In this dissertation, I explore how international migration and environmental pollution shape human capital accumulation and labor market outcomes.The first chapter examines how college enrollment and major choice decisions of young adults in migrant-sending countries are affected by the removal of international migration barriers. My…

The process and mechanisms of knowledge transfer are discussed extensively in the innovation literature, but much existing work is based on evidence from leading innovator economies, such as the United States and European countries. Emerging innovator economies are generally understudied; yet, for several reasons, the insights derived from leading…

This dissertation is a study of policy stakeholders (N = 24) in four countries within the regional Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM) policy environment. The scope was to identify how they navigated and interpreted conceptualizations of TVET and general education, which have been explicitly tied to national and regional…

Undocumented college students face a broad range of legal, political, financial, cultural/social, and psychological/emotional barriers and challenges to persisting and succeeding in their college journey. The purpose of this action research study was to train faculty and staff at Long Beach City College (LBCC) on the undocumented college…

The last three decades have seen significant changes for higher education institutions throughout the world. The era of globalization has left little untouched and both our society and colleges and universities look, think, and operate differently as a result. Notwithstanding the movement toward global interdependence and intercultural rhetoric in…

Mexican American men have the lowest college completion rate of any ethnic group in the United States. Mexican American men lag behind Asian and White students academically and slightly higher than Black and Pacific Islander college graduates. The study attempts to understand the significance of "The Vanishing Latino Male" (Saenz &…

This study explored the language ideologies of Saudi cosmopolitan parents living in Western countries, their family language policies, and their children's reintegration into Saudi society. I used a qualitative research design to investigate the process of family language policies and practices and the underlying social, cultural, and religious…

Emerging adults in rural, boom-bust economies face unique challenges, especially in employment and education. Drawing on emerging adult and social disruption hypothesis literatures, this study examined four primary research questions. First, how do emerging adults in rural boom-bust towns in southwest Wyoming understand and experience boom-bust…

Since the U.S. Recession of 2008, more Mexicans are leaving than coming to the United States. Many Mexican families return to Mexico with their U.S.-born--or "American Mexican"--children and youth. Approximately 700,000 American Mexican children and youth are now living and attending K-12 schools throughout Mexico (Gandara & Jensen,…

This dissertation examines how past U.S. colonial education in the Philippines impacts the ways in which Filipino bodies are commodified and racialized under contemporary education and training systems in both the Philippines and the United States. This research project utilizes participatory action research and in-depth interviews with over 50…

Using data collected from the United States Census and the National Center for Educational Statistics, the purpose of this study was to examine the causal effect of wealth and its impact on the higher education outcome of low-income Black students. A quantile threshold model was used to investigate the effect of household wealth on low-income,…

While a large body of work examines Black women's experiences as students and faculty in universities, most studies narrow in on students or faculty and are geographically bound by nation. Drawing on intersectionality, global anti-Black racism, and theories of belonging and resistance, this dissertation provides an interdisciplinary analysis of…

Within Mexico City a community has formed known as Little L.A. This community came to exist as United States call centers in Mexico employed English speaking repatriated Mexicans. Repatriated in that individuals were either deported by force, some returned by choice, some were US citizens who came back with family members or loved ones. A call was…

The purpose of this phenomenological narrative study was to explore experiences that influence international students' decisions after graduation regarding location and career selections. Interviews with the eight participants were analyzed to understand the common meaning of their experiences of a concept or phenomenon. Results of the study…

The first two chapters of my dissertation paper detail the role of work-inducing welfare policies on single mother's human capital formation. These chapters focus on the two most important work-inducing policies that have transformed the welfare program in the United States from an out-work to an in-work assistance program: (1) welfare reform in…