Using an emerging model of family engagement in higher education and the concept of parental role construction as a framework, this study presents the "Ley de la Vida" (Law of Life) process to explore how Latina/o immigrant parents experience their children's transition to higher education. Centered on the experiences of 15 parents of…

A common problem for people with disabilities, particularly those who rely on mobility devices, is learning to navigate a new environment. This is especially troublesome for students who are attending a new university and need to figure out how to get from one place to another. All Together Now is a mobile multi-player cooperative game developed…

Previous research that evaluated first year students' transition into university found that the values of 'being, belonging and becoming' were important in particular within the first few months and within the first year of university. From our previous work, we reported that three things matter to students: the academic staff they work with, the…

very nation depends on its knowledge framework and value system in order to survive. For this reason, this study was focused on identifying a proposed strategy for managing the change in the value system and the knowledge structure of private university students in Jordan. Also, to point out the need for students to own their procedures, the…

The purpose of this qualitative study was to understand the different factors that empower young adults that were in foster care to be successful in a college environment. It has been documented that foster youth have significant challenges during secondary education (Conger & Rebeck, 2001; Geenen & Powers, 2006). Due to these challenges,…

Using a feminist geography framework, this qualitative study explores the first-year postsecondary experiences of Appalachian women through an interrogation of the ways in which they construct place and gender through their transition between two distinct geographic places: the home community and the university. A diversity of gender and place…

This study investigates international students' life adjustment in Eastern Taiwan by utilizing a questionnaire design. A total of 104 students participated to complete the Life Adjustment Questionnaire. Several predictors (gender, differences in academic majors, and study levels) were studied in this survey. The results revealed seven important…

The risk and protective variables for Latino students' experience of depression, college adjustment, and drop-out intentions were examined. Perceived bicultural competence emerged as a protective factor, and cultural incongruity, negative perceptions of the university environment, and intragroup marginalization emerged as risk factors associated…

This qualitative study investigated academic challenges, supports and the role of readiness in academic adaptation of international students. 20 international students were recruited for data collection employing semi-structured interviews. The results showed that three types including academic challenges, socio-cultural challenges and language…

Peer mentorship at colleges and universities is often thought of in the context of formal programs. This paper examines mentorship from an informal lens as the everyday advice students give their peers. This study utilized focus groups to see how students responded to questions their peers asked about their experiences. Four themes emerged that…

Previous research has shown that the Meyerhoff Scholars Program (MSP) at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County is effective at increasing the number of underrepresented minorities (URM) in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). While it is clear that comprehensive STEM programs, like the MSP, contribute to URM success in…

Sense of belonging contributes to academic success, persistence, and self-efficacy among students, and is especially poignant for first-generation students who are less likely to engage socially, intellectually, and academically. Residential spaces provide the ideal environment to examine belongingness among first-generation students because of…

Our study examines how negative and positive diversity interactions influence students' psychological well-being. Specifically, we explore how diversity interactions influence students' psychological well-being at the end of their first year of college and how these experiences vary by race. Our findings suggest that while negative diversity…

In this study, we explore East Asian graduate students' socio-cultural and psychological adjustment in a U.S. Midwestern University. Eight participants were interviewed about their acculturation challenges as well as their effective coping strategies. Data were analyzed using open-coding techniques and five themes emerged: three themes summarized…

Latino/as are the largest minority group within the United States and have the fastest projected population growth within the United States but currently have the lowest baccalaureate attainment rate of any racial or ethnic group. Traditional methods of measuring and supporting Latino/a students have not been successful and need reevaluation.…