This study is concerned with the problem of determining and analyzing the characteristics and concerns of Hispanic women who are enrolled in a large metropolitan community college district. The purposes include (1) the description of demographic data on these Hispanic women in terms of (a) specific group ethnicity, (b) marital status, (c) estimated total income, (d) age, (e) number of hours currently enrolled, (f) number of dependent children, (g) number of hours employed per week, and (h) language usage (English or Spanish); (2) identification of the concerns of these students; (3) determination of the degree of concern as reported by these Hispanic women students regarding specific problems; (4) assessment of the relationships between the demographic characteristics and the degrees of concern about specific problems. The study population sample is composed of 748 Hispanic female students from the Tarrant County Community College District enrolled for at least one credit hour during the Fall Semester of the 1984-1985 academic year. The sample for the study is 400 randomly selected students from this population. A survey instrument originally developed by Kathie Beckman Smallwood was revised for this study and produced a 52.25 per cent response return. Response frequencies and percentages were gathered to show degree of concern for each problem and the characteristics of the Hispanic female students. Mean scores to show the average degree of concern are also reported for each potential problem. Chi square contingency coefficient was used to show every possible association between concerns and demographic variables. The findings indicate that Hispanic female students concerns are academically and career oriented. Respondents indicate that getting a good job after graduation is their primary concern. Ability to succeed in college is the second highest reported concern followed by knowing how to study efficiently. Seventy four per cent of the respondents are Mexican-American, three-fourths are part-time students, over half are working from 21-40 hours per week, and over half report an estimated total family annual income of under $15,000. The lower the income, the greater the degree of concern for several problems.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:unt.edu/info:ark/67531/metadc331036 |
| Date | 08 1900 |
| Creators | Martinez-Metcalf, Rosario |
| Contributors | Miller, William A., Medler, Byron, Kingery, Dwane, Dameron, Joseph D. |
| Publisher | North Texas State University |
| Source Sets | University of North Texas |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | viii, 151 leaves, Text |
| Rights | Public, Martinez-Metcalf, Rosario, Copyright, Copyright is held by the author, unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved. |
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