Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

African American Parents and Their High-Achieving Students: Issues of Race, Class, and Community in the College Choice Process

  • ARTICLES
  • Published:
Journal of African American Studies Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Although a significant body of research clearly identifies parents as one of the strongest influences in the student college choice process, researchers have limited information about the interactions between African American students and parents during this process, and about what African American parents value in institutions of higher education. African American parental behavior resonates with the general literature on parental influence and involvement; however, African American college choice criteria also reflect the racialized experiences and identities of African American families in the USA. This paper sheds light on how African American parents navigate the college choice process with their children, and it contributes to a relatively small body of knowledge focused on culturally constructed African American parental influence and school engagement.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Al-Yousef, H. (2009). ‘They know nothing about university–neither of them went’: the effect of parents’ level of education on their involvement in their daughters’ higher education choices. Compare, 39(6), 783–798.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bateman, M., & Kennedy, E. (1999). Expanding the applicant pool: exploring the college decision-making of students from single-parent families. College and University, 75(1), 2.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bergerson, A. A. (2009). Special issue: college choice and access to college: moving policy, research, and practice to the 21st century. ASHE Higher Education Report, 35(4), 1–141.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bouse, G. A., & Hossler, D. (1991). Studying college choice: a progress report. Journal of College Admission, 130, 11–16.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carter, D. F., Paulsen, M. B., & St John, E. P. (2005). Diversity, college costs, and postsecondary opportunity: an examination of the financial nexus between college choice and persistence for African Americans and Whites. Journal of Higher Education, 76(5), 545–569.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carter, D. F., Locks, A. M., & Winkle-Wagner, R. (2013). From when and where I enter: Theoretical and empirical considerations of minority students’ transition to college. In M. B. Paulsen (Ed.), Higher education: Handbook of Theory and Research (pp. 93–149). Netherlands: Springer.

  • Choy, S. P., Horn, L. J., Nuñez, A. M., & Chen, X. (2000). Transition to college: what helps at-risk students and students whose parents did not attend college. New directions for Institutional Research, 2000(107), 45–63.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cox, R. D. (2016). Complicating Conditions: Obstacles and interruptions to low-income students’ college “Choices”. The Journal of Higher Education, 87(1), 1–26.

  • Cunningham, M., & Swanson, D. P. (2010). Educational resilience in African American adolescents. The Journal of Negro Education, 79(4), 473–487.

  • DePouw, C., & Matias, C. (2016). Critical race parenting: understanding scholarship/activism in parenting our children. Educational Studies, 52(3), 237–259.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Espinosa, L., Gaertner, M. N., & Orfield, G. (2015). Race, class, and college access: achieving diversity in a shifting legal landscape. Washington D.C.: American Council on Education Access Date 6/3/2016 https://www.acenet.edu/news-room/Documents/Race-Class-and- College-Access- Achieving-Diversity-in-a-Shifting-Legal-Landscape.pdf

    Google Scholar 

  • Farmer-Hinton, R. L. (2008). Social capital and college planning students of color using school networks for support and guidance. Education and Urban Society, 41(1), 127–157.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Few, A. L. (2007). Integrating Black consciousness and critical race feminism into family studies research. Journal of Family Issues, 28(4), 452–473.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Flint, T. A. (1992). Parental and planning influences on the formation of student college choice sets. Research in Higher Education, 33(6), 689–708.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Freeman, K. (2002). Black colleges and college choice: characteristics of students who choose HBCUs. The Review of Higher Education, 25(3), 349–358.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Freeman, K. (2005). African Americans and college choice. New York: SUNY Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Goldrick-Rab, S., Carter, D. F., & Wagne, R. (2007). What higher education has to say about the transition to college. Teachers College Record, 109, 2444–2481.

    Google Scholar 

  • Greene, S. (2013). Mapping low-income African American parents’ roles in their children’s education in a changing political economy. Teachers College Record, 115(10), 1–33.

    Google Scholar 

  • Griffin, K., del Pilar, W., McIntosh, K., & Griffin, A. (2012). “Oh, of course I’m going to go to college”: understanding how habitus shapes the college choice process of Black immigrant students. Journal of Diversity in Higher Education, 5(2), 96.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Holland, N. E. (2010). Postsecondary education preparation of traditionally underrepresented college students: a social capital perspective. Journal of Diversity in Higher Education, 3, 111–125.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hossler, D., & Gallagher, K. S. (1987). Studying student college choice: a three-phase model and the implications for policymakers. College and University, 62(3), 207–221.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hossler, D., Schmit, J., & Vesper, N. (1999). Going to college: how social, economic, and educational factors influence the decisions students make. Baltimore: John Hopkins University Press.

  • Hossler, D., & Stage, F. K. (1992). Family and high school experience influences on the postsecondary educational plans of ninth-grade students. American Educational Research Journal, 29(2), 425–451.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hoxby, C. M., & Avery, C. (2012). The missing “one-offs”: The hidden supply of high-achieving, low income students (No. w18586). Washington D.C.: National Bureau of Economic Research. http://www.nber.org. Accessed 20/09/2015.

  • Kern, C. W. (2000). College choice influences: urban high school students respond. Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 24, 487–494.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kim, Y. (2009). Minority parental involvement and school barriers: moving the focus away from deficiencies of parents. Education Research Review, 4, 80–102.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kim, D. H., & Schneider, B. (2005). Social capital in action: alignment of parental support in adolescents’ transition to postsecondary education. Social Forces, 84(2), 1181–1206.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kinzie, J., Palmer, M., Hayek, J., Hossler, D., Jacob, S., & Cummings, H. (2004). Fifty years of college choice: social, political, and institutional influences on the decision-making process. Indianapolis: Lumina Foundation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kutty, F. M. (2014). Mapping their road to university: First-generation students’ choice and decision of university. International Education Studies, 7(13), 49.

  • Litten, L. H. (1982). Different strokes in the applicant pool: Some refinements in a model of student college choice. The Journal of Higher Education, 53(4), 383–402.

  • MacDermott, K. G., Conn, P. A., & Owen, J. W. (1987). The influence of parental education level on college choice. Journal of College Admissions, 115, 3–10.

  • Mandara, J. (2006). The impact of family functioning on African American males’ academic achievement: a review and clarification of the empirical literature. Teachers College Record, 108(2), 206–223.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Manski, C. F., & Wise, D. A. (1983). College choice in America. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

  • McCarron, G. P., Inkelas, K., & K. (2006). The gap between educational aspirations and attainment for first-generation college students and the role of parental involvement. Journal of College Student Development, 47, 534–549.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McGinty, S. (1992). War and peace: Parents, students, and the college admission process. Journal of College Admission, 137, 4–7.

  • Muhammad, C. G. (2008). African American students and college choice: A consideration of the role of school counselors. NASSP Bulletin, 92(2), 81–94.

  • McDonough, P. M., Antonio, A. L., & Trent, J. W. (1997). Black students, Black colleges: An African American college choice model. Journal for a Just and Caring Education, 3(1), 9–36.

  • Murphy, P. E. (1981). Consumer buying roles in college choice: parents’ and students’ perceptions. College and University, 56(2), 140–150.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mwangi, C. A. (2015). (Re)examining the role of family and community in college access and choice: A Metasynthesis. Review of Higher Education, 39(1), 123–151.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Myers, S. M., & Myers, C. B. (2012). Are discussions about college between parents and their high school children a college-planning activity? Making the case and testing the predictors. American Journal of Education, 118(3), 281–308.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • National Center for Education Statistics. (NCES) U.S. Department of Education (2015). The Condition of Education 2015 (NCES 2015–144). https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d14/tables/dt14_302.20.asp. Accessed 4/2/2016.

  • National Postsecondary Education Cooperative (NPEC) (2007). Deciding on postsecondary education: Final report. NPEC 2008-850. In K. MacAllum, D. M. Glover, B. Queen, & A. Riggs (Eds.). https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2008/2008850.pdf. Accessed 20 Dec 2017.

  • Ng, J., Wolf-Wendel, L., & Lombardi, K. (2014). Pathways from middle school to college: examining the impact of an urban, precollege preparation program. Education and Urban Society, 46(6), 672–698.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Niu, S. X. (2015). Leaving home state for college: Differences by race/ethnicity and parental education. Research in Higher Education, 56(4), 325–359.

  • Perna, L. (2000). Differences in the decision to attend college among African Americans, Hispanics and Whites. The Journal of Higher Education, 71(2), 117–141.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Perna, L. W. (2007). The sources of racial-ethnic group differences in college enrollment: a critical examination. New Directions for Institutional Research, 133, 51–66.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Perna, L. W., & Titus, M. A. (2005). The relationship between parental involvement as social capital and college enrollment: an examination of racial/ethnic group differences. Journal of Higher Education, 76(5), 485–518.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pope, M. L., & Fermin, B. (2003). The perceptions of college students regarding the factors most influential in their decision to attend postsecondary education. College and University, 78(4), 19.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pratt, P., & Evans, D. (2002). Assessment of the utility of parents as sources of information about the college decisions of their children. College and University, 77(4), 9.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rowan-Kenyon, H. T., Bell, A. D., & Perna, L. W. (2008). Contextual influences on parental involvement in college going: variations by socioeconomic class. Journal of Higher Education, 79(5), 564–586.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smetana, J., & Chuang, S. (2001). Middle-class African American parents’ conceptions of parenting in early adolescence. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 11(2), 177–198.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith, M. J. (2009). Right directions, wrong maps: understanding the involvement of low-SES African American parents to enlist them as partners in college choice. Education and Urban Society, 41(2), 171–196.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith, M. J., & Fleming, M. K. (2006). African American parents in the search stage of college choice: unintentional contributions to the female to male college enrollment gap. Urban Education, 41(1), 71–100.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith, E., & Parker, K. D. (1996). Precocious black youths: neglect of an academic underclass. Challenge: A Journal of Research on African American Men, 7(3), 5–15.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith, J., Pender, M., & Howell, J. (2013). The full extent of student-college academic undermatch. Economics of Education Review, 32, 247–261.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stage, F. K., & Hossler, D. (1989). Differences in family influences on college attendance plans for male and female ninth graders. Research in Higher Education, 30(3), 301–315.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sandefur, G. D., Meier, A. M., & Campbell, M. (2006). Family resources, social capital, and college attendance. Social Science Research, 35, 525–553.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Spera, C. C., Wentzel, K. R., & Matto, H. C. (2009). Parental aspirations for their children’s educational attainment: relations to ethnicity, parental education, children’s academic performance, and parental perceptions of school climate. Journal of Youth & Adolescence, 38(8), 1140–1152.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Suizzo, M. M., Jackson, K. M., Pahlke, E., McClain, S., Marroquin, Y., Blondeau, L. A., & Hong, K. (2016). Parents’ school satisfaction and academic socialization predict adolescents’ autonomous motivation. Journal of Adolescent Research, 31(3), 343–374.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tierney, W. G., & Auerbach, S. (2005). Toward developing an untapped resource: The role of families in college preparation. In W. G. Tierney, Z. B. Corwin, & J. E. Colyar (Eds.), Preparing for college: Nine elements of effective outreach (pp. 29–48). Albany: SUNY Press.

  • Tierney, W., Tierney, W. G., Corwin, Z., & Colyar, J. (Eds.). (2005). Preparing for college: Nine elements of effective outreach. New York: SUNY Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tierney, W. G., & Venegas, K. M. (2006). Fictive kin and social capital: the role of peer groups in applying and paying for college. American Behavioral Scientist, 49(12), 1687–1702.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tillery, D. (1973). Distribution and differentiation of youth: a study of transition from school to college. Cambridge: Ballinger Pub. Co..

    Google Scholar 

  • Vega, D. D., Moore III, J. L., & Miranda, A. H. (2015). Who really cares? Urban youths’ perceptions of parental and programmatic support. School Community Journal, 25(1), 53–72.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wood, D., Kurtz-Costes, B., & Copping, K. E. (2011). Gender differences in motivational pathways to college for middle class African American youths. Developmental Psychology, 47(4), 961.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Education Studies Department, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive #0070, La Jolla, CA, 92093-0070, USA

    Thandeka K. Chapman & Frances Contreras

  2. Education Department, California State Polytechnic University at Pomona, Pomona, CA, USA

    Eligio Martinez Jr.

Authors
  1. Thandeka K. Chapman
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Frances Contreras
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Eligio Martinez Jr.
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Thandeka K. Chapman.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Chapman, T., Contreras, F. & Martinez, E. African American Parents and Their High-Achieving Students: Issues of Race, Class, and Community in the College Choice Process. J Afr Am St 22, 31–48 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12111-018-9392-x

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12111-018-9392-x

Keywords

Search

Navigation