MIAMI. Hispanics who pursue tertiary and university studies in the United States face greater challenges than other groups in pursuing their higher education, including caring for children or adults in their family. .
A quarter of them also feel more discriminated against than other ethnic groups, harassed, physically and mentally insecure and that they are not respected, according to a Gallup and Lumina Foundation study released on Wednesday.
The analysis, based on a survey conducted in November 2022, revealed that Hispanics are the group most considering dropping out of school.
“We need to start addressing these challenges that we’re seeing these students tell us they’re facing,” said Zach Hrynowski, a Gallup researcher who specializes in education issues. “It is very important that when there are students who enroll in the programs, we do everything we can to get them to complete the program, because if they don’t, they may be in a worse situation than before they enrolled ,” he said. in a telephone interview with The Associated Press.
Discrimination for being Hispanic
More than half of Hispanic students (52%) are considering leaving their university studies or certification academies at least temporarily in 2022, an increase of 10 percentage points compared to 2020 and eight compared to 2021 , from according to the report “The state of higher education 2023”.
Asian students trail well, with 38%; black, with 34%, and white, with 33%.
Those who do not complete their studies have to pay the costs and this affects their financial situation even if they do not receive any diploma and they also do not benefit from what they paid for.
On average, college graduates earn nearly a million dollars more in their working years than adults without a degree, according to a Gallup and US study “Education for What?” Lumina.
Hispanic enrollment in institutions of higher education has increased dramatically over the past two decades, from 1.5 million students in 2000 to 2.8 million in 2019, a reflection of the rapid growth of this group. of the US population, according to the Pew Research Center.
About 63.7 million Hispanics live in the United States, the fastest growing minority in the country, according to information from the 2022 Census Bureau.
Hispanics are the most likely to cite caring for an adult or a child among their responsibilities, which helps explain at least in part why many of them consider dropping out of school, according to Gallup’s analysis.
Almost half of them (47%) said that they were taking care of other people or parents, 13% indicated that they thought of leaving their studies because they had childcare responsibilities and 14% because because they have to take care of an adult in the family. or a friend. .
It adds discrimination, as another possible reason.
One in four Hispanic students pursuing tertiary or university studies said they “always” or at least “sometimes” experienced discrimination, harassment, or physical and psychological insecurity in the institutions where they pursued their studies. , a rate higher than that of other races. or ethnicity, according to the study.
These types of feelings are usually reported by the group of Hispanics who continue short studies, such as technical and industrial certifications offered by public universities and other institutions of higher education.
“This is a very significant challenge for Hispanic students,” Hrynowski explained. “They are twice as likely as students who did not experience negative experiences in their program to say they were considered dropouts.”
