Doctoral Dissertation Research: Striving Together? Second-Generation Americans' Path to College

我们知道，在不同的社会群体中，受教育程度存在着持久的差异。由于美国一些社会群体中受过大学教育的成年人的水平高于其他社会群体，这些成年人成为来自这些群体的工人阶级背景的年轻人的教育和社会资源，他们随后完成了比其他社会群体更多的学校教育。因此，最初的教育程度差异会随着时间的推移而重复，从而对一些努力向上流动的人构成挑战。这个项目将推进这一资源激活过程如何在不同的社会群体中展开。此外，本研究将探讨这些资源是否可以透过青少年，在原有的社会社群之外分享，以支持其他社会群体的同龄人取得学业成就？友谊网络。本研究将确定在何种条件下，来自某些群体的高中水平社会资源不仅有助于增强群体内成员的新兴教育流动策略，而且还能通过同伴网络促进来自其他社会群体的工薪阶层学生的社会机会。调查结果将为K-12学校提供指导，因为他们努力鼓励更高的高等教育入学率，并在许多入学的社会群体中取得中学后教育的成就。本项目分析了来自不同社会群体的120名高中学龄儿童的观察和访谈数据，这些群体在成人平均受教育程度和社会资源方面存在差异。该项目将使用问卷和半结构化访谈指南对受访者进行访谈，收集人口统计信息、大学准备策略以及各种形式和来源的社会资源。该项目还将纳入现有的45名家长和年轻人样本的类似数据，他们的帮助可能对努力向上流动的高中生有用。该项目将使用MaxQDA，这是一个定性数据分析软件，便于第一和第二周期的数据编码，来管理，存储和分析该项目收集的所有数据。该项目还将在几个高中环境中进行参与性观察，包括校园体育赛事、学生空闲时间和家长-教师-学生组织会议期间，将通过问卷调查和访谈产生的数据纳入背景。通过了解促进青少年积极的跨群体关系的因素，本研究将为有关社会流动性、教育机会和群体间关系的社会学理论提供信息。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

We know that there are enduring differences in the rates of educational attainment across different social groups. Because some social groups in the United States have higher levels of college educated adults than others, these adults become an educational and social resource for working-class background youth from these same groups, who subsequently complete more years of schooling than they would otherwise. Thus initial differences in educational attainment are duplicated over time, thus posing challenges to some striving for upward mobility. This project will advance how this process of resource activation unfolds across different social groups. Moreover, the present study will examine whether these resources can be shared beyond the originating social communities to support academic achievement among peers of other social groups through youths? friendship networks. The study will identify conditions under which high-school level social resources from some groups not only serve to enhance emerging educational mobility strategies of in-group members, but also advance the social opportunity of working-class students from other social groups through peer networks. Findings will provide guidance for K-12 schools as they strive to encourage higher rates of enrollment in higher education and as well as achievement of post-secondary education among many social groups who are enrolled. This project analyzes observational and interview data from 120 high-school aged children of several social groups that vary in terms of average adult educational attainment and in terms of social resources. The project will interview respondents using a questionnaire and semi-structured interview guide that collect demographic information, college preparation strategies, and access to various forms and origins of social resources. This project will also incorporate similar data from an existing sample of 45 parents and young adults whose help may be useful to high school students striving for upward mobility. The project will use MaxQDA, which is a qualitative data analysis software that facilitates first and second cycle data coding, to manage, store and analyze all data gathered for this project. The project will also conduct participant observation in several high school settings, including campus sporting events, student free time and during parent-teacher-student organization meetings, to contextualize data produced via questionnaires and interviews. By understanding what facilitates positive cross-group relationships of adolescents, the study will inform sociological theories regarding social mobility, educational access and inter-group relations.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.