(Ms.)Education in the borderlands of academia: gendered experiences of Mexican American women first generation college students

Mexican American Women;First Generation;Intersectionality;Critical Race Theory;Borderlands Theory

Suarez, Cecilia

关键词: Mexican American Women;    First Generation;    Intersectionality;    Critical Race Theory;    Borderlands Theory;   

Others  :  https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/bitstream/handle/2142/50462/Cecilia_Suarez.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

美国|英语

来源: The Illinois Digital Environment for Access to Learning and Scholarship

【 摘 要 】

Literature about Mexican American student achievement focuses mainly on issues regarding educational support and retention of Mexican American students in higher education. These scholarly works often highlight reasons why Latino students struggle to succeed, without discussing the overarching power structures of race and using Critical Race Theory as “an analytical tool for understanding school inequity” (Ladson-Billings & Tate IV, 1995, p.47). Moreover, most of this existing literature rarely, if so briefly, discusses the differentiation and distinctive emphasis between Mexican American men and women, particularly the unique familial, cultural, and societal expectations that impact the lived experiences of Mexican American women who are first generation college students. When gender differences are discussed, the blame is placed on cultural practices, family income, and language deficiencies. This study analyzes the current academic struggles of Mexican American women pursuing higher education degrees in the United States. Furthermore, this inquiry gives visibility to Mexican American women students and the cultural and societal expectations they experience. Finally, this research challenges the current notions that view the Mexican American woman’s education struggle from a cultural deficit model and imposes a lens of Critical Race Theory that deconstructs normative practices in academia and society that inhibit the academic progress of Mexican American women first generation college students.