What Motivates High School Students to Attend College - Research Proposal Example

Introduction For decades the notion that America is a land of opportunity has persisted as stories of rags to riches continue to fuel this belief. For many, one of the most entrancing elements of living in America is that one does not even have to earn a college degree to make one’s dreams come true. People who decide to pass up on going to college can easily point to Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft, or Steve Jobs, Chief Executive Officer of Apple to make their point. While the successes of these two individuals and others certainly appear to give an indication that college is not really essential for success these are exceptions rather than the rule. Though the notion that America is a land of opportunities persist, those who fail to go to college are at a distinct disadvantage compared to their college-bound counterparts. As a recent article in the Post Tribune points out, Median annual earnings for high school graduates is $30,800. It's 62 percent higher for holders of bachelor's degrees and 92 percent higher for those who've earned masters degrees. On average, lifetime earnings are 73 percent higher for those who hold bachelor's degrees than they are for high school graduates who have not gone on to college. And the earnings differential is even more pronounced for women than for men. In all, 17 percent of all families headed by individuals who lack high school diplomas live in poverty. The poverty rate falls to 7 percent for families headed by individuals holding high school diplomas. It's only 2 percent for families headed by adults with bachelor's degrees. (2006) For high school students who are not informed about the potential benefits of going to college it might be very tempting to drop out or decide not to continue on to college. This raises the question of what factors might motivate some individual high schools to consider pursuing further education. Does this motivation come from within? Is it fuelled by family and friends, guidance counsellors, or teachers? Hypothesis In spite of Bill Gates and Steven Jobs, the university still holds a lofty place in the minds of many in America. In fact, some of the perceptions of the university, while positive, might also tend to discourage some students from even considering it as an option for themselves. Students from poor backgrounds who are aware that going to college can be an expensive proposition might rule themselves out and settle on finding themselves a job after high school. In such a case these students deprive themselves of the opportunity of increasing their chances for success in society. Also, some students from backgrounds where education is not emphasized might see themselves as not belonging to the university, perceiving it as a place for people of a certain class and background rather than a place where anyone with the ability to learn might want to seriously consider. Even the average high school student is aware that studying in the university can demand a lot of work and commitment. This means that those who are ill-prepared are unlikely to find the experience easy. With this in mind, it would seem that those individuals who have made the decision to enter university will apply themselves harder not just to gain better grades but also as a way of preparing themselves for the rigors of study that they expect in the university. In this regard, part of the motivation for increased study comes from such demands from universities as scores from the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT), school transcripts and in some cases written essays that signal the extent of a student’s interest in a particular university or program. All of these are used as elements to weed out those who are ill-prepared for college and so those who know that college ought to be a part of their lives are probably likely to exert greater effort in ensuring that their grades are good and that they can do well in tests that support college entrance such as the SAT. This line of thinking leads to the hypothesis that is at the center of the current study: If students, while still in high school, are informed and encouraged to attend college through means such as goal setting their personal achievements are likely to be greater than for those who do not aim to enter college. Many high schools today have high school counsellors for whom students might seek advice on college attendance both in terms of how to get enrolled and in some cases opportunities for financing the increasingly high cost of higher education. For some others, it would seem that whether or not high school students make the decision to go to college depends on whether there is a college graduate in their family. This may be a parent or other close relative that might serve as a role model for the individual. Literature Review Intrinsic versus Extrinsic Motivation In the article Intrinsic Versus Extrinsic Motivation, Martin Covington and Kimberly J. Mueller revisit the age-old issue of what the best motivators might be for young people such as those in high school. In the United States today it is not uncommon for teachers to shower their children, from kindergarten on up, with gold stars and praise and other external forms of praise. Much of this is predicated upon the notion that if children feel good about themselves they will do well. Unfortunately, there are those who believe that academic standards are falling because children today do not have a good notion of what constitutes good work because their teachers are in some cases giving them kudos for poor and shoddy work and rewarding them for mere effort rather than true achievement. For teachers who take the approach of giving external rewards the approach of using external motivators seem obvious enough. They observe that the children do not have any motivation to study or to extend the boundaries of their knowledge in any way while these same kids respond or appear to respond better when given the opportunity to earn something for the effort they put into their school work. In Covington and Mueller’s (2001) conception the duality that has sustained the debate on motivation in terms of the intrinsic and external may have been ill-conceived. Covington and Mueller (2001) highlight the fears of those who react negatively to the use of external rewards, that is, those who “feared that learning may become the means to an end, that is, merely a way to get rewards, and that when these rewards are no longer available, the willingness to continue learning will likely dissipate (Condry and Chambers, 1978; cited in Covington and Mueller 2001, 158). Despite these misgivings about the value of external motivators their use does not seem to have abated but rather these have become very much fused into the educational system. School grades are very much a part of this pervasive system of external rewards. Though Covington and Mueller understand the argument of those who hope that children need to recognize the importance of learning and pursue their interests without the benefit of extrinsic motivators, they point out nevertheless that intrinsic and external motivators to learning need not necessarily be conceived as being mutually exclusive. Even prior to conducting their research, Covington and Mueler (2001) found through informal interviews that “what students learn and retain is acquired out of personal interest and not just for the sake of achieving high grades…These inquiries convinced us of the durability and depth of student appreciation for much of what they were learning quite apart from any immediate grade benefits” (Covington and Mueller 2001, 160). Covington and Mueller first gave some due attention to some of the paradigms that have been applied in the study of motivation chiefly definitions. The definition of intrinsic and extrinsic processes, as Covington and Mueller found out, have often been contrasted in the research setting with intrinsic motivation being defined as: “the pursuit of an interesting task without expecting or receiving a tangible payoff for one’s actions.” “Not only does this reasoning contribute to the impression that intrinsic processes cannot operate in the presence of extrinsic payoffs, but it is flawed in its disregard of an essential reality. Whatever else can be said about its nature, we know one thing for certain about intrinsic motivation: It does not operate in a reward vacuum. Human beings always anticipate some payoff for their actions, intrinsically driven or not” (Covington and Mueller 2001, 162). Covington and Mueller focus on motivation theory which emphasizes an individual’s reasons for pursuing studies in a particular field. When these researchers asked students about why they pursued extra studies beyond what had been assigned the responses indicated clearly that gaining in-depth knowledge for its own sake was not at the core of students’ motivation and that trying to get an edge over their fellow students, proving to the professor that they really understood the material and the desire to get good grades were very important to the students in the study. Covington and Mueller’s article is useful because they offer suggestions that can help improve the regime for extrinsic rewards in the school system so that perceptions of unfairness might be reduced or eliminated. The researchers ground their work in the literature, providing numerous references and diagrams to help make their points clear to the reader. School Quality In another article, “The Effect of School Quality on Educational Attainment and Wages,” researchers Lorraine Dearden, Javier Ferri and Costas Meghir (2002) consider whether the kind of school or educational experience an individual has impacts upon the person’s wages in the future. This research was based on the British National Child Development Survey (NCDS) which followed a cohort of young people throughout their lives beginning from their birth in March 1958. There have long been suspicions that school systems in which teacher to pupil ratio is high along with inadequate resources such as textbooks could hamper the educational development of children and sideline them from the kind of ultimate educational experience that could translate into higher wages and with that a better quality of life. Dearden, Ferri, and Meghir (2002) reach back to the literature on school quality in the United States, which goes back to the Coleman Report of 1966. “The controversial finding of this report was that measured school quality had very little effect on pupil achievement once family background and school composition effects had been taken into account. The subsequent U.S. literature looking at this issue has, on the whole, tended to confirm this somewhat surprising finding, or at best found only weak effects of school quality on pupil achievement” (2002). If there is no difference between school quality and pupil achievement all well and good but some researchers have begun to consider other elements of measurement beyond that of achievement. When the link is made between school quality and later earnings in life there are indications that on the whole there are some differences. As a caveat, however, Dearden, Ferri, and Meghir (2002) note that the results are not wholly consistent and that there are studies that reveal no significant link even between school quality and later earnings. In their own research, Dearden, Ferri, and Meghir (2002) made use of a sequential approach, first looking into the effect f school quality on educational attainment and then going on to measure the effects of school quality measures used on wages at two points in the respondents’ lifecycle at ten years interval. Dearden, Ferri, and Meghir (2002) also look at the possibility of a link between school quality and being employed in the first place. Dearden, Ferri, and Meghir (2002) also address the possibility of bias in their research, knowing that some parents who are highly concerned about their children’s education might locate close to schools that have a low teacher to pupil ratio. While such parents might be expected to invest considerable time and effort in their children’s education it is also possible that once the “ideal” school has been attained for the child the parent would not take an active part in ensuring that the child’s education remains top notch. The data used by Dearden, Ferri, and Meghir (2002) not only contained information on the parents but also a great deal of information on the individual at birth, and ages 7, 11, 16, 23, and 33” (Dearden, Ferri, and Meghir 2002, 4). In addition, information on test scores, types of schools attended, area of residence and wages and hours worked later in life are recorded. From an initial sample of 17,414 the size of the sample has decreased steadily over time. The researchers found that the attrition has occurred mostly among those with lower educational attainment though they do not see this as biasing their results and findings. Among the variables used were school quality variables, family quality variables, ability variables, local authority and neighbourhood characteristics, wage and education data. Dearden, Ferri, and Meghir (2002) present extensive tables to highlight their findings but the thrust of their findings include the following: finding that there was no effect on outcome variables as far as teacher-pupil ratio was concerned (at age 7); at the secondary level the pupil-teacher ratio is found not to have had any effect on wages at the time the cohort was 23 years. At age 33, however, there was a difference in wages particularly where women were concerned. Furthermore, Dearden, Ferri, and Meghir (2002) find that “low ability women benefit more from lower pupil-teacher rations than do high-ability women. The results lend some support to some U.S. findings that school input measures matter more for outcomes measure later in life” (Dearden, Ferri, and Meghir 2002, 14). For both men and women wages at 33 appeared to depend on qualifications and ability but the researchers also found that “a selective school (either a state grammar school or a private school) positively and significantly affects educational outcomes for both men and women and the wages of men at the age of 33” (Dearden, Ferri, and Meghir 2002, 15). This finding is interesting as there have been charges that schools such as Harvard, Yale, and other top flight universities admit so-called high-achievers, many of which come from selective schools. Children from average schools may not even consider applying to schools such as Harvard, knowing that they are at a distinct disadvantage in comparison with their counterparts from selective institutions. Mentorship and Role Models Whether high school students are self-motivated or not it has become abundantly clear that with all the pressures that American youths face today, without some proper guidance it is highly likely that some people will fall by the wayside. This is particular the case among minority youth who do not often see successful reflections of themselves in the society. When such youth decide that the society is stacked against them and that their efforts will not amount to much, they can easily digress onto the path that leads to the penitentiary or death. It is with this simple notion in mind that some organizations, including schools have begun to invest in mentorship programs so that young people would become aware of the plethora of opportunities available for them both now and in the future. When, for example, a child from a poor family is not aware that there are possible scholarships that can help pay for college that child might delay to drop out when persistence might have been rewarded with not only admission into a good quality college but also have such an opportunity without even having to pay for it. A program run by Boston University, known as Urban Scholars Program, which started with only 15 students about 20 years ago has blossomed into one that offers mentorship and scholarships to 100 students. “Today, Urban Scholars serves more than 100 low-income, first-generation Boston students with high academic potential. Half of them speak a first language other than English. Their average household income: $24,000. Remarkably, 98 percent of Urban Scholars graduates have been accepted to a postsecondary institution. Eighty-six percent have either earned or are working toward bachelor's degrees; 11 percent have pursued graduate degree” (Wilson 2006). Among the elements included in this program are after-school classes, tutoring and supervised study, and seminars. Staff at Urban Scholars work along high schools to provide mentorship and motivation to students participating in the program. Other areas in which students get the chance to improve are in public speaking, SAT preparation, and mathematics and writing skills. These programs help to give minority students a hand up as they compete with those who have the benefit of attending selective schools. The reality is that those who attend private and other selective schools often have access to top-flight teachers and are exposed to a whole range of materials that their counterparts in poor schools simply do not have. For students who might not have conceived of themselves as “university material” the Urban Scholars program offers an opportunity for these students to take university-level courses in areas such as Philosophy, English, Culture, Chemistry and Sociology. As noted by one of the leaders of Urban Scholars, "Teachers are very aware of their students' ongoing progress and any changes in behavior or performance. However, they may not have the resources to follow-up on those observations. Because of our ongoing systematic communication with teachers and officials, we are privy to those early warning signs and are able to institute a comprehensive holistic approach for student improvement," says Urban Scholars Director Robert Thomas Duclersaint, an expert in adolescent development who speaks Haitian Creole and French (Wilson 2006). Also, as part of the program participants get college advising information to help them make the proper decision regarding possible college attendance. Another group that has taken on the role of helping middle school students make it to the university level is the National Black Child Development Institute. "The focus of BCDI is to support African-American families in the area of education; to enhance their lives, give them programs to empower them, lend support outside of school, aid welfare and health” (Graham 2005). This program acknowledges that the earlier young people are hooked on to the idea of the importance of education the better their chances of going further in their education. Because many of the participants in this program are minorities who also happen to come from low income families the program places a great deal of emphasis on how to finance a college education. It is hoped that once the young people understand that there are options as far as financing is concerned they will not let that deter them from seriously considering entering college. As Graham (2005) explains the Black Child Development Institute works with schools and aims to empower participants so that they would feel that “entering the college zone” is not something for others but that even though they might be poor and in a minority population group they are very much entitled to taking a chance at getting at the American dream. Graham’s article highlights other cross cultural programs that the BCDI is involved in, showing that it is not simply a matter of Black empowerment but that it is geared towards various other minorities such as Latinos. Methodology The questionnaire survey method was used. This involved getting information from a sample of those in the researcher’s target group, namely, high school students between the ages of 17 and 19. While this is a widely used method it is important to understand that “There has been very little research on the validity or accuracy of questionnaire data, but some research has suggested that respondents tend to exaggerate some things and downplay others. There is some reason to believe that interviewees are affected by the desire to be helpful and friendly. For example, if the interview is about physical exercise or education, the respondent will tend to exaggerate their interest in and involvement with the exercise or education respectively, in order to be helpful and positive” (Ticehurst and Veal 2000). Knowing this can help the researcher to approach respondents in as neutral a manner as possible so that participants cannot figure out how the interviewer might want them to respond. If they do not feel that the interviewer has a vested interest in the results it is likely that respondents will be less likely to distort facts to please the interviewer. In most cases, questionnaire surveys require quantification which is why the well-known statistical program SPSS has been used to analyze the responses obtained from the questionnaire. A questionnaire (see appendix 1) was administered to 77 people. The researcher relied on a random sample of high school students who patronized a neighbourhood community centre. Because the community centre provided numerous activities, some of which involved sports and other intellectually oriented activities the researcher has reason to believe that the respondents are not biased in terms of being preponderantly of one “type” or another as high school students sometimes characterize themselves, that is, jocks for those who are heavily into sports and nerds for the academically gifted and academically focused individuals. Also, there was a wide range of participants in terms of ethnicity, including African-American, Caucasian, Hispanic, Asian, and Others, some of which were mixed or refused to put themselves into any particular ethnic slot. Findings One key question relating to the hypothesis is whether students who planned to go to college were also doing well in their courses or at least if they carried the perception that they were doing well. Chart 1 Crosstabs From the above it is clear that 54.1% of those who indicated that they were college bound also had excellent grades or were in the award-winning category. By contrast, only 5.5% of those who perceived their achievement as good were also college bound. It was interesting that 8 individuals whose performance may not have been so spectacular also were college bound. This may be because these students are very much aware that there are so many different kinds of colleges, that is, colleges have varying levels of quality and that one does not have to be a superstar intellect to profit from a college education. In terms of the breakdown of college bound high school students in the sample with reference to ethnicity, the results are quite revealing. Crosstabs Perhaps the most interesting element of this survey is that having to do with Asians who numbered 10 but 9 of whom indicated that they planned to go to college. By contrast, 10 out of 20 African-Americans indicated that they were college bound while 14 out of 25 Caucasians made a similar determination. Perhaps owing to language barriers or other hindrances, Hispanics, at least, in this survey appeared not to be jumping too eagerly onto the college bandwagon. Crosstabs For African-Americans lack of money appeared to be the single greatest barrier to entering college. For those who were motivated and had indicated a plan to go to college it was not surprising that bad grades were not a major consideration. Even so, hardly any Caucasians cited bad grades, family environment or a bad neighbourhood as possible impediments to entering college. For Hispanics, both money and bad grades were matters of concern. Putting this in the proper perspective there are many recent immigrants who may not have the requisite language skills yet to achieve highly in school. Over time, however, the barrier of language and the particular problems it poses might no longer be a factor though early intervention might be necessary before young people lose their motivation to go to college entirely because of such barriers. Discussion Across American the message is slowly seeping in that if people want to make a success of their lives they had better go to college. In fact, universities such as Harvard and Yale which appeared in the past to cater only to a select group of rich, smart children have now broadened their reach, acknowledging even that considering where some American minorities have to start off in life it is a miracle they are able to go as far as they are sometimes able to. At the same time numerous grassroots programs have emerged to provide support to those who want to take advantage of higher education. Such support is necessary in many cases because there are many young people who may not have the benefit of a highly educated person in their family and might therefore not see themselves as belonging to the university. Through counselling and other forms of exposure for such young people they come to appreciate that as long as they are willing to work hard there are opportunities for them and that even such barriers as lack of money need not be a grave concern as there are scholarships aplenty for those who know how to access such funds. Conclusion Though an attempt was made to get a random sample this was not exactly easy. As such the sample used might to some extent be considered one of convenience since they were mostly young people of high school age who clustered in a particular part of town. Even so, this should not take away from the validity of the results because there was enough variation among the youth in terms of ethnicity and interest. Also, there were people from various class backgrounds though this was not made an explicit part of the study. The relatively small sample used in this study could mean that generalizability is not recommended. Even so, this study provides a basic overview of the changing wind in the United States for minorities and their increased desire to take advantage of college education. If there are more supports for young Americans of all stripes many more would avail themselves of a college education, and America, no doubt, will be all the better for it. Bibliography College Bound Would Produce a Multitude of Benefits. (Jul 3, 2006). The Post Tribune, B3. Covington, Martin V. & Mueller, Kimberley J. (2001). Intrinsic versus Extrinsic Motivation: An Approach/Avoidance Reformulation. Educational PsychologyI, 13, 15-176. Dearden, Lorraine; Ferri, Javier; & Meghir, Costas. (Feb 2002). The effect of School Quality on Educational Attainment and Wages. The Review of Economics and Statistics, 84(1), 1-20. Deemer, Sandra A. (Spring 2004). Classroom goal orientation in high school classrooms: revealing links between teacher beliefs and classroom environments. Educational Research, 46(1), 73-90. Ekstrom, Ruth B. et al. (Oct 2004). A Survey of Assessment and Evaluation Activities of School Counselors. Professional School Counseling. 8.1, 24-30. Graham, Teresa. (May 5, 2005). Black child group encouraging dreams of college. Times Union, B5. Ticehurst, G.W. & Veal, A.J. (2000). Business Research Methods: A managerial approach. NSW, Australia: Pearson Education. Wilson, Blenda J. (Summer 2006). Preparing Urban Scholars for College: A Best Practice in College Readiness. New England’s Journal of Higher Education, 21(1):15. Appendix 1 – Survey Questionnaire 1. Gender 1] Female 2] Male 2. Ethnicity 1] African-American/Black 2] Caucasian 3] Hispanic 4] Asian 5] Other 3. Age 1] 17 2] 18 3] 19 4. Are you planning to go to college? 1] Yes 2] No 5. To what extent do you think that your high school is preparing you to enter and succeed in college? 1] Very well 2] Well 3] Satisfactorily 4] Not so well 5] Poorly 6. What/Who motivates you to want to go to college? 1] Parents/Relatives 2] Job/Money 3] Self-motivated 4] Expanding social network 5] Prestige 6] Other 7. What is possibly the greatest barrier to possible college entry for you? 1] Lack of Money 2] Bad grades 3] Lack of connections 4] Family environment 5] Neighborhood 8. How would you describe your level of achievement in school? 1] Excellent grades/award winning 2] Good 3] Satisfactory 4] Could be better 5] Poor 9. Did one or both of your parents go to college? 1] Yes 2] No 10. Have you obtained counselling regarding college entrance from academic advisors, parents, mentoring programs, etc. 1] Yes 2] No Read More