First Advisor

Katrina L. Rodríguez

First Committee Member

Florence M. Guido

Second Committee Member

Betty Cardona

Third Committee Member

Genevieve Canales

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Document Type

Dissertation

Date Created

5-2013

Department

College of Education and Behavioral Sciences, Leadership Policy and Development: Higher Education and P-12 Education, LPD Student Work

Abstract

Latino students face many challenges on higher education campuses. These challenges require faculty and staff to respond in direct and meaningful ways. Often families have different backgrounds, backgrounds that warrant serious research. Understanding the student as a whole person means understating their families and where they came from. Sometimes this means looking for and listening to their voice. College administrators need to understand the motivational components of incoming Latino students to serve them well. In this transformative autoethonographic study, I focused on understanding stories told by one first-generation, immigrant Latino family's journey through higher education, and their challenges and successes attaining a degree in predominantly White institutions.

I interviewed my parents, three sisters, and five brothers; I collected a plethora of data to co-construct meaning of my family experiences. I discovered five salient themes through analysis of the data: resilience, trans formative learning, role models, no parent support, and acculturation. Implications for practice in the area of first generation, immigrants, Latino students, and gender inequality were discussed. Finally, areas for future research were provided.

Abstract Format

html

Disciplines

Higher Education

Language

English

Extent

241 pages

Rights Statement

Copyright is held by the author.

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