Browsing by Subject "Testimonios"
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Item Degreed and in the shadows : journeys and Testimonios from Mexican undocumented college graduates in Texas(2012-05) Romo, Enrique; Sáenz, Victor B.; Reddick, Richard J.; Sharpe, Edwin R.; Sanders, Sherri L.; Franquiz, Maria E.; Vincent, Gregory J.This study sought to research and documents the experiences of a group of Mexican undocumented college graduates in the state of Texas. Mexican students were chosen for this study because they are the largest undocumented group residing not only in the United States, but also in the state of Texas. Furthermore, this study revealed perceived and real opportunities Mexican undocumented students have after college graduation. The study focused on college choice as aspirational capital, Latina/o critical race theory (LatCrit) through testimonios as counternarratives, social capital, and cultural wealth to frame a discussion on the post-college experiences of Mexican undocumented college graduates. Furthermore, the study provided a review of legislation and policies addressing the broader immigration context. Overall, this study concluded that for the participants in this study, social capital as well as cultural wealth played important roles in how critical connections and networks operated. After exposure to social capital, participants were able to build their own networks and by tailoring it to their unique needs, were able to help their community by providing access and information about the college admissions process and available options after college graduation. In doing so, they were able to adapt, thrive, and survive within racist and discriminatory societal structures. College choice played a pivotal part in this study, but given the participants’ immigration status, they were left to attend institutions in their home state of Texas. However, given the participants academic acumen, they were able to attend and graduate from the state’s premier public flagship institution. Through their testimonios, activism, and civic engagement the participants shared their experiences as undocumented college students as well as college graduates. In the process, participants dispelled myths about their intellectual abilities and their potential to succeed. Still, their options were limited given their lack of a social security number. This study contributed to the limited literature about opportunities and challenges Mexican undocumented college students face upon degree completion.Item An educational formula : critical border education that transcends social and linguistic barriers(2012-08) Villarreal, Elizabeth; Valenzuela, Angela; Urrieta, Luis; Zamora, Emilio; Franquiz, Maria; Salinas, Cynthia S.Student academic achievement is a collective effort of family, community, and school experience (Sloat, Makkonen, & Koehler, 2007). However the biggest burden is placed on teachers who are assumed and expected to possess the skills, knowledge, caring, and commitment to students often without the appropriate support, resources and professional development. With a focus on teacher development this work will listen to the voices of eight veteran educators from the Texas-Mexico border region and trace the steps in their formation and critical understandings of themselves and their professions to better diagnose students’ academic needs. The site of my study is in the southern-most part of the U.S.-Mexico border known as the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas (RGV). This dynamic region of our country was occupied by immigrant settlers in the middle 1700s and has seen much socio-political and cultural change throughout the years. Nucleus to the “browning of America” (Rodriguez, 2002), the demographic shift toward more ethnic/racial diversity, and in particular the ascent of Latinos as the largest minority in the country, the Border and its teachers provide key insights regarding effective ways to educate Latino children because they have served this community the longest. This study is a synthesis of historical sociology and cultural anthropology inquiries based on applied research method of interviews with Border educators. It includes: ethnographic and historical data, and testimonios, or critically documented histories, that address views on educational reform intended to foster academic success among Latino students. Latinos have become the nation’s largest majority at 16.3% of the population. The growth trend is also evident in Texas with a 37.6% and 90.4% for the RGV (Census, 2010). The correlation between poverty and educational attainment places this population at a significant disadvantage in the nation as well as in the RGV. Some observers have expressed concern that Latinos will represent the majority of the population by 2040 as the “poorer, less educated, and productive” (Jillson, 2012, p. xiii). My work challenges this conceptual relationship between poverty and school failure by focusing on a region where the student body has historically been predominantly Latino and economically disadvantaged with a 32.6% poverty rate compared to a national figure of 11.3% (Census, 2010). My findings on the epistemic value of identity demonstrated through my Spotlight Identity (SI) framework, support the notion that aligning students with teachers of similar experiential and cultural backgrounds positively impacts academic achievement and that, generally speaking, these affinities improve relations with families and allow for teachers to better understand the academic and personal challenges that the students are facing. My constructivist analysis suggests that academic success can be achieved, regardless of economic impediments when communities, schools, educators, and families work collaboratively with a child-centered approach. For participants in the study, barriers such as low socioeconomic (SES) were not seen as germane to student academic success when all the elements in their “educational equation” were in place. Academic success—construed by participants as significant student yearly progress, meeting grade level requirements, and high school completion—can be achieved, regardless of social and economic factors, when communities, schools, educators, and families work together through child-centered efforts and mediated through “critical bicultural education” (Darder, 1991).