Connecting Familismo and Higher Education: Influence of Spanish Language PFMO Programs on Latinx Family Involvement and Sense of Belonging

Abstract

Spanish

Considering the collectivist culture and strong family connections in Latinx families, engaging parents and family members of new Latinx students in higher education is important to promote students’ persistence and completion of their degrees. Parent and family member orientation (PFMO) programs offered in Spanish provide a bridge between students’ families and the institution. This study focused on the perspectives related to involvement and sense of belonging following participation in a Spanish language PFMO program.

Keywords

Latinx higher education qualitative family orientation

Introduction

Parent and family programs in higher education saw a marked increase in the early 2000s in response to increased involvement in their students’ collegiate careers (NODA, 2017) and evidence demonstrating the influence of familial support on students’ adjustment to college (Carney-Hall, 2008). Simultaneously, increasing numbers of traditionally aged Latinx¹ students entered higher education as the percentage of Latinx 18- to 24-year-olds enrolled in college increased from 21.7% in 2000 to 36.6% in 2015 (National Center for Education Statistics [NCES], 2017). Between 2000 and 2015, higher education (Latinx) student enrollment rose from 9.9% to 17.3% constituting more than a 7% overall increase (NCES, 2017). Despite the increases in college enrollment among Latinx students, Latinx adults, compared with other racial/ethnic groups, had the lowest percentage of people aged 25 years and above who had earned at least a bachelor’s degree in 2015 at 15.5% (U.S. Census Bureau, 2016). The gap in attainment related to growth in enrollment demonstrates a challenge for higher education as Latinx students remain below White, Asian, and students from two or more races in baccalaureate attainment rates (Musu-Gillette et al., 2016).

Parental involvement in college student populations is an indicator of student success in higher education (Bergersen, 2009). With the increasing numbers of Latinx students in higher education, calls to support family members of Latinx college students emerged (Kiyama, Museus, & Vega, 2015). Latinx students particularly rely on parental support during their pursuit of higher education and because of the collectivist Latinx culture, engaging parents in the educational process is paramount (Ceja, 2004; Fuligni, Tseng, & Lam, 1999; Sanchez, Reyes, & Singh, 2005; Villalba, Gonzalez, Hines, & Borders, 2014). However, involvement of parents and family members in their students’ college career can be limited when language presents a barrier. Language, as well as culture, can cause a struggle when there are “differences between students’ culture and the dominant campus culture” (Garcia & Okhidoi, 2015, p. 4). When institutions of higher education do not provide support within their structures to engage parents with limited English language skills, “the burden of bridging or integrating [Latinx] students’ home cultures and the cultures of their campuses is often placed on the shoulders of the students themselves” (Kiyama et al., 2015, p. 31).

Spanish language parent and family member orientation (PFMO) programs emerged as a programmatic response to support Latinx students from homes where English is not the primary language. Although translated print materials with information about resources are easily accessible in our technological age, Latinx parents and family members can miss the personal connection to the campus and the educators working with their students. Although PFMO programs create a bridge for Latinx families, understanding the influence of that engagement on family support and connections to the campus have not been explored despite calls for this research stating “it is equally important to explore how families experience the process of college transition and the roles institutions are playing in this process” (Kiyama et al., 2015, p. 44). Both how parents experience the transition of enrolling a student in college, and understanding non-White family experiences specifically, are major gaps in the literature around PFMO programs. Thus, the following research questions guided this study:

Research Question 1: How does the involvement in a Spanish language PFMO program influence Latinx family members’ sense of belonging at their student’s institution?

Research Question 2: How does the involvement in a Spanish language PFMO program influence Latinx family members’ intentions to support their college-going student?

Review of the Literature

Parental Involvement in Higher Education

Parental involvement in higher education, particularly in students’ preparation and transition to college, is most prominent in precollegiate and orientation programs, as well as through on-going parent and family engagement events, such as family weekends. Family engagement influences student identity development, institutional communication, and operational philosophies to guide partnerships (Carney-Hall, 2008). Institutions have increased programs, events, and services directed to parents and family members since 2003, including social media outreach, publications, websites, and giving opportunities (Savage & Petree, 2015).

Family engagement is important, especially for Latinx families and those who are first generation (McCarron & Inkelas, 2006; York-Anderson & Bowman, 1991). “The family context may be a particularly central reference point among first-generation college students. . . because of how families are valued and prioritized” (Covarrubias, Romero, & Trivelli, 2015, p. 2032). Although continuing-generation college students more frequently utilized their parents and family members as a form of social capital to navigate the college environment, complicated family relationships challenged first-generation college students to find a balance between university and family life (Lang, 2015; Nichols & Islas, 2016; Orbe, 2008; Wang, 2013).

Research on parental involvement demonstrates the benefits on college students (Wartman & Savage, 2008). However, focus has not been on how the racial/ethnic identities or primary language affects their involvement; “less is known about the amount and variations of involvement and engagement across cultural, class, and socioeconomic groups, and whether different types of involvement and engagement are welcome across cultural, class, and socioeconomic groups” (Kiyama et al., 2015, p. 40). With “parents’ interest and involvement in students’ academic and social well-being [being] positively associated with student outcomes” (Kiyama et al., 2015, p. 34), understanding how the experience for parents with limited English would help better understand how their needs during the orientation process may be similar or different.

Latinx Culture

When developing cultural-responsive practices for Latinx parents and family members, an understanding of Latinx culture is required to ensure that not only the language connects with participants, but that the approach and content embrace the participants’ cultures.

Although there are differences among Latinx cultures, the general concepts of familismo and collectivism are overarching connections.

Centered in the well-being of the whole group, collectivist cultures transcend to the family and correlate to the involvement of the family into higher education (Kiyama et al., 2015). Latinx families display a collective culture and hold importance for families to be included in the students’ college experiences. Attending college for students from Western cultures is often based on a notion of separation from family and an opportunity for students to develop their individualism. However, in Latinx cultures, familismo includes the maintenance of family connections, the expected reliance on family for support, and the focus on family needs before individual ones (Mendoza, Hart, & Whitney, 2011; Sabogal, Marín, Otero-Sabogal, Marín, & Perez-Stable, 1987). Spanish language PFMO programs provide a culturally responsive approach to supporting Latinx students in higher education when designed with cultural understanding of familismo infused into the content instead of simply providing a translated version of the campuses’ general PFMO program.

Latinx Student Persistence

Ultimately, the goal of outreach programs such as Spanish language PFMO is to increase student success among Latinx student populations with success defined as persistence and graduation. The experiences of Latinx students vary greatly depending on individual factors, such as their academic ability, first-generation status, financial means, and familial expectations to remain connected in terms of physical proximity, social engagement, and financial contributions (Gloria, Castellanos, & Orozco, 2005; Kiyama, 2017). Institutional characteristics such as the type of curriculum and differences between campus culture and Latinx culture also influence Latinx students’ educational experiences (Lopez, 2005).

Studies explored a variety of factors that affect Latinx student retention, including mission statement concerning this population, ethnic composition of faculty and staff, funding for professional development related to learning about this population’s needs, recruitment procedures, orientation programs, career counseling, academic advising, academic support services, financial aid, Hispanic ethnic course offerings, developmental education course offering, bilingual programs, and English as a second language (ESL) courses (Lopez, 2005; Walker, 1988). Found more recently, cultural affinity, encouragement, and institutional commitment to Latinx students’ success contributed to Latinx student persistence in higher education (Torres & Hernandez, 2009). In addition, the important factor of sense of belonging may also look differently for Latinx students and their families as connections to subcultures within the institution, as opposed to connections at the institutional level, may be more imperative to their success (Garcia & Okhidoi, 2015). Latinx students may seek out personal connections through a mentor or student organization members who are able to provide guidance and support throughout their higher education career (Garcia & Okhidoi, 2015; Torres & Hernandez, 2009).

Beyond the campus, familial support for Latinx students is important for students’ ability to complete their college degree. According to Verdin and Godwin (2015), “family serves as a source of strength and comfort for many first-generation college students” (p. 2). Although family can be a support, they can also challenge persistence when Latinx students’ ability to be successful in the individually based endeavor of achieving a college degree conflicts with their families’ needs.

Theoretical Framework

Using the culturally engaging campus environments model (Museus, 2014) as a framework, this study seeks to understand the perspective of Latinx family members who attend a Spanish language PFMO program. By implementing Spanish language PFMO programs “educators can engage frameworks that allow them to (re)design campus environments that meaningfully engage the cultural identities of Latin(x) students” (Kiyama et al., 2015, p. 32). When the native language of family members is considered in the delivery of resources, the campus environments are being culturally engaging by “reflect[ing] and respond[ing] to the cultural communities of students” and their families (Kiyama et al., 2015, p. 32).

Culturally engaging campus environments influence the lived experiences of college students as well as student success and outcomes (Museus, 2014). “The degree to which culturally engaging campus environments exist at a particular postsecondary institution is positively associated with more positive individual factors and ultimately greater college student success” (Museus, 2014, p. 207). Culturally engaging campus environments that embody a collectivist culture are more likely to influence Latinx students’ success than those that enact an individualistic one. Museus (2014) further stated “culturally validating environments are positively related to success in college” (p. 212). As they utilize the culturally engaging campus environments model as a framework for understanding how to best support Latinx student success, higher education leaders have the opportunity to design and implement programs, events, and services to support the parents and family members of Latinx students (Kiyama et al., 2015).

Method

As this is the first study of its kind to explore the experiences of parent and family member participants of a Spanish language PFMO program, qualitative research methods guided the study. The study employed the use of an open-ended survey to collect data about participants’ experience as the goal was exploration into the experience of participants (Kelley, Clark, Brown, & Sitzia, 2003). Because of the short time frame in which parents and family members are on campus during orientation programs, and the multiple priorities they have while on campus during the program, the survey approach to data collection provided the greatest participation yield.

Sampling and Site

All parents and family members who participated in the Spanish language PFMO program at a Midwest university with approximately 4,700 on-campus students (over 13,000 students total including online students and students attending through an international campus) in the spring/summer 2017 orientation cycle were invited to participate in the study (Institutional Website, 2017). A total of 50 surveys were completed by participants in the Spanish language PFMO program, which is 4.2% of the overall parent and family member participant population (English and Spanish PFMO programs) during the four-event annual cycle. Of particular interest to this population, the Latinx student enrollment at this institution has increased to 876 students (which is by 77.7%), over the past 5 years with intentions of continuing this growth to serve the Latinx student population (Institutional Website, 2017). The Spanish language PFMO program was in its sixth year of operation given the rising numbers of Latinx students on the campus, which supports the use of this site for data collection.

Data Collection

Participants received information about the opportunity to participate in the study in Spanish when they arrived on campus for the PFMO in the materials provided at the beginning of the day. After participating in the daylong Spanish PFMO program, participants were informed about the study and invited to stay to complete the survey. They received a US$10 gift card to a local dining establishment in exchange for their time.

The survey (appendix) included eight open-ended questions in Spanish about their experience in the orientation and its influence on their future involvement at the institution. The questions included in the survey were developed based on the study’s research questions and the purpose of the study. The data gathered was in Spanish and following data collection, bilingual (in Spanish and English) members of the research team translated the data into English and organized it into an Excel spreadsheet to make it accessible to all members of the research team to analyze it for common themes.

Data Analysis

Following the tenets of qualitative research, we utilized an inductive approach during the data analysis process to allow salient themes to emerge based on the participants’ experiences in the Spanish language PFMO program. Guided by inductive and interpretive analysis approaches (Hatch, 2002; Miles & Huberman, 1994; Thomas, 2006), following preparation of the data through translation, an open-coding process was employed by members of the research team, all with experience in designing and implementing Spanish language PFMO programs. Beginning with a close reading to gain a holistic view of the data (Thomas, 2006), codes were developed independently by the researchers using descriptive coding (Saldaña, 2016). The researchers then collaborated using a focused coding process and drew upon in vivo coding to include the words of the participants (Saldaña, 2016) to reduce the codes to four major themes based on the research questions, which resulted in two themes corresponding to each research question.

Findings

The findings of the study respond to the study’s research questions:

Research Question 1: How does involvement in a Spanish language PFMO program influence Latinx family members’ sense of belonging at their student’s institution?

Research Question 2: How does involvement in a Spanish language PFMO program influence Latinx family members’ intentions to support their college-going student?

The findings related to the first research question focused on the institutional connections developed through the Spanish language PFMO program: use of spanish generated trust in the institution and the importance of the connection with spanish-speaking staff. The findings related to the second research question provide insight into the individual approach and concerns of Latinx parents and family members related to their student in college: support for students’ drive, motivation, and ganas and fears about the transition.

Use of Spanish Generated Trust in the Institution

Thirteen of the study participants attended the Spanish language PFMO program as a returning participant as they had enrolled a previous student in college. First-time attendees, however, lacked the same level of understanding of higher education, which contributed to their doubts about their student pursuing a college degree before attending the Spanish language PFMO program. One participant shared, “there couldn’t have been a better orientation. All the doubts that I might have had were answered. This is something good that you did for [us].” Another participant stated that the Spanish PFMO program was “very good because [the presenters] are [Latinx] and had great communication about the university, which makes me happy that my child is coming to this institution.” Not only did participants find the language inviting, but the cultural backgrounds of the presenters also contributed to their positive feelings about the institution and their student’s place in the campus community.

The use of participants’ native language when delivering information about the institution created a sense of transparency. A participant shared how their participation in English-only family educational events created additional concern and alienation: “I felt that I always missed something in English.” One participant stated that they learned “a lot of information that will benefit their children because they will know what happens at the university in terms of paying, living on campus, and food.” Another stated that “because of this orientation I learned so much about the university and what [my student] can do at the university.” Sharing information in Spanish ensured that parents and family members understand the resources available, which allowed them to trust the institution and their intentions for educating and caring for their student. The environment also allowed for their questions to be answered as there was ease being able to communicate in their native Spanish language.

Importance of the Connection With Spanish-Speaking Staff

The orientation program intentionally utilized Spanish-speaking Latinx staff members to present the Spanish PFMO program, which created a bridge between the institution and the participants to mediate the possible conflicting cultural values. Some participants were unaware that the institution employed Latinx faculty and staff members. The Spanish PFMO program exposed participants to the resources of Latinx faculty and staff members available on campus.

One participant stated: “I felt weird that there were no [Latinx] people, but now I see and I am leaving more comfortable because we know that there is someone here who can help us.” This participant anticipated needing future assistance from the campus, while their student was enrolled, so they looked beyond the learning from the Spanish PFMO program to identify staff on campus who can remain a resource to them and their student.

Parents and family member participants in the Spanish PFMO program sought out the feeling of family that is integral in their cultural values. One participant shared how they connected with the staff during the experience: “My interactions with staff enabled me to feel as if I was with family because they speak my language and are willing to help.” Another family member expressed their understanding of the campus and how the Spanish-speaking staff can contribute to their continued connections with the campus: “I now know that there are certain people in charge and if at any time you need something, they can help my student. I know now I can speak with them in Spanish too.” Participants’ statements emphasis that having information in Spanish is not enough; creating an atmosphere that embraces the participants’ culture and desire for personal connections with resources were equally important.

Support for Students’ Drive, Motivation, and Ganas

Spanish PFMO program participants recognized and acknowledged their students’ strength and desire to continue their education to enhance their opportunities and improve the lives of their families. Parents and family member participants were not reliant upon the institution to support their student, but rather viewed their students’ drive as the key to achieving their educational goals. A participant shared this about her daughter: “She has the desire to succeed, to be successful. I fully trust my daughter.” Another participant was confident in her daughter’s ability to persist “because [she] has ‘ganas’ to study.”

Desire to be involved in the campus was not necessary when the impetus for their students’ success was based on the student, not the institution or its resources to contribute to their students’ education. The participants realized during the Spanish PFMO program how institution could support their student and began to develop a sense of comfort in having the personal connections on campus to advocate for their student when necessary.

Fears About the Transition

Uncertainty and a lack of exposure to higher education created fear and concerns for participants. They did not indicate fear about the unknown of attending the Spanish PFMO program, but rather focused on the new culture and world that their student was entering. Despite the desire to support their students’ desire to move forward, participants remained worried about their child becoming a college student. As one parent shared, “I was nervous and sad over everything for my daughter but now my feeling is trust that my daughter is in the right place.”

With orientation being one of the first formal experiences a student has on campus, the environment created has heightened importance for first-generation students and their families. As one participant stated: “Really, I didn’t know the situation that my daughter was entering.” However, the parents supported their daughter despite the unknowns of higher education. The experience of one participant was that she was “unsure that [my daughter] would know where to go the day this arrived. Everything has been organized and there are a lot of students to help and so you feel comfortable fast.” Overall, the Spanish PFMO program moved participants from fear about the unknown of college to a sense of comfort: “I felt confused because I didn’t understand anything but after everything was in Spanish, it helped a lot.” These statements showcase the value that Latinx families have in education, even though they may remain fearful of letting the student go.

Discussion and Recommendations for Practice

Spanish PFMO programs heed Kiyama et al.’s (2015) call to “transform institutional environments to better serve [the Latinx] population” (p. 36). However, for transformation to occur, Spanish PFMO programs should only be one aspect of the process of integrating Latinx families into the fabric of the institution. With Spanish language PFMO programs being relatively new to the parent and family program offerings, the experiences shared by participants of this study inform ways to continue to provide culturally responsive transition experiences for Spanish-speaking families of Latinx students.

Providing information in Spanish is not sufficient to generate Latinx family members’ trust in the institution to reach out to the campus should their student experience challenges or they need support to encourage their students’ self-advocacy. Spanish information coupled with culturally relevant content provided by faculty and staff from similar cultural backgrounds creates the trust and desire to remain connected to the campus beyond the PFMO program. Both Latinx professional and student staff members, as well as alumni and community members if professional and student staff are not representative of Latinx cultures, should serve as the point of contact for participants of the Spanish PFMO program. Including insider knowledge in the planning and development of the content, as well as the delivery of the information, will create the important connections with Latinx human resources on campus that participants described.

Institutions of higher education and student affairs professionals specifically spend considerable effort in developing community on campus. The focus of community can be connected to the concept of familismo that those from Latinx cultures can connect with in the program content. Identifying and describing ways that the campus can be a supportive family for students and their families will create connections with the institutional characteristics that support Latinx culture. For example, focusing on ways that family are part of students’ pursuit of a college degree, how family members can remain involved in their student’s higher education experience, ways for their students to develop a family like unit on campus through culturally relevant student organization involvement, and finally how their students’ education can contribute to the overall well-being of their family upon completion of their degree through increased social capital and financial opportunities are approaches to content that may differ from the information shared in the English PFMO program.

Approaches for Future Research

As an initial study into this topic, multiple avenues are available for the continued exploration of the influence of participation in Spanish language PFMO programs. Longitudinal research related to the influence of participation in the Spanish language PFMO program would help understand more about the impact beyond the one-time immediate-post-survey used for this study, such as their feelings of inclusion beyond the orientation program and how the information obtained through the Spanish language PFMO program informed their decisions to engage with the institution throughout their student’s college experience. In addition, understanding the influence of Spanish language PFMO programs on students’ perceptions of their institution and how their parents and family members supported them differently following participation in the program would illuminate secondary impacts of the program. As previously noted, data collection methods (e.g., focus groups and interviews) that allow for more in-depth discussion of the influence of Spanish PFMO programs on both the parent and family members’ experiences, but also the perceptions of their students, are needed. Finally, we recommend further research with other cultural populations to understand their experience in non-English and non-Spanish language PFMO programs.

Limitations

There is much diversity within the Latinx community. The Musu-Gillette et al.’s (2016) report highlights specific changes in college enrollment by subgroups. The orientation program is based on language, not culture. Additional considerations for specific Latin countries of origin may be important to consider based on specific demographics on certain campuses. Although this study focused on Spanish language orientation programs, orientation programs offered in other languages should be considered as the increases in South and Southeast Asian populations at U.S. institutions of higher education continue (Musu-Gillette et al., 2016). Finally, as a qualitative study, more depth would have been gained through individual interviews or focus group data collection methods. However, because of the time constraints and families’ limited time on campus during orientation, the use of an open-ended survey allowed for an understanding of participants’ initial insights, but additional exploration with more in-depth data collection methods would enhance the understanding of Spanish PFMO program participants’ experiences.

Conclusion

Because of the role of family in Latinx students’ lives due to their collectivist culture, institutions of higher education have implemented programmatic interventions, such as bilingual orientation programs to create connections with and educate parents, regardless of their language of origin. Specifically, we recommend Spanish language orientation programs to provide a culturally engaging campus environment for Latinx students when their parents’ primary language is Spanish (Kiyama et al., 2015). This study provided an exploration of the perspectives of parents and family members participating in a Spanish language PFMO program and specific considerations for institutions seeking to implement a Spanish language PFMO program at their institutions. As an initial study into the experiences and influences of participation in a Spanish language PFMO program, additional research is needed to further understand the impact of this type of intervention on the dismal Latinx college completion rates despite their increased access to higher education.

Footnotes

Appendix

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: The authors seek to acknowledge NODA: The Association for Orientation, Retention, and Transition and the Faculty Minority Affairs Committee at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs for their support of this research.

Notes

Author Biographies

Patty Witkowsky is an assistant professor of Leadership, Research, and Foundations and Coordinator of the Student Affairs in Higher Education master’s degree program at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs. In her previous role as Director of Student Engagement and Leadership at Colorado State University-Pueblo, she contributed to the implementation of the Spanish Language PFMO program.

Victoria Obregón is a proud Xicana pursing her PhD in Educational Leadership, Research, and Policy at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs. She is currently the College Assistance Migrant Program Coordinator and Assistant Director of Latinx Student Engagement at Colorado State University-Pueblo. ¡Soy porque somos!

Brett L. Bruner serves as the dean of Student Engagement in the Division of Student Affairs at Arkansas Tech University. In this role, he provides direction to the areas of student persistence and retention, student affairs assessment, residential life, campus life, diversity and inclusion, and international student services.

Jennifer Alanis is the director of Diversity and Inclusion at Colorado State University-Pueblo. Prior to joining the ThunderWolf Family, she served as the director for the Transfer Center for Daley City College, the Program Manager for the Office of Inclusion and Intercultural Relations at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and one of the assistant director’s for La Casa Cultural Latina. Her professional interests include Latinx youth outreach, Latinx in the Arts, and Latinx immigration issues.

References

Bergersen

A. A.

(2009). College choice and access to college: Moving policy, research, and practice to the 21st century. ASHE Higher Education Report, 35(4), 1-141.

Carney-Hall

K. C.

(2008). Understanding current trends in family involvement. In Carney-Hall

K. C.

(Ed.), Managing parent partnerships: Maximizing influence, minimizing interference, and focusing on student success (New Directions for Student Services No. 122, pp. 3-14). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Ceja

(2004). Chicana college aspirations and the role of parents: Developing educational resiliency. Journal of Hispanic Higher Education, 3, 338-362.

Covarrubias

Romero

Trivelli

(2015). Family achievement guilt and mental well-being of college students. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 24, 2031-2037.

Fuligni

A. J.

Tseng

Lam

(1999). Attitudes toward family obligations for American adolescents from Asian, Latin American, and European backgrounds. Child Development, 70, 1030-1044.

Garcia

G. A.

Okhidoi

(2015). Culturally relevant practices that “serve” students at a Hispanic Serving Institution. Innovative Higher Education, 40, 345-357.

Gloria

A. M.

Castellanos

Orozco

(2005). Perceived educational barriers, cultural congruity, coping responses, and psychological well-being of Latina undergraduates. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 27, 161-183.

Hatch

J. A.

(2002). Doing qualitative research in education settings. Albany: State University of New York Press.

Institutional Website. (2017). QuickFACTS 2016-17. Retrieved from https://www.fhsu.edu/about/QuickFacts/

10.

Kelley

Clark

Brown

Sitzia

(2003). Methodology matters: Good practice in the conduct and reporting of survey research. International Journal for Quality in Health Care, 15, 261-266.

11.

Kiyama

J. M.

(2017). “We’re serious about our education”: A collective testimonio from college-going Latinas to college personnel. Journal of Hispanic Higher Education. Retrieved from https://journals-sagepub-com.web.bisu.edu.cn/doi/full/10.1177/1538192717709583

12.

Kiyama

J. M.

Harper

(with Ramos

Aguayo

Page

Riester

K. A.

). (2015). Parent and family engagement in higher education (ASHE Higher Education Report Series). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

13.

Kiyama

J. M.

Museus

S. D.

Vega

B. E.

(2015). Cultivating campus environments to maximize success among Latino and Latina college students. In Freeman

Martinez

(Eds.), College completion for Latino/a students: Institutional and system approaches (New Directions for Higher Education No. 172, pp. 29-38). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

14.

Lang

(2015, May 22). Singing the first-generation blues. Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved from http://www.chronicle.com/article/Singing-the-First-Generation/230143/

15.

Lopez

J. D.

(2005). Race-related stress and sociocultural orientation among Latino students during their transition into a predominantly White, highly selective institution. Journal of Hispanic Higher Education, 4, 354-365.

16.

McCarron

G. P.

Inkelas

K. K.

(2006). The gap between educational aspirations and attainment for first-generation college students and the role of parental involvement. Journal of College Student Development, 47, 534-549.

17.

Mendoza

Hart

Whitney

(2011). Taking the family to college: Understanding the role of family in the resiliency of Hispanic students at a predominantly White midwest university. Enrollment Management Journal, Winter, 5, 67-90.

18.

Miles

M. B.

Huberman

A. M.

(1994). Qualitative data analysis: An expanded sourcebook. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

19.

Museus

S. D.

(2014). The culturally engaging campus environments (CECE) model: A new theory of success among racially diverse college student populations. In Paulsen

M.B.

(Ed.), Higher education: Handbook of theory and research: Volume 29 (pp. 189-227). New York, NY: Springer.

20.

Musu-Gillette

Robinson

McFarland

KewalRamani

Zhang

Wilkinson-Flicker

(2016). Status and trends in the education of racial and ethnic groups 2016 (NCES 2016-007). U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. Washington, DC. Retrieved from https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2016/2016007.pdf

21.

National Center for Education Statistics. (2017). Back to School Statistics. Retrieved from https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=372

22.

Nichols

Islas

(2016). Pushing and pulling emerging adults through college: College generational status and the influence of parents and others in the first year. Journal of Adolescent Research, 31, 59-95.

23.

NODA: Association of Orientation, Transition, and Retention. (2017). NODA review. Retrieved from https://noda.site-ym.com/page/yr_n_history.

24.

Orbe

M. P.

(2008). Theorizing multidimensional identity negotiations: Reflections on the lived experiences of first-generation college students. In Azmitia

Syed

Radmacher

(Eds.), The intersections of personal and social identities (New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development No. 120, pp. 81-95). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

25.

Sabogal

Marín

Otero-Sabogal

Marín

B. V.

Perez-Stable

E. J.

(1987). Hispanic familism and acculturation: What changes and what doesn’t? Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 9, 397-412.

26.

Saldaña

(2016). The coding manual for qualitative researchers (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

27.

Sanchez

Reyes

Singh

(2005). Makin’ it in college: The value of significant individuals in the lives of Mexican American adolescents. Journal of Hispanic Higher Education, 5, 48-67.

28.

Savage

Petree

(2015). National survey of college and university parent programs: Survey conducted spring 2015. Retrieved from University of Minnesota, Parent Program Web site: http://www1.umn.edu/parent/about/survey-reports/.

29.

Thomas

D. R.

(2006). A general inductive approach for analyzing qualitative evaluation data. American Journal of Evaluation, 27, 237-246.

30.

Torres

Hernandez

(2009). Influence of an identified advisor/mentor on urban Latino students’ college experience. Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory & Practice, 11, 141-160.

31.

U.S. Census Bureau. (2016). Educational attainment in the United States: 2015. Retrieved from https://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/publications/2016/demo/p20-578.pdf

32.

Verdin

Godwin

(2015, October). First in the family: A comparison of first-generation and non-first-generation engineering college students. 2015 IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference (FIE), El Paso, TX. doi:10.1109/fie.2015.7344359

33.

Villalba

J. A.

Gonzalez

Hines

E. M.

Borders

L. D.

(2014). The Latino parents-learning about college (LaP-LAC) program: Educational empowerment of Latino families through psychoeducational group work. The Journal for Specialists in Group Work, 39, 47-70.

34.

Walker

D. K. P.

(1988). Strategies for increasing retention of Hispanic students in community colleges (ED 295 708) (Doctoral dissertation). University of Texas at Austin.

35.

Wang

T. R.

(2013). Formational turning points in the transition to college: Understanding how communication events shape first-generation students’ pedagogical and interpersonal relationships with their college teachers. Communication Education, 63, 63-82.

36.

Wartman

K. L.

Savage

(2008). Parental involvement in higher education: Understanding the relationship among students, parents, and the institution. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

37.

York-Anderson

D. C.

Bowman

S. L.

(1991). Assessing the college knowledge of first-generation and second-generation college students. Journal of College Student Development, 32, 116-122.