Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-ttngx Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-06-07T11:57:07.142Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Chapter 8 - How Colleges Can Support Working Students of Immigrant Origin

from Part II - Experiences

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 May 2024

By
Janese Free  and
Katrin Križ
Edited by
Blake R. Silver  and
Graziella Pagliarulo McCarron
Blake R. Silver
Affiliation:
George Mason University
Graziella Pagliarulo McCarron
Affiliation:
George Mason University
Get access

Summary

This chapter aims to provide recommendations for how colleges can best support working college students of immigrant origin. It examines which challenges these students encounter when juggling full-time studies with working 20 or more hours a week during the academic year. Drawing on findings from qualitative, semi-structured interviews with twenty-four undergraduate students of immigrant origin in the northeastern United States, we show that these students face a confluence of challenges. The participants experienced academic, emotional, and social difficulties resulting from a time deficit and found the unpredictability of work hours and schedules challenging. They reported stress, anxiety, emotional depletion, sleep deprivation, exhaustion, and a lack of faculty support. We offer program and policy suggestions for higher education administrations and faculty to stem this confluence of challenges. These include gathering institutional data about the labor force engagement of their student population, vetting jobs on and near campus for their “student friendliness” (set time schedules and predictable, limited hours), and educating students about which jobs are student-friendly.

Keywords

Challengescollege studentsearningemploymentfacultyhigher educationimmigrant originpoliciesprogramsworking
Type
Chapter
Information
Supporting College Students of Immigrant Origin
New Insights from Research, Policy, and Practice
 , pp. 155 - 175
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2024

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Batalova, J., & Feldblum, M. (2020). Immigrant-origin students in U.S. higher education: A data profile. The Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration. presidentsalliance.orgGoogle Scholar
Benner, K., & Curl, A. L. (2018). Exhausted, stressed, and disengaged: Does employment create burnout for social work students? Journal of Social Work Education, 54(2), 300–309. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10437797.2017.1341858CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cárdenas, B. (2004). Breaking through in migrant education. In Salinas, C. & Franquis, M. E. (Eds.). Scholars in the field: The challenges of migrant education (pp. 241–250). Institute of Education Sciences. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED482321.pdfGoogle Scholar
Cárdenas, B., & Cárdenas, J. A. (1977 ). The theory of incompatibilities: A conceptual framework for responding to the educational needs of Mexican American children. Department of Education. http://eric.ed.gov/?q=theory+of+incompatibilities+cardenas&id=ED174383Google Scholar
Cárdenas, B., & Cárdenas, J. A. (1972). The Cardenas-Cardenas theory of incompatibilities. Today’s Education, February.Google Scholar
Carnevale, A. P., & Smith, N. (2018). Balancing work and learning: Implications for low-income students. Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce.Google Scholar
Carnevale, A. P., Smith, N., Melton, M., & Price, E. W. (2015). Learning while earning: The new normal. Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce.Google Scholar
Choi, Y. (2018). Student employment and persistence: Evidence of effect heterogeneity of student employment in college. Research in Higher Education, 59(2), 88–107.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Collins, P. H. (1993). Toward a new vision: Race, class, and gender as categories of analysis and connection. Race, Sex & Class, 1(1), 25–45. www.jstor.org/stable/41680038Google Scholar
Crenshaw, K. (1989). Demarginalizing the intersectionality of race and sex: A Black feminist critique of antidiscrimination doctrine, feminist theory and antiracist politics. University of Chicago Legal Forum, 1, 139–168.Google Scholar
Crenshaw, K. (1991). Mapping the margins: Intersectionality, identity politics, and violence against women of color. Stanford Law Review, 43(6), 1241–1299.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Creswell, J. W., & Poth, C. N. (2018). Qualitative inquiry and research design. Sage.Google Scholar
Darolia, R. (2014). Working (and studying) day and night: Heterogeneous effects of working on the academic performance of full-time and part-time students. Economics of Education Review, 38, 38–50. https://doi.org.10.1016/j.econedurev.2013.10.004CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Delgado, R., & Stefancic, J. (2001). Critical race theory: An introduction. New York University Press.Google Scholar
Desai, M. S., Parayitam, S., Khosrovani, M., & Desai, K. J. (2018). Experiencing burnout by African-American college students who had employment. SAM Advanced Management Journal, 83(3), 1–29.Google Scholar
Eaton, C. (2022). Bankers in the ivory tower: The troubling rise of financiers in US higher education. University of Chicago Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ecton, W. G., Heinrich, C. J., & Carruthers, C. K. (2023). Earning to learn: Working while enrolled in Tennessee colleges and universities. AERA Open, 9(1), 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1177/23328584221140410CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Free, J., & Križ, K. (2022). The not-so-hidden curriculum: How a public school system in the United States minoritizes migrant students. Equity & Excellence in Education, 55(1), 50–72. https://doi.org/10.1080/10665684.2022.2047409CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gable, R. (2021). The hidden curriculum: First generation students at legacy universities. Princeton University.Google Scholar
Hall, R. (2010). The work–study relationship: Experiences of full‐time university students undertaking part‐time employment. Journal of Education and Work, 23(5), 439–449. https://doi.org/10.1080/13639080.2010.515969CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hamilton, L. T., & Nielsen, K. (2021). Broke: The racial consequences of underfunding public universities. University of Chicago Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hogan, K. A., & Sathy, V. (2022). Inclusive teaching: Strategies for promoting equity in the college classroom. West Virginia University Press.Google Scholar
Houle, J. N., & Addo, F. R. (2022). A dream defaulted: The student loan crisis among Black borrowers. Harvard Education Press.Google Scholar
Huie, F. C., Winslerb, A., & Kitsantasc, A. (2014). Employment and first-year college achievement: The role of self-regulation and motivation. Journal of Education and Work, 27(1), 110–135. http://doi.org/10.1080/13639080.2012.718746CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jack, A. (2019). The privileged poor: How elite colleges are failing disadvantaged students. Harvard University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lederer, A. M., Autry, D. M., Day, C. R., & Oswalt, S. B. (2015). The impact of work and volunteer hours on the health of undergraduate students. Journal of American College Health, 62(6), 403–408. https://doi.org/10.1080/07448481.2015.1015028CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lofland, J., Snow, D., Anderson, L., & Lofland, L. (2006). Analyzing social settings. A guide to qualitative observation and analysis. Thomson Wadsworth.Google Scholar
Mills, L. (2020). Understanding the experiences of college students who work full-time: Juggling competing responsibilities and defining academic success. Journal of Continuing Higher Education, 68(3), 181–189. https://doi.org/10.1080/07377363.2020.1743629CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mounsay, R., Vandehey, M. A., & Diekhoff, G. M. (2013). Working and non-working university students: Anxiety, depression, and grade point average. College Student Journal, 47(2), 378–389.Google Scholar
Mukherjee, M., McKinney, L., Hagedorn, L. S., Purnamasari, A., & Santiago Martinez, F. (2017). Stretching every dollar: The impact of personal financial stress on the enrollment behaviors of working and non-working community college students. Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 41(9), 551–565. https://doi.org/10.1177/00915521211061416CrossRefGoogle Scholar
National Center for Education Statistics. (2021). Digest of education statistics. Percentage of 16- to 64-year-old undergraduate students who were employed, by attendance status, hours worked per week, and selected characteristics: 2010, 2015, and 2020. 2021 Tables and Figures. https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d21/tables/dt21_503.40.aspGoogle Scholar
Neyt, B., Omey, E., Verhaest, D., & Baert, S. (2019). Does student work really affect educational outcomes? A review of the literature. Journal of Economic Surveys, 33(3), 896–921. https://doi.org/10.1111/joes.12301CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nieves, L. (2021). I need you to see all of me: Latinx students from mixed-immigration-status families speak out on school and work roles and offer lessons for Latinx community college leaders. Journal of Applied Research in the Community College, 28(2), 1–16.Google Scholar
Núñez, A., & Sansone, V. A. (2016). Earning and learning: Exploring the meaning of work in the experiences of first-generation Latino college students. The Review of Higher Education, 40(1), 91–116. https://doi.org/10.1353/rhe.2016.0039CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Park, Y. A., & Sprung, J. M. (2013). Work–school conflict and health outcomes: Beneficial resources for working college students. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 18(4), 384–394.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Perna, L. W., & Odle, T. K. (2020). Recognizing the reality of working college students: Minimizing the harm and maximizing the benefits of work. AAUP. www.aaup.org/article/recognizing-reality-working-college-students#.Y_VZch_MI2wGoogle Scholar
Remenick, L., & Bergman, M. (2021). Support for working students: Considerations for higher education institutions. The Journal of Continuing Higher Education, 69(1), 34–45. https://doi.org/10.1080/07377363.2020.1777381CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Saldaña, J. (2021). The coding manual for qualitative researchers. Sage.Google Scholar
Solórzano, D. G, & Villalpando, O. (1998). Critical race theory, marginality, and the experience of minority students in higher education. In Torres, C. & Mitchell, T. (Eds.). Emerging issues in the sociology of education: Comparative perspectives (pp. 211–224). State University of New York Press.Google Scholar
Summer, R., McCoy, M., Trujillo, I., & Rodriguez, E. (2023). Support for working students: Understanding the impacts of employment on students’ lives. Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory & Practice, 1–24. https://doi.org/10.1177/15210251221149209Google Scholar
Yosso, T. J. (2002). Critical race media literacy: Challenging deficit discourse about Chicanas/os. Journal of Popular Film and Television, 30(1), 52–62.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yosso, T. J. (2005). Whose culture has capital? A critical race theory discussion of community cultural wealth. Race, Ethnicity and Education, 8(1), 69–91. https://doi.org/10.1080/1361332052000341006CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yosso, T., Smith, W., Ceja, M., & Solórzano, D. (2009). Critical race theory, racial microaggressions, and campus racial climate for Latina/o undergraduates. Harvard Educational Review, 79(4), 659–691. https://doi.org/10.17763/haer.79.4.m6867014157m707lCrossRefGoogle Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure coreplatform@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×