Using critical race theory counterstorytelling, I tell a story about the experiences of Mexican/Mexican American/Xicanx (MMAX) undergraduate students at a private, predominantly white university in the Northeast. Drawing on in-depth interviews, participant observations, pláticas, and document analyses, I highlight the various ways MMAX students…

This essay utilizes critical race theory composite counterstorytelling to tell a story about Alberto, a first-generation Xicano doctoral student who is presenting his dissertation research proposal to his qualitative research class. Through Alberto's character, I discuss my complicated process of designing and conducting a research study.…

Latinas holding doctoral degrees are few and far between in the academic world as compared to their White female counterparts (National Center for Educational Statistics, 2020). We explore a crucial topic of Chicana/Latina feminism, which resists traditional theoretical concepts and methodologies in the field of adult education. Chicana/Latina…

The dissertation examined the significance of disaggregated data in relation to college students' sense of belonging among Latinx ethnic subgroups. Sense of belonging has been positively associated with student persistence, retention, and completion of degree (Korpershoek et al., 2020). Latinx consist of numerous ethnic subgroups, and…

This article utilizes critical race theory counterstorytelling to tell a story about ¡Poder Xicanx!, a Mexican-based student organization at a private, predominantly white university in the Northeast of the United States. Drawing on in-depth interviews, participant observations, "pla´ticas," and document analysis, I document the…

This study acknowledges the potential contribution of Mexican highly-skilled immigrants settled in the United States. Then, to better understand how the brain waste phenomenon (unemployment/underemployment) functions among these immigrants in the United States, by using the lens of neo-racism, Latina/o Critical Race Theory (LatCrit), and…

Cross-border migration is increasing in a globalized world. On the physical borderlands, migration across and between borders occurs on a habitual basis. This qualitative study employs semi-structured interviews to explore how three "transfronterizo" teachers along the U.S.-Mexico borderlands draw on their backgrounds and lived…

The term "Latinx" has gained much popularity in some higher education spaces, yet its meaning to and use by those categorized as such has remained unexplored. In this study, we employ narrative inquiry and the lens of Critical Race Feminism to understand how Latinx has evolved into an identity for three individuals who embrace Latinx as…

The present study examines the potential protective effect of familial support among first-gen Mexican descent college students regarding GPA, college persistence, and depressive symptoms. Participants included 487 Mexican descent college students from across the United States (66.7% first-gen). Results indicated that being a first-gen student was…

The authors share how their Arabyyat and Chicana feminist pedagogies and methodologies, haki/pláticas ~ testimonios/shahadat, contribute to a decolonial praxis. We center haki/pláticas ~ testimonios/shahadat and introduce what we term as "Arabyya feminista decolonial praxis" in education as an act of linguistic and epistemic…

This study analyzes the impact that U.S. curricula have on Mexican transnational returnees. Specifically, this article focuses on the ideological development of the army and imperialism promoted in U.S. schools among Mexican populations. Using a framework that combines critical literacies, transnationalism, and Bourdieu's concepts of…

Teacher retention is a global problem, and why individuals choose the teaching profession can help sustain teacher motivation. This study surveyed 29 predominately Mexican American female students enrolled in the College of Education at a border university in South Texas. The participants were selected using convenience sampling from two courses…

While the number of Hispanic undergraduate students enrolled in higher education has more than doubled in the past 15 years, graduation rates for this population continues to be well below that of white students. Understanding the unique life experiences of bicultural Hispanic undergraduate students becomes vital for higher education professionals…

We used the psychosociocultural framework to conceptualize, analyze, and narrate the perceptions of 10 Latina women about their mothers' influence and role on their educational persistence in higher education. The Latina undergraduates were upper-division students who were of Mexican descent and sought educational success. To make meaning of the…

Empirical research demonstrates that Chicanx students thrive in an educational setting where Western histories are de-centered, and the core objectives of the curricula are the student's own self-exploration, the discovery of their subjectivity, social change, and learning (Cabrera et al. in Urban Rev 45:7-22, 2013). This critical pedagogical…