| The purpose of this study is to examine Chicano students' interpretations of their educational experiences and some of the personal and socio-cultural factors that they identify as influencing those experiences. In Texas, only 51 percent of the Hispanic population graduate from high school and only 10.6 percent attain a bachelor's degree (U.S.C.B., 2000). This study endeavors to help understand how and why some Mexican American students succeed despite the odds. In particular, this study will focus on the factors associated with Chicano student educational success through direct interviews with Chicano students living in Texas. Examining the perspectives of successful Chicano students who have recently graduated from high school and the influences that they ascribe to such factors as schools, peers, family, culture and other personal attributes, may contribute to the existing success literature and aid in the ever-increasing attempts at improving the academic achievement rates of Latino students.;My study will utilize the "Multiple Worlds Model" (Phelan, Davidson, and Yu, 1998, p.7) and explore the perspectives of college level Chicano students in Texas, examining the influences the "multiple worlds" of Self, Home, School, and Peers, have on their academic success.;This study provides information provided by academically successful Chicano students and their parents. Among the more interesting findings, are: the conscious creation of two sets of friends, academic and social, the lack of influence by teachers on academic success, and the direct and indirect influence of parents and grandparents. |
