The purpose of this phenomenological study was to examine how the application of the community cultural wealth model can help raise the capacity of first-generation Latino at-promise youth towards finding greater educational success in a secondary school setting. Participants included first generation Latino at-promise students and their parents…

The purpose of this quantitative study with a correlational design was to examine if and to what extent a relationship exists between self- and teacher-ratings of student engagement and standardized test performance in a school in southern Los Angeles County. The overall research question was, is there a relationship between self- and…

Many Hispanic male students, who are often the first in their family to attend college, face distinctive challenges while attempting to obtain a higher education degree. The purpose of this study was to explore how a sample of 12th grade Hispanic male students in the rural Southwestern United States experience an Early College High School (ECHS)…

This dissertation research explores the pedagogical approaches of exemplary content area teachers (ECATs) working with Latina students in a public high school context. Research has shown that educators are the leading agents in preparing immigrant youth, and that teacher support and prejudice directly affect students' academic outcomes. This…

The population of United States Latino students is growing at a rapid rate but their academic achievement lags behind white and Asian students. This issue has significant consequences for the nation's economy, as the job market continues to demand more education and better skills. Early College High School programs have the potential to improve…

This classroom-based qualitative study sought to investigate students' writing in response to culturally relevant literature. Eleven students enrolled in two grade twelve, special education classrooms in a large, urban high school participated in the study. The students included Dive female, six male, three Hispanic and eight African American; all…

Purpose: The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the prior experiences, perceived challenges, and support systems of Grade 12 students at an ECHS. An in-depth investigation corroborated the importance of the social capital the participants generated to overcome the obstacles they encountered. Methodology: Utilizing Moustakas's…

This qualitative phenomenological study examined parents of first generation college-bound student's beliefs about roles and responsibilities to guide their child who aspires to a postsecondary education. Interviews were conducted with 23 parents of high school tenth, eleventh, and twelfth grade students. In the sample, parents represented…

Latino/as are an increasingly large subset of the United States population; however, they continue to be underrepresented in science careers. Because of this increase, research regarding Latino/as has improved, but there are still many gaps in regards to gender-specific predictors to pursue science careers. To address this lack of literature, the…

Since the 1970s, school choice--the opting out of assigned neighborhood school for other schools--has studied extensively in American education. It is considered a possible means to equalize educational opportunity as well as to achieve educational excellence. The expansion of school choices is an ongoing trend, and so is the debate over school…

Our methods for educating Deaf adolescent Latino struggling readers need to change in order to maximize their learning. As with all students, this begins with identifying student strengths and building on these strengths to help students gain new and productive skills. We need to find out what motivates these Latino Deaf readers and what will…