Educational Opportunities for Latina High School Students: Reflections on Their Cultural Identity, College Aspirations, and Social Media Use

• In Event: 34.062 - Constructing a Space and Place of Our Own: (Transnational) Latinas/os Navigating Educational Pathways

Abstract

This study examines 10 Latina Millennials from South Texas and their views on cultural identity, college aspirations, and social media use. This qualitative study looks at how high school Latinas explore college opportunities and how both cultural and academic identity play a role in their preconceptions and expectations of college. The author also analyzes if identity plays a role in their college aspirations, and what role social media plays in reinforcing this socially-constructed identity.

The study draws on the conceptual framework from Gloria Anzaldúa (1987) and her border theories as well as Lave and Wenger (1991) and their theory on situated learning and communities of practice. Anzaldúa and her discussions on borders and ethnicity are highlighted in this study. Lave and Wenger (1991) believed that social co-participation could be a learning opportunity; social media communications enable participation among users and will lead to new learned behaviors, which may affect education and the college search.

Through semi-structured and focus group interviews, the Latina teenagers’ insights on their own self, culture, and family practices are documented as well as their views on social media— with a particular focus on if/how they use online tools for information about college consideration and the application process. The ten participants’ social media activities were also observed ethnographically in search of evidence of college exploration or academic preparation. The findings indicate that Latina Millennial students are influenced by social networks in their college search, but culture is more significant than what is offered on social media networks.

Author

• Daphne Villarreal