Ensuring the Success of Latino Males in Higher Education: A National Imperative eds. by Victor V. Saenz, Luis Ponjuan, and Julie Lopez Figueroa (review)

In her AHSE Presidential Address, Caroline S. Turner (2015) provided a call to action to for scholars to respect and learn from the knowledge gained from childhood, families, home, and communities of origin. Dr. Turner urged academe, particularly those from marginalized groups, to use this knowledge to offer new ways of thinking within higher education. The collection of scholars assembled for Ensuring the Success of Latino Males in Higher Education: A National Imperative offer an appropriate response to Dr. Turner’s call to action by presenting research that acknowledges and investigates the impacts of those factors stated in her speech. Understanding these factors is viewed as critical in learning the core focus of this edited book—the representation and success of Latino males in postsecondary institutions in the United States.

Researching the achievements and struggles of Latino males is part of the continuing efforts in improving the status of young men of color on college campuses nationwide. While a sizable amount of literature has been collected on African-American males and an overabundance of research on White students, there needs to be specific findings identifying unique cultural factors impacting the success and participation of Latino males. Latina/o enrollment in college increased 500% between 1980 and 2011 (Conrad & Gasman, 2015). Despite this significant gain, the foreword of the book reminds readers that about 60% of the degrees attained by the group are earned by females, and both male and female Latina/o graduation rates lag behind institutional averages. The editors and contributors to the book help higher education professionals understand why such a gender gap exists and what campuses can do to effectively discuss and improve factors facing this “fast growing and increasingly important segment of our national population” (p. xix).

The studies compiled for the book are sectioned into four parts offering an informative framework for future research on the topic. First, systemic and structural practices and policies within the educational pipeline are critiqued to highlight urgency needed to work against the rising gender gaps in school achievement and postsecondary attainment. Second, explanations offered as theories are provided to understand the complexities of Latino male higher education participation. The theories provide awareness of how attitudes and behaviors of Latino males are shaped by societal perceptions, expectations, and racism. Next, findings from several studies focusing on preparation, persistence, and success are shared to inform readers of components useful in narrowing the attainment gender gap. This particular section should be noted for its focus on identifying educational success factors for Latino males rather than emphasis on deficit model thinking. The final section provides important theory to practice recommendations to assist educational professionals and policy makers in developing environments that increase postsecondary aspirations, participation, and success for Latino males, which readers are reminded is a national concern.

The book editors Saenz, Ponjuan, and Lopez Figueroa use Chapter 1 to describe the apparent educational attainment gaps between Latinos and Latinas. Starting with an urgent appeal to readers that the “educational future for our nation’s Latino male student population is in a state of peril” (p. 3), this chapter gives context to the crisis by reporting numerous data findings at different educational stages. Using a solid list of data sources, the experiences faced by Latino males that impact educational and career choices are given special attention. Specifically, the chapter identifies the propensity to label these students as at-risk, discrepancies in median income wages, expectations for immigrant males to provide family income, and overrepresentation in military and prison placements. Despite providing “sobering statistics and realities for Latino males in this opening chapter” (p. 17), the authors achieve their goal in instilling urgency in responding to this issue.

In Chapter 2, Luis Ponjuan offers a conceptual model to help explain influences leading to college enrollment. Using statistical...