UCLA

This qualitative study provided an in-depth look at the experiences of Mexican-origin students who participated in a voluntary busing program designed for integration purposes. In an effort to address the gap in the prevailing literature on desegregation studies, the experiences of their parents was also included. The socio-cultural dimension of schooling was utilized as a framework to examine the social, cultural, and environmental components that impacted the learning of students who participated in a voluntary busing program designed for integration purposes. The components within the socio-cultural dimension were also examined in conjunction with a framework that considered several critical conditions of schooling in order to position the educational experiences of students as central to the analysis. Results from the data analysis included the following: (a) the reasons why parents and students opted to participate in the PWT program, (b) the experiences of PWT students and their parents at or with the receiving school, and (c) the students' and parents' reflections regarding the significance of the PWT program. The participants also offered valuable recommendations that were included as implications for policy with regard to the schooling process. The findings posited the need for further research pertaining to the experiential contributions of the participants; the narratives also illustrated the knowledge to be gained about the impact of voluntary busing programs.