<p> In 2012, Hispanic students dropped out of high school at a national rate of 13%, surpassing African Americans and Whites (National Center for Educational Statistics, 2012). Without a high school diploma or General Educational Development (GED) certificate, Hispanic students who dropout will most likely experience less opportunity for improving their quality of life. The purpose of this quantitative study was to gain insight into psychological factors that may influence and predict academic expectations of high school Hispanic students. The theoretical framework that provided the lens for this study was a sense of belonging based on Maslow’s (1954) hierarchy of needs.</p><p> The National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES) provided the secondary data from the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 (HSLS:09). Through the statistical method of multiple regression analysis the secondary data assisted in the following hypotheses: a) sense of belonging is a predictor of high school student academic expectations; b) school engagement is a predictor of high school student academic expectations; c) socio-economic status is a predictor of high school student academic expectations; d) females and males have different academic expectations; and e) parent expectation is a predictor of high school student academic expectations.</p><p> Results from the multiple regression significantly predicts academic expectations of Hispanic high school students. These findings can potentially assist the field of education in providing data that will help solve issues of students of color and begin to close the achievement gap. Furthermore, this research study will provide the K-12 educational community knowledge and a deeper understanding of the relationship between a sense of belonging and Hispanic students completing high school. This study will add to the existing data on the validity of the importance a sense of belonging has on students’ academic outcome.</p>
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:PROQUEST/oai:pqdtoai.proquest.com:10127177 |
| Date | 09 August 2016 |
| Creators | Nunez, Isabel |
| Publisher | California State University, Long Beach |
| Source Sets | ProQuest.com |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | thesis |
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