Qualitative Phenomenological Study

This qualitative phenomenological study uses several interview questions to help the Researcher better understand the lived experiences, cultural relevant beliefs, and barriers of Hispanic Male students pursuing a higher education at a community college in South Texas. Hull and Hinckley (2007, p. 7) argued that “there are many opportunities for Americans to make a good living; however, they do not reach their potential because of barriers”. Some of these barriers can include, but are not limited to, financial obligations, lack of technical and employability skills, or weak academic foundations. These adults, including Hispanics, “often feel that opportunities have been closed to them. Many times, they lack the support to help them overcome the barriers to self-improvement” (2007, p. 7). It was appropriate to use a qualitative research design for this study, because the researcher was interested in exploring and understanding the perceptions, actual lived experiences, and personally constructed
In 2008, the community college in South Texas became one of two community colleges, in the nation, chosen to receive the MetLife Award for Excellence. This helped to reinforce that the college was a choice site selection for Hispanic student research studies. As a result, the college in South Texas was chosen to facilitate a study of Successful Hispanic Male First-time-in-College Students at a Community College in South Texas: Experiences that Facilitate Fall First-Term Student Persistence through Official Reporting Date (Serrata, 2009). Researcher chose the target population with the intent that the findings will help administrators at higher education institutions improve, change, or develop new strategies to help increase Hispanic male