Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Educational psychology|Latin American studies'

Currently, research reveals a gap of knowledge about African American and Latino/a students’ experiences participating in restorative practices such as dialogue circles. In the United States, African American and Latino/a students are disciplined more harshly by teachers as well as being suspended and expelled at a higher rate. Alternatives to punitive approaches like suspension and expulsion are addressed throughout this thesis. The nine participants of this study attended a three-day camp that focused on building social justice awareness and connectedness while utilizing dialogue circles. The interviews revealed that through these dialogue circles, the participants were able to think critically about conflicts, social division, discrimination, and oppression as it relates to themselves, their community, and country. Implications and recommendations based on the findings of this study, are provided to inform educators and school personnel about alternative ways of disciplining. Future studies are recommended to further study the influences of community based programs like the Building Bridges in High Schools.

This dissertation explores the experiences of self-identified Latin@ youth in NAIS and POCIS Schools in the San Francisco Bay Area. Although all students involved in this study initially felt equipped to participate in the independent school environment, they experienced both common and unique challenges calling on the need to negotiate their ethnic identities. This research study assumed that all people and institutions, such as independent schools, are embedded in complex social, cultural and political systems historically defined by race, power and privilege. Engaging student voice in on-going efforts to understand and improve the conditions for historically underrepresented students of color, particularly Latin@ youth, is imperative in acknowledging that students have deep wisdom and expertise. The partnership between students and adults can foster “critical consciousness” – an awareness of the historical and current conditions that perpetuate inequality in society and in their own life circumstances (Horton & Freire, 1990). Freire (1982) asserted, “the silenced are not just incidental to the curiosity of the researcher but are the masters of inquiry into the underlying causes of the events in their world. In this context research, becomes a means of moving them beyond silence into a quest to proclaim the world.” Keywords: Latino, youth voice, underrepresented students, critical race theory, diversity “Latin@” is spelled using the “at symbol” to replace the letter “a” or “o.” Pizarro, Montoya, Nañez, Chavez, & Bermudez (2002) are Latin@ educators who formed Maestr@s, a group contending that the Spanish language is a manifestation of male hegemony. Maestr@s coined the use of the term because it is a visual intervention and a re-coding of information to different linguistic, epistemological and ideological systems (Pizarro, et. al, 2002, p. 290).

Drawing from Latino/a Critical Race Theory and the related Community Cultural Wealth (CCW) model, I concentrate on three forms of CCW—aspirational, navigational, and resistance capital—for this qualitative study on the undergraduate experience of Latina students in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) majors, focusing on strategies and achieving baccalaureate attainment. I interviewed ten Latina students and asked them questions regarding their educational experiences in STEM majors, what contributed to their degree completion, and the strategies they employed for achieving baccalaureate attainment. I identified and described six themes within the study (the underrepresentation of Latinas in STEM majors, the lack of preparation by academic programs for upper division courses, motivators, involvement, time management, and support networks) that, when combined, contributed to participants’ degree attainment. This study concludes with implications for policy and practice that would allow universities to better assist Latinas in STEM majors to achieve baccalaureate attainment.

Studies have shown that Latina/os may experience discomfort in regards to acculturation and assimilation into mainstream American culture. For Latina/o adolescents this struggle may be more pronounced. Adolescence can be a time when one is developing an understanding of how one fits within the context of community. Previous research shows how adolescents with a strong ethnic identity may experience greater resiliency against stressful life events. Studies have also shown how the arts can have a positive effect on adolescent identity development. Cultural arts aid in selfdiscovery plus a connection with peers and the greater community. This study examines the correlation between culturally-relevant art activities, labeled in this study as the LIAC (Latina/o Identity-based Art Curriculum) and Latina/o adolescent ethnic identity exploration and affirmation. This study consisted of 15 Latina/ o students, ages 13-18, enrolled in an after-school program. Ethnic identity was analyzed using the Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure (MEIM). Students reflected on their art projects and other members' art projects, which were based on topics ofLatina/o ethnicity and culture. Findings correlate to previous studies which show how cultural art activities can help strengthen Latinalo adolescent identity. Data from this study showed significance increases in ethnic identity exploration and affirmation, respectively. Although the current results are informative, they are also preliminary. More research is needed to fully understand how culturally-relevant art groups can help Latina/o adolescents gain a stronger ethnic and overall identity.

Based on indicators of educational achievement in the United States, Latinos have lagged behind most other demographic groups. This study explored Latino students’ social identity through a qualitative research design that privileged student voice as a vehicle to addressing educational disparities. The research design employed a phenomenological approach within the framework of practitioner research to explore students’ constructions of identity in reference to school in one suburban community. Research has shown that students’ experiences and sense of social identity can have significant impacts on academic performance (Aronson & Good, 2002; Moya, 2002; 2009; Steele & Aronson, 1995; Steele, Spencer, & Aronson, 2002). As a Latino school district leader who desires to improve practice by better understanding Latino students in a suburban school setting in which they have a minority presence, in this study I created a forum where students could speak to their experiences and reality in that setting. This study’s conceptual framework was grounded in the following areas of scholarship: social identity theory, critical race theory, and the concepts of student voice. Data collection included interviews, focus groups, and identity mapping with 15 high school participants. The study resulted in four main findings: Latino students feel stigmatized and isolated; they perceived and replicated racial microaggressions; there are elements of school they appreciate; and institutional practices create and support bias. This study is only a start to a fuller review and exploration of these themes at the school level. For such conversations to be productive, students’ voices must be included.

Between the months of October, 2013 and July, 2014, United States Customs Border protection reported that an estimated 63,000 unaccompanied minors crossed the United States. border, 75% of which came from Central America, specifically Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala (Renwick, 2014). These Central American youth are being pushed out of their home countries due to high levels of violence and poverty that has been caused by gangs and suffering economies. At the same time, they are being pulled into the U.S. to reunite with family, especially parents, many of who migrated to the U.S. during times of war in their home countries. Upon their arrival to this country, these youth are enrolling in U.S. schools, the institution with the highest amount of interaction with these youth as they begin their newcomer journey.

This qualitative case study focuses on the schooling experiences of immigrant, newcomer youth from Central America in a single high school in a large urban district in Southern California. Conducted through the lenses of Critical Race Theory, Latina/o Critical Theory, and racist nativism, the study asks (1) How does racist nativism mediate the schooling experiences of Central American students at an urban high school in Southern California? (a) How do they negotiate/navigate being students despite the challenges that they may face?; and (2) What does success mean to these youth? (a) How do they become successful on their own terms, and how are they working to get to that? Participants consisted of first-year newcomer youth from El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala.

This qualitative testimonio study centered the voices of two Chicana graduate students and two doctoral students of an Educational Leadership and Policy Studies Program to examine how they interpret the positioning of their intersectionality as well as how these interpretations influenced their college trajectories and conceptualization of educational leadership. Chicana Feminist Epistemology grounded the investigation to claim research as a site of equality where collaborators participated fully in data collection and data analysis. Methods of plática and reflexión were employed to engage collaborators in a critical reflection of their lived experiences relevant to their intersectionality with the aim of translating these reflections into individual testimonios. Specifically, a Mestiza Methodology Framework was introduced as a model in which collaborators integrated data collection and data analysis to yield a synthesis, analysis, and interpretation of their testimonios presented in the format of a collective testimonio.

Findings demonstrated by interrogating the imposition of dualities that split the intersections of their identity, collaborators located Nepantla, the space between these dualities to excavate knowledge from El Cenote, the intersection of dualities. From El Cenote findings revealed the family as an intersection of identity with the largest influence on initial educational trajectories defined at the undergraduate level. In addition, overall educational experiences fragmented Chicana intersectionality operating to threaten their academic survival. Lastly, the search for the healing and reconciliation of a fragmented identity reset educational trajectories towards advanced degrees in Educational Leadership framed by a praxis of social justice.

Education attainment rates for Latina/os in the United States have significant discrepancies including a 44% high school graduation rate and students of Latina/o descent comprise two-thirds of the overall undocumented high school graduate composition (Perez, 2009; Yosso, 2006). Undocumented Latina/os seeking to matriculate into higher education also face racism, nativism, and substantial institutional barriers. Contending with these challenges, thousands of undocumented Latina/o high school graduates attempt to achieve a higher education annually as they also experience precarious legal situations.

The purpose of this qualitative interview study was to explore the educational and civic experiences of individuals who self-identify as Latina/o and have Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). Interview data was used to develop counterstories that demonstrate how these individuals are navigating their non-majoritarian lives. The study highlights where DACAmented Latina/os find barriers in education and how they utilize civic engagement and social wealth found in the larger undocumented community to develop themselves personally and professionally as they anxiously await comprehensive immigration reform.

Leadership is a common and often generalized phenomenon. Traditionally, leadership denotes an individual, yet leadership is rarely the work of one. This study looked outside of Western ideologies to further examine leadership. The Zapatistas are a people in charge of autonomous territories in Chiapas, Mexico. This study focused on identifying how rotation in leadership among other Zapatista principles and practices can be implemented into secondary schools for more efficient and sustainable leadership. Through a constructivist grounded theory approach, the researcher interviewed two sets of participants Zapatista delegation and encuentro participants along with administrators to develop a Rotating Leadership Model for American high schools.

The purpose of this study was to investigate which of the 7 motivational factors measured in the Student Motivations for Attending University-Revised (SMAU) survey developed by Phinney, Dennis, and Osorio (2006)—career/personal, humanitarian, prove worth, default, expectation, encouragement, and help family—if any, contribute to African-American male and Latino male community college completion/graduation at a 2-year community college in Southern California and transfer to 4-year universities. This study employed a survey design and the target population included MOC that were enrolled in a community college in Southern California. This study used a quantitative, correlational method to measure men of color (MOC) students’ perceptions of persistence, academic success, and motivational factors related to enrollment and persistence at a community college in Southern California. The participants were selected through non-probability sampling in a non-controlled setting utilizing the target population from a community college in the South Bay area of Southern California. The population of African-American and Latino males is steadily rising, thus increasing the prevalence of these 2 ethnic groups at 2-year community colleges. An extensive literature review demonstrated that both male African- American and Latino community college students are the most prominent groups by ethnicity and gender, yet both groups are the least likely to graduate and transfer to 4-year universities. After reviewing the literature regarding MOC in postsecondary education and considering the findings from this study, the foremost leading motivational factor for male African-American and Latino community college students to enroll and persist in college is their desire and priority to help improve the condition of their family’s financial status. The second highest rated motivational factor for MOC to enroll and persist in community college is based on their career/personal goals and pursuits. The least motivational factor promoting academic success for these 2 male racial/ethnic groups included feeling pressured by friends and feelings that they had no other alternatives.

Research has indicated that African American undergraduate students experience racial microaggressions within their university contexts, and these experiences are associated with negative outcomes such as symptoms of depression and anxiety (Cokely, Hall-Clark, & Hicks, 2011; Nadal, 2011; Nadal, et al., 2014). Little is known about the experience of microaggressions and their effects on African American doctoral students, particularly those within the field of psychology. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between racial microaggressions, sense of belonging, coping strategies (problem solving, social support and avoidance), and psychological well-being among African American doctoral students in psychology. Results revealed that every participant had experienced at least one racial microaggression in their doctoral program within the last six months, with the most common types being related to environment and assumptions of inferiority. Contrary to hypotheses, results from a hierarchical multiple regression analyses suggested that racial microaggressions did not significantly predict psychological well-being in this sample. Findings also did not provide evidence for social support, problem solving, avoidance, or sense of belonging as moderators for the negative impact of microaggressions. Overall, the results of this study suggest that African American doctoral students in psychology experience racial microaggressions, but questions remain about the effects of these experiences on psychological well-being. Implications and future research directions are discussed.

There are approximately 28,000 to 55,000 undocumented enrolled in postsecondary institutions in the United States (Passel, 2003). In order to achieve their educational ambitions despite the structural social, socioeconomic, political, and legislative barriers facing them, undocumented students utilize various resources they have at their disposal. Minoritized populations, specifically undocumented Latino students, have employed individual and collective agency in overcoming structural racism and barriers enacted to maintain the status quo. This study of eight undocumented Latino student activists in Virginia and Washington reveals the various forms of resources available undocumented Latino student activists and documents how these students utilize them to navigate the barriers they encounter, shape the undocumented student social movement, and achieve their educational aspirations. This study seeks to uncover what resources undocumented Latino student activists have at their disposal and how the usage of said resources impacts policy formation on an institutional, state and national level.

The study seeks to uncover whether undocumented students utilize their available funds of knowledge to achieve their educational goals and navigate through the barriers they encounter. The study finds that undocumented Latino student activists utilize their funds of knowledge in agriculture, business, construction, mechanics, music, and religion to develop strategies to navigate through educational, financial, institutional, and intrapersonal barriers they encountered. This application of funds of knowledge and community cultural wealth to student activism moves the debate from a deficiency narrative that has long permeated higher education research to an agency narrative.

This study provides valuable insight into the increase of undocumented Latino students’ participation in activism and how one can best aid undocumented Latino student activists. Through the thematic narrative analysis, the lived history and stories of undocumented Latino student activists from Washington and Virginia are woven together to unveil individual and collective routes to educational attainment and activism on behalf of undocumented students.

This study assessed the actual and perceived efficacy of TAFE as implemented across public schools in Texas with Latino populations. The graduation rates of students were analyzed to assess whether there were significant differences in graduation rates between schools implementing the program and those not implementing the program across gender and ethnicity. Surveys were administered to past and present personnel associated with TAFE to ascertain their perceptions on the program. A significant main effect for Latinos was found at TAFE schools during the five year period of the study. Survey responses were isolated to differentiate between Latino responses and those of the general population. Responses varied in consistency between Latino respondents and the overall population of respondents. In general, respondents credited the program for the higher graduation rates of Latinos and their motivation to attend college which are future indicators of success. However, the respondents were undecided as to TAFE's influence to foster teaching vocations but believe it impacts teacher retention. Respondents were also undecided, and a considerable percentage of them had a negative opinion that TAFE motivated them to become or want to become educational administrators. Finally, respondents endorsed the idea of recommending TAFE to high school students and to schools/districts for implementation.

Guided by the critical network analytic framework and liminal legality, this qualitative study explored the experiences of undocumented Latina/o youth in their first year in college to gain insight into their experiences during a critical transition in their educational and life trajectories. This work centered the experiences of youth within a policy context of contradictions that provides increased opportunities, but continues to impose restrictions and control on the life and educational aspirations of the undocumented community. This scholarship aimed to understand how students’ transition to college is impacted by current immigration and educational policies, particularly the California Dream Act and the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. This research describes the racist nativist microaggressions youth experienced throughout their educational trajectories, the multiple ways policy impacted the transition to college, and the navigational strategies youth employed to matriculate to higher education.

Poor academic performance and low academic aspirations can lead to involvement with the criminal justice system. Therefore, schools play an important role in mitigating risk factors as they create a supportive, accessible opportunity for intervention delivery. The population impacted most by academic zero-tolerance punishments are African-American students, whose current suspension rate is two to five times that of their White counterparts. This disproportionate representation also exists within the juvenile justice system, with African-American youths almost five times more likely to be detained than White youths. Therefore, finding effective school-based treatment interventions is essential to reducing disproportionate minority punishment and confinement. In order to address this need, a randomized controlled trial was conducted to examine the effectiveness of Rational Emotive Education (REE), a REBT school-based intervention, on the reduction of disruptive behavior amongst at-risk, male, African-American adolescents. Nineteen participants were assigned to either the treatment or the control condition. Data measuring disruptive behavior, anxiety, depression, anger, self-concept, and school engagement was collected for both groups pre-and post-intervention. Overall the results of the study revealed contradictory findings. Although participants assigned to the REE intervention saw a larger reduction in disruptive behavior over the course of treatment than the control group, on self-report measures they reported an increase in symptoms related to depression, anxiety, anger and a decrease in self-concept and school engagement. Treatment implications are discussed.

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the narrative of Latina graduates who successfully navigated through community college and 4-year institutions in the STEM fields. Rather than focus on what these students lack as much of the current research does, the study explored what assets these students bring that supports their success in STEM fields. Utilizing an ethnographic interview approach, participants who attained STEM baccalaureates in California were interviewed. Qualitative findings revealed various experiences, attitudes, and cultural influences that led to successful completion of a STEM degree. First, the study found that successful community college Latina STEM graduates exhibit grit, are resilient, determined, and have positive attitudes about their underrepresentation in STEM. Second, participants sought after peer, faculty, and staff relationships that helped them be successful. Lastly, participants had the support of their families and reported a high level of connectedness to their culture. Implications, recommendations for practice, and directions for future research are discussed.

This study investigated leadership emergence and growth from the perspective of a purposeful criterion sample of Evangelical pastors in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. Their description of their stories regarding how they emerged as leaders and how they grew as leaders was the primary source of data acquired through semi-structured interviews.

There is a need for greater clarify regarding the processes by which a person emerges and comes to embody the virtues and attributes needed for leadership. Leadership is culturally contingent, but there is a lack of specificity in understanding how the Latin American culture influences leadership emergence and growth.

Three research questions guided this study: (1) How do Evangelical pastors describe how they emerged as leaders?; (2) How do Evangelical pastors describe how they grew as leaders?; (3) What Latin American cultural elements can be observed in the Evangelical pastors' descriptions of how they emerged and grew as leaders?

The literature discussed caudillismo, a prototype of leadership in Latin America, which includes elements of high-power distance, machismo, and paternalism.

Using snowball sampling, twenty-five pastors were chosen and the interview data revealed twelve processes by which these pastors emerged as leaders. For instance, the accompaniment of others was key as was having firsthand experiences in ministry, which moved them to compassionate, on-going action. They emerged because someone saw something in them, named it and opened up spaces (opportunities) for "acts of leadership." Contrary to expectations, training played almost no role in emergence but did in leadership growth.

Seven processes were identified that promoted their growth, like being self-taught, sharing interdenominationally, and keeping an open mind. Six cultural dimensions were observed as having a direct influence (both positive and negative) on leadership emergence and growth: (1) High tolerance for uncertainty; (2) Diffuse culture; (3) Image of limited good; (4) Caudillismo; (5) Ascribed status; (6) Self-effacing (modesty).

This study meets the need for academic inquiry on leadership in Latin America, in Spanish, in the hope that it stimulates Latin Americans to analyze their own leadership, and informs expatriates who serve Latin Americans how to better participate with God in helping leaders emerge and grow.

This phenomenological study examined the perceived adaptation experiences of English-speaking Caribbean K–12 immigrant students in American Schools through the telling of their stories. These stories were substantiated by their parents, and in some cases, close family friends, regarding their interactions with some American schools. The study was framed using Adaptation Theory which was supported by Bourdieu's Theory of Cultural Capital, Intercultural Communication Theory, John Ogbu's Cultural Ecological Theory, and Bowen's Family System Theory. The findings highlight the resiliency of students within this sample to adapt to significant changes in their new academic surroundings, navigate its inherent social structures, and experience progress in the face of challenges. Additionally, this study introduced factors that have contributed to the advancement of students and families within this population. Data gleaned from this study suggest that students from this population often outperform their American classmates. It also brings to the fore, a term coined by the researcher, reverse migration, which is a trend that may be widely practiced by members of this population. These findings may assist in evaluating the efficacy of existing policies pertaining to their placement, instruction, and in identifying gaps in addressing their academic needs.

The mother-daughter relationship holds a special place in the lives of African American women, given the rich history of women of African descent and the complexities of female relationships. However, few studies have discussed the evolution of this relationship and what it means in the lives of African American mothers and daughters. Using relational-cultural theory (RCT) and Black feminist theory, this qualitative grounded theory study described the experiences and evolution of the African American mother-daughter relationship. A sample of 10 mother-daughter dyads was interviewed together about their relationship. Research questions addressed how African American mothers and daughters define, maintain, and value their relationships with one another. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, coded, and analyzed. Themes generated from the data included the relationship undergoing ups and downs, including changes and fluctuations as the pair maintains an enduring bond; unconditional love; legacy; ongoing support; care; learning and spending time together; the role of communication; being available; and mutual acceptance. The results provide insight into the unique evolution of the African American mother-daughter relationship and provide a theoretical foundation for understanding how this relationship develops, evolves, and is maintained. Mental health clinicians who read this study may gain greater awareness of and sensitivity toward African American mother-daughter relationships, as well as insight into how these fluid relationships function. By applying this knowledge to their practice, they may support clients' healthy personal development and interpersonal growth.

Common discourse concerning the educational trajectories of African American males consists of dismal future outcomes due to defective schooling experiences in kindergarten through twelfth grades. There has been a disregard of counter narratives of high academic achievement and overall school success coupled with a highlighting of failure through deficit-based research practices. Consequently, African American males are positioned as delayed or troubled, which serves to perpetuate educational inequity. This study attempts to increase the scarcity of literature by giving voice to the experiences of high achievement among African American adolescent males attending a school designed to support the achievement of impoverished youth of color. Interpretative phenomenological analysis was used to investigate the lifeworlds of nine African American males in seventh and eighth grade at a private, college preparatory middle school in southwestern Florida. Individual, semi-structured interviews were conducted regarding their experiences of academic success. The results indicate that these young men developed positive scholar identities through a process that included the cultivation of academic achievement, sacrificing to succeed, trailblazing, striving for the good life, and planning for success while simultaneously rejecting deficit-based and peril portrayals of Black males. Practical implications for school psychologists, educators, and parents are discussed.

Research suggests that Latino adolescents, both native and foreign born, are at increased risk for the development of school, behavioral, and psychological problems. It also identifies a variety of factors associated with both risk and resilience in this population. There is, however, a scarcity of research that specifically examines risk and resiliency in recent Latino immigrant adolescents who have unique circumstances that may affect their functioning. This study was conducted to address this gap in the research literature by investigating the relationship between a sense of school belonging and internalizing, externalizing, and school problems in adolescent immigrants. Participants included 78 Latino adolescent immigrants between the ages of 11 and 18 who completed a number of instruments to assess their level of connectedness to their schools; internalizing, externalizing, and school problems; and overall psychological adjustment. One teacher for each student also completed a measure of academic effectiveness. Results showed that participants who reported a higher sense of school belonging indicated lower levels of depressive symptoms and higher overall psychological adjustment. Significant relationships between school belonging and anxiety symptoms, school/academic problems, and externalizing behaviors were not found. These findings have implications for school psychologists and other school mental health staff who are in a position to support youngsters in need and to foster a supportive and inclusive school environment for immigrant children.

According to national statistics, the number of Black women college graduates is 44.8% while for Black men, the national college graduate rate stand on 33.1%. The overall graduation rate of the Black population remains 57.3%. Further as the per statistics, out of 7.9% of the total Black male population in America in the age group of 18 to 24 years, only 2.8% of Black men were undergraduates at public flagship colleges and universities (NCES, 2012). It is argued that while this troubling trend is most prevalent in all groups among Black men, young Black men are generally the most vulnerable to underrepresentation in colleges and universities (Harper, 2010).

The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine a federally funded academic and support services program titled PASSAGES, which aims to increase success rates for African American males using what this author refers to as a traditional deficit model for recruiting African Americans. This study examined the PASSAGES through an alternative framework, the Anti Deficit Achieving Framework (ADAF), which is specifically designed for African American males (Harper, 2012).

This study examined current PASSAGES participant’s perceptions of the program, both within the traditional deficit model and within the ADAF. Specifically, this study examined factors such as microaggressions that undermine African American males’ achievements by evaluating their perceptions of the institutional, traditional practices within a student support services program: PASSAGES at Los Angeles Southwest Community College which prohibits them from being successful. The intent of this study was to provide the educational community serving the African American male population with some insight into contemporary techniques to improve their success rates through a positive framework.

This study posits a new research model for Armenian American leadership. The study aims to fill the void in Armenian American leadership literature, while adding to the leadership studies of other ethnic and racial groups in the United States of America. Furthermore, this study aims at discovering the unique characteristics of Armenian American Leadership in relation to cultural acculturation and more specifically how Anglo-cultural influences in leadership may or may not enable a better understanding of diversity within the Armenian American community, along with the role of trend development.

This study examines similarities and differences of leadership styles by analyzing the data both from elected officials and none elected leaders of major Armenian organization in Glendale (who are not elected by registered voters of City of Glendale, but by members of their organization). Furthermore, the study examines the relationship between leadership style, and acculturation in Glendale among Armenian American elected leaders, and non-elected leaders. Specifically, the study aims to determine specific and unique leadership behaviors among respondents reflecting perceived leadership styles, and their commitment to a cause. Additionally, this study seeks leader identification of individual acculturation level as means of examining associations between acculturation, and leadership styles.

Correlational analyses were performed to compare the study's findings based on samples drawn from the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ) and Acculturation Rating Scale for Armenian Americans (ARSAA) developed by using the Acculturation Rating Scale for Mexican Americans (ARSMA-II), whereas, past similar scales have never used literature and data to justify the revision and adaptation of the scale from "Mexican" to "Armenian" but this study does.

The study aims to increase understanding of Glendale's Armenian American residents, and community leaders in terms of leadership perception, style, and relationship to the future and growth of the community. Additional exploration of the relationship between acculturation, and self-perceived leadership style, of Glendale's Armenian American elected leaders will add to the body of leadership literature pertaining to acculturation, as well as to Armenian American ethnic culture, self-identity, and overall influence within the culture. Lastly, the study will enable deeper understanding of history, dynamics, and characteristics of Armenian Americans in Glendale by penetrating the history of the community and leaders, all with an eye on present dynamics. It is anticipated that this study will lead to future studies of ethnic-specific leadership styles, especially those of the under-researched Armenian American community.

Within the field of school psychology there exists literature for school psychologists working with specific ethnic and linguistic groups (Frisby & Reynolds, 2005; Tomes, 2011). The Arab American population is estimated to be 3.6 million (Arab American Institute, 2012). However, there is a paucity of school psychology research on Arab American students and families (Goforth, 2011; Haboush, 2007). As active members of the special education process, school psychologists will benefit from information regarding Arab American cultural and religious beliefs about special education and disabilities. Such information will assist them in providing culturally sensitive and appropriate services to students and families.

This study utilized a phenomenological qualitative approach to illuminate Arab Americans parents' experiences with their children's encounters with the special education process and perceptions of their children's disabilities. Phenomenological data analysis revealed four core themes. First, parents attached significance to specific steps within the special education process and to cultural stigmas around special education and disabilities. Next, parents reflected on special education services and key relationships. Additionally, parents discussed their children's abilities, their understandings of special education, and their advocacy work. Finally, parents reported that their goals for their children had not changed as a result of the special education process, although the goals were tailored to their children's identified disabilities. These findings have significant implications for professionals working with Arab American students and their parents. Recommendations are made for culturally sensitive school psychology practice with Arab Americans. Suggestions are provided for further research on this important yet under-researched topic.

Although literacy skills have been associated with critical academic, social, and economic outcomes, most adolescents in the United States lack basic proficiency in reading comprehension. Experts in the field of adolescent literacy have identified affective components of reading (e.g., reading attitudes) as a critical topic in need of further research. Prior research has found a significant correlation between affective components of reading and reading comprehension, even after controlling for cognitive covariates (e.g., vocabulary). However, the bulk of this research has been limited to first language learners and children in the early grades. Therefore, this study extends the reading attitudes literature by examining these relationships among Latino adolescents, including those who speak English as a second language. Furthermore, reading attitudes has predicted reading comprehension growth among certain populations, although the mechanisms behind this relationship are unclear. This study theorizes that reading attitudes promotes reading development by facilitating incidental vocabulary acquisition through increased reader engagement and implicit strategy use. Therefore, this study also extends the literature by determining whether reading attitudes predicts vocabulary growth from September to June of ninth grade. Participants were 128 ninth grade students in a low-income, predominantly Latino high school. 24% spoke English only (EO), 26% were from Spanish-speaking homes but had been determined to be initially fluent-English-proficient (I-FEP) at enrollment, 21% were classified as “true” English learners (ELs) who had not yet attained proficiency in English, and 29% were former English learners who had been redesignated fluent-English-proficient (R-FEP). Reading attitudes were assessed using an adapted form of the Elementary Reading Attitudes Survey (ERAS), which contains both recreational (ERAS-R) and academic (ERAS-A) reading subscales. In a hierarchical regression analysis (HRA), the ERAS-R independently predicted reading comprehension after controlling for language group, vocabulary, and word reading ability (i.e., decoding, word recognition, and fluency). No language group interactions were detected. In a second HRA, the ERAS-R predicted students’ vocabulary at the end of ninth grade after controlling for language group, prior vocabulary achievement, and word reading ability. However, reading attitudes only predicted vocabulary development for EO and R-FEP students, while no effect was present for I-FEP children and “true” ELs.

Since the end of the Civil Rights era, a new paradigm has emerged for understanding race and racism in American society. This neoliberal hegemonic discourse argues that systemic racism ended with the abolishment of formal, juridical racism and that any continued investment in race is both unnecessary and deeply problematic. Critical race theorists have named this framework color-blind racism. In recent years, color-blind racist discourse has been repackaged under a "post-race" label and the election of America's first non-White president has only served to bolster notions that America might have somehow transcended race.

For college students, the undergraduate years are often a time of great intellectual, emotional, and spiritual upheaval and this instability makes college a prime site for examining individuals' meaning-making and identity formation processes. Students of color are no exception to this overall phenomenon and the literature on racial identity development speaks to the dramatic changes in self-concept that individuals of color often experience while attending college. One group of students of color, Asian American college students, are deeply understudied and there is little scholarly writing on Asian American college students' racial identity development process.

This dissertation is a qualitative study of the effects of color-blind racism on the racial identity meaning-making of Asian American college freshmen. Using a narrative inquiry methodology, the author conducted lengthy in-person interviews with nine participants. The emergent themes from the study indicate that the participants' racial meaning-making process was heavily laden with elements of the ethnicity paradigm of race, color-blind racist tropes, and Asian American racial tropes. The study results suggest that these participants' hold little in the way of racial identity consciousness, as Asian Americans, and that their heavy investment in ethnic identity works to support a color-blind racial frame. Furthermore, elements of color-blind racism and Asian American racial formation appear to interlock in unique ways to produce complicity with the logic of color-blind racism and support for key elements of White racial hegemony. Further research is needed on the effects of color-blind racism on the identity development of college students broadly, and on Asian American students specifically.

The purpose of this study was examine a construct, relationship perceptions of the protégé by comparing t score means of the mentoring relationship and other proximal relationships-mother, father, peers, and teachers. The study targeted (a) Black adolescent males, (b) ages 12 to 17 years old, (c) enrolled in grades seven through 11 in school, and (d) involved a community-based mentoring program in suburban Washington, DC, which includes parts of Maryland. A nonintervention cross-sectional quantitative study design was used to examine the construct of perceived relationships of the protégé by comparing t score means from data collected using the Clinical Assessment of Interpersonal Relationships (a context-dependent, Likert-type, scale composed of five relationship scales of 35 items each). Three research questions guiding the study were: How does the protégé rate the mentoring relationship compared with either parental relationship? How does the protégé rate the mentoring relationship compared with the peers’ relationship? and How does the protégé rate the mentoring relationship compared with the teachers’ relationship? The sample consisted of 13 Black adolescent males (n = 13). The mentoring relationship received significantly higher ratings than the proximal relationships with the exception of the father relationship. Adolescents 12 to 15 years old rated the mentoring relationship higher than the proximal relationships but shifted higher ratings to the parental relationship during ages 16 to17 years old. It was recommended that mentors be instructed regarding (a) role relationships, (b) proper boundaries, (c) collaborating with protégé in planning the mentoring experience, and (d) the importance of mutual respect.

The purpose of this quantitative, correlational study was to examine the relationships between demographic characteristics, self-efficacy, and persistence factors that attribute to the academic performance of American Indian college students who completed 24 semester credits or one year of college. The data collection instrument used were three surveys administered as one web-based survey. The surveys included a 10-item demographic survey, 15-item Modified General Self-Efficacy Exam, and 34-item College Persistence Questionnaire used to obtain data on student self-efficacy and factors that attribute to college persistence. The respondents were American Indian undergraduate students (N=201) who attended a community college branch located in the rural Southwest. The collected data were interpreted using a bivariate correlation and multi-regression statistical analysis using SPSS version 21. The study findings described characteristics of American Indian college students who showed high levels of self-efficacy. The study findings also showed that college persistence factor, academic conscientiousness, was statistically significant in predicting students’ cumulative grade point average (GPA) range. The findings of this study shed light on the need to explore additional factors that perceive to affect the self-efficacy, college persistence, and academic performance of American Indian college students in the rural Southwest.

All children residing in the United States have the right to a quality education. At least that is our collective expectation. Through the lived experience of Yuli, a Native American woman from the Southwest, you will discover, due to her birth on a remote reservation, she was not given the same access to education you or I would expect. On Yuli’s reservation, the school system is managed by the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE). Rather than provide K-12 schooling, the BIE operates K-8 on her reservation and then Native youth who want to go to high school must move off-reservation.

This qualitative study focuses on Yuli’s experience as she traversed the educational system offered to her in order to complete eighth grade, earn her high school diploma and be accepted to college. Her narrative gives insight into what she lost, personally and culturally, as a result of the operational delinquency of a United States of America government agency tasked with one duty, providing an adequate, quality education to Indigenous youth across America. This study explores Yuli’s story, educational inopportunity, and the cultural impact of leaving the reservation to attain an education.

The purpose of this study was to explore the health affects caregiver stress has on caregivers in the Latino community of patients with Alzheimer’s and dementia. The purpose of this project was to identify a potential funding source and write a grant to fund a Latino caregiver psycho-educational support group in the city of Maywood, California.

Researchers and clinical practitioners have grown concerned with the underutilization of support programs in the Latino community. The Latino community has unique needs and responds to culturally sensitive support groups. The Alzheimer’s Association identified caregiver intervention programs as an important area of study. Funded by the Archstone Foundation, this project examines research of the unique needs this large aging community has. VISTA Adult Day Health Care Center serves a large Latino community. This program is presented as a structured psycho-educational support group. The actual submission and/or funding of this grant was not a requirement for the successful completion of this project.

The dramatic underrepresentation of Alaska Natives in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) degrees and professions calls for rigorous research in how students access these fields. Research has shown that students who complete advanced mathematics and science courses while in high school are more academically prepared to pursue and succeed in STEM degree programs and professions. There is limited research on what motivates precollege students to become more academically prepared before they graduate from high school. In Alaska, Alaska Native precollege students regularly underperform on required State of Alaska mathematics and science exams when compared to non-Alaska Native students. Research also suggests that different things may motivate Alaska Native students than racial majority students. Therefore there is a need to better understand what motivates Alaska Native students to take and successfully complete advanced mathematics and science courses while in high school so that they are academically prepared to pursue and succeed in STEM degrees and professions.

The Alaska Native Science & Engineering Program (ANSEP) is a longitudinal STEM educational enrichment program that works with Alaska Native students starting in middle school through doctoral degrees and further professional endeavors. Research suggests that Alaska Native students participating in ANSEP are completing STEM degrees at higher rates than before the program was available. ANSEP appears to be unique due to its longitudinal approach and the large numbers of Alaska Native precollege, university, and graduate students it supports. ANSEP provides precollege students with opportunities to take advanced high school and college-level mathematics and science courses and complete STEM related projects. Students work and live together on campus during the program components. Student outcome data suggests that ANSEP has been successful at motivating precollege participants to successfully complete advanced high school and college-level mathematics and science courses prior to high school graduation.

This study was designed to examine the motivations of Alaska Native high school students who participated in the ANSEP Precollege components to take advanced mathematics and science courses in high school or before college. Participants were 30 high school or college students, 25 of whom were Alaska Native, who were currently attending or had attended Alaska Native Science & Engineering Program (ANSEP) Precollege components in high school. Self-determination theory was used as this study’s theoretical framework to develop the semi-structured interview questions and also analyze the interviews. A thematic approach was used to analyze the interviews. The results of this study indicated that ANSEP helped the Alaska Native high school students gain a sense of autonomy, competence, and relatedness in order to be motivated to take advanced mathematics and science courses in high school or before college. In particular, Alaska Native high school students described that relatedness was an important element to them being motivated to take advanced mathematics and science courses. More specifically, participants reported that the Alaska Native community developed at the ANSEP Building and the relationships they developed with their Alaska Native high school peers and staff played an influential role in the motivation of these students. These findings are important because research suggests that autonomy and competence are more important elements than relatedness because they generate or maintain intrinsic motivation. Alaska Native high school students reported that ANSEP was more successful in helping them gain a sense of competence and relatedness than at helping them gain a sense of autonomy. More specifically, the reason the participants did not feel ANSEP developed their sense of autonomy was because ANSEP restricted their actions during the ANSEP Precollege study sessions.

My study implies that Alaska Native students need to feel like they belong in order to be motivated to take and succeed at taking advanced mathematics and science courses. Educators and STEM program leaders should incorporate elements of belonging into the educational environments they develop for their Alaska Native students. Future research should be conducted to determine if other racial minority students need to feel like they belong in order to be motivated to take and succeed at taking advanced mathematics and science courses.

My study also indicated that Alaska Native students were motivated to take advanced mathematics and science courses by knowing ANSEP would support them in future programming because of its longitudinal approach. Funding agencies of STEM programs should consider funding programs that provide a longitudinal approach to help Alaska Native students’ sense of competence grow. Future research should include studying other STEM programs to determine if they are motivating their students to take and succeed in advanced mathematics and science courses.

The students in the US are positioned in the middle among the nations on the international tests of academic achievement. This moderate achievement is a matter of great concern as it reflects the output of the US education system, as well as the input, in terms of human resource, available to the market. One way of probing this moderate achievement is its comparison with the achievement of students from the top-performing countries. Much of this comparative research lacks a fully-developed, systematic, and theoretical explanation of causes, notably ignoring the influence of culture on achievement. It is within this context that the present study was conducted. Taking a relativist position, I compared the middle school students in the US with those in the top-performing countries in East Asia by engaging a theoretical framework comprising motivation, self-concept, and culture. I used Eccles and Wigfield?s model of expectancy-value theory of achievement motivation (Eccles, 1983, Eccles & Wigfield, 2002), Marsh?s internal/external frame of reference for self-concept (1986), and Triandis? (1995) individualism/collectivism constructs of culture to find an explanation of the identified achievement gap. I used a subset of TIMSS (Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study) 2015 data of 36,115 middle school students in Chinese Taipei (Taiwan), Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Singapore, and the US. One-Way ANOVA test and structural equation modeling were used to look into peer achievement, science achievement, math self-concept, intrinsic value and utility value of math and their influence on math achievement of students from two cultural groups. The results inform that in the US, peer achievement links differently to self-concept and intrinsic value; self-concept and utility value have high mean values; and they associate to achievement weakly or negatively. Thus, middle school students in the US do not believe in competition with peers; their perceptions about themselves and about the usefulness of the domain are inflated; and who value math more, score low on math achievement test. These student characteristics contribute to the moderate math achievement of students in the US.

The number of children in the United States for whom English is not the language spoken at home is increasing. The National Center for Education Statistics (as cited in Hammer, Scarpino, & Davison, 2011) reported that, in 2007, 10.8 million school-age children in the U.S. spoke a native language other than English, an 11% increase in just 25 years. Of these English language learners (ELLs), Latinos represent almost 80% (Jerome, 2009). Numerous studies have shown the importance to both students and schools of meaningfully engaging families in the school environment. This comparative case study focuses on the practices of two elementary schools that successfully promote the engagement of families of Latino ELL students and is intended to increase understanding of the necessary relational components, or the ways that individuals are connected, that promote family engagement in school environments with populations of primarily Latino students and a majority of English language learners (ELLs).