Discrimination is overwhelming immigrant communities across the U.S.A. and impacting educational outcomes and the fragmentation of families. This article employs intersectionality and Latina/o critical theory (LatCrit) as its theoretical framework to analyze education and the institution of familismo as a counterweight to anti-Latinx…

There is growing evidence that the COVID-19 pandemic had a large and negative impact on student learning. This dissertation explores the effect of the pandemic on one of the most vulnerable student subgroups: English Learners (ELs). In this work I examine existing disparities among subgroups of ELs, and the different ways the pandemic has impacted…

This study explores the parental support first-generation Latinas have received, and recognizes the skills, knowledge, and various forms of support that Latinx parents can and have provided their daughters when they seek a college education. Through a community cultural wealth framework, this study adds to the current literature on Latina and…

With the continued racism and anti-immigrant rhetoric targeted at the Latinx population, there is a need to further explore the impact that racism has on Latino students' social-emotional health and academic performance. Ample scholarship highlights the ways in which racism in education manifests in the forms of racial microaggressions and toxic…

This descriptive qualitative study aims to understand the perceptions of K-6 English Language Learner parents in South Florida about additional barriers they faced during the COVID-19 pandemic, which limited the support they provided to their children's education. Ten Hispanic parents were recruited and interviewed using semi-structured questions…

This research study aimed to examine the social factors that could influence the academic learning experiences of Latino college students. Latino students are pursuing post-secondary degrees at a higher rate than in previous years. Many Latinos represent their respective family members as the first members of their respective families to attend…

Latine bachelor's degree completion has grown in the last several decades but has not kept pace with other racial and ethnic groups. Millions of Latines have successfully navigated higher education, yet not enough is known about the conduits and barriers to timely degree completion. This dissertation utilizes LatCrit, Anti-Deficit Achievement, and…

Teachers' engagement practices with Hispanic families are contributing to the continuing disparities in academic achievement between Hispanic and other students. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore secondary teachers' perceptions about the challenges of building engagement with Hispanic families. The conceptual framework…

Currently, roughly one-third of college students fit the federal government's definition of first-generation college student status, meaning neither parent has earned a baccalaureate degree (RTI International, 2023). This study utilized archival data at an access institution in the southeastern United States in a causal-comparative study using…

Culturally relevant pedagogy (CRP) seeks to improve equity in instruction and leverage students' experiences by promoting academic success, cultural competence, and sociopolitical consciousness. We examine instructors' perceptions of student identity to understand the ways undergraduate mathematics instructors are enacting or experiencing barriers…

Utilizing "testimonio" methodology grounded in LatCrit and Chicana Feminism, this research centered the voices of 11 Latina undergraduates attending a 4-year private, predominantly white institution in the Western U.S. to understand how they defined and measured their own success in higher education. Traditional success measures focus on…

This study reviews factors that prior studies have identified or failed to consider as barriers to post-secondary success. The three main areas include: academic success for Latinx students after high school, organizational systems and its impact on African-American students' postsecondary readiness and what workers think of their high school…

This study reviews factors that prior studies have identified or failed to consider as barriers to post-secondary success. The three main areas include academic success for Latinx students after high school, organizational systems and its impact on African-American students' postsecondary readiness, and what workers think of their high school…

The coronavirus (COVID-19) global pandemic upended the academic trajectories and opportunities of many community college students in the United States. While four-year universities have seen an uptick in applications in the 2021-2022 academic year, community colleges have experienced a sharp decrease in enrollment, signifying significant…

Minority retention and graduation, specifically concerning first-generation Latino college students, is one of the current challenges facing higher education institutions in the 21st century. Research indicates that Latino students are not graduating or obtaining success at the same rates as other ethnic student groups although these students'…