Estela Zarate receives CORCL Grant
Assistant Professor Estela Zarate has been awarded a Council on Research Computing and Libraries (CORCL) grant to study early experience predictors of high school completion. As part of her research she will be looking at variations by gender. Dr. Zarate's research foci include college access, gender equity, and diversity and equity.
Abstract
Existing analyses of predictors of high school and post-high school outcomes for Latino students have primarily relied on identifying “risk” indicators as far back as 8th grade. Lack of longitudinal data with adequate representation of Latinos has limited our understanding of how early schooling experiences impact academic and economic outcomes much later. Taking advantage of a 15-year longitudinal study of 121 Latino families in Southern California, I propose to study how early experiences predict high school completion and how these predictors vary by gender. The dataset offers incomparably rich data that allows for investigating previously unexamined indicators of Latinos’ educational experiences, such as early literacy and language experiences and more nuanced measures of family socioeconomic status. The findings will not only have implications for the design of intervention programs, but will also provide a framework for a future study that will seek to reconnect with this sample and examine how schooling experiences influenced college completion or economic status, ten years later.
