This study investigated the leadership experiences of first-generation Latina college alumnae in order to gain insight into the intersection of leadership, gender, and social capital. Using a qualitative approach, it examined the ways in which their leadership positions impacted their collegiate experience and their later lives. This descriptive…

While more students are going to college than ever before, greater gains are being made by females than males; a higher percentage of women enroll directly in college from high school and actually graduate from college four years later. This is a tribute to the advances that have been made in the last thirty years that support female success in…

TRIO programs exist for students who need guidance through the academic systems that exist. TRIO programs began in 1964, when Lyndon Johnson signed the Educational Opportunity Act into law (McElroy and Armesto, 1998). This started the TRIO programs to help disadvantaged students enroll and complete college. TRIO programs, including Talent Search…

The increasing role that immigrants and their children, especially those from Latin America, are playing in American society, Sandy Baum and Stella Flores argue, makes it essential that as many young newcomers as possible enroll and succeed in postsecondary education. Immigrant youths from some countries find the doors to the nation's colleges…

The purpose of this dissertation was to establish if a predictive relationship existed between four student engagement variables and participation in study abroad for first-generation students. Relevant empirical studies and literature of practice on study abroad participation and student engagement were explored through and supported by two…

This longitudinal study of first-generation, low-income students examines the impact of their participation in a multicultural learning community (MLC) designed to challenge the isolation and marginalization they experience at a large, predominantly White research university. The MLC employed multicultural curriculum and critical pedagogy to bring…

Do service learning courses offer the opportunity for first-generation students to experience academic and social integration and ultimately, academic success? Our study answered this question by exploring the quality of interaction between first-generation students and faculty that characterizes service learning pedagogy, and by revealing ways in…

Social capital is a useful theory for understanding the experiences of working class, first-generation college students. Social capital is the value of a relationship that provides support and assistance in a given social situation. According to social capital theory, networks of relationships can aid students in managing an otherwise unfamiliar…

The overall purpose of this study was to uncover and describe the barriers that low-income, single mothers between the ages of 17-24 experience and the strategies they adopt in their efforts to persist through year one to year three of college at a four-year public university. Adult education scholarship has shed light on the obstacles to college…

Institutions of higher education have been lauded for attempts to diversify the face of the academy by implementing programs and services specifically designed to conduct outreach and recruit "non-traditional" college students. Among those considered non-traditional college students are historically underrepresented Students of Color,…

Labor market conditions, a pervasive public discourse about the benefits of higher education, and parental hopes push many young working-class people into university. The institutional culture and demands of university, however, often remain elusive and fraught with uncertainty. In this paper, I draw on qualitative interviews with…

In January 2009, in the last week of the Bush Administration, the U.S. Department of Education (ED), upon orders from the departing political appointee staff, published the final report in a long running National Evaluation of Upward Bound (UB). The study was conducted by the contractor, Mathematica Policy Research. After more than a year in…

This study explored the relationship between engagement in educationally purposeful activities during the first year of college and academic achievement, persistence, and graduation. The study focused on the impacts of engagement on student outcomes related to academic achievement, persistence, and graduation at a comprehensive university located…

The recent growth in the racial and cultural heterogeneity of college students in the United States has increased the demand for higher educational policies that will accommodate the needs of an increasingly diverse collective student body (Kao & Thompson, 2003). Traditionally, underrepresented minority students (i.e., African American,…

The academic and social integration of first-generation college students into institutions of higher education continues to be a topic of concern for university administrators, faculty, and staff. Students enter college with different background traits and experiences as well as have different college experiences that can either permit or prohibit…