the US. The implications for social change include research-based information to develop programs for Latinos to adapt into the US population. Lastly, the author’s positionality will be discussed.
References
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Table 1
Highest Level of Education Completed
___________________ N 100%___________________
High school graduate 2,110 24.4
Eighth grade/below 1,714 19.9
Some college 1,646 19.1
Some high school 1,256 14.5
-year college degree 818 9.5
Graduate degree 582 6.7
GED 286 3.3
None 222 2.6
Total 8,634 100.0
Note: The most common highest level of education completed for the participants was those who had graduated from high school (24.4%). This was followed by eighth grade or below (19.9%), some college (19.1%), four-year college degree (9.5%), graduate of professional degree (6.7%), GED (3.3%), and no formal education (2.6%).
Table 2 present the fluency of English for Hispanic immigrants in America.
Table 2
Fluency of English
_____ N 100% ___
Just a little 2,735 27.51
Not at all 1,041 12.06
Pretty well 860 9.96
Very well 694 8.04
Missing 3,672 42.53
Total 8,634 100.0 ______________________________________________________________________________ Note: The most common response was that the participant knew “just a little English” (27.51%). This was followed by the responses of “not at all” (12.06%), “pretty well” (9.96%), and “very well” (8.04%), while 42.53% of the participants gave no responses. Results Due do the ordered categorical responses of the dependent variable “English proficiency” and also to allow for control of covariates, it was decided to perform both hierarchical multiple and hierarchical logistic regression in order to compare the results. The responses for the dependent variable ranged from 1 to 4 with 1 = “not at all”, 2 = “Just a little: 3 = “Pretty well”; and 4 = “Very well.” A dichotomous variable was created for logistic regression in which a response less than 2 indicated no mastery of English (coded as 0) and a value greater than or equal to 2 indicated mastery of English (coded as 1).
