Graduation Year

2023

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree

Ph.D.

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

Degree Granting Department

Curriculum and Instruction

Major Professor

Tony Tan, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Jennifer Mariano, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Ann Cranston-Gingras, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Jennifer Wolgemuth, Ph.D.

Keywords

Migrant farmworker, Marginalized students, Latina students, first generation college students, transition to college, purpose

Abstract

The 21st century world is increasingly globalized and interconnected, and migration is a reality that substantially impacts the US educational system, and often requires specialized services for migrant students to successfully transition to higher education. While higher education has many benefits, it also presents inherent risks and challenges for students from migrant families, whose academic and life experiences may be vastly different from traditional college students. Federal collegiate transition programs like the College Assistance Migrant Program (CAMP) recognize this and aim to support students holistically throughout their transition to higher education. Such programs are in continual search of effective ways to understand and foster student success. Within the field of positive youth development, the study of self-identified or self-defined purpose has shown promise in helping students from diverse cultural backgrounds to flourish in terms of both social-emotional health and academic persistence. This is an exploratory study conducted with six Latina students from migrant farmworker families entering a new university living-learning community through the CAMP program. It explores these students' perceptions of their transition to college and the role purpose may play in it, using semi-structured interviews and a participant-driven photo elicitation technique. A modified reflexive thematic analysis revealed a number of emergent themes and findings. These included identification of purpose as a protective factor against adversity, and in particular beyond-the-self purpose areas such as serving one’s community, advocacy for migrant farmworkers, and bringing financial stability to one’s family. In addition, findings showed the bidirectional relationship of family support in transition to college, the importance of spiritual life and critical role of CAMP‘s approach in meeting the students’ needs holistically. These needs included mentorship, goal setting, career exploration, service learning or work experiences oriented towards students’ purpose, and specialized academic tutoring/advising. These discoveries provide useful information that may assist parents, counselors, teachers, educational administrators and other stakeholders working with this unique student population

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