UC San Diego

This study explores how Salvadoran immigrant mothers shape the academic aspirations of their daughters. Despite deficit-oriented discourses that frame Latina/o/e parents as disengaged from their children’s education, research has found that Latina mothers play an important role in helping their children cultivate high educational goals. However, much of this literature focuses primarily on the experiences of Mexican/Chicana daughters and mothers and seldom explores the personal narratives of mothers in detail. This dissertation adds a new dimension to the literature by exploring the teaching and learning practices between 10 Salvadoran immigrant mother-daughter dyads. By employing a methodological approach that included the testimonios of 10 mothers, the testimonios of 10 daughters, as well as 9 collective mother-daughter pláticas, this study sought to answer the following research questions: 1) In what ways do the lived experiences of Salvadoran immigrant mothers influence how they engage in their daughters' educational trajectories? 2) What strategies do Salvadoran immigrant mothers employ to shape the academic aspirations of their daughters? and 3) How do daughters of Salvadoran immigrant mothers make sense of their mothers’ influence on their academic aspirations?

My analysis, grounded in a Chicana/Latina Feminist Epistemology, found that Salvadoran immigrant mothers value higher education and encourage their daughters to pursue college degrees as mechanisms for upward social and economic mobility. As such, Salvadoran immigrant mothers intentionally employed pedagogical strategies and practices that prioritized their children’s education. More specifically, Salvadoran immigrant mothers utilized familial-cultural practices, including stories of migration, stories of sacrifice, and consejos from their lived experiences, to shape their daughters’ academic achievements and persistence. Further, my analysis found that daughters transformed their mothers’ stories of migration and sacrifice into life lessons and sources of motivation that helped them develop high academic goals and navigate university.

These findings underscore the importance of developing course curricula that integrate and reflect students' lives and cultural backgrounds. Implications for practice include employing familial-cultural pedagogical practices like storytelling in the classroom, which can lead to critical reflection and encourage students to learn about themselves and their family histories. These practices have the power to enhance student engagement and academic outcomes by validating students’ cultural identities and fostering a strong sense of belonging in the classroom and other educational settings. Finally, the testimonios of the mothers and daughters invite us to consider the educational possibilities when we honor and celebrate the assets and contributions of our families and communities.