Nuestros Hijos van a la Universidad [Our Sons and Daughters Are Going to College]: Latina Parents’ Perceptions and Experiences Related to Building College Readiness, College Knowledge, and College Access for Their Children—A Qualitative Analysis

2016 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 20-40 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dominique T. Chlup ◽  
Elsa M. Gonzalez ◽  
Jorge E. Gonzalez ◽  
Hector F. Aldape ◽  
Mayra Guerra ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
College Readiness ◽  
College Access ◽  
Qualitative Methodology ◽  
First Generation ◽  
South Texas ◽  
Postsecondary Institutions ◽  
Border Region ◽  
College Knowledge ◽  
College Degrees ◽  
Texas Border

Data from a focus group of nine Latina parents, specifically mothers from a South Texas border region known as the Rio Grande Valley, were analyzed using a qualitative methodology. Grounded in the theory of social capital, the purpose of the study was to understand the perceptions and experiences of Latina parents related to accessing information and resources to aid their students in enrolling in postsecondary institutions. The study was an exploratory, descriptive, and qualitative one that used a naturalistic paradigm. Findings showed that Latina parents perceived gaining information and resources related to increasing their understanding of college readiness, college knowledge, and college access as challenging. In addition, findings indicate that despite challenges, the mothers did receive support along the way. As parents, they want to get their students not only to the college door but through the college door, declaring that their children will go to college. They recognize there are keys to helping guarantee access to college, and it is these keys that these mothers seek. Such findings are important because the national portrait of college enrollment and attainment of college degrees shows continuing inequalities based on class, race/ethnicity, and income, especially for Latina/o first-generation students. Yet, few studies have considered the perceptions and experiences of Latina/o parents related to accessing information and resources to support their students when preparing for, applying to, and enrolling in postsecondary institutions.

scholarly journals The Pursuit of Equal Educational Opportunity: A Historical Analysis of the South Texas/Border Initiative

2020 ◽  
pp. 089590482095112
Author(s):  
Vincent D. Carales ◽  
Erin E. Doran
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Educational Opportunity ◽  
Historical Analysis ◽  
South Texas ◽  
Border Region ◽  
Historical Study ◽  
The South ◽  
Mexico Border ◽  
Texas Border ◽  
South Texas Border Initiative

The purpose of this historical study was to investigate how individuals articulated the call for the South Texas/Border Initiative, a legislative mandate that funneled unprecedented amounts of funding to underserved universities along the Texas-Mexico border region between 1987 and 2003. Utilizing archival sources, we conducted an analysis of the intentional shifts in funding critical to equity and access in higher education. The events surrounding the South Texas/Border Initiative are unique in that they represent purposeful Latina/o community and state-wide activism that challenged higher education funding inequities.

Reconceptualizing College Knowledge: Class, Race, and Black Students in a College-Counseling Field

2021 ◽  
pp. 003804072110460
Author(s):  
Melanie Jones Gast
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
Middle Class ◽  
Working Class ◽  
College Access ◽  
Help Seeking ◽  
College Counseling ◽  
College Knowledge ◽  
High School Counseling ◽  
College Going ◽  
Knowledge Class

Past work and college–access programs often treat college knowledge as discrete pieces of information and focus on the amount of available college information. I use ethnographic and multiwave interview data to compare college–aspiring working- and middle–class black 9th and 11th graders across almost two years in high school along with their post–high school updates. Respondents were exposed to college–going messages but faced racial constraints and unclear expectations for college preparation and help seeking. Working-class respondents drew on hopeful uncertainty—a repertoire of hope for college admissions but uncertainty in the specifics—and they waited for assistance. Twelfth-grade working–class respondents experienced the effects of counseling problems and frustrations near application time. Middle-class and some working–class respondents used a repertoire of competitive groundwork to improve their competitiveness for four–year admissions, targeting their help seeking to navigate impending deadlines and late–stage counseling problems. My findings point to the timing and process of activating repertoires of college knowledge within a high school counseling field, suggesting the need to reconceptualize college knowledge in research on racial and class inequality in college access.

“It's Different Here”: Complicating Concepts of College Knowledge and First Generation through an Immigrant Lens

2018 ◽  
Vol 120 (11) ◽  
pp. 1-36
Author(s):  
Chrystal A. George Mwangi
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
College Preparation ◽  
First Generation ◽  
Immigrant Families ◽  
The United States ◽  
College Knowledge ◽  
K 12 ◽  
First Generation To College ◽  
College Educated ◽  
The U.S

Background/Context Children of immigrants are the fastest growing segment of the U.S. child population, and these children are increasingly entering the U.S. educational pipeline and seeking access to college. Gaining access to college in the United States requires college knowledge. Yet, obtaining college knowledge can be difficult for immigrant families, who may lack familiarity with the U.S. education system. Although one third of all immigrants possess a college degree, many earned their degree abroad or in the United States as international students and/or adult learners. Therefore, the children of college-educated immigrants may be the first in their family to seek access to college via the U.S. K–12 system. Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of Study This study explores how African immigrant multigenerational families engage in college preparation. All families had at least one parent who had attained a college degree. In each family, the college-educated parent(s) either received their degree abroad or received their degree in the United States as an international student or adult returning student. The research questions are: How do immigrant families explain navigating the college-going process when their children are first in the family to prepare for college via the U.S. K–12 system? How do immigrant families describe their level of comfort with college preparation when their children are first in the family to prepare for college via the U.S. K–12 system? Research Design A qualitative, multiple case design was used. Findings/Results The findings demonstrate that although the children in this study were not first generation to college in a traditional sense, they experienced many of the same challenges. For the families in this study, the parents possessed institutionalized capital but often lacked what emerged as “U.S.-based college knowledge,” which impacted their experience with the college choice process. Conclusions/Recommendations Families’ lack of familiarity with the U.S. college preparation process (college testing, academic tracking, cost of college/financial aid) leads to a call for complicating concepts of “college knowledge” and “first generation” to college in a globalized society.

Developing Cultural Competence in an Occupational Therapy Program in a Border Institution in South Texas

2021 ◽  
pp. 138-157
Author(s):  
Criselda Garcia ◽  
Roel Garcia
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Competence ◽  
Graduate Program ◽  
South Texas ◽  
Border Region ◽  
National Minority ◽  
Culturally Competent ◽  
Community Values ◽  
Therapy Program ◽  
Border Institution ◽  
Hispanic Serving

While strong consensus exists for preparing culturally competent occupational therapists as the national minority population grows, scholarship in this area continues to evolve. Conversations and explorations of best practices and perspectives add the practical component related to this phenomenon. Perspectives will be shared for leveraging culture to promote respect within communities from asset-based ideologies from the vantage point of a Latino clinician in a predominately Latino underserved community. The authors provide a brief review of the related literature, unpack the definitions of cultural competence, and discuss the pedagogical approach used by an occupational therapist educator. Framing the conversation from an asset-based pedagogical perspective, the use of culture as resources will be depicted. By honoring community values, beliefs, and assets for developing cultural competence, the authors explore the use of culturally relevant pedagogical approaches in a Hispanic-serving university graduate program situated in the border region of South Texas.

Environmental Health Indicators for the Border Region Between South Texas and Northeastern Mexico

2013 ◽  
pp. 25-42
Author(s):  
Prajay Gor ◽  
Alvaro Martinez ◽  
Ruth Reyna-Caamaño ◽  
Gerardo M. Mejia-Velazquez ◽  
Laura Guerrero-Medrano ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Health ◽  
Health Indicators ◽  
South Texas ◽  
Border Region ◽  
Northeastern Mexico
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