Counterstories of college persistence by undocumented Mexicana students: navigating race, class, gender, and legal status

This paper draws from four sets of four in-depth interviews and one subsequent focus group to examine how undocumented Mexicana students navigate identities and the meanings of race, gender, class, and legal status. We mobilize a critical race theory framework to center and explore the content of st...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	International journal of qualitative studies in education 2012-05, Vol.25 (3), p.293-315
Main Authors:	Muñoz, Susana María, Maldonado, Marta María
Format:	Article
Language:	eng
Subjects:	Academic Aspiration Academic Persistence Civil Rights college persistence counterstories critical race theory Critical Theory Cultural Differences Disadvantaged Educational Policy Educational Theories Females Focus Groups gender Gender Differences identities Immigrants intersectionality Interviews legal status Legal status, laws, etc Mexican Americans Persistence Race Racial Bias racialization Self Concept Social Class Stereotypes Students Success Undocumented Immigrants United States
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Summary:	This paper draws from four sets of four in-depth interviews and one subsequent focus group to examine how undocumented Mexicana students navigate identities and the meanings of race, gender, class, and legal status. We mobilize a critical race theory framework to center and explore the content of students' counterstories. While majoritarian stories perpetuate stereotypical narratives that portray communities of color as culturally deficient, counterstorytelling creates a space for exposing and resisting hegemonic narratives in the home, community, and college settings. We argue that, through counterstories, Mexicana students are able to develop a positive self-image that allows them to hang on to their academic aspirations, to persist in college, and to envision and pursue the possibility of success. We look at how undocumented Mexicana students' narratives also reproduce and/or reinscribe elements of oppressive discourses of race, class, and gender in the contemporary USA. We consider some implications of our discussion of counterstories for educational theory and policy.
ISSN:	0951-8398 1366-5898