Advisor
McDevitt, Teresa
Committee Member
Cochran, Kathryn F.
Committee Member
Canales, Genevieve
Committee Member
Rodriguez, Katrina
Department
Educational Psychology
Institution
University of Northern Colorado
Type of Resources
Text
Place of Publication
Greeley (Colo.)
Publisher
University of Northern Colorado
Date Created
12-1-2009
Genre
Thesis
Extent
216 pages
Digital Origin
Born digital
Description
Young adults from Latina/o backgrounds draw from cultural assets and wrestle with distinctive challenges as they enter into, study at, and graduate from institutions of higher education. In this investigation, I examined the perspectives of Latina/o college students with low and high academic achievement, focusing on their upbringing within families and their identification with their cultural heritage. A sequential mixed method study was implemented and the study was grounded in Margaret Spencer's PVEST framework (1995, 2006), the development of ethnic identity (Umaña-Taylor, Yazedjian, & Bámaca-Gómez, 2004), and factors associated with the academic achievement of students from Latina/o backgrounds. Results suggest four factors related to the academic achievement of Latina/o college students: Family, Religion, Support, and Motivation. Furthermore, results from the Ethnic Identity Survey suggest that students in the low GPA group were categorized as diffuse positive, while students in the high GPA group were classified as moratorium positive. Qualitative results supported these findings, and added depth to how students viewed success, prepared academically, identified academic successes and challenges, accentuated sources of motivation, and highlighted the importance of academic support from parents and universities. Future research considerations are discussed as well as implications for education.
Degree type
PhD
Degree Name
Doctoral
Language
English
Local Identifiers
Lara_unco_0161N_10020.pdf
Rights Statement
Copyright is held by author.
