The Challenges of Returning to School: The Role of Familismo

• In Event: Creating Opportunities for Latina/o Student Success

Abstract

The growing population of Latinos in this country coupled with the discouraging retention and completion rates of Latinos in higher education calls for increased understanding of Latino student experiences. There is a contradiction in prior research about the role of family in the transition to college. In this paper, we explore the role of family during students’ return to school in a community-based Associates degree program in a predominantly Latino low-income neighborhood. We found that while family acted as a challenge, a sense of family in the program provided support and affected change in students’ habiti. Since habitus mediates the relationship between the individual and social structures, a change in habitus may provide an avenue to change existing social structures.

Authors

• Nora Pillard Reynolds, Temple University

• Erin McNamara Horvat, Temple University