The purpose of this multi-institutional qualitative study was to understand the educational pathways of Latino males by underscoring the unique role female family members play in their academic pursuits—through the voice of these young men. Findings demonstrate female family members were identified as being primary supporters of their educational pursuits, and actively leveraged different sources of cultural capital to help Latino males enroll and persist through postsecondary education. This study reinforces extant literature on the importance of family in the educational pathways of Latina/o students. Furthermore, it makes a unique contribution by highlighting the important role female family members hold in the Latino family as educational advocates

Community college faculty members are essential to promoting student engagement and success, yet little research in this area has focused on the interactions of Latino men with their faculty members. The study utilized Harris and Wood’s (2013) Socio-Ecological Outcomes (SEO) model which focuses on the educational success of men of color in community colleges, to examine how Latino men made meaning of their interactions with faculty members and how these interactions influenced their community college success. Latino men made meaning of their faculty experiences based on (a) the accessibility and approachability of the faculty member, (b) their own hesitancy to seek help from faculty members, and (c) the level of investment or authentic care exhibited by the faculty member. These student-faculty interactions influenced the way in which Latino men engaged both inside and outside of the classroom as well as the way in which they sought support from faculty members.

This study explored how administrators at community colleges conceptualized change related to resource allocation and managing competing priorities to support targeted programming for Latino men. The study included the perspectives of 39 administrators from seven community colleges across Texas using concepts associated with institutional change to ground our analysis. Findings revealed that state and national initiatives, particularly those concerned with enhancing success for students of color, influenced how community college administrators approached change on their campuses. In addition, community college institutional mission, leadership, and a desire for data-informed resource management influenced the approach to resource allocation for Latino men.

Academic scholarship has demonstrated the importance of father engagement in fostering early educational success of their children, but little exploration in this area has focused on the role that fathers play in the college success of their Latino male sons. The purpose of this qualitative study was to understand the role of fathers in the educational success of Latino men attending community colleges. Using community cultural wealth as a lens for this study, the experiences of 130 Latino men at community colleges in Texas were highlighted. Results demonstrated how fathers provided support, consejos (advice), and encouragement to their sons. Nonetheless, fathers also expected their sons to work and contribute to the family finances. These complications influenced the way in which Latino men viewed the college-going process and interacted with their fathers.