Abstract
This study tested a modified version of Tinto's student attrition model on a Chicano student population in two-year colleges. Structural equation modeling and LISREL VI were used to examine the parameter estimates of the structural and measurement models of the hypothesized causal model. Measures of goodness of fit were examined to provide indices for the overall fit of the causal model in the study. The measurement and structural models were found to represent a plausible causal model of student retention among Chicano students. Although the measures used in assessing the fit of the model reflected the overall strength of the hypothesized model, the present study was not entirely supportive of Tinto's model. The findings were only minimally supportive of the hypothesized relationship between measures of academic integration and retention. The results indicated that the hypothesized relationship between measures of social integration could not be substantiated. Moreover, measures of initial commitments were found to have a significantly large direct effect on the dependent variable, retention.
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Nora, A. Determinants of retention among Chicano college students: A structural model. Res High Educ 26, 31–59 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00991932
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00991932