Parents' conceptions of assessment are important as they have a key role in supporting their child's educational goals. Through two focus group interviews conducted in Spanish, Mayan mothers (N = 8) discussed their experiences acquiring assessment knowledge. The results suggest that the parents held basic conceptions of assessment, and described…

Drawing on sociocultural and related theories, 4 questions examined career and educational aspirations and expectations among 24 immigrant Latina/o early adolescents and their parents as predictors of students' grades. First, adolescents' career aspirations and expectations were correlated, and both parents and adolescents held educational…

Relatively little research has examined the ways in which immigrant Latino parents can effectively support their adolescent children's schooling. To address this gap, we conducted in-depth interviews with 32 Mexican-heritage 9th graders. Students identified parents' advice giving as the most salient form of involvement. Parental advice emphasized…

Mixtecos, members of an Indigenous group from Mexico, have settled in large numbers in New York. Their children are found in bilingual classrooms (Spanish-English), but little is known about parent-school interactions. This work describes the educational ideologies that 23 Mixteco mothers shared during 5 focus group interviews distributed across 9…

Research on the academic ethic of Latino college students has not yet been conducted. In order to begin filling this gap in the literature, we surveyed Latino students at a state university to determine whether those who had an academic ethic in high school performed better in college. We also assessed the perceived helpfulness of a variety of…

Deficit views of Mexican parents are pervasive and hinder both parents and school staff from effectively supporting student achievement. Analysis of the qualitative results from a larger study of school-based adult ESL classes yielded findings about the motivations and capacities of Mexican mothers that critique these deficit views and illuminate…

If school renewal is to ultimately impact student outcomes, then understanding and responding to the factors students describe as influencing their constructive and unconstructive effort is vital. Results from focus groups with 4th, 7th, 9th, and 11th graders indicated that when students set and work toward goals, they expend more effort in…

Narratives used by parents in Mexican working-class families to motivate their children to study are examined for the advice offered and parental attitudes about the importance of school. The integration of contemporary pressures about the value of schooling is investigated, as well as the ways in which the value of schooling is being…