Aspirations of attainment

A critical examination of state policy goals and the disparities in the Latinx community

Bibliographic Data

ID12976167
AuthorsEric R Felix (0000-0002-6116-0214, San Diego State University, corresponding author), Fernando García (0000-0002-3953-8364, University of California, Los Angeles)
Year2023
Volume17
Issue5
Pages748-760
Publication date2023-01-12
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Diversity in Higher Education (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1938-8934 • E-ISSN: 1938-8926
PublisherAmerican Psychological Association (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1037/dhe0000466
OpenAlexW4315705380
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited15

Improving postsecondary educational attainment has been prioritized as a national imperative by policymakers, foundations, and advocacy groups with the goal of significantly increasing the share of college graduates.To achieve this imperative, individual states have developed college-level attainment policies and plans to reach target milestones by years 2025, 2030, and beyond.Although states have taken on the challenge of college completion, there has been little attention placed on the racial disparities that exist in attainment and the ways they are potentially addressed through these efforts.Of all racial and ethnic groups, the Latinx community faces the lowest attainment rate in 34 of 50 states.Knowing these wide disparities exist, we studied state-level attainment plans and the discourse around addressing Latinx disparities.Using critical policy analysis, we found little evidence that attainment plans acknowledge or address racial disparities in general or the glaring gaps for the Latinx community specifically.Our findings reveal that the primary discourse around improving attainment is an economic one, focused on improving rates to sustain and achieve workforce demands.Across attainment plans, we found three patterns of discourse-deficitoriented, race-evasive, or race-conscious-that attempt to acknowledge inequities and take action to improve rates for the Latinx community.Our findings suggest that without explicit language in attainment efforts, racial inequities will persist and the goals of improved attainment cannot be achieved

Demographic economics · Economic growth · Economics · Educational attainment · Higher education · Policy analysis · Political science · Sociology · State (computer science · State policy · Latin American and Latino Studies · Migration, Ethnicity, and Economy · Psychology · Public Administration · Racial and Ethnic Identity Research

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Open DOIOpen Access