Valley Stream South High School senior Breanna Villarreal had her Capstone research project published in the prestigious journal The Young Researcher. Breanna’s research project, titled “Immigrant Parents and Academic Success: Generational Status and Race on Academic Achievement” looks into the academic advantages and disadvantages held by second- and-third generation children of immigrants.
Under the guidance of AP teachers Jeanette Azzaretto, Katie Graves, Mike O’Brien and Katie Kennedy, Breanna conducted a detailed literature review on the topic and aligned her methodology with previous researchers on the topic to explore a gap in the research. She also surveyed 64 second- and- third generation students between the ages of 14 and 18 to assess feelings of cultural identity, perceived and real academic success, and academic motivations.
Using a combination of statistical analysis and comparisons to the means of different data sets Breanna’s research confirmed widely accepted academic advantages held by second-generation students, but also found that Hispanic or Latino students may not be at as much of an academic disadvantage as previous research has indicated.
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Breanna Villarreal