3This chapter uses a critical quantitative approach to study models and measures of civic engagement for Latina/o college students. The chapter describes the importance of a critical quantitative approach to study civic engagement of Latina/o college students, then uses Hurtado et al.' s (2012) model to examine the civic engagement of Latina/o college students. Alternative and additional measures of civic engagement are described, such as ethnic and indigenous identity, immigrant generation and status, nativity, and time of arrival in the United States. I conclude with recommendations for future models and research on civic engagement of Latina/o college students.Although college participation in the United States has steadily increased over the past four decades, two-and four-year college degree attainment among 25-64-year-olds has remained stagnant at approximately 39% (Lumina Foundation for Education, 2013a). The lack of growth in college degree holders has led to a shift in higher education policy priorities to focus on increasing educational attainment. The Obama administration has committed to two goals: (a) to ensure that all Americans have the ability to pursue college, and (b) for the United States to have the highest proportion of young adults (a 50% increase nationwide) with college degrees compared to other developed nations by 2020 (The White House, 2009.The college completion agenda has been framed as a national priority mainly driven by an economic rationale-to reduce the unemployment rate, increase state and federal tax revenues, and regain global competitiveness (U.S. Department of Education, Office of the Under Secretary, and Office of Postsecondary Education, 2012). While the alignment between higher education and employment is important, the economic rationale underlying the college completion agenda can be problematic. The college completion agenda does not take into account continuing disparities in educational attainment by race and class. While the educational attainment rate has steadily increased for all students in the aggregate, the gap between White NEW DIRECTIONS FOR INSTITUTIONAL RESEARCH, no. 158

Through interviews with nine Latina/o students enrolled in a 2-year Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI), this study examined their interactions with faculty utilizing validation theory as a guiding framework. Findings demonstrate the critical role faculty serve as validating agents and the importance of supporting 2-year HSIs faculty to practice validating experiences. Validating faculty interactions have the potential to increase Latina/o community college student’s sense of belonging, persistence, and academic self-concept.

Undocumented youth face a series of barriers to health and success in their lives, yet many also exhibit incredible resilience and are thriving despite these odds. A critical component of thriving during adulthood is contribution to family and community (Lerner et al., 2002). In this study, a team of (un)documented researchers conducted a multilayered exploration of contribution by examining the findings of a qualitative study of undocumented undergraduates embedded in a PAR Summer Program designed to serve undocumented students at a large public university. We present results from two layers of qualitative data: (a) transcripts from the Summer Program, which revealed important methodological turning points for our design of the embedded qualitative study; (b) two portraits of undocumented undergraduates' visual (identity maps) and verbal (interview) narratives regarding contribution. By crafting a design that allowed undocumented youth to describe their families through visual and verbal narratives, we were able to gather thick descriptions of contribution. We describe both theoretical and methodological turning points in understanding contribution for undocumented young people as we undertook this project. Further, through the analysis of interviews and "family maps" of two undocumented undergraduate participants we explored the role of contribution to their family and community, as an asset to their development and academic success. Results revealed the reciprocal nature of contribution between family and community members, a value we refer to as collective contribution.

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This chapter discusses issues and challenges encountered in using