Pepperdine University Pepperdine Digital Commons Theses and Dissertations 2016 College access: a case study of Latino charter school students and their K-16 pathways Victoria Faynblut Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.pepperdine.edu/etd Recommended Citation Faynblut, Victoria, "College access: a case study of Latino charter school students and their K-16 pathways" (2016). Theses and Dissertations. 756. https://digitalcommons.pepperdine.edu/etd/756 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by Pepperdine Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Pepperdine Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]. Pepperdine University Graduate School of Education and Psychology COLLEGE ACCESS: A CASE STUDY OF LATINO CHARTER SCHOOL STUDENTS AND THEIR K-16 PATHWAYS A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Educational Leadership, Administration, and Policy by Victoria Faynblut December, 2016 Anthony Collatos, Ph.D. – Dissertation Chairperson This dissertation, written by Victoria Faynblut Under the guidance of a Faculty Committee and approved by its members, has been submitted to and accepted by the Graduate Faculty in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF EDUCATION Doctoral Committee: Anthony Collatos, Ph.D., Chairperson Doug Leigh, Ph.D. Robert Barner, Ph.D. © Copyright by Victoria Faynblut (2016) All Rights Reserved TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................................................................ vii LIST OF FIGURES ..................................................................................................................... viii DEDICATION ............................................................................................................................... ix ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................................ x VITA .............................................................................................................................................. xi ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................. xii Chapter I: Introduction .................................................................................................................... 1 Background ......................................................................................................................... 1 Problem Statement .............................................................................................................. 3 Purpose ................................................................................................................................ 4 Importance of Study ............................................................................................................ 4 Operational Definitions ....................................................................................................... 5 Key Terms ........................................................................................................................... 6 Theoretical Framework ....................................................................................................... 8 Research Questions ............................................................................................................. 9 Limitations ........................................................................................................................ 10 Delimitations ..................................................................................................................... 10 Assumptions ...................................................................................................................... 11 Organization of the Study ................................................................................................. 11 Chapter II: Review of Literature ................................................................................................... 12 What Is the Latino Educational Achievement Gap? ......................................................... 12 The History of Latinos and Education .............................................................................. 13 The Charter Movement Aims to Improve Latino Education ............................................ 23 How Can We Improve the Educational Pathways of Latinos? ......................................... 26 Theoretical Framework: Cultural-Ecological Theory of School Performance ................. 36 Chapter Summary ............................................................................................................. 42 Chapter III: Methods ..................................................................................................................... 44 Research Methods and Rationale ...................................................................................... 45 Setting ............................................................................................................................... 47 Population, Sample, and Sampling Procedures ................................................................ 50 Student Profiles ................................................................................................................. 52 Adult Profiles .................................................................................................................... 55 Methods of Data Collection .............................................................................................. 56 Instrumentation ................................................................................................................. 58 v Page Data Management ............................................................................................................. 58 Data Analysis .................................................................................................................... 59 Human Subject Considerations ......................................................................................... 61 Positionality ...................................................................................................................... 62 Summary ........................................................................................................................... 62 Chapter IV: Results ....................................................................................................................... 64 Findings............................................................................................................................. 64 Chapter V: Conclusion .................................................................................................................. 83 Overview ........................................................................................................................... 83 Research Questions ........................................................................................................... 84 RQ1: How Have Sociocultural Factors Affected the College Access of Latino Graduates of a Theme-Based Charter School? ........................................................... 84 RQ2: How Have Adult Mentorship and Peer Affiliation Affected the Experiences of OSA Latino Graduates? .............................................................................................. 88 RQ3: How Have Structural/Institutional Barriers Affected the Matriculation and College Access of OSA Latino Graduates? ................................................................ 91 Recommendations to Increase Academic Success and College Access for Latino Students ....................................................................................................................... 92 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................ 93 Recommendations for Further Research ........................................................................... 94 Summary ........................................................................................................................... 95 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................................. 98 APPENDIX A: Student Questionnaire ....................................................................................... 111 APPENDIX B: Recruitment Letter via Email ............................................................................ 112 APPENDIX C: Written Consent Form ....................................................................................... 113 APPENDIX D: Interview Notes Template ................................................................................. 116 APPENDIX E: Interview Response Matrix ................................................................................ 117 APPENDIX F: Interview Protocol for Graduates ....................................................................... 118 APPENDIX G: Interview Protocol for Teachers/Administrators ............................................... 120 APPENDIX H: CITI Course Completion Report ......................................................................