Proving them wrong: academically resilient first-generation Latinas in college

This study examined the educational trajectories of academically resilient first-generation Latinas in college. More specifically, the study focused on the factors that led them to become academically successful. The researcher of this study conducted a narrative inquiry analysis of the K-16 educational trajectories of five academically resilient college students, which served as counter-narratives to the existing deficit laden research regarding Latina students within the American educational system. The study was guided by the following research questions: 1) What experiences contribute to the development of academic resiliency in first-generation Latinas? 2) What factors do academically resilient first-generation Latinas attribute their educational success? 3) What do the experiences that contributed to the academic resiliency of first-generation Latinas suggest for educational practice and policy? The data collection tactics applied in this qualitative analysis were: written autobiographical narratives of each of the five participants’ educational trajectories, in-depth interviews, and a focus group interview with all five of the participants. Latino Critical Race Theory (LatCrit) (Delgado Bernal, 2002) was used as the theoretical framework to analyze the race, gender and social barriers the participants encountered, while the Community Cultural Wealth Model (Yosso, 2005) in conjunction with the Academic Resilience Model (Morales, 2008; Gayles, 2005; Cammarota, 2004; Solorzano & Delgado Bernal, 2001; Valenzuela, 1993; Yosso, 2002) provided a theoretical approach to understand the supportive factors and mechanisms that the five students possessed and/or interfaced with, throughout their educational careers, that enabled their academic success. The major findings of this study are that first-generation, academically resilient Latinas enhance their resiliency by the presence of various factors. For the most part their academic resiliency was increased by the presence of, and interaction with, the protective factors. Protective factors are the inherent strengths that the student possesses that allow her to mitigate the risk factors that may be present in her life These protective factors were comprised of dispositional, familial and environmental factors. This included unwavering familial support, the intrinsic motivation to succeed, and ongoing support from teachers, administrators and peer networks.Ed. D.Includes bibliographical referencesby Rosanna A. Reye