The study sought to explore how Latino students' views on college-going influenced their first-year experiences and the adjustments they made to enhance their persistence. Narrative interviews with six Central Valley (California) Latino students provided an understanding of their college journeys, emphasizing aspirational, linguistic, familial,…

Chicana/Latina undergraduate students represent a significant and growing proportion of student enrollment in higher education institutions in the United States, particularly in states like California that have critical masses of Chicanx/Latinx communities. Despite their increasing enrollment rates, Chicana/Latina college students continue to…

This qualitative descriptive study explored how first-generation college students (FGCS) describe their academic help-seeking (AHS) processes at a large first-generation college student serving university in Southern California. FGCS are less likely to retain than their counterparts and can benefit from support with academic help-seeking. This…

Latino/a undocumented students are among the population of students who are in danger of not graduating or pursuing college due to the unique set of challenges they face navigating education in the U.S. This study aims to understand undocumented students' experiences and the factors that impede them from furthering their education. As…

The purpose of the quantitative ex post facto design of this study was to determine if, and to what extent, self-efficacy increases after the implementation of a pre-entry program for community college student athletes in Southern California. The self-efficacy theory provided the theoretical foundation to address the research questions in this…

Given the importance of a college degree for both individual and societal economic prosperity, policymakers and educators are focused on strengthening the path to college beyond college entry. In this report, we synthesize the existing literature on four factors key to educational attainment--aspirations and beliefs, academic preparation,…

Across countries, the age and timing of when children navigate school transition varies, as does provision of support during this challenging time. These two factors can heavily shape young people's adjustment, yet to date there is minimal research which has investigated how this period is navigated in different cultures. The aim of the present…

This article learns from student voices about how their education abroad experiences were shaped by their agency. Interviews and focus groups were conducted with 22 U.S. community college and university students and with U.S. faculty and U.K. senior staff who worked at a Study Abroad Center in London. The study focuses on what the students said…

This study examined the relationship between international and domestic students' demographic factors on acculturation and sociocultural adaptation. It also examined the extent to which cultural values, uncertainty avoidance (UA) and power distance (PD), might explain two types of sociocultural adaptation: social interaction and localizing. A…

In California, Latinx now are the majority racial/ethnic group in the state but are less likely than all other racial/ethnic groups to have college degrees. Among Latinx undergraduates in the state, 65 percent attended a community college; however, the average completion rate-learning a certificate, degree or transfer within six years-for Latinx…

When a global pandemic hits during a longitudinal study of biology student success, researchers can unearth rich information about student resilience. By sharing case studies from two demographically different midsized 4-year institutions, this article illustrates the aspects of student self-efficacy beliefs that were undercut by the shift to…

The Latinx population continues to be underrepresented in higher education.This qualitative study explored the perceptions of 137 Latinx first-year students on factors that affected their college adjustment. Two primary domains emerged through consensual qualitative research analysis: (a) Detrimental Factors (i.e., issues that hindered adjustment)…

The number of Chinese international students enrolled in U.S. higher education has significantly grown over the past two decades. In 2015, Chinese international students accounted for the largest group of international students from any one single country. Previous research acknowledges Chinese students encountering significant difficulties in…

This study examined the experience of relocating to the United States for a select group of students, third culture kids (TCKs), so the factors that may assist higher education professionals as they seek to support these students in their personal development through their college years would be understood. The research question used to drive the…

This research examined the interplay between adolescents' implicit theories about peer relationships and their academic adjustment; the mediating role of adolescents' disclosure to parents and the moderating role of their victimization experience were evaluated. Five hundred and forty adolescents (253 girls; mean age = 13.5 years, SD = 0.67)…