Navigating college search and choice: How immigrant capital paves a path to postsecondary education for first-generation Students of Color

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dc.contributor.advisorGriffin, Kimberly Aen_US
dc.contributor.authorMalcolm, Moya Nikishaen_US
dc.contributor.departmentCounseling and Personnel Servicesen_US
dc.contributor.publisherDigital Repository at the University of Marylanden_US
dc.contributor.publisherUniversity of Maryland (College Park, Md.)en_US
dc.date.accessioned2023-06-25T05:42:43Z
dc.date.available2023-06-25T05:42:43Z
dc.date.issued2023en_US
dc.description.abstractImmigrant youth represent one of the fastest growing and most diverse groups in the U.S. K-16 system. Though immigrant youth generally report high educational aspirations, they face multiple interrelated obstacles to postsecondary enrollment. Despite barriers, data indicate that immigrants are going to college and in some cases are enrolling at a rate higher than their non-immigrant counterparts. Previous research highlights multiple forms of capital, including community cultural wealth (Yosso, 2005), that immigrants who share a racial or ethnic background leverage to access higher education. However, few studies have examined the extent to which immigrants, across race and ethnicity, engage similar resources to navigate the college choice process. This study sheds light on the pre-college experiences of a racially diverse sample of 1.5-generation immigrants who, at the time of this study, were first-year students at a 4-year institution.The following research questions guided this study: (a) How do low-income immigrant students of color engage in the college search and choice process? (b) How do various forms of capital and community resources shape students’ college choice process. Through semistructured interviews, 10 Asian, Black, and Latinx immigrants shared detailed accounts of their family background, migration, and transition to U.S. schools; development of college aspirations; and college search, application, and decision-making experiences. Participants also discussed the tools and resources they used, individuals who assisted them, and how they made sense of their experiences, significant moments, and turning points in their journey. Findings reveal multiple forms of capital that developed within participants’ immigrant families: capital that fostered an early predisposition toward college and enabled participants to navigate a complex college application process, during the COVID-19 pandemic, to ultimately gain admission to multiple postsecondary institutions. Findings from this study suggest immigrant capital as a unifying concept capturing skills, assets, and perspectives immigrants use to achieve their educational goals. Findings also have implications for future research, policy, and practice.en_US
dc.identifierhttps://doi.org/10.13016/dspace/o38x-fvtf
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/30143
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.subject.pqcontrolledHigher educationen_US
dc.subject.pqcontrolledSecondary educationen_US
dc.subject.pquncontrolledcapitalen_US
dc.subject.pquncontrolledcollege accessen_US
dc.subject.pquncontrolledcollege choice processen_US
dc.subject.pquncontrolledcommunity cultural wealthen_US
dc.subject.pquncontrolledhigher educationen_US
dc.subject.pquncontrolledimmigrantsen_US
dc.titleNavigating college search and choice: How immigrant capital paves a path to postsecondary education for first-generation Students of Coloren_US
dc.typeDissertationen_US

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