Instrument Validation and Structural Equation Modeling of Motivational and Higher Education Orientations among Students of Mexican Descent in Rural Schools of the U.S. Pacific Northwest

Instrument Validation and Structural Equation Modeling of Motivational and Higher Education Orientations among Students of Mexican Descent in Rural Schools of the U.S. Pacific Northwest Eric William Hamilton Chair of the Supervisory Committee: Professor Susan B. Nolen Educational Psychology The present study investigates use of Nicholls' (1989) Motivational Orientations Scales with high school students of Mexican descent in rural school settings, and the patterns of associations between motivational orientations and higher education orientations for students differing in gender, country of birth (nativity), grade level, and ethnic composition of school. Participants (n = 354) completed a questionnaire including the Motivational Orientations Scales of the Theories of Schooling survey (Nicholls, 1989), questions pertaining to beliefs about higher education attainment, and demographics questions. Confirmatory factor analyses evidenced language and student sub-group equivalence of factor structure on a random split-half procedure. Correlational analyses revealed relationships between motivational orientations and higher education orientations that evidenced unique patterns for different groups of students. Path models revealed distinct similarities and differences in sub-groups-based patterns between motivational and higher education orientations. Multivariate analyses of variance (MANOVA) showed an interaction effect between nativity and gender on higher education expectations, and a main effect of school ethnic composition on higher education aspirations. Results support use of the Motivational Orientations Scales with adolescents of Mexican descent in rural schools, and suggest consideration of gender, nativity, grade level, and school ethnic composition in interventions to address students’ school achievement motivation and belifs about higher education opportunities. Limitations and future directions are discussed. MOTIVATIONAL AND HIGHER EDUCATION ORIENTATIONS 1 CHAPTER I: LITERATURE REVIEW Instrument Validation and Structural Equation Modeling of Motivational and Higher Education Orientations among Students of Mexican Descent in Rural Schools of the U.S. Pacific Northwest U.S. schools are experiencing fast-paced changes in the demographic characteristics of their student populations, changes that have implications for the academic values and accountability practices that shape definitions of student success (Darling-Hammond, 2004; Gutierrez, 2006). High dropout rates and social and cultural inconsistencies, many of which defy traditional pedagogical and learning assessment approaches, stand in the way of the goals of increasing and maintaining the academic motivation, graduation rates, and higher education enrollment for marginalized students. In terms of these outcomes, the educational experiences of Latino students may need particular attention, as these students constitute the largest ethnic minority group in the U.S., and peoples of Mexican descent the largest portion of the Latino population (Pew Hispanic Center, 2012). From a broad perspective, research focused on the educational trajectories of Latinos in the US claims that our Latino students are “remaking America,” transforming not only the demographic fabric, but also policy and curricula in K-12 education systems (Contreras, 2005; Suárez-Orozco & Páez, 2002). However, while this is true across many regions of the United States, most educational research involving Latinos and students of Mexican descent has focused on the experiences of students in urban schools. Coming to understand the complex and distinct educational histories and trajectories of students of Mexican descent in rural contexts is a project as of yet little pursued, yet one that is crucial for improving the educational outcomes of this MOTIVATIONAL AND HIGHER EDUCATION ORIENTATIONS 2 growing and dynamic US population (Suárez-Orozco & Páez, 2002). The miningand agriculture-based immigration of laborers from Mexico represents a history that has led to a large, stable, Latino population in the Pacific Northwest, a population with a rich history of labor negotiations and human rights struggles (Gamboa, 2000; Guzman, 2006). The legacy of this history is the present-day diversity of vibrant social collectives of heritages and lifestyles, on that makes the US Pacific Northwest one of the most valuable regions for research relevant to understanding the struggles and opportunities of contemporary rural students of Mexican descent. For education stakeholders, such as teachers, administrators, and researchers engaged in the improvement of education for students of Mexican decent in U.S. high schools, the duties of not only educating this historically-marginalized, highly diverse, and growing population, but also of ensuring that the belief in attainment of higher education is an attainable goal for this student population, demand great responsibility and offer great challenges. As Contreras (2005) writes, In a time when Latinos are the fastest-growing segment of the K-12 population in many states, early and continued investment must remain an imperative for both states and higher education systems. The disconnect between K-12 and higher education systems stymies the development of college-going cultures and infrastructures and facilitates inequitable access to higher education. Early and continued investment in Chicano/Latino students throughout the educational pipeline may create a more seamless continuum to higher education and contribute to the process of socioeconomic elevation, empowerment, and sustainability (p. 212). MOTIVATIONAL AND HIGHER EDUCATION ORIENTATIONS 3 Scholars seeking to understand adaptation, acculturation, and transculturation of the children of immigration (Suárez-Orozco & Suárez-Orozco, 1995, 2001), those who themselves have immigrated, or whose families have immigrated to the US, have leveraged various theoretical constructs or institutional practices to explain varying academic trajectories. These studies often point to factors such as ethnic identity (Matute-Bianchi, 1986; Perez & Padilla, 2000; Zarate, Bhimji, & Reese 2005), segregation and cultural exclusion (Gibson, Gándara, & Koyama, 2004; Valencia, 2002), achievement motivation (Gándara, O’Hara, & Gutiérrez, 2004; Waxman, Huang, & Padron, 1997) and cultural or social capital (Stanton-Salazar, 2004). By turning the investigative lens toward the variations in relationships between academic motivations and beliefs about higher education opportunities of students of Mexican descent, education stakeholders may be better-informed in the design of future curricula, policies, and research goals that, in turn, may function to empower this dynamic and diverse student population. Educational Aspirations and Expectations among Students of Mexican Descent Research that assesses educational aspirations and expectations of Latino youth (e.g., Bohon, Johnson, & Gorman, 2006; Gándara, O'Hara, & Gutiérrez, 2004; Kao & Tienda, 1998, 2000) has produced mixed findings regarding relationships between student characteristics and college-going. In general, though, the constructs used to measure students' higher education orientations are defined in a straight-forward manner: aspirations are defined as reflections of one's hopefulness about future educational opportunities and achievement, whereas expectations are thought to be a person's consideration of the likelihood of achieving the academic goals to which one aspires (Bohon, et al., 2006). Although aspirations offer insight into students' beliefs about post-secondary educational opportunities, expectations are considered a more realistic selfassessment about one's educational future than are aspirations. MOTIVATIONAL AND HIGHER EDUCATION ORIENTATIONS 4 In her qualitative study, Ruiz Soto (2009) interviewed students who were documented and students who were undocumented, all of Mexican descent, in one Eastern Washington high school. Results of the study demonstrated that there are a number of factors influencing Latino immigrant students’ higher education aspirations, some of which have to do specifically with group membership of the students. Overall, her findings were clear: all fifteen of her high school interviewees aspired to attend college after high school, and all of their parents had college aspirations for their children. Based on her consistent findings of both the immigrant students and their parents' pro-academic, college-oriented accounts, Ruiz Soto, drawing from the writings of Portes (2000), suggested a rearticulation of the concept of cultural capital, to include narratives of immigrant families' border crossings, the academic motivation that springs from parental expectations. Of note, however, in Ruiz Soto's study, participants' higher education aspirations mainly pertained to attending two-year community or technical colleges. Some studies of educational futures of US students take a broad perspective, focusing on the U.S. Latino student population as one homogeneous group (e.g., Kao & Tienda, 1998). However, education-focused studies investigating differences between ethnic groups within the broader Latino population have helped to illuminate differing school outcomes for Latino subgroups identified in terms of gender, ethnic group, and immigration status. For example, Bohon, Johnson, and Gorman (2006) studied differences in educational aspirations and expectations among Latinos of different ethnic backgrounds, including students of Cuban, Puerto Rican, and Mexican descent. Results of their regression analyses showed that both aspirations and expectations were higher among students of Cuban descent than for students of Mexican and Puerto Rican descent, suggesting the need to disaggregate Latinos in such analyses. For example, MOTIVATIONAL AND HIGHER EDUCATION ORIENTATIONS 5 Bohon and colleagues (2006) did not include gender and gender-based interaction effec