<p> On September 26, 2014, forty-three teacher students from Ayotzinapa, an indigenous rural area in Guerrero, Mexico, disappeared at the hands of the government in an attempt to silence a civic protest. This crime, representing a legacy of political corruption and impunity, &ldquo;crossed the border&rdquo; and became present in the interest of Chicana activists in the United States who displayed their outrage through protests, community organizing, and information shared. The purpose of this thesis is to explore Chicana participation in the Ayotzinapa case to examine how activism directed towards social injustices across borders affects Chicana&rsquo;s construction of racial/ethnic identity and political consciousness. I argue that Chicanas who engage in activism on behalf of the Ayotzinapa victims represent what Anzald&uacute;a (2015) refers to as &ldquo;Nepantleras,&rdquo; using their subjective positions as oppressed women of color to communicate across differences of gender, ethnicity, and geopolitical territories to create social change. To support my claim, I describe responses and interpretations of the case using qualitative data from interviews with three self-identified Chicanas. In my analysis, I draw from Gloria Anzald&uacute;a&rsquo;s (2015) epistemological theory of &ldquo;spiritual activism&rdquo; and Chela Sandoval&rsquo;s (2000) &ldquo;differential consciousness&rdquo; as frameworks to investigate transnational activism between the U.S. and Mexico. The women in this study challenged borderlands across and within geographical territories. First, Chicanas transcended geopolitical territories by engaging in activism in the U.S. that called for a change in Mexico. Second, they unraveled limitations of the self by developing a Chicana consciousness that is more inclusive to the struggles of all oppressed people. Third, they crossed gendered borderlands by responding to a case centered around forty-three male victims. And, lastly, they reshaped intra-ethnic relationships by nurturing national and transnational alliances that fight for all social injustices. This study is an invitation for the reconceptualization of borderlands, where the U.S.-Mexico border territories are understood as transnational, alive, and dynamic spaces with an ample room for reexamining identities through solidarities. </p><p>

<p> There is a belief in higher education that Latino/a faculty do not possess the skills necessary to succeed in academe (Verdugo, 1995). The Latino/a population represents 17% of the total population in the United States. Although the Latino/a population is growing, the rate at which they are obtaining doctoral degrees remains low. During the 2014&ndash;2015 academic term, 2.3 million Latino students were enrolled in undergraduate, master&rsquo;s, and doctoral programs (NCES, 2015). Also in 2015, 1.9 million bachelor&rsquo;s degrees were conferred in the United States, 12% of which were conferred to Latinos. That year, Latinas/os earned only 9% of both master&rsquo;s and doctoral degrees conferred (NCES, 2015). Consequently, the limited number of Latino/a that receive doctoral degrees ultimately contribute to a decreased representation of Latino/a faculty on college campuses, as most teaching positions at the university level require a doctoral degree (Padilla, 2003). To increase the number of Latinos/as in the professoriate, the number of Latino/a doctoral candidates must increase. </p><p> The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore and understand the professional experiences of 15 Latina/o tenure/tenure track faculty members at Grove State University in California. These faculty experiences provide a narrative to help understand the factors that influence and motivate Latina/o faculty to pursue a tenure-track position.</p><p>

<p> The dissertation aims to explore a solution to address the cultural and racial gap between the teaching force and the student population in California. Homegrown teachers are teachers who return to their community where they were born and educated. Addressing the equity issues faced in public schools begins with exploring the benefits of teachers of color in the classroom. </p><p> This action research study followed five homegrown first-generation Latina teachers through a 3-month process of mentoring first-generation Latina sixth-graders who hope of entering the teaching profession in the future. The study was guided by critical pedagogy, a mentoring framework, the critical mentoring strategy in addition to social capital theory. </p><p> This dissertation documented the voices of the participants as they developed their mentoring relationship in the early intervention teacher pipeline. The challenges and experiences were documented through observations, researcher&rsquo;s reflection, semistructured interviews, and a focus group. </p><p> The study revealed that, with appropriate preparation, students of color are more likely to choose a teaching career and return to their community to become homegrown teachers. The emerging themes of the study were that (a) culture and language shaped the mentoring relationship, (b) homegrown teachers were essential to mentoring students of color, (c) for Latinos, education was a family journey, (d) socializing students of color into career aspirations, (e) acculturation into the teaching profession&mdash;learning to become a teacher, and (f) time and gender were the major constraints; redefining future mentoring relationships. </p><p> This action research revealed the many benefits for teachers and students to develop critical mentoring relationships.</p><p>

<p> The Chicano Movement in the Catholic Church initiated dialogue with the Catholic hierarchy through grassroots activism that ranged from the prophetic to the quotidian. Chicano organizations were led by Catholics whose experiences of the Church gave rise to their advocacy for racial justice, equal representation, and culturally appropriate ministries. Visions for the Church originating in the fields and barrios grew into a movement that challenged racism against Mexican Americans at local, diocesan, and national levels. Many Chicanos held that there was an inseparable connection between their cultural and spiritual lives. They asserted their place within the faith community and demanded the pastoral care that Anglo Catholic leadership denied them. Chicano Catholics pressured the Church with strategies they learned from community organizing, the Chicano and Black Liberation Movements, and the Feminist Movement. They did so in a way that made Catholic doctrine, rhetoric, and rituals central to their campaign and set them apart from secular branches of <i>movimiento </i> activism. Chicano Catholics valued the social, economic, and spiritual power held by the Church and were determined to redistribute it among Mexican American communities. </p><p> Decades after the peak of the Chicano Movement, its history in the Church is ripe for theological reflection. As a historical study, this work augments secular histories that have neglected the religious, theological, and ecclesiological foundations of the Chicano Movement. Theologically, this dissertation will encourage existing ecclesiologies to take seriously grassroots perspectives of the Church that animate dialogue, including the unconventional, controversial, and often provocative means that the Chicano Movement used to instigate dialogue between the center and peripheries of the US Catholic Church. Lessons from the Chicano Movement are invaluable for a Church within a political, social, and ecclesial milieu that continues to exclude vulnerable communities.</p><p>

<p> This qualitative study explores the experience of eight Mexican immigrant DACAmented students who have studied abroad in their country of origin in a study abroad program taking place through a California State University. Using a Latina/o critical race theory framework, the study explores the journey of participants navigating the immigration process, traveling, and studying abroad in their native country and finally returning back to the United States. Through Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, students petitioned for Advance Parole for educational purposes to participate in a program that allowed them to have an educational experience. Studying abroad would only be a dream for students until they were granted Advance Parole. There, participants took courses in Spanish, immersed and learned about Mexico&rsquo;s history and culture. Additionally, participants were able to return to visit and reconnect with family members. In doing so, students reconnected with their Mexican identity, but by returning to the country, they were able to access their heritage and roots.</p><p>

<p> This research focused on addressing high attrition rate of Latino students at U.S. post-secondary institutions. National data reports that Hispanics hold the lowest degree completion rate (16%) of post-secondary degrees (NCES, 2015). The study was guided by Clark and Estes (2008) analytic framework, which required the validation of knowledge, motivation, and organizational influences that could potentially be barriers to reach organizational goals. A qualitative case study approach with an emphasis on evaluation was done at a small private college that transitioned from being a predominantly White institution to become a certified Hispanic Serving Institution with more than 25% Latino enrollment in 2014 and almost 50% in 2017. The implications of the case study to the educational community are immense, first, institutions need to treat each individual with much value and respect, each student that is enrolled and paying tuition deserves the highest quality in educational practice. Thus, higher education institutions must assess performance and provide the highest level of training and professional development in areas that need improvement. Second, even with the many different responsibilities and distractions administrators and institutions have on a daily basis, in order to increase student retention (or to improve in any other area), institutions must cultivate a healthy sense of urgency and eagerness to participate in the change process. Moreover, a strategic model of Hispanic retention emerged from the research and it is presented in the discussion section of Chapter Five.</p><p>

<p> Advocates of market-based reform strategies such as school choice claim they will offer families better options to obtain a high-quality education for their child, yet empirical studies offer inconclusive evidence of gains in student achievement and point to the growing trends of racial and economic segregation emanating from increased schooling options. Furthermore, research indicates numerous contextual factors affecting families&rsquo; participation and benefit from the expanded marketplace, with marginalized populations facing considerably more barriers in their search for high-quality education. This is particularly true for Latinx families, whose unique cultural, linguistic, social, and economic backgrounds influence their schooling decisions in ways that vary from the normative expectations of choice policies. Although their enrollment in public schools across the United States is steadily increasing, their participation in choice schools is often limited and impedes equitable access to high-quality schools. Because few empirical studies focus on this sector of the population, there is a great need for more comprehensive understanding of the behaviors and decisions of Latinx families across various nationalities, generations, and social classes. </p><p> This study aims to begin to fill this void in the literature, using a descriptive case study design to examine the ways in which Latinxs are and are not participating in the school choice process in Mecklenburg County. Data was triangulated among interviews of 17 immigrant Latinx families and four school personnel, public documents providing school data and county demographics, and participant observations of school choice related events. Findings revealed a trend in the timing of families&rsquo; participation: a majority did not engage in the educational marketplace until the middle or high school levels. A second notable trend was in the sectors of their participation: a majority of families applied to public magnet schools; the home school option was not mentioned; private schools were out of reach for the one family who looked into them; and charter schools were unfamiliar options to all but one family. Though parents sought to utilize their individual and cultural assets to obtain improved educational opportunities beyond their traditional public school, they faced numerous constraints in their participation due to their social stratification as immigrants with limited financial resources. These findings suggest implications for policy and practice particularly in resolving theoretical contradictions emanating from economic applications to democratic education.</p><p>

<p> En esta tesis doctoral se analiza el cambio del modelo de feminidad &ndash;de &aacute;ngel del hogar a mujer moderna- en seis novelas publicadas en Espa&ntilde;a entre los a&ntilde;os 1909 y 1934. Argumentamos que no hab&iacute;a una &uacute;nica mujer moderna en la literatura de la Edad de Oro, sino que la nueva feminidad era un concepto complejo y en ocasiones contradictorio.</p><p> La mayor aportaci&oacute;n de esta tesis a la bibliograf&iacute;a de los estudios literarios del periodo es romper con el estereotipo de la nueva mujer como un ente uniforme y universal en las novelas espa&ntilde;olas. Esta investigaci&oacute;n demuestra que en Espa&ntilde;a hab&iacute;a un conjunto muy diverso de autoras, en cuanto a su formaci&oacute;n, afiliaci&oacute;n pol&iacute;tica o fe religiosa, que eleg&iacute;an la novela como medio de difusi&oacute;n de sus ideas sobre una emancipaci&oacute;n femenina propiamente espa&ntilde;ola. Mostramos adem&aacute;s que esta tendencia en la literatura espa&ntilde;ola permaneci&oacute; durante todo el primer tercio del XX y fue transmitida a trav&eacute;s de diferentes formas de expresi&oacute;n literaria. </p><p> El an&aacute;lisis se lleva a cabo a trav&eacute;s de diversos aspectos que marcaron el cambio del modelo femenino y que definen la estructura de este trabajo. El segundo cap&iacute;tulo analiza la construcci&oacute;n de g&eacute;nero en <i>Ellas y ellos o ellos y ellas</i> (1917) de Carmen de Burgos (1867-1932) <i>y La trampa del arenal</i> (1923) de Margarita Nelken (1894-1968). En el tercer cap&iacute;tulo se estudia el papel de la nueva mujer en el espacio p&uacute;blico que se refleja en <i> La virgen prudente</i> (1929) de Concha Espina (1869-1955) y <i> Tea rooms</i> (1934) de Luisa Carn&eacute;s (1905-1964). Por &uacute;ltimo, el cuarto cap&iacute;tulo se enfoca en la sexualidad de la nueva mujer presentada en <i>Zez&eacute;</i> (1909) de &Aacute;ngeles Vicente (1878-&iquest;?) <i> y La indomable</i> (1927) de Federica Montseny (1905-1994).</p><p>

<p> <b>Purpose:</b> The purpose of this mixed methods study was to examine the engagement of Hispanic Advanced Placement science learners in California's Central Valley as perceived by high school teachers. </p><p> <b>Methodology:</b> The mixed method study surveyed 20 Advanced Placement science teachers from the region of interest. Likert surveys were used to determine: 1) their perceptions of the engagement of Hispanic students by the AP Program, and 2) barriers presented by the AP Program. Quantitative results indicated teacher support for the AP Program and few barriers as currently administered. A focus group of 12 teachers recruited from the 20 surveyed provided qualitative data which gave depth to the study and suggested changes in program practices to inform future teaching. </p><p> <b>Findings:</b> Participants perceived that the AP Program promotes engagement and learning in high school science classrooms and does not present significant barriers to Hispanic science students' access to the curriculum, learning or course completion. Some changes in practice to improve the AP Program were suggested. </p><p> <b>Conclusions:</b> Current AP Program practice meets the needs of Hispanic science learners in the region studied but would benefit from increased science offerings and recruitment in elementary school. Participants indicated that AP Program could be improved if there are more students participating in the Advancement Via Individual Determination Program in both middle and high school thereby equipping them with the skills to be successful. Targeted support for Hispanic learners at the high school level, particularly those who struggle with the vocabulary demands of AP science was suggested. </p><p> <b>Recommendations:</b> A number of studies were suggested that may build on this research project. Among them, surveying Hispanic AP teachers, studying the differences in the level of rigor practiced by AP teachers, and differences between data obtained from the focus group as compared with data from the surveys only. Participants indicated the role of parents on many levels. This may indicate the opportunity to study parent and other family member role models as pertains to college attainment. Differences in AP offerings would be another area for study.</p><p>

<p> Latina principals play an important role in addressing the challenge of Latinx educational attainment (completing high school, college and graduate school). This study utilizes the theory of community cultural wealth (Yosso 2005, 2006) to explore the student and career experiences of Latina principals of Title I schools in a large southwestern city. The study addresses three key research questions: (1) How did Latina principals experience community cultural wealth as students during their K-16 educational journey? (2) Based on these experiences, how do Latina principals recognize and use community cultural wealth in their current professional practices? (3) Does the analysis of their experiences identify any new forms of capital to enrich the extant scholarly understandings of community cultural wealth? Data were drawn from qualitative semi-structured interviews with Latina principals in nineteen Title I schools. The study demonstrated that the Latinx community possesses unrecognized reservoirs of strength that played a significant role in the academic and professional achievements of the Latina principals who were interviewed. The study also revealed that the various forms of community cultural wealth are closely intertwined, thereby contributing to the success of these principals. Two additional forms of cultural wealth were also identified &ndash; <i> ganas</i> capital and <i>raza</i> capital.</p><p>