Graduating During a Pandemic: Experiences of Latina Student in an Early College High School

• In Event: From Early College to Graduate School: Highlighting Multiple Experiences of Latina Students in Hispanic-Serving Institutions

Abstract

Purpose
We investigated the experiences of Latina high school graduates of a majority Latinx Early College High School (ECHS) program at a community college (designated as a Hispanic-Serving Institution) in an industrial city in Southeast Texas during the COVID-19 Pandemic. ECHS models target underrepresented students and give them access to free college courses during high school. Previous ECHS research has focused on the relationship of ECHS attendance with postsecondary outcomes such as entry into and degree completion from a four-year institution (Berger et al., 2013; Edmunds et al., 2013; Edmunds et al., 2017; Haxton et al., 2016; Lauen et al., 2017); however, there is less research regarding Latina students’ experiences while attending an ECHS and their transition after completing high school (Locke et al., 2017). This study focuses on Latinas’ experiences while attending the ECHS, graduating high school during the pandemic, and transferring to other colleges. We explore the following question: What were the educational experiences of Latina graduates who attended an ECHS?

Theoretical Framework
We introduce a framework we call ECHS Latina Student Agency, that acknowledges previous perspectives, such as Community Cultural Wealth (Yosso, 2005) and Critical Resilience (Zambrana & Hurtado, 2019). Through this framework we aim to explicitly name the trajectory that Latina ECHS students navigated from elementary school to college. We hope that this strengths-based framework (Authors, 2020) will be useful for future research focused on the experiences of Latinas attending ECHS’s or other institutions that provide early college access programs.

Methods & Data Sources
This paper draws from longitudinal qualitative study which will include two interviews across two years with 7 Latinas. The first interviews were conducted Fall 2020, and the second interviews will take place Fall 2021. We asked participants to share their: 1) experiences prior to and during high school; 2) college and career preparation at the ECHS; 3) their transfer experiences; and 4) the impact of COVID-19. All participants were first-generation and daughters of Mexican immigrants, and most identified as former English Learner students.

Preliminary Findings
1) Participants appreciated the familial culture that teachers and administrators fostered in their small high school. 2) Given early exposure to college courses, there were benefits to the transition to college (2- and 4-year institutions) during this unprecedented time, such as being familiar with college classes; and 3) Students expressed the ability to overcome a difficult situation (the pandemic) and being able to work towards their goals successfully.
Significance: In terms of the pandemic’s impact on Latinx college students, the long-term effects on degree completion remain to be seen, but many have already been negatively affected (Acevedo, 2021; Douglas-Gabriel et al., 2021). Our study broadens understanding of the immediate outcomes from the pandemic in order to help address the long-term challenges students might face during this time. Finally, our findings are relevant for student affairs professionals who support Latina and other underrepresented students transferring from ECHS models.

Authors

• Ruth María López, University of Houston

• Vincent D Carales, University of Houston