A Brief Intervention Designed to Improve Social Awareness and Skills to Improve Latino College Student Retention
The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of the Latino Educational Equity Project (LEEP), a brief intervention designed to enhance college retention by increasing social awareness and skills for Latino students at three, predominately White universities in the Pacific Northwest. Participants were 40 students who completed the intervention and 41 students in a no-treatment control condition. Results of MANCOVA and ANCOVA analyses demonstrated partial success for the program with LEEP participants demonstrating significantly improved social adjustment to college and critical consciousness development. Implications are discussed. ********** It is widely known that Latinos are the fastest growing ethnic group in the United States and at 41.3 million, account for 14% of the total U.S. population (as of 2004, U.S. Census Bureau, 2004). What may be less known is that only 11% of Latinos hold a bachelor's degree in comparison to 34% of Whites (ages 18-24; U.S. Census Bureau, 2004). This educational disparity is alarming in light of the growing Latino population in the U.S. and the consequent economic and health needs of this population. Researchers have identified a number of academic and social challenges commonly experienced by Latino college students in educational attainment. These challenges include lower expectations from teachers and peers (Martinez, & Klopott, 2003; Yosso, Smith, Ceja, & Solorzano, 2009), being the first in one's family to attend college (Ginorio & Huston, 2001; Pew Hispanic Reports, 2002), and more ambiguous factors such as learning to navigate the cultural environment of college (Gloria & Robinson-Kurpius, 1996; Gloria, Castellanos, & Orozco, 2005; Villalpando, 2003). Many Latino/a students are initiating college with no prior knowledge of how to successfully persist and complete college and have limited experience with or family information about how to deal with academic and social stressors that contribute to attrition. Also, research has shown that Latino students are less likely to seek out professional services for emotional support when they experience challenges in college, especially at predominantly White institutions (PWIs; Kearny, Draper, & Baron, 2005; McMiller, & Weisz, 1996). Given the numerous challenges experienced by Latino students, positive factors that lead toward academic success must be identified and interventions that enhance and build on these positive factors should be tested. Intervention research has found that within the college environment, for example, mentoring (e.g., Bordes & Arredondo, 2005; Santos, & Reigadas, 2002) and peer support (e.g., Battencourt, Charlton, Eubanks, Kernahan, & Fuller, 1999; Hernandez, 2000; Rodriguez, Binham Mira, Morris & Cardoza, 2003) play important, positive roles in advancing Latino educational achievement. Mentoring has been found to help in college adjustment by helping students gain knowledge about resources on campus and improving their self-esteem (Santos & Reigadas, 2002). Peer support has been found to enhance adjustment, especially when peers support students' social and academic needs and share social identities (Battencourt, et al. 1999). For example, through interviewing Latino college students, Hernandez (2000) found that Latino college peers provided emotional support, helped participants understand university academic practices and policies, and served as very positive models of how to successfully manage and complete academia. Successful intervention programs, such as the following, include many of these elements. The LUCERO program (Cunningham, Cardenas, Martinez, & Mason, 2006) improved Latino student retention by focusing on enhancing use of technology, building Latino community leader connections, workforce development, academic success through tutoring and advising, and mentoring from program peers and the director. …