Differences between Black/African American and White college students regarding influences on high school completion, college attendance, and career choice.Compared with White persons, Black/African American persons in the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. continue to experience high rates of educational deficits and employment stagnation Stagnation A period of little or no growth in the economy. Economic growth of less than 2-3% is considered stagnation. Sometimes used to describe low trading volume or inactive trading in securities. Notes: A good example of stagnation was the U.S. economy in the 1970s. as well as lower college graduation Graduation is the action of receiving or conferring an academic degree or the associated ceremony. The date of event is often called degree day. The event itself is also called commencement, convocation or invocation. rates. This study examined the influences on Black/African American and White college students' high school completion, college attendance, and career choice. Results indicate that future income and future status have a greater influence on the career choice of Black/African American college American College is the name of:
********** A gap exists in the number of Black/African American and White students completing high school and college (Bauman & Graf, 2003; Stoops, 2004). According to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. the 2000 U.S. census, an estimated 14.3% of the Black/African American population 25 years and older has a baccalaureate degree, 42.5% has some college education, and 72.3% completed high school. In contrast, 26.1% of the White population 25 years and older has a baccalaureate degree, 54.1% has some college education, and 83.6% completed high school (Bauman & Graf, 2003). Additionally, the percentage of Black/African American persons and White persons in the resident population who have graduated from high school has remained unchanged within the last decade (Stoops, 2004). Studies suggest that Black/African American students value the importance of earning high incomes and contributing to society (Hwang, Echols, & Vrongistinos, 2002; Hwang, Echols, Wood, & Vrongistinos, 2001; Lewis & Collins, 2001; Walpole, Bauer, Gibson, Kanyi, & Toliver, 2002). A study of Black/African American community college students by Teng, Morgan, and Anderson (2001) suggested that job security, a good starting income, autonomy, and an important position are more important to Black/African American students than to White students. The desire to serve others and the community is also a prominent theme in Black/African American culture. However, limited research exists that specifically investigates differences between Black/African American and White college students regarding the influence of future income, future status, and making a difference in society on high school completion, college attendance, and career choice. Additionally, Black/African American persons continue to experience high rates of educational deficits, employment stagnation, and poverty in the United States Poverty in the United States refers to people whose annual family income is less than a "poverty line" set by the U.S. government. Poverty is a condition in which a person or community is deprived of, or lacks the essentials for, a minimum standard of well being and life. (Pope-Davis & Hargrove, 2001). We hope that investigating the influence of future income, future status, and making a difference in society will lead to implications beneficial in assisting Black/African American students in completing high school, attending college, and making a career choice. Method Participants A total of 155 Black/African American and White college students at a major metropolitan university in the southeastern United States contributed data to this study. Black/African American college students composed 56.8% (n = 88) of the participants, and White college students represented 43.2% (n = 67) of the participants. There were 99 women (63.9%) and 56 men (36.1%). Their ages ranged from 18 to 35 years, with a mean age of 20 years. Instrument We designed a demographic questionnaire, a self-report measure that obtains demographic information from participants and information-related study variables. The questionnaire consisted of six demographic items and a table for participants to rate items that influence their decision to complete high school, attend college, and choose a career. Participants were asked to rate, on a 5-point Likert scale Likert scale A subjective scoring system that allows a person being surveyed to quantify likes and preferences on a 5-point scale, with 1 being the least important, relevant, interesting, most ho-hum, or other, and 5 being most excellent, yeehah important, etc (1 = low influence, 5 = high influence), the level of influence that future income, future status, and making a difference in society had on their decision to complete high school, their decision to attend college, and their career choice. However, participants were provided only the prompt and not an operational definition of these variables. This process yielded the nine variables of interest in this study (see Table 1). The reliability (Cronbach's alpha Cronbach's  (alpha) has an important use as a measure of the reliability of a psychometric instrument. It was first named as alpha by Cronbach (1951), as he had intended to continue with further instruments. ) of this instrument was
acceptable at .87.
Procedure This study used a purposive pur·po·sive adj. 1. Having or serving a purpose. 2. Purposeful: purposive behavior. pur sampling design in order to provide inclusion of groups usually underrepresented un·der·rep·re·sent·ed adj. Insufficiently or inadequately represented: the underrepresented minority groups, ignored by the government. (Barbour, 2001). Participants were recruited from seven 1000- and 2000-level general elective courses Noun 1. elective course - a course that the student can select from among alternatives elective course, course of instruction, course of study, class - education imparted in a series of lessons or meetings; "he took a course in basket weaving"; "flirting is and from two organizations that represent Black/African American students. After signing an informed consent form, participants were given the demographic questionnaire to complete. Resulting data were inputted into SPSS A statistical package from SPSS, Inc., Chicago (www.spss.com) that runs on PCs, most mainframes and minis and is used extensively in marketing research. It provides over 50 statistical processes, including regression analysis, correlation and analysis of variance. 12.0 for Windows, and three analyses of variance The discrepancy between what a party to a lawsuit alleges will be proved in pleadings and what the party actually proves at trial. In Zoning law, an official permit to use property in a manner that departs from the way in which other property in the same locality (ANOVAs) were conducted to investigate differences between Black/African American and White college students in the level of influence that future income, future status, and making a difference in society had on their decision to complete high school, their decision to attend college, and their career choice. Results Table 1 presents the means and standard deviations In statistics, the average amount a number varies from the average number in a series of numbers. (statistics) standard deviation - (SD) A measure of the range of values in a set of numbers. for the variables for the Black/African American and White participants. The first ANOVA anova see analysis of variance. ANOVA Analysis of variance, see there , which examined whether a difference exists between Black/African American and White college students in the level of influence that future income had on their decision to complete high school, their decision to attend college, and their career choice, indicated that there was a significant difference between Black/African American and White college students regarding the influence of future income on career choice, F(1, 151) = 8.32, p < .01. This finding suggests that future income has a greater influence on the career choice of Black/African American college students (M = 4.26) than on the career choice of White college students (M = 3.74). The second ANOVA, which investigated whether a difference exists between Black/African American and White college students in the level of influence that future status had on their decision to complete high school, their decision to attend college, and their career choice, found a significant difference between Black/African American and White college students regarding the influence of future income on career choice, F(1, 151) = 6.42, p < .05. This finding suggests that future status has a greater influence on the career choice of Black/African American college students (M = 4.38) than on the career choice of White college students (M = 3.95). Finally, the third ANOVA indicated that there was no significant difference between Black/African American and White college students regarding the influence of making a difference in society on the decision to complete high school. Discussion and Implications for Career Development Professionals This study sought to investigate what differences exist between Black/African American and White college students regarding future income, future status, and making a difference in society as influences on high school completion, college attendance, and career choice. We identified two significant differences between Black/African American and White college students. Black/African American college students indicated that future income and future status had a greater influence on their career choice than on the career choice of their White counterparts. These findings are consistent with previous literature. Black/African American college students place a high value on income and financial independence (Hwang et al., 2002; Lewis & Collins, 2001; Teng et al., 2001; Walpole et al., 2002). Although previous research (e.g., Lewis & Collins, 2001; Mack, Smith, & Norasing, 2003; Walpole et al., 2002) identified income and status as having a strong influence on Black/African American students' career goals, these studies only examined Black/African American students. Our study examined differences between Black/African American and White college students regarding influences (i.e., future income, future status, and making a difference in society) on high school completion, college attendance, and career choice. Results indicated that future income and future status have a greater influence on the career choice of Black/African American college students than on the career choice of White college students. However, future income and future status were not found to be more influential for Black/African American college students' decision to complete high school or attend college. The findings of this study have implications on the theoretical approaches and assessments used with Black/African American students as well as on specific career counseling Noun 1. career counseling - counseling on career opportunities counseling, counselling, guidance, counsel, direction - something that provides direction or advice as to a decision or course of action interventions and approaches to attract, assist, and retain Black/African American students in the career counseling process. Sharf's (2006) human capital theory is a theory that career development professionals could consider when working with Black/African American students. Human capital theory espouses that education and training are an investment toward future income (Sharf, 2006). This theory appears to fit well with individuals who are influenced by income and status in their career choice process. Results of the current study also suggest that the Minnesota Importance Questionnaire (MIQ MIQ Machine Intelligence Quotient MIQ Make It Quick MIQ Millard Airport, Omaha, Nebraska (airport code) MIQ Member of the Institute of Quarrying ; Rounds, Henly, Dawis, & Lofquist, 1981) would be of value in working with Black/African American students. The MIQ has a Comfort scale, which has a subscale for compensation, and a Status scale, which has subscales for advancement, recognition, authority, and social status. One intervention A procedure used in a lawsuit by which the court allows a third person who was not originally a party to the suit to become a party, by joining with either the plaintiff or the defendant. adapted from Sorapuru, Theodore, and Young (1972) involves clients considering their income and status 10 and 15 years in the future and then researching career choices to identify congruence con·gru·ence n. 1. a. Agreement, harmony, conformity, or correspondence. b. An instance of this: "What an extraordinary congruence of genius and era" . For high school students, this intervention can be modified to examine educational attainments Educational attainment is a term commonly used by statisticans to refer to the highest degree of education an individual has completed.[1] The US Census Bureau Glossary defines educational attainment as "the highest level of education completed in terms of the needed to achieve desired occupation, income, and status. Black/African American students present a special challenge to counselors because they are more likely to terminate counseling after one session (Carter, Scales, Juby, Collins, & Wan, 2003). If, however, counselors address issues related to income and status, they may generate client "buy in" for career counseling services. Future research can evaluate the effectiveness of interventions that focus on income and status with Black/African American clients. References Barbour, R. S. (2001). Checklists for improving rigour rig·our n. Chiefly British Variant of rigor. rigour or US rigor Noun 1. in qualitative research Qualitative research Traditional analysis of firm-specific prospects for future earnings. It may be based on data collected by the analysts, there is no formal quantitative framework used to generate projections. : A case of the tail wagging the dog? British Medical Journal The British Medical Journal, or BMJ, is one of the most popular and widely-read peer-reviewed general medical journals in the world.[2] It is published by the BMJ Publishing Group Ltd (owned by the British Medical Association), whose other , 322, 1115-1117. Bauman, K. J., & Graf, N. L. (2003). Educational attainment 2000: Census 2000 brief (Publication No. C2KBR-24). Washington, DC: U.S. Census Bureau Noun 1. Census Bureau - the bureau of the Commerce Department responsible for taking the census; provides demographic information and analyses about the population of the United States Bureau of the Census . Carter, R. T., Scales, J. E., Juby, H. L., Collins, N. M., & Wan, C. M. (2003). Seeking career services on campus: Racial differences in referral, process, and outcome. Journal of Career Assessment, 11, 393-404. Hwang, Y. S., Echols, C., & Vrongistinos, K. (2002). Multidimensional mul·ti·di·men·sion·al adj. Of, relating to, or having several dimensions. mul  ti·di·men academic motivation of high achieving African American African American Multiculture A person having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa. See Race. students [Electronic version]. College Student Journal, 36, 544-554.
Hwang, Y. S., Echols, C., Wood, R., & Vrongistinos, K. (2001, April). African American college students' motivation in education. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association The American Educational Research Association, or AERA, was founded in 1916 as a professional organization representing educational researchers in the United States and around the world. , Seattle, WA. Lewis, B. F., & Collins, A. (2001). Interpretive in·ter·pre·tive also in·ter·pre·ta·tive adj. Relating to or marked by interpretation; explanatory. in·ter  pre·tive·ly adv. investigations
of the science-related career decisions of three African-American
college students. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 38, 599-621.
Mack, F., Smith, V. G., & Norasing, V. (2003, January). African-American honor As a verb, to accept a bill of exchange, or to pay a note, check, or accepted bill, at maturity. To pay or to accept and pay, or, where a credit so engages, to purchase or discount a draft complying with the terms of the draft. students' perceptions of teacher education as a career choice. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Association American Association refers to one of the following professional baseball leagues:
Pope-Davis, D. B., & Hargrove, B. K. (2001). Future directions in career counseling theory, research, and practice with African Americans. In W. B. Walsh & R. P. Bingham (Eds.), Career counseling for African Americans (pp. 177-192). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum. Rounds, J. B., Jr., Henly, G. A., Dawis, R. V., & Lofquist, L. H. (1981). Manual for the Minnesota Importance Questionnaire: A measure of needs and values. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota (body, education) University of Minnesota - The home of Gopher. http://umn.edu/. Address: Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. , Vocational Psychology Research. Sharf, R. S. (2006). Applying career development theory to counseling (4th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth. Sorapuru, J., Theodore, R., & Young, W. (1972). Financial facts of life. In J. E. Bottoms, R. N. Evans, K. B. Hoyt, & J. C. Willer (Eds.), Career education resource guide (pp. 218-220). Morristown, NJ: General Learning Corporation. Stoops, N. (2004). Educational attainment in the United States The educational attainment of the US population is similar to that of many other industrialized countries with the vast majority of the population having completed secondary education and a rising number of college graduates that outnumber high school dropouts. : 2003. Population characteristics (Publication No. P20-550). Washington, DC: U.S. Census Bureau. Teng, L. Y., Morgan, G. A., & Anderson, S. K. (2001). Career development among ethnic and age groups of community college students. Journal of Career Development, 28, 115-127. Walpole, M., Bauer, C., Gibson, C., Kanyi, K., & Toliver, R. (2002, April). African American students; early outcomes of college: Links between campus experiences and outcomes. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, New Orleans, LA. Andrew P. Daire, Saron LaMothe, and David P. Fuller, Department of Child, Family, and Community Sciences, University of Central Florida “UCF” redirects here. For other uses, see UCF (disambiguation). UCF is a member institution of the State University System of Florida. UCF was founded in 1963 as Florida Technological University with the goal of providing highly trained personnel to support the Kennedy . Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Andrew P. Daire, Counselor Education, University of Central Florida, PO Box 161250, Orlando, FL 32816-1250 (e-mail: adaire@mail.ucf.edu). TABLE 1 Means and Standard Deviations for the Variables for the Black/ African American and White Participants Variable M SD F Value FI-CHS White college students 4.48 0.96 FI-CHS Black/African American college students 4.50 1.02 0.02 FI-AC White college students 4.61 0.80 FI-AC Black/African American college students 4.66 0.73 0.15 FI-CC White college students 3.74 1.12 FI-CC Black/African American college students 4.26 1.10 8.32** FS-CHS White college students 4.43 1.00 FS-CHS Black/African American college students 4.41 0.96 0.02 FS-AC White college students 4.58 0.84 FS-AC Black/African American college students 4.67 0.60 0.61 FS-CC White college students 3.95 1.16 FS-CC Black/African American college students 4.38 0.92 6.42* MD-CHS White college students 4.15 1.14 MD-CHS Black/African American college students 4.30 1.03 0.73 MD-AC White college students 4.38 1.00 MD-AC Black/African American college students 4.24 0.01 0.67 MD-CC White college students 4.42 0.84 MD-CC Black/African American college students 4.15 1.17 2.62 Note. FI = future income; CHS = completing high school; AC = attending college; CC = career choice; FS = future status; MD = making a difference in society. *p < .05. **p < .01. |
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