Personal Overview

My dissertation research Navigating the Transition to College: Understanding the Perceptions and Strategies Related to Latina Experiences focused on better understanding Latina community college students’ transition experiences. The theoretical framework utilized was Interculturalism (Tanaka, 2002). The study involved the participation of eight Latina community college students from an urban/suburban community college, in addition to the participation of an administrator and staff member from the same college. Data collection involved individual interviews, focus groups and non-participatory observations at an urban/suburban community college in New York State. The data was analyzed utilizing the multiple case study analysis method. Preliminary findings indicated that transitioning to community college is a subjective experience, thus transition has been redefined by Latinas as they transition to college. Latina community college students experience transitioning to college individually and uniquely over varying periods of time resulting in the finding that Latina community college students challenge the traditional concept of transition to community college.

Additional findings indicated that Latinas are burdened with non-credit courses and program misplacement during transition to community college resulting in embarrassment, frustration, lack of motivation and often delaying program acceptance and degree attainment. Findings also indicated that Latinas experience racism on campus and as a result become silent indicating a silence to resilience pathway. Silence occurs in two ways: (1) Latinas are forced to be silent, and/or (2) Latinas choose to be silent, both of which lead to resilience. The pathway involves four phases which Latinas encounter: (1) Experience racism, (2) Emotional reactions, (3) Responses: silence and resilience, and (4) Outcomes: motivation and persistence. A process of identity transitioning occurs across the spectrum of these phases. An additional finding involves Latina students applying multiple types of strategies to transition to college including behavioral modifications in class and on campus, adopting new study habits, and social involvement. Lastly, the primary support network for Latina community college students are their families.

An extension of my dissertation research through the organizational behavior and human resources development lenses seeks to explore and more clearly understand the transition experiences of employees of color at community colleges and predominantly white institutions. This research can contribute to a better understanding of the transition experience in and of itself, but in addition may lead to a focus on whether transition experiences can be connected to long-term retention of employees of color. In other words, how are the transition experiences of people of color in higher education institutions impacting retention? Further, research in the higher education environment would focus on understanding the hierarchies within the structure of individual departments as they relate to race and ethnicity at community colleges and larger private institutions requires investigation. A comparative study might seek to determine how race and ethnicity function in the roles of administrators who identify as people of color. I also plan to conduct research focused on the movement of administrators of color through the higher education network. I will seek to understand the process by which people of color attain positions as administrators at predominantly white institutions, in addition to understanding the transition experiences of administrators of color to their positions of authority at predominantly white institutions. Lastly, aligning my future research goals with my previous thesis research, projects focused on training and development and the impact of training and development on organizational culture, successes, and failures should be more closely studied to determine how training and development can be better designed and implemented in an ever-changing and evolving workforce.

In addition to my dissertation research I participated in a study in collaboration with the University of Rochester and the Ibero-American Action League. Specifically, the organization invited a research team from the University of Rochester to collaborate in an on-going study about the drop-out and transition trends and factors of Latina/o students. I serve as a co-principal investigator on this mixed-methods research team in which we conducted 31 bilingual focus groups with students and families and have analyzed school record data provided by the district. Similar to my previous research we employ asset-based frameworks, informed by funds of knowledge and community cultural wealth. Findings from our community-based study point to various structural factors that influence students’ departure from school and missed future educational opportunities. Findings also highlight the role that community and families play in helping students remain in school and connect with important educational opportunities. The Ibero-American Action League has published the research report which details the findings around three areas: drop-out, transition and persistence. The report calls upon the local school district to (re)examine policies that shape student opportunity and highlights the resources in the community that can be further built upon. Findings from the report have been presented across the local community, at numerous national conferences including the American Educational Research Association, and are being published in Education and Urban Society. The project was supported by grants from the Community Foundation (Rochester, NY) and the Warner School of Education at the University of Rochester.

One of the significant findings of this project came from focus groups with the young Latinas. We found the educational opportunities of the Latinas were being influenced by various forms of violence. We received funding from the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators to follow up with 16 of the Latinas to better understand how forms of physical, environmental, and stereotype violence influenced transition out of high school and into postsecondary education. Drawing from the frameworks of symbolic violence, Latina/o Critical Race Theory, and Chicana Feminist Epistemology, we complicate notions of violence by presenting not only the behaviors that Latinas engage in, but expose the violence that has been thrust upon them, both overtly and invisibly. The Latinas powerfully described mechanisms of resistance and survival that are drawn upon when working to ensure future educational opportunities. The significance of this research rests in connecting secondary educational experiences with postsecondary educational pathways. We specifically address how forms of violence can impede or influence transition out of high school and into college. Despite navigating under-resourced urban schools and multiple forms of symbolic and physical violence, these young Latinas have positioned themselves in opportunities that secure access to college. The findings and implications of this research speak specifically to the ways in which institutional outreach policies and practices engage college-bound Latinas.