Acculturation and achievement goal orientation of Latino students

Individuals, who identify themselves as Latin American or Latino, are the fastest growing ethnic segment of the population in the United States and the nation\u27s largest minority group. Despite their growing numbers, Latino students are faced with numerous challenges in the American school system. Literature on achievement goal orientation suggests that student goal orientation is linked to academic outcomes. Furthermore, studies suggest that parental and acculturation factors may independently influence the achievement goal orientation of Latino students. The current study explored the role acculturation and parental factors play in the achievement goal orientation of Latino students and sought to provide a basis for further research on acculturation and academic success for Latino students. Data were gathered from 170 Latino middle school students in New York City schools. Participants were asked to complete the Patterns of Adaptive Learning Scales and Bidimensional Acculturation Scale to assess goal orientation and acculturation respectively. Results indicated non-Latino acculturation was positively associated with student mastery goal orientation, and students\u27 perceptions of parent mastery goals. Furthermore, students who scored high on performance-approach, and/or performance-avoidance goal orientations, also perceived their parents as having strong performance goals