Publication Date

2021

Document Type

Dissertation/Thesis

First Advisor

Weffer, Simón

Degree Name

M.A. (Master of Arts)

Legacy Department

Department of Sociology

Abstract

This study seeks to understand why undocumented Latinx students tend to engage or disengage in political activism. The study discusses undocumented legal consciousness development to bring awareness to how policies can impact students’ sense of belonging and agency when entering higher education institutions. Data comes from eleven in-depth interviews with undocumented Latinx students who have or are attending a public or private college or university in Illinois. Results suggest that students will become engaged when the following three factors are present: an academic political opportunity, connection with an activist network, a shift in legal consciousness. Results also suggest that students will not be politically active if their legal consciousness is rooted in the sense of stigma or feel as if they lack agency over their status, do not have connections with an activist network, and attend a college or universities that do not foster multicultural pedagogies at the administrative or faculty level. A limitation of this study comes from the small sample size. The undocumented student experience is not monolithic; thus, this study’s results may not adequately represent all undocumented students’ experiences. This study should be important to researchers and higher education administrators because it calls for an awareness of how legislative policies and higher education policies create educational success barriers and degree attainment, which hinder upward social mobility opportunities. Moreover, it reinforces the need for a holistic approach for undocumented student support that addresses their social, psychological, financial, and academic needs.

Extent

74 pages

Language

eng

Publisher

Northern Illinois University

Rights Statement

In Copyright

Rights Statement 2

NIU theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from Huskie Commons for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without the written permission of the authors.

Media Type

Text

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