Transition from employment to college: Perspectives of African American and Latinx women

Abstract

Student enrollment data show an increase in the number of women returning to college after employment. Adult women returning to college are more likely to juggle other roles, including mother, spouse, caregiver, and community member while attending college. Higher education administrators have insufficient knowledge about what efforts are necessary to support these women once they return. This qualitative, post-intentional study sought to understand the lived experiences and the essential structure in the meaning of attending college for African American and Latinx women who return to college after working in or outside the home for multiple years. The details of the participants' experiences were analyzed through the post-intentional process of post-reflexion. This process allowed time to review interview notes, videos, participant journals, and personal observations to better explore how prior knowledge, assumptions, and beliefs impacted how African American and Latinx women experienced becoming and being college students. This study acknowledged the gap in the literature about the experiences of African American and Latinx women and added the voices of three African American and three Latinx women. Finding revealed saliency regarding (a) how participants’ experiences were fluid and continually constructed; (b) what experiences were cultured, gendered, and socially classed; and (c) what decisions participants made toward embracing the college community. The results of this study may be used to expand the way colleges and universities welcome African American and Latinx women and assist these women in their success.