University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses

Latinx commuter students who have persisted and their sense of belonging

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Latinx commuter students who have persisted and their sense of belonging

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Content Running head: LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 1

LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS WHO HA VE PERSISTED AND THEIR
SENSE OF BELONGING

by

Joyce Marie Brusasco

A Dissertation Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE USC ROSSIER SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
DOCTOR OF EDUCATION

December 2019

Copyright 2019 Joyce Marie Brusasco
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 2
DEDICATION
This dissertation is dedicated to my father, who asked me after I earned my master’s if I
was going to go get a doctorate, yes dad I did! This dissertation is also dedicated to my husband
and my two daughters. My husband is a constant champion of my education and is always
excited to engage in academic and intellectual conversation. My eldest daughter is my muse and
my youngest daughter is my inspiration, both my girls have given me endless courage and
determination. Thank you for your patience while I persisted in graduate school to earn a
doctorate.

LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 3
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to thank Dr. Julie Slayton for her incredible patience working with me on
this journey, the academic guidance, the encouragement, level of detail and amazingly lengthy
conversations have all provided me lessons I will treasure. I would like to thank Dr. Adrianna
Kezar for serving on my committee and guiding me to additional resources to expand my
academic knowledge. Thank you to Dr. Frankline Augustin for serving on my committee out of
the pure kindness of your heart and inspiring me with courage and motivation to continue this
academic process. I want to also acknowledge my dissertation cohort and my weekend cohort,
the camaraderie of these groups has motivated, supported and encouraged academic dialogue I
will remember forever.

LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 4
ABSTRACT
This dissertation investigated how undergraduate Latinx commuter students’ sense of
belonging contributed to their persistence in a 4-year institution of higher education. The
research took place on one single campus at a 4-year university in Southern California identified
as a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI). The students were recruited from in-class
announcements and flyers that were distributed in 12 classrooms and from several list-serves
sent out by faculty and administrators. Fourteen students self-identified into the broad category
of Latinx and commuted more than five miles to campus for school. All the participants had
persisted in this one university to his or her fourth semester or beyond. This study utilized a
qualitative research design with one-on-one interviews using a semi-structured interview
protocol to gather information on the participants’ perceptions and beliefs regarding the role
sense of belonging played in their persistence. The analysis revealed three findings: persistence
had two areas, one with goals commitments and one to stay in college; the sense of belonging
was intertwined with intrapersonal factors to influence persistence; the participants primarily
identified as college students and half of the participants had the dual identity as Latinx college
students and intrapersonal factors influenced how the commute was utilized, neither appeared to
have impacted persistence. This study emphasized there are a multitude of factors that contribute
to sense of belonging and persistence.

LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 5
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Dedication 2
Acknowledgements 3
Abstract 4
List of Tables 7
List of Figures 8
Chapter One: Overview of the Study 9
Background of the Problem 10
Statement of the Problem 14
Purpose of the Study 15
Significance of the Study 15
Organization of the Dissertation 17
Chapter Two: Literature Review 18
Persistence-Related Frameworks 19
Tinto’s College Retention Theory 20
Astin’s Student Involvement Model 31
Weidman’s Model of Undergraduate Socialization 34
Rendon’s Contributions to Higher Education 36
Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Model 41
Student Departure in Higher Education 45
Sense of Belonging 48
Foundational Work on Sense of Belonging 48
Perceived Support and Relationships 51
First-year Experience 58
Minoritized Students’ Sense of Belonging 64
Commuter Students and Sense of Belonging 74
Latinx in Higher Education 77
Commuter Students 81
Commuter Student Characteristics 81
Commuter Students Transition to the First Year of College 86
Student Involvement 89
Intrapersonal Factors 92
Conceptual Framework 96
Commuter Students Entering College 99
Navigate Simultaneously While in College 99
Environments 100
Relationships 101
Engagement 104
Sense of Belonging and the Zone of Intention to Persist 106
Summary 108
Chapter Three: Methods 109
Research Design 109
Sample 110
Site Selection 110
Participant Selection 111
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 6
Instruments and Data Collection Procedure 114
Qualitative Interviews 114
Data Analysis Procedures 116
Credibility and Trustworthiness 119
Ethics 121
Limitations and Delimitations 122
Conclusion 123
Chapter Four: Findings 124
Participants 125
Finding 1: Decision to Persist in School 131
Theme 1: Persistence Towards Graduation for Career or Further Education 132
Theme 2: Persistence to Stay in School Without a Focus on Graduation 137
Finding 2: Sense of Belonging Intertwined with Intrapersonal Factors to Support Persistence
141
Theme 1: High Sense of Belonging in all Environments Intertwined With High
Intrapersonal Factors to Support Persistence 143
Theme 2: High Sense of Belonging in Two Environments Intertwined With High
Intrapersonal Factors to Support Persistence 153
Theme 3: Low (Enough) Sense of Belonging in Two Environments Intertwined with Low
Intrapersonal Factors 158
Theme 4: Outlier Student with Varied Sense of Belonging and Varied Intrapersonal Factors
in each Environment 165
Finding 3: Role of Identity and Commute in Students Sense of Belonging to Persist 168
Theme 1: The Role of Identity at Home, School and Work 169
Theme 2: Commuting to Campus and Sense of Belonging 177
Conclusion 184
Chapter Five: Discussion 186
Revised Conceptual Framework as a Result of the Findings 188
Summary of Findings 191
Implications and Recommendations 193
Implications and Recommendations for Policy and Practice 193
Implications and Recommendations for Further Research 196
Conclusion 198
References 199

LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 7
LIST OF TABLES
Table 1 Summary of Participant Characteristics for Students in Theme One 126
Table 2 Summary of Participant Characteristics for Students in Theme Two 128
Table 3 Summary of Participant Characteristics for Students in Theme Three 129
Table 4 Summary of Participant Characteristics for the Student in Theme Four 130

LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 8
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1. Tinto’s 1993 Longitudinal model of institutional departure 25
Figure 2. Astin’s 1970 Model of student development in higher education 32
Figure 3. Weidman’s 1989 Undergraduate Socialization: A Conceptual Approach 36
Figure 4. Bronfenbrenner’s 1976 Theoretical Models of Human Development 44
Figure 5. Conceptual Framework 98
Figure 6. Revised Conceptual Framework 125

LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 9
CHAPTER ONE: OVERVIEW OF THE STUDY
The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of sense of belonging in Latinx
commuter college students’ persistence.
1
Commuter students have unique needs that affect their
persistence (Darling, 2015; Newbold, 2015). As they commute to campus, these students juggle
nonacademic responsibilities outside of the school environment (Burlison, 2015; Ishitani & Reid,
2015). The educational setting can enhance students’ persistence behavior to achieve academic
success by creating feelings of support as well as a sense of belonging (Strayhorn, 2012). Yet,
when the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE, 2017) asked students how their
institution helped them manage nonacademic responsibilities like work and family, 36% of
students response was very little. Institutional departure and predictors of dropout in higher
education have been studied for decades (Pascarella & Terenzini, 2005; Tinto, 1997); however, I
was interested in understanding how Latinx commuter students navigated their environments to
persist in school.
I was interested in understanding how sense of belonging inside and outside of school,
meaning work and home, contributed to persistence in school. While not all Latinx commuter
students persist, the focus here was on those who did. I sought to find out what aspects of these
students’ sense of belonging in their environments, relationships and engagement propelled them
to persist in school. The remainder of this chapter outlines the background of the problem,
which includes the clarification of terms used for persistence in higher education, the basic
concepts of sense of belonging and commuter students, and an overview of the California
Graduation Initiative 2025 (California State University, 2018), the statement of the problem, the

1
Latinx is the term used as a gender-neutral label for Latino/a (Salinas & Lozano, 2017). Salinas and Lozano (2017)
have conducted research on how the term Latinx is used in higher education and have concluded that the term Latinx
is for “Populations in the United States that identify as having Latin American ancestry have used various labels to
self-identify, including Latino, Hispanic, Mexican American, Chicano, Puerto Rican, Cuban American, etc.” (p. 1).
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 10
purpose of this study, the significance of the study and the organization of the rest of the
dissertation study.
Background of the Problem
Historically, access to higher education was available to clergy, elite community
members, and politicians; there was limited availability for women and minorities (Berger &
Lyon, 2005). Over time, access to higher education increased for many Americans, in part
because of government programs increasing accessibility through mechanisms such as the GI
Bill in 1944, the National Defense Education Act of 1958, the Higher Education Act of 1965 and
the Basic Educational Opportunity Grant in 1972
2
(Berger & Lyon, 2005). These government
programs provided financial support to a variety of groups to access higher education.
State and federal funding provided access to higher education to more middle- and lower-
socioeconomic status students. As the expansion of higher education continued through the Civil
Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s, African Americans and other racial and ethnic
minority groups, who did not previously have access to higher education, now had greater access
(Berger & Lyon, 2005). According to Allen and Jewell (2002) the majority of African Americans
in college in the 1950s attended historically Black colleges and universities, but, by 1975, they
were attending predominantly White institutions. However, White institutions were not prepared
for the rapid change in enrollment and knew little about how to academically serve the more
diverse student body (Berger & Lyon, 2005). As higher education institutions sought to
accommodate a more diverse population, there was student dissatisfaction, departure and
academic failure, which coincided with civil unrest on college campuses during the Vietnam war
era (Berger & Lyon, 2005).

2
The Basic Educational Opportunity Grant was renamed the Federal Pell Grant Program in 1980 (Berger & Lyon,
2005).
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 11
In the 1980s, the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities was founded to
recognize the need for funding, resources and investment in Hispanic higher education
(Galdeano, Flores, & Moder, 2012). By 1986, the mission grew to recognize institutions
enrolling and educating Hispanic youth, and, in 1991, Congress recognized campuses with over
25% of enrolled students identifying as Hispanic and designated these institutions Hispanic
Serving Institutions (HSI) (Galdeano et al., 2012). Although these universities had a designation
of HSI, they were not funded until 2008 when “the College Cost Reduction and Access Act of
2008 committed $200 million to HSIs for articulation agreements and STEM” (Galdeano et al.,
2012, p. 159). The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES, 2019) determined there were
143 4-year HSI institutions and calculated that, between 2000 and 2017, Hispanic students’
enrollment increased by 2,000,000 students. As university campuses became more diverse,
Berger, Ramirez, and Lyons (2012) suggest there was increased attention on retention and
graduation of underrepresented groups. Student persistence has become essential in
understanding the progress of different groups in the educational pipeline (Mortenson, 2012).
Terminology
This section discusses the many complex interpretations of persistence, retention, attrition
and dropout in higher education. The term persistence is often used interchangeably with
retention, attrition and withdrawal (Claybrooks & Taylor, 2011). Hagedorn (2005) suggests the
difference between persistence and retention is persistence is a student measure and retention is
an institutional measure. If a student proceeds to graduation, then the student is referred to as
having persisted. However, graduation is measured in retention rate (Hagedorn, 2005). The
student will persist in college, but the college will retain the student to graduation, and the
institution will avoid attrition (Hagedorn, 2005). Hagedorn (2005) describes retention and
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 12
dropout as two sides of the same coin; dropout is what happens when a student is not retained.
In addition, graduation rates, also referred to as completion rates, directly impact university
rankings, which represent a measurement of institutional performance and students’ success
(Oztekin, 2016). In this study, I use persist or persistence as a general term to reduce the
complexity.
Sense of Belonging
Many factors determine whether a student persists to graduation. One of these factors is
whether the student believes he/she/ze belongs on campus and/or in the classroom (Marshall,
Zhou, Gervan, & Wiebe, 2012; Zumbrunn, McKim, Buhs, & Hawley, 2014). The idea of the
sense of belonging stems back to the classic work of Maslow (1943) on humans’ hierarchy of
needs. The need to belong is driven by the desire to find a place in a group and/or the need to not
be left out (Maslow, 1943). Strayhorn (2012) suggests college students’ sense of belonging is
key to educational success. Kuh, Kinzie, Buckley, Bridges, and Hayek (2006) suggest students’
beliefs and attitudes towards the institution will determine their fit with the institution. Thomas
(2012) notes higher education institutions need to engage in institutional reform to create
opportunities for traditional and non-traditional students to engage in the campus culture, create
supportive peer relationships and rethink policies to enable a sense of belonging. Research tells
us higher levels of a sense of belonging are related to persistence (Morrow & Ackerman, 2012;
Strayhorn, 2012). Overall, college students’ psychological wellbeing is important to students’
success throughout the college journey (Bean & Eaton, 2005; California State University, 2018;
National Academy of Sciences, 2017).

LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 13
Commuter Students
The higher education population has been changing, with fewer students living on
campus and more students living in off-campus housing (Forbus, Newbold, & Mehta, 2010;
Newbold, Mehta, & Forbus, 2009). According to the NCES (2014) approximately 87% of
undergraduate students lived off campus not with parents or off campus with parents during the
2011-2012 school year. Pascarella and Terenzini (2005) suggest students who live on campus
are more likely to persist to degree-completion, have more student involvement, more social
engagement and a higher sense of belonging to the institution. In contrast, commuter students
are less likely to engage in on-campus activities, have fewer opportunities to engage with peers
or faculty, are more likely to work off campus and are more likely to balance commitments
outside of school with work and family responsibilities (Ishitani & Reid, 2012; Jacoby &
Garland, 2005; Newbold et al., 2011). Students who live off campus with parents the first year of
college are 23% more likely to drop out (Ishitani & Reid, 2015). The NSSE of 2016 and 2017
asked students about how many hours they spend in a typical 7-day week commuting to campus.
The results revealed 22% of student respondents spent over 6 to 10 hours and 50% spent between
1 and 5 hours a day commuting to and from campus. The commuter student population has not
been adequately understood and few programs address their specific needs (Jacoby & Garland,
2005).
Graduation Initiative 2025
According to NCES (2018a), median annual earnings for adults who earned bachelor’s
degrees is higher than for those who did not. Both men and women who have bachelor’s degrees
generally earn more than their counterparts with less education (NCES, 2018a). The overall
national 4-year graduation rate for first-time, full-time bachelor’s degree seeking students who
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 14
started in the 2009 cohort at all 4-year institution was 39.8% from 2009 to 2013. The 5-year
graduation rate was 55% from 2009 to 2014, and the 6-year graduation rate was 59% from 2009
to 2015 (NCES, 2018c). For Hispanic students, the 4-year graduation rate was 32% from 2010
to 2014, the 5-year graduation rate was 49% from 2010 to 2015, and the 6-year graduation rate
was 54% from 2010 to 2016 (NCES, 2019). The statistics are controlled for race/ethnicity, sex
and the type of institution (public, nonprofit and for-profit). California has been taking the
initiative to address the graduation rate for public higher education institutions.
In January 2016, then Governor of California Jerry Brown, launched the “Graduation
Initiative 2025,” which is referred to by the GI2025 acronym. The purpose of the initiative is for
the state to meet workforce demands and add more baccalaureate degree-educated individuals
over the next 10 years by “increasing on-time graduation rates for undergraduate students, as
well as eliminating achievement gaps for Pell-eligible, underrepresented minority, and first-
generation students” (California Department of Finance, 2018, p. 38). The GI2025 goals are to
increase the freshman 4-year graduation rate from 19% in 2015 to 40% by 2025 and freshman 6-
year graduation rate from 57% in 2015 to 70% by 2025 (California State University, 2018). The
legislature and the governor included $75 million in the 2018-2019 budget to support the
GI2025: “CSU will receive an ongoing increase of $197.1 million as well as $161.1 million in
one-time funding to expand enrollment, address deferred maintenance, and bolster campus
efforts to support student well-being” (California Department of Finance, 2018, p. 38). The state
is making a significant investment to increase persistence in higher education.
Statement of the Problem
College campus demographics continue to change with more students working, living off
campus and balancing work and family commitments outside of school (Jacoby & Garland,
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 15
2005). We do not have sufficient insight into the role the sense of belonging plays in Latinx
commuter students’ persistence in college. More qualitative research is needed to examine what
students believe contributes to their sense of belonging and why they stay in school.
Purpose of the Study
The purpose of this study was to investigate Latinx commuter students’ perceptions of
sense of belonging and how these perceptions related to persistence. This study used qualitative
interviews regarding perceptions of sense of belonging at home, school and work and the role
this sense of belonging in these environments played in participants’ persistence. Thus, the
purpose was to investigate the persistence of a narrowly defined population of students who
commuted to campus. This study was guided by one research question: How does undergraduate
Latinx commuter students’ sense of belonging contribute to their persistence to this point in a 4-
year institution of higher education?
Significance of the Study
This study is significant because it provides insight to the Latinx commuter students who
have persisted at a 4-year university. Approximately 55% of undergraduate Hispanic students do
not complete a 4-year degree in 6 years (NCES, 2019). Students drop out within the initial three
to four semesters of attending the 4-year institution. A report by American College Testing states,
“nationwide 25.9% of freshman at 4-year institutions do not return to school the following year”
(Steidman, 2005, p. 25). If universities are to increase graduation rates, they must look at the
success of students who persisting year to year and implement policies and procedures to support
them. More inquiry on individual students’ thoughts, feelings and values will help to determine
the overall educational processes and characteristics of success (Maxwell, 2013). Creswell
(2014) suggests taking a qualitative methods approach to students’ retention and graduation
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 16
reveals basic characteristics, possible historical patterns, cultural experiences and personal
interpretations of the college experience.
This study can inform researchers and practitioners about the Latinx commuter
population phenomenon. This study is important because it examined participants’ engagement
and relationships as they navigate responsibilities inside and outside of school to persist. These
results can contribute to the existing base of research on Latinx students’ sense of belonging,
persistence and the additional characteristic of being a commuter student. The understanding of
the participants’ experiences and beliefs may prompt change at the classroom level, department
level and the university level to inform educators and administrators of Latinx commuter
students’ needs in order to cultivate a sense of belonging and support persistence.
Researcher Role and Identity
I am a novice researcher. I have worked as an adjunct professor at a community college
for 10 years, and I have worked as a lecturer at a 4-year university for over 11 years. I have
taught a myriad of topics at the college level, which have included freshman seminar, large
lecture general education courses, topic-specific courses, psychological theory, and senior
seminar. I regularly interact with students as a professor and a mentor. My inspiration for
conducting this study was my anecdotal conversations with students, my observation in the
classroom, and the significant number of students who commute to campus daily. Many of these
students struggle with attending class and are continuously pulled away from the classroom by
home and work responsibilities. However, there are many students who navigate college, the
commute and their outside responsibilities who persist in school every semester. As an
educational practitioner, I want to know how students navigate the relationships in their multiple
environments to persist in school.
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 17
I am a middle-aged White female and I desire to become a more culturally aware
practitioner. I want to gain awareness to better understand engagement and relationships to
support sense of belonging inside and outside the classroom. As a white female educational
practitioner I believe it is my responsibility to become an ally to students in the classroom and in
their educational journey.
Organization of the Dissertation
This dissertation is organized into five chapters. In Chapter One, I presented the
background of the problem of persistence in higher education, an introduction into the commuter
population and quick overview of the sense of belonging. Chapter Two presents the literature
review and the original conceptual framework which provides the literature foundation for the
study. The literature review provides a historical perspective on persistence theory, critiques of
student departure theory, validation framework, summaries of empirical studies surrounding the
sense of belonging, minority students and commuter students in higher education. Chapter Three
provides the methodology used to answer the research question, which includes an outline of the
criteria for finding participants, the outline for the setting and the purpose of using qualitative
interviews. Chapter Four presents the study’s findings with an integration of analysis as well as
an embedded discussion. Chapter Five presents the revised conceptual framework, an executive
summary of the findings the implications for policy, practice and areas for future research.

LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 18
CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW
The study examined the role sense of belonging plays in commuter students’ persistence.
The following question was asked: How does undergraduate commuter students’ sense of
belonging contribute to their persistence in a 4-year institution of higher education? To conduct
this study, I drew on literature on persistence, sense of belonging, Latinx in higher education and
commuter students. This chapter presents these bodies of literature. With respect to persistence, I
explore three theories on the topic that have evolved since the 1970s. These theories are the
cornerstone of persistence literature from the students’ perspective on the college experience.
The theoretical models outlined are Tinto’s (1993) longitudinal model of institutional departure
and critique of Tinto’s model by Tierney (1992; 2000) and Pascarella, Duby, and Iverson, (1983),
Astin’s (1970) student involvement model with a critique by Milem and Berger (1997), and
Weidman’s (1989) model of undergraduate socialization. Then, I cover Rendon’s (1994, 2000)
work on validation and minority students and then student departure in higher education by Bean
and Eaton (2000) and Kuh and Love (2000). I outline Bronfenbrenner’s (1977) ecological
systems model, focusing on the interconnectedness of the systems, which may influence the
decision to persist. Understanding the foundations in persistence theory, the validation
framework and systems theory provide insight into the underlying pressures on sense of
belonging and intention to persist.
Second, I explore empirical studies on sense of belonging in higher education institutions.
Researchers have looked at sense of belonging in several areas. In this review of literature, I
focus on empirical studies on the first-year experience, sense of belonging of traditionally
marginalized populations and perceived support in relationships on and off campus.
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 19
Third, I present empirical literature focused on the two dimensions of the participants:
Latinx in higher education and what are known to be the characteristics of commuter students.
The empirical studies included in this portion of the review of literature provide a view into the
importance of the transition of the first year for commuter students and the relationship with
students’ involvement on and off campus. These students arrive on college campuses with a
variety of preexisting factors and identity which can influence their intention to persist (Jacoby,
2015).
The chapter concludes with the conceptual framework for this study on Latinx commuter
students’ sense of belonging in home, school, work and their decision to persist in higher
education.
Persistence-Related Frameworks
This section outlines three frameworks on college persistence, including an explanation
of ecological systems theory. The three persistence models on graduation concerns in higher
education emerged at approximately the same time in the 1970s and 1980s. These theoretical
frameworks represent the starting point of the persistence research which followed. The
theoretical frameworks are included because they outline a continuum of students’ progress over
their college careers and the variety of influences affecting persistence. The ecological systems
model, which helps to relate a student’s (the individual) success as he/she/ze navigates between
the home (microsystem), relationships (mesosystem), and the school system (exosystem).
Understanding the foundation of these models helps narrow the complexity of the theories
imbedded in persistence and the factors considered in the decision to remain in college or drop
out.
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 20
Tinto’s College Retention Theory
Tinto (1975, 1988, 1993, 1997, 2007, 2012) set the foundation for the theoretical
approach to research on college student retention, dropout, and persistence. I synthesized the 43
years of Tinto’s work to offer the current state of his college retention theory. I focus on three
consistent themes found in the evolution of several versions of the student persistence models:
pre-entry attributes, goals commitment, and integration (Tinto 1975, 1988, 1993, 1997).
Tinto’s theoretical models on institutional departure went through several reinventions
since the first publication in 1975. Tinto’s original model from 1975 is a stage model, where
students must pass through the stages during their college career (Tinto, 1975, 1988). This
model takes into consideration the academic and social systems students need to navigate to stay
in school. Specifically, students have a variety of transitional stages to overcome to be
successful in school. Tinto (1988) stated a student has to disengage from his/her/hir prior
community to fully integrate into the college community. However, Tinto (1975, 1988) implies
students living at home or commuting to college might not have the full advantage of integrating
into the college community. He noted students living at home may find the transition less
stressful overall, but some may find it more stressful because they do not fully integrate into the
social and academic community of the college (Tinto, 1988).
Tinto (1975) suggests students who attend 2-year institutions, public institutions and
institutions of lesser quality have a higher dropout rate than students who attend 4-year
institutions, private institutions and institutions considered of higher quality. Tinto’s (1993)
longitudinal model of institutional departure (Figure 1) is the first suggestion of departure as a
longitudinal process by which students leave the institution because of adjustment, isolation,
finances, learning, external obligations and commitments. The 1993 model also suggests
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 21
withdrawal from the institution is voluntary and not necessarily the result of academic dismissal
(Tinto, 1993). Then, Tinto (1997) focuses on enhancing student success. He finds several
variables and many abstract reasons for students dropping out from both 2-year and 4-year
institutions and never returning.
There is much literature on Tinto’s models. Therefore, to focus the literature, I address
only elements to answer a research question focused on a commuter student’s experience and
his/her/hir persistence to this point. I address the three elements consistent with college retention:
pre-entry attributes like family background, skills and abilities, and prior schooling as part of the
transitional criteria; institutional and external goals commitments, which appear after pre-entry,
just before outcome to persist; and academic and social integration, which takes place after entry
and before outcome. These elements are considered relevant to students’ progression through
college to ultimately decide to drop out or persist (Tinto, 1975, 1988, 1993, 1997).
Pre-entry attributes. As part of the transition to college, in the first section of Tinto’s
models (1975, 1993, 1997), there are three pre-entry attributes the student has prior to entering
college: family background, skills and abilities, and prior schooling. Family background includes
factors such as parental background, socioeconomic status (SES), sex, race, ethnicity and size of
community. Individual skills and abilities refer to students’ motivation as well as their
intellectual, social and academic experiences. Prior schooling refers to grade point average
(GPA), achievements, pre-college education and other high school experiences.
Tinto (2007) notes many researchers suggest for students to rid themselves of their
connections to their past communities and fully integrate into the new academic life. However,
students arrive at the institution with preexisting experiences that influence their transition (Tinto
1975). Tinto (1997) notes family background is beyond the control of students, students arrive at
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 22
the institution with a variety of abilities and skills to manage the transition, and prior schooling
success and failures all contribute to goals commitments. Tinto believes too much attention is
given to the students’ academic trajectory and students should not be solely blamed for their
dropout.
Goals commitment and transitional stress. In Tinto’s (1975, 1988, 1993, 1997) models,
goals commitments appear after pre-entry attributes because, without these attributes, students
cannot have commitment. The goals commitments include intentions, goals and institutional
commitment, and external commitments. These goals commitments are explained as students
need to figure out hurdles and the navigation needed to establish membership in the college
community (Tinto, 1975, 1988). Institutional groups available to students are formal groups,
clubs, intramural athletic groups, sororities and fraternities. While not all groups are formal,
informal groups are difficult for commuters to find. Tinto (1988) advises not all groups reach
new students, and new students are left to find groups on their own. Tinto (1988) suggests this is
a time when students need to “learn the ropes” (p. 446) to successfully navigate the institution.
There is also the issue of students not liking the system or organizations established by the
institution. If students do not adopt the behavioral styles needed to cope, some will voluntarily
leave the institution for a different one or drop out of college altogether (Tinto, 1988).
Tinto (1975) assumes low goals commitments, and/or low institutional commitment will
lead to dropout. As students evaluate the institution, the longitudinal model of institutional
departure suggests students may drop out if their career plans and/or career goals are not met at
the institution. If educational expectations are substantially not met or altered by the academic
systems, low to moderate levels of institutional commitment can lead to transfer behavior (Tinto,
1975).
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 23
Tinto (1975, 1993, 1997) implies students are in a constant state of evaluation of the
external changes in relation to their own goal and institutional commitment. He implies students
use an unconscious cost benefits analysis of staying in college. Students look at the external
forces, energies and financial expenses related to the time spent versus what personal activities
and responsibilities outside of college pull them away from their goals. He also notes several
unknown social demands that have little to do with the institutional commitment. Students
continually evaluate the return on investment of staying in college in comparison to entering the
job market and vice versa. The students’ decision-making process is focused on entering the job
market now or spending time in college now and entering the job market later (Tinto, 1975).
Transitional stress is considered to be one of the factors pulling students away from college:
outside social groups, individuals not supportive of their decision to go to college and family
commitments, all of which can contribute measurably to students’ persistence (Tinto, 1988).
This transition to college is highly dependent on students’ individual coping skills, their
commitment to their education goals and how they respond to individual stress. Students start
forming personal bonds with the institution, but they are neither strongly bonded to the future
college experience nor still strongly bonded to the past. Stress comes when realizing they may
not fit into either the future or the past. With this stress, students contemplate their persistence in
the future experience of college and institutional commitment (Tinto, 1988).
Tinto (1988) notes the importance of addressing transitional stress because, without
assistance, students might withdraw, decide to not face their experiences and ultimately quit
college. The response to stress affects the decision students will make to persist. These
transitional stress factors can include family, community, school, past experiences and ethnic
background. Tinto (1988) suggests students who fail to persist are those who fail to successfully
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 24
negotiate the stressors. However, he does mention persistence and stress differ by type of
institution (Tinto, 1988).
Students’ goals commitments directly influence their decision to persist (Tinto, 1975).
The longitudinal process is between the individual student and the academic and social
interactions of the college experience. The longitudinal model of institutional departure implies
there are several individual factors that ultimately play into students’ decision to drop out. There
is an academic system the students need to navigate, which includes grade performance,
intellectual development, and a social system with peer and faculty interactions. The students
have a goal in mind to commit to earn a degree, whereby institutional commitment to the
university, acceptance into the university and the financial commitment are already invested.
During students’ college career, they continuously evaluate their schema to continue to degree-
completion (Tinto, 1975).
Integration. The next consistent section in the persistence model is integration, divided
into academic integration and social integration (Tinto, 1975, 1988, 1993, 1997). Too little and
too much social integration can lead to decline in academic achievement (Tinto, 1975, 1988,
1993, 1997). Tinto (1997, 2007, 2012) discusses peer groups’ contribution to students’ social
integration, which influences the strength of the commitment to the institution. Social
integration, the friendships found in college, might counterbalance the absence of academic
involvement (Tinto, 1997). Tinto suggests the typical ways academic integration has been
measured might not reflect the most important factors needed to predict persistence. Tinto
(1997) also discusses the classroom as a learning community; membership in classroom
communities can extend to membership with peers outside of the classroom, leading to both
academic and social integration.
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 25
In the models, commitment shows up again as the penultimate stage after a series of
continuous self-evaluation, prior to the students’ decision outcome to persist or to drop out
(Tinto, 1975, 1988, 1997). This commitment at the end of the model comes with intentions,
goals commitment, institutional commitment, and external commitments as inputs to the
students’ decision to drop out or persist (Tinto, 1975, 1993, 1997). Tinto hypothesizes students
are less likely to drop out as they get closer to goal completion: graduation. He states selectivity
of admission to the institution has a direct effect on overall retention. The more selective the
institution is, the lower the attrition (Tinto, 2012). He connects lower social status backgrounds
with decreased likelihood of persistence and varied dropout behaviors. These dropout behaviors
can be due to academic performance, insufficient social integration or inferior prior schooling.
He admits this model does not apply well to the various racial minorities misrepresented in the
lower social status categories of college students (Tinto, 1975, 1988, 1997).

Figure 1. Longitudinal model of institutional departure. Adapted from “Leaving College:
Rethinking the causes and cures of student attrition” by V. Tinto, 1993, p. 114. Copyright 2012
by The University of Chicago Press.

LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 26
Literature critiques of Tinto’s model. Tinto’s (1975, 1988, 1993) models on retention
theory have been the foundation for scholars for decades. While there are many critiques of
these models, I include two critiques from Tierney (1992, 2000) on his perception that Tinto does
not include a cultural perspective in his model and Pascarella, Duby and Iverson’s (1983)
reworking of the model for non-residential college students. The articles in this section provide
the groundwork to consider persistence for Latinx students and commuter students beyond
Tinto’s departure model.
Tierney (1992) writes an essay critical of Tinto’s theoretical model and challenges the
concepts of academic and social integration as being fundamental to student persistence. The
purpose of his article is to highlight the holes in Tinto’s theory on student participation and also
question the notion of “rite of passage” as potentially harmful from a cultural perspective
(Tierney, 1992, p. 603). Tierney (1992) implies the need for an alternative model to better
understand the multicultural university population and for this essay he draws on previous
research he conducted with over 200 interviews during a 2-year period of Native American
college students to gain perspective on college participation.
The critique highlights other perspectives of college life and cultural differences in which
minority students engage. Tierney(1992) suggests there are more individualistic characteristics
associated with students’ eventual graduation. Tierney outlines how Tinto came to believe
students integrate into modern society through their experiences in the institutions:
“Postsecondary institutions serve as functional vehicles for incorporating the young into society
by way of their integrations into the college or university” (p. 606). Tierney also points out what
Tinto’s model does not consider in college withdrawal: non-residential institutions, part-time
students, non-traditional-aged students and minority students. Tierney suggests looking at the
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 27
model from an anthropological lens, specifically with the social integration of American Indians
and the misinterpretation of rituals to integrate into a mainstream society on a college campus.
Tinto’s model also does not take consider historically Black colleges and the function of
institutions’ culture and ideology (Tierney, 1992).
Tierney (1992) also takes issue with the concept of departure as a dropout as having a
negative connotation, instead of being considered a choice the student makes to depart the
university. Tierney brings up language using “ritual” as a choice. College is a choice, but the
word implies everyone must go through the “rite of passage” (p. 609) of being integrated into
campus society by graduating and not departing. Tierney finds Tinto did not think of students as
individuals who do not necessarily have a group identity. He points out universities have been a
traditional place to educate middle-class White men to become professions in the dominate
culture. This assumes minorities are to be inserted into the dominant culture through higher
education. Tierney shares case studies and conversations of perspective taking on acculturation
of how Native Americans persist, one university president commented on the problem was the
Native Americans in college “have a terrible problem with acculturation” (p. 612). The
acculturation then implies that the Native Americans must learn the ways of the White world and
that social integration is contingent on the individuals ability to separate from their previous
community and integrate into the institution (Tierney, 1992). Furthermore, this concept can be
applied to other minority students as well. Tierney (1992) contends a reconceptualization of the
model should include individual influences. Tierney concludes there are unintended
consequences of placing all responsibly for integrating into the college society on the student.
He suggests some of the responsibility should also fall on the institution to ensure policies and
practices meet the changing college students’ needs (Tierney, 1992).
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 28
Tierney (2000) examines the concept of student departure with considerations of culture,
reimagines an educational success model with culturally responsive concepts and how the model
can be used as an intervention tool for students at risk of dropping out, specifically low-income,
urban, Black and Hispanic youth. Tierney studied the Neighborhood Academic Initiative (NAI),
which is different from other mainstream college preparatory groups aimed at helping low-
income junior and high school students in south central Los Angeles enter college. The idea was
that what works in college preparations programs might also work for low-income minority
students once they arrive on campus. In the climate of the NAI, no student has the notion of
“sink or swim” (p. 225). The model also included connections to family involvement.
Tierney (2000) provides critical analysis of the cultural construction of dropouts. He
notes countries like Guatemala do not have the concept of drop out while, in the United States
education system, institutions filter out students or separate students into groups. He
summarized ignoring variations in culture is an injustice to the very system in which education
needs to thrive. Tierney, once again, is critical of Tinto’s departure model in that the model
leaves little room for individual struggle, the notion of student privileges or the “sociohistorical
cultural constrains” that have denied students opportunity (p. 216). He questions why we have
not developed an educational system where students can come and go as needed over time for
individual development, as current educational systems have the concept of one stays in and the
others drop out. Tierney notes campuses do make efforts to prevent attrition, but the education
system is set up in a predetermined manner where students are cast aside if they do not meet the
criteria. The word “drop-out” moves from an individual criterion to analysis of groups by
ethnicity, gender, or income such that a student is no longer just not in school. Tierney states the
term is not natural and carries with it powerlessness and negativity.
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 29
Tierney (2000) recommends a model where an individual’s identity is honored and
incorporated into the culture, instead of a model focused on the individual integrating into the
established system of education by participating in rituals and rites of passage. Tierney outlines
the model with five points: “1) collaborative relations of power, 2) connections across home,
community, and schooling, 3) local definitions of identity, 4) challenge over remediation, and 5)
academic support” (p. 219). As part of the collaborative relations in power, Tierney recommends
changing an all-powerful and knowledgeable system (the teacher) to a more social context of
collaborations. Students need to be recognized and affirmed of their own cultural identity, rather
than incorporated into the scaffolding of the institution’s identity because, if students do not fit
in, they have failed (Tierney, 2000). The model should include a respectful environment
allowing academic support. The students labeled at risk still have experiences and background
knowledge which contribute to their learning. The model Tierney proposes is to look at student
departure through a different lens because the student is multifaceted, and it is important to
incorporate culture into the classroom as well as identity and individuality beyond the traditional
academic and social systems.
Pascarella et al. (1983) reworked Tinto’s 1975 model with a non-residential sample.
There were two purposes for this study. The first was to explain the model in a commuter
university to determine if Tinto’s model could be generalized to a non-residential institution.
The second purpose was to look at the areas of the model that did not work to discern how the
model be reimagined to included commuter students and the concept of intention. The concept
of intention was expanded to include the “intention to leave or stay” (Pascarella et al., 1983, p.
90).
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 30
This was a longitudinal study with three different collection time periods. In fall 1979,
there was a sample of 579 incoming freshman of a large Midwest urban commuter university
where students completed the American Council on Education Survey. The second survey was
sent out in spring 1980 to 579 students with questions focused on the freshman experience, and
there were 269 usable responses. The student records were checked, and 54 students had
voluntarily withdrawn and two were required to withdraw for academic reasons.
The researchers closely followed Tinto’s conceptual model with five different variables:
background characteristics, initial commitment, academia and social integration, subsequent
goals and institutional commitment and withdrawal decisions. Pascarella et al. (1983) analyzed
the data using an initial hierarchical regression to determine the variance in
persistence/withdrawal behavior associated with Tinto’s model.
One of the major findings of this study was the association of background characteristics
with persistence/withdrawal behavior. The background characteristics were pre-college
schooling, individual attributes and family background. The findings suggested “that the cluster
of characteristics which commuter students bring to college are a factor of equal if not greater
importance in their subsequent persistence/withdrawal decisions than their actual experiences of
college once enrolled” (Pascarella et al., p. 93). As a footnote in this study, the authors suggested
residential and commuter universities attracted different student populations. The results also
showed both academic and social integration had relatively strong direct effects on persistence.
An additional finding was institutional commitment after the freshman year was defined by
personal satisfaction with academic interactions rather than social systems, and commitment to
the institution did not directly influence persistence but had an indirect influence on intention.
The researchers suggest inconsistency with Tinto’s model as they applied it to the commuter
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 31
institution. The researchers imply a negative influence of social integration on persistence
(Pascarella et al., 1983). The reconceptualization of Tinto’s model considered non-residential
institutions. The revised model disregarded goals commitment and considered background
characteristics, more of what students brought to the college: academic aptitude, race, sex,
affiliation needs and secondary school grades (Pascarella et al.,1983, p. 89).
Astin’s Student Involvement Model
The student involvement model has been one of the cornerstones of studies on the
elements of student involvement in higher education. Astin (1984) conceived a model to map
student involvement in college: “Quite simply, student involvement refers to the amount of
physical and psychological energy that the student devotes to the academic experience” (p. 518).
In 1970, Astin’s student involvement model (Figure 2) had three components: student
inputs, college environment to student outputs. Astin (1970) specifically defines the term
“student output” as the measures of the students’ “achievements, knowledge, skills, values,
attitudes, aspirations, interest and daily activities” (p. 224). Student input is what the students
brings to school with them, such as career choices, values and beliefs on career choice, personal
attitude and students’ race and sexual identity. The college environment refers to the variety of
aspects higher education provides, such as administrative polices, curriculum, classroom, teacher
pedagogy, campus clubs and peer associations and the physical college environment itself. The
model is represented as an obtuse triangle, and the structure of the three components on college
impact is about the relationships between the student and the college environment (Astin, 1970).
He suggested a difference between typically involved students and uninvolved students. There
are formal and informal ways students get involved on campus (Astin, 1970).
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 32
Astin (1984) later refers to this model as student involvement, a development theory for
higher education, which provided the initial words and phrases often associated with student
involvement. Student involvement occurs on a continuum, and there are varying degrees of
students’ involvement during the course of the college career, such as different activities students
engage in, varying times students spent on campus, studying habits, and completing assignments
(Astin, 1984). Student involvement theory conceptually looks at what students do on campus,
the actions they take, or what the they get involved in, such as programs, clubs, and on-campus
activities and does not focus on what the students feel or think (Astin, 1984).
Astin (1970) suggest students assume a passive role in learning new content, but, for
them to learn, there needs to be a behavioral component on their part to be more involved in the
environment. Astin (1984) notes instructors need a variety of teaching techniques to allow
students to engage in laboratories and books as well as exchange content with peers. Astin
(1970, 1984) stated problems arise when other life pressures compete with students’ time to
focus on the content and involvement in school.

Figure 2. Model of student development in higher education. Adapted from “The methodology
of research on college impact, part one” by A. W. Astin, 1970, Sociology of Education (43)4, p.
225.

Critique to Tinto’s and Astin’s models. Milem and Berger (1997) looked at
undergraduate persistence for 1 year using Astin’s (1975) theory of student involvement to help
further understand Tinto’s (1992) theory on student departure. The purpose of this study was to
examine student persistence data from a longitudinal perspective and further define Tinto’s
(1993) process of transition and incorporation (Milem & Berger, 1997).
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 33
Milem and Berger (1997) set out to answer these three questions: (a) What behavioral
mechanisms in the campus environment(s) facilitate or inhibit the integration process? (b) Does
the addition of behavioral involvement construct improve our understanding of the integration
process? (c) What is the relationship between student behavior and student perceptions in the
integration process? (p. 388). The sample in this study came from an elite private residential
university in the southeastern United States where 98% of the entering freshmen lived on
campus. Three separate surveys were administered (Milem & Berger, 1997).
Milem and Berger (1997) conducted the first collection of data at this university from
freshmen who were administered the Student Information Form at the end of freshman
orientation prior to the fall semester 1995. Afterwards, 1,343 gave permission to use their
answers in the study. As part of the survey, 14 additional items were added to include
involvement behavior scales with questions referring to involvement with faculty, involvement
with peers, academic nonengagement, nonengagement with university, activities involvement,
traditional social activities, organized activities, exercise and recreation, institutional support,
and peer support. The second collection of data was in October 1995 as part of the Early
Collegiate Experiences Survey. This survey asked questions directly and indirectly related to
student persistence as well as teaching behaviors and student involvement. In all, 1,237 surveys
were collected. The third collection of data was during the spring semester March of 1996. This
survey had questions from previous studies on Tinto’s (1993) model. There were 1,061 surveys
collected (Milem & Berger, 1997).
All three data sets were merged into one longitudinal constructed panel consisting of 718
individuals (51 % female, 84% White, and 3 % Black), and 53% of the students reported
household income of $100,000. The sample of students had an entry characteristic of being
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 34
highly committed to the goal of receiving at least a bachelor’s degree. Milem and Berger (1997)
suggest a negative predictor of commitment to the institution was a student’s politics leaning
liberal. This could have been because the university was in a high-income, highly conservative
environment, and the “more liberal students were less likely to perceive that they had support of
their peers and institution” (Milem & Berger, 1997, p. 395). In another notable result, students’
early peer involvement was a positive predictor of spring semester involvement with faculty, and
students who were not initially engaged academically were “less likely to report academic
engagement during spring semester” (Milem & Berger, 1997, p. 396). At this university, the
researchers imply social influence was a better predictor of student persistence than academic
integration. Another finding was student involvement with traditional social activities might
have had an “overboard” effect (Milem & Berger, 1997, p. 398). Lastly, Milem and Berger
concluded a varied student involvement influenced perceptions of institutional and peer support.
Weidman’s Model of Undergraduate Socialization
Weidman’s (1989) undergraduate socialization model (Figure 3) stems from both social
and psychological structures of the developmental process occurring in adolescence to young
adulthood. The model is described as a socialization model or socialization framework, by
which the transition of the students’ involvement leads to the acquisition of the skills to socialize
in a variety of environments. Socialization within groups is dependent on the influences of the
group on the individual. Social relationships are important to establish and maintain over the
course of the undergraduate experience (Weidman, 1989). The conceptual model is divided into
several sections of the undergraduate trajectory (Weidman, 1989). The two areas explored in-
depth here are parental socialization and non-college reference groups, as they are the most
relevant to the commuter student experience. Weidman states the framework is the underlying
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 35
contribution to the development of the adolescent into adulthood whereby “the mediating
impacts of both parental socialization and non-college reference groups during college despite
influence brought to bear upon student by participation in the more immediate campus social
structure” (p. 298).
In the model, parental socialization has three components: SES, lifestyle, and parent/child
relationship (Weidman, 1984, 1989). Similar to Tinto (1997), Wideman notes college is highly
influenced by what students bring to college as pre-entry attributes. Weidman (1984, 1989)
contends parental socialization significantly influences the initial impact of the college
experience, and aspects of the college experience are highly influenced by the parent-child
relationship as well as the family social system. Parental lifestyle and parental career choices
have a strong parental influence on freshman college students’ expectations to persist to
graduation (Weidman, 1989).
Non-college reference groups also have three components in the model: peers,
employers, and community organizations. Undergraduate students’ attention is often divided
among their significant others, the collegiate environment, and decisions to maintain
relationships with their parents. Weidman (1989) stresses employers, community organizations,
churches, ethnic communities, relatives, and friends can all be conflicting normative pressures
for students. Both parental socialization and non-college reference groups are considered pre-
college normative pressure and in-college normative pressure. How the students navigate these
pressures will determine the socialization outcomes of career choices, lifestyle preferences,
aspirations, and values (Weidman, 1989).
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 36

Figure 3. Adapted from “Undergraduate Socialization: A Conceptual Approach” by J.C.
Weidman, 1989, Higher Education: Handbook of Theory and Research, 5, p. 299.

Rendon’s Contributions to Higher Education
The section addresses two of Rendon’s theoretical contributions to minority students in
higher education. Rendon’s (1994) validating culturally diverse students and Rendon, Jalomo
and Nora’s (2000) critical analysis of Tinto’s student departure theory. The purpose of Rendon’s
(1994) article on validation is to highlight the needs of culturally diverse students. She contends
higher education needs to adapt new models of learning to fit the student. Rendon’s (1994)
research questions asked, “How do students become active and involved participants in the
academic community? How do students’ out-of-class experiences, particularly their interpersonal
interactions, reinforce, augment, or attenuate curricular and classroom learning and achievement
of broader general education goals?” (Rendon, 1994, p. 35).
For this study, Rendon (1994) interviewed 132 first-year students in focus groups
consisting of three to six participants. The participants were from several locations: a mostly
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 37
minority community college in the southwest, a mostly Black urban commuter state university in
the Midwest, two mostly White higher education institutions in a middle Atlantic state, one large
research university and a liberal arts college. The students were selected by an institutional
contact person for their characteristics appropriate to the overall entering student population on
each campus: African American, Hispanic, commuting students, male and female. The questions
were open-ended, focused on how students made decisions to attend college, their expectations
and the reality of college, transition events, important people and general effects college was
having on them as students. The interview focus groups consisted 3-6 students, were tape-
recorded and transcribed by the research team and summarized by the research team. Ultimately,
there were over 200 pages analyzed for themes and differences across the campuses or student
subgroups (Rendon, 1994).
Involvement theory emerged as way to explain how students transformed into successful
learners. These findings cannot be broadly interpreted because of the diverse representation of 2-
and 4-year college students. Rather, this study focused on the student learning experience and
developmental growth patterns to guide future research.
The researchers suggest students came to their university expecting to fail but began to
believe in their own capacity to learn and became successful. Community college students and
African American 4-year college students had doubts about their ability to succeed while
traditional students had few doubts: “Non-traditional students need active intervention from
significant others to help negotiate intuitional life” (Rendon, 1994, p. 37). Inside and outside of
class, even nontraditional vulnerable students could become powerful learners with interpersonal
validation.
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 38
Rendon (1994) concludes that being involved in college was not easy for nontraditional
students. However, she argued that validations might help them get involved. From the
qualitative responses Rendon (1994), discovered students did not like to be a number or just one
of hundreds of students where nobody knew their names. The respondents did not like being
considered as having lesser status and perceived faculty would treat them coldly (p. 39). Rendon
suggests that the students became more excited about learning when they were involved socially
and academically. The research also suggest students who received validating experiences in
both home and work suggest it important to get validation at school as well. According to
Rendon, students did not feel like they fit the traditional student profile and felt alienated from
college culture: “Students are faced with differencing attitude, beliefs, values and cultures when
they enter college and are forced to adapt to this new culture” (p. 34).
The researchers suggest in-class academic validations from faculty helped students trust
the faculty and have confidence in learning. Personable, approachable faculty who treated
students equally and provided meaningful feedback fostered student attitudes and behaviors for
academic development: “faculty who structured learning experiences that allowed students to
experience themselves as capable of learning” (Rendon, 1994, p. 40). Nontraditional students’
perceptions of involvement included someone taking an active role in assisting them, not them
taking the initiative: “the students who were more involved in the academic and social aspects of
the institution appeared to be more excited about learning” (Rendon, 1994, p. 39). Rendon
suggested developing active involvement by utilizing faculty, counselors, coaches and
administrators to develop activities to promote active learning. Rendon also stated validation
could occur inside the class with faculty, lab instructors, TAs or classmates. Validation could
occur outside the classroom with significant others, a family member, friends, classmates and
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 39
friends from other colleges, college staff, counselors, advisors, coaches, tutors, teaching
assistants and resident advisors.
Rendon (1994) asserts that the people who effected the student’s validation outside of
class are difficult to calculate. However, she suggests nontraditional students who did not
receive validation in the class would rely on validation outside of class. Some students in the
study had family discourage college or friends suggest they were wasting their time. Overall,
Rendon (1994) recommends training faculty and staff to recognize, foster and focus on students’
needs and strengths. Rendon (1994) suggests that validation agents’ active role in academic and
interpersonal development provides students with support and affirms the students’ own
capabilities to learn.
As a result of the findings, Rendon (1994) presents a table fostering a validating
classroom by an academic invalidating model and an academic validation model as well as a
table on fostering a therapeutic learning community by an interpersonal invalidating model and
an interpersonal validating model (p. 50). These models looks at the college environment as well
as how colleges can promote validation of students at the interpersonal level. The researcher
states the institution’s role is to take an active role in offering involvement opportunities to
validate the student in their endeavors. Rendon concludes colleges transform faculty,
administrators and counselors to recognize not all students need to be involved in the institution
or learn the same way, but all need to validate students on an interpersonal level.
Rendon et al. (2000) provides a critical analysis of Tinto’s (1975) student departure
theory, including academic and social integration and suggestions for future ideas for the
retention theory. Like other researchers, Rendon et al. (2000) also believes the Tinto model does
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 40
not consider minority students and more multiracial factors should be considered in student
retention and persistence.
The first task taken on by Rendon et al. (2000) is a critical analysis of the assumption of
separation. The Tinto model of “rites of passage” assumes minority students must leave their old
lives behind to become full members of the new college world, must become part of the
dominant culture, and must find connections to the new world to leave the old world behind (p.
132). Rendon and colleagues challenge these assumptions, recommend considering the concept
of biculturalism, and studies by Charles A. Valentine published in 1971. The concept is
introduced as “Blacks could be simultaneously socialized in two different cultures” (pp. 133-
134). The idea is different cultures can be simultaneously socialized and enculturated in two
different ways with a majority culture and minority culture plus shared values and norms.
Rendon et al. suggest first-generation students might feel alienated by a dual socialization and
may express loss associated with separation. Given the evidence outlined by Rendon et al.
(2000), “The passage to college needs to be gradual, giving students time to slowly break away
and move toward healthy individualization” (p. 137). The researchers suggest reconceptualizing
the model to the challenges of dual socialization and separation in that there should be both and
individual and institutional responsibility. Minority students are less likely to give up
membership in the old world to establish membership in the new environment. The research
highlights the difference in focusing on academic failure as opposed to success that often
excludes the history from which these acculturation factors originated. Rendon et al. (2000)
challenge the theoretical assumptions of Tinto’s model and highlight the individual barriers and
institutional barriers in place for the minority student.
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 41
Rendon et al. (2000) also highlight the negative impact of external communities on
student involvement. The criticism is Tinto puts less stress on the impact of family and more
importance on social systems and academic systems within the institution. Rendon et al. note
researchers suggesting friends who do not attend college could complicate school behavior and
parents may be more of a liability than an encouraging factor. There is much more research
needed to help determine the effects of negative or positive influences of the external
environments and how the student negotiates the college experience. Rendon et al. suggest
Latino students’ success is much more than assimilation/acculturation. Latino students have their
own experiences and individual contributions that do not necessarily fit into Tinto’s model.
Furthermore, minority students need to be part of qualitative and quantitative research to help
this growing minority population in higher education. The research shows many universities
made significant changes to the curriculum, established learning communities, expanded student
services and increased staff and faculty to better serve minority students (Rendon et al., 2000)
Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Model
Lastly, Bronfenbrenner’s (1977) ecological systems model adds clarity regarding the
variety of systems college students need to manage as part of their human development. The
intersection between the systems with which students interact provides insight into the
complexity of the relationship they negotiate. Much of Bronfenbrenner’s (1977, 1979, 1986)
work focuses on the development of the child. However, his work can be applied to higher
education. A persons’ human development is shaped by his/her/hir interaction with his/her/hir
individual environments (Bronfenbrenner, 2005). Each life transition is consistent with how an
individual interacts with the varied environments and grows within that person over time,
starting with entering preschool, being a teen, graduating from high school and college, finding a
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 42
job, finding a life partner, starting a family, changing careers, moving and eventually retiring
(Bronfenbrenner, 2005).
According to Bronfenbrenner (1976, 1977, 1979, 2005), the individual develops within
five interdependent environmental systems (Figure 4). An individual lives or resides, on a
frequent basis, in the microsystem, which encompasses school, family, neighborhood.
Relationships between family members and places that influence individual life take place in the
mesosystem, meaning at school, church or with peers. Exosystem refers to social settings and the
experiences an individual has in that person’s family life, such as jobs, schools, parks, and
libraries. The macrosystem encompasses ideologies, social class, and culture that influence an
individual’s life, The chronosystem changes in environmental events over time (Bronfenbrenner,
1976, 1977, 1979, 2005). Bronfenbrenner (2005) references the concept of an ecological
paradigm for development represented by nested circles credited to Kurt Lewin and his classical
formula of “B=f(PE) [Behavior is a joint function of person and environment]—The first
transformation involves a provocative substitution: D=f(PE)[Development is a joint function of
person and environment]” (p. 108).
The ecological environment is based on the interconnectedness of the setting and the
overall development of a human. Bronfenbrenner (2005) defines development as “the person’s
evolving conception of the ecological environment, and his or her relations to it, as well as the
person’s growing capacity to discover, sustain or alter its properties” (p. 55). Earlier,
Bronfenbrenner (1977) defined the ecology of human development as the scientific study of the
progression throughout the life span, between a growing human organism and the changing
immediate environments in which it lives. The human development process is affected by
relations obtained within and between the immediate setting as well as the large social context
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 43
(both formal and informal), in which the settings are imbedded (Bronfenbrenner, 1977).
Bronfenbrenner (1979) explains the basic concept of an ecological orientation by
providing definitions. First, a person does not exist in just one environment in a concrete setting,
as development evolves progressively as humans move through and interact with the different
environments. Second, the environment really exists as the interconnected pathways and schema
the individual perceives as his/her/hir roles of the interpersonal relationships in the microsystem
and mesosystem. Third, the settings in the mesosystem are interconnected to different areas that
can be formal and informal with communication and social networks. Bronfenbrenner states
individuals have an interrelationship among the different settings as the developing person
actively participates in the environmental setting.
These interconnections often come with interpersonal feelings that influence
relationships. The macrosystem is consistent with culture and subculture as they play into
relationships between home and school, which can be very different depending on ethnicity,
relation, and SES (Bronfenbrenner, 1979). The mesosystem allows for social contexts to be
exposed to look at the individual and the accommodations humans make between environmental
settings as part of their development (Bronfenbrenner, 1977). The actual belief system and
lifestyles between home and school may be so different that developmental changes are required
to navigate between them. Bronfenbrenner (1986) suggest development involves a change in a
person’s characteristics, a reorganization of both his/her/hir time and space.
It is clear to Bronfenbrenner (1976) that initial analyses of the setting as systems do not
take consider the real life setting with which many children interact. The variety of settings
could not be simulated in a laboratory, and he encourages researchers to include environmental
influences (Bronfenbrenner, 1976). The reciprocity between school and home could reveal
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 44
cultural patterns and family practices that influence the individual activities in peer groups
(Bronfenbrenner, 1976).

Figure 4. Adapted from “Handbook of Child Psychology: Theoretical Models of Human
Development” by W. Damon and R. M. Learner, 2006, p. 866.

In summary, the repeating ideas in the theoretical frameworks from Tinto, Astin,
Weidman and Bronfenbrenner show humans evolve from experiences over time and are
influenced by different environments. The precollege experiences students have influence on
their college experiences and the decision to persist or dropout (Astin, 1970; Tinto, 2012).
Students need to navigate the environments and the social and academic barriers as they progress
towards graduation (Bronfenbrenner, 1977; Weidman, 1989). The environments of home, school
and work with which students interact highly influence their decision to persist (Astin, 1970;
Bronfenbrenner, 1977; Tinto, 1975, 1988; Weidman, 1989). The critiques of Tinto’s model
(Milem & Berger, 1997; Rendon et al., 2000; Tierney, 1992; 2000) point out the shortcomings of
viewing persistence from a narrow perspective. Research on student departure in higher
education adds a psychological theory perspective and cultural lens to student persistence (Bean
& Eaton, 2000; Kuh & Love, 2000).
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 45
Student Departure in Higher Education
The following section focuses on student departure in terms of why students leave (Bean
& Eaton, 2000) and in terms of looking at student departure through a cultural lens (Kuh &
Love, 2000).
Bean and Eaton (2000) explain student departure by presenting and synthesizing four
psychological theories: attitude behavior theory, coping behavioral theory, self-efficacy theory
and attrition theory. The departure model looks at factors associated with students’ leaving.
Attitude behavior theory can be explained by the links of beliefs, attitudes, intentions and
behavior: “My college (the object) is great (the attribute)” (Bean & Eaton, 2000, p. 50). Coping
behavioral theory is closely connected to a given environment. The idea of coping behavior is
that a person will self-assess his environment and adapt or adjust in certain ways to fit the life
situation; the adjustment is very closely aligned to Tinto’s integration (Bean & Eaton, 2000).
Students who do not cope well under difficult situations like stressful academic or social systems
might be more likely to leave college before graduation. In contrast, students with a strong sense
of self-efficacy towards campus life can gain survival skills, adapt and gain confidence to persist
to graduation (Bean & Eaton, 2000).
Attribution theory was cited as originally part of Weiner’s (1986) causal model of
attribution theory explained by locus of control. A student who believes he/she/ze can get an A
on exam because he/she/ze studied hard has an internal locus of control, while a student who
believes he/she/ze cannot get an A on an exam because the book is stupid and the professor is
boring has an external locus of control (Bean & Eaton, 2000). Students who believe they have
control over the outcomes of a situation are more like to respond to them, whereas students who
believe situations are beyond their control will not be motivated to improve. Bean and Eaton
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 46
(2000) suggest attribution theory helps to explain Tinto’s concept of academic integration to the
institution. The researchers indicate the psychological model of student retention can work for
voluntary and involuntary departure from college. This model also helps explain the belief that
the student’s interaction with the institution will affect his/her/hir decision to withdraw. Overall,
the researchers suggest the psychological process stems from the student’s complex personal
characteristics and revised perspective of the social and academic environment in which
he/she/ze adjusts his/her/hir coping strategies to interact, and “qualitative researchers could
investigate how these psychological processes operate at the community college, urban
university, research universities and elite college”(Bean & Eaton, 2000, p. 59).
Kuh and Love (2000) focus on student departure using a cultural lens. Perspectives on
student departure are complicated, and many researchers have used Tinto’s (1993) theory of
student departure as a foundation. Kuh and Love point out the lack of empirical support for
Tinto’s model and recommend the concepts of social integration be more connected to comfort:
Social integration refers to students’ levels of social and psychological comfort with their
colleges’ milieus, association with or acceptance by affinity groups, and sense of
belonging that provides the security needed to join with others in common causes,
whether intellectual or social. (p. 197)
The authors explore eight cultural propositions about premature student departure:
Proposition 1 emphasizes the role of the individual in understanding and engaging with
an institutions culture. Proposition 2 and 3 acknowledge that students have different
cultural background (cultures of origin) and that colleges and universities are made up of
multiple, overlapping cultures. Proposition 4, 5, and 6 articulate the concept of cultural
distance, which accounts for many of the challenge’s students face when they go to
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 47
college. Finally, propositions 7 and 8 address the process of cultural connections that are
necessary to succeed in college. (Kuh & Love, 2000, pp. 200–201)
The propositions highlight the need to consider the individual student’s cultural
perspective on decision-making related to departure. Proposition 1 indicates the student might
enter college with an inaccurate commitment based on an inaccurate assumption of the
institution (Kuh & Love, 2000). For proposition 2, values and culture seem important to maintain
to support the transition to college. With proposition 3, the students have prior knowledge of
their own cultural origins and values to align and be reflected or connected to the goals of the
institution. With proposition 4, Kuh and Love propose culture affects the way students
experience college: “by speaking out in class and working independently to attain high grades,
students must do things that prior to this point in their lives they learned were wrong” (p. 204).
Proposition 5 suggests the student can join a subgroup with the same values and beliefs to
acclimate to and navigate intimidation from the dominant culture. Kuh and Love imply that, if a
student fails to find a group to align with their beliefs and values, the student will depart school
having never really “arrived” in the first place (p. 205). Proposition 6 considers the student who
spends significant time socializing in his/her/hir culture either prior to or while in college as
enduring additional stress, which can reduce persistence. Proposition 7 connects integration with
sense of belonging into social systems as part of culture connections the student finds at the
institution with peers, faculty and others. Lastly, proposition 8 proposes students who find a
positive pull from social network systems, enclave members, athletic programs, religious
organizations, or other who have similar affiliation are more likely to persist (Kuh & Love,
2000).
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 48
Kuh and Love (2000) explain the implications of these proposals on real policy and
practice mean institutions, not the students, need to adapt. The researchers question whether
institutions can change to better understand students’ cultural backgrounds because this means
“the institutions must become multicultural institutions” (Kuh & Love, 2000, p. 209).
Sense of Belonging
Extensive research examines sense of belonging in higher education as a component of
persistence to graduation. This section presents a psychological perspective on sense of
belonging followed by research on students’ perceptions of support from peers and faculty, the
factors of belongingness in students’ first-year experience, studies on traditionally marginalized
populations and commuter students. The literature that covers qualitative, quantitative, and
mixed-method research using used national survey data, questionnaires, interventions, focus
groups and interviews to determine college students’ sense of belonging. The research shows
university communities can increase sense of belonging by creating a sense of pride, fostering
relationships with faculty and peers, and providing community space on campus (Marshall et al.,
2012; Museus, Yi, Saelua, & Saelua, 2017). The results discussed mean institutions can have an
impact on persistence by encouraging student engagement, increasing student motivation and by
assessing students’ perceived sense of belonging (Hausmann, Ye, Schofield, & Woods, 2009;
Morrow & Ackermann, 2012; Museus et al., 2017; Zumbrunn et al., 2014).
Foundational Work on Sense of Belonging
Before outlining empirical studies on sense of belonging in higher education, there is
foundational work to recognize from Baumeister and Leary (1995) and Goodenow (1993).
Maslow’s (1954) theory of human motivation is cited in much of the literature on belongingness
as a foundational human need. However, there are more modern interpretations of the sense of
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 49
belonging to help explain the importance of social support, the need for reciprocity in
relationships and need for connectedness in a community or group (Baumeister & Leary, 1995;
Bronfenbrenner, 1977; Goodenow, 1993; Hausmann et al., 2009; Museus et al., 2017).
Baumeister and Leary (1995) highlight the importance of social bonds, both forming the
bonds and maintaining them once established. Individuals are driven to create social
relationships, driven to form attachments and are likely to participate in interactions with
strangers to form these bonds. People are driven to seek positive interactions and avoid negative
and/or unpleasant social interactions (Baumeister & Leary, 1995). Positive interactions create
strong positive emotions that satisfy the feeling for intimacy, commitment and wellbeing.
Negative human interactions can cause stress, discomfort and avoidance behavior. Much like
Bronfenbrenner (1977), Baumeister and Leary (1995) suggest the positive interconnectedness of
human relationships provides positive human development. The positive emotional effects of the
social bonds are often established in childhood and sought after throughout the life span to create
happiness and to avoid anxiety or depression (Baumeister & Leary, 1995).
Goodenow (1993) conducted three studies with the purpose of developing a short scale to
measure school belongingness and to investigate the relationships among psychological school
memberships. The studies where intended to be used in further research to measure individual
differences in belonging and alienation to identify students at risk (Goodenow, 1993). The study
took place at two locations. Study 1 was used to develop the first scale. The sample consisted of
454 sixth, seventh and eighth grade students with an average age of 12 years. The middle school
was in the Northeast and students were predominately White and middle-class. These students
completed the questionnaires containing the school membership scale during English class at the
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 50
end of the year. Student identities were concealed from the researcher, and the English teachers
rated the students in effort and social standing among peers in the class (Goodenow, 1993).
First, Goodenow (1993) developed a measure of belonging or psychological school
membership. For example, the questions read “Most teachers at this school are interest in me”
and “I feel like a real part of this school” (Goodenow, 1993, p. 82). Response options fell on a 5-
point Likert scale with 1 representing not at all and 5 meaning completely true. In the scale, one-
third of the items where phrased in a negative direction. The scale ultimately had 25 items on
school membership (Goodenow, 1993).
Study 2 was used to develop the second scale to measure school belonging. This study
took place in a medium-sized city in the same northeastern state. This public-school system,
however, had equal numbers of African American, Hispanic and White students. This school
population was based on patterns of ethnic segregation. In School A, half of the students were
randomly chosen to fill out the survey. There were 191 students in School A. In School B, only
half of the seventh-grade student participated. The number of respondents was 103, with 77
students identifying as Hispanic. Of these students, 16 took the Spanish-language translation of
the survey because they were not yet fully proficient in English. At both schools, the average
age was 13. Both studies had the classroom teachers administer the surveys during homeroom.
One teacher in School B spoke Spanish and was from Puerto Rico, which is where many of the
students from School B were from, and the other teacher was a native Spanish-speaker.
Study 3 was a follow-up to the first study. However, this study had 611 participants from
the same suburban school. The average age of the third study’s participants was 11. The scale
that emerged from these studies is called The Psychological Sense of School Membership
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 51
(PSSM) Scale. The PSSM scale has 18 items, was tested in both English and Spanish versions,
was found to have acceptable reliability.
Students from a small homogenous community (study 1) reported a stronger sense of
school membership than students in the more urban setting (study 2). Goodenow (1993) also
found Hispanic students (study 2) had higher levels of school membership than did non-
Hispanics students at School B. When no ethnic group had a clear majority, there was no
difference among ethnic groups in terms of school membership.
Goodenow (1993) also suggests students who had low social standing, as rated by the
teacher, had significantly lower PSSM scores. The study found psychological memberships was
influenced by contextual factors from personal and situational traits, and psychological
membership had an influence in the social context of learning (Goodenow, 1993). The sense of
belonging contributed to efforts, participation, school motivation and subsequent achievement.
This study on the psychological sense of school membership among adolescents set the
foundation for the PSSM Scale to be used at a variety of educational levels.
Perceived Support and Relationships
Another area of study for sense of belonging is students’ perception of the support they
receive in the classroom from instructors and the relationships they develop while attending
college. Studies have found the likely predictor of belongingness stems from instructional
academic support and perceived social support from peers, which can influence students’
decision to return for the next academic semester (Hawley, 2014; Morrow & Ackermann, 2012;
Zumbrunn et al., 2014). Jones (2010) suggests that support students receive from inside and
outside the home could influence them more strongly than identity and perception of belonging
at the institution.
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 52
Zumbrunn et al. (2014) completed a sequential mixed-methods study on
perception of support, sense of belonging and the impact of students’ perception on
relationships with instructors on self-efficacy, task value, and engagement. The specific
research questions for this study were “How do student perceptions of support and
belonging relate to student motivation, engagement, and achievement? In what ways do
college students believe classroom contextual characteristics relate to their belonging
perceptions?” (Zumbrunn et al., 2014, p. 663).
The study sample was comprised of 212 undergraduates from a large Midwestern
university in the U.S., all of whom were enrolled in an educational psychology class.
The participants had a median age of 20, 54% had sophomore standing, 73% were female
and 90% identified this course as a prerequisite for their major. Zumbrunn et al. (2014)
had the participants self-identify their ethnicity: 2% were African American, 92% were
European American, 3% were Latino(a), and 3% were members of other groups. Students
were purposively selected for interviews based on their belongingness level as
determined through the questionnaire. Overall, four instructors, with a median age of 27,
participated. The four instructors were from the same undergraduate educational
psychology classes the student participants reported, and all had been teaching between 2
and 5 semesters. Two were females, two were males, and all had taught two sections of
child or adolescent development. One self-identified as Asian American and the other
three as European Americans (Zumbrunn et al., 2014).
In the quantitative portion of Zumbrunn et al.’s (2014) study, questionnaires were
adapted and developed from the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 53
(MSLQ), a version of the PSSM,
3
a basic demographic question and a Student Evaluation of
Teaching questionnaire. Students received all questionnaires simultaneously in person in the
classroom during the spring semester, without the instructor in attendance, and they had
approximately 25 minutes to complete all surveys. There was a 5-point Likert-type scale with
response options ranging from “not at all true” to “extremely true” (Zumbrunn et al., 2014, p.
667). The instructors’ questionnaire rated students on a 5-point Likert scale from “does not
apply” to “certainly applies” and was a version of the Teacher Rating Scale of School
Adjustment. Additionally, the instructors were asked to reveal grades for the students’ mid-point
through the semester. Each instructor taught two sections of the class with approximately 25 to
30 students for each section and were given department store gift cards for their participation in
the study (Zumbrunn et al., 2014).
In the qualitative portion of Zumbrunn et al. (2014) study, the students were selected
from eight of the classes representing all four of the instructors. The sample of students included
two females and one male from each level, the low-belonging level and high-belonging level.
The students now ranged in academic level from sophomore to senior and were either sociology
majors or education majors, but the class was only required for half of the students. The
interviews were conducted by Zumbrunn and McKim over a 2-week period following the
quantitative phase, were tape-recorded for later transcription, and lasted 20 to 30 minutes. The
qualitative questions focused on belongingness in the classroom and the support of the instructor.
Sample questions were
Describe your experience in this class? In what ways do you feel that you do or don’t fit
in? What does it mean ‘to belong’ in the classroom? In what ways do you feel that you

3
The belongingness scale is the same PSSM scale originally use with middle school students developed by
Goodenow (1993).
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 54
are or are not supported? Describe your experiences with your instructor in this class.
What instructional practices are used that are supportive? What instructional practices are
used that are not particularly supportive? (Zumbrunn et al., 2014, p. 680).
In the quantitative analysis, the responses were bivariate correlated between
belonging and engagement/achievement. The researchers used Mplus software to fit the
data into the hypothesized models to establish parameters and structure. Therefore,
“belonging, self-efficacy and task value were placed on the same level as predictor of
engagement” (Zumbrunn et al., 2014, p. 669). Two models were created to represent the
links: Model 1 had supportive classroom environment to belonging, then self-efficacy
and Model 2 had task value linked to engagement then achievement. In the qualitative
analysis, the students were matched with their quantitative data and all identifiers were
removed. The interview transcriptions were read for similarities among the participants
and categorized into themes (Zumbrunn et al., 2014).
Quantitatively, Zumbrunn et al. (2014) suggest instructors’ academic and social
support is a likely predictor of belonging, and this belonging leads to self-efficacy, which
leads to task value. Students who responded to their instructor felt supported and
indicated they had higher self-efficacy, task value and engagement in the classroom.
There was a strong correlation between the students’ higher belonging score and feeling
about the instructor. There was also a strong link between student engagement and higher
grades in the course.
The themes in the qualitative analysis helped Zumbrunn et al. (2014) better
understand the quantitative data. They found common themes of perceptions, belonging,
peer and instructor acceptance and support. In the students’ perceptions of belonging, the
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 55
subcategories were interpersonal (peers and instructor), academic and task value. In the
perceptions of peer acceptance and support, the sub-categories indicated were value,
respect, similarities, difference and comfort. The last theme, perception of the instructor
acceptance and support, revealed investment, respect, setting tone, availability, approachable and
encouraging group interaction. The students with higher academic scores had higher task value
scores and belonging was not directly linked to engagement. The students perceived the
instructors provided a supportive classroom environment, and the major differences in belonging
appeared to be related to peer interactions. Students in the low-belonging group reported feeling
disrespected and uncomfortable in the classroom around their peers (Zumbrunn et al., 2014).
Morrow and Ackermann (2012) conducted a study with the goal of assessing sense of
belonging and motivation in predicting intention to persist in college and the retention of
students from their first to second year. Morrow and Ackermann hypothesized that the levels of
motivational attitudes (intrinsic value, instrumental value, personal development, external
pressure and opinion) and the levels of sense of belonging (peer support, faculty support and
classroom comfort) related to the students’ intention to persist to the second year.
To find the sample for this study, Morrow and Ackermann (2012) sent emails to 960 first-
year undergraduate students who had previously filled out surveys during their first-year
experience. A total of 156 (16% response rate) students ultimately completed the online survey
during the summer following their first year of college. The majority of students were either
Caucasian (51%) or Black/African American (30.2%). The ages of the respondents were between
18 and 23. There were 114 females and 45 males and 43% of them lived with their parents
(Morrow & Ackermann, 2012, p. 485).
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 56
There were two different scales used for this study: The Sense of Belonging Scale
and the Academic Attitudes Scale, plus specific questions on persistence and retention.
Morrow and Ackermann (2012) used a 26-item Sense of Belonging Scale with four
subscales: perceived peer support, perceived classroom comfort, perceived isolation, and
perceived faculty support (p. 485). The 5-point rating scale had response options ranging
from 1-completely untrue to 5-completely true. In the Academic Attitudes Scale, there
were 29-items with six subscales: intrinsic value, instrumental value, personal
development, external pressure, social interest and no better options (p. 485). This scale
used seven response options ranging from 1-strongly disagree to 7-strongly agree. The
survey questions intended to measure persistence and retention used a 6-poing Likert
scale (1-strongly disagree and 6-strongly agree) and the second-year enrollment records
were obtained to verify university enrollment for the second year (Morrow &
Ackermann, 2012).
The researchers conducted frequencies on the data to find outlying responses and
found faculty support and peer support were significant. The students who perceived
peer support were more likely to return for their second year. Motivational attitudes and
intention to persist/retention revealed a significant response of having no better option as
to why respondents intended to obtain a degree. Personal development was found to be a
significant predictor of motivation to attend the university in the second year. Ultimately,
peer support and personal development were the most significant predictors for second-
year retention. The researchers suggest the more intrinsic attitude in students’ motivation
increased, the more likely they were to return for the second semester (Morrow &
Ackermann, 2012).
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 57
Jones (2010) conducted a study to understand the meaning of relationships within groups.
The researcher looked at the experiences students had in learning groups as participants and
explored the complexity of the varied settings students encountered inside and outside higher
education. Jones defined two affinity groups to investigate: affinities outside higher education
plus affinities with institutional identity. The qualitative study selected students participating in a
4-year cohort. The researchers used preexisting friendship in affinity groups specifically targeted
to participate in the study. The students met in June at the end of their first academic year. All the
participants knew each other previously, and the focus groups were intentional to understand
group norms. The students felt comfortable engaging in unobstructed spontaneous conversation
guided by the prompts given by the facilitator. The students were asked open-ended questions,
shown photos and asked to share their interpretations. The questions asked with the photo
images were “What is going on? What is being depicted? How do these depictions compare with
your own experiences?” (Jones, 2010, p. 25). The focus group was also asked to compare the
institution to how it was portrayed in the images and asked to reflect on their overall experiences
at the institution.
Jones’s (2010) approach to the analysis was biographical, making sure to allow
participants to express their ideas and thoughts in their own words and their own interpretations
of their experiences. Jones looked for common group norms, values, perspectives, education
experiences, decision-making processes and any predispositions to family member experiences.
Jones found each student had varied experiences with family support, access to education and
identity. The pictures of the university had multiple meanings for each student. They
specifically responded, “a bit childish,” “a bit gloomy” and “it doesn’t look like a massive
university” (Jones, 2010, p. 32). Regarding affinities outside of higher education, one student
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 58
suggested her brother was really the one to push her to pursue higher education after her
father left the family. A different student, who was a returning student with older
children, chose college to further her career prospects, but did not tell her family she had
returned to college until 6 weeks after courses started. Due to her family interactions,
this student had self-doubt as to whether she was going to finish university at all. This
suggested to Jones the student had a sense of determination and wanted to pass this on to
her own children. In terms of the affinities and institutional identity, the students
appeared to not lack aspirations. The overall emotional experiences were for the student
to better themselves and build self-confidence.
First-year Experience
Instituted in several universities throughout the United States are first-year
experience courses for incoming freshmen. This next section outlines how sense of
belonging relates to the new student or, as academics call it, the first-year experience.
These empirical studies give an overview on how the first-year experience is perceived to
help with students’ sense of belonging. Some students felt more comfortable engaging
with students their own age (Yorke, 2016). Other major themes are how sense of
belonging relates to group work and perceived academic success (Marshall, Zhou,
Garvan & Wiebe, 2012; Masika & Jones, 2016).
Marshall et al. (2012) conducted a 2-year mixed-methods study to help
understand first-year undergraduates in an academic literacy course (ALC) and factors
affecting their sense of belonging. Students who took the ALC class were suspected of
not feeling part of the academic community, so researchers wanted to understand micro
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 59
and macro levels, and “in which context do ALC students perceive (or not) a sense of
belonging?” (Marshall et al., 2012, p. 134).
This research took place at Pacific Coast University in Vancouver, British Columbia,
Canada. This research was conducted for 2 years, between spring 2007 and fall 2009. This
mixed-methods study analyzed survey responses, conducted interviews and evaluated writing
samples of narrative life events. Out of the ALC class, 419 students took the optional online pre-
course survey during a lab in the second class, and, ultimately, only 121 students responded to
both pre-course and post-course surveys. The post-course survey was given 13 weeks later in the
final ALC class. The participants who responded to the survey had a variety of ethnic
backgrounds: 57% Chinese, then 21% Korean or Japanese, 7% Canadian Caucasian, 10% First
Nations, 8% European, 2% Latin American and 2% African. The average age of the survey
respondents was 19.8 years, and 75% of the participants responded during their first semester in
ALC course. The language backgrounds were cited as 89% speaking languages other than
English and 66% could write in other languages (Marshall et al., 2012, p. 122).
The survey and the interviews allowed Marshall et al. (2012) to use a cross-section in-
depth analysis. There were open-ended responses in the pre-course survey and several yes or no
questions. Many of the open-ended responses started with “I like the school, and most
importantly because…” (Marshall et al., 2012, p. 125). In the survey responses, the researchers
looked for areas of sense of belonging changing over time. Not all the students answered all the
follow-up questions on the surveys; out of the 121 respondents, only 53 answered the follow-up
questions. Based on the 53 respondents, the researchers determined 58% described reasons for
their sense of belonging, 27% described their lack of sense of belonging and 15% stated a place
between belonging and lack of belonging (Marshall et al., 2012). A reason students did not feel a
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 60
sense of belonging was they had few friends and wrote about how difficult it was to make
friends in the large lecture classes. For some respondents, the idea of sense of belonging
did not occur to them, but there was a sense of isolation at a big school and new
environment. The students might not have felt a sense of belonging at the beginning of
the survey, but their own sense of belonging might have changed over the brief time
between pre- and post-surveys (Marshall et al., 2012).
Marshall et al. (2012) combined analysis of the interviews by looking for themes
in the interviews and the writing samples. Out of the 121 completed online responses, 14
interviewees were selected, with six participants providing writing samples. The three
themes were belonging to the university (as a sense of pride, maintaining academic
requirements), importance of relationship with faculty (advisors) and friends, and finding
a place on campus. The researchers categorized finding a place on a large campus as a
spatial aspect, rather than an emotional aspect. In the writing samples, the students
provided a narrative reflection of the end-of-course portfolios and a reflection of a major
life event. In these writings, the students saw university sense of belonging through a
variety of perspectives. The students revealed they did not necessarily have feelings of
not belonging to the university, but they saw belonging as part of being able to keep up
with the academic workload. Their writing samples revealed the transition from living at
home to living on campus was difficult at first, but, after a short transition, they were
adjusting to the university environment (Marshall et al., 2012).
Overall, Marshall et al. (2012) suggest sense of belonging appeared in students’
lives in both macro and micro levels, and participants’ responses changed at different
data-gathering points. This research looked specifically at students taking ALC, but
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 61
results revealed no significant difference among language majority and language minority
students. Results showed sense of belonging appeared in academic success (the course
was too demanding, or student was not performing well) and campus environment (the courses
were too big in large lecture halls). Students did not feel they could reach out to the instructor or
meet peers in the class. Narrowed even further, the factors contributing to this group’s sense of
belonging were interaction with peers, making friends, living in residence, and a manageable
course load (Marshall et al., 2012).
Masika and Jones (2016) conducted a qualitative study to examine the early degree
experiences of business management students and their response to the What Works Initiative in
a university in the south of England. The What Works Initiative was designed to enhance sense
of belonging, engagement and academic success. The intervention was to encourage students to
use online learning resources linked to personal development plans, group activities,
collaborative learning and for students to reflect on their own learning process. The researchers
investigated belonging and engagement applying Wenger’s social theory of learning, which is a
multi-dimensional learning theory that includes community engagement, practice, meaning and
identity (Masika & Jones, 2016, p. 139).
Masika and Jones’s (2016) study had 259 first-year full-time business management
students enrolled in a module designed to develop their academic and employability skills during
2013 and 2014. The students were exposed to recruitment information for the study by email
and were encouraged to volunteer for the study by the course tutors during face-to-face
interactions. The students self-selected into the study by emailing their interest. The ages of the
participants were between 18 and 21. Participants included international students from the
European Union and the United Kingdom. The intervention consisted of mostly online
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 62
interactive communication where the students created a blog, formal and informal
activities, a Facebook page, an online student folio and an online learning journal to
record their individual experiences. The students were divided into two focus groups
interviewed at two separate stages: the middle of the fall term and again at the end of the
second term during final exam week. The semi-structured interviews for the focus group
discussions were conducted for 90 minutes and were designed to help uncover
perceptions of positive and negative experiences of belonging and engagement during the
students’ involvement in the first year in the What Works Initiative (Masika & Jones,
2016).
In Masika and Jones’s (2016) analysis, students found higher confidence in
engagement and an increased sense of belonging due to the group work. The respondents
revealed the team projects encouraged them to give their opinions, build relationships and
have a sense of confidence with the material. In addition, the researchers suggest the
students voluntarily used Facebook to create a support group and exchanged supportive
emails with each other. The Facebook page was the students’ idea and creation. Although
Facebook was not used in the study as a measurement of analysis, the students specifically
mentioned Facebook as a component that affected the continuous positive online
communication (Masika & Jones, 2016).
Masika and Jones (2016) found students thought reflecting on their own learning was
important to their success and sense of belonging. Some students were hesitant to engage in
the reflective writing due to the difficulty of constructing meaning from the activities.
Other group members were often delayed in completing the group work. Some students
suggested there was a lack of trust and confidence in maintaining privacy online and that
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 63
learning to navigate group dynamics in online activities was difficult. However, the students
constructed meaning about their own identities when learning with others, when working in
groups, face-to-face and through frequent online communication. Overall, the students
understood the importance of peer communities and their contribution to their own collaboration,
engagement practices, identity development and success in the course (Masika & Jones, 2016).
Yorke (2016) conducted a pilot study to develop an instrument to use in institutions relating
three common university constructions: belongingness, engagement and self-confidence. The
instrument developed also needed to be a short survey to potentially be used during a student’s
program to provide a longitudinal perspective. The researchers used standard surveys from the
NSSE from the USA and the Australasian Survey of Student Engagement from the Australian
Council of Education Research and the Higher Education Academy piloted in the UK (Yorke,
2016). The quantitative survey was administered at 13 institutions with first-year students
towards the end of their first term in 2013. The students had the option of completing the survey
online or in hard copy. The hard-copy responses were electronically scanned and had a higher
response rate with 2,841 responses. The second administration of the survey was given to 12 of
the original 13 institutions in the spring of 2014 with 2,696 responses, again mostly hard-copy
responses.
Yorke (2016) compared demographic groups based on gender, age (below the age of 20
versus over the age of 20), first-generation college student, self-declared student with a disability,
White British category or other sub-group, UK resident and whether the student had to cope with
“adverse circumstances” (p. 160), which related to employment, dependents, travel to school and
location areas to study. A quasi-benchmarking technique was used to look at the different
populations, activities and academic majors presented in the specific institution being analyzed.
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 64
Yorke (2016) suggests students under the age of 20 were less likely to engage
with older peers. However, students over the age of 20 had more self-confidence than
their younger peers. First-generation students had less confidence than students who had
family members with experience in higher education. Students who entered the
universities from outside of the UK tended to have more confidence. Students of minority
groups had a lower sense of belongingness than the White British students. Students with
fewer adverse circumstances tended to have a stronger sense of belonging and self-
confidence than peers with more difficulties to overcome (Yorke, 2016).
Minoritized Students’ Sense of Belonging
Many institutions enroll traditionally marginalized students and struggle to create
a sense of belonging for them. The studies in this section outline students considered
traditionally marginalized in relation to the variety of areas in which they find a sense of
belonging in college. These researchers studied Latinx groups, African American
students, Black gay men, nontraditional students and compared some groups to White
students.
Hurtado and Carter (1997) looked at Tinto’s (1993) classic theoretical model in
relation to Latino students. Hurtado and Carter hypothesized that the mainstream
organizational systems to help promote retention and transition to college are not as
successful for Latino students. Hurtado and Carter conducted a study with surveys
mailed to 935 students’ homes in summer 1991, and a second round mailed out to the
students who did not respond 2 weeks later. In 1993, 493 follow-up surveys were sent to
students who completed the first survey, with follow-up postcards at 2 and 4 weeks later.
Then, phone calls were made to the nonresponsive students who answered the first
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 65
survey. The final sample consisted of 272 students (58.1% female and 41.9 % male) attending
127 colleges. Of these students, 43.4% were Chicanos, 22.4 % were Puerto Ricans, and 34.2%
were other Latinos, including Cubans and Central and South Americans (Hurtado & Carter,
1997, p. 333).
Hurtado and Carter (1997) used national data sources: The National Survey of Hispanic
Students, developed as a comprehensive longitudinal of college student experiences and the
Student Descriptive Questionnaire from the SAT examination data. The survey items included
sense of belonging on campus, academic self-concept, cognitive mapping, managing resources,
separation and maintenance of family ties, experienced discrimination-exclusion, and
perceptions of campus racial-ethnic tension (Hurtado & Carter, 1997). The authors completed the
analysis in a computer program, whereby the matrix reveled several measures of memberships in
student organization and a way for other dichotomous variables to emerge. Specifically, sense of
belonging was seen as constructed from how the student views academic activity contributions
and participation in membership in student organizations. Analysis was conducted on the
different student perceptions from second year for upper division and lower division classes. In
the evaluation process, the researchers looked at direct and indirect effects on ease of transition,
hostile climate, sense of belonging, gender, and academic self-concept (Hurtado & Carter, 1997).
Under the sense of belonging and academic activities, Hurtado and Carter (1997) suggest
students who reported tutoring other students had a relatively high sense of belonging. And
students’ GPA in the second and third years of college were not significantly associated with
students’ sense of belonging. For Latino students, this suggest there is not a sense of belonging
based on their academic performance. Two other areas were not found to be associated with
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 66
Latino students’ sense of belonging: working on research projects, neither with faculty
members nor independently, and having been a guest in a professor’s home (Hurtado &
Carter, 1997).
For sense of belonging and participation in student organizations, the researchers
suggest most respondents were extremely active in student organizations in high school
but were less likely to continue participating in college (Hurtado & Carter, 1997). They
found students who joined a sorority, or a fraternity had a significantly stronger sense of
belonging than non-members. However, this appeared true only for students who joined
before their second year, as those who joined after their second year had different
experiences. They also looked at ethnic student organizations, whereby non-member and
member students showed no significant difference over the years in their sense of
belonging. However, there was a difference for students who had experienced racial-
ethnic tensions on campus. Students who experienced these tensions felt a higher sense
of community and cultural identity in their respective groups (Hurtado & Carter, 1997).
The data show the transition to the college experience had a direct effect on the
perception of hostile climate (Hurtado & Carter, 1997). The institution’s selectivity had a
direct negative impact on students’ transition, which suggested difficulty in the transition
increased with the institution’s selectivity. Latinos were more likely to feel part of the
campus community if they felt racial tension. Hurtado and Carter (1997) suggested
Latino students fared better if they maintained connections to their external communities
as they attended college. They also found Latino students’ participation in the on-campus
community did not solely constitute their sense of belonging at the institution, as it did
for other racial-ethnic groups (Hurtado & Carter, 1997).
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 67
Strayhorn (2008) also studied Hispanic and Black college students’ sense of belonging
while using Tinto’s (2013) theoretical model on student departure. Strayhorn looked at the
effects of relationships on the college experience for Latino students and their perceived sense of
belonging as compared to a sample of White students. Specifically, this study sought to identify
the relationship between Latino students’ academic and social experiences while attending 4-year
universities and how these experiences affected their sense of belonging as compared to White
students. The sample consisted of 289 Latino students and 300 White students who attended a 4-
year institution during 2004-2005 and answered the College Student Experience Questionnaire
distributed by Indiana University (Strayhorn, 2008).
4

Strayhorn’s (2008) quantitative study measured sense of alienation and sense of
belonging on a 7-point scale: “1 (competitive, uninvolved, sense of alienation) to 7 (friendly,
supportive, sense of belonging)” (p. 309). Other areas the researcher controlled for were parents’
level of education (responses were self-reported), first-generation college student, age and
gender. In addition, the academic variables were “year in school, grades, transfer status, time
spent studying, and working with a faculty member on research. Social variables include:
involvement in clubs and organizations, interactions with diverse peers, working on campus,
working off campus, and living on campus” (Strayhorn, 2008, p. 309).
Strayhorn’s (2008) approach to the data had limitations, in that the data were self-
reported by individual students. The data were collected from over 500 colleges in a national
survey and the questions were not focused on sense of belonging. A hierarchical regression was
used to statistically calculate patterns, and independent variables were identified in advance of
the calculation. Strayhorn suggests the major predictor of sense of belonging for both Latino and

4
The College Student Experience Questionnaire closed its operation in 2014 and it is now suggested to use the
NSSE or the Beginning College Survey of Student Engagement (Strayhorn, 2008).
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 68
White students were time spent studying, interaction with diverse peers and grades.
Latinos saw time spent studying as more of a positive effect than grades. This led the
researcher to conclude that low-achieving Latinos were less likely to feel a sense of
belonging and not persist while White students found time spent studying negatively
affected their ability to engage in activities on campus (Strayhorn, 2008). The research
suggested a positive benefit to Latinos in having a diverse set of peers and an overall
positive interaction with peers on campus. Living on campus had no influence in their
sense of belonging. Narrowed down, the academic variables and social variables were
different between Latinos and White students (Strayhorn, 2008).
Hausmann Ye, Schofield, and Woods (2009)examined whether sense of belonging
should be considered in college students’ persistence. This study looked specifically at
African American students and White students with a common intervention designed for
all students. Basically, will a common intervention designed for all students be good for
both White and African American students? (Hausmann et al., 2009). The study took
place on a mostly White mid-Atlantic university with “77% White students and 8%
African American students, 12% other race/ethnicity, and 3% unknown race/ethnicity”
(Hausmann et al., 2009, p. 654). All participants were first-year full-time students. This
quantitative study had three surveys mailed to the students: survey 1 at the beginning of
the fall semester, survey 2 was for the students who remained at the university for the
second semester and were asked to complete the survey at the beginning of the spring
semester, and survey 3 was administered end of the spring semester. Over the time
period the surveys were distributed, nine students dropped out of the university, which
left the number of students who participated in all three surveys at 356 (Hausmann et al.,
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 69
2009). After the students filled out survey 1, they were randomly assigned into groups with an
even distribution of African American and White students in each group. There were two control
groups and one experimental group. The experimental group was considered to be the enhanced
sense of belonging group, where the sense of belonging intervention was applied. The enhanced
sense of belonging intervention given to the experimental group consisted of communication
from the provost or vice-provost for student affairs. The written communication emphasized the
student as a valued member of the university community. During the intervention, the students
also received gifts with the university logo. Those in the control group received gifts at the same
time, but their gifts did not have identifying colors or insignia associated with the university.
The researchers hypothesized the university logo gifts would increase connection to the
university and thereby increase students’ sense of belonging. The written communication and
gifts were sent seven times during the study, the first one directly after the first survey and the
rest on average every 3 to 5 weeks (Hausmann et al., 2009).
The study used Bollen and Hoyles’s 3-item sense of belonging subscale to measure sense
of belonging (Hausmann et al., 2009). Hausmann et al. (2009) used a confirmatory factor
analysis to verify the study was measured evenly for both African American and White students.
A 5-point Likert scale of response options ranging from 1=strongly disagree to 5= strongly agree
was used in the survey. The survey consisted of questions centered on the student’s financial
difficulty, social and academic integration, goal commitments, intention to persist, academic
development, sense of belonging, institutional commitment, interactions with peers, interaction
with faculty, faculty concerns and encouragement of family and friends. The researchers had
access to the participants’ university records on GPA and persistence/retention to the next
semester (Hausmann et al., 2009).
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Results revealed no gender difference on persistence (Hausmann et al., 2009).
There was no difference in sense of belonging prior to the intervention between the
African American and White students analyzed through the first survey. However, after
the intervention, the White students in the enhanced sense of belonging and the gift
control group had a much higher sense of belonging at the end of the study than those in
the no gift control group. The African American students had no difference in sense of
belonging in either the enhanced sense of belonging or the gift control group (Hausmann
et al., 2009).
Findings suggest that most of the effects of the intervention were positively
correlated to interaction to peers and academic development (Hausmann et al., 2009).
The study suggests sense of belonging affects students’ institutional commitment for both
African American and White students. Out of all areas in the survey cover, the major
difference between African American students and White students was financial difficulty
and the order of influences on the students’ intent to persist. Financial difficulty had an
effect on African Americans but not on White students. For the White students, the intent
to persist came from encouragement from family and friends, institutional commitment,
GPA, goal commitments, academic development, sense of belonging, and the
intervention. For African American students, the largest effect on actual persistence was
from GPA, followed by intentions to persist, encouragement from family and friends,
institutional commitment, goal commitments and sense of belonging (Hausmann et al.,
2009, p. 665). In addition, Hausmann et al. suggests students who were more connected
to their home life had a lower sense of belonging in their new university life.
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 71
Museus et al. (2017) investigated campus environment impact on sense of belonging
among White and students of color. The specific research question asked whether there were
differences between culturally engaging campus environment and sense of belonging for White
and students of color. This quantitative study collected survey data at an urban public research
university located on the east coast. The survey was an electronic version of the Culturally
Engaging Campus Environments (CECE) 4-year college survey from the National Institute for
Transformation and Equity sent via email to all undergraduates (Museus et al., 2017).
There was an overall 7% response rate to the questionnaire, for a total of 1,005 student
responses (Museus et al., 2017). Some students did not identify their race, so they were
eliminated from the data set. The final sample consisted of 870 students: 53% women, 44%
men, 3% non-responding or identified as another gender, 59% White, 19% Asian American, 12%
Latino, 8% Black, 3% multiracial, 2% Native American and less than 1% Pacific Islander. The
researchers collected household income to determine SES: 33% had an annual income over
$90,000. The average age of the participants was 22, all had completed 41 to 50 college credits
in the spring semester when data were collected, and all had an average course load of 13 credits
taken each semester (Museus et al., 2017, p. 5). The survey asked for parent education, parent
income, and high school GPA. Also 29 survey items measured the nine CECE indicators, and the
survey included the Sense of Belonging Scale (Museus et al., 2017, p. 6).
The dependent variables on sense of belonging were latent variables constructed using
three items measuring students’ sense of belonging to their campus cultures: “The extent to
which students (a) see themselves as part of the campus community; (b) feel that they belong on
campus; and (c) feel a strong sense of connection to the campus community” (Museus et al.,
2017, p. 7). Other key variables were culturally familiarity, culturally relevant knowledge,
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 72
cultural community services, cross-cultural engagement, cultural validation, collectivist
cultural orientation, humanized educational, proactive philosophies and holistic support.
Holistic support used such information as (a) if I need support, I know a person on
campus who I can trust to give me that support; (b) if I have a problem, I know a person
on campus who I can trust to help me solve that problem; and (c) if I need information, I
know a person on campus who I can trust to give me the information I need” (Museus et
al., 2017, p. 8).
The survey used a 5-point Likert scale from 1-strongly disagree to 5-strongly agree.
Museus et al. (2017) conducted bivariate correlations, a regression analysis and a
post-hoc analysis. The researchers realized the information should not be generalized
because all data came from one campus. The results varied widely, but, for purposes of
this section, the focus is on results pertaining to sense of belonging. The sense of
belonging score was slightly higher for White students than for students of color. The
White students also were most culturally familiar and correlated most with sense of
belonging. The researcher suggested this was because 63% of the student body was
White. The findings also suggested cultural orientation, cultural identity and holistic
support might positively affect all students’ sense of belonging, simply because the
institution had proactive philosophies. This also added to the indication for students of
color that, in asking about their cultural engagement and campus environments, their
campus cared about them (Museus et al., 2017).
Strayhorn, Blakewood, and Devita (2008) set out to answer two questions on Black gay
men: (a) How did they negotiated their college destination decisions? (b) What factors did they
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 73
perceive as critical to their success in college? This study drew on national data from White and
historically Black colleges and universities in the U.S. for gay men of color (Strayhorn, 2012).
5

This study utilized a constructivist qualitative approach and collected data during semi-
structured one-on-one interviews. The seven participants were recruited from a variety of areas
starting with presidents of gay student alliances on colleges campus (Strayhorn et al., 2008). The
students who met the sampling criterion where contacted by the president of the gay student
alliance and students were recruited online through gay networking sites (Strayhorn, 2012). The
interview questionnaires were available online and students who wanted to participate in the
face-to face interviews where contacted.
Strayhorn et al. (2008) conducted a three-stage analysis process that started with reading
the transcripts from the interviews, preparing a general summary and looking for common
patterns. Then codes and grouping categories were established. Next, a sample list of categories
was established as themes. The closely related themes were collapsed, and independent themes
were retained for interpretation (Strayhorn, 2012). The first major theme that emerged was gay
men of color had a compelling need to belong. The participants went through a decision process
as to if they were to “come out” to peers and professors or “conceal” their sexual identity
(Strayhorn, 2012, p.43). The findings revealed the students needed to negotiate new
relationships and seek out new friends who would accept their sexual identity. These participates
revealed they encountered negative beliefs from both peers and from family members, and the
actual spaces of dorms, classrooms, restrooms or office hours were unwelcoming, uncomfortable
and unsupportive (Strayhorn, 2012). This study also found the student organizations like

5
While the study on Black gay men was completed by Strayhorn, Blakewood and DeVita (2008), Strayhorn writes
extensively about this study in his 2012 book entitled College Students’ Sense of Belonging: A key to educational
success for all students. Therefore, both Strayhorn et al. (2008) and Strayhorn (2012) are cited.
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 74
fraternities or local bars had explicit actions of physical threats. Strayhorn (2012) concluded that
gay Black men did not feel safe, which affected their overall sense of belonging to the university.
Another theme that emerged in Strayhorn et al.’s (2008) study was the idea of satisfaction
of belonging. Participants felt most satisfied with taking part in gay pride events and being
involved in ethnic student organizations (Strayhorn, 2012). Prayer was also present in the
satisfaction of belonging; while 60% reported taking part in prayer, only 34% reported actually
attending church (Strayhorn, 2012). It appears Black gay men seek “fictive kin,” allies on whom
they can rely for social, spiritual, psychological and financial support (Strayhorn, 2012, p. 46).
The last theme Strayhorn (2012) found was sense of self and esteem. The participants felt better
about themselves once they had a sense of mattering or belonging to others: family members,
boyfriends, fictive kin or confidants (Strayhorn et al., 2008).
Commuter Students and Sense of Belonging
Lastly, in this section on sense of belonging, Pokorny, Holley, and Kane (2017)
looked at students who remained at home during college and their experiences with sense
of belonging. The research question asked about the experiences of commuter students in
the relation to academic achievement and sense of belonging while on the college
campus.
Pokorny et al. (2017) specifically interviewed three students in a UK higher
education institution. The researchers defined the type of university as either research
intensive (pre-1992) or newer vocational university (post-1992). The students were
recruited from an initial questionnaire requesting volunteer students who lived at home.
Two female students were from a post-1992 institution: one married (age 27) living at
home with a husband with Brazilian roots and the other single (age 18) living with
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 75
African/Gambian parents and siblings. The other participant was a single Asian male (age 19) at
a pre-1992 institution living at home with parents and siblings.
Pokorny et al. (2017) used narrative stories from the students to collect data, specifically
cited was Wengraf’s 2001, 2004 Biographic Narrative Interpretive Method. The interview
questions were framed similarly to this sample question: “I would like you to tell me about the
events in your life when you felt that you really belonged and did not belong. This might include
your university experiences, or not” (Pokorny et al., 2017, p. 547). In the interview, the
interviewer asked follow-up question to have the participant elaborate on their response by
reflecting back, and the interviewer used key words from the participants own response. The
interviews were transcribed and analyzed for key areas of the reflection on the home/university
transition. Then, an interpretive panel of three co-researchers looked at the data in a cross-case
analysis to help illustrate key details of the subjects’ responses.
Pokorny et al. (2017) used a cross-case analysis of the students’ challenges by looking at
belonging and family, belonging and friendships/community and belonging and ethnic
boundaries. The pre-1992 student revealed he was often the only minority in his classes, and his
interactions with other students made it clear he was from an economically poor background.
This student had a sister in medical school, referred to her getting more emotional and financial
support from his family and referred to his home life several times during the interview. These
responses led the researchers to believe he lacked a sense of belonging both at home and at the
university. However, it was revealed that he rejected his background as a barrier to future
opportunities and continued to engage with students he considered to be of a higher social class.
He sometimes felt alienated based on not fitting in with the Chinese students who clustered
together (Pokorny et al., 2017).
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 76
The two female participants in the post-1992 university felt they were limited in
their selection of university due to not understanding the prerequisites and the home
environment’s influencing on their choice of university. The 27-year-old woman living
with her husband referred to herself as a “mature student” (Pokorny el al., 2017, p. 549).
She decided to go to the university based on the location, degree purpose and not for peer
interaction or prestige. She perceived her peers as less interesting in academic
achievement than herself, and she felt more focused than younger girls. This student had
no close friends, though perhaps she was at the wrong university and was unhappy with
her decision to pursue her degree (Pokorny et al., 2017).
The other post-1992 participant was an 18-year-old female with African/Gambian
parents. According to the responses, she was very self-assured, articulate and had very
clear views on her career plan and academic journey. She came from a self-identified
inner-city part of London, where she participated in gifted and talented programs to
encourage her to pursue higher education. Her brother attended the same institution, her
friends from secondary school were not pursing higher education, and she felt her
institution was of lower status than she was qualified to attend. She felt her parents were
encouraging her to cultivate more independence and go out with friends socially. She
saw her home life and university lives as intertwined. She believed she was integrated
and comfortable in her multi-cultural environment and working in groups with a variety
of students (Pokorny et al., 2017).
In summary, this section’s themes contribute to students’ sense of belonging in higher
education. The major themes are peers, academic achievement, faculty, family support and the
university environment. Peers appear to be the most significant factor, as students need peer
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 77
support in the form of working in groups, helping with academics, and establishing peer
communities (Marshall et al., 2012; Masika & Jones, 2016; Morrow & Ackermann, 2012;
Pokorny et al., 2017; Strayhorn, 2008, 2012; Yorke, 2016; Zumbrunn et al., 2014). Keeping up
academic requirements and academic activities also contribute to sense of belonging (Hurtado &
Carter, 1997; Marshall et al., 2012; Pokorny et al., 2017; Strayhorn, 2008; Zumbrunn et al.,
2014). Also important are relationships and interaction with faculty (Marshall et al., 2012;
Morrow & Ackermann, 2012; Zumbrunn et al., 2014) as well as family support inside the
classroom and encouragement to persist in college (Hausmann et al, 2009; Jones, 2010).
A place on campus to convene and meet friends is important to students’ sense of
belonging (Marshall et al., 2012; Strayhorn, 2012), as is the environment the instructor creates in
the classroom (Zumbrunn et al., 2014). It is common for universities to give out gifts at
university events, and it appears institutional gifts have a strong impact on White students but not
on African American students (Hausmann et al., 2009). Studies also concluded that African
American students were strongly affected by GPA to persist (Hausmann et al., 2009). For Latino
students, not living on campus does not have an effect on sense of belonging (Strayhorn, 2008),
yet lack of friends may (Marshall et al., 2012; Strayhorn, 2012). Lastly, students who believe the
college campus is sensitive to their culture and identity feel a great sense of belonging (Museus
et al., 2017; Strayhorn, 2012).
Latinx in Higher Education
Hurtado, Carter and Spuler (1996) conducted a study to understand factors that affected
Latino student adjustment to college life. The researchers used national data in order to
understand the transitional experiences of Latino students in the first year of college.
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 78
The data sources used by Hurtado et al. (1996) focused on Latino college students who
were top PSAT achievers and were identified through a national scholarship award. The Latino
students attend a wide variety of institutions and were students who had the potential to
demonstrate academic success. This study focused on a cohort of Latino students who entered
college in 1991. The information was pulled from the Student Descriptive Questionnaire (SDQ)
administered through the SAT at the time of SAT test registration. The students were identified
through the SDQ and the National Survey of Hispanic Students (NSHS) was sent out to home
addresses before the start of the 1991 fall semester. Reminder cards were sent out and non-
respondents received an additional survey. Three different efforts with follow up surveys, post
cards and phone calls were used to yield a higher response rate (Hurtado, et al., 1996).
In addition to the NSHS the students were sent the Student Adaptation to College
Questionnaire (SACQ) to measure how well students adapted to the college experience. The
SACQ measured academic adjustment, social adjustment, personal-emotional adjustment and
attachment (Hurtado et al., 1996, p. 141). The SACQ was administered to the incoming fall
1991 Latino students attending a variety of 4-year institutions. The response rate was 49% and
the survey data was lined to the U.S. Department of Education Integrated Postsecondary
Education Data Systems (IPEDS) to yield a 60% response rate. The sample included 203
students who had taken the NSHS, the SDQ and the SACQ. There were 59% female and
identified mostly as Chicanos with Puerto Ricans, Cuban, Central and South Americans
represented. Sixty three percent of the students in the study attended private 4-year institutions
and the students in this study had A average in high school (Hurtado et al., 1996).
Hurtado et al. (1996) analysis revealed that the none of the students’ background
characteristic were significantly related to college adjustment. The larger college institutions had
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 79
a higher effect on the social adjustment and attachment as well as students who attended private
colleges. Students who attended college with higher Hispanic enrollment reported an ease in
academic adjustment their second year. Students who attended institutions with student-centered
faculty had a higher academic adjustment. Hurtado et al (1996) suggest that the student
behaviors the first year in managing resources, maintaining family support and the time spent
with friends had a positive effect on the personal-emotional adjustment the second year. In
addition, advisors and upper classmen had a positive influence on student adjustment by helping
the students feel comfortable in the college environment. The study further suggests that those
student who sought help “Some students may face continuing social adjustment problems despite
seeking help in the first year; in fact, these students may be more adjusted than they would have
been if they had not sought help at all” (Hurtado et al., 1996, p. 148). The open-ended responses
were analyzed they found that many of the students were homesick, they had difficulty finding a
support system when stressed out. Latino students stated difficulty with time management and
the students recognized the campus climate for diversity and ethnic/cultural adjustment. The
support of family is a vital factor in the transition process to college. Most Latinos are likely to
have difficulties adjusting to college if there is a perceived campus climate that they don’t fit in.
Academic adjustment to college was not linked to precollege indicators but “becoming
accustomed in the first year to the amount and level of school work, managing resources (time,
schedules and finances), and the structural diversity of the institution are more important to
academic adjustment” (Hurtado et al., 1996, p. 153).
Yosso, Smith, Ceja, and Solórzano (2009) explored critical race theory to by investigating
three different racial microaggressions: interpersonal microaggressions, racial jokes and
institutional microaggressions. The researchers challenged areas of Tinto’s (1993) model which
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 80
were the three stages of passage (separation, transition and incorporation) by taking into
consideration the Latino/a student perspective. Yosso et al. (2009) summarized critical race
theory by providing a literature review on racial microaggressions (micro-assaults, microinsults
and micro-invalidations) and campus racial climate. The authors broadly define racial climate
“as the overall racial environment of the university that could potentially foster outstanding
academic outcomes and graduation rates for al student but too often contribute to poor academic
performance and high dropout rates of Students of Color” (Yosso et al., 2009, p. 664).
The sample consisted of 37 Latino students (19 males and 18 females), who had
completed at least 1 year of college. These students were selected from one private college and
two public universities. The students were found through project coordinators who contacted the
students directly to invite them to the focus group. The authors conducted focus groups on
participants’ experience with campus racial climate. The focus groups allowed for the students
to answer open-ended questions and share in discovering they were not alone in the personal
experience with campus racial climate. The open-ended questions were from five categories:
“(a) educational aspirations and experiences; (b) experiences with racial discrimination; (c)
responses to racial dis-crimination; (d) effects of racial discrimination; and (e) school
characteristics” (Yosso et al., 2009, p. 665) and campus climate issues.
The approach to the analysis was to look at research memos, field notes, the transcripts to
find common categories individually and consult the entire research team to collapse the
categories. From this process, the research team had three research questions: “1. What types of
racial microaggressions do Latina/o undergraduates experience? 2. What are the effects of racial
microaggressions for Latina/o under-graduates? 3. How do Latina/o undergraduates respond to
racial microaggressions?” (Yosso et al., 2009, p. 666).
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 81
Instead of engaging in separation, transition and incorporation, as outlined in Tinto’s
(1993) model, participants engaged in rejection, community-building and critical navigation
between multiple worlds (Yosso et al., 2009). As suspected, microaggressions caused race-
related stress. Yosso et al. (2009) pointed out that, in Tinto’s model, the assumption was students
of color were welcomed into college campuses and college life, but the results showed these
students often had a sense of isolation and rejection. Another discovery was that Latino/a
students engage in community-building to cultivate a supportive environment with others by
engaging in outreach programs, sports, and both formal and informal activities (Yosso et al.
2009). The researchers believed Tinto’s model did not account for the complexity of cultural
backgrounds and the fact that many Latino/a “have been fostering communities of resistance that
deliberately bridge their world of home and school” (Yosso et al., 2009, p. 679).
Commuter Students
This section describes the characteristics found to be typical of commuter students and
outlines the differences between them and students living on campus. The empirical studies in
this section investigated several hypotheses regarding first-year experiences and commuter
student involvement. The following empirical literature will help to clarify the commuter student
population by revealing their common characteristics, their struggles in the transition to college
and strategies used for involvement.
Commuter Student Characteristics
Studies narrow down the commonalities of the students who commute to university
campus and found these students are more likely to be older than the traditional 18 to 20-year-old
students, are more likely to live at home with parents and/or with siblings, and typically work
more than 20 hours a week off campus.
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 82
Jacoby and Garland (2005) provide an understanding of what is known about commuter
students and provide suggestions on how to design and implement strategies to enhance their
retention. Jacoby and Garland determine, “Students who commute often lack a sense of
belonging to or of feeling wanted by the institution” (p. 65). Many institutions seek to provide
university districts near campus to provide housing and university active life for students.
Jacoby and Garland define these students as of traditional age or non-traditional age, attending
full or part-time, and as commuting from a variety of distances through several means of
transportation. Sometimes, these students are differentiated as “walking” or “driving” (Jacoby &
Garland, 2005, p. 62). Commuter students have traditionally been thought of as uninterested in
campus life and as needing to be more serious about their education. However, these students
have educational goals similar to those of residential students while juggling responsibilities with
family, work and other life circumstances (Jacoby & Garland, 2005).
Jacoby and Garland (2005) suggest students who commute to campus face a series of
potential problems with traffic, schedules, weather, reliable vehicles, parking, public
transportation schedules and securing alternate transportation if needed. These students have
multiple roles working and often managing a household. The responsibilities outside of school
compete for the students’ time, energy and resources, and these students’ support network often
exists outside of school: family members, partners, employers or friends in the community
(Jacoby & Garland, 2005). Family members expect students to attend family gatherings and
respect a household curfew. Many commuter students have a family orientation whereby they
often have a spouse, partner, care for children or elderly and are responsible for household
chores. Ultimately, these students balance competing demands and manage multiple stressors
(Jacoby & Garland, 2005).
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At a public research institution in the western United States, which was also a commuter
university, Gianoutsos and Rosser (2014) conducted a quantitative study focused on students’
profile characteristics as residential or commuter. The study was conducted in the 2007-2008
academic year. The institution quantified that 85% of the overall enrollment of 28,000 full-time
undergraduate students commuted to campus (Gianoutsos & Rosser, 2014). The participants
were identified in the fall 2007 semester, and the data were collected from the office of academic
assessment, office of institutional analysis and planning, financial aid office and the office of
housing and residential life (Gianoutsos & Rosser, 2014). The sample was identified as living in
on-campus or off-campus housing operated by the university. The participants were 2,369 first-
time freshmen, the commuter sample was 2,103 (80%), and the residential sample was 536
(20%) (Gianoutsos & Rosser, 2014).
Student characteristics were collected on social status, age, gender, ethnicity, parental
education level, SES and residency (Gianoutsos & Rosser, 2014). The students’ profile
characteristics were pre-matriculation (pre-entry attributes), collected from ACT and SAT, and
other matriculated characteristics were collected from GPA, enrollment status (part-time or full-
time status), cumulative units/credits enrolled, retention to fall 2008, academic standing
(freshman or sophomore), and financial aid status with grants, scholarships or federal/private
loans (Gianoutsos & Rosser, 2014). Each of the descriptive characteristic statistics were
compared through discriminant function analysis (Gianoutsos & Rosser, 2014).
Gianoutsos and Rosser (2014) found residents of the state were more likely to commute
to campus. African American students were more likely to live in residential housing, and
Hispanics were more likely to commute. The higher the SES and the higher the parental
education, the more likely the students would live in residential housing. Students who worked
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 84
on campus in a work-study program were more likely to live on campus, had more loans,
received grants and obtained financial aid, played intercollegiate athletics and tended to have
more accumulated units/credits. The pre-matriculation predictors of both residential and
commuter students did not show a significant difference in comparison (Gianoutsos & Rosser,
2014).
Ishitani and Reid (2015) investigated the influence of student characteristics and
institutional environments on first-year persistence. The focus was on the effects of social
integration and academics on first-year commuter college student retention using NCES data.
The study began with data gathered in 2003 from first-time beginning students who were then
followed through 2006 to 2009. The data included 7,571 students enrolled in 4-year public or
private institutions. Commuter students were identified as living off campus or living with
parents: 5,096 lived off campus and 928 lived with parents. In all, 5,924 commuter students
participated in this study (Ishitani & Reid, 2015). The researchers described their analytical
approach as a liner logistic regression, with “a group of the variables measuring the effect of
student characteristics were entered in the regression analysis, followed by a group of campus
environments to observe and changes in statistical significance among the student
characteristics” (Ishitani & Reid, 2015, p. 20).
Overall, Ishitani and Reid (2015) found no significant difference in the dropout rate
between students living on campus and students living off campus. The difference was students
living with parents were 23% more likely to drop out than students living on campus. The study
also looked at academic integrity measured by the frequencies with which students participated
in activities such as meeting with an academic advisor, involvement in study groups and
interactions with faculty outside of class. For every 50-point increase in social integration, the
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 85
likelihood of staying in college rose by an average of 13% and reduced the odds of withdrawal
by 9% (Ishitani & Reid, 2015).
Newbold, Mehta, and Forbus (2011) investigated both commuter and non-commuter
students. The researchers looked at the impact of institutional offerings and marketing efforts on
both populations. This quantitative study took place at a mid-sized southwestern state university.
The purpose was to investigate whether commuter college students were different at the time of
the study and more diverse than in the past. Participants were 453, 4-year students with senior
status. Among them, 108 students met the commuter criteria of living outside of the county
where the school operates but did not relocate nearer to school to attend, and 345 students did not
meet the commuter criteria. Among the commuters, 73% were transfer students (Newbold et al.,
2011).
Newbold et al. (2011) used a self-administered, structured and undisguised
questionnaire. A 7-point Likert scale was used to determine the students’ attitudes, opinions and
reasons for being at a university. The focus of the survey was students’ level of involvement and
participation in various university activities, attitudes towards their work if they were employed,
social life, relationships with various reference group members, general opinions about
attending, selection of the university, time management strategies, attitude towards stress, and
stress coping strategies (Newbold et al., 2011).
Results revealed commuter students did have higher self-reported income and did work
more hours than non-commuter students and were less likely to participate in university-
sponsored events (Newbold et al., 2011). With regard to the hypotheses tested, the researchers
conducted a chi-square analysis. Commuter students were more likely to be non-traditional
students over the age of 24 (Newbold et al., 2011). Both types of students work3e off campus,
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 86
but those who commuted were more likely to work more than 21 hours per week and more likely
earn a higher income. Newbold et al. (2011) also found commuter students were significantly
less likely to view the university as having a good reputation and be involved in university-
sponsored activities. They were less likely to identify with the university and, therefore, were
less likely to join the alumni association (Newbold et al., 2011).
Commuter Students Transition to the First Year of College
The two studies in this section looked at commuter students and their experience
transitioning to the first year of college. The research considers students’ coping strategies for
managing the new college experience and the importance of social involvement at the university.
These studies also address adjustment factors needed be successful in college.
Gefen and Fish (2013) examined college adjustment factors related to non-residential
first-year students. The quantitative study took place in an introduction to psychology course at
two large urban northeastern colleges in large metropolitan areas. The first college had
enrollment of 10,630 full-time undergraduates and 8,098 part-time undergraduate students, and
the second college had an enrollment of 11,523 full-time undergraduates and 9,088 part-time
undergraduate students (Gefen & Fisher, 2013). The sample consisted of 167 first-year students
between the ages of 18 and 23. The sample had more than 90% of students living at home with
parents or with parents and siblings (Gefen & Fish, 2013). There was an incentive for students to
participate in the study in the form of earned research credit during the semester. Three online
questionnaires were distributed, wherein identities were protected, and the data remained
confidential. Four measures were used in this study: the perceived stress scale, the family
adaptability and cohesion evaluation scales, the young adult coping orientation for problem
experiences and the student adjustment to college questionnaire. The students were offered
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 87
additional mental health resources if the questionnaire caused distress (Gefen & Fish, 2013).
There were three hypotheses tested in the study:
1) Balanced family functioning is associated with problem-focused coping strategies and
lower levels of stress. 2) Adjustment to college is predicted by stress, family functioning,
and coping strategies. 3) Problem-focused coping strategies are predicted by positive
academic, social, personal-emotional, and institutional attachment subtypes of adjustment
to college. (Gefen & Fisher, 2013, p. 97)
A multiple regression analysis revealed several outcome variables used to help determine
the roles of family functioning, coping strategies and perceived stress (Gefen & Fish, 2013). The
students who used avoidance coping strategies, like drugs and alcohol, were more likely to
demonstrate poorer academic adjustment. Students who engaged in high-activity levels like
strenuous physical action or effort on outside projects had lower levels of college attachment
(Gefen & Fish, 2013). Coping strategies were also categorized as not investing in friendships or
not putting in the effort in schoolwork. Students with high levels of spiritual support
experienced more successful social adjustment. Lower levels of perceived stress predicted
positive personal-emotional adjustment, and high activity level predicted higher institutional
attachment (Gefen & Fish, 2013).
Krause (2007) conducted a qualitative study of undergraduate commuter students in the
first 6 months of the college experience and their social involvement with peers during the
transition. Krause used Astin’s (1999) student involvement theory conceptual framework, as it
was important for the role of social and academic involvement of the students’ own learning.
Astin’s model was used to understand the role of social involvement in participants’ successful
educational experience (Krause, 2007). The study was conducted on a metropolitan public
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 88
university in Sydney, Australia, with 46 participants taking a foundations subject in educational
psychology. The students did not live in institutionally owned on-campus housing. Six semi-
structured focus groups with five to eight participants were conducted in person and (Krause,
2007). The discussions lasted approximately 60 minutes and were recorded and transcribed for
analysis (Krause, 2007).
Krause (2007) identified three themes: (a) contexts for social interactions with peers in
the first year, (b) the role of social involvement in the first year and (c) enhancing social
involvement. The author found students were uncomfortable meeting or talking to new people in
large lecture halls, and one student suggested the large lecture settings were intimidating and a
threat to personal space. The students preferred smaller group contexts and exercises that called
for all group members’ participation. Much of the social involvement out of class was described
by students who sought students who attended their high school. Online involvement with peers
was described as very convenient for students who self-described as quieter. Students engaged
in online discussion boards, but also found it difficult to stay on track with assignments when
there was no tutor support. Krause concluded the role of social involvement in the first year was
key to interactions to help with academic transition. The majority of the students found the
social aspects of the university were important to their success. They suggested peers and
acquaintances help support academics by just checking in with each other to stay on track. Peers
were also considered an important part of assignment preparation because they could “talk it out”
rather than ask faculty or tutors for help (Krause, 2007, p. 36). Friends and peers were also
suggested as the reason students kept going to class and looked forward to seeing their friends to
catch up and get notes. Commuter students distinguished the difference between “university
friends” and “friends outside university” whereby the only association with university friends
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 89
was on campus for study groups or assignments (Krause, 2007, p. 37). There were
nontraditional-aged commuter students involved in this study as well. These students suggested
that more opportunities for enhancing social involvement in class with peers could be facilitated
by faculty, lecturers and tutors. There were several suggestions to have faculty facilitate more
student integration. The students suggested faculty learn student names, change the classroom
seating, create a friendly atmosphere and mentor students who need more social interaction
(Krause, 2007).
Student Involvement
This section compares commuter students’ involvement on campus to that of residential
students. Commuter students’ involvement is limited to classroom activities, and they tend to
have less on-campus interaction with friends. These students use different classroom and coping
strategies for involvement.
Alfano and Eduljee (2013) investigated the relationships between levels of involvement,
work and academic performance. This quantitative study investigated five similar research
questions focused on the difference between residential and commuter students:
1) Is there a relationship between number of hours worked per week and grade point
average (GPA) for residential and commuter students? 2)Would there be a difference in
levels of involvement in school-sponsored activities between residential and commuter
students? 3)Would there be a difference between residential and commuter students with
regard to the extent of how they feel about being a part of the college community? 4)
What are the top three reasons that residential and commuter students’ work? 5) Would
there be differences in the experienced levels of stress as a result of working between
residential and commuter students? (Alfano & Eduljee, 2013, pp. 336-337)
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 90
The samples consisted of 108 undergraduate students at a private northeastern university
with 66 (61.1%) residential students and 42 (38.9%) commuter students (Alfano & Eduljee,
2013). There were four different survey instruments used. The first instrument had demographic
information, age, gender, area of study, residential status, class standing and GPA. The second
instrument asked questions about the students’ work status. If the students indicated they
worked, the questions inquired about the number of hours, number of jobs, days worked, times
of day worked and reason why the students worked. The third instrument asked specific
questions about involvement on campus: collegiate athletics, intermural sports, on-campus clubs,
campus-sponsored activities like movie night and theme park outings, and face-to-face
interactions with peers and professors on and off campus. The fourth instrument used a Likert
scale intended to measure students’ sense of campus community (Alfano & Eduljee, 2013).
Alfano and Eduljee (2013) suggest commuter students worked an average of 4 hours
more per week than residential students. The top three reasons for working were to pay
rent/bills, pay tuition and to have spending money. In contrast, the residential students’ reasons
for working were to have spending money, pay tuition, and then to pay bills/rent. Results
showed commuter students who worked had greater levels of stress on the job than residential
students who worked (Alfano & Eduljee, 2013). No significant difference was found when
residential and commuter students agreed with this statement “I would like to interact more with
my peers/friends,” as 75.8% of residential students and 78.5% commuter students agreed or
strongly agreed (Alfano & Eduljee, 2013, p. 340). The commuter students were less likely to
engage in sponsored student activities than were residential students (Alfano & Eduljee, 2013).
Skahill (2002) conducted a mixed-methods study at an urban technical arts college to
examine the role of social support network systems in persistence. These authors used a social
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 91
support survey and qualitative self-reported questions that inquired about success factors
(Skahill, 2002). There were two research questions: 1) Are the school friendships made early in
the new college experience important to the academic success of the student? 2) Are the school
friendships made within the first few weeks in the new college experience important to the self-
reported success factors? (pp. 42-43). The participants were freshmen between the ages of 18
and 22. There were 15 commuter students who lived in a parents’ or guardians’ home within a 1-
hour commute and 25 students who had recently moved out of the parents’ or guardians’ home
but were non-residential students (Skahill, 2002).
Skahill (2002) collected data at three different points. The first point was the first week of
fall 1998 academic quarter, prior to the start of school and during orientation week. The second
point was during midterms, and the third point was during the week 11 of the academic quarter.
Qualitative questions were asked at the end of the survey, and interviews were conducted with
randomly selected participants (Skahill, 2002). Skahill organized the data in a series of social
support matrices with each participant having a separate matrix: each box had a (+) for positive
relationship, a (–) for negative relationship and an (x) for a neutral relationship.
The findings suggested residential students who reported a greater number of friends also
reported attaining academic and personal goals (Skahill, 2002). Both groups of participants
reported less network friendship density over the course of the study. However, residential
students reported the greatest number of new friendships. Students who responded to making
new friends also reported feelings of success at school.
Overall, commuter students’ characteristics cannot be generalized, but comparisons can
be made between them and residential students on intention to persist and off-campus influences
like work and family (Gianoutsos & Rosser, 2014; Ishitani & Reid, 2015; Newbold et al., 2011).
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 92
The major themes once again are peer interaction and peer support as major contributors to
persistence and goal achievement (Ishitani & Reid, 2015; Krause, 2007; Skahill, 2012). Those
who did not invest in friendships and peers had poorer academic adjustment (Gefen & Fish,
2013), and residential students were more likely to obtain academic goals (Skahill, 2012). The
literature reveals commuter students work more hours on average than non-commuters and
appreciate faculty engagement in the classroom, faculty facilitating groups and faculty
interactions in their overall university experience (Alfano & Edljee, 2013; Gianoutsos & Rosser,
2014; Ishitani & Reid, 2015; Krause, 2007; Newbold et al., 2011). Much of the research has
been quantitative with existing survey data sets and standard first-year questionnaires, and few
studies focused on commuter students’ sense of belonging.
Intrapersonal Factors
Gardner and Hatch (1989) lay the foundation for the definition of intrapersonal factors
and their application in schools. Hartley (2011) examined persistence in relation to intrapersonal
factors and Hagerty, Williams, Coyne and Early (1996) addressed the sense of belonging with
intrapersonal factors and psychological functioning.
Gardner and Hatch (1989) outlined the background of assessing the significance of
multiple intelligences and the educational implications of doing so. Howard Gardner developed
a new approach of conceptualizing human intelligence by suggesting that human beings were
capable of independent forms of information processing (Gardner & Hatch, 1989). There were
seven intelligence types: logical-mathematical, linguistic, musical, spatial, body-kinesthetic,
interpersonal and intrapersonal. When Gardner conceptualized these human intelligences, he
was looking at the wide variety of human cognitive capacities and realized he “was stretching the
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 93
word intelligence beyond the its customary application in educational psychology” (Gardner &
Hatch, 1989, p. 5).
Gardner and Hatch (1989) sought to determine whether young children exhibited distinct
profiles of intellectual strengths and weaknesses. For a period of 5 years in the 1980s, assessing
these intelligence was explored as a collaboration project with the Educational Testing Services
and Pittsburgh Public School Systems to establish both curriculum and assessment of the
multiple intelligence theory. Participants ranged in number from 15 to 20 children from upper
middle-income primarily White populations who participated in a yearlong spectrum program.
These students were “assessed on 10 different activities (storytelling, drawing, singing, music
perception, creative movement, social analysis, hypothesis testing, assembly, calculation and
counting, and number and notational logic) as well as the Stanford-Binet Intelligence” (Gardner
& Hatch, 1989, p. 8). These activities were assessed in 1-hour sessions that were videotaped and
scored by independent observers.
The analysis compared individual children to the standard deviation, and, if a student had
below the standard deviation that student was considered low on the activity. As part of the
findings, the researchers overall found the results revealed a complex picture, but consistent with
the claims of multiple intelligence theory:
For younger children, performances on the Spectrum activities were largely independent,
relative strengths and weaknesses were uncovered, and there was a significant correlation
between preschoolers’ performances on the Spectrum activities and the Stanford-Binet in
one of the two areas where it would be expected. (Gardner & Hatch, 1989, p. 5)
Gardner and Hatch (1989) defined all seven multiple intelligences. However, for my
study, I include here the definition of intrapersonal, which is defined as “Person with detailed,
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accurate self-knowledge. Access to one’s own feelings and the ability to discriminate among
them and draw upon them to guide behavior; knowledge of one’s own strengths, weaknesses,
desires, and intelligences” (Gardner & Hatch, 1989, p. 6).
The purpose of Hartley’s (2011) study was to examine persistence by investigating the
relationship between the measures of interpersonal resilience, intrapersonal resilience and mental
health. For the purposes of this review, I focus this summary of one of the two research
hypothesis. One hypothesis was that “(1) the inter- and intrapersonal resilience variables would
positively contribute to explaining variance in the response variables (i.e., the resilience variables
would be associated with higher cumulative GPAs and sense of belonging)” (p. 597). The
participants in this study were 605 undergraduate students who attended two Midwestern
universities during the 2007-2008 academic year. Over 70% of the participants were women and
92% self-identified as Caucasian with 1.2% African American, 2.8% Asian American, 1.7%
Latino, and 1.3% other race/ethnicity. Demographically, the percentages were similar to the
overall student population, and these students were recruited mostly from arts and sciences
disciplines (Hartley, 2011).
Hartley (2011) used a questionnaire on cumulative high school and university GPA and
SAT or ACT scores; the number of hours per week the student worked, if at all; number of
credits completed; and the number of hours per week the student was involved in extracurricular
activities, if at all, as well as age, race, and sex. The students self-reported anonymously and
privately. The questionnaire included four scales: (a) the 3-item Sense of Belonging Scale to
measure their socializing and participation in student organizations, the 25-item Connor-
Davidson Resilience Scale to measure ability to thrive in the face of adversity, the 6-item Social
Support Questionnaire to measure degree of satisfaction with available social support, and the 5-
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 95
item Mental Health Inventory to measure current perceptions of mental health (Hartley, 2011, p.
598).
The researcher ran a sequential regression analysis examining Tinto’s concepts of
academic and social integration separately (Hartley, 2011). The analysis assessed whether the
inter- and intrapersonal resilience and mental health measures helped explain variance in the
response variables of university cumulative GPA and university sense of belonging. While the
findings did not specifically point out sense of belonging, they did find intrapersonal and
interpersonal factors contributed to overall mental health. Hartley (2011) found evidence to
suggest “that intrapersonal resilience factors contribute to our understanding of how
undergraduate students negotiate and increasingly stressful college environment” (p. 601).
Hagerty, Williams, Coyne, and Early (1996) looked at community college students’ sense of
belonging and indicators of social and psychosocial functioning. The purpose of this study was
to examine the selected indicators in men and women in relationship with sense of belonging and
personal characteristics. The study was conducted with 379 students. Fifty-nine percent the
students were women and 69% were single, 22% were married, and 10% were separated,
widowed, or divorced. The median age was 26. The race and ethnic breakdown of the
participants were such that 64% were Caucasian, 23% were African American, 4% were Native
American, 4% were Other, 3% were Asian, and 2% were Hispanic (Hagerty et al., 1996, p. 239).
A questionnaire was administered to collect general information like age, gender, marital
status, education level, household income, ethnic background and religious preference. The
questionnaire was distributed to students invited to participate by administrators and instructors
through a classroom flyer and announcements. The students either took the questionnaire home
or stayed in a conference room nearby to fill out. When the questionnaire was returned to a table
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 96
located in the lobby of the primary campus building, the students received $5.00. The sense of
belonging measures used were negative and positive social support, conflict, involvement in
community activities, attendance at religious services, loneliness, depression, history of
psychiatric treatment, suicidality, and anxiety.
Overall, the results showed the sense of belonging was related to social support measures,
“A higher sense of belonging and its antecedents tended to be associated with more perceived
support and to positive social support actions for both genders” (Hagerty et al., 2011, p. 242). In
addition, the researchers found negative interactions with friends was strongly related to lower
sense of belonging. When looking at the psychological functioning, the lower scores on sense of
belonging were related to loneliness, depression, and anxiety, which were stronger in women
than men. The sense of belonging might fluctuate with emotional and stability, the researchers
found “The psychological state of sense of belonging was clearly related to indicators of
psychological functioning” (Hagerty et al., 2011, p. 243). Another finding was the probable
effect of sense of on behavioral and cognitive experiences in the environment. The researchers
found psychological and social functioning suggested the antecedent could be vital to the
development of the sense of belonging (Hagerty et al., 2011).
Conceptual Framework
The conceptual framework presented here was my theory on how commuter college
students’ sense of belonging affects their decision to persist in higher education derived from the
above literature. According to Maxwell (2013), the conceptual framework is an important model
to map out the plan of study to help outline the investigation of the phenomena. The conceptual
framework is derived from existing theory, empirical evidence, theoretical concepts and personal
experience (Maxwell, 2013). Therefore, my conceptual framework was based on empirical
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 97
literature of sense of belonging in higher education, commuter students, foundational
frameworks on college persistence and human development revealed in the review of literature,
my personal experiences as a lecturer in higher education and is revised to include modifications
as a result from conducting the interviews for this study displayed in Chapter Five. Figure 5
illustrates the conceptual framework by using labeled boxes with connecting lines indicating
connecting relationships (Maxwell, 2013).
I argue the conceptual framework presented in Figure 5 was my tentative theory to
explain the phenomena of commuter students’ processes over time while simultaneously
navigating multiple environments, establishing and maintaining relationships, and navigating
engagement on/off campus, all of which contribute to whether these students develop a sense of
belonging as they enter into the intention to persist to degree completion. While self-efficacy and
motivation appear in the persistence literature, I focused on these students’ development of sense
of belonging as they navigated the college experience to persist to degree-completion.
There were multiple factors in each area I believed led to persistence to graduation. The
three major areas commuter students needed to simultaneously maneuver to develop an internal
sense of belonging are environments (home, school and work), relationships (family, peers,
faculty, university student services and the boss) and engagement (attendance, clubs on and off
campus, class participation, and assignment completion). These three areas are connected, but do
not rely on each other for psychological support. I argue sense of belonging needed to exist in at
least one of the areas for these students to persist, yet it need not be present exclusively in one
area. These students did not need to have a sense of belonging in school to persist, the internal
sense of belonging could exist in any one of the environments: home, work or school. Once
Latinx commuter students are in college, they needed to believe they belong somewhere enough
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 98
to keep them committed to persisting in school. Tinto (1975) theorized students continually
evaluate their schema as they embark on the college career journey. I believed this continuous
evaluation took place in the intention to persist.
The literature outlined in Chapter Two revealed several overlapping factors that could
contribute to commuter students’ sense of belonging, and I categorized these overlapping factors
into relationships and engagement. Each of the relationships could be interpreted as positive or
negative, resulting in positive outcomes or negative outcomes to ultimately affect sense of
belonging. Each of the engagement components could be interpreted as positive or negative
engagement to ultimately affect sense of belonging in the environments. I contended the
environments of home, school and work run parallel and continuous for these students as they
discover an internal sense of belonging, which led to the zone of intention to persist.

Figure 5. Conceptual Framework: Concept map for a study of the commuter students’ sense of
belonging in the trajectory through college to zone of intention to persist.

Home
Pe e rs
Attendance
@ events
Clubs off
campus
Fa m ily
Attendance
@ events
Clubs off
campus
School
Peers
Attendance
@ school
Clubs on
campus
Class
Participation
Assignment
completion Faculty
Attendance
@ school
Class
Participation
Assignment
Completion
Student
Services
Clubs on
campus
Assignment
Completion
Work
Peers
Attendance
@ work
Boss
Attendance
@ work
ENGAGEMENT RELATIONSHIPS ENVIRONMENTS
School
Work
Home
Zone of Intention
to Persist
Sense of Belonging
SENSE OF BELONGING
Home
School Wo rk
Commuter Student
Entering college
Pre-existing Attributes
Background Factors
Family responsibilities
Socio Economic Status
Race/Ethnicity
Commuter Student
Goal Completion
ZONE OF INTENTION
Navigating simultaneously while in college
YES
NO
Commuter Student
Drop out
The entire
process repeats
The entire process is continuous throughout the college experience
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 99
Commuter Students Entering College
According to literature, students enter college with a variety of pre-entry characteristics
(Gianoutsos & Rosser, 2014; Newbold et al., 2011; Porkorny et al., 2017; Tinto, 1997; Weidman,
1989). Commuter students, much like many other first-time college students, arrive on campus
with a variety of pre-existing attributes and background factors (Hurtado & Carter, 1997; Tinto,
1997; Weidman, 1989). These students are more likely to be of lower SES and more likely to be
Hispanic (Gianoutsos & Rosser, 2014). They are more likely to be nontraditional students and/or
transfer students (Newbold et al., 2011). Some background factors like family responsibilities
and SES may vary over time while factors like race and ethnicity are fixed. Entering commuter
students start college as freshmen, as transfer students, and/or as returning college students, and
they are at the intersection of home, school and work as they maneuver through the three areas to
develop a sense of belonging to the zone of the intention to persist.
Navigate Simultaneously While in College
I asserted commuter students constantly navigated three environments over which they
had little control: home, school and work (Alfano & Eduljee, 2013; Bronfenbrenner, 1977;
Marshall et al., 2012; Newbold et al., 2011; Weidman, 1989). Within each of these environments
were relationships that needed to be maintained or established while in college, requiring
students to make conscious decisions to engage with on-campus and off-campus entities.
Bronfenbrenner (1979) stated there is a combination of settings (microsystem, mesosystem and
exosystem), where individuals have an interrelationship (mesosystem) among the different
settings, as the developing person actively participates (engagement) in the environmental
setting. I contended the road to persistence was underlined by students having or developing a
sense of belonging as a result of the momentum developed during the college trajectory. The
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 100
students demonstrated that it took time to navigate environments, engagement activities, and
supportive relationships in college.
Environments
Bronfenbrenner’s (1977, 1979) ecological model provides insight on human
development. His model suggests humans develop as they negotiate a variety of environments
and evolve progressively as they move through and interact with the different environments
(Bronfenbrenner, 1979). The environments exist as interconnected schema the individual
perceives as his/her/hir roles in the interpersonal relationships inside the environments
(Bronfenbrenner, 1979). The environmental systems contrast with two or more formal and
informal structural components humans attempt to control (Bronfenbrenner, 1979). I contended
the interconnected pathways commuter students have to navigate play into their overall sense of
belonging.
The home was an environment from which commuter students depart to go to school.
Home can be either living with family or living with peers and is where the student engages in
activities and relationships (Bronfenbrenner, 1979). Hurtado and Carter (1997) suggest
traditionally marginalized populations have strong family ties which often follow them to
college. Some homes can also be chaotic and emotionally draining physical spaces
(Bronfenbrenner, 1979). I contended the home was the starting point for Latinx commuter
students as they navigated relationships with family and peers as well as other responsibilities
inside the home. The students shared experiences interacting with family members, the types of
responsibilities they had at home, where they felt the most support and by whom.
Persistence requires success in school (Tinto, 1975, 1988; Weidman, 1989). The
institutional school environment is considered a formal environment, with rules, regulations,
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 101
physical space, activities and specific interactions which need to be navigated (Bronfenbrenner,
1979; Weidman, 1989). When the school environment is too big and brand new, it is very
difficult for students to navigate (Marshall et al., 2012). Marshall et al. (2012) suggests
commuter students actually need a physical space on campus to spend time between classes, and
they need to find the skills to manage their own workload. The students stated where they would
spend their time between classes at school, where they did their homework, where they felt most
comfortable on campus and how the commute effected their school work.
Work was another environment commuter students navigate. Alfano and Eduljee (2013)
suggest some commuter students work to pay rent, then pay tuition and then to have spending
money. For these students, work was essential. Consistent with Newbold et al (2011) these
worked more hours off campus and overall have higher incomes than resident students.
Incorporating work into students’ daily lives can pull them away from school and family
responsibilities. The students shared why they worked off campus, how many hours they
worked per week, where their work was located in relation to campus and home, what type of
work they did (cognitively or physically/strenuous or not) and how they perceived work
supported their desire to go to school.
Relationships
I argued students have a multitude of relationships contributing to their sense of
belonging while attending college: on- and off-campus peers, family, faculty, university student
services and the boss at work. Relationships change and have influence over human
development; therefore, relationships influence the college experience (Bronfenbrenner, 1977).
Commuter students have much stress outside of school due to work and family responsibilities
(Gefen & Fish, 2013; Tinto, 1988; Weidman, 1989). These relationships are important to
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 102
understand as part of the college trajectory, goals commitments, and decision-making process to
persist (Tinto, 1975, 1988, 1997; Weidman, 1989).
As shown in the concept map (Figure 5), I believed peer relationships influenced all three
environments. The literature showed peer support, inside and outside of the classroom, was very
important in students’ persistence (Jones, 2016; Masika & Jones, 2016; Morrow & Ackerman,
2012; Skahill, 2002; Zumbrunn et al., 2014). The first place on my concept map under
relationships was peers in the home environment. Often, commuter students live off-campus
sharing apartments or houses with peers. The relationships negotiated with peers in the physical
living space, financial responsibilities and emotional support have an impact on sense of
belonging (Krause, 2007; Marshall et al., 2012; Museus et al., 2017; Pokorny, 2017; Skahill,
2002). Students shared the supportive factors they believed were in their relationships that
contributed to staying in school and the obligations they felt they needed to attend outside of
school with peers.
Peer relationships in the school environment also had an influence on sense of belonging
and intent to persist. The relationships students perceive in the classroom with peers and making
friends are incredibly important to the sense of belonging (Astin, 1988, 1984; Marshall et al.,
2012; Morrow & Akerman, 2012; Strayhorn, 2008; Weidman, 1989; Zumbrunn et al., 2014).
However, the research found commuter students have difficulty meeting people when they take
classes in large lecture halls (Krause, 2007). The students revealed insights on the role peers
played inside and outside the classroom, how they felt peers where supportive (emotionally,
physically and academically) to them in school
Establishing and maintaining peer relationships at work was important. Research shows
commuter students work many more hours off campus than students who live on campus, so they
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 103
are expected to have relationships with co-workers and a boss at work (Alfano & Eduljee, 2013;
Gianoutsos & Rosser, 2014; Newbold et al., 2011). The working relationships with co-workers
could influence these students by being supportive of school goals and/or taking time away from
school to engage in social activities. The students shared how co-workers influenced their sense
of belonging at work, how co-workers supported their academic endeavors and emotional
wellbeing by providing a work community.
Relationships with family play a key role for students (Hurtado & Carter, 1997; Jones,
2010; Museus et al., 2017; Tinto, 1997; Weidman, 1989). Conventional wisdom found students
had to give up their old life and create a new life to be successful in college (Astin, 1984).
Ishitani and Reid (2015) suggest students who live at home with parents or live off campus were
more likely to leave the 4-year institution, and Yorke (2016) noted students who have family
members with higher education were more confident and had a better sense of academic
achievement. The students gave insight on how supportive and/or demanding family members
were in relation to their responsibilities at home, attendance in school, academic goals, financial
support, and emotional support inside school and outside school.
Another key area was faculty relationships. According to the literature, perceived faculty
support and instructional support is important to academic achievement (Ishitani & Reid, 2015;
Krause, 2007; Marshall et al., 2012; Morrow & Ackermann, 2012; Zumbrunn et al., 2014). The
more social interaction with individuals associated with school, the more likely the students will
stay in school (Ishitani & Reid, 2015). A major contribution to students’ sense of belonging is
interacting with faculty members (Marshall et al., 2012; Morrow & Ackermann, 2012;
Zumbrunn et al., 2014). The students provided insight into their perceptions of faculty’s
availability to provide academic support in and out of the classroom. The students shared how
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 104
they perceived faculty were interested in their wellbeing as people or only as students. As well as
shared their experiences with faculty as advocates (or adversarys) in their academic success.
The literature suggested student service relationships could have a positive and/or
negative effect on sense of belonging (Ishitani & Reid, 2015; Newbold et al., 2011). There were
several areas I believed affected commuter students’ sense of belonging on campus with
university student services: academic advisors, financial aid officers, department staff, equal
opportunity services and campus resources such as gym, writing labs, and tutoring centers.
Students shared circumstances under which participants sought support from academic advisors,
whether they received the academic guidance they believe they needed, and whether they saw
their academic advisors as a resource to tap into when they had academic questions or concerns.
Lastly, the relationship with a boss in the work environment could have an impact on
sense of belonging. The attitudes towards work, the number of hours worked during the week,
the times of day and the type of job could affect academic performance (Alfano & Eduljee, 2013;
Newbold et al., 2011). Students stated how they felt about the relationship with their bosses and
factors associated with hours worked, work schedule, work performance and whether they
perceived support from their bosses in their academic goals. The students shared perception of
community in the workplace, if the boss created a supportive social connection among student
workers, and how (if) the boss recognized and supported career goals.
Engagement
Drawing from the theoretical literature and marginalized population literature, students
have engagement areas in which they need to participate to have a sense of belonging to persist
to graduation (Astin, 1984; Hausmann et al., 2009; Hurtado & Carter, 1997; Ishitani & Reid,
2015; Marshall et al., 2012; Newbold et al., 2011; Skahill, 2002; Strayhorn, 2008). The first
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 105
engagement box on my concept map is attendance. The students shared the factors regarding
attendance at events with peers and family, attendance at school and flexibility of attendance at
work. The students revealed home responsibilities and how they were expected to attend events
held by family and peers. I explored how attendance affects students’ sense of belonging in the
classroom. Attendance at work is influenced by relationships with both peers and the boss.
Commuter students often work due to financial responsibilities, and their wages often go to
living expenses and tuition (Alfano & Eduljee, 2013). Many jobs involved co-workers, and
these peer relationships could affect attendance. The students shared insight of stressors on
attendance, normative pressures at work, responsibilities and relationships navigated by
attending events at home, school and work.
On the concept map (Figure 5), the word “clubs” refers to clubs on and off campus. The
clubs off campus, or those in the home environment, may compete with clubs on campus. Some
students might have connections with faith-based clubs or sports clubs not associated with
school. These engagements could pull commuter students from the school environment.
Engagement in these off-campus clubs might last the duration of college and are often
considered extracurricular activities. Hurtado and Carter (1997) found students engaged with on-
campus clubs had a perceived enhanced sense of belonging to campus, although joining the
group was determined less effective if students joined in their second or third year. The students
revealed how they engaged in clubs on and off campus, the types of clubs, the purpose of the
clubs, the activities inside the clubs, where the clubs were located, how often the clubs met and if
students perceived social and emotional support from the clubs.
The literature also pointed to class participation whereby students feel more accepted
when faculty create/provide an engaging and supportive classroom environment (Alfano &
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 106
Eduljee, 2013; Masika & Jones, 2016; Zumbrunn et al., 2014). Feeling accepted contributes to
sense of belonging. I believed class participation was affected by relationships with peers and
faculty. The students shared factors that contribute to their class participation, how comfortable
they felt participating in class, whether class participation was affected by relationships with
peers and/or relationships with faculty and whether level of comfort tied into respect and
academic support.
Assignment completion and academic achievement also contributed to sense of
belonging. When students kept with up assignments and were capable of academic achievement,
they felt more confidence in their academic ability and had a stronger sense of belonging (Astin,
1984; Hausmann, 2009; Hurtado & Carter, 1997; Marshall et al., 2012; Tinto, 1997). Peers
influence assignment completion by taking part in group projects, sharing notes and meeting
outside of class to study. Faculty can help with assignment completion by offering clear and
concise assignment information and providing convenient office hours. The students revealed
how they completed assignments by utilizing student services, engaging in relationships with
peers and faculty. The students shared how they used tutoring centers for basic writing, math
and science help, writing laboratories, computer laboratories and librarians to help complete
assignments.
Sense of Belonging and the Zone of Intention to Persist
Sense of belonging was about meaningful internal psychological sense of social-
emotional wellbeing. Latinx commuter students need to feel they are in the right social group,
attending the right university, in the right major/classroom and believe they have the academic
skills to accomplish goals (Marshall et al., 2012; Zumbrunn et al., 2014). Sense of belonging is
not dichotomous, as it is a spectrum (Hausmann et al., 2009; Strayhorn, 2012). Strayhorn (2012)
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 107
defined sense of belonging in terms of college as “students’ perceived social support on campus,
a feeling or sensation of connectedness, the experience of mattering or feeling cared about,
accepted, respect, valued by and important to the group (e.g., campus community) or others on
campus (e.g., faculty, peers)” (p. 5). Sense of belonging is a feeling of being accepted, validated,
valued, and included; it is the perception of support, respect and warmth (Goodenow, 1993;
Rendon, 1994). Bronfenbrenner noted individuals derive part of their sense of belonging from
their interactions and the “behind the scenes” of their direct learning experiences in microsystem,
mesosystems and exosystem (Mclinden, 2017, p. 380). Baumeister and Leary (1995) found
sense of belonging is individual and varies depending on interactions with new acquaintances,
which can provide satisfaction and lead to familiarity. Frequent personal contact and warm
interaction with others in a reciprocal and stable relationship are required for belonging to have
positive effects (Baumeister & Leary, 1995). A lack of belonging can manifest in avoidance
behavior, conflicts in bonding, stress, anxiety, depression, physical illness and overall mental
health (Baumeister & Leary, 1995; Hartley, 2011).
I believed sense of belonging was a social bond with others who shared one’s values and
beliefs, which provided safety and connectedness. I believed commuter students sought personal
interactions with others in their conversations and actions to build a kindship to feel accepted and
valued in their environments. The students gave insight into their sense of belonging at home,
school and work by answering questions centered around emotional feeling, beliefs (internal
factors) and actions (external factors) they perceived they needed to feel connected to faculty,
staff, and peers. The students shared how they felt cared about, respected, valued, supported and
where they felt part of a community as well as how they avoided feelings of stress and anxiety.

LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 108
Summary
According to Tinto (1975, 1988, 1997), multiple conflicting factors influence the decision
to persist. I sought to understand how Latinx commuter students maneuver through their
environments, relationships and engagement to attain a sense of belonging to influence the
intention to persist to this point. I contend commuter students cycle through the framework
repeatedly while simultaneously navigating environments, relationships and engagement. The
process is continuous throughout the college experience.

LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 109
CHAPTER THREE: METHODS
Chapter Three explains the rationale for using qualitative methods to answer the research
question, the sampling approach and the data collection methods used. The purpose of this study
was to examine the relationship between Latinx commuter students’ sense of belonging and
decision to persist to this point. The qualitative study was informed by the following research
question: How does undergraduate Latinx commuter students’ sense of belonging contribute to
their persistence to this point in a 4-year institution of higher education?
Research Design
I used a qualitative research design. Merriam and Tisdell (2016) suggest that, to seek
understanding into how people interpret their own experience and construct their own worlds,
qualitative research is the most appropriate design. Qualitative research can specifically help to
determine the characteristics of a group of people by using interview techniques (McEwan &
McEwan, 2003). The qualitative approach was the best way to capture true and personal
responses from the participants for this study. Qualitative methods allowed for meaning to
emerge from events and activities in which respondents were involved (Maxwell, 2013). Using
qualitative research allowed for inductive reasoning to look for the social phenomenon of
patterns and similarities among the respondents (Maxwell, 2013; Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). I
looked for a group of students who had the shared experience of commuting to school and
persisted at one 4-year institution. As qualitative research design allows for inductive and
comparative analysis that cuts across a group of people with common themes (Merriam &
Tisdell, 2016), I used a research design that allowed me to compare the experiences and look for
common themes among the students.
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 110
I used interviews to collect the data to answer the research question. Collecting data using
qualitative interviews allowed for detailed descriptions in the respondents’ own words.
Interviews can provide data on multiple perspectives, yielding a holistic description on how
events occurred and a variety of interpretations of events (Weiss, 1994). Using qualitative
method allows participants to explore in-depth the internal and external factors that contribute to
opinions and beliefs (Creswell, 2014). I interviewed Latinx commuter students to understand
their perceptions and beliefs regarding the role a sense of belonging played in their intention to
persist to the next term and to the next school year. The qualitative research design allowed me
to ask specific questions focused on personal experiences and perceptions related to participants’
sense of belonging at school, home and work.
Sample
This section details the site and participant selection criteria that I used to identify the 4-
year university and the individuals who participated in my study. It also describes the recruitment
process that I undertook.
Site Selection
The study took place at one 4-year university in the Southern California region. This
university is identified herein by a pseudonym, Southern California Four-Year University
(SC4U). This site, in fall 2018, served 34,900 undergraduate students of whom 18,374 (47%)
were Latinos. In addition, this site is a Hispanic-serving institution (HSI). In spring 2015, this
site had 72.3% of the seniors who lived within driving distinct to campus and 26.6% of seniors
commuted 6-10 hours a week to campus
6
. The types of commuter services available to the
students on this campus were: a free Metrolink shuttle service from Metrolink Train Station to

6
The citation for these specific statistics for the institution are purposively withheld as to keep the
anonymity of the university.
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 111
the campus. A Metro U-pass was offered to students at a subsidized price each semester. There
was a dedicated transportation coordinator available during the week during the day. The
associated students provided a carpool connection service through an app and a student
transportation guide on how to access campus by bike, Zipcar, Zimride or public transit.
Resources for Latinx students were available through the on-campus chapter of Central
American United Students Association (CAUSA). There was a Chicana/o Studies department, a
Chicana/o student organization and a resource on campus for undocumented students. I obtained
institutional review board approval at USC, and SC4U and USC entered into an institutional
review board reliance agreement prior to efforts to recruit participants on the SC4U campus.
Participant Selection
I selected 14 participants based on the following criteria, derived from the literature on
commuter students (Alfano & Eduljee, 2013; Forbes et al., 2011; Gianoutoso & Rosser, 2014;
Ishitanit & Reid, 2015; Jacoby & Garland, 2005; Krause, 2007; Newbold et al., 2011).
Criterion 1. The commuter student could not live within five miles of campus and could
not walk to campus. This was because the literature says that, to be characterized as a commuter
student, one has to live outside of the area in which the school operates (Forbes et al., 2011;
Krause, 2007)
Criterion 2. The student had to self-identify as Latinx
7
. This is because studies have
shown that commuter students are more likely to be Hispanic (Gianoutsos & Rosser, 2014;
Hurtado & Carter, 1997; Strayhorn, 2008)
Criterion 3. The Latinx commuter student could not live in on-campus housing provided
by the university but could have once done so and then moved to live off campus with friends,

7
The range of ethnicities included in the term Latinx was mentioned in chapter 1. Latinx includes Latino,
Hispanic, Mexican American, Chicano, Puerto Rican, Cuban American,
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 112
family or others. This is because the literature says that, to be characterized as a commuter
student, one has to live in non-university/campus housing (Jacoby & Garland, 2005).
Criterion 4. The Latinx commuter student did not necessarily need to be working, but if
he/she/ze did work, he/she/ze could not have an on-campus job (Alfano & Eduljee, 2013;
Newbold eta al., 2011).
Criterion 5. The Latinx commuter student had to be an undergraduate student, who
started as a freshman at SC4U and had completed at least 30 units. Freshmen students were not
considered for this study, as they had not persisted in earning enough units to earn sophomore
status and beyond. The number of units earned, or the cumulative units grossed, represented
retention (Gianoutsos & Rosser, 2014).
The selection criteria provided assurance the participants met the known characteristics
of Latinx commuter students in higher education. The first-person accounts of the participants
allowed for meaning, beliefs and individual personal narratives to emerge (Merriam & Tisdell,
2016). The experience revealed in the interviews allowed for greater understanding of the Latinx
commuter students sense of belonging contributed to persistence.
I used purposeful sampling to identify Latinx commuter students based on the criteria
listed in the participant selection section below. The characteristics of Latinx commuter students
were unique; therefore, purposeful sampling allowed for a specific criterion-based selection to
guide the participant selection (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). Newbold et al. (2011) suggest
commuter students are likely to be transfer students. However, I studied Latinx commuter
students who started as freshmen, had continually enrolled in college, and had consistently
enrolled to persist in school. I excluded transfer students from this study.
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 113
I used network sampling and snowball sampling to find potential participants. With prior
approval, I asked instructors/faculty at the participating university to allow me to make an
announcement in their classrooms to recruit participants. I made announcements at the beginning
of class in seven general education courses: six during the day and one at night. I made
additional announcement in five other classes where I had connections to the professors; the
announcements were during the day and one at night. When I made announcements in the
classes, I distributed a half-page recruitment flyer with the purpose of the study, the criteria for
participants and my contact information to volunteer. Over 500 flyers were distributed directly
to students in class. Several faculty and administrators distributed an email announcing the study
on my behalf to their list-serve with the requirement information imbedded in the email as well
as the half-page recruitment flyer attached. I was not able to determine how many emails were
sent to students through the list-serves.
After each announcement and email blast, I was contacted by students via email, and, at
that point, I sent a series of screener questions over email to ensure the potential participant met
the criteria, then I invited the student who met the criteria to participate and set up a date and
time for the interview. Several of the students who contacted me via email were transfer students
who did not start school at that campus as freshmen and were not considered for this study.
Through this process, I continued to use snowball sampling, network sampling and convenience
sampling to identify additional participants. Announcements were made over 3 weeks and the
emails rolled out over a 4-week period until I had scheduled 15 interviews. I also recruited one
student by overhearing her frustration of not knowing class was canceled prior to commuting to
campus.
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 114
In addition, there were 14 other students who responded to the announcements and emails
but did not qualify for the study based on the above criteria. There were three students who
qualified for the study, set up interview appointments but either canceled at the last minute or did
not show for the interview. There were eight students who contacted me who were transfer
students and one student who had not earned over 30 units; therefore, they did not meet the
criteria. There were two graduate students who wanted to participate, but the study was focused
on undergraduate students only.
Instruments and Data Collection Procedure
I conducted one-on-one interviews to ensure the interview was focused towards the
research question and to collect data on the individual students’ perceptions of the sense of
belonging on persistence. According to Weiss (1994), qualitative interviews allow the researcher
to learn how events, thoughts, feelings, and relationships contribute to the human condition.
Collecting data using qualitative interviews allows for detailed descriptions in the respondent’s
own words, makes room for a describing process by the respondent and collects multiple
perspectives with holistic descriptions of how events occurred and a variety of interpretations of
events (Weiss, 1994).
Qualitative Interviews
I conducted interviews with 14 participants which ranged from 1 to 3 hours each. This
provided sufficient time to ask questions related to participants’ perceptions of the role sense of
belonging played in their persistence. Keeping the research question in mind while collecting
data reminds the researcher of the significance of the responses in the overall study (Bogdan &
Biklen, 2007). Interviews allow the respondent to give his/her/hir personal perspectives (Patton,
2002). As Weiss (1994) would suggest, as the interviewer I was responsible for playing a key
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 115
role in the defense against mistaken accuracy, I was responsible in directing the responses to the
areas of the study that need to be addressed and answered.
The conceptual framework guided the semi-structured interview protocol, because this
allowed for a list of questions to be addressed, but not necessarily asked in a certain order or with
exact wording for each interview (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). Guided by Merriam and Tisdell
(2016), I developed semi-structured interview guide that contained specific, open-ended, follow-
up and probing questions all around the topics identified in my conceptual framework. I used a
semi-structured protocol, which Patton (2002) suggests allows for the same questions to be
explored with all interviewees as well as provides room to probe into particularly salient areas
relevant to each participant and leave room for spontaneous conversation.
I used open-ended interview questions to ensure the respondent had an opportunity to
elaborate on the answer with details, meaning, feelings and accuracy as Weiss (1994) would
suggest also allows respondents freedom to respond any way they want and are driven to respond
using their own words. The interview protocol questions were based on the conceptual
framework and focused on the three environments (home, school and work), relationships (peers,
family, faculty, student services and boss), engagement (attendance at events, clubs on and off
campus, participation and assignment completion), the sense of belonging in each one of the
environments, the participant’s intention to persist and if he, she, ze had thought about dropping
out of college.
As a part of the protocol, I asked probing follow-up questions to clarify the participant’s
responses. Probing questions are helpful in the follow-up to a question by asking when, who,
where, what, and how (Patton, 2002). Probing questions can be used to be more specific for
sensitive questioning (Meriam & Tisdell, 2016). Consistent with Bogdan and Biklen (2007) I
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 116
used probing follow-up questions, like What do you mean? I’m not sure that I am following you.
Would you explain that? What did you say then? What were you thinking at the time? Give me
an example. Tell me about that experience (p. 104). There should always be a final or closing
question (Patton, 2002), so I asked the participants if there was anything they would like to add
that I did not ask.
During the interview, I ensured all my attention was on the process and the subjects’
responses. I avoided distractions while taking notes, and I actively listened to the responses all
while giving non-verbal and verbal affirmations. Limited notes were taken because it I decided
that it was more important for me, the person conducting the interview, to establish rapport,
listen intently and give nonverbal cue to the participant. clarify questions if needed. I tried to be
empathic as Patton (2002) would suggest helps to establish, understanding, respect and empathy
during the interview therefor interviewee is likely to share more.
Each participant was given an information sheet prior to the interview, I verbally went
over the information sheet and allowed time for the participant to ask questions and/or read the
information sheet on their own. I obtained permission to use a recording device because it is the
law in California, and it is the ethical thing to do. I also recorded the interview as Patton (2002)
and Weiss (1994) suggest because recording the interview verbatim would allow me to use the
participants exact words in the analysis. I assured the participants their recording would only be
used for this research project and I would be transcribing the interview personally.
Data Analysis Procedures
The data analysis began while I was still conducting interviews. According to Bogdan
and Biklen (2007), it is important to collect fieldnotes while conducting interviews to include
written recordings on reflections, feelings, hunches and other speculations or corrections the
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 117
interviewer sees and hears. In addition after each interview, I wrote my reflections and initial
thoughts about emotional responses to questions, the speed at which the student answered the
questions, the areas in which I thought the student had a sense of belonging and overall feelings
about home, school and work in my notebook. Data analysis started at the end of each interview
while I was still in the field interviewing and continued when I transcribed the specific
interviews verbatim within a couple of days after conducting them. After each interview and
during the transcribing, I consulted my fieldnotes and I saw patterns appear. I was conducting
interviews with new students and transcribing the older interviews during a 5-week period. After
completing all the transcriptions, I focused on one student to code.
In the data analysis, I took the raw data from the interview transcription and the
fieldnotes and as Corbin and Strauss (2008) suggest I looked for similarities, variations,
emerging themes and categories. I used Atlas.ti research software to create a project and imported
the transcribed interview files into the system to begin coding. The coding process included
several phases, as I took the raw data through a series of coding cycles to find overall ideas (127
codes) and then narrow down into big ideas (20 code groups).
8
Within the Atlas.ti program, all
codes were saved, highlighted and indexed to the data source. The coded text established a code
book file in the program which was placed into a spreadsheet. Patterns, themes and clusters of
connections emerged from the data. I started with one student to code the transcript, consulted
my fieldnotes and printed out in an excel spreadsheet with the coded passages to write an
analytic narrative with categories for the one student.

8
The 127 codes fit into 20 code groups: academic success, attributes, background factors, commute,
demographics, engagement, environment, future, home/family, homework, other relationships, responsibilities,
school, sense of belonging, struggles at home, struggles at school, give support, receive support, work and zone of
intention.
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 118
The interviews were coded for general themes and categories that arose from each major
question from the sections of the conceptual framework (environments, relationships,
engagement, sense of belonging and the decision to persist) and were compared to each other for
common themes and phrases. I coded three students one right after the other, expanded some of
the codes and started to group codes together, printed the coded group passages, consulted my
fieldnotes and wrote the three-student analytic narrative with similar categories for each student.
This process repeated several times. The queries I ran were school, academic success and
engagement; work and responsibilities; other relationships and environment; sense of belonging
and support, struggles at home and school; zone of intention to persist and future; attributes,
home and family and background factors; commute and demographics. I printed the codes in
large group categories and wrote up three different student analytic narratives at the same time,
which allowed for me to see similarities and differences among three students at a time. I made
comparisons as Corbin and Strauss (2008) suggest by reading into the language being used,
finding the meanings of the words, looking for negative indications, as well as looking for words
that indicate time, emotion and metaphors.
This process continued for each group of three students, and, as I compared the
narratives, I saw different themes emerge: academic awareness, able to problem solve and use
time management, aware of ethnicity and has a career focus. I created a chart depicting which
students had which characteristics. Additional themes and categories that arose from the
comparison to help form codes (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). Once I had coded, written all 14
students’ analytic narratives and charted the similarities and differences, the students started to
cluster together. Data analysis helps to grasp the meanings of events, look for variations on
categories and compare story structures (Corbin & Strauss, 2008). From the clusters I
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 119
determined the use of a quadrant was the best way to visualize the cluster of students’ sense of
belonging in home, school and work intertwined with the intrapersonal factors that emerged.
This visualization allowed the students who had similar variations in sense of belonging and
intrapersonal factors to form themes.
Credibility and Trustworthiness
To increase the credibility and trustworthiness of my study, prior to conducting the
interviews, I researched additional literature on Latinx students in higher education. I read
several articles and I read books on Latino Americans, stereotype threat, oppression and
revolutionizing the university educational system. Prior to and during the analytical process, I
attended workshops on culturally responsive teaching and equity-minded syllabus. As a result of
the workshops and my experience reading, writing, conducting interviews and analyzing the
data, I now have a heightened awareness of minoritized students in higher education. My
consciousness as a middle-aged White woman evolved and shifted. I now have more awareness
and notice how I am perceived and how individual struggles are different from collective
struggles. As a result, I am more aware of projecting my beliefs and values onto others and I
have a greater consciousness of the inequities in education. I continue to seek to understand
others’ experiences and how others shape their understanding of the world.
In addition, I conducted member checks during the interviews to assure I understood the
descriptive information being given by the participant. A credible way to ensure validity is by
conducting member checks and respondent validation during the interviews (Merriam & Tisdell,
2016). I asked the respondents during the interviews for validation on my understanding through
reflective listening. For instance, I asked, “so what I hear you saying is…” or “just for
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 120
clarification….” Ensuring accuracy with the subject responses helped to reduce biases that may
occur during the interview process (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016).
I was aware of my bias in that I have worked in higher education as lecturer for over 10
years, and I have experienced first-hand how the Latinx commuter student struggles to manage
responsibilities outside of school. A personal bias may have occurred in the data collection with
the follow-up questions due to familiarity with the topic (Miles, Huberman & Saldana, 2014).
To minimize bias, I made every effort to follow the semi-structured interview protocol. After
each interview, I took reflective notes in a journal where I captured my thoughts, feelings and
observations about the interview. I used this journal to take notes on the process and ask myself
questions to use when analyzing the data. As a novice interviewer, however, I knew I would
miss follow-up opportunities and did discover questions I should have asked during the
interview. During the analysis process, I realized there were specific areas where I could have
followed up on ethnic identity in terms of sense of belonging at work and school and with friends
and neighbors, but I failed to ask specific questions about ethnic identity. I followed the
interview protocol, which did not have specific question about ethnic identity beyond the single
demographic question. If students mentioned ethnic identity, it was in response to a question set
out in the interview protocol and not due to a follow up question.
The data I did collect were rich and descriptive, which allowed me to see repetition in
how the participants made sense of their world. I was able to triangulate across the 14
individuals in the study, in addition compare interpretations of the data with a peer. I had
multiple conversations with my dissertation chair to help me process, interpret and understand
the complexity of the data from the interviews and I was able to document the data collection
and analysis process thereby creating an audit trail.
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 121
Ethics
It was my responsibility to conduct an ethical study, protecting the participants’ rights and
providing a comfortable environment. I provided each participant an information sheet prior to
the recording at the beginning of the interview, making sure to inform them that they could
choose to opt out of the study at any time. The participant had the option of being recorded, and I
asked, “Is it okay if I record the interview for accuracy?” All participants allowed me to record
the interview. I indicated to the participants that I needed to take notes as well as to write down
other details. The recording of the interview remained on the recording device and was
transferred as a backup to a cloud based secure file storage only available to me. The recordings
only have the pseudonym of the student, and no real student names are in the recording.
The information sheet informed participants that they could stop the interview at any
point and that responses were confidential and used only for the study (Glesne, 2011; Merriam &
Tisdell, 2016). I recruited participants from a setting familiar to mine using network sampling,
so I assured them there was no obligation to submit to an interview, that their participation was
completely voluntary and there was no compensation offered. Rubin and Rubin (2012) stress the
importance of not conducting interviews with participants over whom one has bureaucratic,
finance or social power. I did not interview participants I knew personally. The confidentiality
of the responses was discussed in person prior to the interview. In addition, a brochure on
counseling services was given at the end of the interview which provided each participant with
information on free counseling services available on campus at SC4U. Twelve of the interviews
took place in one interview session. Due to time constraints on the students, there were two
students who I scheduled additional time to finish the interview. With one student the interview
took place in person 12 days after the initial interview and for the other student the interview was
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 122
over the phone 2 days later. The interviews took place in a small conference room or in a small
graduate study room in the library. The participant was not subject to anyone else’s presence.
The information the participant chose to share was only heard by me at the time of the interview,
and I am the only one who listened to the recording to transcribe it. The respondent was
informed that his or her true identity would not be revealed or appear in the final study. Both the
student participant and the university are identified only by pseudonyms.
Limitations and Delimitations
There were limitations to this study. The Institutional Review Board at SC4U required I
not collect personal identifiable information that might have identified the student as first
generation or reveal immigration status. This was a limitation because it prevented me from
collecting data relevant to the first-generation student’s experience specifically, therefore I was
not able to aggregate out the relevance of sense of belonging to persistence to first-generation
students. A limitation is I could not guarantee the participants responded to the questions
truthfully and honestly, as the information they provided cannot be verified. The participants
self-identified as Latinx commuter students, which was not verified, and the students were taken
at their word. Some students might have felt rushed during the interview due to the number of
activities/responsibilities they had outside of school or due to the train or bus schedule. The
participants were available to meet during the day, and no interviews were conducted in the
evening. Many commuter students leave school right after classes, and these students chose to
spend their time participating in the study. One participant was found by chance from my
overhearing the frustration about the commute. There are probably more students frustrated by
commuting, but they might not be on campus enough to participate in a study like this.
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 123
The delimitations of this study include the fact that I am a novice qualitative researcher
and I might not have the types of interview questions needed to answer the research question. I
answered the research question to the best of my ability. I might not have probed at the
appropriate places during the interview to elicit a longer, more detailed response. As the sole
interviewer, I might not have focused enough (or focused too much) on the interview protocol,
because I know I missed at least one opportunity to gather additional data that would have helped
answer the research question more precisely. I should have followed up on specific racial
identity questions when one participant was talking about his friends he hung out with and who
also went to school Therefore, I missed much needed data that would have helped the study and
clarify significant themes. Another delimitation of this study is that I am limited by the timeline
for data collection and analysis, and I might not identify findings in my analysis that a more
experienced research would discover.
Conclusion
The purpose of this study was to provide insight into Latinx commuter students’ sense of
belonging and persistence. I collected data through semi-structured interviews with 14 students
who met the study’s criteria. The interviews took place on the campus of a single 4-year
university in the Southern California region during the spring semester of 2019. The specific
location of the college was known to the dissertation committee, but subjects in this study were
identified by pseudonyms. The conceptual framework presented in Chapter Two guided the
study.

LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 124
CHAPTER FOUR: FINDINGS
The purpose of this study was to understand how Latinx commuter students’ sense of
belonging contributed to their persistence in a 4-year institution of higher education. Therefore,
the findings represented in this chapter answer the following research question: How does
undergraduate Latinx commuter students’ sense of belonging contribute to their persistence to
this point in a 4-year institution of higher education?
My conceptual framework assisted in analysis of the data and facilitated understanding of
sense of belonging at home, school, and work. The one-on-one interviews revealed sense of
belonging cannot be disentangled from intrapersonal characteristics interacting with students’
sense of belonging across environments and contributes to their persistence. Three findings
emerged from the data to help explain participants’ persistence in college. Finding one reveals
two types of persistence in two themes. The first theme is persistence toward graduation occurs
for career or further education, with a subtheme that participants needed time to develop goals
commitments. The second theme is participants persisted in school without goals commitments
and without a focus on degree completion.
The second finding is sense of belonging at home, school and work intertwined with
intrapersonal factors to lead students to persist in school. There are four themes pertaining to this
finding, each related to a group of participants with similar intrapersonal factors and experiences
at home, school and work (Figure 6). Figure 6 below illustrates where participants clustered in
terms of sense of belonging and intrapersonal factors. In the top half of the quadrant,
participants demonstrated higher intrapersonal factors, and those in the bottom half demonstrated
lower intrapersonal factors. Sense of belonging occurred in three separate environments, shown
on the figure as home in blue, school in green and work in orange. Students with a higher sense
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 125
of belonging are on the right side of the quadrant, and those on the left side of the quadrant had a
lower sense of belonging in their environments.

Figure 6. Intrapersonal factors intertwined with sense of belonging at home, school and work.
The third finding is the influence of the two characteristics of participants on persistence.
This finding is explained in two themes: the role of Latinx and college student identity on
persistence and the impact of commuting to campus on persistence.
The remainder of this chapter presents a summary of the Latinx commuter student
participants’ characteristics, the findings and their themes. The data are revealed in such a way
that all 14 student participants are represented by their stories/responses in quotes and several
students’ responses fit within multiple findings and themes.
Participants
The tables below provide an overview of the basic characteristic of the students who
participated in this study. Each of the tables is representative of the themes displayed on the
Sofia
Aubrey
Jay
Edward
Louisa
Ben
Jasmin Valerie
Stefanie
Bridget
Moana
Miranda
Sabrina
Alex
Sofia
Aubrey
Jay
Edward
Louisa
Ben
Jasmin
Valerie
Bridget
Sofia
Aubrey
Jay
Edward
Louisa
Ben
Jasmin Valerie
Stefanie
Bridget
Moana
Miranda
Sabrina
Alex
Intrapersonal Factors
Sense of Belonging at
High
Low
High
HOME WORK SCHOOL
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 126
quadrant (Figure 6). The students are organized within each table by alphabetical order. All
characteristics were in response to questions asked during the interview. The students self-
identified their ethnicity, age, year in school, major, how they commuted to campus, how long it
took to get to campus, how many hours they worked if they worked and their living situation,
which is represented in the home environment column. None of the responses were
independently verified.
Table 1
Summary of Participant Characteristics for Students in Theme One
Student Ethnicity Age Year Major Com-
mute
Time/
Miles
Work
week
Home
Enviro.
Ben Mixed
ethnicity
(see below)
20 Soph Business
Management
Carpool
car
17 miles 20hrs Mom,
stepdad &
sister
Edward Latinx 19 Soph Electrical
Engineering
Drive
alone
30 min 20hrs Mom,
brother,
sister, & +1
adult
Jasmine Latina 21 Senior Food Science Drive
alone
20 min 24hrs Mom &
dad
Louisa Mexican 20 Soph Public Health,
minor Child &
Adolescent
Dev.
Drive
alone
40 min
6 miles
20hrs Mom,
sister, &
two
younger
brothers
Stefanie Latina/
Hispanic
21 Junior Sociology Bus &
Train
90 min
20 miles
No Mom, dad,
& sister
Valerie Mexican 20 Junior Psychology Drive
alone
28 mil 36hrs Mom &
dad

Ben was a 20-year-old male, and, when asked what ethnicity/race he identified with, he
said, “race would be White, ethnicity Hispanic and Asian American. I am Cuban and Afghan, so,
yeah, I guess Asian American, Hispanic/Latino.” Ben was a sophomore enrolled in 15 units,
majoring in business management. Ben lived at home with his mother, stepfather and older
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 127
sister. Ben carpooled to campus with a friend twice a week, approximately 17 miles. Ben
worked as a valet at a major hotel near his home approximately 20 hours a week.
Edward was a 19-year-old male who identified as Latinx. He was a sophomore, enrolled
in 13 units, majoring in electrical engineering. Edward lived at home with his mother, older
brother (who also attended SC4U), younger sister and one additional adult relative. Edward
drove his own car about 20 to 30 minutes each way to campus five days a week. Edward worked
at a movie theatre near his home approximately 20 hours a week, mostly on the weekends.
Jasmine was a 21-year-old female who identified as Latina. She was a senior enrolled in
17 units as a food science major. Jasmine lived at home with her mother and father. Jasmine
commuted over 20 minutes to campus five days a week. She worked at a grocer near her home
approximately 24 hours a week.
Louisa was a 20-year-old female who identified as Mexican. She was a sophomore
enrolled in 16 units, majoring in public health with a minor in child and adolescent development.
Louisa lived with her mother, sister, and two younger brothers. Louisa drove her own car twice a
week to campus, which was approximately six miles. However, driving to campus sometimes
could take 40 minutes in traffic. Louisa worked approximately 20 hours a week at a shoe retail
store near her home.
Stefanie was a 21-year-old female who identified as a Latina/Hispanic. She was a junior
enrolled in 15 units as a general sociology major. Stefanie lived at home with her mother, father
and sister, who also attended SC4U. She commuted to campus three times a week approximately
20 miles and took 1.5 hours by bus, train and bus again, making for three separate modes of
transportation. Stefanie did not drive to campus but had access to a car. She did not have a job at
the time of the interview.
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 128
Valerie was a 20-year-old female who said she identified as “mostly Mexican and I want
to say Hispanic.” She was a junior majoring in psychology. She lived at home with her mother
and father. She drove her own car to campus 2 days a week for approximately 28 miles. Valerie
worked approximately 36 hours a week at two jobs: one in retail and one as a teacher’s assistant
at an elementary school.
Table 2
Summary of Participant Characteristics for Students in Theme Two
Student Ethnicity Age Year Major Com-
mute
Time/
Miles
Work
week
Home
Enviro.
Aubrey Hispanic,
Mexican/
Latina
22 Senior Public Health Drive
alone
40 min
25 miles
25+hrs Mom, dad,
& little
brother
Jay Latina 19 Soph Nutrition &
Dietetics
Drive
alone
16miles/
33 miles
15hrs 3
roommates/
mom &
sister
Sofia Hispanic 25 Senior Psychology,
minor in
Family &
Consumer
Sciences
Drive
alone
14 miles 25+hrs Mom, dad,
& 2 teen
brothers

Aubrey was a 22-year-old female who identified as Hispanic, Mexican/Latina. She was a
senior enrolled in 13 units, majoring in public health. She lived at home with her mother, father
and little brother. Aubrey drove to campus in her own car twice a week. The commute took her
approximately 40 minutes, approximately 25 miles. Aubrey worked in the medical field around
25 hours a week.
Jay was a 19-year-old self-described cis-female Latina. She was a sophomore enrolled in
17 units as a major in nutrition and dietetics. Jay lived in an apartment with three other
roommates during the week about 16 miles from campus and often stayed at her mother’s house
further away, around 33 miles. Her commute varied depending on where she drove from. Jay
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 129
commuted to SC4U 5 days a week and drove her own car. Jay had a job as a personal assistant
near her apartment and worked approximately 20 hours a week.
Sofia was a 25-year-old female who identified as Hispanic. She was a senior enrolled in
15 units as a psychology major with a minor in family and consumer sciences. She lived at
home with her mother, father and two teenage brothers. Sofia commuted to SC4U three times a
week, approximately 14 miles, in her own car. She worked behind the scenes in an office
environment with a major retailer approximately 25 hours a week.
Table 3
Summary of Participant Characteristics for Students in Theme Three
Student Ethnicity Age Year Major Com-
mute
Time/
Miles
Work
week
Home
Enviro.
Alex Filipina &
Spanish
21 Junior Apparel Design
&
Merchandising
Drive
alone
30-50
min
No Mom, dad,
brother
Miranda Mexican 21 Senior Nutrition,
minor in
Business
Management
Drive
alone
33
miles
No Mom, dad,
brother &
sister
Moana Hispanic 21 Junior Child &
Adolescent
Development
Drive
alone
40 min
7 miles
No Mom &
dad,
brother
Sabrina Mexican
American
19 Soph Not declared Greyhou
nd or
Dad
5 hrs
290
miles/
60 min
28
miles
No Las Vegas
- Mom,
dad, sister
& brother/
LA-aunt,
uncle & 2
cousins

Alex was a 21-year-old female who identified as Filipina and Spanish. She was a junior
in apparel design and merchandising, taking 15 units. She commuted to campus three times a
week, which took from 30 to 50 minutes depending on traffic. Alex lived at home with her
mother, father and brother. She did not have a job at the time of the interview.
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 130
Miranda was a 21-year-old female who identified as Mexican. She was a senior enrolled
in 7 units majoring in nutrition with a minor in psychology. Miranda lived at home with her
mother, father, older brother and younger sister, and she drove approximately 33 miles to
campus. Miranda did not have a job at the time of the interview.
Moana was a 21-year-old female who identified as Hispanic. She was a junior enrolled
in 13 units majoring in child and adolescent development. Moana lived at home with her
mother, father and younger brother. Moana drove her own car approximately 7 miles to campus,
which could take 40 minutes with traffic approximately five times a week. Moana did not have a
job at the time of the interview.
Sabrina was a 19-year-old female who identified as a Mexican American. She was a
sophomore who was undecided on a major and was taking 9 units. Sabrina commuted from Las
Vegas, Nevada to SC4U by Greyhound bus, or her father drove her once a week about 5 or more
hours for 270 miles. Sabrina lived with her mother, father, sister and older brother in Las Vegas.
Two nights a week, while Sabrina was in California, she stayed with her aunt and uncle and two
cousins. She then would carpool with a friend in the morning to campus approximately 28 miles
twice a week. After class, she would take a bus back to stay with her relatives for two nights.
After classes at the end of the week, she either took the Greyhound bus back to Las Vegas or her
father picked her up. Sabrina did not have a job at the time of the interview.
Table 4
Summary of Participant Characteristics for the Student in Theme Four
Student Ethnicity Age Year Major Com-
mute
Time/
Miles
Work
week
Home
En
viro.
Bridget Hispanic &
Italian
21 Soph Deaf Studies Train 90 min
47 mil
24+hrs Mom, +2
other
adults

LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 131
Bridget was a 21-year-old female who identified as Hispanic and Italian. She was a
sophomore enrolled in 12 units majoring in deaf studies. Bridget lived at home with her mother,
and two non-relative adults. Bridget commuted 47 miles on the train to campus three times a
week. It took about an hour and a half each way. Bridget worked at a hardware store near her
home approximately 24 hours a week.
Finding 1: Decision to Persist in School
At the time of the interviews, all 14 participants had persisted in school into or beyond
the fourth semester of college. Persistence
9
is generally considered to be a student’s intention to
continue in college to degree completion (Tinto, 1975). Persistence is not as straight forward as
Tinto’s 1993
10
model would suggest, as there are individual considerations and personal
development processes that play into students’ decision to persist (Bean & Eaton, 2000; Milem
& Berger, 1997; Pascarella et al., 2016; Tierney, 2000). Tierney (2000) specifically
recommended considering a model where students come and go throughout their educational
lives regardless of how long it takes for degree completion. I found two types of persistence.
Theme one is persistence as a commitment towards degree completion for career or further
education, with a subtheme that goals commitments developed overtime. Theme two is
persistence was staying in school without a focus on degree completion, non-specific career
plans, no plans for further education and no plan to drop out.

9
I am choosing to stay with the language of persistence to capture the entirety of the concept of students
staying in school. Many labels have been used to describe the relationship between community college/college
student and institutions of higher education. Persistence, retention, attrition, withdrawal and student departure are
explained in chapter 1.
10
As discussed in chapter 2, Tinto’s 1993 is the revised 1975 longitudinal model of institutional departure.
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 132
Theme 1: Persistence Towards Graduation for Career or Further Education
The first theme is consistent with Tinto’s (1975, 1993) model in that nine students had
goals in mind and were continuously evaluating their scheme to reach degree completion. The
students who were captured in this theme had established clear goals as they were focused on
their career paths and continued to evaluate what they wanted to accomplish inside and outside
of school. For example, Aubrey had clear career goals to be in the medical field and saw her
education as a way to reach those goals. Although she expected to be a nursing major when she
started at SC4U, she discovered that the nursing major had been discontinued. She chose public
health as an alternative. Majoring in public health sustained her interest in the medical field and
increased her understanding of health in the community and what appealed to her about it.
Aubrey said,
It wasn’t my first choice. I came here for nursing, but, when I came, I found out that the
program had been cut. I don’t know what happened to the program, so I just decided to
go with public health. I think it was probably one of the best decisions I have made to
stick with public health because I view health in a different approach as opposed to I did
with nursing. I like the community, the prevention aspect of public health and how you
reach a larger community instead on just the doctor/nurses side where you just give them
the cure. It is kind of preventing. That is why I like it now.
In the above statement, Aubrey demonstrated her views had changed from an individual
perspective on health issues from just one person receiving a cure from a doctor or nurse to a
broader spectrum of health issues in the “larger community.” She could have been derailed as a
freshman when the nursing program was canceled, but she continued and discovered a new way
of looking at nursing from a prevention and community health perspective. Aubrey also stated,
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 133
“I mean with graduating and having all these things to do at the same time. ‘Cause we all work
and go to school and we do other activities to try to get into grad school and stuff.” She had
goals to complete her degree in public health and then continue her education in graduate school.
Aubrey also recognized it was essential for her to stay focused and the way her identity as
a Latina played a role in her goals. Aubrey said,
I think, as a Latina, you have to be very committed to your goals because it is very
easily… you can easily go off and get on a different road and especially if you live in a
lower-income community where you have to work and go to school to provide for your
family. So, I think you have to be very persistent in your goals.
Aubrey felt extra pressure as a Latina to be committed to her goals, and she realized, at times,
her goals might get overshadowed by the pull of other responsibilities in her life. She was aware
of potential distractions in her own community that could lead her in different directions.
However, Aubrey remained focused on school and committed to persist to degree completion
and beyond.
Another student, Ben, had strong career goals, and, although he had contemplated the job
market instead of school, he persisted at SC4U because he believed that having a degree would
allow him greater financial rewards. Ben’s choice to stay in school was consistent with Tinto’s
(1975) finding that students continually evaluate the return on investment for staying in college
compared to going directly into the job market. Ben shared his thoughts on his future, his plan of
staying in school while he had a scholarship for tuition and remained focused on his career goals
of becoming a real estate agent:
A strategy I would say possibly reminding myself how much it will improve my life, not
only now but in the future. The things that I am learning are helping me day-to-day but
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also how this degree will propel me improve my life for my future family. That helps me
a lot. That keeps me motivated. Also, you know, I have goals, and I think that just being
in school will allow me to reach those goals faster and even better. I would say just
keeping myself motivated and reminding myself why I am there in the first place helps a
lot. I have thought about dropping out of school definitely once or twice. Here, I will
talk to you about real estate. I had my license only a few months ago. Even before I
actually got the license, I was always thinking, though, what happens when I get the
license? There is no way I am going to have time to start a real estate career and go to
school. That is impossible. You have to do real estate full time to really do well. So, I
had those thought processes in my head, and I had to think about whether or not I still
want to be in school or I drop out, start real estate, go make some money. That was a
really tough choice from me actually. What made me decide to stay in school, [I] think,
was the fact that it is free for me and that all I need is just some patience and it will all be
okay.
Ben evaluated his long- and short-term goals and resisted the appeal to drop out of school to start
his career as a real estate agent now. Ben was aware he did not have the capacity to go to school
full time and focus on a real estate career all at once. He was thoughtful about his future life and
weighed his current options to convince himself there were more potential earnings with a
college degree to eventually support a family of his own. He realized he needed to be patient,
stay in school and start his career after degree completion.
Stefanie was another student who looked closely at what the degree would provide for
her in the future, she evaluated her decision to stay in school, and, as a result, she persisted.
According to Tinto (1975, 1988, 1997), commitment is a stage after a series of continuous self-
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 135
evaluations, prior to the student’s decision to persist. Stefanie reevaluated her major in general
sociology when she was a sophomore and affirmed her interests would provide a foundation for
her future. Stefanie said,
I am a sociology major, and I knew that is what I liked, and I was really interested in it
because I did take a high school class, and I was like, “This is cool. This is what I want
to do.” Maybe it was my sophomore year in the beginning. Maybe it was last year that I
kind of doubted it a little bit because I was like, “Is this really going to get me
somewhere?” I think like, “How much money am I going to make? What do I do after
college?” They all come like in different times. So, then, after I begin to think about the
money aspect, I was like, okay, what is this going to do for me? Even though I like it
right? But, now, I feel like I have a plan and I know where I am headed, so that has given
me more certainty, I guess. Now, I am back to how I used to feel about it. So, I want to
graduate with a sociology degree and then go to grad school for a master’s in social work.
Stefanie chose a major she really liked before she arrived at SC4U but continued to evaluate her
major as she persisted in school. She used an evaluation process to question her interests and
time in college in comparison with her future. When she had a plan, she felt committed in the
path she laid out for herself. She went back and forth in her evaluation over her first couple of
years at school, but she was committed to degree completion to continue her education in
graduate school.
Sub-theme: Time to develop goals commitments to persist. While the students
described above established goals early to persist in school, not all students had goals from the
beginning. There were two students who needed a longer period of time to develop goals
commitments to link to their persistence and four other student who are still developing goals
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 136
commitments described in theme 2. Tinto (1993) noted having goals commitments is essential
and expands the concept to include the process of goals commitments takes place over time “by a
changing balance of academic and social involvements” (Tinto, 1997, p. 618). This finding
revealed that some students needed time to develop goals commitments as they persisted in
school.
Sofia is one example of a student who took time to develop socially and academically to
acquire goals commitments. Sofia started SC4U as a freshman. By the time she was a
sophomore, she stopped going to class and took her general education courses at a community
college. When she returned to SC4U, she had clearer academic goals. She considered her future
and developed plans for graduate school towards a career in marriage and family therapy. Sofia
said,
So, started here right out of high school having no clue what to do. So, I feel like, since I
didn’t have the slightest idea of what I wanted to do, I feel like I didn’t have the
motivation to do well in school. So, I think it was sophomore year I kind of left and not
coming to school. I took some classes at a community college. I finished most of my GEs
there, and then, when I came back to [SC4U], I had an idea of what I wanted to do and
that was marriage and family therapy. So, when I came back, I really buckled down and
started bettering my grades and really focusing on school. In my major, a lot of us do
think about grad school. We are always asking each other on advice for what program or
if one of us goes to a grad school days or events. We ask advice on how was the
program. Does it seem like a good program? A strategy that has helped me, I think, just
looking at the big picture that, when I am done, this will better my future. When I do
think about it, it is because of the big picture. Just having my bachelor’s and being able to
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 137
go to grad school because of my bachelor’s degree and then just have a good stable
career.
Sofia was not socially or academically involved when she arrived at SC4U as a freshman. In the
beginning, she did not have goals, focus, a career goal, idea for the future, or motivation to do
well academically. She had little care to actually attend class, and, as a result, she stopped going
to SC4U. Sofia did not completely disappear from school, but, rather, she started taking classes
at a community college. In Sofia’s first college experience, she had “no clue what to do.” She
stepped away for a while and then returned to SC4U with a focus on a career goal to become a
marriage and family therapist.
With this renewed focus on a career goal, Sofia became serious about her grades and
became academically involved because she knew she needed to get better grades for graduate
school. She became socially involved with her peers in her major with whom she shared in the
experience of planning, contemplating programs as a group and compared programs. She
involved herself in the institution by being connected to others in her major and by having
conversations about future goals. Sofia looked at the “big picture” to better her future. This
motivated her to be focused on completing her bachelor’s degree, to find a good graduate school
for a marriage and family therapy program and to ultimately establish a stable career. Sofia did
not drop out of school but, rather, developed her goals commitments over time as she slowly
became involved academically and socially into school.
Theme 2: Persistence to Stay in School Without a Focus on Graduation
Four students persisted, or remained, in school without goals commitments or a focus on
degree completion, with no career plans and no further educational plans. These students were
“stuck” in school, stayed in and did not drop out. Tinto’s (1975) model considers that some
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 138
students stay in college because of external forces “that may limit the ability of individuals to
invest in alternative forms of activity” such as job, work or employment opportunities (p. 98).
The students who fell into this category were students who did not have anything better to do and
no alternative activities besides school at this time. However, these students persist with the
hope a college degree would provide access to other opportunities which is consistent with
Cabrera, Burkum, La Nasa, and Bibo (2012) suggest that having a bachelor’s degree is
considered the “gatekeeper” to social mobility and employment stability and occupational
prestige (p. 167).
Sabrina fit into this theme. She had not declared her major by her fourth semester in
college. She had no strong career focus and no other plans. Nevertheless, she continued in
school where she felt safe. Sabrina said,
It is just this thing that keeps coming back to me. It’s like I don’t have a major. Maybe I
am not that passionate about school. This whole thing is just all over the place, and it is
like maybe I should drop out. But, then again, the whole idea of what I am going to do
next keeps me coming back and keeps me in school, and that is why I haven’t dropped
out.
Here Sabrina described how she felt unsettled without a major. She questioned her own
dedication to school, but she had few ideas for alternatives to school. The future continuously
occupied her mind, and she realized she lacked passion for school overall. She felt troubled by a
lack of focus and considered dropping out, but she still persisted. Sabrina hinted that she did not
want to just go to work. She would like to find something better, but she was unsure of her next
step in her life, so she just stayed in school:
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 139
Because I could easily just be like, “I am going to work somewhere,” but I don’t want to.
I want to have something better. I don’t believe that school is the only way, but it is the
safest. That is my key: to go get a degree or something.
Sabrina communicated her belief that she had few alternatives to going to school. She did not
want to just go to work, and she had confidence that school was the safest path to provide access
something better in her life. Although she had no focus on a career and had no declared major,
she persisted in school because, for now, she did not want to work and had no better alternative.
Another student, Miranda, had a declared major in nutrition with a minor in psychology
but had no clear focus on a career, and there were few alternatives to school at this point, so she
remained. Miranda expressed she wanted a degree to provide her with opportunities, which was
consistent with Cabrera et al.’s (2012) finding that a bachelor’s degree is considered the path to
“employment stability and occupational prestige” in life (p. 167). For example, Miranda said,
I feel like there are multiple reasons, but one of them is that you can’t really work
anywhere without a degree, so that is one. And, then, to just doing what I want to do,
people view you differently if you have a degree.
Miranda indicated multiple reasons for staying in school. When she said, “you can’t really work
anywhere without a degree,” she showed a belief that a degree would provide access to working
opportunities and more freedom to do what she wanted in the future. When she said, “people
view you differently,” she indicated that having a bachelor’s degree would separate her from
others who did not have college degrees. She wanted choices in life to do “something,” but she
was not necessarily focused on a goal. Miranda lamented that she did not have a clear career
goal compared to students in her same major. Miranda said, “I can’t be like other students in my
department. They say they want to be a dietitian in a hospital. I have ideas, but I don’t have an
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 140
exact career choice.” She understood that others in her major had clear career goals, but she only
had “ideas” of what she wanted as a career with a degree in nutrition. Besides not having a focus
on a career, Miranda was not focused on graduation either. She could have looked into
graduating earlier, but graduation was not on her mind until her mother asked when she would be
graduating, which prompted Miranda to see an advisor. Miranda said,
Recently, I thought I was graduating in summer until I got advisement, last semester, for
this semester. So, she [advisor] said I would need to take about 6 or 7 units for the next
few semesters, and my mom asked me about when I was going to graduate, and I was
like, “No, I am not.” She was kind of upset, but she knows I am going to follow through
with it. She showed that she cared. [She said], “it is your fault for not taking chemistry at
the very beginning.”
Here Miranda demonstrated that she had little urgency about degree completion compared to her
mother’s expectations. She was not concentrated on graduation until her mother inquired. She
did not have a clear idea of when she was going to graduate until after she saw an advisor. She
knew her mother was upset because she did not take classes when needed to set herself up to
move forward in her major, but Miranda believed her mother trusted she would graduate
eventually. Miranda was not in pursuit of other activities at this point. She stayed in school not
necessarily to accomplish a career goal, but to take units each semester until she earned a degree
at some point.
Overall, the 14 students interviewed fell into two common persistence themes:
persistence with goals commitments and persistence without goals commitments. The stories
shared revealed persistence had many variations on these themes. Some students arrived at
school with clear goals commitments in mind, but they continued to evaluate the purpose of the
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bachelor’s degree, and, for other students, establishing goals commitments took time.
11
There
were students who had no other activities to consider other than going to school as well as
students who considered having a degree as essential for more opportunities in life.
Finding 2: Sense of Belonging Intertwined with Intrapersonal Factors to Support
Persistence
Sense of belonging and intrapersonal factors were intertwined in ways that contributed to
students’ persistence at SC4U and consistent with the research that demonstrates sense of
belonging requires being conscious of one’s own feelings, which requires intrapersonal
competency (National Academy of Sciences, 2017). As described in my conceptual framework,
sense of belonging is interactions and relationships that result in feeling connected, supported,
validated, part of a community, cared for, accepted and respected (Goodenow, 1993; Marshall et
al., 2012; Morrow & Ackermann, 2012; Rendon, 1994; Strayhorn, 2012; Zumbrunn et al., 2014).
Also set out in my conceptual framework are intrapersonal factors, which are skills associated
with the process of evaluating personal strengths, weaknesses, desires and intelligence (Gardner
& Hatch, 1989). In addition, Bronfenbrenner’s multilayered model helps explain the
interconnectedness of intrapersonal factors and sense of belonging in that the developing person
interacts with the interconnected environments by using personal characteristics: “Personal
mental and emotional ‘resources’ for example, previous experiences and skills; social and
material resources, personal temperament, motivation, persistence” (Mclinden, 2017, p. 382).
All of the participants’ sense of belonging contributed to persistence in conjunction with
their intrapersonal factors. Sense of belonging showed up in the data as students described

11
According to Pascarella et al (2004) first-generation students are less likely to have degree plans even by
the end-of-the-third-year. There is a possibility some students did not have goals commitments because they were
first generation college students, however due to the limitations of this study I did not collect data to identify first
generation students.
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 142
reciprocal relationships with others in school, home and work. The intrapersonal factors in this
finding were demonstrated by a combination of the ability to manage/navigate life in multiple
environments/spaces, having meta-cognitive awareness of one’s own academic and social-
emotional capacity, problem-solving skills, time management and the ability to establish
boundaries with school, home and work. The consciousness of one’s own abilities and
awareness (intrapersonal factors) and the consciousness of one’s own sense of belonging
contributed to persistence by perpetually moving participants forward to reach goals, improve
intrapersonal skills and develop a sense of belonging to persist in school.
While all participants had persisted at the time of this study, there were considerable
differences in the qualities associated with the strength of intrapersonal factors and sense of
belonging. The data analysis revealed sense of belonging was expressed in terms of high and
low, the number of settings in which they had a sense of belonging and the quality or strength of
the connections of sense of belonging in the environment. The high and low of interpersonal
factors were demonstrated by the extent to which that factor was developed and deployed to
support goal attainment. A student with high intrapersonal factors had fully developed skills
utilized in the environment, while a student with low intrapersonal factors was in the process of
developing intrapersonal factors and had not yet fully deployed skills. The data analysis
uncovered a range of sense of belonging: from high in all environments to low in all
environments. Intertwined with the sense of belonging was whether the student demonstrated
high or low intrapersonal factors.
Sense of belonging intertwined with intrapersonal factors is described by each theme. The
first theme was demonstrated by six students who revealed a high sense of belonging in all
environments and who had strong intrapersonal skills. The second theme was demonstrated by
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three students who had a high sense of belonging in at least one environment and strong
intrapersonal skills. The theme three was demonstrated by four students who had lower sense of
belonging in combination with lower intrapersonal skills. Lastly, the fourth theme was
represented by an outlier student, who, at one point, had a high sense of belonging at school and
home and whose intrapersonal skills seemed to vary widely by environment.
Theme 1: High Sense of Belonging in all Environments Intertwined With High
Intrapersonal Factors to Support Persistence
In this theme, there were six students who had a high sense of belonging in all three
environments and all six students demonstrated high intrapersonal factors (Figure 6). The
intrapersonal factors the students had directly influenced the sense of belonging in the students’
environments. The intrapersonal factors exhibited in this theme were personal development, time
management, assessing individual needs, changing one’s own behavior to adjust to the
environment, working with others to problem solve, all of which are reflected in research (Bean
& Eaton, 2000; Braxton & Hirschy, 2005; Gefen & Fisher, 2013; Hartley, 2011; Morrow &
Ackermann, 2012). Consistent with the sense of belonging literature (Hagerty et al., 1996;
Hurtado et al., 1996; Rendon, 1994; Rendon-Linares & Munoz, 2011; Strayhorn, 2012), the
elements that contributed to these students’ sense of belonging across all three settings were
feeling comfortable with professors, socializing with friends inside and outside the classroom,
believing they were valued members of a community, having self-worth, and being respected and
supported by faculty, counselors, friends and family. The strength of students’ sense of
belonging in home, school and work interlaced with the strength of intrapersonal skills
contributed to their persistence. While the four students I present in this section had a high sense
of belonging in all environments, I use each to represent a high sense of belonging in one
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 144
environment. The data below demonstrate how sense of belonging played out in one
environment in conjunction with high intrapersonal factors to influence persistence.
First, Louisa had high sense of belonging at school intertwined with high intrapersonal
factors (Figure 6). Louisa had academic and social awareness, exhibited by patterned behavior,
in combination with her sense of belonging that influenced her to persist in school. Louisa
demonstrated her high intrapersonal factors when she was cognitively aware of her grade and
had a desire to change her behavior in class to improve her grade. This behavior is consistent
with Hagerty et al. (1996) who argue that “psychological and social functioning” help to develop
a strong sense of belonging (p. 243). Plus, she felt comfortable reaching out to professors for
advice, which is similar to Rendon-Linares and Munoz’s (2011) finding that students’ self-worth
is affirmed when they are validated and supported by agents in the classroom. Louisa felt
comfortable and respected when she inquired about her grade. Louisa shared,
Usually, what I try to do is meet up with the professor at least once a semester, but I
haven’t done it yet this semester, but, the last time I did it was last semester, and it was
my sociology professor. I went to his office hours ’cause my grade wasn’t where I
wanted it to be. So, I just went and talk to him and how I can change, things that I can do
to bring up my grade. He was very respectful. He was very understanding. He was very
open, and he gave me several ideas on what I can do, and, so, that was a good experience.
Here, Louisa explained how part of her strategy in school was to reach out to professors each
semester, which implies her intrapersonal factors were intertwined with her sense of belonging,
since she had the skills to approach professors and she felt comfortable consistently reaching out
for support from professors: “Usually what I try to do is meet up with the professor at least once
a semester.” Louisa had academic awareness that her “grade wasn’t where I want it to be,” and
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 145
she inquired as to how she could improve her grade in the class. Louisa needed the intrapersonal
skills to recognize her academic decline in class and a sense of belonging to comfortably
approach the professor for guidance. She believed that the professor was respectful towards her
“he was very respectful.” She received advice on how to bring up her grade, and, with her
intrapersonal factors, she interpreted this exchange as a “good experience.”
Louisa’s intrapersonal factors gave her the ability to be mindfully aware she needed to
manage her activities and needed to be efficient with her time at home, school and work. This is
consistent with many commuter students who need to use their time effectively on campus due to
other demanding commitments (Braxton & Hirschy, 2005). In addition, students need the
intrapersonal skills to negotiate their environments to fit their individual needs (Hartley, 2011).
Louisa outlined her strategies to stay on track with school and work. She said,
Well, some of the ways was I would do my homework during my gaps or I would do
homework after work. I would just have to manage activities, especially homework wise
and study. Okay, what else? I definitely tried agendas. I tried different types of agendas. I
have done the monthly one. I have done the one that is separated by time; that one
doesn’t work for me. And then the ones to do and you check off; that one if feel like that
works for me. I have said, “oh, tonight I will do this,” and I will be checking it off. I
have to find a way. Last semester, most of my classes ended up early, but I will give
myself time. I will tell my manager, “You can schedule me after this time.” I will
schedule myself time to either eat or do homework or whatever activity I need to do.
Here, Louisa explained that she purposively and consciously used time between classes to do
homework. She felt comfortable doing homework on campus and was aware of the academic
need to complete homework and study. She had the problem-solving skills to use different
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 146
agendas and change strategies in her schedule to find the right approach. She felt comfortable
negotiating the demands of her job by telling her boss when she could work, being sure to build
in time to do homework, eat and “whatever activity I need to do.” The intrapersonal skills
Louisa demonstrated, along with her sense of belonging at school, worked in tandem to keep her
on track to persist at school.
Second, Edward has high sense of belonging at home and high intrapersonal factors
(Figure 6). Edward had high intrapersonal skills of evaluation, assessment and adaptation of
work, home and school, including a high sense of belonging with a supportive network of friends
at home. Edward had a group of friends outside of school who helped him gain a sense of
community, and he developed accommodations to keep focused on school. His experience
aligned with Hurtado et al.’s (1996) findings, as positive friendships at home and at school help
students with social adjustment in college and aligned with Rendon (1994) suggestion that
supportive networks foster academic progress. Similarly, the level of support in the
environments combined with personal development are related to persistence (Morrow &
Ackermann, 2012). Edward demonstrated high intrapersonal skills in forming relationships and
a sense of belonging with his group of friends:
I think my group of friends is the community that I am like. These are different types of
people. These are a bunch of different types of people. They are not all the same, [and]
are actually talking to one another and actually helping each other. So, it is just different
jobs, different ethnicities, different studies, different majors. We are all just like, “okay,”
so diverse that everyone else is helping one another and not only their subject but in other
subjects. I think that is where I feel the most sense of community. These are friends that
go to community colleges or other universities that it is just the kind of connection that
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 147
we are all just like, “hey, we are all going through this.” We are all just trying to push
through, so it is just friends I just talk to outside of [SC4U].
Edward had the intrapersonal skills to be open with friends and share in his experiences. He had
this supportive group of friends who contributed to his sense of belonging outside of school.
These friends were a diverse group of friends who also went to college, had different jobs, were
of different ethnicities, had different majors and provided a sense of community because they all
shared in the college-going experience. They had openness to engage in positive social
interactions and maintain a social network of friends who helped one another. The statement that
“everyone else is helping one another” is an example of a combination of intrapersonal factors
and a sense of belonging. This shared school experience helped promote academic progress:
“We are all just trying to push through.”
In addition, Edward had an academically challenging semester, but he used his
intrapersonal skills to assess and change his situation to persist, which is similar to Bean and
Eaton’s (2000) finding that a person needs to be willing to self-assess his/her/hir environment
and adapt or adjust his/her/hir behavior to better fit the life situation. Edward described how he
changed and developed after getting a bad grade, although he continued his focus on school:
Well, after I got the bad grade. At first, I was just like, “I will just take less units,” and,
then, when I try taking less units, I saw that I got, on one of my first tests, I got a low
grade as well. So, I was like, “okay, maybe it is not the less units,” so it was just a matter
of just trying different things. The moment I found out taking less amount of classes isn’t
changing how I am performing, I decided to change something else outside of my classes.
So, just finding out that it is not only the amount of classes that is making me perform
bad, and it is outside factors. That’s when I am just like, “okay, I am going to start taking
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care of the outside factors” and start focusing on school, work, family, transportation,
responsibilities. I need to make sure that I can manage my time well. If that means like
not going out as much and enjoying social events and social activities, then so be it. I am
just like, “I will give up stuff like that in order for me to actually have more time for
school.”
Edward communicated that he was keeping track of his grades. He tried one strategy to take
fewer units, but that did not increase his grade. He did not give up, as he would “just trying
different things.” He kept trying to find the right combination for academic success. He was
cognitively aware the issue might not be the number of classes he took, but, rather, issues outside
of school: “outside factors.” He consciously evaluated “work, family, transportation,
responsibilities” to understand where he could find more time for school. As a commuter student,
Edward was also aware he needed evaluate his commute to school along with other
responsibilities. Edward established boundaries and was willing to not go out to social events
and “will give up stuff” to make sure he had time for school. Edward’s sense of belonging with
his friends, interwoven with his intrapersonal factors of awareness, problem-solving skills and
understanding the need to adjust his environments all contributed to his persistence.
The next student, Jasmine, is representative of a high sense of belonging at home
combined with high intrapersonal factors contributing to persistence (Figure 6). Jasmine
believed she was very supported at home, where she lived with both her mother and father, and
she utilized her home environment mixed with her intrapersonal factors to manage her stress at
school and in life. Jasmine relied on her support systems at home to help her navigate the
interconnectedness of her other environments. She used her interpersonal skills to negotiate her
environments to reduce her overall stress level, which is consistent with Hartley’s (2011) finding
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that intrapersonal factors contribute to negotiating stress in the college environment. Jasmine
shared how she relied on her support systems and strategies to help reduce stress to keep
persisting:
I guess some strategies would be always expressing to my support systems, which is like
my family, my boyfriend and my friends, on how I am feeling stressed, and they tell me
“no, keep going. You are almost done. It will pass. You know you can do it.” And I am
like, “you know, yeah, you are right. I am just being a baby and complaining.” So, I
guess a strategy is not holding in my stress and actually trying to get rid of my stress,
reduce my stress by talking or crying it out. That is a huge strategy: working out.
Working it out, to me, is like talking to people. And, also, time management. I have
learned a lot of time management. I have a planner and writing everything down has
really helped. Or asking for help when you need it. Those are really my strategies, I
guess, that have kept me going
Jasmine demonstrated that she was conscious of her emotional wellbeing, felt comfortable
expressing her anxieties to her support systems and relied on them to provide encouragement as
she navigated the stresses of school. Her support system encouraged her to persist, and she knew
she could ask them for help. She learned strategies to help with her stress like time management,
using a planner, writing down tasks, going to the gym or even just “crying it out” to help her
navigate the stress. Her overall sense of belonging and family functioning were important to
mitigating stress, which is consistent with Gefen and Fisher’s (2013) finding that a balanced
family functioning where families share problems, explore problem-solving strategies and allow
for flexibility can help the student remain emotionally connected and diminish stress. Jasmine
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described how she was supported by her parents when they checked in on how she was
managing her work and school:
My parents usually every day [ask], “How was your day?” Then, I tell them so and so. It
is support, and they listen. They want to listen, and they care. My parents will usually ask
me if I need anything. In a sense, like money for food or like money for textbooks or that
way they ask me if I need anything. They will provide that support, or, honestly, if I just
ask them, “I need a hug,” they will probably. But, if I can’t handle work and I want to
quit, they will be like, “yeah, we are here for you,” so I have a lot of support.
Jasmine was aware of the social-emotional relationship she had with her parents and was
conscious of the types of support her family provided her. She had a strong sense of belonging at
home where she believed she was supported financially and emotionally. She was supported
when her parents listened, which, to her, showed her parents cared about her wellbeing. She felt
supported when her parents asked questions such as whether she needed financial support:
“money for food or like money for textbooks.” She also felt emotionally supported. Jasmine’s
support system gave her a sense of belonging at home, which she used in conjunction with her
intrapersonal factors to persist in school.
Valerie is representative of a high sense of belonging at work intertwined with high
intrapersonal factors that support the path to persistence (Figure 6). Valerie worked in retail and
as a teacher’s assistant at the elementary school she attended when she was young. Valerie was
managing commitments to her jobs, her school and her parents, which took intrapersonal factors
to recognize the complexity of organizing these environments. She utilized her income from the
two jobs to help her parents, which is consistent with Gefen and Fisher’s (2013) work showing
parents sometimes place demands on students to share expenses, and “balanced family
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functioning is associated with problem-focused coping strategies and lower levels of stress” (p.
98). Valerie and her family were working together to manage the household expenses while her
father was out of work. She shared her awareness of her stress and responsibilities:
I did want to take time off this semester. I had talked it out with my parents, and I told
them I feel like I am really stressed out. It was mostly because I am also helping my dad
out, pay a couple of bills around the house, just because he is injured and not working
right now. So, I feel like this period has been very stressful for me especially since I have
to manage now a lot of stuff. I did want to take time off mainly because of bills and all
that, but my parents kind of encouraged me not to.
Valerie said in a different part of the interview,
What makes me feel respected, I guess, the fact that I am trying to be more independent
now, so I guess trying to manage school, work. Trying to pay my own. Let’s say, if
something messes up on my car, I will pay my car stuff, or I will pay my own bills. So, I
guess they respect me a little more. They see that I am growing up, and they know that I
am taking responsibilities in adult things I want to say.
Valerie recognized that life was getting more stressful as she took on more responsibilities at
home with two jobs to help with bills. She acknowledged the stress and wanted to take a
semester off, but her parents encouraged her to stay in school. Valerie had a strong sense of
belonging at home, where her parents respected her and encouraged her to stay in school. She
had a sense of pride from her parents, which intertwined with her intrapersonal skills of being
conscious of her parents’ respect. Valerie was responsible for paying the repairs on her car “if
something messes up on my car” and needed to make sure her car was in working condition to
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allow her to commute to school. She was managing adult things, like paying household bills,
handling work responsibilities and managing school.
Valerie described her sense of belonging at work at the elementary school as being part of
a Hispanic community. Valerie was conscious of her identity, which informed her intrapersonal
beliefs and values. This consciousness is consistent with the National Academy of Science’s
(2017) noting positive connectedness to racial identity fosters a strong sense of belonging and
with Strayhorn’s (2012) work on sense of belonging associated with social identity. Shared
experiences in life and social contexts provide a sense of security and baseline for students to
become valued as part of a community. Here, Valerie revealed her comfortability working in the
school environment:
I can start with the elementary school job. I went to elementary there. It is a Hispanic
community as well. I know a lot of the teachers there. Mostly, the students are Hispanic,
and the teachers [are] a variety different ethnicities and races. I feel it is comfortable. For
me, it is a comfortable setting just to be there. It is a bit better. I want to say it is a lot
better than retail just because, in retail, you work with more adults and it is harder [with]
communication. With a school job and with elementary kids, it is a little bit easier
because you have to be kind of authoritative, kind of stand as an authoritative person that
just works with kids.
In this statement, Valerie demonstrated that she had a high sense of belonging at work in the
elementary school’s community. She was aware of and felt close to the predominantly Hispanic
community. She was conscious that there were mostly Hispanic children, and she was
comfortable. Valerie would rather be among the Hispanic community socializing with teachers
and children at the elementary school than be with adults at her retail job. She was mindful that
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it was easier to communicate with the children and preferred to be the person who was
“authoritative” than working with other adults in a retail setting. These incredibly complex
responsibilities were interwoven with her sense of belonging in her environments that
encouraged her to persist in school.
Theme 2: High Sense of Belonging in Two Environments Intertwined With High
Intrapersonal Factors to Support Persistence
Illustrating this theme are three students who had high sense of belonging at home and
work and a lower sense of belonging at school, which was intertwined with high intrapersonal
factors (Figure 6). All of these students, in a variety of ways, did not feel a sense of belonging at
school. They did not believe they were excluded from school, but they preferred to spend their
time at home or work. These students expressed they did not need or want to spend time on
campus. They left campus directly after class, did not want to return to campus once they had
left, and they had full lives off campus with work and home. This is consistent with the literature
on commuter students which found students are less likely to engage in on-campus activities
(Ishitani & Reid, 2012; Jacoby & Garland, 2005; Newbold et al., 2011). The sense of belonging
intertwined with intrapersonal factors revealed in this theme combined in such a way that sense
of belonging to school was less critical. Students preferred to seek validation out of class, which
is similar to validation literature in that
the effect that out-of-class validation agents have on students is incalculable. Parents who
provide consistent encouragement, spouses who are supportive, peers who lend a helping
hand - all of these validating agents act to suppress the invalidation students may be
receiving in class. (Rendon, 1994, p. 45)
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The sense of belonging expressed by the students in this theme was consistent with the
literature as these students navigated home, school and work and frequent personal contact in the
form of warm interactions with others in reciprocal and stable relationships (Baumeister & Leary
1994; Bronfenbrenner, 1977, 1986). Bean and Eaton (2000) suggest the psychological process
of evaluating the past results in the development of coping strategies to adapt to one’s
surroundings, which were exhibited by the students in this theme. The mixture of sense of
belonging at home and work in combination with the strength of intrapersonal factors provided
enough foundation for the students to persist.
Sofia is representative of high sense of belonging at work and high intrapersonal skills
(Figure 6). The intrapersonal factors Sofia demonstrated were her evaluation of her own stress
level and time management skills to navigate her environments, which is aligned with Bean and
Eaton’s (2000) finding that an individual will adjust behavior to adapt to an environment. Sofia
worked approximately 25 hours a week and shared how she needed to limit her hours of work
due to stress and anxiety:
Last semester was really, really hard in the beginning, and I was kind of stressed and still
all over the place, and I had major anxiety, and I couldn’t go to work. I would text my
manager and I was like, “I won’t be able to be there today.” And so, when I went back to
work was when I said, “I need an extra day off,” and she was like, “yeah, whatever you
need.” There was a day I just couldn’t do it. I just needed like a mental day, so I told her
I wasn’t going able to make it. So, when I did go back to work, I told her, “I need a day
off. I can’t do this four [days].” So, we dropped it down to 3 days a week.
Sofia had the meta-cognitive awareness to recognize her life was becoming stressful and
something needed to change in her work and school environments. She had the skills to evaluate
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her workload, to manage her time and ask for a work schedule change to get an extra day off.
She felt comfortable with her manager and took action by reaching out to ask for additional time
off to avoid a potential anxiety attack. Sofia had the consciousness to assess and acknowledge
her workload, the ability to address her anxiety with her boss, and the foresight to make changes
to better manage her time and her stress level.
Sofia had warm interactions and stable relationships with her boss and coworkers who
encouraged her to keep persisting in school, which is consistent Baumeister and Leary’s (1994)
finding that warm interactions, frequent personal contact and stable relationships have positive
effects on sense of belonging. Sofia described how she felt supported at work with school and
believed the people at her work were like family:
They are great. They are just kind of same as my family. They ask me, “How was school
today?” So, there is a lot of talk like that. I never realized it until now. We are like a
little family there. Yeah, my supervisor is always asking me, “How is school? Are you
almost done?” Same with my other coworkers. They are like, “Come on, you can do it.
You are almost there.” I just go to work, and they are just there, you know, but they are
kind of like my family, you know. I have never really had to sit down and think about it,
all the support.
Here Sofia demonstrated that she had a strong sense of belonging at work and felt supported to
persist in school by her coworkers. She had the sense her supervisor cared about her. She
considered her boss and coworkers as family. The work family gave her a great sense of
connectedness as she had a sense of community when given encouragement, and she believed
her wellbeing was cared for. Sofia’s warm caring “work family” was willing to help her do what
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she needed to manage work to persist in school, and her interpersonal factors provided awareness
that something needed to change in her life for her to do so.
Jay is another student with high sense of belonging at work and home and intertwined
high intrapersonal factors that encouraged persistence in school (Figure 6). In school, Jay
evaluated the classroom environment and chose students who could help her with academic
success. Evaluating one’s own academic success is aligned with Bean and Eaton’s (2000)
finding that the Psychological Model of College Student Retention helps explain a students’
overall efficacy based on assessment and evaluation of the environment (p. 56). Jay described
how she observed others and evaluated their study habits to see if they were good students:
Usually, I will sit around a group of people. I would like to see are they note takers? Do
they come to class? So, if they are, I will introduce myself, and I will say, “Hi, I was
wondering if you were struggling with the material, and/or do you understand this?”
Usually, the answer is “No, I am totally lost,” and I will ask, “Do you want to study
together one day maybe?”
In this statement, Jay communicated that she had the ability to assess and evaluate her social
environment and was aware of other students’ academic abilities. She purposively utilized the
students in class for academic support to enhance her own knowledge of the material. She was
cognitively and academically aware she did not comprehend the material, so she reached out to
others whom she believed would help her better understand the material. In addition, Jay
simultaneously had cognitive awareness in all her environments and an understanding how those
environments interacted with one another. Navigating environments is part of the
interconnectedness needed, which is supported by Bronfenbrenner’s (1977, 1986) finding that a
person’s characteristics develop as they navigate through the microsystem, mesosystem and
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exosystem. Here, Jay indicated she tried to keep school as a priority, but she described a stronger
sense of belonging at work and home:
My school always takes priority. I have been working since 16, and school has always
taken the front seat there because my sister is really good at keeping me in check with
this. Last semester, I only worked 10 hours, and, this semester, I am working 15 hours.
Now she [sister] was actually really opposed with it because she was like, “You are
having harder classes this semester. There is no point to increase your hours.” The
reason I did increase my hours was that my boss did mention that she would need more,
and I like working there and I like doing what I do. I knew that finding someone else
would be a whole situation where and it wouldn’t be ideal. So, I planned my school, my
schedule, my classes keeping in mind that I would need a good chunk of time for work.
But my sister actually stepped up and said, “I can actually take care of your personal stuff
if you want.” I know I am very blessed to have her. She is really good in that sense. She
took all my syllabuses from the first week of class and put them into my calendar as far
as deadlines and things like that.
Jay explained how she integrated school with work and home. She was simultaneously
navigating the environments with cognitive awareness of how one environment affected the
other and managed her time in all. Jay had a sense of belonging at work and liked working for
her boss. She had connection at work, and she was validated by her boss when more work hours
were requested. She adjusted, accommodated and managed her school schedule to fit in more
work hours a week. In doing so, her sister stepped up to support her, which allowed Jay to feel
cared for and supported by someone in her family. As a commuter student, Jay was conscious
she needed to navigate school and work responsibilities in tandem, she trusted her sister to take
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some of the pressure off. Jay was not only focused on one environment. Instead, all systems
were interconnected as she considered when she took on more responsibilities in one
environment and adjusted the others to maintain that “school always takes priority” and
persisted.
Theme 3: Low (Enough) Sense of Belonging in Two Environments Intertwined with Low
Intrapersonal Factors
In this theme, there are four students who appeared to have low sense of belonging at
home and school
12
and low intrapersonal factors (Figure 6). These four students did not believe
they were excluded from SC4U, but there were areas of the school environment where they
believed they did not fit, or they had unwelcoming and negative encounters. The low sense of
belonging at home was seen as an absence of closeness with those they lived with. All four
students offered examples of distance from the members of their home. For example, one student
who lived with her family said, “My family isn’t like super close, so we don’t really like
communicate like close families do.” Another student expressed, “I don’t really like to be home”
and an additional student expressed a lack of community: “you are supposed to grow up with a
community, but I don’t feel that.” In comparison to the students represented in theme one, these
students were in a state of treading water as they developed a stronger sense of belonging and
cultivated intrapersonal skills to guide in persistence.
The low sense of belonging intertwined with low intrapersonal factors revealed in this
theme demonstrate how the students endeavored to stay in school despite obstacles. The
students in this theme had enough sense of belonging combined with the developing
intrapersonal factors to navigate their environments. The factors contributing to the students’

12
These four students were not working at the time of the interviews and, therefore, did not have a work
environment to speak to.
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low sense of belonging were their initial experience with college along with not feeling part of
the campus community and not feeling validated inside or outside the classroom, which are key
components to fostering a sense of belonging (Hurtado & Carter, 1997; Museus et al., 2017;
Rendon, 1994). The intrapersonal factors revealed were avoidance behavior to cope with stress
(Bean & Eaton, 2000; Bronfenbrenner, 1977; Gefen & Fisher, 2013), at the same time, the
students were developing the awareness to change their behavior in their environments. The
mixture of sense of belonging at home and school in combination with the developing
intrapersonal factors were enough of a foundation for the students to stay in school.
Moana had low sense of belonging at home and at school intertwined with low
intrapersonal factors (Figure 6). Moana’s low sense of belonging stemmed from her experiences
in the classroom with peers and professors, although she was determined to stay in school.
Moana was in the process of gaining the intrapersonal factors to navigate her stressful school
environment, which is consistent with Hartley’s (2011) findings that “intrapersonal resilience
factors help undergraduate students negotiate an increasingly stressful college environment” (p.
601). Rendon (1994) suggests students can be validated by support initiated in class to foster
academic success. However, Moana was not validated inside the classroom by students or
professors. She shared her experience asking for help in her classes from students and professor:
Some students are really selfish, and they really don’t want to share their notes, or they
really don’t want to discuss. Like, “Oh, I don’t know. I wasn’t here either” even though
they were because they turned in something that I didn’t know of. Yeah, they are really
selfish, or they are really vague. They are like, “Oh, I don’t know. You just have to read
the book and the pages.” I am like, “Oh, that is it.” Later on, I see they turned in a paper
or something, and I am like, “Oh what was that?” And it is so embarrassing to ask the
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professor, “Oh, what did I miss?” Even like they [the professor] tell you in the beginning
that “don’t be asking me.”
Moana also shared an exchange she had with a math professor:
In my stats 140 class, that class was very scary because of the math and because I
wouldn’t understand the professor, and I went up to him, and he was like “Um.” He saw
my grades apparently, and he was like “You are not a good student,” and then I said,
“Well, you are not a good teacher,” and I told him that to his face. I don’t know. I was just
mad I wasn’t passing this class even though we had SI. I don’t know what they call it,
but, the lab after, we had a student who was also teaching us. She did okay. I kind of
understood her, but the professor I didn’t understand at all.
Through these examples, Moana demonstrated that she believed she was invalidated by other
students and professors in her classes when she tried to solicit academic help. Moana had the
cognitive awareness to realize she was missing key academic material, but, when she inquired
with other students, she believed they were not helpful and academically unsupportive. Moana
reached out, but the other came across to her as “really vague,” which led her to believe they
were intentionally misleading her academically. She did not believe she was being supported in
the classroom by the students, and she was embarrassed to reach out to professors for fear of
being shut down, as a professor directly told her, “Don’t be asking me.” Moana was cognitively
aware her grade needed improvement, but, when she inquired, she experienced an unfriendly
encounter. This exchange appeared to create stress: “I was just mad I wasn’t passing this class.”
Her attempt to manage stressful encounters with a professor and her meta-cognitive awareness
were intrapersonal factors she used as she struggled to develop a sense of belonging.
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In addition, Moana demonstrated coping behaviors while she actively endeavored to find
a sense of belonging at school. Bean and Eaton (2000) noted that, as part of coping behavioral
theory, a student might view him/herself as fitting in but may lack some of the qualities to fully
integrate into the school environment. This was true for Moana, as her intrapersonal skills were
evolving as she tried to integrate into the classroom and school. Moana believed she had one
person on her side to help her persist in school and that was enough, which is consistent with
Rendon’s (1994) finding that students gain validation “when someone took the initiative to lend a
helping hand, to do something that affirmed them as being capable of doing academic work and
that supported them in their academic endeavors and social adjustment” (p. 44). Moana was
dismissed from school, but she found an advisor who helped her stay in school:
My best friend Mulan was kind of sad I got kicked out of [SC4U]. They told me I had to
wait another year before I could come back, but I was able to come back in one semester
because I talked to, I don’t know where he came from, it was by the grace of God, but he
was an advisor but also a director. He was, “Oh, this is easy to fix. Just go to
[community college], and just go get all your classes, and I will talk to them.” I don’t
even know who them is, but I was like, “okay.” He helped me come back to campus,
rather than waiting a year. I would have had to wait until fall 2019, but I was able to
come back last semester. At first, I sucked with the advisors, but I mostly just did it on
my own, or I just found just one person. I know this is going to sound lame using the
Lady Gaga quotes, but “if there are 100 people in the room and 99 don’t believe in you,
just find that one person.” That is basically that one person that helped me come back
here.
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Moana recognized she needed to stay in school, despite having low sense of belonging and low
intrapersonal factors. She was aware she needed to manage her class schedule to stay in school,
but she was dissatisfied by her advisor “I sucked with the advisor”, so she attempted her class
schedule on her own. She was dismissed and thought she was going to be out of school for a
year, but she found “that one person” who helped her get back on track. The advisor/director
gave her the information she needed to return to SC4U in one semester. The one advisor/director
affirmed her capabilities, and that was enough to keep her in school. Despite Moana’s low sense
of belonging at school combined with low intrapersonal factors, she found one person who lent
her a helping hand, who believed in her which was enough for her to overcome and persist in
school.
Alex also had a low sense of belonging at home and at school and had low intrapersonal
factors but persisted in school (Figure 6). The examples here demonstrate the development of
intrapersonal factors in conjunction with the progressive change in sense of belonging at school
to contribute to increased efforts to persist in college. Alex did not have a sense of community in
her major, which is consistent with Museus et al.’s (2017) notion that, for students to feel like
they belong, they need to “see themselves as part of the campus community” (p. 7). Alex was in
a major she did not like, and, as a strategy, she started to avoid going to class, yet Gefen and
Fisher (2013) suggest “students should rely less on avoidance strategies to cope, especially for
academic challenges, as avoidance was negatively related to academic adjustment” (p. 111).
Alex shared her experience as a business major and her awareness related to changing majors:
I didn’t care about accounting or economics or calculus. I was like, “This is not the stuff
I want to be doing.” I am not going to be an accountant ever in my life. I was just
skipping class so much. I was not doing well in school. I was not getting good grades. I
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just pretty much hated everything about it, and I didn’t fit in with any business students.
I was always the one that seemed over dressed, and, to them, I probably dressed weird. I
just really couldn’t relate to other students and what they wanted to do in life. They were
there to be accountants [in] corporate companies and stuff, and it is just like, “I don’t
want any part of this” and I remember, one day, I left macroeconomics like 15 minutes
into class. Once he started lecturing, I was like, “Okay, I can’t do this. I don’t care. I
don’t want to hear anything having to do with this at all.” I left the class. Honestly, I
don’t even think he was starting the lecture. He was probably just taking roll. I was like,
“I am over it already.” So, I left, went to my car and I was ready to go drive home, and I
was just thinking about this stuff and reflecting on my past year and half here at [SC4U].
What was the point of taking all of these classes and doing this major because I don’t care
about it. I am not doing well. I know there is better for me, so I drive back around. I was
already on the way home, and I drove back to school and went to an advisor and talked
about changing my major.
In this quotation, Alex demonstrated that she had enough intrapersonal factors to recognize she
did not feel a sense of belonging in her major. She “hated everything about it.” She felt she did
not fit in with the business majors with the way she dressed and had no interest in accounting or
macroeconomics. She did not feel part of the community, this did not appear to be because she
commuted to campus, but rather she felt she did not fit in due to her major. She said, “I don’t
want any part of this,” left class and avoided going to class altogether. She did not want to be in
a major in which she did not fit and where she did not care. This realization that she did not like
the subject and did not fit in allowed her to reflect and process that her avoidance strategy was
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not going to work well. Instead, she had the intrapersonal awareness she could change her
situation. She took the initiative to find an advisor who could help her change her major.
The next multilayered quotation shows Alex’s developmental transition of intrapersonal
factors and a sense of belonging to persist. Alex did not have an initial fit with her declared
major as a freshman, which is similar to Hurtado and Carter’s (1997) finding that “an initial
orientation to a college’s social, academic, and physical geographies is essential to students’
feeling that they belong in their college” (p. 339). Alex had low intrapersonal factors, but she
had enough to realize she needed to make a change in her major to find a place where she
belonged, which is consistent with Bronfenbrenner’s (1977) mesosystem which allows for social
contexts to be exposed to look at the individual and the accommodations humans make between
environmental settings as part of their development. Alex found a more suitable major, which
influenced her persistence:
Graduating from high school and then going into college that fall. I didn’t really want to
drop out. Well, I would have thoughts of dropping out when I was a business major, but I
was like, “No, I know I can just change it to a different major.” I think my major is really
great. I do enjoy what I learn. I find it useful to what I want to do in the future. Being in
apparel merchandising and a marketing minor, I think it can open me up to a lot of
different opportunities because I am not the type of person who wants to keep myself
kind of limited. I don’t really envision my future beeline on career for four decades, so I
like that my major encourages creativity and teaches you like business side of things.
The fact that I am actually genuinely interested in what I am learning and want to keep
learning and just want to have this experience for myself. I think that just the fact once I
start something, I want to finish it. I don’t want to just like take all these classes. I mean,
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I wouldn’t be opposed to taking classes just to learn, but I do want a degree out of it. And
the fact that I just love learning new things. I constantly love learning and just being able
to expand knowledge on certain subjects.
When Alex changed her major to something she enjoyed, she felt a stronger sense of belonging
at school and saw the possibilities for her future. She avoided dropping out of school by finding
something useful and interesting to learn. She adjusted her environment and found a creative
combination with business that was more suitable for her learning. She had enough intrapersonal
factors to recognize she did not like her major and the consciousness to change her environment.
She understood the impact of changing her major on her sense of belonging at school. This
change confirmed her love of learning and influenced her persistence.
Theme 4: Outlier Student with Varied Sense of Belonging and Varied Intrapersonal Factors
in each Environment
This theme contains only one student, Bridget, who was an outlier with a mild sense of
belonging at home, school and work interwoven with mild intrapersonal factors (Figure 6).
Bridget acknowledged it was challenging for her to manage her work, home and school to keep
school a priority. Bridget’s persistence was the result of many factors. She had goals
commitments, consistent with Tinto’s (1997) research, but in conflict she had the additional
responsibility caring for a family member, which Rendon et al. (2000) noted could derail a
student’s involvement in school. Her intrapersonal factors where in the process of being
developed in each environment as she navigated her spaces emotionally, physically and
academically, which is interconnected with Bronfenbrenner (1977) microsystem, mesosytem and
exosystem. Below are examples of Bridget’s sense of belonging intertwined with her
intrapersonal factors to manage her home and school environments. Her goals in conjunction
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with her responsibilities at home are an example of her awareness of her own capacity to
prioritize school over work.
Bridget’s intrapersonal factors were connected to her reciprocal relationships in the
support system she had at work to support school. Bridget was conscious of her behavior related
to self-control and how hard she was working, which is consistent with one of the identifying
intrapersonal competencies found in the report by National Academy of Sciences (2017) where
“intrapersonal competencies involve self-management and the ability to regulate one’s behavior
and emotions to reach goals” (p. 1). Bridget had a mild sense of belonging at work and shared
how difficult it was to balance work and school:
As far as priority-wise, when I want school to be my priority but trying to put them
technically at the same level is hard for me because I put more effort into work than
school because it is easier for me because I am a very hard worker. I know I’m going to
do this, this, this and this before I leave. I have technically the support system as far as
like my coworkers for workwise, but, as far as school-wise, I am lacking thereof. So, it is
kind of like hard for me to keep a steady balance.
Bridget realized she had a difficult time keeping school a priority when it was easier to know
what to do at work. She was aware she put more effort into work than she did at school.
However, she also knew the difficulty of balancing the two environments. She understood she
had the self-management skills at work but needed to develop and apply them to school.
Bridget had goals for the year to put school at the top of her list of priorities, which is
consistent with Tinto’s (1997) assertion that goals commitments take time and students evaluate
their commitment to stay in school by weighing social and academic involvements. Rendon et
al. (2000) suggest caring for family members can be a liability to school involvement, which was
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the case for Bridget. She was sometimes overwhelmed with the amount of responsibility she had
in taking care of her mother:
My goal for this year is to focus and put my priority on school because, normally, what
my problem is I only give 20% here and 20% here and 80% here, whatever, depending on
the day and what I need to do. My focus is to be able to my everything or at least close to
everything into school to finish to get a career to continue on to what I want to do and not
necessarily be held back by taking care of my mom or having all these responsibilities at
home and being able to be my own person without having the responsibility and the
added pressure with everything going on at home. My goal for this year is to be able to
have somebody to take care of my mom at home being able to work at school so that
school and work are in the same area and to be able to be living on my own. That is the
strategy in hopes of finding a way to make that happen.
Bridget demonstrated that she was aware she was not fully committed to any of her
environments and needed to change her situation. She wanted to find someone to look after her
mother. She knew she needed to do this first in order to make school a priority. Bridget was
aware that if she lived closer to school (if she did not commute) she would have an easier time
making school a priority and believed if she found work closer to school she could finish school.
However, she believed her responsibilities at home took priority over her goals and she was
conscious of the obligation she had in caring for her mother. She wanted to stay focused on this
plan, but, sometimes, she felt added pressure with “everything going on at home.” She had a plan
and had “hope of finding a way to make that happen.”
Bridget continued to evaluate her environments and her goals. However, according to
Bronfenbrenner (1979), some home environments (microsystems) can be chaotic and
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emotionally draining. Bridget was in the process of discovering the amount of responsibility she
could handle, and she shared she did not really know how she would persist:
At this point, I don’t know what I want, and I am at that point where, okay, do I want to
work full time? And then take a year off and then come back? Or do I want to continue
school and then figure it out? One way or another?
As she contemplated her persistence in school, she questioned whether she could take time off
and then come back to finish school. Bridget had a mild sense of belonging at school, home and
work, but she had goals and wanted to prioritize school. Combined with her mild intrapersonal
factors, it was difficult to determine how she persisted in school.
The students in this finding had a wide variety of intrapersonal factors intertwined with
their sense of belonging at home, school and work. The strength of the sense of belonging
differs in each environment and is connected to the strength of intrapersonal factors. Each
participant was a Latinx commuter student and overcame obstacles along the way to persist in
college by utilizing, or in the process of developing, their intrapersonal factors to contribute to
their sense of belonging to support persistence.
Finding 3: Role of Identity and Commute in Students Sense of Belonging to Persist
As this study focused on Latinx commuter students and their sense of belonging, the
students all self-identified in the broad category of Latinx and all commuted to the SC4U
campus. This finding outlines the role identity and commuter status in sense of belonging. The
idea of students sharing similar characteristics is part of sense of belonging, which is consistent
with Hagerty et al.’s (1996) statement that “sense of belonging also encompasses the attribute of
fit, sharing similar or complementary characteristics that allows the individual to feel a part of a
group, system, or environment”( p. 237) and consistent with Astin’s (1993) finding that feeling
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accepted and having the approval of others is a key concept of identification and affiliation: “that
I am like these other people in certain key aspects and they are like me” (p. 400). Two themes
emerged from this finding. The first theme provides examples of how a student’s dual identity as
a college student and Latinx showed up at home, school and work to contribute to sense of
belonging and persistence. The second theme outlines how participants utilized their
intrapersonal factors to manage the commute and that the commute did not appear to affect their
sense of belonging nor be a barrier to persistence.
Theme 1: The Role of Identity at Home, School and Work
All participants identified as Latinx when they self-selected to participate in the study.
There were seven students who did not mention their ethnic identity beyond the initial
demographic question during the interview. However, as they reflected on their college
experiences, all exhibited a strong affiliation with being a college student with variations of
values and beliefs, which is what Tinto (1993) states needs to happen for student to integrate into
the college culture. Also, and Hurtado (1997) might suggest that participants embraced their
social identities as part of group membership in college. The students in this study were at
different places in their affiliation and assimilation with their identity. The students’ ethnic
identity did not play an overt role in their persistence, although they embraced the identity of
being a college student. The five students in this section represent how cultural identity and
shared college student identity played into participants’ sense of belonging in home, school and
work.
Louisa had high sense of belonging in all environments intertwined with high
intrapersonal factors (Figure 6). Her mindfulness of her college identity and self-concept were
part of her intrapersonal factors. As Rendon et al. (2000) note, students do not separate from
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their culture but assimilate into the dominant groups in the environment. Students go through a
cultural adaptation to find membership. Louisa shared she was motivated by seeing other college
students like her study in the library and the areas of school that helped her continue her
education:
Definitely going and seeing my advisor, knowing that I am, I feel like I am, on the right
path is very important. It just keeps me more motivated and gives me a better idea of
what else I am missing. The library. Seeing everyone doing all their work. To hang out
and study, I would say the library. I usually study on the second or the third floor, and I
just see the environment. I see where everyone is on top of their studies and stuff, and it
gives me motivation to relate like, “okay, I actually do have to study.”
Louisa explained that she spent time in the library and was motivated by “seeing everyone doing
all their work.” She went to a specific floor where she saw other students doing their homework
and she found this environment reminded her she needed to study because she, too, was a college
student and needed to do homework. She associated with and found membership in the library
among other college students who were studying in an academic space. In addition, Louisa had
an affiliation to both her identity as a college student and as part of a Hispanic community, which
contributed to her sense of belonging. Louisa’s next quotation provides evidence of her sense of
belonging at work as well evidence of her dual identity as a Hispanic college student in the
workplace. She shared,
There is a big Hispanic community. I think that a lot of the customers are Hispanic, and I
do feel accepted. I feel I give them the welcoming and respect that they want and or
need. And a lot of my coworkers are Hispanic, and I can relate to most of them. I
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receive a lot of support. I am not the only one who is going to school and working. I
think I have three other coworkers who are doing the same.
Louisa saw herself both as a college student among her coworkers and as part of the Hispanic
community. She was surrounded at work by other Hispanic college students, and she felt
accepted. She received support from her coworkers in that they could all relate to the issues of
working and going to school at the same time. It is unclear, but perhaps Louisa’s identity as a
Hispanic college student at work helped her persist due to the sense of belonging and support she
felt at work.
Stefanie had a high sense of belonging in all environments and high intrapersonal factors
(Figure 6). It is unclear if her connections to her Hispanic community also contributed to her
persistence in college. Stefanie self-identified as Latina/Hispanic and she connected with and
lived in a Hispanic community where she felt valued as a college student. This connection is
consistent with Hurtado’s (1997) ideas of the importance of the connection between the two
social groups: “The significance and relationship between these different social identities varies
from social sphere to social sphere. In some circumstances, one particular group membership or
set of memberships may be more important than others” (p. 319). Stefanie described how her
Hispanic neighbors valued education:
It is [a] very Hispanic area. I feel like people value education. For example, my
neighbors know that I am going to school and they are like, “Oh, how are you doing in
school? I hope you are doing well.” Just like things like that. My Hispanic community
does value going to school and doing things that possibly they didn’t do. I feel like that
is where I feel supported and connected in the sense, too, where I live and like my
community.
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Stefanie understood that education was valued in her community and by her neighbors: “I feel
like people they value education.” She liked the fact that her neighbors asked how she was doing
in school, which confirmed her identity as a college student. She felt her neighbors were
supportive when they asked how she was doing. Stefanie knew, by going to school, she was
“doing things that possibly they didn’t do” and she was supported in getting an education. It was
difficult to determine if her identity as a college student was more important than her identity as
Hispanic. However, her dual identity contributed to her sense of belong at home, and she felt
supported to persist in school
Jay had a high sense of belonging at home and work, but a lower sense of belonging in
school combined with high intrapersonal factors (Figure 6). Jay self-identified as a Latina, and
she had the intrapersonal factors to recognize she felt safe at school and believed she could
approach her professors. Her ethnic identity did not affect her persistence, as it appeared SC4U
created a welcoming environment, and, according to Tierney (2000), colleges are tasked with
affirming identity: “the challenge is to develop ways in which an individual’s identity is
affirmed, honored, and incorporated in to the organization’s culture” (p. 219). Jay shared she felt
privileged to go to school:
A lot of people don’t take into account how privileged they are, and, even us being
minorities, we are very privileged to be able to study at a place where we feel safe, where
we can go up to our professors and ask for help, and some people don’t have those
luxuries really.
Here Jay explained that she believed she was privileged to be a minority college student, which
contributed to her dual identity at school. She was aware not all minoritized students had the
luxury of going to school in a safe environment, but she felt safe studying on campus. She knew
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she could ask her professors for help and be supported. Jay acknowledged that not all
minoritized college students found support in school and recognized she had a welcoming
culture at SC4U, which contributed to her sense of belonging.
I revisit Aubrey’s quotation to examine how she constructed her dual identity in terms of
finding affiliation in support networks on campus to persist. Aubrey self-identified as a
“Hispanic, Mexican/Latina” and had a high sense of belonging at home and at work and lower
sense of belonging at school in combination with high intrapersonal factors (Figure 6). Aubrey
was conscious of her identity as a Latina and maintained a path to persistence by navigating her
culture between home and school. Aubrey appeared to be overcoming aspects of her culture that
stood in her way, which is consistent with Rendon’s (1994) finding that, when students transition
to college, they are challenged with “unlearning past attitudes and behaviors and are faced with
learning new attitudes, beliefs, and values that are quite removed from those of their cultures. In
other words, non-traditional students have been forced to adapt to a new culture” (p. 34). Aubrey
shared what she believed would help me as a researcher understand her experience as a Latinx
student:
I think, as a Latina, you have to be very committed to your goals because you can easily
go off and get on a different road, especially if you live in a lower-income community
where you have to work and go to school to provide for your family. So, I think you have
to be very persistent in your goals. And, also, being involved on campus helps a lot
because you find the support as opposed to just going home and going to school. You go
on campus, and you do things and you see what is available and you make networking
and you make connections. So, I think it can be easy to, after class, just go straight home,
but, when you are a part of something, it’s better, in my opinion, when you are involved
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on campus because you get the actual college experience as opposed as if you lived in the
dorms. You have that college experience already because you are ready here. But, when
people go home, you don’t really get the same thing.
Here, Aubrey explained that she could feel tempted to avoid school and just go to work to
provide for her family. She was conscious of the differences in culture and knew, for her to be
committed to school, she had to stay “very persistent to your goals.” However, she recognized
that persisting in school meant that she needed to make connections and network, which was
outside the realm of “providing for your family.” She acknowledged that the culture at school
was different from that at home. At school, “you get the college experience,” and, at home, “you
don’t really get the same thing.” Aubrey was offsetting aspects of her ethnic identity and was
adapting a college student identity by affiliating with new beliefs and values that were different
from her culture in order to achieve her goals as a college student.
Edward had a high sense of belonging in all environments and high intrapersonal factors
(Figure 6). He had a strong identity as a college student and did not mention ethnicity as part of
his identity. Within his work environment, he strongly affiliated with other college students who
were in the same situation as he was, working and going to school. In the interview, the ethnic
identity of the other college student coworkers was not revealed, and I did not follow up on it.
Astin (1993) suggests that students often surround themselves with other students to “reinforce
those values and behaviors that distinguish students from non-students” (p. 403). Edward
described a circumstance that when he was at work he related to and sought others who were
also college students:
There are a couple of people that I would go to at work. One of them came to SC4U, too.
So, I am just like, “Hey, you know, if I am being stressed out over school, he is probably
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stressed out over a class as well. Maybe I could talk to him about it?” If I know
someone is going to school, or if I know someone that has been stressed going through
something that I am going through, I am able to go to them because I know they have
gone. I am just like, “Hey, you know, we’re coworkers. We’re cool and everything, so
I’ll help you and you help me” and stuff like that. There are probably like to or three
probably in the same scenario. They are also in school. They’re in school. They are
students, and I’m like, if you’re student and I’m a student, then there is something that we
relate to, and I know we can go off of this and work on this.
Edward had a strong sense of affiliation with the other college students at work. He believed,
because he was a college student, he could relate to the other college students he worked with
because he understood they were “going through something that I am going through.” He
recognized that, if he was stressed at school, others were probably stressed at school and he
could reach out to help each other. Being a college student appeared to be his dominant identity
in that he felt like he belonged with others who were college students and not necessarily
identified with others by ethnic affiliation.
Moana had low sense of belonging at home and school and low intrapersonal factors
(Figure 6). She identified primarily as a college student, but she lacked the support network
from inside and outside the classroom to confirm she was a good fit in school, which contributed
to her low sense of belonging as she tried to stay in school. Marshall et al. (2012) found the lack
of sense of belonging has to do with “poor fit with curriculum and peers, lack of improvement in
academic literacy, over-demanding course load, class size, linguistic difference, and national
identity” (p. 134). Moana explained she was put into the wrong class by her advisor and her
identity as a college student was not consistent with what was expected of her academically:
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I talked to the advisors, and I was like, “Oh, this class is too hard. I don’t like it. Can you
give me something else?” They were like, “No. Just go talk to your professor.” So, I
went to go talk to the professor, and he was like, “I don’t know why you are taking this
class. You are like a freshman. This is a class full of people who are graduating.” I said,
“Yeah, I know my advisors told me to come talk to you.” He was like, “Go talk to them.”
I went to go talk to them, but I kept on getting the x-boyfriend. I don’t know that guy as
an advisor. He was like, “See, you are here again. Oh, you are so annoying.” Stuff like
that, so I never went again. It messed me up, and I was really sad. I was really sad that I
was doing so bad. It basically made me get disqualified. It really messed me up. Like,
my grades were really poor. It was like really hard for me. I was like, “This is new,” and
I had nobody to go to. [My advisor] was like all over the place, like “I don’t know what
to tell you. Maybe take a break. This is what you need.” I can’t. My whole purpose is
going to school.
Moana thought the advisor put her into a class that was not a good fit for her academically. She
believed she did not belong. When Moana approached her professor, she was told to go back to
talk to the advisor again. She was not validated as a college student. She did not believe she fit
in with the class, and she believed she was annoying to the advisor, so she stopped going to class.
This lack of support from the advisor and professor, Moana believed, led her to be disqualified
from school. Moana did not fit in with the curriculum, and she did not have the support she
needed from her advisor or professor to improve academically. She was told to “take a break,”
and she described “my whole purpose is going to school.” Her identity as a college student did
not match how she progressed in college and the lack of support led to low sense of belonging at
school. This mismatch of identity and low sense of belonging does not appear to affect her
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desire to say in school. In the third theme related to the second finding, I explain how I believe
Moana persisted in school due to one advisor/director who believed in her capabilities as a
college student.
Theme 2: Commuting to Campus and Sense of Belonging
All 14 students in the study identified as commuter students and shared their stories
traveling to campus. All participants had varied responsibilities outside of campus and had
unique issues specific to their circumstances, which is consistent with Darling’s (2015) finding
that commuter students fall into multiple categories of cohorts and are as diverse in their needs
and characteristics as the general student population. Gefen and Fisher (2013) suggest students’
approach to commuter issues varied widely depending on stress level and personality. Below are
five students’ samples explaining how they managed the commute to campus among all the other
responsibilities, how the commute affected the strength of their sense of belonging, how they
utilized their intrapersonal factors to create tradeoffs around commuting to persist in school.
Stefanie had high sense of belonging in all environments and high intrapersonal factors
(Figure 6). She commuted to school by bus, train and then bus again, which took her
approximately 90 minutes each way. Stefanie lamented being unable join a club on campus due
to her commute, which is consistent with Newbold et al.’s (2011) statement that “commuter
students are less likely to be involved in school-sponsored activities” (p. 149). Stefanie used the
strength of her intrapersonal factors of time management in order to effectively utilize her time
commuting to do homework. Stefanie shared her experiences commuting to campus, doing
homework and her regret of not having a chance to be more engaged:
I wish I was there [home] sooner and be able to start my things I have to do at home
sooner, but it does take a while to get there. It just takes a while. Instead of me doing my
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homework at home, sometimes, I am doing it on the bus. I wish I was actually doing my
homework at home. I am tired all the time because it is so long, but I still do it
regardless. I don’t know if it is [SC4U’s] fault but, I feel like they kind of don’t
understand that some students commute far. Not a lot of people talk about that. There
are always like, “Oh, get here be on time, do this, do that.” And the commute is a really
big part of a lot of the students’ lives. It is not being talked about. It is kind of like just
there, but I feel like it should be more of a topic that we talk about because it is really
impactful, at least to me. Just because I wish I was doing other things, but the commute
put me behind a little bit. Definitely, like join clubs [and being] more involved on
campus.
Stefanie explained that she would like to get home sooner to “be able to start my things.” She
would like to do her homework at home, but she did her homework during the commute on the
bus. The commute was tiring because it took such a long time. She also thought that SC4U
could address some of the issues of commuter students more effectively, as she sometimes felt
pressured to be on time “to do this, do that.” Stefanie was conscious of two areas that were
affected by her commute. She had been held back in joining a club on campus, and she did not
take evening classes as to not get home too late. Stefanie was limited by her commute to engage
in activities. Stefanie utilized her high intrapersonal factors to make the best of her commute by
applying strategies like time management and self-awareness to do homework when she could
on the bus, to take classes at times to get home sooner, even though she knew she would be tired.
Jay had high sense of belonging at home and work but a lower sense of belonging at
school intertwined with high intrapersonal factors (Figure 6). Depending on the day, Jay
commuted from an apartment she shared with friends about 16 miles to campus or from her
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mother’s house 33 miles from campus. Jay was very mindful of her life, her stress, her commute
and her school. She practiced present living to contribute to her persistence. She utilized her
commute time as a space to reconnect with her life, which is an intrapersonal competency that
supports persistence. As mentioned by the National Academy of Sciences (2017), “beyond
cognitive factors, correlational research has shown that individual differences in intrapersonal
competencies predict college success and completion. These competencies include the broad
personality trait of conscientiousness” (p. 77). Jay shared the mindful practice she used in her
commute:
Honestly, I do use that time sometimes when I am just sitting there. Sometimes, I will
just pray in my car. Talk to myself. Sometimes, I will call a friend who I haven’t talked
to in a while. Call a family member. Just think about my goals and what I am doing and
try to practice that present living. I don’t waste that time. A lot of people see that time as
a waste of time. I don’t. Some people are like, “What is the point of commuting? It is
just such a huge waste of time. You could be doing so much more.” Well, I do a lot in
that one hour and 20 minutes. I do like commuting in that sense. It kind of gives me a
little time to get into that head space. Some people meditate, some people take an hour
out of their morning to meditate, and I guess that would be my time. Some days, I will be
having a really busy day, and I will open my car and just sit in it and take a big deep
breath, and just feel like I am safe now. I am good. I am in my own little space now and
I can just think for a couple minutes and see what my next move is. I feel like I wouldn’t
have gotten that if I wasn’t a commuter.
Jay had been commuting to school since a young age and commuting to school seemed a normal
part of going to school. She had thoughts of living closer to campus, but she utilized her time in
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the car to pray or call a family member. Jay liked the time to think about her goals, her day and
to “get into that head space” before she stepped into the next environment. Her commute had
turned into a mindful practice of “big deep breath, and just feel like I am safe now,” and she felt
the commute had given her the time to think about her next move. The commute to campus
neither contributed to nor detracted from her sense of belonging at school, but rather her high
intrapersonal factors allowed her to effectively use her commute to plan her day and destress
from her day.
Alex had a low sense of belonging in all environments and low intrapersonal factors
(Figure 6). Alex was developing intrapersonal factors to help her with the commute, so she
could persist in school. Alex was aware of how commuting affected her sleep and getting to
campus on time for class, and she was trying to make behavioral and schedule changes to reduce
stress, which is similar to Gefen and Fisher’s (2013) finding that “taking personal responsibility
and finding solutions to stressful situations, it seems, may buffer the negative physical effects of
stress and may result in fewer manifestations of stress-related health issues, such as headaches
and sleep disturbances” (p. 110). Alex shared her stressful experiences driving to campus and
the possibility of missing class:
It pretty much is just stressful when I am running late, and I know there is traffic, so it is
like I can either rush and then get there like 20 minutes late or not even go altogether
because, sometimes, I will do that. Sometimes, if I am too late, I am like, okay, I am not
going to go ’cause I am already going to miss class anyway. Traffic is just annoying, but
I am pretty used to it by now. Just driving around LA my entire life, it is just nothing
new. It is just the inconvenience. I am so not a morning person. It is definitely
something I have to force myself to get used to at the beginning of every semester but,
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when I do get accustomed to it again, waking up early, it can still be kind of stressful. Just
getting ready if I didn’t get enough sleep or having to finish work before class like having
to print before class. It is just like a lot of stuff. I try to have it that I come at least twice
a week. Usually not more than 3 or 4 during the week. I did have a Saturday class one
semester, and I don’t want to do that again. I try to make it where I don’t have to wake
up super early because that is just not in me to have the power to get up so early.
Alex was in the process of evaluating the amount of stress commuting caused her every
semester. She seemed familiar with the drive “driving around LA my entire life, it is just
nothing new” but she recognized she needed to wake early to get to school on time. Alex
learned she became stressed when she had to wake early because she did not get enough
sleep. She had tried to adjust her schedule to only go to campus twice a week and not
take a Saturday class: “I don’t want to do that again.” Alex was developing strategies to
adjust to the commute: evaluating stressors, taking responsibility, and making changes to
her schedule. The commute did not appear to affect her sense of belonging, as she
utilized her intrapersonal skills to adjust to make sure she arrived on campus on time to
persist in school.
Sabrina had a low sense of belonging in all environments and low intrapersonal factors
(Figure 6). She commuted from Las Vegas, Nevada to SC4U early in the week by Greyhound or
by having her father drive her. Then when in California, she would spend two nights with
extended family, commute to campus 28 miles, and, at the end of the week, her father would pick
her up or she would take a Greyhound bus back to Las Vegas. Sabrina needed to make sure her
classes were clustered into the middle of the week, and she found an advisor to help her with her
school schedule to persist. The flexibility that advisors and teachers give students is very helpful
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 182
because, as Tierney (2000) notes, “students arrive at educational settings with a multitude of
issue and concerns that need to be addressed…we need to be responsive to the learner, which in
turn necessitates programmatic and personal flexibility” (p. 224). Sabrina shared how she
adjusted her schedule so she could stay in school:
In order to go home to Las Vegas, I have to take a bus, and it takes sometimes 8 to 9
hours, so I have to leave [tonight] and get there around 12:00 or 1:00 a.m. and then go to
sleep and then come back Monday very early morning again and stay Tuesday and then,
on Wednesday, I will be going to LA with my auntie. So, then, the person who commutes
as well from LA, my other friend, will give me a ride here on Thursdays, and it repeats,
and it is a whole deal. I went with that advisor who told me I couldn’t get that major or
whatever, and then he made it [class schedule] specifically Tuesdays and Thursday
because of my commute system and everything.
Sabrina found a way to school by taking a long-distance bus from Las Vegas to school. She had
family in the area with whom she would stay during the week and carpool with a friend to
campus. Sabrina found an advisor to helped her adjust her class schedule to better fit her
“commute system.” She adapted to her commute to make school a priority. However, Sabrina
explained her plan for the future:
I think I found somewhere. It will probably be another semester. She rents rooms in her
house, and she would be willing to put me in, but someone is renting it right now, but she
said that the person might leave either earlier this semester or have to wait until next
semester. I think I will still be commuting, but I will have somewhere to crash now.
Sabrina had found a house with a room for rent that she might be able to use the following
semester where she could “crash.” It was difficult to tell if she would still be commuting to Las
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 183
Vegas on the weekends. Either way, she was aware changes needed to be made to her schedule
and future commute in order to stay in school. She was developing strategies to be closer to
campus.
Bridget was charted in the middle of the quadrant (Figure 6) as having a moderate sense
of belonging in all environment and lower intrapersonal factors. Bridget started her freshman
year living in the dorms on campus. During her fourth semester, she started to commute over 90
minutes by train to school a couple of times a week. She moved back home to care for her mom.
Bridget was a deaf studies major and liked being a part of the deaf studies community, which is
consistent with Museus et al. (2017) finding that “membership in social-community
organizations was the most significantly associated with a sense of belonging” (p. 335). Bridget
shared her experience as part of a campus community and how it gave her a sense of belonging
at school:
I was living at the dorms. I took it for granted that I was living here [on campus at
SC4U] for one and two [semesters] and such exposure to so many deaf people in general
and the deaf community and my friends who spoke sign language all the time. So, there
is a lot of stuff that I have learned within the amount of time of being here and I also love
the diversity in the community. Even though it is like little small communities
throughout the campus, I like the fact that I am a part of the deaf studies community and I
feel at home there. Even though I haven’t been emerged as much as I want to, I like the
fact I am at least a little bit of part of it. So that’s what I love about here: they have the
deaf studies program and the people in deaf studies and in the deaf studies office who are
more than willing to help me through anything, especially my advisor.
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 184
Bridget had a sense of belonging at school when she was living in the dorms and was emerged in
the deaf community. However, since she started commuting from home, she felt less connected
to the deaf community. She would have liked to be more immersed with the deaf studies
program again, but she still felt part of the community: “I feel at home there.” She would have
liked to live and work closer to campus to strengthen her sense of community. Although her
living environment changed from the dorms to commuting from home, she was still aware of the
small communities with diverse groups of people on campus, and she liked that aspect of SC4U’s
campus. It was unclear if her commute influenced her persistence in school positively or
negatively, although it was clear she wanted to to shorten her commute and live closer to school.
The role of identity of being Latinx and of commuting to school appeared to have little
impact on the sense of belonging at school. All participants identified predominantly as college
students and only half of them mentioned their connection to their cultural identity. The role of
identity, with identification and affiliations, contributed to the strength of the sense of belonging,
and intrapersonal factors influenced how the commute was utilized to persist in school.
Conclusion
There were three findings that emerged from the interviews with the 14 Latinx commuter
students. The first finding evolved from the common theme that all the students in this study
persisted beyond the fourth semester in college by having either goals commitments, a career
focus, graduate school intentions or by having little focus on goals commitments but stayed in
school to acquire social mobility or employment stability. The second finding illustrated the
complexity of sense of belonging in home, school and work intertwined with the strength of the
students’ intrapersonal factors. Several students had a high sense of belonging in their
environments while others had lower sense of belonging and were developing intrapersonal
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factors that influenced their persistence. The sense of belonging appeared in the form of social
bonds and a sense of support with peers, professors and/or advisors, positive interactions in
relationships, a feeling of validation inside or outside the classroom, the feeling of fitting in, the
sense of feeling part of a community and feeling connectedness with the people in their
environments. Some students had just enough sense of belonging and/or had one person to
believe they could persist in college. The intrapersonal factors showed up in terms of time
management skills, coping strategies for stress, problem solving capabilities, self-awareness,
meta-cognitive consciousness and the ability to adjust one’s schedule to meet individual needs.
The third finding addressed the two dimensions of the Latinx and commuter on sense of
belonging. Neither the identification of being Latinx nor being a commuter student appeared to
influence persistence strongly. The participants all saw themselves as college students and others
were self-aware of their ethnic identity. Since the students commuted, the students appeared to
have adjusted to the commute overtime and the students had established tradeoffs in their lives to
commute to school, like getting up earlier, adjusting for traffic and using the commute to do
homework or to plan their day. The findings suggest commonalities among the students who
participated in this study, however the diverse experiences, beliefs, values and approaches to
persistence varied individually.

LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 186
CHAPTER FIVE: DISCUSSION
This study focused on the experiences of 14 Latinx commuter students who had persisted
into and beyond the fourth semester in a 4-year institution of higher education. This study
examined the role sense of belonging in home, school and work played in their persistence in
college. The concept of college persistence has been studied for decades (Pascarella &
Terenzini, 2005; Tinto, 1993), and college students’ sense of belonging has been determined as a
key to education success (Strayhorn, 2012). There are studies on Latinx students’ sense of
belonging in college (Strayhorn, 2012) and research on commuter students sense of belonging at
school (Jacoby & Garland, 2005). However, little was known about Latinx commuter students,
where they felt they had a sense of belong and how this sense affected in persistence in school.
According to the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (2012), there is a growing
Latinx undergraduate enrollment. From 2000 to 2010, the total Hispanic undergraduate
headcount grew 67.4%, and, as of, 2011 there were 16.35 million Hispanic undergraduate
students (Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities, 2012). Colleges need to adjust
policies and procedures to better meet the needs of Latinx commuter students.
The purpose of this study was to investigate the perceptions and experiences of Latinx
commuter students, specifically answering the following research question: How does
undergraduate Latinx commuter students’ sense of belonging contribute to their persistence to
this point in a 4-year institution of higher education?
To understand the insights of the students, the study utilized a qualitative research design.
The participants were recruited from announcements made in 12 different day and evening
classes on at one college campus. Over 500 recruitment flyers were passed out in the classes. In
addition, administrators and professors sent recruitment emails. The interested students
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 187
responded to me via email and were asked a series of questions to determine if they met the
narrowed criteria of Latinx commuter students. I conducted one-on-one interviews at one 4-year
university with 14 students who self-identified into the broad category of Latinx and commuted
more than five miles to campus. The students had persisted in school and shared their
experiences, thoughts, feelings and perceptions of their sense of belonging in their home, school
and work environments. The findings were consistent with literature on persistence (Bean &
Eaton, 2000; Milem & Berger; 1997; Pascarella et al., 1983 2005; Tinto, 1993), on sense of
belonging (Goodenow, 1993; Marshall et al., 2012; Morrow & Ackermann, 2012; Rendon, 1994;
Strayhorn, 2012; Zumbrunn et al., 2014), on Hispanics in higher education (Hurtado et al., 1996;
Rendon et al., 2000; Tierney, 2000; Yosso et al., 2009), and on commuter students (Darling,
2015; Gefen & Fisher, 2013; Newbold et al., 2011). Although analysis revealed commonalities,
there were connections in the importance of intrapersonal factors intertwined with sense of
belonging as students navigated home, school and work. It was unclear if the intrapersonal
factors were personal attributes with which the student arrived on campus, as Tinto (1997) might
suggest, or if they were part of the students’ interconnectedness as they developed and managed
their microsystem, mesosystems and exosystems, as Bronfenbrenner (1997) might suggest.
Regardless, the intrapersonal factors appeared to play a large role in how the students’ beliefs,
attitudes and behaviors influenced their sense of belonging in their environments, which is
consistent with the conclusions of the National Academy of Sciences (2017).
A multitude of factors influence persistence as students develop intrapersonal factors to
gain awareness of their own sense of belonging, values, beliefs and goals to help them navigate
any one of the environments in which they interact. Some of the students in this study
persistence in school was similar to Tinto’s (1993) model by having goals commitments and by
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having a focus on the future with career and graduate school and other students stayed in school
because they wanted social mobility and they felt a college degree would lead to employment
stability, which was consistent with Cabrera et al. (2012). Overall the majority of the students
persisted because they had a sense of belonging, which is consistent to the sense of belonging
literature by creating social bonds, positive interactions in relationships, a sense of support from
peers and professors, being validated inside and outside the classroom, the feeling of fitting in,
the sense of being part of a community and having a feeling of connectedness (Bronfenbrenner,
1997; Hurtado et al., 1996; Marshall et al., 2012; Morrow & Ackermann, 2012; Museus et al.,
2017; Rendon, 1994; Redon-Linares & Munoz, 2011; Strayhorn, 2012). Other students persisted
with just enough sense of belonging, which is in line with research that students develop coping
strategies, awareness and intrapersonal factors to foster belonging (Bean & Eaton, 2000; Gefen
& Fisher, 2013; Hurtado & Carter. 1997; Rendon, 1994). In addition, a couple of the students
had that one person who believed in them, who Rendon (1994) would consider a validating
agent. The students had the awareness and the consciousness that they belonged at the university
and this came in form of intrapersonal factors. The intrapersonal factors the students revealed
varied widely and appeared in their ability for time management, self-awareness, meta-cognitive
consciousness and capability to adjust behavior to meet one’s own needs to persist. Ultimately,
this study revealed there are multiple avenues the Latinx commuter student used to persist in
college and intrapersonal factors intertwined with sense of belonging were strong influences in
persistence in the college journey.
Revised Conceptual Framework as a Result of the Findings
As a result of the findings, the revised conceptual framework is my new tentative theory
based on what I have discovered by conducting this study. This section explains the sense of
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 189
belonging intertwined with intrapersonal factors leading to the decision to persist. Intrapersonal
factors are interconnected with sense of belonging, demonstrated in the framework as circles of
sense of belonging for home, school and work (intertwined) over the large oblong. In the
framework, I used the term “intrapersonal factors,” although researchers used many terms to
describe intrapersonal: intrapersonal intelligence, intrapersonal competencies, psychological
functioning, characteristics, and factors (Gardner & Hatch, 1989; Hagerty et al., 2011; Hartley,
2011; National Academy of Sciences, 2017). To have a sense of belonging, students must be
conscientious of their own feelings, which requires intrapersonal competency (National
Academy of Sciences, 2017). Similarly, Gardner and Hatch (1989) defined intrapersonal
intelligence as “access to one’s own feelings and the ability to discriminate among them and
draw upon them to guide behavior; knowledge of one’s own strengths, weaknesses, desires and
intelligences” (p. 6). The student uses intrapersonal factors to be conscious of his/her/hir sense
of belonging in each environment. Bronfenbrenner’s multilayered model helps explain the
interconnectedness of intrapersonal factors and sense of belonging in that the developing person
interacts with interconnected environments by using personal characteristics: “Personal mental
and emotional ‘resources’ for example, previous experiences and skills; social and material
resources, personal temperament, motivation, persistence” (Mclinden, 2017, p. 382).
The decision to persist is connected to the intrapersonal factors illustrated by the large
oblong with the circles of sense of belonging in home, school and work representing the space in
which students use their sense of belonging intertwined with interpersonal skills to enter into the
process of deciding to persist. This decision entails an evaluation process which the student
enters with goals commitments regarding staying in school. When students have clear goals
commitments and a sense of belonging in at least one environment intertwined with intrapersonal
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 190
factors, they remained and repeated the entire process, shown by a solid line. Students who
remained in school with no clear goals commitments also repeated the process continuously.
This is shown by a dotted line, which suggests the connections do not need to be solid or strong.
The connections can be loose or sporadic over time, and students will still persist.

Figure 6. Revised Conceptual Framework: Concept map as a result of the study of the
Latinx commuter students’ sense of belonging intertwined with intrapersonal factors in
the trajectory through college to the decision to persist.

I contend Latinx commuter students do not need to have a sense of belonging in all
environments; however, sense of belonging needs to exist enough in any environment for them to
persist and complete college. Sense of belonging includes basic engagement/involvement and
relationships, and the students gave insight on how they felt about membership in their
environment and whether they felt supported to persist in school. The students shared why they
return to school semester after semester and year after year. The students revealed their desires
that propelled them to keep attending class and the social and academic aspects they
Home
Peers
Attendance @
events
Clubs off
campus
Family
Attendance @
events
responsibilities
School
Peers
Attendance @
school
Clubs on
campus
Class
Participation
Assignment
completion
Faculty
Attendance @
school
Class
Participation
Assignment
Completion
Student
Services
Clubs on
campus
Academic
Awareness
Work
Peers
Attendance @
work
Boss
Flexibility
Intrapersonal
Skills
Sense of
Belonging at
Home
Sense of
Belonging at
Work
Sense of
Belonging at
School
ENGAGEMENT RELATIONSHIPS ENVIRONMENTS INTRAPERSONAL FACTORS
Home
School Work
Latinx Commuter Student
Entering college
Pre-existing Attributes
Background Factors
Family responsibilities
Socio Economic Status
Race/Ethnicity
DECISION to PERSIST
YES
REPEATS TO
DEGREE COMPLETION
Decision
to
Persist
Goals
commitments
Stay in School
The entire process is continuous throughout the college experience
Navigating the environments simultaneously while in college
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 191
contemplated as they persisted in school. The students were able to share how their sense of
belonging was on a spectrum in each one of their environments intertwined with intrapersonal
factors that influenced persistence to this point.
Summary of Findings
Three broad findings emerged from the data and streamlined into narrow themes. The
first theme had to do with the narrow concept of persistence. Nine students had clear goals
commitments, declared majors, clear career path and aspirations for further education beyond
bachelor’s degree and were driven to persist in school. These nine students’ experiences were
consistent with the classic persistence literature of Tinto’s (1993) model on institutional
departure. The other five students did not have such clear goals commitments, were less
committed to their major and were focused on staying in school rather than getting out of school.
These five students stayed in school, did not have a clear vision for the future and persisted.
Results revealed two distinct groups of students who persist: students who persist with goals in
mind and students who stay in school.
The second finding was more multifaceted with four distinct themes and was more
connected to the research question on sense of belonging playing a role in persistence. However,
the data revealed an additional and more complex component not previously addressed:
intrapersonal factors. Participants expressed explicit areas that helped them persist, such as time
management, agendas, talking to professors, getting notes from peers, help from advisors,
meditation, keeping track of grades, waking up early, and adjusting schedules. These areas were
implicit strategies like problem solving skills, meta-cognitive ability, academic awareness,
mindfulness, concept of self, identity, consciousness of one’s own environments, approachability,
awareness of emotional support, feelings of validation and sense of belonging. These implicit
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 192
strategies emerged as intrapersonal factors or, as Gardner and Hatch (1989) would define
intrapersonal intelligence, “access to one’s own feelings and the ability to discriminate among
them and draw upon them to guide behavior; knowledge of one’s own strengths, weaknesses,
desires, and intelligences” (p. 6). Sense of belonging was inextricably intertwined with
intrapersonal factors (intelligence). Therefore, this finding was illustrated by a quadrant (Figure
6) to visualize where the students clustered in relation to sense of belonging intertwined with
intrapersonal factors. The original conceptual framework did not include intrapersonal factors,
as this emerged from the data analysis. I realized students cannot have a sense of belonging if
they did not have the consciousness of intrapersonal factors (Hartley, 2011; Hagerty et al., 1996;
National Academy of Sciences, 2017). The second finding was the strength of participants’
sense of belonging was intertwined with the strength of their intrapersonal factors to support
persistence.
The third finding addressed the two dimensions of the participants: being Latinx and
commuters. There was a wide range of ethnicities the students self-identified within the
parameters of Latinx, but the prominent identity the was that of college students. The data
suggest that neither the identification of Latinx nor commuter student affected persistence for
this group of participants.
Together, these three findings showed that participants had different ways in which they
approached their home, school and work environments in terms of relationships and engagement
that affected their sense of belonging. Participants’ sense of belonging was inextricably
intertwined with intrapersonal factors that lead them to the decision to persist with goals
commitments or to persist to stay in school. There where multiple factors and multiple journeys
the students took to persist in college, these stories only represent a few ways persistence played
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 193
out with this purposive sample who self-selected into the study. The criteria to be a part of this
study was very narrow and I was limited by what information I could collect. There are other
stories that are not represented in the findings and were not represented in this document,
therefore this study should not be generalized for Latinx commuter students.
Implications and Recommendations
The interviews conducted as part of this qualitative study with 14 Latinx commuter
students revealed experiences and commonalities that can inform policy, practice and suggest
areas for additional research. Here, I offer the ways in which this study can benefit
policymakers, university administrators, faculty and advisors in better serving Latinx commuter
students as they navigate the college environments to persist.
Implications and Recommendations for Policy and Practice
Policy. All 14 students in this study persisted in school. Nine students had high
intrapersonal factors and a strong sense of belonging in one or more of their environments and
were navigating their college experience with goals commitments. Five students had lower
intrapersonal factors and lower sense of belonging in their environments and were navigating
college to stay in school. The implication of the interpretation of persistence leads to policy
recommendations. According to Hagedon (2005), persistence is a student measure, and retention
is an institutional measure. I recommend educational stakeholders recognize two kinds of
persistence at the institutional level: persistence with goals commitments and persistence with
staying in school as a perpetual presence in school instead of what Tinto (1993) suggested in his
model as a departure decision. The decision to persist with goals commitments or stay in school,
as my conceptual framework suggests, is more aligned with students who fall into each group as
they persist semester to semester.
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 194
This study offers evidence that the presence and development of intrapersonal factors
were key to sense of belonging which leads to college success. A policy recommendation is that
students be assessed for intrapersonal competencies prior to entering the institution. The
National Academy of Sciences (2017) has an outline of assessment methods which includes self-
rating surveys, biographical and personal essays and statements, letters of recommendations,
interviews, multiple choice assessments, and situational judgment tests (p. 77). Below in the
implication for practice I explain how the results from this assessment can be used in practice.
All 14 students commuted to school. An implication is that students commute to school
and have limited hours to be engaged on campus due to many outside commitments, including
responsibilities with family, work and other life circumstances. I recommend the university
implement policies that provide and allow, without repercussions, more flexibility for commuter
students to attend to family issues, more flexible registration/scheduling, alternative options in
the classroom with assignments and homework, professor office hours and club participation.
Tierney (2000) suggests students would benefit from “programmatic and personal flexibility” (p.
224). Commuter students should be allowed access to a campus advocate or an identified person
who will provide institutional support with flexibility in terms of class schedule, carpool
information, and bus/train access. This advocate would support the commuter student much like
support services found in veterans centers, LGBTQ centers and DACA centers: counseling
services, health services, public services, legal services and mediation. Additional resources
could be built to address the needs of students who have not yet articulated their goals, by
identifying those students without majors earlier and provide caring and supportive resources and
services.
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 195
Practice. A recommendation for practice is for intrapersonal competencies be taught to
students whose assessment results show low intrapersonal factors. Faculty and advisors should
develop strategies to enhance behaviors in the classroom and on campus to encourage growth in
consciousness, awareness, time management, problem solving skills, mindset and sense of
belonging. The limited intervention studies conducted to date have generated promising
evidence that the competencies of sense of belonging, growth mindset, and utility goals and
values are related to college success and are malleable in response to interventions (National
Academy of Sciences, 2017).
An implication based on the intrapersonal factors and exchanges students had with
faculty is that some faculty members are not in a position to provide engagement or development
for students inside or outside the classroom. Therefore, I recommend the practice to provide
professional development for faculty on how to develop intrapersonal factors for themselves and
for students. The faculty workshops should also serve to develop a better understanding of
student differences and commonalities and learn to validate students inside and outside of the
classroom. Faculty should learn how to make a connection, understand students’ cultural
histories, experiences and how to incorporate them in the learning environment, as “faculty need
to rethink the traditional classroom and learn how to unleash the power of learning in students”
(Rendon, 1994, p. 47).
The participants in this study were both Latinx and commuters. The implication is that
many students have dual identities as college students and their cultural identity. A
recommendation for practice is to have administrators, faculty and advisors better serve Latinx
students by offering opportunities for them to express their culture on campus and in the
classroom. Tierney (2000) suggests that it is important to affirm an individual’s identity by
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 196
honoring the knowledge and strengths the student brings to the classroom and school
environment. The students were Latinx and attended this HSI 4-university (SC4U) where they
felt welcomed. SC4U could provide more opportunities for students to express their identity as
college students in the community can occur through assignments that engage the community
where the student lives or areas where their identity as a college student is recognized as part of
the university, such as volunteer programs, community engagement assignments and outreach
assignments.
Implications and Recommendations for Further Research
Several areas emerged from the interviews that would benefit from additional research,
although they did not develop as major findings. The area that would benefit from more research
is where and how intrapersonal factors are established. Since intrapersonal factors and sense of
belonging are intertwined, we do not know where intrapersonal factors first develop. Where
does the Latinx commuter student develop, learn and apply intrapersonal factors into their daily
life? Do students arrive at college with the intrapersonal factors in place, or are these acquired
during the transition to college? I believe more research is needed to focus on where and how
intrapersonal factors develop in the microsystem, mesosystem and exosystem. How do the
intrapersonal factors impact interactions in the environments as a student navigates college into
emerging adulthood? Further research is needed to investigate the eight intrapersonal
competencies on the a Latinx commuter student population using the National Academy of
Sciences (2017) list: behaviors related to conscientiousness, sense of belonging, academic self-
efficacy, growth mindset, utility goals and values, intrinsic goals and interest, prosocial goals and
values and positive future self (p. 6).
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 197
Participants used support services on campus, such as the library, the gym, advisors,
counseling services, writing centers, tutoring centers, meditation centers, student union centers,
scholarship and financial aid offices. I recommend researching the support services utilized by
Latinx commuter students. Many of the support services are available only during the peak
hours on campus, but not necessarily online during non-peak hours. The university would
benefit from researching what kinds of support services could be put online via web-conference
with support people like tutors, advisors and faculty. SC4U had some services available for
commuter students online with the use of the Zimride (ride sharing), Zipcar and student
transportation guide. However, more research could be conducted on how effective these
services are for Latinx commuter students.
A series of three questions were asked at the beginning of the school section of the
interview protocol: How do you pay for your tuition? Do you receive grants, scholarships or
loans? How do you pay for your living expenses while in school? Responses showed students
could not articulate how money was allocated to them. Many of the students received financial
aid, but, beyond receiving government financial aid, several students were unable to distinguish
if the type of aid they received for school was in the form of grants, scholarships or loans. These
students had little idea of where the money was coming from. They said things like, “Oh, I get
FAFSA” or “Oh, I get financial aid.” One student was aware she was not taking enough units to
still qualify for financial aid, but she did not understand the possible ramifications of not
receiving financial aid on her ability to persist in school. More research is needed to investigate
the extent of knowledge the student has on their financial responsibility and how it impacts their
ability to persist.
LATINX COMMUTER STUDENTS AND PERSISTENCE 198
Lastly, the self-identification of Latinx appeared to be too broad a category to gather a
collective voice on how sense of belonging contributed to persistence. This study could be
conducted again with a narrower ethnic group or a focus on just first-generation students. There
is also room for comparative studies of ethnic groups, scholarship programs, equal opportunity
services or gender to add to the literature regarding the impact of sense of belonging and
intrapersonal factors. Several students contacted me to become part of this study, but they were
transfer students. I purposively excluded transfer students, but there was an interest by these
students to tell their stories. Therefore, a similar study could be conducted to investigate how
undergraduate transfer students’ sense of belonging contributes to their persistence in a 4-year
institution of higher education as well as a similar study at a non-Hispanic Serving Institution.
There is much more research needed to determine the effects of negative or positive influences of
intrapersonal factors, support services, financial aid, individual development in different
environments, and how the student negotiates these as part of the college experience to persist.
Conclusion
This study explored the perspectives of Latinx commuter students on sense of belonging
at home, school and work and how this contributed to their persistence in college. The findings
suggest that students persist through a multitude of avenues. Some have goals while others are
trying to stay in school. Practices are needed to develop intrapersonal factors for students to
have an awareness of their belonging in their environments. Support services are needed to help
with more flexibility for Latinx commuter students, inside and outside the classroom, to help
them productively manage their responsibilities as they persist in school.
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Abstract (if available)

Abstract This dissertation investigated how undergraduate Latinx commuter students’ sense of belonging contributed to their persistence in a 4-year institution of higher education. The research took place on one single campus at a 4-year university in Southern California identified as a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI). The students were recruited from in-class announcements and flyers that were distributed in 12 classrooms and from several list-serves sent out by faculty and administrators. Fourteen students self-identified into the broad category of Latinx and commuted more than five miles to campus for school. All the participants had persisted in this one university to his or her fourth semester or beyond. This study utilized a qualitative research design with one-on-one interviews using a semi-structured interview protocol to gather information on the participants’ perceptions and beliefs regarding the role sense of belonging played in their persistence. The analysis revealed three findings: persistence had two areas, one with goals commitments and one to stay in college

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Asset Metadata

Creator Brusasco, Joyce Marie (author)

Core Title Latinx commuter students who have persisted and their sense of belonging

School Rossier School of Education

Degree Doctor of Education

Degree Program Education (Leadership)

Publication Date 09/05/2019

Defense Date 08/15/2019

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag commuter,Higher education,intrapersonal,Latinx,OAI-PMH Harvest,persistence,sense of belonging

Language English

Contributor Electronically uploaded by the author (provenance)

Advisor Slayton, Julie (committee chair), Augustin, Frankline (committee member), Kezar, Adrianna (committee member)

Creator Email brusasco@usc.edu,joycemariebrusasco@gmail.com

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c89-216725

Unique identifier UC11674216

Identifier etd-BrusascoJo-7810.pdf (filename),usctheses-c89-216725 (legacy record id)

Legacy Identifier etd-BrusascoJo-7810.pdf

Dmrecord 216725

Document Type Dissertation

Rights Brusasco, Joyce Marie

Type texts

Source University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Access Conditions The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the a...

Repository Name University of Southern California Digital Library

Repository Location USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus MC 2810, 3434 South Grand Avenue, 2nd Floor, Los Angeles, California 90089-2810, USA