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Serna Scholar examines male Latino college drop-out rate

Julie Figueroa

The problem at hand: male Latinos are graduating from institutions of higher education at a lower rate than their female counterparts. And although the solution is complex and the reasons for the discrepancy are not entirely clear, a dialogue needs to happen, according to Professor Julie Figueroa, 2006/07 Serna Center Scholar in Residence.

Figueroa will address the issue in a lecture titled, “Building Capacity to Insure Academic Success: Identifying the Challenges and Responses of Latino Undergraduate Males in Higher Education,” from 1 to 3:30 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 1, in the University Union Hinde Auditorium. A reception will precede the lecture at 12:30 p.m. in the University Union Lobby Suite.

“I’ve been studying male Latino attrition rates for the past 10 years and the numbers were dismal,” says Figueroa. “But the more I read about the culture of higher education, the less I understood the attrition rates. The literature indicated that the culture of higher education inherently supported men. They got more attention in class. I couldn’t understand the phenomenon, given that the students in my courses were less male and increasingly more female.

Some of the challenges Latino males face, Figueroa found, included how they perceived themselves in the context of the college community, as well as gender and cultural expectations. “It’s important for Latino men to see themselves as an asset to the campus community,” she says. “There are also cultural roadblocks if a male wants to be an elementary schoolteacher, for example. That is not a profession that is strongly encouraged for men. And the eldest son in a Latino family is expected to be a provider for the family, which may impact college studies. The tension of meeting responsibilities in school and the home is difficult. These are serious financial constraints that stretch beyond family-defined needs to include the cost of a college education.

“It’s really important to have many different entry points and ways of conceptualizing how academic success happens, not only for the diverse student body at Sacramento State broadly, but for Chicano/Latino males in particular,” says Figueroa. “We can do this through community service, relating with students and relating with faculty.”

The Serna Scholar-in-Residence program is designed to allow Sacramento State faculty to conduct original research relevant to the Latino community. Past research has included studies on bilingual services offered in the Sacramento community, perceptions of Latino faculty and a needs assessment for AIDS prevention.

For more information, contact the Serna Center at 278-4512.