A Phenomenological Investigation of the Academic Persistence of Undergraduate Hispanic Nontraditional Students at Hispanic Serving Institutions

Abstract

This study focused on understanding the factors of academic persistence for 10 undergraduate Hispanic nontraditional students enrolled at two Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs) in the southeast, each in their last year of a baccalaureate degree program. Using a phenomenological design, findings indicated that family context, personal aspirations, campus environment within HSIs, life challenges, and English language learning, all played a vital role in the persistence behaviors of participants. ResumenEste estudio está enfocado en entender los factores de persistencia académica de 10 estudiantes universitarios no-tradicionales hispanos registrados en dos Instituciones de Servicio Hispano en el sureste todos en su último año universitario. Usando un diseño fenomenológico hallazgos indicaron que contexto familiar, aspiraciones personales, medio ambiente universitario en Instituciones de Servicio a Hispanos, retos vitalicios, y aprendizaje del idioma Inglés, todos jugaban un papel vital en la conducta de persistencia de los participantes.

What Does it Mean to be Latinx-serving? Testing the Utility of the Typology of HSI Organizational Identities

“…What the compositional data show (Table 1) Latinx students feel a sense of belonging at HSIs (e.g., Arbelo-Marrero & Milacci, 2016), which may ultimately contribute to their academic success. As a political construct, perhaps an HSI identity is oversimplified, as it does not consider these dimensions.…”

“…In this regard, the argument is that if an institution has a positive, culturally engaging campus, it is effectively serving Latinx students (and vice versa). For example, the culture at HSIs may help Latinx students feel connected to faculty and staff on campus with similar racial/ethnic backgrounds (Dayton, Gonzalez-Vasquez, Martinez, & Plum, 2004) and may increase their sense of belonging (Arbelo-Marrero & Milacci, 2016;Maestas, Vaquera, & Muñoz Zehr, 2007). Staff and administrators at HSIs may also create campus cultures that foster success for Latinx students (Espinoza & Espinoza, 2012;Garcia & Ramirez, 2015).…”

Pre-Entry Doctoral Admission Variables and Retention at a Hispanic Serving Institution

“…This lack of confidence can be ameliorated through faculty and peer mentor networks developed within a doctoral program to provide support in navigating doctoral experiences, coursework, and institutional academic support on demand (Spaulding & Rockinson-Szapkiw, 2012). Therefore, setting up social networks within virtual applications that allow pages and information to be stored and accessed through groups is an excellent example of funds of knowledge that can be developed and accessible for students; this provides students with a sense of belonging and support through their academic process (Arbelo-Marrero, 2013). Within an institutional pipeline, faculty and administrators can co-labor to strengthen academic preparation for graduate school by improving curriculum such as writing for research courses, providing undergraduate students access to faculty research labs, ensuring that work-study experiences are less administrative, and providing more research related activities to begin early engagement in developing an academic mindset based on experience (Plunkett, Saetermoe, & Quilici, 2014).…”

Assessing Empowerment at HSIs: An Adapted Inputs-Environments-Outcomes Model

“…Institutions should also gauge the familial capital students may possess since family is strongly influential on Latinx enrollment at HSIs (Cejda, Casparis, Rhodes, & Seal-Nyman, 2008;Cuellar, 2015;. Further, the family unit has been identified as a source of support for Latinx students attending HSIs (Kouyoumdjian, Guzman, Garcia, & Talavera-Bustillos, 2015), which in turn influences their degree attainment at these institutions (Arbelo-Marrero & Milacci, 2016).…”

“…Latinx student interactions with faculty are especially important given the positive influence of such interactions on a multitude of outcomes (Crisp, Taggart, & Nora, 2014). Studies situated at HSIs document how faculty mentorship enhances the academic success of Latinx students (Dayton et al, 2014), including degree attainment and sense of belonging (Arbelo-Marrero & Milacci, 2016). In turn, sense of belonging has also been shown to promote Latinx student academic achievement at HSIs (Chun, Marin, Schwartz, Pham, & Castro-Olivo, 2016).…”