(Im)migrant Farmworker Families and Apoyo: Promoting College Readiness Through Continuing Education

• In Event: Roundtable Session 4
  In Roundtable Session: College Readiness Along the K-Ph.D. Educational Pipeline in the Era of Anti-Affirmative Action

Abstract

This paper documents how Mexican origin (im)migrant farmworking families in a rural California community model college readiness for their children. Farmworkers living in communities like Trabajo[1] are responsible for most of the agricultural production in California—one of the most profitable industries. Yet the children of farmworkers are relegated to highly segregated, under resourced schools that provide limited opportunities for success. This investigation examines how the intersection of parents’ immigration status, racial and social class background, shapes how migrant farmworkers actively model college readiness for their children by enrolling in adult and continuing education programs in U.S. schools and onto institutions of higher education. This practical strategy serves two purposes: it provides parents with the potential to escape farm labor all the while acquiring greater familiarity with U.S. educational institutions in the service of their children.

This study draws from political economy (Mitchell, 2002; 2003) and LatCrit (Perez-Huber, Benavidez, Malagon, Velez, & Solorzano, 2008; Solorzano & Yosso, 2001) frameworks to deconstruct and analyze the complex social, political, and economic processes that migrant farmworking families have navigated to provide greater educational access for their children. Political economy reveals the linkages between economics and power in society uncovering the devastating effects on the quality of life of farmworkers brought on by farm employers and their allies in government through the crafting of immigration, labor, and educational policies that serve agricultural business interests. When combined with a Freirean approach (2000) to LatCrit this study centers the voices of farmworkers and their testimonies to highlight how race, class, and immigration status intersect at the level of schooling and community. More importantly, this framework positions migrant parents as individuals with agency and the capacity to resist and transform structures, contributing positively to the education of their children, and challenging deficit notions of parental involvement that posit migrant farmworker families as disengaged and indifferent to their children’s educational progress.

This study utilizes a qualitative methodological approach and case study design (Yin, 2009) relying on oral history (Portelli, 1991) and in-depth interviews, participant observations, and historical archives. This study presents the illustrative cases of 3 families drawn from a purposeful sample of 10 Mexican origin mostly undocumented (im)migrant farmworking families from the isolated community of Trabajo located in a congressional district in California recently identified as having one of the worst quality of life indicators in the nation

These life narratives revealed a process of living in deep poverty, leading to early labor force participation and being pushed out from school prematurely resulting in eventual U.S. migration. Once in the U.S., farmworkers worked long arduous days entrapped in farmwork due to their undocumented status, yet the case studies reveal parents in pursuit of GED’s, vocational certification, and Associate of Arts degrees.

These results hold implications for institutions of higher education developing the capacity to empower farmworking parents through continuing and adult education. When considering outreach efforts for this demographic population, educational institutions could ensure that families that have traditionally been marginalized are provided with greater democratic participation.

Author

• Pedro E. Nava, Mills College