Editors’ Introduction

Over the last few decades, scholars and practitioners in higher education have taken great pains to address issues of inequitable access to postsecondary education for Latina/o students in the United States. As Sylvia Hurtado’s foreword reminds us, although Latina/o students are now enrolling in higher
education in far greater numbers than ever before, the promise and purpose of a college education only begin at the point of access. Ensuring equality of opportunity and collegiate success requires looking inside these institutional spaces that simultaneously create newfound safety and stifling fear, enriching
connectedness and painful alienation, liberating discovery and collective struggle. Equality for Latina/o students cannot be achieved without devoted attention to understanding the quality of the varied college experiences of this population.

In this special issue of the Harvard Educational Review, we call attention to the needs and interests of Latina/o students currently enrolled in our nation’s colleges and the ever-increasing population of future Latina/o undergraduates. In doing so we draw on the tradition of consejos—words of wisdom coming from those with experience—honoring both the insights of our contributors and the interpersonal advice that was critical to the persistence of many of the Latina/o students whose stories are presented here. Through six scholarly articles and eight personal narratives, this collection identifies unexplored questions, unchallenged assumptions, and new insights regarding Latina/o students’ undergraduate experiences. We urge readers to heed these lessons and to respond to the wake-up call for critically examining the existing structures and barriers to personal and intellectual development that are particular to Latina/o undergraduates.

Click here to access this article.
Click here purchase this special issue.