Tragos Amargos: The Graduate School Experience of Latino Male Graduate Students

• In Event: De Niños a Hombres: Understanding the Educational Pipeline of Latinos From Middle Through Graduate School

Abstract

Research has documented the challenges Students of Color have experienced attending post-secondary education: campus climate (Hurtado, Milem, Clayton-Pederson, & Allen, 1998), financial aid (Tierney and Venegas, 2009; Heller, 1999), being a first-generation college student (Pascarella, Pierson, Wolniak, & Terenzini, 2004), and transitioning into the college environment (Hurtado and Carter, 1997). Scholars have examined the collective experiences of Black, Latino, and Native American undergraduate and graduate students’, however few studies have focused solely on the graduate student narratives of Latino males (Huerta and Venegas, 2011; Saenz and Ponjuan, 2009). The Lumina Foundation (2009) asserts that the social and academic experiences of Latino males is understudied when compared to other racial and ethnic minorities and has initiated a call for empirical research. This oversight is unfortunate considering the alarming statistics of low matriculation and completion rates of men, including in the post-secondary pipeline (College Board, 2010; Solorzano, Villalpando, & Oseguera, 2005).

The purpose of this qualitative study is to examine the experiences of Latino male graduate students enrolled in seven public and private institutions in the United States and their individual journeys in the higher education system. This study emerged from testimonials presented at previous conferences in which the researchers shared their experiences as males in graduate school. Semi-structured interviews will be conducted asking participants questions about their personal and family background, mentorship received throughout their schooling, and their social and support networks. Specifically this study intends to answer the following questions: What has the experience been like for Latino graduate students at predominantly white institutions? What academic and social factors have influenced the educational experience of participants during graduate school?

In order to understand the experiences, challenges, and opportunities of these students, this study uses a combination of lenses such as social capital and Critical Race Theory (CRT), including counter-storytelling. Social capital theory can provide access to resources and forms of support which facilitate the accomplishment of goals; social capital theory helps to explain how educational achievement and attainment are closely associated with access to supportive relationship and networks (Stanton-Salazar, 2004). At the same time, “Critical Race Theory (CRT) research interrogates race and racism as defining and organizing constructs in U.S. society, culture and institutions” (Poon & Hune, 2009, p. 85). Similarly, counter-storytelling provides a way for the voices of the subaltern, such as People of Color to emerge from the boundaries and challenge dominant discourses. “Counter-stories can quicken and engage conscience. Their graphic quality can stir imagination in ways in which more conventional discourse cannot” (Delgado, 1998, p. 260). The findings for this study can have a tremendous impact on the field of graduate education as it will assist to further the understanding of what Latino males experience in graduate school. This study can provide insight to graduate programs across the nation which can then better structure programs to support, retain and increase the graduation of Latino males in graduate school.

Authors

• Juan G. Berumen, Indiana University - Bloomington

• Adrian H. Huerta, University of California - Los Angeles

• Luis E. Ramirez, University of California - Davis

• Rudy Mondragon, Gonzaga University