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Research: The goal of this study is to understand the experiences of Black and Latino former high school students who dropped out, or were pushed out, of a large urban school district in Southern California. Specifically, this paper examines the barriers students faced that contributed to them leaving high school and their journey afterward. Thirty-nine former high school students who "dropped out", or were pushed out of school, 61.5% males (n = 24) and 38.5% females (n = 15), were interviewed. Findings: The findings indicate the use of punitive truancy control for dealing with health and psychological needs of students, transportation issues, personnel-student relationships, and standardized testing. Examining the experiences of students who have been pushed out of school can help educators and policy makers address some of the inequities within schools. Results: We argue that pushout prevention can be developed by changing truancy and other discipline policies in schools. Implications from this study help us understand how we can better support students before they are pushed out.

In this study, we analyze the effects of Project GRIT (Generating Resiliency and Inspiring Transformation), a six-week intervention program that worked with a group of high school "pushouts," students who were encouraged to leave school, in a school district in southern California. We interviewed thirty-nine former high school students who "dropped out," or were "pushed out" of school, 61.5% males (n=24) and 38.5% females (n=15). The mean age is 18.1 years and the sample consists of 27 Latino and 12 African American/Black youth. Findings indicate that an increase in healthy relationships with peers generates beneficial social and emotional skills, including increased communication, team-oriented thinking, projected self-actualization, trust, and development of self. We argue that storytelling is central to engaging and promoting at-promise students in the education system, providing them opportunities to overcome adversity, excel in academics, and expand their ability to build healthy relationships with others in their community.

Teacher feedback from administrators can play an important role in continuous teacher development, especially in making the classroom safe, challenging, and engaging for all students. In this study, interview data was collected from 28 high school teachers from three different comprehensive high schools within the same school district in Southern California to examine teachers' perceptions of feedback from administrators in the areas of classroom management, instructional feedback, and student engagement. Results indicated that teacher feedback from administrators can play an important role in increasing teachers' self-efficacy. Types of feedback varied depending on the context (classroom management, instructional strategies, and engaging students), individual teacher needs, and the population served. For this reason, feedback from administrators may need to be tailored accordingly. Implications are discussed and may be useful for administrators to conduct teacher evaluations with a set of concrete solutions for teachers in specific areas.

As the Latinx student population grows in the United States, more public research-intensive institutions are becoming Hispanic-Serving Research Institutions (HSRIs). This exploratory qualitative study examines the experiences of Latinx students at an HSRI, particularly in STEM fields where they face underrepresentation and are pushed out. The objectives for this study were two-fold: (1) investigate the institutional factors contributing to Latinx student pushout in STEM at an HSRI and (2) develop recommendations for enhancing Latinx student retention in STEM at HSRIs. Through an investigation at a public four-year HSRI in California, three key themes emerged regarding institutional factors contributing to STEM pushout: (1) a disconnect in theory-based STEM courses, (2) unsupportive and busy research-focused environments, and (3) the psychological toll of a stripped STEM identity. The authors offer recommendations for targeted interventions to genuinely "serve" Latinx students in STEM fields at HSRIs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using pláticas, the sharing of cultural teachings through intimate and informal conversations, this article analyzes our personal college choice processes as Chicanas by examining the impact of being raised by Chicano college-educated fathers. Drawing on two theoretical frameworks, college-conocimiento, a Latinx college choice conceptual framework, and critical raced-gendered epistemologies, we demonstrate how intimate and informal conversations occur within our own Chicana/o daughter-father relationships in negotiating higher education and household contexts. Our analysis responds to the need to explore daughter-father relationships in higher education research. This work expands the college choice scholarship by moving beyond traditional models to examine the gendered and raced experiences of families of color, particularly focusing on how father involvement is associated with the college choice of daughters.

Background/Context: The relationship between perceived discrimination and students' academic outcomes is well established, showing the negative effects of experiences of discrimination. Although much attention has focused on how to temper these effects for students, few studies have focused on the potential role that teachers can play in lessening the effects of discrimination on student outcomes. Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of Study: In this study, we look at the intersection of race/ethnicity and gender by examining at how Latinx male and female high school students' academic outcomes, such as grade point average, are impacted by their perceived level of discrimination and teacher support. Research Design: Using an intersectional framework, this study uses data from 783 Latinx adolescents (Mage = 16.01 years) in the United States. Specifically, we examine the moderating role of perceived teacher support on the relationship between students' discrimination and their academic performance using a moderated factor analysis approach. Findings/Results: Results indicate that the items that measure perceived discrimination and teacher support do not function in the same way for Latinx male and female adolescents and that emotional teacher support buffers the negative relationship between discrimination and academic performance for Latinx males. Conclusions/Recommendations: We argue the need to construct measures and approach interventions in the areas of discrimination and teacher support that would allow us to better identify how to support Latinx adolescents in the most effective ways.

The purpose of this study is to explore the relationship between various protective factors with academic outcomes of Latina/o high school students. We use two groups of protective influences, individual and family, and their relationship to 12th grade mathematics achievement, dropout rates, and enrollment in post-secondary education. Latent class analysis was used to identify academic protective profiles, or latent groups/classes, among high school Latina/o students (N = 1610) and assess group differences with respect to gender, SES, immigrant status, student's native language, preschool attendance, and 10th grade mathematics. Results indicated the presence of four academic protective groups, which differed with respect to academic discussions with parents, and attitudes about mathematics. The four classes are compared with respect to academic outcomes and differences are discussed as well as implications for practice.

This study discusses how a diverse group of Latina/o undergraduate students perceive the ideal graduate-undergraduate mentoring program. Based on Latina/o undergraduate student voices from diverse majors and experiences, the results offer concrete solutions on how graduate student mentoring can play a pivotal role in increasing and enhancing Latina/o undergraduate students' persistence at a research university. Major themes include graduate students being relatable role models who understand and can relate to first-generation college students' life experiences and help them navigate the university. Few studies have focused on student perspectives of those attending HSIs at research institutions.

Through analysis of semi-structured interviews of 30 Latinx college students, we examined how Latinx students experience belonging, acceptance, and affirmations at a Hispanic-Serving Research Institution (HSRI) in California. Drawing from the theoretical perspectives of racial micro-affirmations, we uncovered two major themes: the importance of close friendships and the impact that ethnic studies courses have on ethnoracial identity development. This study contributes to the ongoing discussion of the on-campus experiences of underrepresented students as well as how to best serve and affirm them at HSRIs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The teacher evaluation process provides opportunity for instructional feedback and teacher improvement, but also may influence the beliefs teachers have about the quality of their own work and their confidence levels as a teacher. Self-efficacy plays a vital role in determining teacher effectiveness and the students' academic experience, but little is known about the impact the teacher evaluation process has on teacher self-efficacy. Interview data from 28 high school teachers indicated that the pre-observation meeting has potential to significantly benefit teachers. In addition, feedback from administrators that included both strengths and weaknesses during the post-observation phase seemed to have the most influence on teachers' self-confidence. Implications of this study's findings were provided and may be useful for administrators to conduct teacher evaluations in a manner that serves to enhance teacher self-efficacy.

Using affiliation network data collected at a large high school, this study examined differences between who encourages Latina/o and White students to enroll in advanced courses. Previous research has shown a positive association between emotional support and academic achievement, and thus, this study shifts the focus from who informs students to who encourages them. This study revealed that on average, Latina/o and White students have different networks of encouragement.

Adolescent girls' and their mothers' expectations for their daughters' college attainment, mother-daughter communication about education, and daughters' early childbearing attitudes were examined in 146 U.S.-raised Latina girls (mean age = 14.4 years) and their mostly immigrant mothers. Through structural equation modeling, we tested in the present study a 3-path mediating model to identify mechanisms underlying the association between maternal expectations and daughters' childbearing attitudes. There was evidence to suggest that self-reported mother-daughter communication about education and the daughters' achievement orientation, as measured by their expectations to attend college and self-reported grades, were 2 mediating factors by which maternal college expectations for daughters were linked to their childbearing attitudes. Specifically, higher maternal expectations were associated with increased reported education communication, which in turn was associated with higher achievement orientation. In turn, higher achievement orientation was associated with the girls' desire to have a first child at older ages and more rejecting attitudes toward the prospect of an adolescent pregnancy. The findings underscore the crucial role that Latina mothers can play in both supporting their daughters' goals to pursue higher education and motivating daughters to avoid early childbearing.

American children gain more autonomy as they progress through adolescence, however, autonomy-granting for Latina adolescent girls from immigrant families is a relatively unexplored question. In this study, we identified behaviors that Mexican mothers and their daughters deemed to be appropriate when they reach the age of "La Quinceañera," a cultural rite of passage at age 15. Daughters hoped for rules regarding social activities to become less strict whereas mothers intended to continue to exert control, especially in the areas of peer and social activities, household duties, and homework responsibilities. The mothers were open to granting more independence in personal areas such as physical appearance and they were also willing to allow their daughters to group date. Although the mothers and daughters expected the mothers to continue to engage in a controlling and protective parenting style, both mothers and daughters anticipated more mutual decision-making and open communication when daughters turned 15 years of age.

In this study, 69 Mexican American elementary school girls in Grades 3 through 6 (age 8-13 years) from an agricultural community were interviewed regarding their perceptions of the frequency of communication with their mothers about education and their interaction with their teachers. The authors examined how these variables were associated with the girls' grades in math and reading and the extent to which they liked these academic subjects. Increased communication with mothers about their grades was associated with girls reporting higher grades in math and liking math and reading. The more the students perceived their teachers to care about their education the better their grades in math. Also, girls with higher grades in reading perceived their teacher as more friendly. The results of the study suggest that elementary school Latina girls receive messages from mothers and teachers about education that positively influence their academic performance and engagement in core subjects. (Contains 3 tables.)

Social and cultural values are believed to play a role in the types of bodies that adolescent girls consider beautiful and desirable. In this article, the authors analyzed qualitative interviews from 27 Latina mid-adolescent girls (ages 14 to 16) regarding their perceptions of what body shapes and sizes are valued in Latino culture and European American culture, the nature of their conversations with friends about appearance, and whether boys and the larger community consider large body sizes to be acceptable. There was an overwhelming consensus that a slender but curvy figure is the ideal body type in Latino culture and that European Americans value unnaturally thin physiques. Themes drawn from the adolescents’ responses point to their friends’ opinions, perceptions of boys’ dating preferences, norms in their communities, and body shapes of female celebrities in Latino media outlets as sources of beauty and desirability. These findings have implications for body image intervention programs that expose Latina girls to multiple possibilities of beauty when their physical body shapes exclude them from attaining the ideal that they perceive is appreciated in Latino culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]