Paper Authors

Abstract

NOTE: The first page of text has been automatically extracted and included below in lieu of an abstract

Session ????

Increasing Georgia’s Hispanic Community into Higher Education

Barbara Bernal Thomas

School of Computing and Software Engineering Southern Polytechnic State University Marietta, Georgia 30060 bthomas@spsu.edu

Abstract

A comprehensive study of Georgia’s Hispanic population will enable academia to understand the historical progression of the Hispanic population in the state. The implications of this progression can help us address the overall impact of this population in academia. We want to ensure access to educational opportunities for the Hispanics. Other states can use this study to understand what the issues in Georgia are, gain knowledge and compare their state’s situation with regard to this growing community.

Introduction

The terms “Hispanic” and “Latino” are complex and include a range of cultures, races, ethnicities, nationalities, and even languages. The Hispanic population in the United States originates from countries primarily in Central America, South America and the Caribbean. These include Mexico, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Belize, Honduras, Nicaragua, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Guyana, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Peru, and also Spain and Portugal.3

Georgia has noticed an explosive growth in the state’s Hispanic population, currently at 475,000 and projected to increase to more than one million by 2020. Two decades has yielded an increase from 1 percent of Hispanics in metro Atlanta to the current 7 percent. The average age of Hispanics in Georgia in 1999 was 26.4 years old. The U.S. Census predicts the average age will be 28.1 in the year 2015. Nationally, the Hispanic population is younger than other populations; for example, under 15 years of age, • Hispanic 30 %, • African American 21%, • White non-Hispanic 20 %.3 What are the implications? We could suggest given this heavily younger population there is a definite opportunity to impact them while they are concentrated with in the K-12 education. This outreach can translate to opportunities for further higher education for Hispanics.

Proceedings of the 2003 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition Copyright © 2003, American Society for Engineering Education

• Citation

• Format
  • APA
  • APA - LaTeX bibitem
  • MLA
  • MLA - LaTeX bibitem
  • Bibtex
  • EndNote - RIS

Bernal, B. (2003, June), Increasing Georgia's Hispanic Community Into Higher Education Paper presented at 2003 Annual Conference, Nashville, Tennessee. 10.18260/1-2--12106