Date of Award

5-2026

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership

Department

Educational Leadership

First Reader/Committee Chair

Sharon Velarde Pierce

Abstract

Latino/a students represent one of the fastest-growing populations in U.S. schools, yet significant disparities in academic attainment persist. While parental involvement is widely recognized as a critical factor in student success, the literature has disproportionately focused on secondary and postsecondary contexts, leaving the elementary years, when foundational habits, skills, and aspirations are formed, unexplored. Furthermore, existing research frequently frames Latino/a parental involvement through deficit lenses that highlight barriers such as language limitations and socioeconomic constraints, rather than focusing on the cultural strengths and strategies families employ.

This qualitative study addresses this gap by examining how Latino/a parental involvement during elementary school influences students’ long-term educational pathways. Guided by two research questions, the study integrates dual perspectives: the retrospective reflections of first-generation Latino/a college students on how their parents’ early involvement shaped their academic trajectories and college aspirations, and the present-day experiences and strategies of Latino/a parents of elementary-aged children. Data were collected through in-depth interviews, with participants recruited from a region of Southern California. Thematic analysis was used to identify patterns across both participant groups.

The study is theoretically grounded in Bourdieu’s (1986) concept of cultural capital, Coleman’s (1988) social capital framework, and Yosso’s (2005) community cultural wealth model. These complementary lenses allow examination of both the systemic inequities that constrain Latino/a family engagement and the cultural assets, including familismo, consejos, work ethic, and linguistic capital, that families exhibit to support their children’s education.

Findings reveal that Latino/a parental involvement, though often concentrated at home rather than in formal school settings, plays a meaningful role in shaping students’ educational identities, motivation, and aspirations. Culturally grounded practices such as moral guidance, storytelling, and expressions of sacrifice and expectation emerged as significant forms of engagement that are frequently overlooked by conventional measures of parental involvement. Implications discussed for educators, school administrators, and policymakers seeking to design culturally responsive family engagement strategies that recognize and leverage the strengths of Latino communities.

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