The Source of the River:
The Social Origins of Freshmen at America's Selective Colleges and Universities
Douglas S. Massey, Camille Z. Charles, Garvey F. Lundy, & Mary J. Fischer

Paper | 2006 | $23.95 / £13.95
Cloth | 2002 | $60.00 / £35.00
304 pp. | 6 x 9 | 66 tables. 19 line illus.

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African Americans and Latinos earn lower grades and drop out of college more often than whites or Asians. Yet thirty years after deliberate minority recruitment efforts began, we still don't know why. In The Shape of the River, William Bowen and Derek Bok documented the benefits of affirmative action for minority students, their communities, and the nation at large. But they also found that too many failed to achieve academic success. In The Source of the River, Douglas Massey and his colleagues investigate the roots of minority underperformance in selective colleges and universities. They explain how such factors as neighborhood, family, peer group, and early schooling influence the academic performance of students from differing racial and ethnic origins and differing social classes.

Drawing on a major new source of data--the National Longitudinal Survey of Freshmen--the authors undertake a comprehensive analysis of the diverse pathways by which whites, African Americans, Latinos, and Asians enter American higher education. Theirs is the first study to document the different characteristics that students bring to campus and to trace out the influence of these differences on later academic performance. They show that black and Latino students do not enter college disadvantaged by a lack of self-esteem. In fact, overconfidence is more common than low self-confidence among some minority students. Despite this, minority students are adversely affected by racist stereotypes of intellectual inferiority. Although academic preparation is the strongest predictor of college performance, shortfalls in academic preparation are themselves largely a matter of socioeconomic disadvantage and racial segregation.

Presenting important new findings, The Source of the River documents the ongoing power of race to shape the life chances of America's young people, even among the most talented and able.

Reviews:

"This is scholarship of the first order, a study that will influence thinking about our society for the next generation."--Jay Mathews, Washington Monthly

"This is a beautifully written book. Each word is so carefully chosen and the style so limpid that the text is a pleasure to read. . . . In short, this is a book that should be bought and read by every serious student of education."--Terence Kealey, The Times Higher Education Supplement

Endorsements:

"For examining the race difference in early college performance and achievement, The Source of the River is a very important book of well-designed and executed social science research. Massey and his colleagues are superb at presenting fresh evidence, and their analyses provide new insight into many of the established contributors to the relatively low early college performance and socialization of African American and Latino students compared to whites and Asian Americans attending the nation's elite colleges and universities. In addition to revealing the overwhelming and cumulative effect of cultural capital, The Source of the River is most effective in either refuting prevailing theories or challenging their generalizations about the race differences in student performance in American education generally and in colleges and universities in particular. The Source of the River should be very helpful to colleges and universities that are interested and actively engaged in pursuing higher performance and greater success for under-represented college students. It provides potent new content to include in the dialog and debate among students, faculty, parents, and policymakers about existing efforts for closing performance and achievement."--Michael T. Nettles, University of Michigan

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Table of Contents:

LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES vii
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS xi
CHAPTER ONE: The Puzzle of Minority Underachievement 1
CHAPTER TWO: Sample and Methodology 20
CHAPTER THREE: Family Origins 46
CHAPTER FOUR: Neighborhood Background 70
CHAPTER FIVE: Prior Educational Experiences 87
CHAPTER SIX: The Social World of High School 109
CHAPTER SEVEN: Racial Identity and Attitudes 133
CHAPTER EIGHT: Pathways to Preparation 155
CHAPTER NINE: Sink or Swim: The First Semester 184
CHAPTER TEN: Lessons Learned 197
Appendix A.Survey of College Life and Experience: First-Wave Instrument 209
Appendix B.Construction of Social Scales 251
REFERENCES 269
INDEX 279

Another Princeton book by Douglas S. Massey:

• Return of the "L" Word: A Liberal Vision for the New Century.

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• Education
• Sociology
• Economics
• Political Science and International Relations

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File created: 9/3/2008

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