Understanding Racial Differences In Aspiration Realization: Middle Income, Middle Class, And College-Going Behaviors

<p>It is well documented that African Americans attend college at a lower rate than whites. However, African Americans' rate of aspiring to attend college is not lower than whites; rather their aspirations are higher than those of whites. Because there is such disparity between African American's educational aspirations and attainment, further investigation into this paradox is necessary. Literature shows that membership in the middle class generally equips one with greater resources that prepare them for college. If such research is accurate, middle class African American students should possess college preparatory resources and attend college. Because this is not the case, and the paradox exists, the current project examines the heterogeneity of the middle class and the role that such heterogeneity plays in the distribution of resources. Utilizing data from the Educational Longitudinal Survey 2002 & 2006, students were divided into three groups: lower middle, solid middle, and upper middle classes. Such divisions show disparities in resources, which are linked to students' realization of their aspirations to attend college. Accordingly, the common usage of middle class nomenclature includes people that are very dissimilar. In fact, the majority of middle class African Americans tend to occupy the lower rungs of the middle class, lacking most college preparatory resources. If we deny the heterogeneity of the middle class, many social programs will continue to ignore this group, rendering it self-sufficient and not in need of assistance from social programs.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Open Access Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Sociology

Year dc:date.available

2013

Author dc:creator

• Jackson, Omari

Contributors dc:contributor

• David M. Merolla

• African American
• Educational Aspiration
• Educational Attainment
• Middle Class
• African American Studies
• Educational Sociology

Repository record dc:identifier

https://digitalcommons.wayne.edu/oa_dissertations/771

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:digitalcommons.wayne.edu:oa_dissertations-1770