Latinos, the Academic Ethic, and the Transition to College

Abstract

Research on the academic ethic of Latino college students has not yet been conducted. In order to begin filling this gap in the literature, we surveyed Latino students at a state university to determine whether those who had an academic ethic in high school performed better in college. We also assessed the perceived helpfulness of a variety of factors (1st-year seminar, freshman orientation, parents, peers, high school teachers and guidance counselors, college professors, etc.) in students' experience transitioning from high school to college. Implications of the findings for future research are discussed.

Keywords:

• academic ethic
• Latino students
• first-generation students
• academic achievement
• transition to college
• college students

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We are grateful for the assistance provided by Carlton Mathis and Pidi Zhang.

Notes

¹The terms Hispanic and Latino are used interchangeably by the U.S. Census Bureau and throughout this paper to refer to persons of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Central and South American, Dominican, Spanish, and other Hispanic descent; Latinos may be of any racial group.