Meanings of mobility : family, education, and immigration in the lives of Latino youth /

Meanings of mobility : family, education, and immigration in the lives of Latino youth /

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Bibliographic Details
Author / Creator:	Schmalzbauer, Leah, author.
Imprint:	New York : Russell Sage Foundation, [2023]
Description:	xiv, 227 pages ; 23 cm
Language:	English
Subject:	Social mobility -- United States. Hispanic American youth. Hispanic American youth Social mobility United States
Format:	Print Book
URL for this record:	http://pi.lib.uchicago.edu/1001/cat/bib/13387654

Hidden Bibliographic Details
ISBN:	9780871548009 0871548003 9781610449212
Notes:	Includes bibliographical references and index.
Summary:	"How do low-income Latino youth experience educational mobility? How do they understand it in relation to social mobility more generally? And what does their educational mobility mean in the context of their socially marginalized families and communities? Meanings of Mobility explores these questions. It centers on the life histories of sixty low-income Latino youth, most of whom are the first in their immigrant families to go to college in the United States, and all of whom have now graduated or are set to graduate from Amherst College, one of the most selective private colleges in the United States. Over the past twenty years, shifts in the admissions policies of highly selective schools like Amherst, in partnership with privately funded recruitment initiatives, have reshaped the race and class composition of the U.S. educational elite. Although Latinos continue to be underrepresented in elite colleges and universities, their numbers are robust compared to years past. Yet, we know little about this new Latino demographic. Shifting away from a deficit-based focus on those Latino youth who do not make it to or through college, Schmalzbauer focuses instead on those who have made it, with the dual goal of bringing attention to and complicating the understanding of their educational success. The author seeks to better comprehend what factors have helped them succeed and what further supports they need"--
Other form:	Online version: Schmalzbauer, Leah. Meanings of mobility New York : Russell Sage Foundation, [2023] 9781610449212

Description
Summary:	Over the past twenty years, elite colleges and universities enacted policies that reshaped the racial and class composition of their campuses, and over the past decade, Latinos' college attendance notably increased. While discussions on educational mobility often focus on its perceived benefits - that it will ultimately lead to social and economic mobility - less attention is paid to the process of "making it" and the challenges low-income youth experience when navigating these elite spaces. In Meanings of Mobility , sociologist Leah C. Schmalzbauer explores the experiences of low-income Latino youth attending highly selective, elite colleges.<br> <br> <br> <br> To better understand these experiences, Schmalzbauer draws on interviews with 60 low-income Latino youth who graduated or were set to graduate from Amherst College, one of the most selective private colleges in the United States. The vast majority of these students were the first in their immigrant families to go to college in the U.S. She finds that while most of the students believed attending Amherst provided them with previously unimaginable opportunities, adjusting to life on campus came with significant challenges. Many of the students Schmalzbauer spoke with had difficulties adapting to the cultural norms at Amherst as well as with relating to their non-Latino, non-low-income peers. The challenges these students faced were not limited to life on campus. As they attempted to adapt to Amherst, many felt distanced from the family and friends they left behind who could not understand the new challenges they faced.<br> <br> <br> <br> The students credit their elite education for access to extraordinary educational and employment opportunities. However, their experiences while in college and afterward reveal that the relationship between educational and social mobility is much more complicated and less secure than popular conversations about the "American Dream" suggest. Many students found that their educational attainment was not enough to erase the core challenges of growing up in a marginalized immigrant family: many were still poor, faced racism, and those who were undocumented or had undocumented family members still feared deportation.<br> <br> <br> <br> Schmalzbeauer suggests ways elite colleges can better support low-income Latino students and lower the emotional price of educational mobility, including the creation of immigration offices on campus to provide programming and support for undocumented students and their families. She recommends educating staff to better understand the centrality of family for these students and the challenges they face, as well as educating more privileged students about inequality and the life experiences of their marginalized peers.<br> <br> <br> <br> Meanings of Mobility provides compelling insights into the difficulties faced by low-income Latinos pursuing educational and social mobility in America's elite institutions.<br> <br>
Physical Description:	xiv, 227 pages ; 23 cm
Bibliography:	Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN:	9780871548009 0871548003 9781610449212