Entre Pláticas: Co-Constructing Truths and Knowledge Alongside Mexican Immigrant Mamás

• In Event: Co-Constructing Truth(s) With Latinx Research Collaborators Through the Chicana/Latina Feminist Methodology of Pláticas

Abstract

Objectives: This paper draws on a qualitative study that centered on the knowledges and experiences of Mexican immigrant mothers as they managed their K-12 grade children's education during the first period of distance learning, from March to June of 2020. The purpose of this paper is to highlight the significant role of pláticas methodology as central to uplifting the lived realities of Latina immigrant women and revealing their truths. The employment of pláticas allowed the researcher and participants to discuss their intersectional realities during a vulnerable period, display authentic care, and position the researcher and participants as equal knowledge producers.

Theoretical Framework: This paper draws from three overarching theoretical frameworks: Chicana feminist epistemology, Latina/o critical race theory (LatCrit), and racist nativism. In this study, a Chicana feminist epistemology assisted when conducting an in-depth analysis of the intersectional gendered experiences of the participants (Delgado Bernal, 1998). A LatCrit framework was utilized when conducting an in-depth analysis of the experiences of Mexican immigrant mothers within the context of navigating the education system and the impact of systemic inequalities (Solórzano & Yosso, 2002). A racist nativism framework assisted when analyzing the impact of the pandemic on Mexican immigrant families due to their racial/ethnic and immigration status (Pérez Huber, 2011). The guiding frameworks reveal several truths among the participants’ layered experiences.

Methods & Data Sources: A total of 10 collaborators were recruited in Southern California for this study. All participants identified as women immigrants from Mexico, ranging between the ages of 33 – 45. This study employed a qualitative research design based on pláticas by conducting individual pláticas over the phone that ranged between 45 minutes to 90 minutes, all in Spanish. All interviews were audio-recorded with the permission of the participants. The recordings were transcribed and coded.

Findings: This study shows how pláticas methodology positioned Mexican immigrant mothers as co-constructors of knowledge, leading to several truths about their experiences. First, pláticas were central in creating rapport and validation during the first initial interaction with participants and conducting research over the phone during distance learning. Second, the pláticas were conducted in Spanish, which granted participants the full ability to express their experiences without the concern of meaning being lost in translation. Third, the participants held several truths and spoke to the intersectional and compounding impact of their home life, work life, family structure, the notion of community, and their children’s education. Fourth, participants spoke about the hidden truths of undocumented immigrant women and mixed-status families that were often left out of coverage during the first wave of the pandemic—demonstrating a sense of validation through platicando about their subjective experiences and display of authentic care.

Significance: This paper sheds light on how research methodologies can be constructed to validate and uplift the experiences and truths of historically marginalized communities, such as Latina immigrant women. Pláticas methodology provided the tools to build rapport with participants and provide the opportunity for self-validation, authentic care, and the co-construction of truths while challenging traditional research practices in the field of education.

Author

• Ruby Osoria, University of California - San Diego
  Presenting Author