Date of Award:

5-2013

Document Type:

Dissertation

Degree Name:

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Department:

School of Teacher Education and Leadership

Department name when degree awarded

Education

Committee Chair(s)

Sherry Marx

Committee

Sherry Marx

Committee

Scott Hunsaker

Committee

Deborah Byrnes

Committee

Cinthya Saavedra

Committee

Lucy Delgadillo

Abstract

The objective of this case study was to examine and explain the success of a group of Latino/a students whose educational success substantially exceeds the success of their peers. Ten middle school students, their parents, and selected school personnel who worked with them were interviewed. The student participants were purposefully selected based on their grades, attendance, and test scores. The adult participants were selected based on their relationship to the student participants.

The student participants were interviewed twice and the adult participants were interviewed once, using a semi-structured format designed to allow the interviewees to go beyond the interviewer’s initial questions. The data collected during the study were analyzed using theories of resilience and resistance in an effort to discover how the students were attaining successful educational outcomes and how they were overcoming the challenges that caused many in their peer group to fail. Special attention was focused on the students’ explanation of their success and the failure of others in their peer group, and the areas where the student perceptions agreed with or diverged from the explanations of their parents and teachers.

The study findings indicated that the successful students faced the same challenges of racism, economic hardship, and structural inequality that are often considered contributing factors in academic failure among Latino/a students. However, the student participants were able to access personal, family, and school resources that helped them better cope with adversity and remain engaged with the school system. Because the students came to view themselves as academically successful, they were able to use their success to resist racism and inequality in ways that contributed to continued success. It was also found that while the schools in the study made many quality efforts to assist all students, the success of this group of Latino/a students should not be considered an indication that racism and structural inequality were not present in the educational setting. The students were successful in spite of the challenges they faced, and the schools need to continue to make efforts and adopt policies that promote racial and structural equality in the educational environment.

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