Announcement of Dissertation Proposal Defense
University of San Diego School of Leadership and Education Sciences Department of Leadership Studies
You are cordially invited to attend a
DISSERTATION PROPOSAL DEFENSE THE LIVED EXPERIENCES OF U.S.–BORN MULTI-GENERATION MEXICAN HERITAGE COLLEGE STUDENTS: REALITY VS. PERCEPTION, IS THERE A DIFFERENCE? A QUALITATIVE STUDY
December 22, 2009 4 p.m. Mother Rosalie Hill Hall, Room 131
Johanna S. Hunsaker, Ph.D., Chair Reyes Quezada, Ed.D., Member Alberto L. Pulido, Ph.D., Member
In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy by Richard Galván
ABSTRACT The purpose of this study is to describe the psychosocial and identity issues of multi-generational U.S.–born Mexican heritage college students in order to identify challenges this population faces in transitioning to college. A multidisciplinary review of the literature underscores that there is no mention of the two distinct and different worldviews present between immigrant and multi-generational U.S.–born Mexican college students which would enhance the overall reliability and validity of data when studying Mexican-origin individuals in the United States. Phinney (1990, 1996, 2005) has found little is known about the psychological impact ethnicity has on groups, while Alvarez (1973) has written about the psychosocial impact “hybridity” can have on a U.S.–born Mexican individual who incorporates two distinct cultures (American and Mexican) in order to succeed in U.S. society, and yet, few empirical data is available on U.S.–born Mexican college students. To offset the lack of empirical data, factors such as: multi-generational status; a non-immigrant experience; being monolingual (some may speak only English); family dynamics; racial; cultural; and ethnic identity must be explored in a non-homogenous manner. Therefore, this proposed study will focus on the lived experiences of U.S.–born multi-generational Mexican heritage college students utilizing a basic interpretive and descriptive qualitative research design (Merriam, 2002) to: (a) listen to what participants have to say about themselves in relationship to their identity development; (b) see if hybridity has a psychosocial impact on U.S.–born Mexican college students; and (c) explore whether the generalized perceptions from previous research on Mexican-origin college students is valid. There will be ten participants from two private universities in San Diego, California. Themes and categories from the data will be examined and used to create a foundation for future research with this population. Additionally, the study will: (a) introduce a subgroup not accounted for in the literature; (b) move research inquiry away from viewing native multi-generational Latino subgroups as immigrants; and (c) allow the participants to talk about their lives, their self-imposed labels, and experiences without using measurement instruments which have been designed for other ethnic groups and “adapted” for use with them.