Project MALES is pleased to announce that three Project MALES Faculty Affiliates, Sarah Rodriguez (Iowa State University), Marissa Vasquez-Urias (San Diego State University), and Cristóbal Salinas, Jr. (Florida Atlantic University), were recently awarded the CENTER Grant for Innovative Research on Community Colleges.
THE CENTER Grants for Innovative Research on Community Colleges are annually awarded by the directors of the Center for the Study of Community Colleges (THE CENTER) to one or more members of the Council for the Study of Community Colleges to support innovative, valid, and reproducible research that has direct application to community college policy and/or practice.
Their study entitled, “Latino Men and Masculinity: Experiences in Community College Transfer in Texas, California, and Florida,” will utilize a qualitative approach to examine the lived experiences of Latino men from Texas, California, and Florida who have transferred from a community college to a four-year institution. The study will focus on the prior gender socialization experiences men bring with them as they transition from the community college to the four-year college as well as seek to understand how masculinities and identity conflicts affect male students’ attitudes and behaviors during this transition.
In order to utilize findings to improve community college policy and practice, our Project MALES Affiliates intend to collaborate with both Project MALES as well as the Minority Male Community College Collaborative (M2C3), a national research and practice center housed at San Diego State University (SDSU), to disseminate findings, encourage discussion, and promote action among educational stakeholders. In addition, they intend to offer professional development tools and resources informed by the research to facilitate effective practices that support Latino men along their educational pathways and transitions.