From Verguenza to Echale Ganas: counterstorytelling narratives of Latino teenage boys naming oppression and unpacking community cultural wealth

UNCG Author/Contributor (non-UNCG co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
Juan Antonio Ríos Vega (Creator)
Institution
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG )
Web Site: http://library.uncg.edu/
Advisor
Silvia Bettez

Abstract: In this ethnographic research, I analyze in-depth the experiences and counter-stories--through face-to-face interviews, focus groups, and classroom observations--of nine Latino teenage boys representing different cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds attending a high school in North Carolina. This study uses Critical Race Theory (CRT), Latino/a Critical Theory (LatCrit), and Chicano/Chicana epistemologies as a theoretical framework to unveil how differing layers of oppression shape the lives of these boys of color through the intersections of race, gender, and class. Contrary to majoritarian assumptions, cultural deficit models, and their teachers' low expectations, this research reveals how participants used community cultural wealth (CCW) as a cultural asset to serve as a foundation to develop resiliency. Via motivational elements influenced by the participants' self-motivation, their parents, friends, and local institutions, this study unpacks how these boys learn to develop a support network that helps them navigate the school dominant culture and remain in school. Finally, this study also shows how these boys' parents' immigration stories, socio-economic status, and English language acquisition affect these boys' and their parents' lives as minorities of color in this country. The findings in this study suggest that teachers, school administrators, and staff could benefit from a better understanding of Latino/Latina students' community cultural wealth as a fundamental element for these students' academic success.

Additional Information

Publication
Dissertation
Language: English
Date: 2014
Keywords
Latino teenage boys, Critical Race Theory, Oppression, Wealth, Culture
Subjects
Hispanic American boys $x Education $z North Carolina $v Case studies
Hispanic American boys $z North Carolina $x Economic conditions $v Case studies
Hispanic American boys $z North Carolina $x Social conditions $v Case studies

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