Rethinking Persistence: Noncredit Adult High School Diploma Students’ Protracted Persistence Across Their Educational Trajectories

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Abstract

This qualitative study reexamines the complexity of persistence among noncredit adult high school diploma (AHSD) students in one California community college. Drawing from life history interviews with 11 Latine and Black AHSD students, the study introduces the concept of protracted persistence—long-term, nonlinear educational trajectory. Using Yosso’s community cultural wealth (CCW) framework, findings reveal how students draw on their lived experience to navigate barriers and define success on their own terms. Participants’ narratives challenge deficit-based labels and conventional metrics, highlighting the need for institutions to expand their understanding of persistence and success to better reflect adult learners’ realities and strengths.

Author

• Liliana Martinez-Kaufman, University of California - Los Angeles