Latinos Raising Academically Gifted Middle School Students: Parental Academic Socialization and Consejos

Abstract

This qualitative research study sought to understand how Latino parents use parental academic socialization (Hill & Tyson, 2009) and consejos (Delgado-Gaitán, 1994; Alfaro et al., 2014) as forms of home-based parental involvement to converse about education. A phenomenology approach was used to research and analyze data to describe the lived experiences of Latino parents raising academically gifted children middle schoolers while engaging in academic discourse. This study used semi-structured interviews with sixteen Latino participants who were US-born (n=7) and Mexico-born (n=9) from a large urban school district in a Midwestern city. The following major themes emerged: 1) parental academic socialization, 2) consejos, and 3) other educational messages. As it pertains to Theme 1, results showed Latino parents instill values, expect their gifted child to study for college, explore high schools and careers, teach responsibility and self-advocacy, and desire for a professional career. In regards to Theme 2, results indicated that Latino parents discuss better opportunities in the US, adolescent witness their parents’ adversities, and instill a positive mindset to “do your best” or echarle ganas through the use of storytelling. Theme 3 showed that parents discussed supporting their child and have concerns about friends, physical safety, and their social-emotional challenges related to giftedness. This study contributes new information about how Latino parents utilize parental academic socialization and consejos to convey the importance of education and support their child’s academic trajectories through developmental and educational perspectives.