New grant to allow study of Latinx student-parents in community colleges

Midterms and class presentations can stress out many college students, but some higher education aspirants have much heavier responsibilities on top of their coursework. Student-parents also often have to juggle jobs and childrearing duties — and many in this population have the additional challenges of coming from a low-income household, being a first-generation college student, or dealing with racial or cultural prejudices.

A new research project at the Pullias Center for Higher Education aims to study this population. Adrian Huerta, Provost Postdoctoral Scholar in the Pullias Center, was recently awarded a $19,988 grant from The Center for Research on College-Workforce Transitions to study how Latinx student-parents prepare for careers and transition into the labor market.

“We know returning adults are in community college, but few studies include single fathers or focus on the Latinx population,” Huerta said. “As colleges try to increase student equity and outcomes, this population need further attention – This is why the study is important.”

Huerta will work with a Los Angeles County community college to examine this unique population. His study will first uncover the main factors low-income Latinx student-parents negotiate and consider when they enroll in community colleges every semester. In addition, Huerta will study what institutional resources low-income Latinx student-parents use to learn about career planning and work-force transitions resources at their community college campus — and evaluate the impact of those resources. The project will run from July 2018 until August 2019.

Serving as a consultant on the project is Cecilia Rios-Aguilar, Associate Professor of Education and the Director of the Higher Education Research Institute (HERI) at the University of California, Los Angeles. Huerta previously served as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at HERI under the mentorship of Rios-Aguilar.

“Cecilia and I are committed to addressing the needs of vulnerable student populations,” Huerta said. “She is a great colleague and truly understands the needs of community college students and how community colleges should respond to system change.”

This latest grant builds upon Huerta’s long-term research on boys and men of color, college access and equity, and vulnerable populations in higher education.