Exploring the Educational Persistence of Mexican-American Males

This multiple case study (Stake, 1995) is arranged into six chapters. The first chapter includes an introduction to the researcher to provide background as to my interest in this topic. This chapter also includes the significance of my study and rationale for its development. I have also included evidence to illustrate the dangerous trend in American education today, as an increasing number of Mexican-American males are failing to complete an undergraduate degree. As part of this chapter, I have also outlined the specific research questions I plan to answer at the conclusion of my study. In the second chapter, I have included the conceptual framework that guided my research on the development of community cultural wealth (Yosso, 2005) as it influences student persistence in higher education. More specifically, I investigated the experiences of Mexican-American male students who transferred from a community college to a four-year university. I have included scholarly literature that informs the topic of my study to provide a context around this population of students. This portion identified where research exists and where it is lacking regarding Mexican-American males. In the third chapter, I outlined the research design incorporated to investigate my research problem. In this chapter, I described my research approach and provided support for my decisions as to the design, implementation, and methods for collecting data. I also identified the limitations of my study, and provided an evaluation for future work on this particular issue in education. The fourth chapter includes the findings from the case studies and features direct quotes from each of the interviews. The fifth chapter includes a cross-case analysis that identifies the differences and similarities amongst each of the cases. These similarities and differences are framed through the lens of the six forms of capital identified through Yosso's (2005) model of community cultural wealth. At the end of this chapter I have I also included the key findings and recommendations for future research. In the final chapter, I have included a summary of my experience in doctoral study at this university. More importantly, I conclude with a description of how this experience will help me in my work in the world of higher education.

The goal of this multiple case study (Stake, 1995) is to explore the experiences of three Mexican-American male students who transferred from a community college to a four-year university. Specifically, I explored their educational persistence. Their lived experiences provided examples of their community cultural wealth (Yosso, 2005) and their resilience in navigating higher education institutions in South Texas.