The Latino/a community is the largest ethnic minority group in the United States and continues to grow. Although enrollment in higher education is on the rise, Latino/a students complete their degrees at lower rates than their white counterparts. This disparity is further magnified when accounting for gender, with Latina women outpacing Latino men at every educational milestone. Disparities in doctorate attainment lead to the underrepresentation of Latino men in student support or leadership positions, which may negatively impact the success of Latino students. This qualitative study examines how First-Generation Latino males leverage Community Cultural Wealth (CCW) to navigate systemic barriers in education-based doctoral programs at predominantly white institutions. Grounded in Critical Race Theory (CRT), Latino Critical Legal Theory (LatCrit), and Chicana Feminist Epistemology (CFE), this research employs a Mestiza Methodology to center participants’ lived experiences during their doctoral program. Findings revealed how participants utilized CCW’s cultural capital to make meaning of their experiences and situate their lived experiences in the broader context of systemic issues in academia.
","abstract_html":"<p>The Latino/a community is the largest ethnic minority group in the United States and continues to grow. Although enrollment in higher education is on the rise, Latino/a students complete their degrees at lower rates than their white counterparts. This disparity is further magnified when accounting for gender, with Latina women outpacing Latino men at every educational milestone. Disparities in doctorate attainment lead to the underrepresentation of Latino men in student support or leadership positions, which may negatively impact the success of Latino students. This qualitative study examines how First-Generation Latino males leverage Community Cultural Wealth (CCW) to navigate systemic barriers in education-based doctoral programs at predominantly white institutions. Grounded in Critical Race Theory (CRT), Latino Critical Legal Theory (LatCrit), and Chicana Feminist Epistemology (CFE), this research employs a Mestiza Methodology to center participants’ lived experiences during their doctoral program. Findings revealed how participants utilized CCW’s cultural capital to make meaning of their experiences and situate their lived experiences in the broader context of systemic issues in academia.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Noriega, Daniel"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)","degree_level":"Dissertation","degree_discipline":"Education","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Quaylan Allen, Ph.D.","Whitney McIntyre Miller, Ph.D.","Kristina Ruiz-Mesa, Ph.D."],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2025,"date_issued":"2025-05-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2025-05-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:38:43Z","subjects":["Critical Race Theory","Latino Critical Legal Theory","Chicana Feminist Epistemology","Community Cultural Wealth","Mestiza Methodology","First-Generation students","Latino males","Doctoral Education","Educational Leadership","Educational Methods","Higher Education Administration"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://digitalcommons.chapman.edu/education_dissertations/97","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Quaylan Allen, Ph.D.","Whitney McIntyre Miller, Ph.D.","Kristina Ruiz-Mesa, Ph.D."]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Noriega, Daniel"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Education"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Critical Race Theory","Latino Critical Legal Theory","Chicana Feminist Epistemology","Community Cultural Wealth","Mestiza Methodology","First-Generation students","Latino males","Doctoral Education","Educational Leadership","Educational Methods","Higher Education Administration"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://digitalcommons.chapman.edu/education_dissertations/97"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["The Latino/a community is the largest ethnic minority group in the United States and continues to grow. Although enrollment in higher education is on the rise, Latino/a students complete their degrees at lower rates than their white counterparts. This disparity is further magnified when accounting for gender, with Latina women outpacing Latino men at every educational milestone. Disparities in doctorate attainment lead to the underrepresentation of Latino men in student support or leadership positions, which may negatively impact the success of Latino students. This qualitative study examines how First-Generation Latino males leverage Community Cultural Wealth (CCW) to navigate systemic barriers in education-based doctoral programs at predominantly white institutions. Grounded in Critical Race Theory (CRT), Latino Critical Legal Theory (LatCrit), and Chicana Feminist Epistemology (CFE), this research employs a Mestiza Methodology to center participants’ lived experiences during their doctoral program. Findings revealed how participants utilized CCW’s cultural capital to make meaning of their experiences and situate their lived experiences in the broader context of systemic issues in academia.
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"],"dc:identifier":["https://digitalcommons.chapman.edu/education_dissertations/97"],"dc:source":["Noriega, D. (2025). Pláticas, Reflexiones, y Resistencia: Exploring How First-Generation Latino Males Leverage Community Cultural Wealth in Education-Based Doctoral Programs [Doctoral dissertation, Chapman University]. Chapman University Digital Commons. https://doi.org/10.36837/chapman.000661"],"dc:subject":["Critical Race Theory","Latino Critical Legal Theory","Chicana Feminist Epistemology","Community Cultural Wealth","Mestiza Methodology","First-Generation students","Latino males","Doctoral Education","Educational Leadership","Educational Methods","Higher Education Administration"],"dc:title":["Pláticas, Reflexiones, y Resistencia: Exploring How First-Generation Latino Males Leverage Community Cultural Wealth in Education-Based Doctoral Programs"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Education"],"thesis:degree_level":["Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_name":["Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:38:43Z"}