Latina/o Students in Majority White Schools: How School Ethnic Enclaves Link Ethnicity with Success

• In Event: 190 - Section on Latino/a Sociology Refereed Roundtable Session and Business Meeting
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: Table 01. Latina/o Experiences in Educational Institutions

Abstract

Latina/o high school students face many challenges in school, and much current research on ethnicity and education likewise focuses on the downsides of being an ethnic minority in the U.S. educational system. Social scientists attribute the educational gaps associated with ethnic minority status to factors such as fewer family resources, discrimination, teacher-student mismatch, English-learner status, and social isolation at school. This paper shifts attention to the ways in which ethnic minority status can bolster educational attainment and highlights the significance of co-ethnic physical spaces or “enclaves” in majority white high schools. The data come from classroom observations and interviews with ten teachers and one assistant principal at a public high school in the Southeast. Student perceptions are tapped through analysis of an open-ended essay writing exercise on what it means to be a Latina/o in the U.S., completed by the Latina/o students enrolled in four Spanish-language-only courses during three terms in 2013-2014. The observational, interview, and essay-based data indicate that Latino/a high school students benefit from school ethnic enclaves where they are free to draw on the support of co-ethnic peers and culturally flexible teachers. School ethnic enclaves provide both academic and social support, they help foster a positive ethnic self-image, and they ultimately link ethnic minority status and heritage to success despite the significant—and more often studied—educational challenges faced by Latina/o high school students.

Authors

• Stacy Lynn Salerno, Florida State University

• John Reynolds, Florida State University