| Although current statistics show the Latino student dropout rate is one of the highest in the country, there are many Latino students who continue to persevere and graduate even in the face of numerous risk factors. This study sought to better understand this phenomenon by exploring the role of identified protective factors (e.g., perceived parental academic support and academic self-efficacy) in Latino students' intentions to return the following academic year and graduate in the future. It was hypothesized that the presence of these protective factors will moderate the effects of the risk factor home-school dissonance An exploration of gender differences was also conducted to examine any possible impact on the hypothesized moderator model. Using hierarchical multiple regression analyses, it was found that both of the hypothesized interaction effects were found to be insignificant. On the other hand, both perceived parental support and academic self efficacy were each positively correlated with the students' intention to return the following year. Gender was negatively related to the students' intention to return the following year and male students' intentions to return to school the following year was lower than those of the female students. A discussion of the results, limitations, implications for practice and future research are provided. Future research examining these variables and relationships is needed. |
