This study was the first to examine the impact of immigrant-focused public policy on the educational outcomes of Latinx students in professional nursing. Between 2001-2020, 34 states adopted policies that either provided or prohibited in-state resident tuition (ISRT) and/or state financial aid (SFA) to undocumented students. Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Act (DACA) passed in 2012 gave a new group of largely Latinx, college-age immigrants unprecedented access to public higher education and employment. A rapid increase in the proportion of nursing degrees earned by all Latinx students, not just those who were undocumented, occurred concurrently with these federal and state-level policy changes. This study utilized fixed-effects panel analysis to estimate the relationship between DACA, ISRT, and SFA policies for undocumented students on the percent of nursing degrees earned by Latinx students between 2005-2020. None of the policies analyzed in this study were significant predictors of Latinx nursing degree completions. Broad cohesion among all models instead pointed toward the importance of gains in overall degree production among all Latinx college students, underscoring the important role of higher education in the creation of environments that support the success of students from this target population.

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The purpose of this research was to investigate factors that influence academic achievement in high school. This study gathered data directly from high school students themselves. This research study utilized a mixed-methods design by blending quantitative analysis from survey data and qualitative analysis from in-depth interviews. The data collected in this study drew from students in three different high schools in the greater Philadelphia area and one high school in located in Harrisburg, PA. In total, 44 high school students responded to the survey and five students volunteered to participate in a follow-up interview.The research uncovered factors that influenced student educational aspirations such as parental influence, the student’s self-efficacy, and involvement in school activities. Most interestingly, the findings revealed that on average, the percentage of female students with aspirations for a higher educational degree (such as a M.D., J.D., or Ph.D.) was greater than males. On a percentage basis, a greater number of males aspired to attain a college degree than females. Additionally, the data also determined that as the number of proximal personnel that support the student’s attainment of a college degree increases by one, the student’s educational aspirations also increased by one year beyond high school, as well. The research findings also highlighted the importance of administrator visibility as a factor that positively impacted student success. In addition to uncovering key influences that impact student achievement, this research sought direct reflection from high school students about their perceptions of academic success. Lastly, a small but important part of this research was devoted to investigating how the Covid-19 pandemic impacted student’s educational experience. It is hoped that the findings from this study can be harnessed to inform educational leaders. / Educational Leadership

Long-term declines in birth rates pose a threat to the economic viability of higher education institutions (HEIs), and these institutions must strategically plan for these changes. Increasing the enrollment and retention of underrepresented Black and Latinx students is one potential strategy to offset declining numbers of high-school graduates. While educational attainment has increased overall during the last two decades, Black and Latinx students continue to have lower educational attainment levels than White students. This study uses quantitative data from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from 2000 to 2018 to estimate enrollment and retention levels of Black, Latinx, and White students in Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs) in the New England Region (NER). The study estimates correlations between Black, Latinx, and White enrollment and retention levels, revealing a negative impact on Black and Latinx enrollment and retention as White enrollment increases. This research likewise reveals a decrease in White enrollment as Black and Latinx enrollment increases. Additionally, this study uses a K-means cluster analysis to understand the association between enrollment and retention level performance of NER HEIs. Findings from two different cluster analyses show 1) a negative pattern of retention of Blacks and Latinx students as enrollment for these populations increases in HEIs and 2) a positive retention pattern for a subset of HEIs with higher retention levels with lower numbers of Black and Latinx enrollment totals. This proposal describes and interprets these findings and proposes new research examining institutional characteristics that may give rise to Blacks and Latinx students' retention levels. This study considers a wide range of institutional characteristics, including supportive programming and the types of financial aid packages specifically designed to retain students, while accounting for endowment and institutional size. This dissertation aims to provide NER HEI administrators with data that can inform short and long-term strategic planning. / Business Administration/Interdisciplinary

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PURPOSE: Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) has not yet been systematically evaluated in the Caribbean context, particularly with Hispanic youth exposed to multiple disasters. The objective of this project was twofold: 1) to train mental health providers in Puerto Rico in TF-CBT as part of a clinical implementation project within the largest managed behavioral health organization (MBHO) on the island, and 2) to conduct a program evaluation to determine the feasibility of implementation and the effectiveness of the treatment. METHOD: Fifteen psychologists were trained in TF-CBT. These psychologists then provided TF-CBT to 56 children and adolescents, ages 5-18, in community-based mental health clinics and one primary care clinic with a co-located psychologist in Puerto Rico. The mean number of traumatic events reported by youth referred for TF-CBT was 4.11. RESULTS: Thirty-six out of 56 children enrolled in the project (64.3%) successfully completed all components of TF-CBT. Results demonstrated large effect sizes for reduction in youth-reported posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) (Cohen's d = 1.32), depressive symptoms (Cohen's d = 1.32), and anxiety symptoms (Cohen's d = 1.18). CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that it was feasible to train providers in TF-CBT, that providers were able to deliver TF-CBT in community-based settings both in person and via telehealth (due to the COVID-19 pandemic), and that TF-CBT was an effective treatment option to address trauma-related concerns for youth in Puerto Rico in a post-disaster context. This project is an important first step in the dissemination and implementation of evidence-based trauma-focused treatment for Hispanic youth and disaster-affected youth in the Caribbean.

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The topics of racism and sexism have long been discussed but not as much when it comes to the interplay between them. People of Color (PoC) are in a situation where they have to endure both sexism and racism in their daily life. This study argues that the interplay between sexism and racism is more nuanced than previously thought and that the sexualization of PoC is a sort of oppression in itself. The normalization of sexualizing PoC is maintained through the systematic spreading of sexual stereotypes of different ethnicities in society and different media, with a specific focus on pornography, to be able to justify certain inappropriate behaviors towards PoC.  Sweden is considered one of the most progressive and equal countries in the world, and therefore unlikely to sexualize PoC to a high extent. By exploring the experiences of the Swedish youth there was a possibility to discover the reality and see if even a country that is considered equal has a tendency to sexualize PoC. Through a dataset obtained by distributing a survey among the Swedish youth, it was possible to measure the level of sexualization for different ethnicities in Sweden. Measuring the sexualization was done through measuring stereotypes and people's perception of PoC in a sexual sense. The survey was answered by 217 people and was divided into 5 ethnicities; White, Asian, Middle Eastern, Black and Latinx.   This study shows that among the Swedish youth, PoC are more sexualized than their White peers. There are beliefs of the sexual stereotypes of different ethnicities to be true and also shows that pornography has a significant part in upholding these stereotypes.

As the Honduran presidential election of 2017 approaches, the world of 17-year-old Libertad Morazán gets louder and faster. Protests roar in every corner of Tegucigalpa. Mamí and Abuela work longer hours. Maynor, Libertad's older brother, sneaks out more than ever, carrying the dangerous secrets of a student-led movement against the government. The world only seems to slow down around Camila, Libertad's long-time friend who lately seems to hold Libi's hand and eyes two seconds too long. Libi and Cami's friendship always toed the line of something more— or did, at least, before Libertad's phone stopped working and their communication got cut to school-hours only. Libi can't help but think this is part of why Camila starts officially dating Pablo, the soccer team captain. If this isn't enough reason to desperately need her phone back, Libertad has just discovered the power of social media to speak against the conditions that keep her family— her country— in a permanent state of exhaustion and mourning. Using an anonymous Instagram account, Libertad posts short but charged poems denouncing the injustice local news outlets ignore. She finds an audience that resonates with her, but people who speak out in Honduras are rarely able to do so for long. Libertad knows this. Getting her phone back comes with a price, as both her political poetry and secret romance risk being exposed to Mamí and Abuela—the women who have sacrificed everything to raised her. The pillars of her life. In the midst of civil unrest, Libertad learns of the power and heartbreak in queerness, family, and activism. / Master of Fine Arts / Libertad is a young-adult novel.