Sarah Rodriguez, Katie Pritchett, Jennifer Estrada

1. The Silent Crisis:
Latino Males in the
Educational Pipeline
Professional Development Day
2012
Sarah Rodriguez
Katie Pritchett
Jennifer Estrada
1

2. Project MALES
Project MALES (Mentoring to Achieve
Latino Educational Success) is a research-
based mentoring initiative at The
University of Texas at Austin that creates
and cultivates a network of Latino male
students at the university, within local
school districts, and throughout the
surrounding communities.
www.projectmales.org
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3. 3
Introduction to the Latino Male
Educational Crisis

4. 4
Understanding the Continuing
Crisis
Stealth • Many are unaware of the depth of the gender
Issue gap; It’s a SILENT CRISIS
Skeptics & • Some are unwilling to discuss; some find it
Naysayers counter-productive
College • Latina women represent 61% of the total number
enrollment of Latina/o students enrolled in higher education
• In 2009, Latino males represented only 37% of the
Degree 91,147 associate’s degrees awarded to Latina/o students
Attainment • Latino males represented only 39% of the 120,722
Latina/o bachelor’s degrees earned

5. Latino Males & College
Enrollment
Figure 1b. College Enrollments by
Race & Gender (Among all 18 to 24 year
olds within group)
100
90
80
70
60
Percent
50
46.1
40 28.2
30 29.5
20 20.7
10 14.8
0
1985 1990 1995 2000 2005
Latino Males Latina Females
White Males White Females
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6. Gender Gap Continues in Higher
Education: Latina/o Bachelor’s Degree
Attainment (1977 – 2009)
80
Thousands
70
56.3%
60 diff.
50
# of BAs
40
30
20
10
0
Latina Females Latino Males
Source: Knapp, L.G., Kelly-Reid, J.E., and Ginder, S.A. (2010). Postsecondary Institutions and Price of Attendance in the United States: Fall
2009, Degrees and Other Awards Conferred: 2008–09, and 12-Month Enrollment: 2008–09 (NCES 2010-161). U.S. Department of Education.
Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved September 1st, 2010, from http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch.
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7. Latino Males and College
Enrollment
Role of Family in Success of Latinas
Adjusting to College Adjustment should be examined
(Social capital) more closely
• Males have • Family unit plays a • Self efficacy
problems with major role in
“Help-seeking adjustment, coping • High degree
behaviors” (Gloria et abilities, and aspirations
al., 2009, etc.) persistence in
college for Latina/o
• Difficulty in finding students • What can we learn
safe spaces or a from this research
sense of community literature
• Cultural mismatch
& feelings of
isolation

8. Research Design

9. Qualitative Research Design
 K-12: 3 sites
 Community College: 6 sites
 4-Year: 2
 Semi-structured interviews with
administrators, faculty, and staff
 Focus groups with Latino male
undergraduate students
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10. Findings

11. Finding #1: Administrator
Awareness of the Latino Male
Achievement Gap Varied Greatly
 Awareness as a continuum
 National vs. Institutional trends
 Proximity to issue in daily work
 Responsibility vs. Resources
No Full
Cognizance
“Keenly
aware &
“Not on the called to
radar” action”

12. “I think that if faculty and staff and even
our students knew about the crisis about
Hispanic males and how many of these
students are not progressing, they are
not being retained, they are not
graduating; then I think there would be
more of a movement toward providing
assistance and creating…initiatives that
will change our campus and bring
everyone together about this issue so it
would expand awareness.”
- Administrator, male
“We don‟t even acknowledge it because to
acknowledge something means that you
have to do something about it. So we
won‟t acknowledge it”

13. Finding #2:
Administrators aware of the
Latino male achievement gap
often met resistance in
promoting awareness and
garnering support.
 Financial restraints
 “Not a problem here”
 Will be a detriment to other “causes”

14. “…the first question that came about
was, „Well, what about women? Don't
women have it harder?‟ That's first
thing that came out of their mouths…we
have to be sort of sensitive ...”
- Administrator, female
“There's not a huge learning gap that
exists between the subgroups. I mean
one or two points but it's not
significant..”
- Administrator, male
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15. Finding #3: Overall, few
resources are dedicated to
specifically promoting the
achievement of Latino males.
 Focus on serving all, rather than
subgroups
 Latino-centered programming, rather
than Latino male specific
 Some campuses formed initiatives
and/or programming

16. “I don't specifically focus on Latino males
or Latino females. I focus on the kids.”
- Administrator, male
“I think there is just a fear, or a
reluctance, to really have targeted
outreach towards Black and Latino males.
I don‟t know if people are worried about a
backlash. I could care less about that, but
we have got to do a much better job of
meeting the needs of that population.”
- Administrator, male
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17. Recommendations

18. Recommendations:
Finding #1, Administrator
Awareness
Awareness
 See the Latino male educational crisis as an
issue for EVERYONE
 Know your school’s demographic data
Awareness to Action
 Investment from key leaders on campus
 Internal and external messaging
 Programs with “Men in Mind”
• Strategic Advising
• First-year programs
• Faculty & peer mentoring programs

19. Recommendations:
Finding #2, Administrators Meeting
Resistance
Knowledge Is Key
 Disseminate research
 Frame positively
 Examine existing resources
 Form partnerships
 Seek institutional investment

20. Recommendations:
Finding #2, Administrators Meeting
Resistance
Role Models Matter
 Recruit faculty/staff
 Recruit and retain quality Latino male
faculty/staff
 Recruit Latino male students as
classroom and community leaders

21. Recommendation #3: Finding 3,
Limited Resources for Latino
Males
Institutional-wide
Continued partnerships with local
ISDs to increase the transitions,
participation, and academic
success of Latino Males
Continued research and
monitoring of Latino male
achievement for targeting needs

22. SAVE THE DATE!
MAY 4, 2012
ETTER HARBIN ALUMNI
CENTER
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23. 23
Discussion
1. Should we be focusing on Latino
males as a subgroup? Why or why
not?
2. What best practices have you seen
or used for Latino males (classroom,
student involvement, organizations)?
3. Do you think that upper-level
administrators on your campus are
aware?
4. What was your level of awareness
before coming? Now?

24. Contact information:
 Website: www.projectmales.org
 Email: projectmales@gmail.com
 Speakers’ Emails:
◦ Sarah Rodriguez -
rodriguezsarah727@gmail.com
◦ Katie Pritchett -
katie.pritchett@mail.utexas.edu
◦ Jennifer Estrada -
jennifer.estrada86@gmail.com 24