Date of Award

Winter 2-23-2016

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Department

Organizational Leadership

First Advisor

Dr. Jeneane Prince

Second Advisor

Dr. Philip Pendley

Third Advisor

Dr. Maria C. Ayon

Abstract

Research on second-generation Mexican American males who attain a doctoral degree is limited. Often, the data presented clusters Mexican Americans under the Latina/o or Hispanic ethnic group, focuses on factors that hindered educational attainment or details Latino male experiences in the context of their Latina female counterparts. Mexican-Americans are the largest subgroup of this ethnic group yet little is known about their post-secondary educational experiences. Rather than focusing on barriers, this study concentrated on the factors that influenced eight Mexican American males from California who attained their doctorates from a doctoral-granting university within California.

Arguably, the self-efficacious men of this study believed in their academic prowess, but found ability was not enough. Numerous other strategies were needed to help facilitate degree attainment: 1) Being goal-oriented served as the central cause to remain relentless; 2) Interaction with various types of mentorship which came from all aspects of life (academic, home, work); 3) Involvement from a culturally aligned dissertation chair; 4) Surrounding oneself with an inner circle of family and friends and academic peers; and 5) Viewing student loans as an investment that facilitated future aspirations and not as an obstacle. These factors didn’t clash against one another; rather, they complemented each other by providing different types of encouragement, support and direction at different times throughout their ascent. However, having a culturally aligned dissertation chair was viewed as the most critical factor toward degree attainment.

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