Although the federally funded TRIO Program entitled Upward Bound has been in existence for over thirty years and numerous federally and privately funded studies have been conducted about the hundreds of programs available throughout the nation, there has been relatively few investigations involving qualitative research approaches. Additionally, despite the fact that first generation college students, the primary target population for Upward Bound Programs, are most likely low-income and Latino, few studies have sought data directly from these target groups about their experience in Upward Bound. In this regard, the data gathered and reported in this qualitative education evaluation research study is unique. Twelve former first-generation, low-income, Puerto Rican Upward Bound students who had completed at least one year of college were interviewed for this study. The interviews utilized a protocol from a twenty-five year old study that also interviewed Upward Bound students (Bemak, 1975). The purpose of this inquiry was to investigate how first generation, low-income, Puerto Rican college students evaluate the impact of their participation in a high school Upward Bound program on their academic preparation for college, self-perceptions, family and social relationships, future educational goals, and ultimately their post-secondary success. The findings of this study shed light on the impact Upward Bound has upon first-generation, low-income, Puerto Rican students who have succeeded in post-secondary education. Data from the study indicate that the services and support provided by Upward Bound effectively intervenes in the unique struggles of first generation, low-income, Puerto Rican students who are at great risk for educational access and attainment. Reflections of former Upward Bound students inform the field of education regarding the impact of college preparatory programs on students who face the most difficult barriers in college completion. This research identifies practices that contribute to post-secondary success and uses the words and ideas of first-generation, low-income, Puerto Rican students as a guide to the implementation of future support services.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UMASS/oai:scholarworks.umass.edu:dissertations-1972 |
| Date | 01 January 2001 |
| Creators | Dalpes, Paulette Marie |
| Publisher | ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst |
| Source Sets | University of Massachusetts, Amherst |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Source | Doctoral Dissertations Available from Proquest |
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