College Students’ Degree Aspirations: A Theoretical Model and Literature Review With a Focus on African American and Latino Students

Abstract

Quite a few comprehensive studies on undergraduate experiences and general models of degree attainment and attrition have highlighted the importance of measuring educational aspirations. Many researchers theorize that student educational aspirations have strong effects on (or strong relationships with) a variety of outcomes, particularly college choice, student retention, and graduate school enrollment (Astin, 1977; Tinto, 1993 Higher Education: Handbook of Theory and Research Higher Education: Handbook of Theory and Research