El ojo en la meta: Latino male undergraduates’ coping processes.

Abstract

As Latino males are entering and graduating from higher education at significantly lower rates than their counterparts, this study focused on their educational coping processes. Interviews with five upper-division Latino male undergraduates at a large predominantly White 4-year university revealed a range of coping processes which were self-protective and that helped them persist to graduation. In particular, spirituality was explored as a central cultural coping mechanism, and results indicated that Latinos hold and understand different elements of their spirituality as a means to manage their educational experiences. Implications for gender-and culture-specific educational support for Latino undergraduates are addressed.

¡Pertenecemos y tenemos importancia aquí! Exploring Sense of Belonging and Mattering for First-Generation and Continuing-Generation Latinx Undergraduates

“…Compared to extant research, self-identified Latinas typically outnumber their male peers in higher education (Castellanos et al, 2018; as well as in completing study surveys. Although no gender differences emerged, educational experiences and self-beliefs (e.g., confidence in one's ability to successfully complete academic tasks; Lopez, 2014) clearly differ by self-identified gender and subsequent cultural expectations (Gloria et al, 2017). How self-identified gender-related concerns inform students' sense of belonging or mattering within the university setting warrants study-for example, as Latino male undergraduates report using "angry face" or "walking angry" to cope proactively with others in the university context (i.e., defensive strategy to keep others away; Gloria et al, 2017), exploring how this self-preserving process may limit the contexts in which they engage (e.g., classroom, residence hall, campus) and in turn whether they feel like they belong and matter differently than their Latina peers.…”

“…Using the self-determination theory, the concept addresses whether a person holds an activity with interest or importance in the environment such that intrinsic (internal) and extrinsic (external) motivation are evident (Deci & Ryan, 2002;Niemiec & Ryan, 2009). Specific to Latinx students, their motivation to attend college is often informed by their experience of the campus climate (Hurtado & Carter, 1997;Reynolds et al, 2010), cultural values (Phinney et al, 2006), and commitment to advance their family and community (Gloria et al, 2017). For example, reported that "mothers built high levels of aspirational capital by establishing high expectations of educational success and serving as strong sources of motivation" (p. 11) for 130 Latino male undergraduates.…”

“…Consonant to the PSC approach and extant findings based on the model (e.g., Delgado-Guerrero & Gloria, 2013;Gloria et al, 2017), we expected that each dimension would individually and collectively account for mattering.…”

“…2002), to name a few. It is in the context of person-environment processes that scholars have explored how comfort (Cavazos et al, 2010;Gloria et al, 2017) and connection within the university context (Bordes & Arredondo, 2005;Kim et al, 2014;Martinez, 2018) inform Latinx students' sense of mattering to others in their educational setting (Dueñas & Gloria, 2017;France & Finney, 2009;Huerta & Fishman, 2014). Thus, the study's purpose assesses how motivation, belonging, and congruity inform mattering for Latinx undergraduates with varied academic and social affiliations.…”

Exploring and Promoting the College Attendance and Success of Racial/Ethnic Minority Students

“…For example, Jackson and Suizzo (2015) conducted focus groups and interviews with college-age Latinas in sciencerelated majors and found that their resilience and determination in regard to their science identity development was positively influenced by home environment, teacher influences, and school experiences. In turn, Gloria et al (2017) interviewed upper-division Latino male undergraduates and found that the students used a range of self-protective coping mechanisms, such as spirituality, that helped them persist to graduation. We strove to increase knowledge about the college experience of diverse students who attended a public university.…”