Social Class or Social Context? The Case of Mexican Immigrant Parenting in the United States

• In Event: Cultural Capital

Abstract

Numerous studies have pointed to social class as the primary driver of parents’ educational practices (Lareau 2003; Calarco 2018). However, this focus on social class may delimit our understanding of contextual influences on parenting. Drawing on interview data from working-class and poor Mexican-immigrant parents with elementary-aged children in San Antonio, Texas, and Phoenix, Arizona, this paper examines the relative salience of social class on parenting practices and beliefs. Our interview data highlight how contextual factors such as legal status, hostile social contexts, and language (in)accessibility shape parents’ interactions with schools, teachers, and their children, above and beyond other factors such as social class.

Authors

• David Enrique Rangel, Brown University

• Dylan Letellier, Brown University

• Emely Medina, Brown University