Negotiating Voice, Purpose, and Family Ties: Three Latinas Making Difficult Decisions About College

Current literature in the area of Latina education discusses the various factors that contribute to the success and failure of Latinas in high school, but little examines the unique characteristics and behaviors these young women adopt to assist them in negotiating what are sometimes conflicting demands of school and home life. Current research on high school aged Latina(o) students gives little attention to issues associated with gender. Through the lens of a Chicana feminist epistemology, this phenomenological study explores the experiences of three Latinas, all recent graduates of an all girl urban Catholic high school, and examines how the context of an almost all Latina learning environment mediated possibly conflicting family demands and expectations as the girls made decision about their post-secondary education. Findings reveal a strong family oriented learning environment and the presence of several Chicana/Latina teachers enhanced the high school learning experience of the participants and helped them negotiate conflicting notions of gender and gender role expectations as they made difficult decisions about their post-secondary pursuits.