From Immigrant Legacy to Educational Future: Redefining Latinx Immigrant Familial Engagement in College-Going Habitus Cultivation

Abstract

ABSTRACT This paper utilizes Latinx Critical Theory, assets-based methodology, and a sociohistorical approach to investigate how college-going habitus is cultivated amongst Latinx immigrant families. I define a college-going habitus as an orientation toward the pursuit of higher education that can be constructed through a variety of histories and means. Leveraging data from 28 interviews with children of Latinx immigrants applying to college, I explore the role immigrant familial histories (immigrant legacies) play in college-going habitus construction and how they challenge traditiosnal notions of familial involvement. I argue that an attention to immigrant legacies demonstrates the lifelong cultivation of higher education aspirations amongst children of immigrants and shows that we must look beyond familial educational histories when understanding how students craft their college trajectories.