Media and Communication Studies in a Mediatized World

Abstract

Although racial variations in endorsement of social welfare have been studied, the more specific linkage to governmental involvement in higher education has not been established. Using data from High School and Beyond and the National Educational Longitudinal Study-1988, the authors compare the responses of minority versus White parents to questions regarding where parents locate the responsibility for funding college (parent, student, or government), whether they favor specific governmental funding strategies, and whether they have saved for their children's education. Although racial variations are modest, minority parents not only are more receptive to governmental involvement than are White parents, but are more likely to place the financial burden on themselves. These findings suggest that support for governmental aid for higher education transcends pure self-interest and corresponds more closely with a minority-status argument. Once background characteristics are held constant, minority parents make at least as much if not more of an effort to save as do their White counterparts. Most important, these results debunk the myths that minority parents lack responsibility for their offspring, at least with respect to educational investment, and that a group's endorsement of collective welfare is incompatible with its assumption of individual responsibility.