Abstract
Research on Mexican American educational incorporation has consistently shown educational stagnation between the second and third generations. Whether educational stagnation is attributable to generational differences in parental narratives that affect the academic motivation between members of the second and third generation, or negative school conditions that lead to their low educational attainment regardless of generational status, remains in question. Utilizing 41 interviews, I examine how the parental narratives and high school experiences of Mexican Americans differ by generational status, that is, for the second and third generation. My findings demonstrate that both second- and third-generation participants received encouraging parental messages to pursue higher education, regardless of parents’ nativity. Consequently, generational differences in parental narratives inadequately account for educational stagnation among Mexican Americans. Furthermore, my findings substantiate the role of educator messages in shaping Mexican Americans’ educational trajectories. I find no generational differences in how Mexican Americans perceived and responded to the racialized treatment in high school, whether they attended a diverse or majority-Latino institution. Specifically, the racialized content of educator messages directed toward Mexican Americans negatively affected their academic engagement and whether they enrolled in college-preparatory classes. In all, I argue that educator messages are equally or more important than parental narratives in shaping Mexican American educational incorporation. My findings support a longer line of research calling attention to the importance of educators and their significant influence over students’ educational trajectories.
Notes
The second generation refers to the US-born children of immigrants and the third generation refers to the US-born grandchildren of immigrants.
While most quantitative data does not permit disaggregation by generational status beyond the third generation, Telles and Ortiz (2008) find that Mexican Americans’ limited educational progress continues into the fourth generation. I use the term educational stagnation to refer to Mexican Americans’ limited educational progress.
Educator messages refer to the messages that students receive from teachers, counselors and administrators about their academic ability, worth and potential.
I report educator’s racial/ethnic background to specify how respondents perceived negative treatment in high school.
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Acknowledgments
The author wishes to thank Armida Ornelas, Vilma Ortiz, Ariana J. Valle, Laura E. Enriquez, Karina Chavarria, Irene I. Vega, the Race and Immigration Research Group at UCLA, and the editors and anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments.
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Salgado, C.D. Racial Lessons: Parental Narratives and Secondary Schooling Experiences Among Second- and Third-Generation Mexican Americans. Race Soc Probl 7, 60–72 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12552-014-9136-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12552-014-9136-z