Indulgence in risky behavior is a reason for low academic performance. We hypothesized that four constructs including academic aspiration, self-confidence, interest in schooling, and peer influence mediate the relationship between risky behavior and academic performance. Data are from 1256 school-going girls in urban slums who came from the lowest…

This qualitative study investigated the schooling experiences of 20 young Black men who graduated from Douglass Academy, an all-boys public charter secondary school in a large urban city. Specifically, I explore how these students construct meaning from their school experiences and their efforts for academic success. The students articulated two…

Discussions on Latino/a students' interpretation of the opportunity structure and schooling treat racial/ethnic identification among Latino/as as static, despite skin color variation. This article provides findings from interviews with six Mexican students who discussed teachers identifying them as "White-looking" or…

The academic achievement rates of urban Latino students are significantly lower than those of non-minority youth. To date, most of the research on this topic has focused on learning and motivational characteristics of underrepresented youth in elementary and middle school and much less on urban high schools. This study investigated variables…

Educational policy usually overlooks Cambodian American students as a unique ethnic group, attending instead to the positive statistics that aggregate Asian American students into a single group of successful students. Through ethnographic interviews, this article examines how successful Cambodian American students interpreted values from their…

This investigation demonstrates the effect that peers have on students' academic engagement and educational aspirations. Forty-nine African American university students retrospectively discuss the manner by which their friends influenced their academic commitment and activity while in high school; their postsecondary education aspirations,…

The educational aspirations of Black males in urban, suburban, and rural high schools were examined in this study, using a nationally-representative sample of respondents to the National Educational Longitudinal Study (NELS:88/00). Hierarchical linear regression analysis revealed statistically significant relationships between aspirations and SES,…

Formulates three reference group hypotheses to explain why some disadvantaged students achieve more highly than others. Focusing on low SES Hispanic language minority students, analysis shows that both middle class and Hispanic reference group orientations have a positive impact on educational achievement. (PS)