<p>While research on undocumented students and access to higher education is of growing concern, it is equally important to examine mixed citizenship status families. Mixed citizenship status families are families that consist of both documented and undocumented members. Passel and Cohn explain that the number of U.S.-born children in mixed citizenship status families has shown significant growth in recent years, from 2.7 million children in 2004 to 4 million in 2008. </p><p> This study utilizes Bronfenbrenner' s Ecological Systems Theory as a lens to examine the different experiences that members in these families experience through their schooling and in accessing higher education. </p><p> This qualitative comparative case study examined the experiences of three Southern Californian families, consisting of one undocumented student in higher education, undocumented parents, and at least one documented student currently attending high school. This study examined, compared, and contrasted the experiences of 14 different participants and their schooling experiences. </p><p> Major findings in this study revealed that being in a mixed citizenship status family affects different relationship factors and experiences that ultimately impact the documented and undocumented individuals psychologically and academically. Such experiences have the potential of impacting their schooling experience and access to higher education. In this study, changes in policy have had ripple effects that are experienced by youth in very personal ways that have impacted their development and access to higher education. The study revealed that, whether documented or undocumented, all members experienced psychological effects that have affected their access to higher education. </p><p> Findings in this study discovered the impact of changes in policy, how mixed citizenship status families affect the educational trajectories for all members of the family, parental involvement in school, the psychological stressors that affect documented siblings, as well as undocumented, and the ways in which documented siblings may defer their own college experiences in order to keep a pace with their siblings among other findings. </p><p> This study concludes with recommendations for policy and practitioners in the educational field, including suggestions for a more comprehensive immigration policy to include citizenship access for undocumented students and their parents, improvements in the enforcement of labor laws, and professional development for teaching educators about the mixed citizenship status family, promoting home to school relationships, and supplying these families with resources to navigate and widen the pipeline into higher education. </p>
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:PROQUEST/oai:pqdtoai.proquest.com:3708288 |
| Date | 30 June 2015 |
| Creators | Marroquin, Vanessa |
| Publisher | California State University, Long Beach |
| Source Sets | ProQuest.com |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | thesis |
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