Academic resilience of Mexican heritage women in college: transforming familial histories into asset-based resources

Abstract

This study builds on asset-based research that acknowledges the continuity of cultural assets and resources utilized among Latinx students in their educational trajectories. It is important to consider the functionality of individuals’ subjective sense- and meaning-making with explicit familial and cultural contexts as foundational to students’ academic resilience. Drawing upon LatCrit and Community Cultural Wealth to theorize about how first-generation Latinx college women make sense/meaning of their heritage, and in connection with their college-going identities, which can help identify factors that contributed to their educational persistence, this multi-method qualitative study examined how seven women of Mexican heritage (self-identified) cultivated their academic resilience. Findings suggest that the participants made meaning of familial cuentos and consejos in their daily lives and conceptualized their own positive attitudes and behaviors towards education in the form of asset-based resources: motivation, aspirations, and familial, ethnic, and cultural pride, in addition to positivity and optimism, and a strong work ethic. More research is needed on how students transform their families’ histories into resources that promote resilience.