Academic Support by Significant Others and Educational Resilience in Mexican-Origin Ninth Grade Students From Intact Families

• NCJ Number: 224005
• Journal: Journal of Early Adolescence Volume: 28 Issue: 3 Dated: August 2008 Pages: 333-355
• Author(s): Scott W. Plunkett; Carolyn S. Henry; Benjamin J. Houltberg; Tovah Sands; Sandra Abarca-Mortensen
• Date Published: August 2008
• Length: 23 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

The purpose of this study was to examine the contribution of Mexican-origin, ninth grade students’ perceptions of academic support from significant others (i.e., mothers, fathers, teachers, and friends) to explain variation in indicators of academic success and to determine the most important sources of academic support for each academic indicator using dominance analysis.

Abstract

Youth perceptions of the sources of academic support contributed significantly to positive change in each academic indicator. Fathers’ academic support was dominant in explaining variation in girls’ academic motivation, whereas mothers’ academic support was dominant in explaining variation in boys’ academic motivation. Teachers’ academic support was dominant in explaining academic satisfaction and grades for both female and male students. Teachers’ academic support was the most important predictor of academic satisfaction. The findings provide substantial support for the expectation that adolescents’ perceptions of academic support from significant others in the ecological context would explain variation in academic success. Educational risks for Mexican-origin students often results from acculturation or institutional barriers as school systems seek to adapt policies and procedures established for youth of other backgrounds. One area of possible intervention involves strengthening academic support in various ecological contexts, such as home, school, and peer group to protect against the educational risk of Mexican-origin youth. However, little is known about which sources of academic support are most important in explaining specific aspects of educational resilience in Mexican-origin youth. This study used dominance analyses to test (1) the relative importance of each source of perceived academic support in youth reports of academic motivation, youth reports of satisfaction with academics, and teachers’ reports of grades and (2) which source of perceived academic support was the most important in explaining variation in each indicator of academic success. Tables, figure, and references