ABSTRACT

Prior research has established that undocumented students experience structural marginalization which compromises their access, retention, and success in higher education. Building on this work, this study turns attention to their academic engagement, an important intermediary outcome. Using survey data collected from 1,277 undocumented undergraduate students attending California 4-year public universities, we examine the extent to which legal vulnerability, campus climate, and resource use are associated with positive and negative academic engagement. Findings reveal the sustained role of campus environment, as positive perceptions of campus climate are associated with positive engagement and negative perceptions with negative engagement. Use of various campus resources tends to be associated with increased positive engagement and decreased negative engagement. Only financial legal vulnerabilities are associated with negative engagement and are not associated with positive engagement. We contend that the campus environment plays an important role in fostering undocumented students’ academic engagement.

摘要

先前的研究已经确定，无证学生经历了结构性边缘化，这会影响他们在高等教育中的获得、保留和成功。在这项工作的基础上，本研究将注意力转向他们的学术参与，这是一个重要的中间结果。使用从加州四年制公立大学的 1,277 名无证本科生收集的调查数据，我们研究了法律脆弱性、校园气候和资源使用与积极和消极学术参与相关的程度。调查结果揭示了校园环境的持续作用，因为对校园气候的积极看法与积极参与有关，而消极看法与消极参与有关。各种校园资源的使用往往与积极参与的增加和消极参与的减少有关。只有金融法律漏洞与消极参与相关，与积极参与无关。我们认为校园环境在培养无证学生的学术参与方面起着重要作用。