Research Briefs

cesar chavez statue at UT Austin The purpose of our research briefs is to amplify asset-based scholarly publications focused on the educational outcomes of Male Students of Color. These briefs are authored by members of our Faculty and Research Affiliates.

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Research Brief, Issue #32: June 2023 – Latino Men and the College Presidency: An Intersectional Analysis of Identity, Power, and Marginalization in Higher Education
Research Brief, Issue #31: March 2023 – Positionality and Power: The Individual’s Role in Directing Community College Men of Color Initiatives
Research Brief, Issue #30: January 2023 – Race Without Gender? Trends and Limitations in the Higher Education Scholarship Regarding Men of Color
Research Brief, Issue #29: October 2022 – Formerly Incarcerated Latino Men in California Community Colleges
Research Brief, Issue #28: February 2022 – “In My Letters, But I Was Still by Myself”: Highlighting the Experiences of Queer Men of Color in Culturally Based Fraternities
Research Brief, Issue #27: January 2022 – Tocayo Epistemology for Latino Males in Education
Research Brief, Issue #26: October 2021 – Supporting Men of Color in Community College Through California’s Student Equity Policy
Research Brief, Issue #25: September 2021 – Constructing Pathways to Responsible Manhood: Controlling Images and Meaning Making Through the Use of Counter-Narratives
Research Brief, Issue #24: December 2020 – Resisting the Neoliberal Role Model: Latino Male Mentors’ Perspectives on the Intersectional Politics of Role Modeling
Research Brief, Issue #23: October 2020 – Mentoring Experiences and Perceptions of Latino Male Faculty in Higher Education
Research Brief, Issue #22: September 2020 – College Is…: Focusing on the College Knowledge of Gang-Associated Latino Young Men
Research Brief, Issue #21: July 2020 – Exploring How Gay Latinx Men Cope in College Using Emotion Regulation
Research Brief, Issue #20: May 2020 – Undocuqueer Latinx: Counterstorytelling Narratives During and Post-High School
Research Brief, Issue #19: March 2020 – Transfer Conditions for LatinX Tejanx Community College Students
Research Brief, Issue #18: October 2019 – Aspirational and High-Achieving Latino College Men Who Strive “Por Mi Madre”: Toward a Proposed Model of Maternal Cultural Wealth
Research Brief, Issue #17: March 2019 – Deferred Enrollment: Chicano/Latino Males, Social Mobility and Military Enlistment
Research Brief, Issue #16: November 2018 – Why so much Blackness?: Race in the Dissertation Topics and Research of Black Male Doctoral Students
Research Brief, Issue #15: October 2018 – “You can go to college”: Employing a Developmental Perspective to Examine How Young Men of Color Construct a College‑Going Identity
Research Brief, Issue #14: May 2018 – The Message, Hope, and Reality of College Readiness: Exploring the Experiences of Dual Credit Latinx Students
Research Brief, Issue #13: April 2018 – Understanding Family Relationships for Queer Latino Men at Selective Higher Education Institutions
Research Brief, Issue #12: February 2018 – How to Measure Student Success? Towards Consideration of Student Resilience as a Metric of Success in Institutional Accountability Frameworks
Research Brief, Issue #11: September 2017 – Latino Men and Masculinities: Community College Transfer Experiences in Texas, California, and Florida
Research Brief, Issue #10: June 2017 – Latino Men in Two-Year Public Colleges: State-Level Enrollment Changes and Equity Trends over the Last Decade.
Research Brief, Issue #9: March 2017 – Catching them Early: An Examination of Chicano/Latino Middle School Boys’ Early Career Aspirations
Research Brief, Issue #8: January 2017 – Caught in-between: AfroLatino Males in Higher Education
Research Brief, Issue #7: October 2016 – Latino Male High School Math Achievement: The Influential Role of Psychosocial Factors
Research Brief, Issue #6: June 2016 – English, Español, and “Academia”: The crossover socialization of multilingual Latino male faculty in education
Research Brief, Issue #5: April 2016 – Finding Los Científicos Within: Latino Male Science Identity Development in the First College Semester
Research Brief, Issue #4: January 2016 – How Latino Male Cope with Academic and Social Obstacles During College
Research Brief, Issue #3: October 2015 – An Intersectionality Analysis of Latino Men in Higher Education and their Help-Seeking Behaviors
Research Brief, Issue #2: August 2015 – Experiences of Latino Male Students Enrolled in History Black Colleges and Universities
Research Brief, Issue #1: August 2015 – The National Study on Latino Male Achievement in Higher Education

Research Brief, Issue #32 (June 2023)

Latino Men and the College Presidency: An Intersectional Analysis of Identity, Power, and Marginalization in Higher Education

Author: Jorge Burmicky, Ph.D., Howard University

Latinx/a/o college presidents represent less than four percent of all college and university presidencies in the United States (Gagliardi et al., 2017). Although the percentage of Latinx/a/o students enrolling in postsecondary education has nearly doubled in the past decade (Snyder et al., 2018), the percentage of Latinx/a/o college presidents has decreased, with only 3.9% of the total presidencies in 2016 compared to 4.5% in 2006 (Gagliardi et al., 2017).

Research Brief, Issue #31 (March 2023)

Race Without Gender? Trends and Limitations in the Higher Education Scholarship Regarding Men of Color

Authors: Kaleb L. Briscoe, Ph.D., Mississippi State University; Veronica A. Jones, Ph.D., University of North Texas; Deryl K. Hatch-Tocaimaza, Ph.D., University of Nebraska Lincoln; Eligio Martinez Jr., Ph.D., California State Polytechnic University, Pomona

In light of the barriers that Men of Color (MOC) face in higher education, many educators increasingly pursue Men of Color initiatives (MCIs) as a means to enhance their success (Harper et al., 2015; Keflezighi et al., 2016). Community college MCIs (CCMCIs) are especially of interest, as this sector of higher education continues to enroll disproportionate numbers of MOC (Wood et al., 2016). What goes unexamined is the nature of CCMCIs as products of individuals—CCMCI directors— who design, develop, and implement these programs within particular contexts.

Research Brief, Issue #30 (January 2023)

Race Without Gender? Trends and Limitations in the Higher Education Scholarship Regarding Men of Color

Authors: Nolan L., Cabrera, Ph.D., University of Arizona; Alex K. Karaman, Ph.D., University of Arizona; Tracy Arámbula Turner, Ph.D., University of Vermont; Yadira G. Oregon, M.A., University of Arizona; Eliaquin A. Gonell, M.Ed., University of Vermont; Jameson D. Lopez, Ph.D., University of Arizona; Regina Deil-Amen, Ph.D., University of Arizona

The underrepresentation and academic underperformance of Men of Color (MoC) relative to Women of Color (WoC) in higher education has been a central focus of both research and practice for the last two decades. Countless efforts have highlighted and address these disparities, but controversy has surrounded these initiatives including critiques like those by Kimberlé Crenshaw, that they erase the unique needs of WoC and ignores the ways patriarchy advantages men and oppresses women.

Research Brief, Issue #29 (October 2022)

Formerly Incarcerated Latino Men in California Community Colleges

Authors: Melissa E. Abeyta, Ed.D., University of Texas Rio Grande Valley

Latinos make up 22% of the 2.3 million males in state or federal custody (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2016). In California, Latino men are overrepresented in prison: they are 41% of the prison population, but only 38% of the state population (Sakala, 2014).
The effects of incarceration for Latino men have lasting social and economic inequities for them and their communities. The various effects of incarceration include the psychological effect, generational and community impacts, and economic instability.

Research Brief, Issue #28 (February 2022)

“In My Letters, But I Was Still by Myself”: Highlighting the Experiences of Queer Men of Color in Culturally Based Fraternities

Authors: Crystal E. Garcia, Ph.D., University of Nebraska-Lincoln; Antonio Duran, Ph.D., Florida International University

Culturally based sororities and fraternities have long played a positive role in the experiences of Students of Color on college campuses, though questions remain of how they create space for other minoritized identities. This narrative inquiry study thus provides a contribution by exploring the role that sexuality and gender expression play in the experiences of Queer Men of Color in culturally based fraternities. This research sought to illuminate the connections that Queer Men of Color developed to their organizations and how they navigated issues pertaining to their identities in these fraternities.

Research Brief, Issue #27 (January 2022)

Tocayo Epistemology for Latino Males in Education

Authors: Cristóbal Salinas Jr., Ph.D., Florida Atlantic University; Cristóbal Rodríguez, Ph.D., Arizona State University

The purpose of this paper is to share the lived experiences of and give meaning, understanding and knowledge to a tocayo epistemology. The term tocayo is used to identify people who share the same name. In this paper, the authors are tocayos and use epistemology as a way of understanding their lived experiences and knowing the world and making sense of how they know what they know. Tocayo is about the names but more about connection and similar lived experiences and oppressions.

Research Brief, Issue #26 (October 2021)

Supporting Men of Color in Community College Through California’s Student Equity Policy

Authors: Ángel González, Ed.D., California State University, Fresno; Eric Felix, Ph.D., San Diego State University

A major effort being implemented in the California Community College System is the Student Equity Policy (SEP). This policy requires all community colleges in the state to examine five academic areas which include access, basic skills progression, course completion, transfer to a four-year institution, and degree completion for disproportionately impacted students. Within these five academic areas, there are six mandated student groups to disaggregate data and identify inequity for, including racially minoritized students, women, low-income, foster youth, veterans, and students with disabilities (Student equity plans, Ca. Stat. § 78220, 2014). Since race and gender are two focal areas of the reform, the Student Equity Policy offers the opportunity to explicitly address men of color (MOC).

Research Brief, Issue #25 (September 2021)

Constructing Pathways to Responsible Manhood: Controlling Images and Meaning Making Through the Use of Counter-Narratives

Authors: Mellie Torres, Ph.D., Independent Researcher; Alejandro Carrión, Ph.D., University of Nevada, Las Vegas; Roberto Martínez, Ph.D., Brooklyn College

In recent years, growing scholarship and studies have focused on challenging deficit narratives and discourses perpetuating a criminalization of Latino men and boys. But even with this growing scholarship, mainstream counter-narratives of young Latino boys and their attitudes toward manhood and masculinity stand in stark contrast to the dangerous and animalistic portrayals of multiracial Latino boys and men in the media and society (Molina, 2014; Martínez, 2018; Noguera et al., 2012; Rios, 2017).
The present study explores how Latino boys understood and made sense of manhood and their masculinities. We addressed the following questions: (1) How do Latino boys describe their conceptions of masculinities? (2) How do Latino boys make sense of their conceptions of manhood?

Research Brief, Issue #24 (December 2020)

Resisting the Neoliberal Role Model: Latino Male Mentors’ Perspectives on the Intersectional Politics of Role Modeling

Authors: Michael V. Singh, Ph.D., University of California, Davis

This article reports on case study research with two Latino male youth workers who critique their positioning as positive male role models for struggling Latino boys in a Latino male mentorship program. In response to the persistent educational marginalization experienced by boys of color (Noguera, 2012), the past two decades have seen an explosion of intervention strategies aimed at uplifting and empowering boys of color in schools (Harper & Associates, 2014; Noguera, 2009; Saenz & Ponjuan, 2011). Many of these strategies aim to recruit and retain more male educators of color and are rooted in what I refer to as the positive male role model discourse. This discourse asserts that boys of color rarely see men of color embodying dominant notions of successful manhood. It is believed that by increasing the amount of successful men of color in the lives of struggling students, there will be a positive impact on the attitudes, well-being, and academic achievement among boys of color. However, despite the common sense nature of this assumption, the perspectives of the two Latino male youth workers highlighted in this research (a) raise important questions surrounding the neoliberal logics commonly undergirding mentor/role model intervention strategies and (b) speak to the intersectional politics of role modeling in the neoliberal era.

Research Brief, Issue #23 (October 2020)

Mentoring Experiences and Perceptions of Latino Male Faculty in Higher Education

Authors: Cristobal Salinas Jr., Ph.D., Florida Atlantic University; Patrick J. Riley, M.Ed., Bellarmine University; Lazaro Camacho Jr., M.S., Florida Atlantic University; Deborah L. Floyd, Ed.D., Florida Atlantic University

To better understand the role of mentorship in the professional growth of Latino male faculty members in higher education, it is necessary to identify a concrete understanding of mentorship through personal experience. As the Latino/a population continues to be the largest and fastest growing population in the United States (Salinas, 2015b), more Latino/a students continue to enroll in colleges and universities. Yet, the number of Latino faculty members does not reflect the ratio of Latino/a students who enroll in higher education institutions. A 21st-century portrait of higher education conveys a scene of changing student demographics. The scene is one of a continuous increase in undergraduate racial and ethnic diversity. In 2015, this increase represented an undergraduate student population that is 14% Black, 17% Hispanic, and 1% Native American (U.S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau, 2016). In response to these demographics, institutions of higher education have put an emphasis on recruiting Faculty of Color as a means of helping to support and retain these students (Chadiha et al., 2014). During the same year, Black (6%), Hispanic (4%), and Native American (>1%) faculty accounted for only a little more than 10% of full-time faculty. Despite efforts to bring diversity to academia, the number of Faculty of Color has not kept pace with the undergraduate student population. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to conceptualize, validate, and explore how Latino male faculty perceive mentoring both as a mentee and as a mentor, as well as how mentoring impacts their professional path and development. This study examined the intrinsic trends and motivators that influence how Latino male faculty perceive and value mentorship.

Research Brief, Issue #22 (September 2020)

College Is…: Focusing on the College Knowledge of Gang-Associated Latino Young Men

Authors: Adrian H. Huerta, Ph.D., University of Southern California; Patricia M. McDonough, Ph.D., University of California, Los Angeles; Kristan Venegas, Ph.D., University of La Verne; Walter R. Allen, Ph.D., University of California, Los Angeles

There are more than 1 million self-reported youth who are embedded in some type of (in)formal gang, crew, or other group with a designated name and moniker that demonstrates a commitment to engaging in differentiated levels of criminal activity (Klein & Maxson, 2006; Pyrooz & Sweeten, 2015). Youth choose gangs in response to the powerlessness and marginalization they may feel in their neighborhoods (Estrada et al., 2018; Vigil, 1988, 1999, 2019), which are often opportunity deserts, sites of long-term poverty, and underinvested by governments (Vigil, 2003). We know that gang-associated youth are 30% less likely to complete high school compared with their non-gang peers (Pyrooz, 2014), but we often miss the nuances of how and why gang youth make the decision to leave school or finally accept that educators prefer they leave. Missing from the conversations about gangs and gang problems are the role of schools and their capacity to promote gang desistance.

Research Brief, Issue #21 (July 2020)

Exploring How Gay Latinx Men Cope in College Using Emotion Regulation

Authors: Charles Lu, Ph.D., University of California San Diego; Sarah L. Rodriguez, Ph.D., Texas A&M University-Commerce; Beth E. Bukoski, Ph.D., The University of Texas at Austin

A recent survey from Gen Forward found that 22% of Latinx millennials (aged 18-34 years) identify as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer/Questioning (LGBTQ). The same survey also found that 61% of Latinx millennials said that there is “a lot” of discrimination against LGBTQ people within their own racial community. With the majority of college students being millennials, there is a need for higher education scholars to explore how gay Latinx students navigate and transition their identities as gay men from their homes and communities to college campuses. Research has found that gay students experience greater challenges and psychological stress during college transitions compared to their heterosexual peers (Kirsch et al., 2015). Little work, however, has examined how gay Latinx men cope with psycho-sociocultural stressors and how their sexual orientation and identification influences their college experiences (Duran & Perez, 2017; Eaton & Rios, 2017; Rios & Eaton, 2016). The purpose of this qualitative study was to use Gross’s (1998) process-oriented model of emotional regulation to explore how gay Latinx men overcome academic and personal obstacles in college. The study was guided by two core questions: (1) How do gay Latinx men cope with personal and academic obstacles during their college experience within the paradigm of emotion regulation? (2) How do gay Latinx men use emotion regulation processes to cope with heterosexist attitudes and comments on college campuses?

Research Brief, Issue #20 (May 2020)

Undocuqueer Latinx: Counterstorytelling Narratives During and Post-High School

Author: Juan A. Ríos Vega, Ph.D., Professor, Bradley University

Few scholars have explored the experiences of undocumented and queer Latinx students in K-12 and post high school. This qualitative case study uses a holistic analysis of the case themes, which helped to identify different issues within each theme (Crewell & Poth, 2018; Glesne, 2006). This study sought to analyze counterstorytelling narratives provided by a queer, undocumented student named Juan. His story during and post-high school graduation intersects multiple layers of oppression while he developed his own community cultural wealth.

Research Brief, Issue #19 (March 2020)

Transfer Conditions for LatinX Tejanx Community College Students

Authors: Jose Del Real Villamontes, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Illinois; Luis Urrieta, Ph.D., Professor, The University of Texas at Austin

Latinx students who graduate from high school are less likely than their White counterparts to start off at a four-year university and more likely to enter higher education through the community college system (Kurlaender, 2006). In Texas, an overall 53% of students chose community college as their entry point into higher education, according to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB, 2013); of those, 25% eventually transferred to a fouryear institution within six years (THECB, 2014). The National Center of Education Statistics (2013) data indicate that 46% of all Latinx students in U.S. higher education are enrolled at a community college. However, Latinx transfer rates to four-year universities were disproportionately low among all transfer students (National Center for Public Policy in Higher Education, 2011). In fact, more than 60% of Latinx students in postsecondary education begin their college careers in the community college, but fewer than 1% transfer to four-year colleges and universities (Yosso and Solórzano, 2006).

Research Brief, Issue #18 (October 2019)

Aspirational and High-Achieving Latino College Men Who Strive “Por Mi Madre”: Toward a Proposed Model of Maternal Cultural Wealth

Author: Tracy Arámbula Ballysingh, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, The University of Vermont

The extant body of work pertaining to Latinx postsecondary experiences highlights lingering gaps in recruitment, matriculation, retention, and persistence, despite efforts to ameliorate these challenges (Núñez, Hoover, Pickett, Stuart-Carruthers & Vásquez, 2013). Only 15% of Latinx students aged 25 to 29 years hold a bachelor’s degree, making them the lowest age-group degree
earners (Santiago, Galdeano, & Taylor, 2015). In addition, while Latinxs have improved matriculation rates at less selective institutions, representation within social capital-bearing elite institutions remains stagnant (Ashkenas, Park & Pearce, 2017). This article presents findings from a qualitative study of Latinos attending a selective public flagship institution in the Southwest. A direct response to deficit narratives focused on underachievement, this article advances an asset-based perspective of maternal influence on college-going behavior using Yosso’s (2005) Community Cultural Wealth (CCW) framework to answer the following question: In what ways do Latino men attending a selective public flagship institution attribute their motivation to persist to and through postsecondary education to their mothers?

Research Brief, Issue #17 (March 2019)

Deferred Enrollment: Chicano/Latino Males, Social Mobility, and Military Enlistment

Authors: Eligio Martinez, Ph.D., Clinical Assistant Professor, Claremont Graduate School; Adrian Huerta, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, University of Southern California

The lack of high school graduation and college enrollment can lead to limited prospects for career and college, leaving many with an uncertain future. For some Chicano/Latino males, choosing the military is an avenue to increase their access to needed training and benefits (Dempsey & Shapiro, 2009; Flanagan & Levine, 2010). With these structural barriers in mind, the purpose of this qualitative study is to explore the various factors that lead Chicano/Latino males to enlist in the military after high school graduation instead of matriculating into college. Results showed that students viewed the military as a way of upward social mobility and their most viable career option after completing high school. The study also highlights the lack of resources available to students who may not be viewed as college material by school personnel.

Research Brief, Issue #16 (November 2018)

Why so much Blackness?: Race in the Dissertation Topics and Research of Black Male Doctoral Students

Authors: C. Spencer Platt, Ph.D., Associate Professor, University of South Carolina; Adriel Hilton, Ph.D., Dean of Students and Diversity Officer, Seton Hill University

This Project MALES research brief explores how Black male doctoral students made sense of their decisions to research race in their degree fields and whether there are forces at play that compel them to do so. Selecting a dissertation topic is a major concern for most doctoral students. The dissertation is an original, substantial, and independent academic project. It presents the student with the opportunity to find a narrowly focused niche within the academic field on which they will become an expert.

Research Brief, Issue #15 (October 2018)

“You can go to college”: Employing a Developmental Perspective to Examine How Young Men of Color Construct a College‑Going Identity

Authors: Adrian Huerta, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, University of Southern California; Patricia McDonough, Ph.D., Professor, University of California, Los Angeles; Walter Allen, Ph.D., Distinguished Professor, University of California, Los Angeles

This Project MALES Brief examines the national high school graduation rates for Black and Latino males. It estimates that between 48 to 51% graduate and the actual numbers may be lower depending on the measures used by local school districts to calculate completion rates (Schott Foundation for Public Education 2015). Given the educational conditions in high school graduation and college enrollment numbers, often times what is missing from this complicated story are the voices of young men of color to discuss their trajectories and hopes for their future.

Research Brief, Issue #14 (May 2018)

The Message, Hope, and Reality of College Readiness: Exploring the Experiences of Dual Credit Latinx Students

Authors: Taryn Ozuna Allen, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, The University of Texas at Arlington, Melissa Thompson, doctoral student, The University of Texas at Arlington; Maria Martinez-Cosio, Ph.D., Associate Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs, The University of Texas at Arlington

Despite the growing numbers of Hispanic students in Texas high schools, college access and retention remains a critical challenge (Krogstad, 2016). Although college enrollment for Hispanics has risen, with 35% of Hispanics 18 years and older enrolling in college (Krogstad, 2016), Hispanics continue to fall behind in obtaining a college degree. College readiness efforts, such as dual credit programs, can help address the achievement gap confronting Latinx students interested in engineering fields.

Research Brief, Issue #13 (April 2018)

Understanding Family Relationships for Queer Latino Men at Selective Higher Education Institutions

Authors: Antonio Duran, M.S., doctoral student, Ohio State University and David Perez Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Miami University in Oxford.

Although research on Latino men in higher education has increased over the past decade (Carrillo, 2013; Garcia, Huerta, Ramirez, & Patrón, 2017; Gloria, Castellanos, Scull, & Villegas, 2009; Pérez, 2017; Pérez & Taylor, 2016; Sáenz & Ponjuán, 2009; Sáenz, Ponjuán, & Figueroa, 2016), few scholars have examined the experiences of subgroups within this student population. Notably, only a small number of empirical studies have focused on the experiences of Latino college men who also identify as part of the queer community (Duran & Pérez, 2017; Eaton & Rios, 2017; Rios & Eaton, 2016). This research gap is alarming, considering that literature indicates queer Latino men frequently face marginalization from Latinx communities based on perceptions that they are more feminine (Hirai, Winkel, & Popan, 2014).

Research Brief, Issue #12 (February 2018)

How to Measure Student Success? Towards Consideration of Student Resilience as a Metric of Success in Institutional Accountability Frameworks

Author: Elvira J. Abrica, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

As an institutional researcher working in a California community college, Dr. Abrica was trained to calculate transfer, degree, and certificate completion rates using two specific frameworks: The Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office Scorecard Framework for Student Success and California’s Student Equity Plan Disproportionate Impact Methodology. Although she knew how to calculate these success rates, Dr. Abrica wanted to know why success was measured differently according to these metrics and how her reporting efforts could facilitate a more robust understanding of success for men of color.

Research Brief, Issue #11 (September 2017)

Latino Men and Masculinities: Community College Transfer Experiences in Texas, California, and Florida

Authors: Sarah L. Rodriguez, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Iowa State University, Marissa Vasquez, Ed.D., San Diego State University (SDSU), and Cristobal Salinas Jr., Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Florida Atlantic University

This Project MALES research brief focuses on how masculinity influences the community college to four-year university transfer experience. Further, the phenomenological study referenced in this brief focused on examining the lived socialization and masculinities experiences of 36 undergraduate Latino men who had transferred from a community college to a four-year university in Texas, California, or Florida. Participants were over the age of 18, self-identified as Latino or Hispanic, self-identified as men, had transferred from a community college to a four-year institution, and were currently enrolled as undergraduate students at a four-year public institution. This study was guided by the following research questions: 1) What prior gender socialization experiences do men bring with them as they transition from the community college to the four-year college experience? 2) How do masculinities and identity conflicts affect male students’ attitudes and behaviors during this transition?

Research Brief, Issue #10 (June 2017)

Latino Men in Two-Year Public Colleges: State-Level Enrollment Changes and Equity Trends over the Last Decade

Author Deryl K. Hatch-Tocaimaza, Assistant Professor, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

This Project MALES research brief utilizes the most recent available data from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), and the U.S. Census Bureau’s Community Population Survey (CPS) to establish trends over the last decade in overall enrollment numbers and, through the use of equity indices (Bensimon, Hao, & Bustillos, 2006), gains and losses in equitable representation in relation to relative local demographic changes. IPEDS provided enrollment numbers for all U.S.-based and Title IV-participating institutions in the 2-year public sector, while CPS provided yearly estimates of population characteristics at the state level. The research questions guiding this study were: 1) How have enrollment patterns for Latino males developed over time in two-year public colleges in different parts of the country? 2) How do these changes in proportional representation in the study body reflect gains or losses in terms of equity in relation to local demographic changes?

Research Brief, Issue #9 (March 2017)

Catching them Early: An Examination of Chicano/Latino Middle School Boys’ Early Career Aspirations

Author Eligio Martinez Jr., Visiting Assistant Professor, California State Polytechnic University-Pomona

This Project MALES research brief focuses on acknowledging the unique experiences of Chicano/Latino boys and examining the formulation of their post-secondary aspirations. This study uses four interrelated theoretical perspectives to guide the understanding of how Chicano/Latino middle school boys may formulate their post-secondary aspirations: Bandura’s (1977 social cognitive theory, Bourdieu’s (1983) social and cultural capital theory, and Yosso’s (2005) community cultural wealth model. Taken together, these theoretical perspectives describe the multi-faceted nature of Chicano/Latino middle school boy’s post-secondary aspirations development. The qualitative study referenced in this brief takes place at Dolores Middle School (DMS, pseudonym), located in a historically white community with a recent influx of Latino immigrants in the Pacific Northwest. The study examined the aspirational development of 11 Chicano/Latino boys derived from a representative sample of DMS 8th grade Chicano/Latino students who participated in a larger year and a half ethnographic study regarding their socialization. The following research questions are what guided this study: 1) How do Latino middle school students formulate their college and career aspirations? What obstacles or resources, if any, do they perceive as potentially limiting or supporting their success? 2) What individuals and experiences influence their early aspirations? How do these individuals shape students’ aspirations?

Research Brief, Issue #8 (January 2017)

Caught in-between: AfroLatino Males in Higher Education

Author Claudia García-Louis, Ph.D., Visiting Assistant Professor, University of Texas-San Antonio

This Project MALES Research Brief focuses on highlighting the lived experiences of six self-identified undergraduate AfroLatino males attending a small, urban, commuter campus in the northeastern United States. Semi-structured individual interviews were conducted with the participants (Patton, 2002). The guiding research questions for the study were: (1) How do AfroLatino males view their themselves in relation to Latina/os and African-Americans on campus? (2) How do AfroLatino males mold their racial, ethnic, and cultural identity? Findings from this study show that AfroLatino males are forced to traverse socially constructed categories, that in effect, thrust them into (in)visibility through the social investment of African American and Latinx nomenclature. Based on the findings, AfroLatino males feel overlooked on campus. Despite campus being located in a very diverse city and neighborhood, not one participant could identify a single program, service, club, activity, or class that was dedicated to AfroLatinxs. Moreover, in addition to navigating campus culture and academics, they were also forced to make daily decisions about whether to disclose their ethnic, cultural, and/or racial identity.

Research Brief, Issue #7 (October 2016)

Latino Male High School Math Achievement: The Influential Role of Psychosocial Factors

Author Ismael Fajardo, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Research Associate, University of Washington Seattle

This Project MALES Research Brief focuses on understanding and investigating the psychological, social, and cultural factors that influence standardized math achievement for Latina/o students in a high school context, as it is conducive to completing a high school and college degree. The following research questions are what guided this study: 1) What are the direct effects of psychological, social, and cultural factors on eleventh-grade math achievement for Latino students? 2) Does the PSC model vary across gender? Findings from this study show that Latino male high school students’ math achievement is significantly influenced by psychological, social, and cultural factors.

Research Brief, Issue #6 (June 2016)

English, Español, and “Academia”: The crossover socialization of multilingual Latino male faculty in education

Author Cristobal Salinas Jr., Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Florida Atlantic University

This Project MALES Research Brief explored the lived experiences of how Latino male faculty members make meaning of their socialization into the academia and how socialization impacts their decisions to pursue full-time and tenure-track positions in the field of education. As such, the following research questions guided this study: 1.) How do tenure-track and full-time tenured Latino male faculty members enter the field of education? 2.) How do tenure-track and full-time tenured Latino male faculty members make meaning of their socialization into the academy? Findings from this study suggest that through their socialization, Latino male faculty are crossing intellectual, emotional, psychological, and geographical borders.

Research Brief, Issue #5 (April 2016)

Finding Los Científicos Within: Latino Male Science Identity Development in the First College Semester

Author: Charles Lu, Ph.D., Executive Director, Gateway Scholars and Summer Bridge Programs, The University of Texas at Austin

This Project MALES Research Brief focuses on examining science experiences of Latino males majoring in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines. The qualitative, phenomenological study referenced in this brief examined their first semester science experiences using a science identity framework. The two main research questions guiding this research study were: (1) How do Latino males majoring in STEM disciplines ascribe meaning to their science experiences in the first semester of college? (2) How do Latino males’ science identities develop in their first college semester? The findings from this study bring attention to the ways Latino males’ science identities are deconstructed, challenged, and shaped in their first semester of college. Many of the men enjoyed the prestige and exclusivity that they associated with STEM, and this affected the way they constructed their reality within and outside the scientific world.

Research Brief, Issue #4 (January 2016)

How Latino Male Cope with Academic and Social Obstacles During College

Author: Sarah Rodriguez, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Iowa State University.

This Project MALES Research Brief explored the academic and social obstacles that first and second generation Latino male college students encountered within a predominantly White, research-intensive, and highly selective institution and examined how these students coped with those obstacles. Using a qualitative, phenomenological approach, their work explored the following research questions: (1) How do Latino men experience and make meaning of the academic and social obstacles that they encounter during college? (2) How do Latino men utilize coping responses to overcome academic and social obstacles? The study referenced in this brief is from ten semi-structured interviews with Latino male undergraduates at the University of Texas at Austin.

Research Brief, Issue #3 (October 2015)

An Intersectionality Analysis of Latino Men in Higher Education and their Help-Seeking Behaviors

Author: Nolan Cabrera, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, University of Arizona.

This Project MALES Research Brief focuses on exploring the intersection of being Latino and being male and its relationship to educational achievement, within the context of Arizona and anti-Latina/o policies. The qualitative study referenced in this brief is from eight semi-structured interviews with Latino male undergraduates at the University of Arizona. Exploring (1) The academic and racial stresses do Latino men face during their undergraduate experiences, (2) The help-seeking behaviors do Latino men engage in to manage the stresses in their lives, and (3) The relationship between help-seeking behaviors and Latino masculinity. The narratives of these Latino male students were illuminating. They tended to experience stresses in their lives stemming from both racism and academic struggles; however, they seldom engaged in help-seeking behaviors. Part of this avoidance stemmed from fear of vulnerability.

Research Brief, Issue #2 (August 2015)

Experiences of Latino Male Students Enrolled in History Black Colleges and Universities

Author: Taryn O. Allen, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, University of Texas at Arlington.

This Project MALES Research Brief focuses on understanding how the learning environment of Historically Black College and Universities (HBCUs) could counter the achievement gaps confronting Latino male students. The qualitative, phenomenological study referenced in this brief, explored the lived experiences (Creswell, 2014) often Latino male undergraduate students enrolled into two, four-year HBCUs in Texas. The guiding research questions for this study were: (1) What individuals, relationships, and experiences, if any, promote sense of belonging? (2) What individuals, relationships, and experiences, if any, hinder sense of belonging?; and (3) What do Latino males suggest to promote their sense of belonging at HBCUs? Sense of belonging was measured using Strayhorn’s (2012) concept of sense of belonging in college.

Research Brief, Issue #1 (August 2015)

The National Study on Latino Male Achievement in Higher Education

Author: David Perez II, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Miami University of Ohio.

This Project MALES Research Brief focuses on highlighting a set of qualitative studies that integrate two asset-based theories—Yosso’s (2005) community cultural wealth framework and Schreiner’s (2010) thriving quotient, to understand how 100 Latino males employed different forms of capital to thrive academically, intrapersonally, and interpersonally at 20 selective universities. TNSLMA represents the first national and largest qualitative study to focus on how Latino males conceptualize and embody success in higher education.