Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Hostname: page-component-745bb68f8f-grxwn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-02-06T13:02:18.499Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Chapter 4 - The Role of Family Histories in Students of Immigrant Origin’s Aspirations and College Decision-making Process

from Part I - Beginnings

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 May 2024

By
Leslie Patricia Luqueño
Edited by
Blake R. Silver  and
Graziella Pagliarulo McCarron
Blake R. Silver
Affiliation:
George Mason University
Graziella Pagliarulo McCarron
Affiliation:
George Mason University
Get access

Summary

Drawing upon interview data from a yearlong study with fourteen children of Latinx immigrants applying to college, I explore how students’ visions of their futures shape their college decision-making processes. I utilize possible selves theory as a guiding framework, which speaks to how people imagine who they may become in the future and can guide their actions (Markus & Nurius, 1986). I explore the following research questions: (1) how do children of Latinx immigrants conceive of their possible futures, both within higher education and beyond?, (2) what is the connection between student and familial pasts in the conceptualization of educational futures, and (3) how do students’ conceptualizations of the future shape their higher education decision-making? What I find is that students think about various possible versions of themselves simultaneously in their decision-making. This chapter contributes to current research on college choice/decision-making, the application of possible selves theory to postsecondary education, and increased insight on the role of immigrant origins in the construction of higher education aspirations among the children of Latinx immigrants.

Keywords

higher educationimmigrationLatinx studentspossible selves theorycollege choicequalitative methods
Type
Chapter
Information
Supporting College Students of Immigrant Origin
New Insights from Research, Policy, and Practice
 , pp. 64 - 86
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2024

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Acevedo-Gil, N. (2017). College-conocimiento: Toward an interdisciplinary college choice framework for Latinx students. Race Ethnicity and Education, 20(6), 829–850. https://doi.org/10.1080/13613324.2017.1343294CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Armstrong, E. A., & Hamilton, L. T. (2013). Paying for the party: How college maintains inequality. Harvard University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baum, S., & Flores, S. M. (2011). Higher education and children in immigrant families. The Future of Children, 21(1), 171–193.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bernal, D. D. (2002). Critical race theory, Latino critical theory, and critical raced-gendered epistemologies: Recognizing students of color as holders and creators of knowledge. Qualitative Inquiry, 8(1), 105–126. https://doi.org/10.1177/107780040200800107CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carey, R. L. (2016). “Keep that in mind … You’re gonna go to college”: Family influence on the college going processes of Black and Latino high school boys. The Urban Review, 48(5), 718–742. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11256-016-0375-8CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carey, R. L. (2021). Foregrounding family: How Salvadoran American boys formulate college-going mindsets at the nexus of family, school, and the self. Anthropology & Education Quarterly, 52(3), 294–314. https://doi.org/10.1111/aeq.12372CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carolan-Silva, A., & Reyes, J. R. (2013). Navigating the path to college: Latino students’ social networks and access to college. Educational Studies, 49(4), 334–359. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131946.2013.808199CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ceja, M. (2004). Chicana college aspirations and the role of parents: Developing educational resiliency. Journal of Hispanic Higher Education, 3(October), 338–362. https://doi.org/10.1177/1538192704268428CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chapman, D. W. (1981). A model of student college choice. The Journal of Higher Education, 52(5), 490–505. https://doi.org/10.2307/1981837CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Charmaz, K. (2017). The power of constructivist grounded theory for critical inquiry. Qualitative Inquiry, 23(1), 34–45. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077800416657105CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chetty, R., Friedman, J., Saez, E., Turner, N., & Yagan, D. (2017). Mobility Report Cards: The Role of Colleges in Intergenerational Mobility (w23618; p. w23618). National Bureau of Economic Research. https://doi.org/10.3386/w23618CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chetty, R., Friedman, J. N., Saez, E., Turner, N., & Yagan, D. (2020). Income segregation and intergenerational mobility across colleges in the United States. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 135(3), 1567–1633. https://doi.org/10.1093/qje/qjaa005CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Clayton, A. B., Medina, M. C., & Wiseman, A. M. (2019). Culture and community: Perspectives from first-year, first-generation-in-college Latino students. Journal of Latinos and Education, 18(2), 134–150. https://doi.org/10.1080/15348431.2017.1386101CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Contreras, F., & Contreras, G. J. (2015). Raising the bar for Hispanic serving institutions: An analysis of college completion and success rates. Journal of Hispanic Higher Education, 14(2), 151–170. https://doi.org/10.1177/1538192715572892CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cross, S., & Markus, H. (1991). Possible selves across the life span. Human Development, 34(4), 230–255. https://doi.org/10.1159/000277058CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cuevas, S. (2021). Apoyo sacrificial, sacrificial support: How undocumented Latinx parents get their children to college. Teachers College Press.Google Scholar
Dache-Gerbino, A., Marquez Kiyama, J., & Sapp, V. T. (2018). The dangling carrot: Proprietary institutions and the mirage of college choice for Latina students. The Review of Higher Education, 42(1), 29–60. https://doi.org/10.1353/rhe.2018.0033CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Delgado, V. (2020). Children of immigrants as ‘brokers’ in an era of exclusion. Sociology Compass, 48(10), 718–742. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11256-016-0375-8Google Scholar
Feliciano, C. (2020). Immigrant selectivity effects on health, labor market, and educational outcomes. Annual Review of Sociology, 46(1), 315–334. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-soc-121919-054639CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Feliciano, C., & Rumbaut, R. G. (2005). Gendered paths: Educational and occupational expectations and outcomes among adult children of immigrants. SSRN Scholarly Paper. Rochester, NY.Google Scholar
Fernández-Kelly, P. (2008). The back pocket map: Social class and cultural capital as transferable assets in the advancement of second-generation immigrants. The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 620(1), 116–137. https://doi.org/10.1177/0002716208322580CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Glesne, C. (1991). Becoming qualitative researchers: An introduction. Pearson.Google Scholar
Gonzalez, L. M. (2015). Barriers to college access for Latino/a adolescents: A comparison of theoretical frameworks. Journal of Latinos and Education, 14(4), 320–335. https://doi.org/10.1080/15348431.2015.1091315CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hossler, D., & Gallagher, K. S. (1987). Studying student college choice: A three-phase model and the implications for policymakers. College and University, 62(3), 207–221.Google Scholar
Hoyle, R. H., & Sherrill, M. R. (2006). Future orientation in the self-system: Possible selves, self-regulation, and behavior. Journal of Personality, 74(6), 1673–1696. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6494.2006.00424.xCrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Huerta, A. H. (2022). Accessing possible selves with limited college knowledge: Case studies of Latino boys in two urban continuation schools. American Behavioral Scientist, 66(10), 1342–1367. https://doi.org/10.1177/00027642211054824CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ichou, M. (2014). Who they were there: Immigrants’ educational selectivity and their children’s educational attainment. European Sociological Review, 30(6), 750–765. https://doi.org/10.1093/esr/jcu071CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Iloh, C. (2018). Toward a new model of college ‘choice’ for a twenty-first-century context. Harvard Educational Review, 88(2), 227–244. https://doi.org/10.17763/1943-5045-88.2.227CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jack, A. A. (2019). The privileged poor: How elite colleges are failing disadvantaged students. Harvard University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kao, G., & Tienda, M. (1998). Educational aspirations of minority youth. American Journal of Education, 106(3), 349–384.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Keller, U., & Tillman, K. H. (2008). Post-secondary educational attainment of immigrant and native youth. Social Forces, 87(1), 121–152. https://doi.org/10.1353/sof.0.0104CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kiyama, J. M. (2010). College aspirations and limitations: The role of educational ideologies and funds of knowledge in Mexican American families. American Educational Research Journal, 47(2), 330–356. https://doi.org/10.3102/0002831209357468CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Litten, L. H. (1982). Different strokes in the applicant pool: Some refinements in a model of student college choice. The Journal of Higher Education, 53(4), 383–402.Google Scholar
Louie, V. (2012). Keeping the immigrant bargain: The costs and rewards of success in America. Russell Sage Foundation.Google Scholar
Luedke, C. L. (2020). Developing a college-going habitus: How first-generation Latina/o/x students bi-directionally exchange familial funds of knowledge and capital within their familias. The Journal of Higher Education, 91(7), 1028–1052. https://doi.org/10.1080/00221546.2020.1726702CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Luedke, C. L., & Corral, D. (2023). “The least I could do is get that four-year degree that they sacrificed so much for” Undocumented Latina/o families and the college navigation process. The Journal of Higher Education, 1–23. https://doi.org/10.1080/00221546.2023.2171199Google Scholar
Luqueño, L. (2024a). From immigrant legacy to educational future: Redefining Latinx immigrant familial engagement in college-going habitus cultivation. Working paper.Google Scholar
Luqueño, L. (2024b). Toward a conceptualization of immigrant legacies: The intertwined nature of parental immigration and higher education aspirations and why it matters. Working paper.Google Scholar
Mariscal, J. (2021). The college choice process as a Latinx/a/o family affair. In Garcia, N. M., Salinas, C. Jr., & Cisneros, J. (Eds.), Studying Latinx/a/o students in higher education: A critical analysis of concepts, theory, and methodologies (pp. 30–42). Routledge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Markus, H., & Nurius, P. (1986). Possible selves. American Psychologist, 41(9), 954–969. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.41.9.954CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McDonough, P. M. (1994). Buying and selling higher education: The social construction of the college applicant. The Journal of Higher Education, 65(4), 427–446. https://doi.org/10.1080/00221546.1993.11778509Google Scholar
Montgomery, M., & Cote, J. (2008). College as a transition to adulthood. In Arnett, J. J. & Tanner, J. L. (Eds.), Blackwell handbook of adolescence (pp. 149–172). Blackwell. https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470756607.ch8Google Scholar
Nava, P. E., & Lara, A. (2016). Reconceptualizing leadership in migrant communities: Latina/o parent leadership retreats as sites of community cultural wealth. Association of Mexican American Educators Journal, 10(3), 90–107.Google Scholar
Oyserman, D., & Markus, H. R. (1990). Possible selves and delinquency. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 59(1), 112–125. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.59.1.112CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pérez, P. A., & McDonough, P. M. (2008). Understanding Latina and Latino college choice: A social capital and chain migration analysis. Journal of Hispanic Higher Education, 7(3), 249–265. https://doi.org/10.1177/1538192708317620CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Perna, L. (2006). Studying college access and choice: A proposed conceptual model. In Smart, J. C. (Ed.), Higher education: Handbook of theory and research (Vol. 21) (pp. 99–157). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-4512-3_3Google Scholar
Pisarik, C. T., & Shoffner, M. F. (2009). The relationship among work possible selves, socioeconomic position, and the psychological well-being of individuals in early adulthood. Journal of Career Development, 35(3), 306–325. https://doi.org/10.1177/0894845308327276CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rivera, L. A. (2015). Pedigree: How elite students get elite jobs. Princeton University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rosales, J. (2022). Latinx undocumented students college choice. Journal of Latinos and Education, 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1080/15348431.2022.2122972Google Scholar
Salazar, C. (2021). ‘I knew it was gonna be hard, but I always knew I had support from my parents’: The role of family on undocumented students’ college aspirations and persistence. Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory & Practice. Online First. https://doi.org/10.1177/15210251211018826Google Scholar
Santiago, D., & Soliz, M. (2012). Ensuring America’s future by increasing Latino college completion: Latino college completion in 50 States. Executive Summary. Excelencia in Education (NJ1). Excelencia in Education. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED532055Google Scholar
Silva, J. M., & Snellman, K. (2018). Salvation or safety net?: Meanings of “college” among working- and middle-class young adults in narratives of the future. Social Forces, 97(2), 559–582. https://doi.org/10.1093/sf/soy050CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sims, L. R., & Ferrare, J. J. (2021). “Since I am from where I am from”: How rural and urban first-generation college students differentially use social capital to choose a college major. Journal of Research in Rural Education, 37(6), 1–21. https://doi.org/10.26209/jrre3706Google Scholar
Smith, R. (2006). Mexican New York: Transnational lives of new immigrants. University of California Press.Google Scholar
Terriquez, V. (2014). Trapped in the working class?: Prospects for the intergenerational (im)mobility of Latino youth. Sociological Inquiry, 84(3), 382–411. https://doi.org/10.1111/soin.12042.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Torche, F. (2011). Is a college degree still the great equalizer?: Intergenerational mobility across levels of schooling in the United States. American Journal of Sociology, 117(3), 763–807. https://doi.org/10.1086/661904CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tough, P. (2019). The inequality machine: How college divides us (2nd ed.). Mariner Books.Google Scholar
Warikoo, N. (2022). Race at the top: Asian Americans and Whites in pursuit of the American dream in suburban schools. University of Chicago Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×