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The Black Student Experience. Maryland Longitudinal Study Research Highlights. Research Report #15.

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Bibliographic Details
Title:	The Black Student Experience. Maryland Longitudinal Study Research Highlights. Research Report #15.
Language:	English
Authors:	Maryland Univ., College Park. Maryland Longitudinal Study Steering Committee.
Availability:	Maryland Longitudinal Study, The University of Maryland at College Park, 2108 Mitchell Building, College Park, MD 20742.
Peer Reviewed:	N
Page Count:	22
Publication Date:	1990
Intended Audience:	Practitioners
Document Type:	Reports - Research
Descriptors:	Academic Achievement, Academic Persistence, Black Students, Career Choice, Educational Experience, Higher Education, Interaction, Longitudinal Studies, Occupational Aspiration, State Universities
Abstract:	The report studies the interaction between black students' academic performance and their vocational identity, and the impact this interaction has on their higher education experience. Using data from the Maryland Longitudinal Study for 339 black students at the University of Maryland-College Park (UMCP), students were placed into one of four categories based on their academic performance during their freshman year and on their degree of vocational clarity at the end of their freshman year: "undirected" students who had a below average vocational identity and had been placed on academic probation, "unrealistic" students who had an above average vocational identity yet had been placed on academic probation, "potential" students who were in good academic standing yet had a below average vocational identity, and "achiever" students who were in good academic standing and had an above average vocational identity. Findings suggest that strong academic skills are critical for persistence to graduation, that a strong vocational identity does not compensate for weak academic skills, and that a combination of strong academic skills and a sense of the relevance of the college experience to one's future career plans is most predictive of persistence to graduation. Summary statistics and a list of 14 references are appended. (JDD)
Entry Date:	1990
Accession Number:	ED319353
Database:	ERIC

Description
Abstract:	The report studies the interaction between black students' academic performance and their vocational identity, and the impact this interaction has on their higher education experience. Using data from the Maryland Longitudinal Study for 339 black students at the University of Maryland-College Park (UMCP), students were placed into one of four categories based on their academic performance during their freshman year and on their degree of vocational clarity at the end of their freshman year: "undirected" students who had a below average vocational identity and had been placed on academic probation, "unrealistic" students who had an above average vocational identity yet had been placed on academic probation, "potential" students who were in good academic standing yet had a below average vocational identity, and "achiever" students who were in good academic standing and had an above average vocational identity. Findings suggest that strong academic skills are critical for persistence to graduation, that a strong vocational identity does not compensate for weak academic skills, and that a combination of strong academic skills and a sense of the relevance of the college experience to one's future career plans is most predictive of persistence to graduation. Summary statistics and a list of 14 references are appended. (JDD)