Kimberly Alvarez Dissertation Defense
Stefanie Randol
In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership: Postsecondary Education, Kimberly Alvarez defends her Dissertation, Wednesday, May 22, 2024, 1:00-3:00pm.
The public may view a recording of the presentation following the defense here. Current PSU students, alumni, and faculty may request the Zoom location and password from sra...@pdx.edu.
Committee: Karen Haley (Chair), José Aguilar-Hernández, Christine Cress, Martín Alberto Gonzalez
Title: Undergraduate Students of Color Raising Children and Persisting in Higher Education
ABSTRACT
Millions of undergraduate students have been identified as parents across the United States. Of those millions, a majority have been identified as undergraduate students of Color who are pregnant, parenting, frequently underrepresented, and often not equitably supported toward degree completion. The purpose of the qualitative single-site case study was to learn what undergraduate students of Color who are parenting have experienced, in terms of support for their continued enrollment, while earning baccalaureate degrees at Portland State University. Through an asset-based approach this study elaborated on three key findings which include the persistent aspirations of undergraduate students of Color (USPs of Color) despite the challenges they have faced, their resistance strategies, and their experiences with resources and resourcefulness. Recommendations offered in this study for future practice can be adopted by postsecondary education leaders, and community service leaders alike, to develop resources, improve current efforts, or amend policies and practices to equitably serve USPs of Color toward degree attainment.
To congratulate this doctoral candidate, you may contact her at: kd...@pdx.edu
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