“That Fuego, That Fire In Their Stomach”: Academically Successful Latinas/os and Racial Opportunity Cost

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1-1-2015

Department

Educational Leadership and School Counseling

School

Education

Abstract

This article discusses the racial opportunity cost of academic achievement for Latina/o students who graduated from urban high schools and participated in a larger study of 18 high-achieving students of color. The article focuses on the ways the school context influenced their success. Interviews with the seven Latina/o participants reveal that while the original findings encompassed their perspectives, there were additional dimensions to their experiences that expanded the notion of racial opportunity cost. These factors included: (1) Language; (2) Immigration; and (3) Family. A secondary focus of this article is how school leaders can use these findings to facilitate academic achievement for Latina/o students.

Publication Title

International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education

Volume

28

Issue

7

First Page

800

Last Page

818

Find in your library

Share

COinS