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Diversity Gap Among Latino Students

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color were just 18% of the teaching profession (Boser, 2014). That is a 1-percentage point increase from 2011 to 2014. The significant diversity gap between students and teachers is a problem for students, schools, and the public at large.

Purpose of the Study
According to Tyler and Lofstrom (2009), a student’s decision to drop out of school is affected by a number of complex factors and is often the culmination of a long process of disengagement from school. Garcia-Reid, Reid, and Peterson’s (2005) study recognizes that many Latino youth enter school at an educational disadvantage, mainly because English is not their primary language. Other factors that prevent educational attainment are: poverty, exposure to crime and violence in their local …show more content…

However, the youth is neither disengaged from education nor disinterested. Rather, many educators and leaders fail to see the promise and potential of these young adults because there is a cultural disconnect. Through this study, the factors that influence academic success are drawn from interviews with former Latino high school graduates and dropouts. The aim of this study is to improve the education experience for Latino students in Lawrence, …show more content…

6). Throughout this study, due to the negative connotation with the term high-risk, the term is used interchangeably with terminologies such as underprivileged, underrepresented, or underserved youth.
In this study, I focus on Latino dropouts that are “disconnected” or “disengaged” youth. The two terms are used to refer to the same population of young adults, from ages 16-24, who are not enrolled in school nor working (Rendón, 2014). Also, for the purposes of this research, urban is synonymous to the underserved, poor, marginalized and the ethnic minority (Nygreen, Kwon, & Sánchez, 2006).
Literature Review
Researchers have found that although individuals have unique reasons for dropping out, several influences ranging from family background to school characteristics are highly interrelated in a student’s decision to leave (Brown & Rodriguez, 2009; Dalton, Glennie, & Ingels, 2009; Valencia, 2011). In this text, the context in which a student disengages from school will be examined, considering at times the social arrangement between teacher and student that might either amend or reproduce the circumstances associated with leaving

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