Community College Latino Male Student Engagement: A Qualitative Research Study

According to Saenz and Ponjuan (2009), “Latino males are effectively vanishing from the American higher education pipeline” (p. 54). Despite a steady increase of Latino students enrolling over the past several decades, the problem remains that Latino male student persistence and completion rates are not keeping up proportionally with other student population groups (Castellanos, Gloria, & Kamimura, 2006). The purpose of this phenomenological research study was to understand how Latino male students describe their educational experience within the community college system, and provide recommendations for educational practitioners to improve programs and services that support Latino male student persistence and completion.\nThis phenomenological study’s conceptual framework focused on the following attributes related to the Latino male student, their influences including family, culture, and society as well as behavioral, emotional, and cognitive engagement perspectives. The research study concluded with the following key influence and engagement perspectives for educational practitioners to grapple with when designing programs and services that support Latino male student success at the community college level:\n(a) Guidance is necessary for Latino male students who have varying levels of preparation upon entrance into their community college level studies.\n(b) There is a great need to have more supportive voices in young Latino male student lives.\n(c) Community college personnel must come alongside Latino male students to provide a clear pathway, assist with navigation of the institutional system, and offer information, resources, and services necessary to empower and obtain success.