College Services, Sense of Belonging, and Friendships: The Enduring Importance of the High School Context

ABSTRACT

The current study positions high school relationships and resources as assets to college-going Latinx students, examining the potential academic benefits of maintaining high school friendships and participating in support services offered from the high school context. The participants were 165 graduates (86.4% Latinx; 75.6% low-income) from a high school that operates an Alumni Success program delivering college support services to alumni. Interval regressions with moderation tests were used to investigate associations between a college GPA outcome and (a) sense of belonging and (b) friend group composition. The findings suggest friendships from the high school context may promote academic success for students with low sense of belonging in two-year colleges. Contrary to studies of predominately white students, high school friendships appear to have an enduring association with academic achievement. Next, t-tests and proportional equivalence z-tests were used to investigate differences between students who utilized the Alumni Success program and those who did not, and further, how these differences compared to other types of college-based support services. The results suggest providing college support services from the high school context may be an effective, culturally responsive strategy that complements existing college-based programs and recognizes diverse pathways to college success for Latinx students.

KEYWORDS:

• College achievement
• college support services
• sense of belonging
• friendships
• social networks
• post-secondary education

Acknowledgments

We are grateful to the administrators of Samueli Academy, Anthony Saba and Lee Fleming; the Alumni Success program and the UCI research-practice partnership have both flourished under their leadership. We are indebted to Sandi Jackson and Susan Samueli; neither of the Alumni Support program nor the UCI research-practice partnership would have been possible without their support. We appreciate the guidance of Dr. Richard Arum and Dr. June Ahn, who have served as academic advisors on the current project. We are also grateful to the graduate student members of the Orange County Educational Advancement Network (OCEAN) who provided valuable feedback (Ashlee Belgrave, Lora Cawelti, Phebe Chew, Ha Eun Kim, Jiwon Lee, Ha Nguyen, Khamia Powell, Yenda Prado, Michelle Ramos, and Jennifer Renick).

Disclosure statement

The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose.