Creating Opportunities: Institutional Agents Impact on Latino Men's Pathway Into PhD Programs

• In Event: Institutional Agents Impact on Latino Men's Transitions Into and Through Higher Education

Abstract

While previous research discusses the lack of help-seeking behavior that Latino men practice (Cabrera et al, 2012; Saenz et al, 2016), this study highlights how Latino men engaged with faculty at their undergraduate institution and how those interactions placed them on a path towards a graduate education. Research has demonstrated how positive campus engagement with faculty and staff can lead to increased success for Latino men and men of color (Rodriguez et al, 2016). And while there has been significant growth in the number of Latino men enrolling and completing college, Latino men continue to be underrepresented in graduate education (Kamimura-Jimenez & Gonzalez, 2018; Patrón et al, 2020). This paper examines the role that faculty mentors play in the graduate school preparation and selection process for Latino men in Ph.D. programs.

Using Stanton-Salazar’s (2011) framework of institutional agents, the study explores how faculty use their roles as institutional agents to engage Latino men and put them towards a path to graduate school. Data for this paper comes from 11 individual interviews with Latino men in social science Ph.D. programs. Participants reflected on their undergraduate experience and the role that faculty played in their development as undergraduate students and how faculty leveraged their resources and power to create a path for them. The interviews ranged between 60- 90 minutes and were completed via phone and Zoom. All interviews were audio-recorded with participants’ permission and transcribed for accuracy.

Findings revealed the critical role that faculty mentors played in shaping the experiences, preparing students for graduate school and reaffirming students in their desire to pursue graduate school. Faculty mentors engaged Latino men early on by going beyond advising and engaging students in research projects. Mentors also provided students with opportunities outside of their campus, which exposed students to national research conferences and fellowships. Finally, positive relationships with mentors in undergrad subsequently influenced their graduate school enrollment as potential faculty advisors played a central role in determining where students chose to enroll. In using their status as faculty at institutions of higher education, faculty enabled their authority and empower students to believe in their abilities and begin to see themselves as researchers and not just students. This research demonstrates that when faculty act as institutional agents by engaging Latino men through mentoring and research, they can excel academically and become interested in pursuing a graduate education.

Author

• Eligio Martinez, California State Polytechnic University - Pomona
  Presenting Author