The Influence of Academic Support on Latino Adolescents’ Academic Motivation

• Author: Edna C. Alfaro,Adriana J. Umaña‐Taylor,Mayra Y. Bámaca
• Published date: 01 July 2006
• Date: 01 July 2006
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-3729.2006.00402.x

The Influence of Academic Support on Latino

Adolescents’ Academic Motivation

Edna C. Alfaro Adriana J. Uman˜a-Taylor Mayra Y. Ba´maca*

Abstract: The current study examined the extent to which mothers, fathers, teachers, and teenage friends influenced

Latino adolescents’ academic motivation. Using path analysis, separate models were tested for 154 Latino boys and

156 Latina girls. Findings indicated that mothers’ and teachers’ academic support were positively related to adoles-

cent girls’ academic motivation, and fathers’ and teachers’ academic support were positively related to adolescent

boys’ academic motivation. The salience of teachers’ support, possible reasons for gender differences, and implica-

tions for future research are discussed.

Key Words: academic achievement, academic support, gender differences, Hispanic families, Latino adolescents.

The Latino population is the largest and fastest

growing ethnic minority group in the United States

(President’s Advisory Commission on Educational

Excellence for Hispanic Americans, 2003). This

growth is reflected in many institutions throughout

the United States. For example, in 2000, over 2

million Latino individuals were enrolled in U.S. high

schools (U.S. Census Bureau, 2001). These Latino

adolescents face a myriad of obstacles both inside

and outside of the classroom. For instance, Latino

children are more likely than White children to live

in impoverished areas (U.S. Department of Educa-

tion, National Center for Educational Statistics,

2003). Latinos also have had the highest high school

drop out rate since 1972, with 43% of Latino immi-

grants currently dropping out of school (U.S.

Department of Education, National Center for Edu-

cational Statistics). As a result, researchers have

begun to examine the characteristics that lead to aca-

demic success and failure among Latino students.

Furthermore, an emergent body of research suggests

that students’ academic motivation is a key construct

connected to academic success (Anderson & Keith,

1997). Specifically, academic motivation positively

contributes to indices of adolescents’ academic

achievement as measured by grade point averages

(GPA), standardized test scores, and high school

completion rates (Anderson & Keith; Wentzel,

1998).

Theoretical Framework

In examining academic outcomes among Latinos,

researchers have utilized an ecological approach in

which individual characteristics are examined in

conjunction with contextual factors that influence

adolescents’ experiences. Bronfenbrenner’s (1989)

ecological model emphasizes the importance of

understanding developmental outcomes as a function

of the person and his/her environment and typically

highlights family-community-school connections.

Specifically, Bronfenbrenner emphasized the influ-

ence of ‘‘significant others’’ on the developing per-

son, defined as individuals in the microsystem who

have the most immediate influence on the adoles-

cent and therefore are most likely to impact adoles-

cents’ behaviors.

*Edna C. Alfaro is a doctoral student in the Department of Family and HumanDevelopment at ArizonaState University, P.O.Box 872502, Tempe, AZ 85287-2502

(edna.alfaro@asu.edu). Adriana J. Uman

˜a-Taylor is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Family and Human Development at Arizona State University, P.O. Box

872502, Tempe, AZ 85287-2502 (adriana.umana-taylor@asu.edu). Mayra Y. Ba

´maca is a doctoral student in the Department of Family and Human Development at

Arizona State University, P.O. Box 872502, Tempe, AZ 85287-2502 (mayra.bamaca@asu.edu).

Family Relations, 55 (July 2006), 279–291. Blackwell Publishing.

Copyright 2006 by the National Council on Family Relations.