<p> Latinas/os are the fastest-growing racial minority group in the United States, yet there is a lack of parity between their increased population and their participation rates in higher education. The economic strength and vitality of the nation require a college-educated workforce; therefore, the need to improve educational environments that support increased degree attainment among Latinas/os is imperative. Despite the disproportionately low enrollment of Latina/o college students at selective U.S. higher education institutions, research has suggested that attending these types of institutions uniquely and positively influences students&rsquo; educational and socioeconomic outcomes (Hearn &amp; Rosinger, 2014). Using Astin&rsquo;s (1991) Inputs-Environments-Outcomes (I-E-O) model, this study examined Latina/o college students&rsquo; cognitive development over time, their experiences related to perceived climate for diversity, and the effects of negatively-perceived climates for diversity on their cognitive development based on students&rsquo; gender, first-generation college status, and immigrant status. A quantitative design using the 2014 University of California Undergraduate Experience Survey (UCUES) was employed, of which system-wide data from 4,299 junior and senior level Latino/a college students were used. Inferential and regression analyses were used to examine the effects of perceived negative climate for diversity on students&rsquo; cognitive outcomes. Results indicated that Latina/o students attending selective institutions benefitted greatly in their cognitive skills development, although unique differences were found when students&rsquo; outcomes were examined by their gender, first-generation college status, and immigrant status. Perceived negative climates for diversity varied depending on students&rsquo; gender, first-generation college status, and immigrant status. Examination of the effects of students&rsquo; background characteristics and college experiences on their cognitive outcomes also varied based on their gender, first-generation college status, and immigrant status. In particular, perceived negative climates for diversity were found to have mixed effects on Latina/o college students&rsquo; GPA, yet demonstrated little to no effect on students&rsquo; cognitive skills development.</p><p>

The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of college experiences on Asian American college students' civic development at two public institutions in comparison with those of White students by utilizing longitudinal data from the Diverse Democracy Project. Students' democratic orientation was measured by six related scales including social justice orientation, acceptance of conflict in democracy, acceptance of multiple perspectives, self-efficacy for social change, social leadership abilities, and pluralistic orientation. The study first compared the level of democratic orientation between Asian American students and White students using Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) prior to college (Summer/Fall 2000) and at the end of their sophomore year (Fall 2002) to determine whether there was any difference between the two groups at each point. In order to assess how each group of students changed over the two years in their democratic orientation, the repeated measures MANOVA was conducted. The results of the MANOVA indicated that White students were likely to exhibit a greater level of civic outcomes overall than Asian Americans at each time of measurement. The repeated measures MANOVA suggested that (1) both groups of students fared higher in their acceptance of multiple perspectives at the end of their second year, and (2) while White students increased their social justice orientation, Asian American students did not change in this orientation. Second, two types of hierarchical regression analyses were performed to investigate the influence of college experiences on students' civic development and to determine how students' entry characteristics, high school experiences, and college experience each accounted for the variance that predicted the outcome variables at the end of the sophomore year separately for Asian American and White students. The first model used the democratic orientation measured at the end of sophomore year as the dependent variable to understand the influence of college experiences on where students stood. The second model used the change between the pre-measurement and post-measurement of the democratic orientation as the dependent variable to determine the magnitude of college experiences on how much students changed. The results of regression analysis indicated that while college experiences were positively associated with White students' six civic outcomes, they had influence only on two of the outcome variable for Asian American students. The dissertation aimed to contribute to the body of literature in the field by supplying empirical evidence as well as by proposing policy implications.

This study examined the various ways in which Ashkenazi Jewish undergraduate anti-racism peer educators understood and used their Jewish identity in their work with non-Jewish people of color and white Christians. Ashkenazi Jews, who are Jews of Central European heritage, often find themselves questioning the racial space they occupy. The ways in which students of Ashkenazi Jewish identification compare or contrast their historical and current social position with that of communities of color can either facilitate or disrupt their efforts to be effective anti-racist educators. Fifteen Ashkenazi Jews who are peer facilitators in a nationally-recognized social justice program at a university in the Midwest were interviewed. Three data gathering techniques were utilized: demographic intake form, individual interview, and focus group interview. Participants articulated a complex understanding of the position of Ashkenazi Jews in U.S.-based systems of ethnicity, religion, race and class. Based on these systems, the students claimed that Jews are both insiders and outsiders in American society, targeted and privileged simultaneously in their ethno-religious and class identities. Findings reveal that being Jewish is salient and a distinct identity for this generation of college students; the history of Jewish oppression continues to inform Jewish identity; Jewish students continues to describe a connection with Blacks; and distinctive processes of ethnic and ethno-religious identity development take place for Jewish undergraduates. Findings suggest the need for a new social identity model that addresses the unique racial, ethnic and ethno-religious positionality of Ashkenazi Jewish undergraduates. The author presents a Jewish ethno-religious target development model, along with implications for anti-racism and social justice education and suggestions for further research.

The purposes of this study were to provide an historical overview of the development of post-secondary technical education in Puerto Rico within the framework of the expansion of higher education; and to examine the implications and consequences of the development of technical education as it relates to social stratification, social division of labor, and social class conflict. During the 1940s, Puerto Rico began, for it, an unprecedented economic development program with the objective of industrializing the Island. This industrialization process brought about a rapid transformation of the occupational structure of the labor force on the Island. This process also influenced changes in the structure, orientation, and curriculum of public post-secondary education. In the 1960s, the University of Puerto Rico underwent a rapid and remarkable transformation. An important part of this process was the establishment and development of a system of regional colleges that became responsible for the development of two-year technical programs. The apparent shortage of technical personnel necessary to sustain the process of industrial development, and the high unemployment rate among four-year college graduates were two of the most influential arguments that sparked the establishment and development of these programs. The findings show an imbalance in the social demographic composition between regional college students and those in the more prestigious campuses. Students from the higher social class are over-represented at the main institutions, while the lower social class is better represented throughout the regional college system. Data used in this study do not support the claim of a technical personnel shortage nor the allegation that technical education yields economic success, facilitates upward social mobility, and helps to alleviate unemployment among four-year college graduates. Finally, the data do not support the existence of a social-class tracking system within the regional college institutions.

This dissertation explores the meaning the rural inhabitants of the North of Cauca region in Colombia make of the rural primary school teacher. It examines the themes and metaphors used by rural teachers, community members, and youth to describe the teacher's present image, their perspectives on the possible changes, and the implications of these perceptions for future educational interventions. The themes and metaphors that emerged alluded to two general images. The researcher has named these the portrait of the teacher as a hero and as a ordinary human being. The first, she proposes, is an ideal image that comes from people's collective memory. The second, she attributes to their real life experiences. The heroic image of the teacher is depicted through metaphors such as that of an apostle, a pillar of society, a second parent, and a community catalyst. The real image refers to the short-comings of teachers to fulfill this heroic image. The point of reference for the heroic image is the teacher's archetype that comes from a glorified perception of the past. It contains symbols, archaic images, and motifs that are embedded in people's collective memory. The researcher suggests that the teacher's true image is neither its ideal and heroic image nor its real and descriptive one but an amalgamation of both. She recommends the incorporation of this complex and dual image in teacher training programs. She suggests that, beginning teachers be encouraged to reflect on their own impressions of the teacher figure, to analyze the sources of these perceptions, and to situate their viewpoints in the cultural context in which they are embedded. This process of critical reflection allows teachers to become aware of their own contradictions and prepares them for the complex reality of their profession.

<p> 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. </p><p> 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. </p><p> This study provides valuable insight into the increase of undocumented Latino students&rsquo; 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. </p><p>