“I had (my dreams) on hold,I had to …”: Mexican Descent Youth Discuss Factors That Lead to Leaving High School

Abstract

Despite Latinx students having the second highest rates of dropouts compared with other racial/ethnic groups, few studies qualitatively examine how Latinx youth view the academic and family contexts of leaving school. In this study, 16 Mexican descent youth from low-income backgrounds discussed why they felt pushed out of high school in focus groups. Grounded theory analysis revealed that youth perceive a lack of caring within schools and feel that they are blamed for lack of academic progress. Some youth felt they had to put their dreams on hold due to family stressors and lack of school resources—yet, they sustained hope for future career aspirations.

Keywords

pushout dropout high school aspirations school context

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Achinstein

Curry

M. W.

Ogawa

R. T.

(2015). (Re)labeling social status: Promises and tensions in developing a college-going culture for Latina/o youth in an urban high school. American Journal of Education, 121(3), 311–345.

Auerbach

(2007). From moral supporters to struggling advocates: Reconceptualizing parent roles in education through the experience of working-class families of color. Urban Education, 42(3), 250–283. https://doi.org/10.1177/0042085907300433

Booth

M. Z.

Gerard

J. M.

(2014). Adolescents’ stage–environment fit in middle and high school: The relationship between students’ perceptions of their schools and themselves. Youth & Society, 46(6), 735–755.

Bourdieu

(1984). Distinction: A social critique of the judgement of taste. Harvard University Press.

Bowen

G. A.

(2008). Naturalistic inquiry and the saturation concept: A research note. Qualitative Research, 8(1), 137–152.

Bradley

C. L.

Renzulli

L. A.

(2011). The complexity of non-completion: Being pushed or pulled to drop out of high school. Social Forces, 90(2), 521–545. https://doi.org/10.1093/sf/sor003

Bronfenbrenner

(1977). Toward an experimental ecology of human development. American Psychologist, 32(7), 513–531.

Bronfenbrenner

(1979). The ecology of human development. Harvard University Press.

Bronfenbrenner

(1986). Ecology of the family as a context for human development: Research perspectives. Developmental Psychology, 22(6), 723–742. https://doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.22.6.723

10.

Bronfenbrenner

Morris

P. A.

(2006). The bioecological model of human development. In Lerner

R. M.

Damon

(Eds.), Handbook of child psychology: Theoretical models of human development (pp. 793–828). John Wiley.http://edfa2402resources.yolasite.com/resources/BronfenbrennerModelofDevelopment.pdf

11.

Brown

T. M.

(2007). Lost and turned out: Academic, social, and emotional experiences of students excluded from school. Urban Education, 42(5), 432–455.

12.

Brown

T. M.

Rodriguez

L. F.

(2009). School and the co-construction of dropout. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 22(2), 221–242.

13.

Burciaga

Erbstein

(2012). Latina/o dropouts: Generating community cultural wealth. Association of Mexican-American Educators (AMAE) Journal, 6(1), 24–33.

14.

Davison Avilés

R. M.

Guerrero

M. P.

Barajas Howarth

Thomas

. (1999). Perceptions of Chicano/Latino students who have dropped out of school. Journal of Counseling & Development, 77(4), 465–473. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.1556-6676.1999.tb02474.x

15.

Deil-Amen

(2015). The “traditional” college student: A smaller and smaller minority and its implications for diversity and access institutions. In Kirst

M. W.

Stevens

M. L.

(Eds.), Remaking college: The changing ecology of higher education (pp. 134–165). Stanford University Press.

16.

Downe-Wamboldt

(1992). Content analysis: Method, applications, and issues. Health Care for Women International, 13(3), 313–321. https://doi.org/10.1080/07399339209516006

17.

Duncan-Andrade

J. M. R.

(2005). An examination of the sociopolitical history of Chicanos and its relationship to school performance. Urban Education, 40(6), 576–605.

18.

Duncan-Andrade

J. M. R.

(2009). Note to educators: Hope required when growing roses in concrete. Harvard Educational Review, 79(2), 181–194.

19.

Duncheon

(2018). “You have to be able to adjust your own self”: Latinx students’ transitions into college from a low-performing urban high school. Journal of Latinos and Education, 17(4), 358–372.

20.

Earthman

G. I.

(2002). School facility conditions and student academic achievement. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/5sw56439

21.

Ely

M. M.

, & Anzul, . (1991). Doing qualitative research: Circles within circles. Falmer Press.

22.

García Coll

C. G.

Lamberty

Jenkins

McAdoo

H. P.

Crnic

Wasik

B. H.

García

H. V

. (1996). An integrative model for the study of developmental competencies in minority children. Child Development, 67(5), 1891–1914. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.1996.tb01834.x

23.

Glaser

B. G.

Strauss

A. L.

(1967). The discovery of grounded theory: Strategies for qualitative research. Aldine.

24.

Harper

S. R.

(2015). Success in these schools? Visual counternarratives of young men of color and urban high schools they attend. Urban Education, 50(2), 139–169.

25.

Hill

N. E.

Ramirez

C. L.

Dumka

L. E.

(2003). Adolescents’ career aspirations: A qualitative study of perceived barriers and family support among low-income ethnically diverse adolescents. Journal of Family Issues, 24, 934–959.

26.

Hill

N. E.

Torres

(2010). Negotiating the American dream: The paradox of aspirations and achievement among Latina/o students and engagement between their families and schools. Journal of Social Issues, 66(1), 95–112. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4560.2009.01635.x

27.

Hursh

(2007). Exacerbating inequality: The failed promise of the No Child Left Behind Act. Race Ethnicity and Education, 10(3), 295–308.

28.

Irish

(2017). How Arizona’s K-12 student funding compares to other states. Arizona Education News. https://azednews.com/arizonas-k-12-student-funding-compares-states/

29.

James

E. A.

Milenkiewicz

M. T.

Bucknam

(2008). Participatory action research for educational leadership: Using data-driven decision making to improve schools. SAGE.

30.

Kiyama

(2018). “We’re serious about our education”: A collective testimonio from college-going Latinas to college personnel. Journal of Hispanic Higher Education, 17(4), 415–429.

31.

Kruger

R. A.

(1998). Focus group kit 4. Moderating focus groups. Sage. http://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781483328133

32.

Loera

Rueda

(2018). Learning and motivational characteristics of urban Latino high school youth. Urban Education, 53(7), 875–898.

33.

Logan

J. R.

Burdick-Will

(2016). School segregation, charter schools, and access to quality education. Journal of Urban Affairs, 38(3), 323–343. https://doi.org/10.1111/juaf.12246

34.

Lukes

(2013). Pushouts, shutouts, and holdouts: Educational experiences of Latino immigrant young adults in New York city. Urban Education, 49(7), 806–834. https://doi.org/10.1177/0042085913496796

35.

Lukes

(2015). Bilingual education and bilingualism 100. Latino immigrant youth and interrupted schooling: Dropouts, dreamers and alternative pathways to college. Multilingual Matters.

36.

Luna

Revilla

A. T.

(2013). Understanding Latina/o school pushout: Experiences of students who left school before graduating. Journal of Latinos and Education, 12(1), 22–37. https://doi.org/10.1080/15348431.2012.734247

37.

Lynn

Bacon

J. N.

Totten

T. L.

Bridges

T. L.

Jenning

(2010). Examining teachers’ beliefs about African American male students in a low-performing high school in an African American school district. Teachers College Record, 112(1), 289–330.

38.

Madrid

E. M.

(2011). The Latino achievement gap. Multicultural Education, 19(3), 7–12.

39.

Martinez

C. J.

DeGarmo

D. S.

Eddy

J. M.

(2004). Promoting academic success among Latino youth. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 26(2), 128–151. https://doi.org/10.1177/0739986304264573

40.

Mendez

J. J.

Cabrera

N. L.

(2015). Targets but not victims: Latina/o college students and Arizona’s racial politics. Journal of Hispanic Higher Education, 14(4), 377–391. https://doi.org/10.1177/1538192715575371

41.

Milem

J. F.

Salazar

K. G.

Bryan

W. P.

(2016). Arizona minority student progress report: The transformation continues (6th ed.). Arizona Minority Education Policy Analysis Center. https://highered.az.gov/sites/default/files/16%20MSRP%20Report.pdf

42.

Milner

(2012). But what is urban education? Urban Education, 47(3), 556–561.

43.

Morgan

D. L.

(1993). Qualitative content analysis: A guide to paths not taken. Qualitative Health Research, 3(1), 112–121. https://doi.org/10.1177/104973239300300107

44.

National Center for Education Statistics. (2016). Table 219.75. Percentage of high school dropouts among persons 16 to 24 years old (status dropout rate), by income level and percentage distribution of status dropouts, by labor force status and years of school completed: 1970 through 2015. https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d16/tables/dt16_219.75.asp?current=yes

45.

National Center for Education Statistics. (2019). Fast facts: Dropout rates. https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=16

46.

Nesman

T. M.

(2007). A participatory study of school pushout and behavioral health of Latina/o adolescents. The Journal of Behavioral Health Services & Research, 34(4), 414–430. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11414-007-9082-2

47.

Opotow

(2006). Rationalities and levels of analysis in complex social issues: The examples of school overcrowding and poverty. Social Justice Research, 19(1), 135–150.

48.

Ovink

(2017). Introduction: Pathways in the college-for-all era. In Ovink

(Ed.). Race, class, and choice in Latino/a higher education: Pathways in the college-for-all era (pp. 1–21). Palgrave Macmillan.

49.

Peguero

A. A.

Merrin

G. J.

Hong

J. S.

Johnson

K. R.

(2019). School disorder and dropping out the intersection of gender, race, and ethnicity. Youth & Society, 51, 193–218 X.004411816668059.

50.

Peguero

A. A.

Portillos

E. L.

González

J. C.

(2014). School securitization and Latina/o educational progress. Urban Education, 50(7), 812–838. https://doi.org/10.1177/0042085914534860

51.

Piña-Watson

Lorenzo-Blanco

E. I.

Dornhecker

Martinez

A. J.

Nagoshi

J. L.

(2016). Moving away from a cultural deficit to a holistic perspective: Traditional gender role values, academic attitudes, and educational goals for Mexican descent adolescents. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 63(3), 307–318.

52.

Ready

Lee

Welner

K. G.

(2004). Educational equity and school structure: School size, overcrowding, and schools-within-schools. Teachers College Record, 106(3), 1989–2014.

53.

Ream

R. K.

Rumberger

R. W.

(2008). Student engagement, peer social capital, and school pushout among Mexican American and non-Latina/o White students. Sociology of Education, 81(2), 109–139. https://doi.org/10.1177/003804070808100201

54.

Roderick

Nagaoka

Coca

(2009). College readiness for all: The challenge for urban high schools. The Future of Children, 19(1), 185–210.

55.

Rogalsky

(2009). “Mythbusters”: Dispelling the culture of poverty myth in the urban classroom. Journal of Geography, 108(4–5), 198–209. https://doi.org/10.1080/00221340903344953

56.

Romero

A. J.

(2016). Youth-community partnerships for alcohol use prevention: “We can’t do it alone.” Springer.

57.

Saegert

Evans

G. W.

(2003). Poverty, housing niches, and health in the United States. Journal of Social Issues, 59(3), 569–589.

58.

Sandelowski

(1995). Sample size in qualitative research. Research in Nursing & Health, 18(2), 179–183. https://doi.org/10.1002/nur.4770180211

59.

Santiago

C. D.

Wadsworth

M. E.

Stump

(2011). Socioeconomic status, neighborhood disadvantage, and poverty-related stress: Prospective effects on psychological syndromes among diverse low-income families. Journal of Economic Psychology, 32(2), 218–230.

60.

Smith

D. L.

Smith

B. J.

(2006). Perceptions of violence: The views of teachers who left urban schools. The High School Journal, 89(3), 34–42.

61.

Smokowski

P. R.

Bacallao

(2011). Becoming bicultural: Risk, resilience, and Latina/o youth. NYU Press.

62.

Solórzano

D. G.

Ceja

Yosso

(2000). Critical race theory, racial microaggressions, and campus racial climate: The experiences of African American college students. Journal of Negro Education, 60–73.

63.

Solórzano

D. G.

Delgado Bernal

(2001). Examining transformational resistance through Critical Race and LatCrit Theory framework: Chicana and Chicano Students in an urban context. Urban Education, 36(3), 308–342.

64.

Solórzano

D. G.

Villalpando

Oseguera

(2005). Educational inequities and Latina/o undergraduate students in the United States: A critical race analysis of their educational progress. Journal of Hispanic Higher Education, 4(3), 272–294. https://doi.org/10.1177/1538192705276550

65.

Strauss

A. L.

Corbin

J. M.

(1998). Basics of qualitative research: Techniques and procedures for developing grounded theory (2nd ed.). SAGE. (Original work published 1942)

66.

Tanner

C. A.

Benner

Chesla

Gordon

D. R.

(1993). The phenomenology of knowing the patient. Image—The Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 25(4), 273–280.

67.

U.S. Census Bureau. (2016). Historical poverty tables: People and families 1959–2015. https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/income-poverty/historical-poverty-people.html

68.

Valencia

R. R.

(2010). Dismantling contemporary deficit thinking: Educational thought and practice. Routledge.

69.

Valencia

R. R.

(2012). The evolution of deficit thinking: Educational thought and practice. Routledge.

70.

Valencia

R. R.

Black

M. S.

(2002). “Mexican Americans don’t value education!”—On the basis of the myth, mythmaking, and debunking. Journal of Latinos and Education, 1(2), 81–103. https://doi.org/10.1207/S1532771XJLE0102_2

71.

Valenzuela

(1999). Subtractive Schooling: U.S.-Mexican youth and the politics of caring. State University of New York Press.

72.

Valenzuela

Dornbusch

S. M.

(1994). Familism and social capital in the academic achievement of Mexican origin and Anglo adolescents. Social Science Quarterly, 75(1), 18–36.

73.

Wilkinson

(1998). Focus group methodology: A review. International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 13, 181–203. https://doi.org/10.1080/13645579.1998.10846874

74.

Yosso

T. J.

(2005). Whose culture has capital? A critical race theory discussion of community cultural wealth. Race Ethnicity and Education, 8(1), 69–91. https://doi.org/10.1080/1361332052000341006