IMMIGRANT OPTIMISM: INVESTIGATING COLLEGE ACHIEVEMENT IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS (ELLS) AT A FOUR YEAR UNIVERSITY

Abstract

The fastest-growing student population (ages 5-17) in U.S. schools today is children of immigrants, half of whom do not speak English and are labeled English language learners (ELLs) by th National Center for Education Statistics (2011). Despite this growing demographic shift, very little is known about their college going experiences and the factors that determine their success in college. On of the prominent issues faced by this demographic subgroup is the need to have access to high quality secondary education and institutional supports to prepare them for the rigor of college and facilitate the pathway to and through college. The purpose of this study was to investigate differences between ELL and non-ELL students in a four-year institution as determined by key demographic, motivational and aspirational characteristics. The study also sought to answer two core questions: are there differences between these groups that might affect academic achievement? And, what factors predict academic achievement and are these factors different for the two groups? Current research literature is replete wit numerous theories about differences between these groups of students but the empirical evidence to support these theories is not as strong. To conduct this study, I utilized data collected from a university wide New Student Questionnaire (NSQ), an 81 item survey tool administered to all incoming freshmen students and other student background data from institutional research collected through the college application process. The university uses this questionnaire to ascertain information about its incoming freshmen class. NSQ data for 2010 freshmen class and graduation data for 2015-16 were examined. Using various statistical techniques, I examined student responses to the NSQ to ascertain if actual differences are observed. The results may have implications for educational systems that have created blanket policies and practices for ELL and non-ELL groups. Throughout this document, I will use the terminology English language learners (ELLs) to refer to this broad range of students in the United States to whom English is not their native language or the dominant language spoken at home.