“I learned that I don’t have to change”: migrant/seasonal farmworker undergraduates’ experiences at academic conferences

Brendan H. O’Connor, Hannah Kirsch, Nicole Maestas

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Undergraduate research experiences can have a powerful impact on career aspirations and research skills, particularly among students from historically underrepresented groups. This study explores the conference-going experiences of first-generation, Mexican American undergraduates from migrant/seasonal farmworker backgrounds in the College Assistance Migrant Program (CAMP) at Arizona State University. Our research affirms that undergraduate conference participation strengthens students’ sense of self-efficacy, or their ability to incorporate existing skills and competencies into their academic identities. However, conference experiences were most impactful when students experienced their cultural and academic identities as integrated. CAMP students also saw their development of self-efficacy through conference experiences as relational and connected to their ability to “give back” to their communities. Undergraduate research experiences can be integrated with a “border pedagogy” approach that brings students’ cultural knowledge into dialogue with academic knowledge production.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)564-580
Number of pages17
JournalInternational Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education
Volume37
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - 2024
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Latinx
  • Migrant education
  • postsecondary
  • self-efficacy
  • undergraduate research

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Education

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