Date of Award

2016

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Department

School of Education

Abstract

To enhance the academic success of Latina students, researchers and educators must move away from focusing on deficits and risks and concentrate more on student potential and environmental support, which have been found to successfully open pathways to academic achievement. By shifting the focus, stakeholders can gain an understanding of the educational experiences of Latina students considered on a pathway of educational failure and the processes that can contribute instead to their academic resilience. In this qualitative study, I investigate the ecological factors that influence and impact the academic resiliency of Latina students. Urie Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological System Theory of Human Development serves as the theoretical framework. Focusing on in-depth interviews with six high school seniors and six social support providers, I examine the perceptions and experiences of these seniors, and will reveal how each of the ecological systems helped foster pathways of resiliency. This qualitative study also fills the research gaps in the fields of Latina youth, academic resiliency and educational achievement with the goal to distinguish methods that support resiliency rather than limit the focus to identifying characteristics of resilient children. Implications include how educators can cultivate academic environments that nurture the resiliency of Latina students.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.

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