Franklin Orellana
Professor Michael Goeller
Research in the Disciplines:
College!
Research Proposal
1 March 2016
Working
Title:
Migrating for a Better Education:
The Hardships, the Pros and the Cons.
Topic:
Recently,
immigration has been a huge topic for politics. Some are for it and some are
against it, but who are these immigrants. Many immigrants come to the United
States in order to find a better source of money to support families that
sometimes are left back in their home country. Other cases involve an entire
family coming over, even children. Whether these families bring children or
have children of their when in the United States, the idea of pursuing higher
education comes up. The biggest challenge, both financially and socially, fall
on those students who are not native to the United States. Immigrant students
face many hardships that US citizens do not face, and whether they are micro
aggressions to financial setbacks, it can make their lives in the college a lot
harder.
Question:
How do outside complications both
inconvenience and encourage immigrant students?
Theory:
Because
society has stressed the importance of a higher education in order to succeed
in today’s world, immigrant students are almost brainwashed to believe that
they must go to school to avoid more poverty. In way, they are fed into the
system of applying to schools. Recently, community college has been the outlet
to those immigrant families, for many reasons.
Community
college has acted as substitute to a four-year institution to immigrants who
cannot afford a four-year program. On top of the financial aspect, community
colleges tend to be an easier transition to those students. Nienhusser, H.
Kenny, author of “Role of Community Colleges in the Implementation of
Postsecondary Education Enrollment Policies for Undocumented Students” analyzes
how community colleges can play an important role to immigrant students in such
a way that they are cheaper and transition friendly. About 65,000 undocumented
students graduate from high school in a year and many of them do not end up
attending a secondary school due to challenges they face in the process of
making it. In research done by Kenny she finds that “the average annual savings
for undocumented immigrants who attend a community college and pay in-state
versus out-of- state tuition is $4,026”(5). These numbers are significant, as
that is about half the price of tuition here at Rutgers. It is obvious to
notice that community college is one outlet to students who are undocumented
and desire to pursue some form of a secondary education. Analyzing the effects
of choosing a community college will be one main point for my research paper.
On a different note, it is believed
that adjustment is another big factor in an immigrant student’s success in
higher education. Maureen Snow Andrade does research in this field, and
believes that “adjustment challenges are primarily attributable to English
language proficiency and culture. Achievement is affected by English
proficiency, academic skills and educational background” (1). Not only is it a
different environment, but also there is also some sort of language barrier
that affects progress. Being able to hold a conversation is quite differently
than being able to understand a full lecture on the dissection of the brain.
On a complete different aspect,
having immigrant college students are also benefiting the United States. In
contrast to recent remarks made by certain people in society, immigrants add a
different dimension to our work force. Many people may be worried about the
cultures that clash with this issue, but in reality they add a different
dynamic to it. US citizens that haven’t
left the country may tend to find themselves closed to a certain way of
thinking, therefore I believe that having immigrants in our education system
will give us a different way of looking at things. In Sandy Baum and
Stella M. Flores,
Higher Education and Children in Immigrant Families we find how
immigrant families in their entirety add to our society. They are the ones
doing the jobs that no one else wants to do, and in turn, fight for their kids
to make in school in order to be in a better place than them.
Research
Plan:
Being
an EOF student and first generation college student, I feel that I can find
personal accounts of other students who may have gone through this dilemma.
Recently, I took a course in Latino Studies, where the professor was very
passionate for undocumented students going to school. He could possibly point
me in the right direction for a case study that can help me further my
arguments. Dr. Samuel Bañales of the Latino and Caribbean Studies Department
can aid me in finding more credible sources, other than the ones that I already
have.
Working Bibliography
Andrade, M. S. "International
Students in English-speaking Universities: Adjustment Factors. Journal
of Research in International Education 5.2 (2006): 131-54. Web
Baum, Sandy, and Stella M. Flores.
"Higher Education And Children In Immigrant Families." Future Of Children 21.1
(2011): 171-193. ERIC. Web. 8 Mar. 2016
Conger, David, Colin C. Chellman, and
Institute for Education and Social Policy (IESP) New York University. "Undocumented College Students
In The United States: In-State
Tuition Not Enough To Ensure Four-Year Degree Completion. IESP Policy Brief No. 01-13." Institute For
Education And Social Policy (2013): ERIC. Web. 8 Mar. 2016.
Mimura, Yoko, et al. "Financial
Information Source, Knowledge, And Practices Of College Students From Diverse Backgrounds." Journal
Of Financial Counseling And Planning
26.1 (2015): 63-78. ERIC. Web. 8 Mar. 2016.
Nienhusser, H. Kenny. "Role Of
Community Colleges In The Implementation Of Postsecondary Education Enrollment
Policies For Undocumented Students." Community College Review 42.1 (2014): 3-22.
ERIC. Web. 1 Mar. 2016.
Nienhusser, H. Kenny, Blanca E. Vega,
and Mariella Cristina Saavedra Carquin. "Undocumented
Students' Experiences With Microaggressions During Their College Choice Process." Teachers
College Record 118.2 (2016): ERIC. Web. 8 Mar. 2016.
Teranishi, Robert T., Carola
Suarez-Orozco, and Marcelo Suarez-Orozco. "Immigrants In Community Colleges."
Future Of Children 21.1 (2011): 153-169. ERIC. Web. 8 Mar. 2016.
