Adolescents’ Expectations for Higher Education in Bogotá, Colombia, and La Paz, Bolivia

Keywords

status attainment, educational expectations, Latin America

Abstract

Drawing on status attainment models, the authors examine the effects of family, peer, and school factors on expectations to graduate from a university for a sample of high school students in Bogotá, Colombia, and La Paz, Bolivia. The expansion of higher education in these countries has followed different strategies. In Bolivia, the policy has been to increase access to higher education, however at the cost of quality. In Colombia, expansion has been slower and has attempted to improve the quality of education. Although each context is distinct, students in both cities have similar expectations to graduate from a university. Access to education, however, is still very closely tied to socioeconomic background in Bogotá, whereas family structure is the primary factor influencing expectations in La Paz. We conclude that family factors as well as the context of higher education influence the expectations of high school students to graduate from a university.

Original Publication Citation

Forste, Renata, Tim B. Heaton, and David W. Haas. 2004.“Adolescents’ Expectations for Higher Education in Bogotá, Colombia,and La Paz, Bolivia.” Youth & Society,36(1):56-76

Document Type

Peer-Reviewed Article

Publication Date

2004-09-01

Permanent URL

http://hdl.lib.byu.edu/1877/5623

Publisher

Youth & Society

Language

English

College

Family, Home, and Social Sciences

Department

Sociology

University Standing at Time of Publication

Full Professor

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