Thesis title and description:
“The Forming of Educational Expectations and Aspirations for Immigrant and Children-of-Immigrant High Schoolers”
This research project seeks to explore how immigrant and children-of-immigrants and high schoolers form their educational and life expectations and aspiration. More specifically, what role do high school staff (i.e. teachers and guidance counselors) have in shaping these outlooks? Additionally, how does the current media discourse of immigration and immigration laws affect students as they look ahead towards their future. Building off of literature describing the experience of immigrant and children-of-immigrant high schoolers, this project seeks to draw a link between the formation of their educational expectations and aspirations, the effect of institutional figures and political public discourse in shaping these understandings, and the relation these outlooks have to social inequality and reproduction theories.