Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Chicago, Dept. of Sociology, August 2000. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Northwestern University, 1992. / UMI 9229953. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references p. 320-335).

Thesis (M. S.)--Texas A & M University, 2005. / "August 2005." Includes bibliographical references and appendix.

"The history of the Spanish-speaking population of Texas, as noted throughout this study, is synonymous with this group's struggle to overcome its social and economic subordination in a society where Anglo-American culture, language, and customes predominate. Mexican-American politics during this century have included several factors, namely abolishment of predjudices against Americans of Mexican ancestry, improvement of educational facilities and opportunities, eradication of this group's social apathy, and elimination of any other inequities which plagued this ethnic group. Progress in these fields was, Mexican-American leaders believed, precursory to direct governmental participation of Texans of Mexican descent - as voters and candidates - in local, state, and national elections."--leaf 90.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2006. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

This study examined the contextual factors that led to the success of Mexican Americans who overcame extraordinary obstacles in obtaining post-secondary educations. Mexican Americans continue to experience great challenges to postsecondary success. An in-depth case study was performed on ten subjects who managed to not only survive, but also do well in school and life. The purpose of the study was to identify obstacles these men and women had to overcome, the means they used to overcome them, and the salience of their ethnicity to their experience. Utilizing a worldview construct and the concept of familism, findings are presented that demonstrate how these men and women were able to succeed educationally. First, their families placed a high value for and exposure to literacy, English and Spanish, in the participants’ homes. Contrary to the fact that these participants’ homes were characterized by low levels of parental education, they were exposed to high levels of literacy. A second important commonality among these high achievers was that all of them at some point in their schooling attended desegregated schools where they were exposed to Anglo peers with much greater social capital than themselves. Finally, and perhaps the most important, is the profound value for hard work that characterized almost all of these households and was channeled into dedication to studies and a strong belief that effort, perseverance, and courage were important in achieving academic goals. Rather than just focusing on the barriers, the problems common to low-income, first-generation college students as do most studies on student access and success, this study focuses on the creative solutions its subjects found and the kinds of support that made differences for them. The study records the perceptions of the successful graduates of the causes of their school success and tapped into their insights. The findings and recommendations of the study may enable educators to re-examine their own attitudes toward the schooling of Mexican origin students and its unanticipated negative consequences and help institutions of higher education identify policy changes that will facilitate the recruitment and retention of Hispanic and other minority students.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2000. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 183-196). Available also in a digital version from Dissertation Abstracts.

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