Counseling, Higher Education & Special Education Theses and Dissertations
Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/2757
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Item THE NEW SOUTH: A CASE ANALYSIS OF LATINO STUDENTS ATTENDING A HISTORICALLY BLACK UNIVERSITY IN NORTH CAROLINA(2013) Mena, Salvador Bienvenido; Komives, Susan; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of Latino students attending a historically Black university in North Carolina. The study was guided by the revised campus climate framework by Milem, Chang, and Antonio (2005). A case study methodological research design was used to explore the following two research questions: (a) What is the Latino student experience at an HBCU that is intentionally seeking to promote Latino student success? (b) How is the campus climate, as defined by Milem et al. (2005), experienced by Latino students at an HBCU? Individual interviews with 13 students, 3 faculty, and 2 staff members were conducted along with the examination of the case site (e.g., review of the institution's strategic plan). The study revealed five areas of focus for understanding and enhancing the Latino student HBCU experience: 1. The decision-making process by Latino students for enrolling at an HBCU; 2. Latino student acclimation to the HBCU campus environment; 3. The cultural dissonance experienced by Latino students in the HBCU setting; 4. The benefits of diversity derived from Latino student enrollment at an HBCU; and 5. Latino student engagement within the HBCU environment. Recommendations for future research and practice based on these five identified areas were made.Item The Lived Experience Of Latina/o Peer Mentees: A Hermeneutic Phenomenological Approach(2012) Gomez Riquelme, Luis Angelo; Hultgren, Francine; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This research is about the peer mentee experience of Latina/o students. For this purpose, a group of nine participants were selected, who were part of a peer mentoring program in a Mid-Atlantic public university. The experiences they shared were interpreted through the methodological lens of hermeneutic phenomenology. The purpose of this study is to begin filling in one of the voids in the mentoring practice, which is the experience of peer mentees, and what this study reveals is that the peer mentee experience is the result of loneliness and prejudice that Latina/o students are able to overcome when they have a good peer mentoring experience. This interpretation is done following Clark Moustakas' philosophy of being. Peer mentees receive guidance and help alleviating their solitude, which in this study is interpreted as being-with. Consequently, peer mentees find purpose and are reminded of the reason why they stay in college, which herein is interpreted through the existential concept of being-for. Finally, this study also reveals that being a peer mentee can help finding or making sense of being in college and recovering a sense of belonging, which is interpreted through the phenomenological concept of being-with. The recommendations of this study to improve this practice involve fostering community, creating a sense of belonging, and advocating for a pedagogical experience that is liberated of prejudices and assumptions about Latinas/os, in addition to continuing the support of peer mentoring.Item Addressing the Hispanic Dropout Crisis: Predicting the Educational Persistence of Mexican-Descent Students Using Demographic and Process Variables(2008-12-18) DiPaula, John Joseph; Lucas, Margaretha S; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)ABSTRACT While there has been a concerted effort to close the achievement gap and decrease school dropout rates for more than 30 years, Hispanic students are still dropping out of school at two and a half times the rate of black students, four times the rate of white students and almost eight times the rate of Asian students (Kaufman, Alt & Chapman, 2002). The Hispanic dropout crisis has been recognized as a national problem and was addressed by the federal government through the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, through its focus on closing the racial gap in graduation rates. Regrettably, data continues to suggest that this situation is not improving (U.S. Census Bureau, 2000). A more thorough understanding of the relationship between race/ethnicity and educational persistence is necessary to help create policies and practices to increase Hispanic graduation rates and close the graduation gap. Investigating deeper into this issue of Hispanics drop out, census data disaggregated by national origin, reveal that there are strong differences between nationalities and that Mexicans have the lowest rate of educational attainment among all Hispanic groups (U.S. Census Bureau, 2004). Due to the disparity in performance within the larger Hispanic population, this study will focus on the sub-group with the lowest educational attainment and highest drop out rate, Mexican youth. The purpose of this study is to investigate those input and process variables that may be influenced by school personnel in order to help increase Mexican-descent students' ability to persist in school toward graduation. The current study, in essence, will contribute to a better understanding of students' social support from adults at school (social capital) and the effect this has on students' educational expectations, attendance and persistence. The current study utilizes the Educational Longitudinal Study of 2002/2004 (ELS:2002/2004) dataset sponsored by NCES.Item "I GO TO SCHOOL TO LEARN": ATTITUDES, STRESSORS, AND SUPPORTS IN THE SCHOOL EXPERIENCES OF YOUNG LATINO IMMIGRANT STUDENTS(2005-08-31) Obara, Elizabeth; Leone, Peter; Special Education; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Immigrant children encounter various challenges involved in immigration, as well as cultural and language differences in school. These school experiences can lead to academic challenges, socioemotional difficulties, or special education referral. The present research assumed a developmental-ecological perspective to investigate school experiences and attitudes. This study explored the perceptions of a small group (n = 28) of recently immigrated 1st to 5th grade Latino children as ethnic and linguistic minorities in their schools. This mixed-methods investigation used the School Situation Survey (Helms & Gable, 1989) and a School Attitudes Interview (García Coll, et al., 2005) to explore student perceptions of school, the stress and supports they encounter, and attitudes towards schoolwork, classmates and teachers. Using a Family Background Survey completed by parents, contextual influences on student perceptions were also examined. Students had relatively low levels of stress and stress responses. Principal stressors for these students included teacher and peer interactions. School meal program participation (SES), special education, grade/age and length of residency were found to be significantly related to school stress and stress responses. Analysis did not show ESL instruction or parent variables as having a relationship with school stress, although limited English proficiency influenced students' dependency on friends, communication with teachers, and academic frustration. Students were generally positive about teachers, friends, learning, and school. Older students and students with longer U. S. residency had more negative attitudes towards teachers and school. Interview data revealed 3 themes: Expectations, Priorities: Learning, Behavior, and Performance, and Supportive Relationships. Implications for research, practice, policy and training are discussed, focusing on maintaining young students' positive aspirations, incorporating family support, and school awareness of immigrant students' needs. In hopes of understanding immigrant students' experiences in school and better addressing their needs, this research benefits both the field and practitioners in illustrating the specific viewpoints of young, 1st generation Latino students, and highlighting their strengths and needs in the U.S. school system.