Americans by Heart: Undocumented Latino Students and the Promise ...

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The Review of Higher Education, Volume 37, Number 1, Fall 2013, pp. 124-126 (Review) 3XEOLVKHGE\7KH-RKQV+RSNLQV8QLYHUVLW\3UHVV DOI: 10.1353/rhe.2013.0078

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Howe, N., & Strauss, W. (2000). Millennials rising: The next great generation. New York: Vintage Press.

William Perez. Americans by Heart: Undocumented Latino Students and the Promise of Higher Education. New York: Teachers College Press, 2011. 191 pp. Hardcover: $72.00. ISBN 13: 978-0-8077-5284-5. Reviewed by Anne-Marie Núñez, Associate Professor of Educational Leadership & Policy Studies, and Vanessa Sansone, Doctoral Student, University of Texas at San Antonio “We have to finish the job,” said President Obama, two months after being reelected to a second term, about his plans for reforming immigration. This declaration speaks to the type of change most immigration reform advocates have been fighting for. Not since the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 has immigration reform gained such momentum. Although undocumented children and young adults are typically brought here through no fault of their own, they have faced significant penalties in educational and economic mobility. As a counterpoint to the media rhetoric that frames undocumented Latino immigrants as drains on public resources or as criminals, William Perez’s Americans by Heart: Undocumented Latino Students and the Promise of Higher Education explores the potential for undocumented students to contribute to the economic and civic life of the United States. The book is based on a two-year study in which Perez collected observational, interview, and survey data about 110 undocumented Latino students enrolled in high schools, community colleges, and universities across the United States. The majority (73%) of the sample resided in California, followed by 17% from Texas, 4% from Virginia, and the remaining 6% from Georgia, Missouri, New York, Washington, and Washington, D.C. (pp. 14–15). He used multiple methods of data collection to provide an in-depth understanding of how, in the face of significant barriers, these students not only engage academically and socially in secondary and higher education, but also participate in civic and community activities. Perez begins by examining the political context influencing immigration reform in the United States. He addresses how economic policies such as the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) caused economic disparities in Mexico that resulted in significant increases in Mexican immigration to the United States. He also

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discusses undocumented students’ limited access to economic and social opportunities and the policies that constrain these opportunities, such as limited access to postsecondary financial aid, lack of access to social services, and minimal chances to find gainful employment. Together, these macrolevel factors exacerbate various psychological and social stressors for these youth, including the feeling of being marginalized by the stigma of being undocumented. In Chapter 2, however, Perez points out how these youth have developed the resiliency to cope with these feelings and economic limitations. Such strategies involve the “immigrant optimism” (Kao & Tienda, 1995). They (a) value educational and economic opportunities in the United States, (b) believe that, in accordance with the concept of the American Dream, individual mobility is possible due to hard work, and (c) minimize and resist perceptions of undocumented immigrants as criminals or as drains on public resources. Perez presents themes from qualitative data indicating that, in addition to these personal protective mechanisms, these students also rely on social support from educators, parents, or peers to contend with their stressors and economic hardships. Chapters 3 and 4 focus on the academic and civic engagement of undocumented Latino students. In these chapters, Perez presents quantitative survey data indicating the frequency of participation in various academic and civic activities relevant to his respondents’ stage of education. Furthermore, he discusses the results of a qualitative analysis to enhance our understanding of students’ experiences in these activities, as well as the personal qualities and social supports that fuel their participation. Findings indicate that many students are engaged in these activities because of their determination to succeed, which is a central part of their identity. Many of these students receive academic awards, hold positions of leadership, participate in extracurricular activities in high school and college, and volunteer. This level of engagement is even more remarkable, considering that many of these students are employed a significant number of hours per week and must deal with transportation difficulties in reaching extracurricular or community sites. In Chapter 5, Perez addresses how community colleges play a role in undocumented Latino students’ pursuit of higher education. He notes that, because of their open-access policy and affordability, community colleges offer these students a unique opportunity to pursue postsecondary education. In addition to the students’ personal qualities of determination and drive, the environmental dimensions of academic support, faculty involvement, and supportive campus climates en-

book reviews hance their community college experiences. Even with these advantages, however, undocumented community college students still often struggle with financing college and with balancing other family responsibilities. Such challenges can pose barriers to transferring to four-year institutions. Chapter 6 focuses on the results of another research project in which Perez interviewed a group of undocumented Latino college graduates, including those who were still undocumented after graduation and those who eventually became naturalized. The findings reveal the devastation that members of the first group face when they graduate from college and are unable to find work opportunities commensurate with their education because of their legal status. By contrast, his interview results with the second group suggest that, given the appropriate legal opportunities to naturalize, formerly undocumented students will take advantage of their new status by completing bachelor’s and postgraduate degrees, including Ph.D.s and J.D.s. In the final chapter, the author addresses the implications of this research for policy reform concerning undocumented students. He argues that, if afforded the legal opportunities to become naturalized and receive the benefits of citizens, these students can and will significantly contribute to the economic, social, and civic well-being of the United States. He concludes that these students conceptualize themselves and behave as American citizens and, as such, should be accorded citizenship and its attendant rights. The book uniquely offers a sense of how and why undocumented students participate in academic and civic engagement activities—because it helps them to develop a sense of purpose and one of belonging to the school or broader community. Because so many undocumented college students are enrolled in community colleges and because community colleges tend to be overlooked in higher education research, Perez’s focus on community colleges as institutional contexts for these students also makes a unique contribution to the field. By distinctively addressing the experiences of undocumented college graduates, the book strengthens the argument that these students demonstrate the academic potential to succeed in high school, postsecondary education, and beyond. The book could be strengthened in some ways. First, although the title indicates that the book focuses only on undocumented Latino students, Perez at times discusses this group of students interchangeably with undocumented immigrants in general, regardless of their country of origin. Using these terms interchangeably without addressing this distinction could unfortunately reinforce a common public stereotype that all undocumented immigrants are Latino (National Hispanic Media

125 Coalition, 2012). It also obscures the possibility that that there are variations in undocumented students’ experiences according to country of origin. Perez could also have detailed the process and rationale of sample selection to help the reader understand or even speculate about the extent to which these students’ experiences represent the experiences of all Latino undocumented students. Because it is virtually impossible to understand the national demographic characteristics of undocumented students, it is also difficult to speak to the extent to which these students are representative of all undocumented Latino students. However, the fact that the sample is predominantly from California suggests that the sample is not nationally representative of all undocumented students. Regardless, it would be helpful to acknowledge that different state contexts regarding policies such as financial aid for postsecondary education will differentially affect these students’ access to postsecondary education. It also seems important to discuss how a primarily Californian sample may affect the interpretation of the results and related policy implications. Furthermore, Perez also uses “Latino undocumented students” interchangeably with “highachieving undocumented students” (p. 14). This terminological equation again brings up the issue of sample recruitment and selection. It is quite possible that, due to factors like self-selection bias and willingness to participate in the study, the students in this sample are particularly high-achieving and that their experiences cannot be generalized to all undocumented Latino students. This possibility calls into question the extent to which it can be argued that all undocumented students actually make a contribution to society. Additionally, the book could be enhanced if it addressed how personal qualities and environmental supports affected Latino college graduates’ capacity to complete college. Such information would complement similar analyses earlier in the book for high school students. The author describes what happened to these students only after they graduated and were seeking employment, rather than addressing how these students navigated the barriers of attending a four-year university. Furthermore, given the book’s argument for broader immigration policy reform, it would be instructive to learn how some of these formerly undocumented college students eventually became naturalized, particularly because there is such limited knowledge on the timing and cost of the naturalization process. Despite these limitations, this book overall illuminates the experiences of typically invisible students and informs a current and critical policy issue. This book will be helpful to researchers, practitioners, and policymakers seeking to under-

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stand the experiences of undocumented students in high school, postsecondary education, and beyond. In addition to serving these audiences, the book also provides a great resource for anyone seeking alternative and expanded perspectives to those reflected in the anti-immigration rhetoric about undocumented Latino students in higher education. References Kao, G. & Tienda, M. (1995). Optimism and achievement: The educational performance of immigrant youth. Social Science Quarterly, 76(1), 1–18. National Hispanic Media Coalition. (2012). The impact of media stereotypes on opinions and attitudes toward Latinos. Retrieved April 10, 2013, from http://www.nhmc.org/sites/default/ files/LD%20NHMC%20Poll%20Results%20 Sept.2012.pdf.

Cathy Ann Trower. Success on the Tenure Track: Five Keys to Faculty Job Satisfaction. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2012. 288 pp. Cloth: $45.00. ISBN: 978-1-4214-0597-1. Reviewed by Kimberley B. Pereira, Instructor, University of Hartford; Consultant, Trinity College, Hartford, Connecticut In Success on the Tenure Track: Five Keys to Faculty Job Satisfaction, Cathy Ann Trower tackles the problematic topic of whether holding a tenuretrack position and being satisfied with one’s job are compatible. She believes that job satisfaction on the tenure track is possible but that achieving such satisfaction requires a supportive institution that thinks about tenure policies and related issues carefully. Trower highlights what she refers to as “exemplary” tenure policies and practices at seven public universities that positively influence faculty job satisfaction. To underscore what these seven institutions do well, Trower offers action plans for administrators to utilize as they examine and revise their own tenure policies and practices. Further, she provides suggestions and advice for how colleges and universities can reenvision the tenure track with the goal of increasing faculty job satisfaction. Trower’s data are drawn from a larger study by the Collaborative on Academic Careers in Higher Education (COACHE) at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education that took place in 2005–2006. The larger study surveyed over 15,000 tenure-track faculty members at 200 colleges and universities. However, Trower’s book primarily draws on 104

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interviews that the COACHE researchers conducted at seven “exemplary” public universities that participated in the larger survey. In addition, the COACHE researchers conducted a detailed examination of tenure-related policies and procedures at these seven institutions. The seven institutions that COACHE viewed as “exemplary” in terms of how they handle various aspects of the tenure process are Auburn University in Alabama, University of Kansas, North Carolina State University, Ohio State University, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, University of Iowa, and the University of North Carolina at Pembroke. Chapter 1 introduces the book and provides a helpful overview of the state of the professoriate in the United States today. In Chapter 2, Trower provides the particulars on the study background and methodology, including detailed overviews of the seven “exemplary” public universities that are featured in the study. Chapters 3 through 6 all follow a similar format but address different topics or issues related to tenure-track faculty and job satisfaction. In each of these chapters, Trower begins with an overview of the key literature on the specific topic addressed. She follows this literature review with an analysis of the COACHE data, with a focus on the effective practices that can be discerned from the interview data at the seven exemplary institutions. In Chapter 4, she presents these practices as “factors that matter most” (p. 82.) At the conclusion of each chapter, Trower offers an action plan (presented as “policy and practice implications”) derived from her analysis of the study data. Chapter 3 focuses on the tenure process in general, including the overarching debate about what should count toward tenure and how colleges and universities can provide the necessary resources to support tenure-track faculty (i.e., faculty orientations, sample dossiers, feedback, etc.). In Chapter 4, Trower jumps into the thorny debate about how (and even if ) tenure-track professors can achieve a work-life balance, with a detailed look at issues related to child-rearing during the tenure-track process and the availability of flexible work options. Chapter 5 examines more closely what teaching and research-related policies and procedures are successful at supporting tenure-track professors, including start-up support for research, travel funds, and research leaves. In Chapter 6, Trower tackles campus culture, campus climate, and issues of collegiality, which she describes as “the toughest topic of all” (p. 122). This chapter includes a discussion about the value of mentoring and the importance of institutional and departmental support structures for encouraging success on the tenure track.