"Paying It Forward": Latino Men, Educational Success, and Transformational Resistance

• In Event: 33.078 - Roundtable Session 11
  In Roundtable Session: 33.078-3 - Fostering Activism: Young People Constructing Agency in School and Beyond

Abstract

A number of researchers have recently begun calling attention to the “Latino male crisis.” Previous research documents a myriad of obstacles that Latinas/os face en route to a four-year degree. However, most studies treat Latinas/os as a homogenous population. The present study sheds light on the experiences of 10 Latino men at a Hispanic Serving Institution. This research had a two-fold purpose: (1) to examine how students discussed their neighborhood and schooling contexts, and 2) to examine how students’ experiences of higher education cultivated critical consciousness and transformational resistance against social injustices. The present study illustrates how these students navigated through their neighborhood and schooling contexts, and returned to their communities to empower marginalized populations.

Authors

• Omar Davila Jr., Berkeley University of California

• Mrinal Sinha, California State University - Monterey Bay