This research applies the community cultural wealth model to explore how Black and Latinx students experience financial barriers in college from an appreciative lens. The purpose of this study was to increase understanding of how Black and Latinx students use aspirational, familial, social, navigational, resistant, and linguistic capital to…

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between student aspirations and other background characteristics with student engagement level in their first year. Despite the knowledge that engagement is influential in student success outcomes, completion rates have not changed in more than thirty years (Gonyea, 2006). Hsieh (2014)…

This study explored factors that influence the postsecondary career decisions of 427 11th and 12th grade students in a guaranteed tuition-based school district in a Midwestern state. Since 2005, this district has had a "Promise" program where eligible students can get up to 100% of their postsecondary tuition paid to attend a college,…

The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions and lived experiences of some low-income and first-generation students of color who participated in and graduated from the UB program. This qualitative study utilized the narrative inquiry research method to understand the lived experiences of seven former Upward Bound students. Program…

"Expect Delays: At the Crossroads of Higher Education," analyzes the cultural representations of higher education that shape personhood for minoritized identities. It argues that an emphasis on linear logics, spatial temporalities, and hegemonic visual culture impact self-fashioning for historically marginalized populations. This project…

The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to explore how online doctoral graduates of color in the United States described their social, academic, and faculty interaction experiences that led to degree completion. The researcher used a purposive criterion sample that consisted of online doctoral graduates of color. Data was collected…

The dissertation sought to provide insight to the unique experiences of foster care alumni in graduate education pursuits. For many, higher education serves to increase opportunities in the workforce and higher lifetime earnings; as the level of degree attainment is higher, the availability of benefits often increases. Frequently, these…

Mixtecos are Indigenous people that originate from the states of Guerrero, Oaxaca, and Puebla, in Mexico. This community is unique in that it speaks an unwritten language with different variations based on locations north or south of Oaxaca, Guerrero, and Puebla. California and other agricultural states have been the major relocation areas for…

The COVID-19 pandemic has laid bare the gender inequities of unpaid household and childcare labor, especially for Black and Latina mothers who are also breadwinners. Notwithstanding, higher educational attainment has been found to be an important predictor of earnings and reentry into the labor market although disparities of earnings for women of…

The low number of California Native American students, both rural and urban, graduating A through G ready prompted this study. Using a qualitative and Indigenous research approach, the research questions that guided this study were: (1) What are the perspectives and beliefs about postsecondary education among a group of Native American students at…

As the Latinx population in the United States continues to increase, so does the enrollment of Latinx students in higher education. However, the growth in enrollment is not matched with graduation and retention rates due to a general lack of support from the institutions and barriers including experiences of discrimination and struggling with…

This qualitative research study was conducted to gain insight into the coparenting experiences of African American fathers and their journey towards their educational goals. Another objective was to build on the current trends that acknowledge the increase of single father households and to provide insight into the challenges and successes of…

Adolescence is a universal developmental stage where many changes occur (i.e., biological, social, and psychological) during the second decade of life. Emerging adulthood a subsequent development period between adolescence and young adulthood; during emerging adulthood individuals go through various transitions such as academic and career…

Student-athletes' persistence to graduate has been a consistent topic of debate. The lack of information from the student-athletes' perspective about what impacts their persistence has created a gap where institutions, coaches, and sporting agencies lack the proper support system to ensure their success. This qualitative phenomenological study…

Every student comes into each classroom with a unique mathematical identity. Mathematical identity consists of the stories about a person's confidence, beliefs, and persistence with mathematics as told by her/himself or by others (Gweshe & Brodie, 2019). Identity is not fixed (Dweck & Yeager, 2019; Wenger, 1998) and is dynamic within a…