African Americans and College Choice: The Influence of Family and School

7. Decision Making by High School Type: High Schools Successful in Channeling

CHAPTER 7 Decision Making by High School Type: High Schools Successful in Channeling Although much has been written about the influence of the location of the high school attended on a student’s decision to attend college (Boyle, 1966), it is not so much the location of the high school as the funding available and services provided that can make the difference in the ability of schools to channel students toward higher education. To imply that simply because a high school is located in the inner-city the students attending that school will not desire to attend college does not hold true, as demonstrated in the cross section of students in my study from the different high school types who indicated their desire to continue their studies after high school. While it is recognized that not as many students attending inner-city high schools actually go to college as those from magnet or suburban high schools, there are many students attending inner-city schools who desire to pursue higher education and, depending on the type of college-geared services provided by the high school, will act on that desire. It is for this reason that it is extremely important to examine various high school types to determine what it is that makes some successful in influencing students to apply to college, rather than to write off certain high schools because of their location. 69 This chapter, therefore, will focus on those aspects of various high school types that have been successful in channeling students to elect college and will look specifically at (1) the characteristics of the high schools that assist students in the college choice process and (2) how these high schools differ from the high schools that are not as successful in channeling students. High School Types and Students’ Choice: What the Research Indicates Boyle’s (1966) seminal work titled “The Effect of the High School on Students’ Aspirations” provides the best framework for understanding how students at various high school types differ in choosing higher education participation. In reviewing the works of other researchers, such as Coleman, as a way to summarize his findings, Boyle proposed, as set forth in figure 7.1, a network of interrelated factors to explain the pattern of influence of high schools on students. He indicated that individual factors, such as scholastic ability and motivation, are influenced by each high school’s (1) basic factors (structural characteristics and population composition), (2) “society-level” consequences of the basic factors (the divergence of the structural characteristics and peer groups of the high school), and (3) individual-level consequences (scholastic ability and motivation). More specifically, regarding the divergent educational standards and scholastic development of the high school, Boyle, citing Wilson, explained that some schools provide their students with better educational opportunities than others due to residential segregation. As an example, he wrote that “teachers in predominately working-class schools came to expect less of their students than teachers in more middle-class schools and to key their teaching to these expectations” (p. 631). After his review of previous studies and findings from his own study, Boyle drew three important conclusions: 1. The population composition of a high school does have an important effect on the aspirations of its students, but the effect is much stronger in larger cities than smaller communities. 2. One important but (at least in metropolitan areas) partial explanation for this effect is the differential success of high schools in the scholastic abilities of their students. 70 African Americans and College Choice Figure 7.1. Schematic Diagram of Factors Leading to Variation in the College Aspirations of Students Attending Different High Schools 3. The failure of scholastic ability to explain all of the effects of metropolitan high schools points to the existence of other explanations, such as the influence of the peer group, but occupational or social-class values do not sufficiently account for these effects (p. 639). Essentially, Boyle suggested that the high school attended does explain some difference in students’ postsecondary education plans, but that there is a great deal left unexplained as it relates to the effect of the high school on students’ aspirations. Decision Making by High School Type 71 Source: Boyle 1966. Individual-level consequences “Society-level” consequences Basic Factors Plans for or against attending college, or some other index of aspiration Scholastic abilities of the students Educational standards and practices of high schools Restraints...