The authors interviewed Black and Latino students from five high-poverty high schools as they attempted to make the transition into college. Their ability to exert individual agency with regard to their entrance exams and their college transition was circumscribed by the messages and behavioral norms that dominated their low-performing high school context. Students preserved their sense of academic competence, yet they drastically misestimated the relevance of their scores while remaining uninformed about their level of college readiness or how to improve it. The framework for analysis comes from three theories: college choice process, cultural capital, and self-efficacy.
The present study explores how international students’ (IS; N = 169; Mage = 19.81 years, 36% male) identity fusion, the extent to which they feel connected with a particular social group, is concurrently and longitudinally correlated with belonging, loneliness, well-being, and perceived social support. IS reported higher fusion with other IS than with domestic students (DS). Fusion with IS at Time 1 (T1) was associated with greater IS support at T1 and Time 2 (T2). Fusion with DS was positively correlated with T1 belonging, well-being, and DS support at both time points, and was negatively linked with loneliness at T1 and T2. IS and DS fusion also interacted in predicting T1 belonging and loneliness. Students with proportionally greater DS than IS fusion reported greater DS support, and proportionally greater IS fusion was related to greater IS support. Discussion centers on promoting adjustment and intergroup relationships in higher education.
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