Latino High School Students’ Pursuit of Higher Education

Abstract

This is a case study demonstrating how individuals and institutions act to prepare Latino students for University of Calqomia (UC) eligibility. Giddens (1984) structuration theory is used as the explanatory frame to show how the principal of the high school and the president of the university, the various units within each institution responsible for students’ preparation and access to college, and the students and their parents created structures and practices to improve the rates of eligible Latino students for UC admission. We show how joint organizational efforts and individual initiative counteract structures of social relations that inhibit Latino students in their pursuit of higher education.