Messages about higher education: Mexican immigrant parents' impact on their children's educational expectations

Based on qualitative data collected from twenty-three Latina students attending a four year Hispanic serving institution of higher education, I explore the role of Mexican immigrant parents in their daughter's pursuit of higher education and how Latinas perceive and interpret the messages about higher education they receive from parents. Narratives reflect how Latinas negotiated and actively participated in shaping their own educational expectations and how Latinas perceived support from parents, teachers, peers, and older siblings in their pursuit of higher education. I begin this paper by presenting an outline of the theoretical perspective guiding data collection and analysis, followed by a review of literature, a brief overview of the methodology, a description of the findings by emerging themes, and a brief discussion including limitations and future recommendations. Overall, narratives reveal how Latinas' form their own educational expectations to pursue higher education by using parents' support and messages about higher education, along with receiving support from outside sources that helped Latinas as they completed postsecondary degrees.