The Impact of Documentation Status on the Educational Attainment Experiences of Undocumented Hispanic/Latino Students

The Impact of Documentation Status on the Educational Attainment Experiences of Undocumented Hispanic/Latino Students PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Children of illegal aliens
Languages : en
Pages : 125

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Book Description
The issue of undocumented immigration has recently taken center-stage in the media and national politics in the United States. A large population of undocumented youth grows up with legal access to public education through high school, following the Supreme Court decision of Plyler vs. Doe, but faces legal and economic barriers to post-secondary education. Following high school, undocumented Hispanic/Latino youth legal protections end, greatly limiting chances for upward mobility through traditional post-secondary education pipelines. In some cases, knowledge of future barriers to post-secondary education leads to a decline in educational motivation. The current political atmosphere makes this study a bit of a moving target as the Obama administration recently passed a reprieve. This reprieve, known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Process (DACA) does not confer any legal status or open any future path to citizenship. It does, however, grant eligible applicants a work permit, and the opportunity to travel, work, and attend school with a sense of security. The purpose of this thesis is to better understand the perceptions and understandings of undocumented Hispanic/Latino youth and their pursuits of higher education in. It is primarily concerned with the educational issues and opportunities facing these students. This research explores the impact of Hispanic/Latino students' perceptions of legal status barriers on their educational attainment experiences. The different opportunities and obstacles present in access to post-secondary education for undocumented Hispanic/Latino students residing in the United States are examined. This study focuses on the time period just after high school graduation, a critical stage in these students' lives, when undocumented status is particularly consequential. Knowledge about students' perception of their educational progress sheds light on their educational attainment experiences; it illuminates important factors associated with their individual educational experiences. Interactions with teachers, school authorities, their parents, siblings, peers, and other authority figures could be described in connecting personal interpretations and emotional responses to specific events in their lives that they feel helped or hindered their educational progress. Knowing how undocumented Hispanic/Latino youth identify and understand the factors that facilitate or impede their navigation of post-secondary education, will further inform educators and researchers alike. This study offers the possibility of identifying additional factors for educators, researchers, and our communities that hinder or facilitate the educational navigation and success of undocumented students. This type of research is significant as this marginalized population lives and works within the American society; the successes and struggles of these students impacts the United States as a whole. Moreover, these students possess amazing potential; we need to better understand and serve this population in order to both improve their life experiences, and to benefit from their input and abilities.

The Impact of Documentation Status on the Educational Attainment Experiences of Undocumented Hispanic/Latino Students

The Impact of Documentation Status on the Educational Attainment Experiences of Undocumented Hispanic/Latino Students PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Children of illegal aliens
Languages : en
Pages : 125

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Book Description
The issue of undocumented immigration has recently taken center-stage in the media and national politics in the United States. A large population of undocumented youth grows up with legal access to public education through high school, following the Supreme Court decision of Plyler vs. Doe, but faces legal and economic barriers to post-secondary education. Following high school, undocumented Hispanic/Latino youth legal protections end, greatly limiting chances for upward mobility through traditional post-secondary education pipelines. In some cases, knowledge of future barriers to post-secondary education leads to a decline in educational motivation. The current political atmosphere makes this study a bit of a moving target as the Obama administration recently passed a reprieve. This reprieve, known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Process (DACA) does not confer any legal status or open any future path to citizenship. It does, however, grant eligible applicants a work permit, and the opportunity to travel, work, and attend school with a sense of security. The purpose of this thesis is to better understand the perceptions and understandings of undocumented Hispanic/Latino youth and their pursuits of higher education in. It is primarily concerned with the educational issues and opportunities facing these students. This research explores the impact of Hispanic/Latino students' perceptions of legal status barriers on their educational attainment experiences. The different opportunities and obstacles present in access to post-secondary education for undocumented Hispanic/Latino students residing in the United States are examined. This study focuses on the time period just after high school graduation, a critical stage in these students' lives, when undocumented status is particularly consequential. Knowledge about students' perception of their educational progress sheds light on their educational attainment experiences; it illuminates important factors associated with their individual educational experiences. Interactions with teachers, school authorities, their parents, siblings, peers, and other authority figures could be described in connecting personal interpretations and emotional responses to specific events in their lives that they feel helped or hindered their educational progress. Knowing how undocumented Hispanic/Latino youth identify and understand the factors that facilitate or impede their navigation of post-secondary education, will further inform educators and researchers alike. This study offers the possibility of identifying additional factors for educators, researchers, and our communities that hinder or facilitate the educational navigation and success of undocumented students. This type of research is significant as this marginalized population lives and works within the American society; the successes and struggles of these students impacts the United States as a whole. Moreover, these students possess amazing potential; we need to better understand and serve this population in order to both improve their life experiences, and to benefit from their input and abilities.

Undocumented Status and Educational Outcomes Among Latino Students

Undocumented Status and Educational Outcomes Among Latino Students PDF Author: Patricia C. Herdoiza
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781267728296
Category : Academic achievement
Languages : en
Pages : 59

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Book Description
The relationship between undocumented immigrant status (immigrants residing in the United States without legal authorization) and educational outcomes, particularly perceived academic performance and future aspirations, among Latino high school students is investigated. Undocumented status in this study involves the status of students, parents, or significant others. Latino students were recruited from four high schools and a community center. Through semi-structured interviews, participants answered questions about family history, household composition (family structure), school, and future aspirations, among other topics. It is hypothesized that undocumented status will have profound effects on educational outcomes. Results show there is not necessarily a difference in educational outcomes as measured by this study between students with undocumented status or context and those with documented context. However, results suggest differences in future aspirations as well as how students with undocumented status or context versus those without such context experience parental school investments, school motivation, discrimination, deportation fears/fear of ICE (Immigration Customs Enforcement), and disillusionment. Implications for theory, research, and practice are discussed.

Marking Legal Status

Marking Legal Status PDF Author: Marco Antonio Murillo
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 240

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Book Description
While an emerging body of work has highlighted the experiences of undocumented students in higher education (Contreras, 2010; Flores, 2009; Perez, 2009, 2012), the research literature on undocumented youth in the K-12 public education system is limited. Nationwide, approximately 1 million undocumented immigrants are under 18 years of age and about 65,000 undocumented students graduate from high school each year (Passel, 2003; Passel & Cohn, 2011). In recent years, numerous states have passed policies, which provide undocumented students greater access to postsecondary education as well as financial assistance such as the California Dream Act. Many of these policies, however, are rapidly changing and confusing for students and parents (Teranishi, Suárez-Orozco, & Suárez-Orozco, 2015). Framed within theories of belonging, this study examines undocumented high school students' perceived membership and inclusion within a school community. Employing ethnographic methods in an urban, high school serving a diverse student body, the study includes the following data: 1) observations in classrooms and the college center, 2) interviews with U.S-born/legally residing students (n=15), undocumented students (n=14), and teachers/administrators (n=13), and 3) school artifacts. Using a multilevel analysis framework the study addresses the impact of federal and state immigration related policies on undocumented students (macro), school-level processes and systems in placed to support undocumented students as they prepare to transition out of high school (meso), and the treatment of undocumented students in school (micro). Findings from this study are presented following the multilevel level framework. Study findings suggest that the California Dream Act and DACA have helped to make strides in supporting undocumented students college enrollment and gaining legal employment. However, increasing college costs and limited access to financial resources threaten undocumented students matriculation into college. Despite creating a supportive school context for undocumented students, teachers and administrators struggled with how to appropriately address the issue of documentation in order to target assistance and protect student privacy. In general, undocumented students felt comfortable disclosing their legal status after developing trusting relationships with adults and peers. At times, peers and adults were surprised to learn an individual was undocumented because it challenged dominant perceptions of undocumented immigrants (i.e., dress, language, or race/ethnicity). Ultimately, undocumented students felt a sense of belonging, suggesting the importance for schools to address issues of documentation in a direct, but respectful manner.

Persistent Inequality

Persistent Inequality PDF Author: Maria Pabon Lopez
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1135229686
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 420

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Book Description
The children of undocumented migrants in the U.S. are trapped at the intersection of two systems in crisis: the public education system and the immigration law system. Based on a long tradition of scholarship in Latino education and on newer critical race theory ideas, Persistent Inequality answers burning questions about how educational policy has to rise to meet the unique challenges of undocumented students’ lives as well as those which face nearly all Latinos in the U.S. educational system. How solid is the Supreme Court precedent, Plyler v. Doe, that allows undocumented children the opportunity to attend public school K-12 free of charge? What would happen if the Supreme Court overruled it? What is the DREAM Act and how would this proposed federal law affect the lives of undocumented students? How have immigration raids affected public school children and school administrators? To shed some light on these vital questions, the authors provide a critical analysis of the various legal and policy aspects of the U.S. educational system, asserting that both the legal and educational systems in this country need to address the living and working conditions of undocumented Latino students and remove the obstacles to educational achievement which these students struggle with daily.

Exclusionary Incorporation: Race and Immigration Status in Latina/o High School Students' Academic Integration and Social Exclusion

Exclusionary Incorporation: Race and Immigration Status in Latina/o High School Students' Academic Integration and Social Exclusion PDF Author: Karina Chavarria
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 138

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Book Description
Much of the scholarship on Latina/o undocumented young adults has focused on their college and labor market participation, with few studies documenting on-the-ground their experiences in K-12 schools. Even fewer studies comparatively examine U.S. born and undocumented Latina/o students' incorporation in the academic and social spaces in schools. To fill these gaps in scholarship, I draw on five years of school ethnography, in-depth interviews with 50 Latina/o high school students (25 undocumented immigrant and 25 U.S. born), and follow-up conversations one year post-high school. I find that Latina/o students, irrespective of immigration status, experience an exclusionary incorporation in school because the racial dynamics within K-12 educational institutions continue to fragment their opportunities to succeed. Specifically, I explore how race, undocumented immigration status, and working-class position influence their structural integration in academic programs and inclusion in the social channels at Hillcrest high school. While immigrant incorporation scholars point to Latina/o youth's trailing patterns in educational attainment, I argue that we need to examine the centrality of race and racialization in schools as these affect Latina/o youth's divergent paths of participation in social institutions. Thus, I conceive of school incorporation as a process by which students become structurally integrated in the school's academic hierarchy and socially included to reap the benefits of participating in top academic programs, capturing structural and inter-personal features of school processes that shape racial disparities in educational attainment. This emphasizes the centrality of racism in K-12 schools, and demonstrates its impact on the exclusionary incorporation of immigrant youth and the children of immigrants.

Latinos in Higher Education: Creating Conditions for Student Success

Latinos in Higher Education: Creating Conditions for Student Success PDF Author: Anne-Marie Nuñez
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1118714628
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 142

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Book Description
Latinos’ postsecondary educational attainment has not kept pace with their growing representation in the U.S. population. How can Latino educational attainment be advanced? This monograph presents relevant contemporary research, focusing on the role of institutional contexts. Drawing particularly on research grounded in Latino students’ perspectives, it identifies key challenges Latino students face and discuss various approaches to address these challenges. Because so many Latino students are enrolled in federally designated Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs), it also specifically explores HSIs’ role in promoting Latinos’ higher education access and equity. As a conclusion, it offers recommendations for institutional, state, and federal policies that can foster supportive contexts. This is Volume 39 Issue 1 of the Jossey-Bass publication ASHE Higher Education Report. Each monograph in the series is the definitive analysis of a tough higher education problem, based on thorough research of pertinent literature and institutional experiences. Topics are identified by a national survey. Noted practitioners and scholars are then commissioned to write the reports, with experts providing critical reviews of each manuscript before publication.

Demographic and Policy Factors Shaping Hispanic Undocumented Student Outcomes

Demographic and Policy Factors Shaping Hispanic Undocumented Student Outcomes PDF Author: Daniel Corral (Ph.D.)
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 141

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Book Description
This three-study dissertation investigated how socioeconomic factors and policies are associated with educational outcomes for undocumented youth and, in one of the papers, to what extent education and employment outcomes intersect. Guided by the specific questions of each study, the three papers take different theoretical and methodological approaches to examine the larger topic of college-going for undocumented students. In paper 1, I tested an ecological model of college enrollment as applied to Hispanic undocumented students. I examined to what extent several individual and larger structural characteristics are associated with college attendance. I used data from multiple governmental sources to create a unique dataset and analyze those data using a multilevel linear probability model. I found race, sex, years in the U.S., parental education, and commuting zone demographics as significant predictors of college enrollment, net of other independent variables in my model. By testing this model, I provided an alternative framework to understand college enrollment among undocumented students. These findings also identified specific gaps and opportunities for policies and interventions to increase college access. Paper 2 evaluated the effect Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), an Executive Memorandum issued by former President Obama that extends temporary relief from deportation and work authorization to a select group of undocumented youth, has on college enrollment and working while enrolled. I compared these outcomes between DACA eligible undocumented students and two comparison groups: naturalized immigrants and native-born Hispanics. I leveraged data from the American Community Survey and a difference-in-differences research design. I found DACA increased the probability of enrolling in college by 5.6 percentage points, on average. DACA did not affect the probability of being employed while enrolled in college, but eligible individuals were more likely to work two hours, on average, more per week. Heterogeneous analyses reveal the effectiveness of the policy depends on the construction of a theoretically grounded comparison group. The findings from this study can contribute to research and policy debates about comprehensive immigration reform. Paper 3 investigated the association between sanctuary policies and the high school completion and college enrollment of Hispanic undocumented youth. Sanctuary policies, which city, county, and/or state governments implement, prohibit local political leaders and police officials from cooperating with federal immigration enforcement officers regarding the questioning and detention of undocumented immigrants. This study used data from the American Community Survey and applied an event study design. On average, my model detected no effect on both high school completion and college enrollment. These findings suggest that although these policies may help counteract immigration enforcement, they may not reduce uncertainty enough to have a significant impact on educational outcomes. Collectively, this dissertation highlighted the associations between several socioeconomic factors and policies to better understand college access for undocumented students. It showed that undocumented students confront barriers and have unequal access to higher education, but in some instances, policies can mitigate those inequalities. These analyses also pushed past the notion that undocumented status continues to be an overarching master status and begins to identify what specifically helps or hinders access to college for this population.

Immigration and School Safety

Immigration and School Safety PDF Author: Anthony A. Peguero
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1000364909
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 124

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Book Description
Immigration and School Safety utilizes a multidisciplinary approach to expose the complex relationship between immigration and school safety in the United States. It addresses not only individual, intrapersonal, and environmental factors but also distant-level conditions that are relevant to the experiences of immigrant children and connected to school safety. Twenty-five percent of all youth in U.S. schools have at least one immigrant parent, and that percentage is expected to increase to 33 percent by 2040. A wide array of factors, including but not limited to laws, public and political discourses, educational policies, interpersonal relationships, socioeconomic status, English language proficiency, citizenship, legal status, family characteristics, race and ethnicity, generational status, nationality, religion, and gender, contribute to the marginalizing experiences of children of immigrants at school. With the rapid growth of students in immigrant families in U.S. schools, any effort to address school violence and implement school safety policies must consider barriers associated with the unique educational experiences of that segment. This book highlights the often overlooked importance of immigration as a mediating factor in explaining both violence and victimization and provides a blueprint for integrating immigration and criminology theories into evidence-based efforts toward ensuring safety for all students. The authors demonstrate that immigration matters significantly in school violence and safety concerns and illustrate why research that integrates immigration with criminology theories is needed to understand the causes and correlates of school violence. The book will appeal to a wide array of individuals, including academics, educators, policymakers, practitioners, social workers, parents, and stakeholders who are committed to addressing educational disparities and inequities associated with immigration and school safety.

The Context of Success

The Context of Success PDF Author: Jorge Ballinas
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 224

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Book Description
In the United States, many, including those who are native-born and those who settle here, faithfully espouse the American Dream. Commonly, higher education is seen as the main pathway to achieve this and success more broadly. However, not much discussion or consideration is given to the processes by which immigrants and their children must adjust and settle into a new country, community, and schooling system in order to achieve entrance into institutions of higher education. Several factors influence the difficulties that immigrant and their descendants will experience, as well as the pathways of mobility available to them. Perhaps one of the most important factors affecting immigrants' circumstances is the local context in which they are received. The primary goal of this dissertation is to uncover the factors facilitating Mexican students' transition into higher education as well as how local context affects this process and their broader treatment in southeastern Pennsylvania and New York City. This dissertation addresses two main research questions: What factors and mechanisms facilitate Mexican students' transition into higher education, and how does local context influence this process. The first question seeks to identify the resources and difficulties that Mexican students encounter in their educational trajectory in order to analyze how these students and their parents are being received in their communities of settlement and how this affects their mobility. The second question aims to specify the extent to which local circumstances influence not just educational attainment and mobility, but also discrimination and racialization. While much, namely assimilation, research has examined this group's mobility and integration, it has not adequately theorized the effect of location on mobility and integration. Additionally, assimilation research prioritizes mobility and integration over discrimination and racialization. While research on Mexican's discrimination and racialization is not as prevalent, it also does not focus on how location affects these dynamics. Taking existing scholarship's inadequacies into account and since most research on US Mexicans is focused on those living in the southwest, it is crucial to investigate the mobility, integration, discrimination, and racialization that Mexicans experience in locations outside of the southwest. Given that this project is concerned with understanding young Mexican' experiences with education and settlement, qualitative inquiry is employed because it provides an opportunity to intricately observe social life. Sixty individuals, thirty-five are 1.5- and second-generation Mexicans from southeastern Pennsylvania, and twenty-five are second-generation and undocumented individuals from New York City, were interviewed for this study. All Pennsylvania respondents attended the same university and all New York respondents attended the same college. Criteria to participate in this research included having parents who migrated to the United States from Mexico, attended high school in Pennsylvania or New York, and being enrolled in the selected college in each state. The latter two criteria are efforts to make sure that participants have spent a significant amount of time living or a significant phase of their lives-especially high school and the transition to college-in the states under investigation in order to gauge the coming of age and higher education experiences of young Mexicans in these new destinations Chapters two, three, and four encompass the empirical sections of this dissertation. Chapter two examines participants' communities and schools in Southeastern Pennsylvania and New York City as well as their families' characteristics. Such an examination demonstrates how students' local circumstances have a tremendous impact on their (educational) mobility because this context is where other significant factors such as family, school, community, and social networks exert their influence. Moreover, local contexts as well as populations are shown to affect the types of resources and constraints that respondents encountered along their educational pathways. Time of migration and arrival by participants' families in their respective communities also plays a vital role in respondents' educational attainment. Participants' transitions into young adulthood are also shaped by their local contexts. This chapter provides vital insights given its location-based analytical lens of educational attainment and young adulthood. Chapter three analyzes the ways in which respondents are racialized as Mexicans and immigrants. Here respondents' experiences in their respective high schools, university, college, and southeastern Pennsylvania and New York City are looked at. As well as local context, local populations also influence the ways in which respondents experience racialization as well as various forms of discrimination and microaggressions. Respondents' encounters with these race-based forms of denigration illuminate the multiple ways in which Mexican students' transition from high school to higher education and beyond can be made more difficult, blocked, and ultimately stopped. Although respondents are educationally successful, this has not translated into structural assimilation. This chapter contributes toward the building of a context-based theory of integration and racialization. Chapter four addresses the main question behind this project: what factors and mechanisms facilitate students' transition from high school to college. Across both locations, students' entrance into institutions of higher education is aided by the presence of multiple factors working in different combinations for each student; mainly relationships with mentors, friends, and family as well as participation in programs geared specifically to help marginalized students gain entrance into higher education. Local context influences the amount and density of resources that students have at their disposal toward their entrance into college. Such factors are significant because of the ways in which they counteract or buffer some of the constraints, difficulties, and racialization that students encounter in their pursuit of higher education. For Pennsylvania students especially, it appears to be more useful to consider the theory of cumulative causation or self-perpetuation of international migration-where each instance of migration generates more social capital and consequently a higher likelihood of additional migration in sending communities-and not just assimilation perspectives to understand how Mexican higher education attainment occurs.

The Impact of California Dream Act on Undocumented Student Experiences

The Impact of California Dream Act on Undocumented Student Experiences PDF Author: Hong Thanh Dao
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 290

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Book Description
Undocumented students make up one of the most underserved minority groups in higher education. Some federal legislation hinders undocumented students from pursuing higher education due to their immigration status. However, many states are creating their own policies to make postsecondary education more accessible and affordable for undocumented students. The California DREAM Act has positively changed the lives of many undocumented students, as it provided financial resources to students in the pursuit of higher education. As more and more undocumented students attend college, it is imperative that educational leaders understand the challenges and barriers impacting students in higher education so they can properly meet the needs of this population. Although undocumented students qualified for state and institutional financial aid, due to the recent implementation of the California Dream Act, very little is known of their educational journey as they work toward their college degree. The purpose of this study was to examine the experiences and challenges encountered by AB 540 undocumented college students after the implementation of the California DREAM Act as they work toward a college degree. This study will contribute to the awareness around this student population so their educational needs are better understood. This study used a qualitative method to further understand the participants' educational journeys. The researcher conducted all face-to-face interviews at a location that was most comfortable and convenient for the participants. All interviews were audio-recorded with the consent of the participants. Four Latina AB 540 undocumented college students participated in this study. Findings from this study showed that all the participants continue to struggle with financial, academic, and legal challenges even after the implementation of the California DREAM Act. However, the California DREAM Act has significantly impacted all four participants and made pursuing higher education possible. Without the California DREAM Act, the majority of the participants would not attend college because they are unable to afford it. Thus, it is critical that higher education leaders develop specialized services and resources to meet the needs of undocumented students with regard to being successful in college.