Keywords

Puerto rican, latina, persistence, success, acheivement, retention

Abstract

This study explores the phenomenon of Puerto Rican women who have achieved a Ph.D. degree. The researcher utilized a qualitative research methodology to investigate the social aspects that influenced Puerto Rican women to persist in their doctoral programs. Due to the national pool of potential participants, interviews were conducted with Puerto Rican women using video chat software. The researcher utilizes 5 tenets of Critical Race Theory (CRT) as the framework for this study, in an effort to address the varying aspects that contribute to the persistence of Puerto Rican women in graduate study, despite the challenges often cited in the literature as deterrents to academic achievement. The participants’ experiences are examined on an individual, interactional, and institutional level, in order to gain insight into their persistence. This study captures the stories of Puerto Rican women raised in the mainland U.S. as well as those raised on the island itself. Ultimately, this study addresses two main gaps in the literature: (1) research is lacking on Latinas who are successful in higher education, and (2) traditional research tends to describe Latino/a academic achievement as a collective, with little attention given to the cultural distinctions of Latino subgroups in their educational trajectories.

Notes

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Graduation Date

2013

Semester

Spring

Advisor

Cintron Delgado, Rosa

Degree

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)

College

College of Education and Human Performance

Department

Educational and Human Sciences

Degree Program

Educational Leadership; Higher Education

Format

application/pdf

Identifier

CFE0004725

URL

http://purl.fcla.edu/fcla/etd/CFE0004725

Language

English

Release Date

May 2013

Length of Campus-only Access

None

Access Status

Doctoral Dissertation (Open Access)

Subjects

Dissertations, Academic -- Education, Education -- Dissertations, Academic

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