Sin papeles y rompiendo barreras: Latino students and the challenges of persisting in college.
01 Dec 2009-Harvard Educational Review (Harvard Education Publishing Group)-Vol. 79, Iss: 4, pp 610-632
TL;DR: Contreras et al. as mentioned in this paper presented a qualitative case study consisting of twenty semistructured, in-depth interviews with undocumented Latino students in an effort to help readers understand the experiences and challenges facing them in higher education in Washington State.
Abstract: Undocumented Latino students in higher education represent a resilient, determined, and inspirational group of high achievers who persevere and serve as a model for success. Here, Frances Contreras presents a qualitative case study consisting of twenty semistructured, in-depth interviews with undocumented Latino students in an effort to help readers understand the experiences and challenges facing them in higher education in Washington State. Contreras's research explores the navigational processes these students employ in pursuing higher education and fulfilling their educational aspirations. Her findings provide insight into the implementation of HB 1079—the Washington State DREAM Act—in multiple institutional contexts and make recommendations for national and state policy communities. Her findings also demonstrate the critical need for universities to examine their institutional practices and efforts to support these achievers who have already beaten tremendous odds by entering the halls of higher educ...
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TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined the high school experiences of a sample of undocumented young adults and examined the ways in which school structures shape access to resources needed for post-secondary matriculation.
Abstract: Over the last few years, increasing scholarly and media attention has been paid to the plight of undocumented immigrant college students. However, only a small fraction of undocumented youth actually moves on from high school to postsecondary opportunities. Indeed, the exclusion from financial aid eligibility and low family socioeconomic status severely limit undocumented students’ ability to matriculate to institutions of higher learning. But little is known about the ways in which school experiences shape postsecondary outcomes. This article focuses on the high school experiences of a sample of undocumented young adults and examines the ways in which school structures shape access to resources needed for postsecondary matriculation. In doing so, I argue that school-based networks are critical for success. However, these networks are fundamentally shaped by the school structure. This article draws from 78 in-depth life histories of undocumented Latino young adults in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. I ...
212 citations
Cites background from "Sin papeles y rompiendo barreras: L..."
...Focusing primarily on the experiences of undocumented university students, this research has documented their struggles on campus (Contreras, 2009; Perez-Huber & Malagon, 2007), academic resilience (Perez, Espinoza, Ramos, Coronado, & Cortes, 2009), and their civic activity (Abrego, 2008; Gonzales,…...
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TL;DR: In this article, a systematic review was conducted to produce an up-to-date and comprehensive summary of qualitative and quantitative evidence specific to the factors related to undergraduate Latina/o student academic success outcomes during college.
Abstract: A systematic review was conducted to produce an up-to-date and comprehensive summary of qualitative and quantitative evidence specific to the factors related to undergraduate Latina/o student academic success outcomes during college. The purpose of the study was to make sense of and provide critique to this rapidly growing body of research, as well as to direct future research efforts. Findings indicate that a combination of (a) sociocultural characteristics; (b) academic self-confidence; (c) beliefs, ethnic/racial identity, and coping styles; (d) precollege academic experiences; (e) college experiences; (f) internal motivation and commitment; (g) interactions with supportive individuals; (h) perceptions of the campus climate/environment; and (i) institutional type/characteristics are related to one or more academic success outcomes for Latina/o students. The article concludes with specific recommendations including the use of additional methods, frameworks and perspectives that we hope will be useful in ...
125 citations
Cites background from "Sin papeles y rompiendo barreras: L..."
...Findings from 20 interviews with Latina/o students who attended various institutions in Washington revealed that undocumented students may face obstacles above and beyond other Latina/o students in college....
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...This issue was shown to be of particular relevance to undocumented students who do not qualify for state or federal aid (Contreras, 2009)....
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...However, it is notable that the reviewed research provided some attention to academic success among undocumented students (i.e., Alexander, Garcia, Gonzalez, Grimes, & O’Brien, 2007; Contreras, 2009)....
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...At the same time, qualitative findings suggest discriminatory campus experiences, such as negative interactions with school officials and isolation, were barriers to success for undocumented Latina/o students in Washington (Contreras, 2009)....
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...In particular, results indicated that persistence among undocumented students may be influenced by struggles with fear of deportation for themselves and their families as well as concerns about permanent residency after graduation (Contreras, 2009)....
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TL;DR: Suarez-Orozco et al. as mentioned in this paper investigated how to improve undocumented undergraduate student experiences across a variety of US campuses, drawing on a national survey of diverse undocumented undergraduates attending two and four-year public and private institutions of higher education.
Abstract: In this article, Carola Suarez-Orozco and colleagues investigate how to improve undocumented undergraduate student experiences across a variety of US campuses. The authors draw on a national survey of diverse undocumented undergraduates attending two- and four-year public and private institutions of higher education. Using an ecological framework that accounts for risk and resilience, Suarez-Orozco and colleagues provide insights into the challenges undocumented undergraduates face and the assets they bring as they navigate their educational contexts. The authors also consider the role of campuses in shaping these experiences and make recommendations, based on quantitative data and the perspectives of students, for creating undocufriendly campuses.
125 citations
Cites background from "Sin papeles y rompiendo barreras: L..."
...Thus, many experience fear of relatives’ or their own deportation, causing isolation and depression (Contreras, 2009; Garcia & Tierney, 2011; Perez, 2009; Perry, 2006)....
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...Peer networks are a particularly important source of support for undocumented college students (Contreras, 2009; Pérez Huber & Malagon, 2007; Perez et al., 2009)....
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...Highly engaged with their communities while juggling work and school, some go on to do remarkably well in college (Contreras, 2009; Perez, 2010; Perez et al., 2009)....
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...An important body of research chronicling undocumented undergraduates’ experiences has emerged over the last decade and has contributed to our understanding of both the stresses that undocumented youth face (Abrego, 2006; Contreras, 2009; Gonzales, 2011; Perez, 2009) and their remarkable resilience (Flores & Chapa, 2009; Gonzales, 2008; Muñoz & Maldonado, 2012; Perez, 2009; Perez, Espinoza, Ramos, Coronado, & Cortes, 2009)....
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...Safe spaces, such as organizations for undocumented students, provide opportunities to connect with other undocumented students, identify educator allies, and find information and resources related to their status (Contreras, 2009; Pérez Huber & Malagon, 2007)....
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TL;DR: A range of policies and practices that could reduce the developmental harm to children, youth, and their families stemming from this status are summarized.
Abstract: In the United States, 5.3 million children and adolescents are growing up either with unauthorized status or with at least one parent who has that status. Until recently, little in the way of research has informed federal, state, and local policy debates related to unauthorized status (e.g., border enforcement, deportation, and a pathway to citizenship) although these issues have important implications for youth development. This statement is a brief summary of the research evidence on multiple domains of development that may be affected by the child or parent's unauthorized status. We also describe the contextual and psychological mechanisms that may link this status to developmental outcomes. We summarize a range of policies and practices that could reduce the developmental harm to children, youth, and their families stemming from this status. Finally, we conclude with recommendations for policy, practice, and research that are based on the evidence reviewed.
114 citations
TL;DR: Evidence is offered that the condition of ‘illegality’ functions as a ‘master status’ that has an overpowering effect on students' college pathways, and that undocumented students' legal status often leads them to stop out.
Abstract: Community colleges in the United States (US) remain relatively accessible to students from immigrant families. However, undocumented immigrant students encounter difficulties in staying continuously enrolled in community colleges because they contend with multiple disadvantages. These students often 'stop out', or withdraw with intentions to return. This mixed-methods study explores the non-continuous enrolment of students from immigrant families. Drawing on survey data from a randomly selected sample of community college students in California, logistic regression results indicate that although the children of immigrants exhibit an 'immigrant advantage' with respect to staying continuously enrolled in community college, those who remain undocumented stop out at disproportionately high rates. Through a comparative analysis of 80 semi-structured interviews with undocumented immigrants and US citizens, I outline the multidimensional ways in which a precarious legal status interferes with students' postsecondary schooling. Specifically, I suggest that undocumented students' legal status often leads them to stop out due to corresponding financial hardship, sub-standard employment options, the precarious legal status of other undocumented family members who rely on their earnings, and excessive stress. This study offers evidence that the condition of 'illegality' functions as a 'master status' that has an overpowering effect on students' college pathways.
102 citations
References
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Book•
12 Jan 1994
TL;DR: This book presents a step-by-step guide to making the research results presented in reports, slideshows, posters, and data visualizations more interesting, and describes how coding initiates qualitative data analysis.
Abstract: Matthew B. Miles, Qualitative Data Analysis A Methods Sourcebook, Third Edition. The Third Edition of Miles & Huberman's classic research methods text is updated and streamlined by Johnny Saldana, author of The Coding Manual for Qualitative Researchers. Several of the data display strategies from previous editions are now presented in re-envisioned and reorganized formats to enhance reader accessibility and comprehension. The Third Edition's presentation of the fundamentals of research design and data management is followed by five distinct methods of analysis: exploring, describing, ordering, explaining, and predicting. Miles and Huberman's original research studies are profiled and accompanied with new examples from Saldana's recent qualitative work. The book's most celebrated chapter, "Drawing and Verifying Conclusions," is retained and revised, and the chapter on report writing has been greatly expanded, and is now called "Writing About Qualitative Research." Comprehensive and authoritative, Qualitative Data Analysis has been elegantly revised for a new generation of qualitative researchers. Johnny Saldana, The Coding Manual for Qualitative Researchers, Second Edition. The Second Edition of Johnny Saldana's international bestseller provides an in-depth guide to the multiple approaches available for coding qualitative data. Fully up-to-date, it includes new chapters, more coding techniques and an additional glossary. Clear, practical and authoritative, the book: describes how coding initiates qualitative data analysis; demonstrates the writing of analytic memos; discusses available analytic software; suggests how best to use the book for particular studies. In total, 32 coding methods are profiled that can be applied to a range of research genres from grounded theory to phenomenology to narrative inquiry. For each approach, Saldana discusses the method's origins, a description of the method, practical applications, and a clearly illustrated example with analytic follow-up. A unique and invaluable reference for students, teachers, and practitioners of qualitative inquiry, this book is essential reading across the social sciences. Stephanie D. H. Evergreen, Presenting Data Effectively Communicating Your Findings for Maximum Impact. This is a step-by-step guide to making the research results presented in reports, slideshows, posters, and data visualizations more interesting. Written in an easy, accessible manner, Presenting Data Effectively provides guiding principles for designing data presentations so that they are more likely to be heard, remembered, and used. The guidance in the book stems from the author's extensive study of research reporting, a solid review of the literature in graphic design and related fields, and the input of a panel of graphic design experts. Those concepts are then translated into language relevant to students, researchers, evaluators, and non-profit workers - anyone in a position to have to report on data to an outside audience. The book guides the reader through design choices related to four primary areas: graphics, type, color, and arrangement. As a result, readers can present data more effectively, with the clarity and professionalism that best represents their work.
41,986 citations
01 Jan 2007
TL;DR: In this article, the chancellor of the UC Santa Cruz Campus includes five members of The Regents' Committee on Grounds and Buildings, there exists the potential for having present a quorum of the Regents’ Committee.
Abstract: Chancellor of the Santa Cruz Campus includes five members of The Regents’ Committee on Grounds and Buildings, there exists the potential for having present a quorum of the Regents’ Committee. Although no business of the Regents’ Committee will be considered by the Advisory Committee, this notice of meeting is served in order to comply fully with pertinent open meeting laws.
1,310 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined the extent to which these two theories can be merged in explaining students' persistence decisions by simultaneously testing all non-overlapping propositions underlying both conceptual frameworks.
Abstract: Although several theories have been advanced to explain the college persistence process |6, 44, 45, 50, 52~, only two theories have provided a comprehensive framework on college departure decisions. These two theoretical frameworks are Tinto's |50, 52~ Student Integration Model and Bean's |7~ Student Attrition Model. A review of the literature indicates that the Student Integration Model, for instance, has prompted a steady line of research expanding over a decade |see, for example, 37, 42, 30, 35, 24, 46, 18~. This research has validated Tinto's model across different types of institutions with differing student populations. In turn, the Student Attrition Model |4, 5, 6, 7, 10~ has also been proven to be valid in explaining student persistence behavior at traditional institutions |3, 4, 6, 7, 10, 18~, while modifications to the model have been incorporated to explain the persistence process among nontraditional students |9, 26~. Insofar as the two theories have attempted to explain the same phenomenon, no efforts have been made to examine the extent to which the two models can be merged to enhance our understanding of the process that affects students' decisions to remain in college. However, Cabrera, Castaneda, Nora, and Hengstler |18~ have provided evidence that there is considerable overlap between the two theoretical frameworks. Taking these findings one step further, this study attempts to document the extent to which these two theories can be merged in explaining students' persistence decisions by simultaneously testing all non-overlapping propositions underlying both conceptual frameworks. Theoretical Framework Student Integration Theory Building on Spady's |44, 45~ work, Tinto |50, 51, 52~ advanced a model of student departure that explains the process that motivates individuals to leave colleges and universities before graduating. Tinto's theory attributes attrition to the lack of congruency between students and institutions. Tinto's theory basically asserts that the matching between the student's motivation and academic ability and the institution's academic and social characteristics help shape two underlying commitments: commitment to an educational goal and commitment to remain with the institution. Accordingly, the higher the goal of college completion and/or the level of institutional commitment, the greater is the probability of persisting in college. The Student Integration Model has been subjected to considerable testing, and research findings have largely supported the predictive validity of the model as far as the role of precollege variables is concerned |37, 38~. Results are mixed, however, when the structural relations that the theory presumes to exist among academic integration, social integration, and institutional and goal commitments are subjected to empirical testing |14, 28, 30, 33, 39, 40, 36, 41, 46, 47~. Although contradictory findings have been attributed to type of institution, gender, ethnicity, and inconsistencies on the measurement of the constructs |19, 35, 31~, these mixed results can also be attributed to the lack of control for variables external to the institution. A major gap in Tinto's theory and allied research has been the role of external factors in shaping perceptions, commitments, and preferences |7~. This topic is particularly relevant from both a policy analysis and an institutional perspective, given the different social and institutional programs aimed at stimulating enrollment and preventing attrition by addressing variables other than institutional ones (that is, ability to pay, parental support). In spite of this limitation, researchers have found that the Student Integration Model is useful in exploring the role of such external factors as significant other's influence |30, 35, 19~ and finances |15, 19, 24, 30~. Student Attrition Model Over the years, Bean |3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8~ has advanced an alternative model to explain the college persistence process. …
1,017 citations
TL;DR: The authors found that African Americans and Hispanics exhibited both the lowest participation rates as well as the highest propensity to drop out from college, while white students were more likely to enroll and persist in college.
Abstract: College participation by minority students declined in the middle 1980s following a period of sustained growth [21]. This trend was particularly evident among African Americans and Hispanics [46] who exhibited both the lowest participation rates as well as the highest propensity to drop out from college. Porter's [45] analyses of the high-school senior class of 1980, for instance, revealed that Hispanic college students were 13 percent more prone to withdraw from college than were white students, whereas African American college students were 22 percent more likely to drop out than their white counterparts over a six-year period. These low persistence rates (even over extended periods of enrollment in college) are particularly troublesome from a policy perspective given the relationship that the attainment of a bachelor's degree has on subsequent occupational and economic attainment [44]. Several reasons have been advanced to account for these trends. Hauser and Anderson [21] explored the extent to which declines in college participation rates could be attributed to changes in college aspirations as well as to changes in high-school completion rates among African Americans. After analyzing college aspiration trends for both minorities and nonminorities over a period of thirty years and taking into account high-school completion rates and indicators of socioeconomic status, Hauser and Anderson could not find support for this hypothesis. Other researchers have speculated that the decline could be attributed to changes in the composition of federal assistance and to patterns of financing higher education exhibited by minority students. Porter [45] noted that declines in minorities' college participation rates correlated with the growth of student loans at the expense of grants. Olivas [41], Mortenson and Wu [31], and Mortenson [30] observed that African American and Hispanic students were less willing to go into debt to finance their college education than were white students. Moreover, Ekstrom [19] helped to establish and test the proposition that students willing to go into debt to finance their education were more likely to enroll and persist in college. An alternative explanation to the role of finances in the persistence process has stressed the influence of academic preparation for college. Tinto [56] argued that overall differences in persistence rates between minorities and nonminorities were primarily due to differences in their academic preparedness rather than differences in their socioeconomic backgrounds. Tinto further contended that these ability differences arise from prior educational experiences at the elementary and secondary educational levels which tend to favor the educational achievement of nonminorities relative to minorities. Some degree of support has been given to this hypothesis. St. John, Kirshstein, and Noell [50], for instance, reported that the effects of ethnicity disappeared once academic preparation for college was taken into account for the high-school class of 1980. The proposition that a lack of adjustment to predominantly white institutions and that perceptions of prejudice (racial climate) may lower the quality of college experiences of minority students has emerged as a competing explanation for the differences in persistence rates between minority and nonminority college students [for example, 1, 18, 23, 24, 28, 34, 35, 36, 53]. Fleming [18], in particular, has argued that adjustment problems with the curriculum, lack of support services, financial problems and the nature of interpersonal relationships with faculty, peers and academic staff are some of the experiences that negatively impact minority students attending predominantly white institutions. Likewise, Tracey and Sedlacek [57, 58, 59] have contended that noncognitive factors (that is, self-concept, an understanding of racism, and the ability to cope with it) play a more critical role in shaping academic performance in college and persistence decisions among minority students than do cognitive factors such as academic ability and study habits. …
799 citations
Book•
01 Jan 2010TL;DR: The Long View on Immigrant Students 1. Academic Engagement and Performance 2. Networks of Relationships 3. Less-Than-Optimal Schools 4. The Challenge of Learning English 5. Portraits of Declining Achievers 6. Portrait of Low Achiever 7.Portraits of Improvers 8.
Abstract: Introduction: The Long View on Immigrant Students 1. Academic Engagement and Performance 2. Networks of Relationships 3. Less-Than-Optimal Schools 4. The Challenge of Learning English 5. Portraits of Declining Achievers 6. Portraits of Low Achievers 7. Portraits of Improvers 8. Portraits of High Achievers Conclusion: Immigration Policy Dilemmas Notes References Acknowledgments Index Tables and Figures
679 citations