Award Date
5-15-2026
Degree Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Educational Psychology, Leadership, and Higher Education
First Committee Member
Federick Ngo
Second Committee Member
Stefani Relles
Third Committee Member
Kenyon Whitman
Fourth Committee Member
Norman Marrun
Number of Pages
282
Abstract
As the student demographics across higher education continue to change and experience an increasing presence of minoritized student populations, both Latin* students and students with dis/abilities have emerged as the largest minority populations on college campuses. Despite the growth of these two populations, their persistence and graduation rates remain among the lowest of all postsecondary student populations. The purpose of this critical qualitative case study was to understand the intersectional experiences of Latin* students with dis/abilities and to examine how students navigate these experiences to persist in their pursuit of higher education. Utilizing dis/ability critical race theory and community cultural wealth, this case study focused on a single university site and interviewed and observed nine participants with the aim of better understanding how persistent and returning students are finding academic success in the face of their minoritized intersections, which have been shown to significantly diminish their odds of retention and completion. Findings revealed four themes, including cultivating a capital foundation for persistence, invested in tomorrow, in/validating student autonomy, and a sense of belonging. The study found that Latin* students with dis/abilities are utilizing various forms of cultural capital, such as aspirational and navigational capital, to resist the racism and ableism they have faced in the pursuit of their tertiary education. The implications of these findings can inform how higher education policy and practice better understand and support their intersecting student populations to aid their persistence to graduation.
Keywords
Higher Education; Hispanic Enrolling; Hispanic Students; Persistence; Students with Disabilities
Disciplines
Education | Inequality and Stratification | Sociology
File Format
File Size
2100 KB
Degree Grantor
University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Language
English
Repository Citation
Sundell, Dañelle N., "The Ansias of Persistence: How Latin* Students With Dis/abilities Navigate Academic Support at a High Hispanic-Enrolling Institution" (2026). UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones. 5633.
https://oasis.library.unlv.edu/thesesdissertations/5633
Rights
IN COPYRIGHT. For more information about this rights statement, please visit http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/