“That Fuego, that Fire in their Stomach”: Academically Successful Latinas/os and Racial Opportunity Cost

Source: International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, Volume 28, Issue 7, 2015, Pages 800-818

This article discusses the racial opportunity cost of academic achievement for Latina/o students who graduated from urban high schools and participated in a larger study of 18 high-achieving students of color. The article focuses on the ways the school context influenced their success.

Interviews with the seven Latina/o participants reveal that while the original findings encompassed their perspectives, there were additional dimensions to their experiences that expanded the notion of racial opportunity cost.

These factors included: (1) Language; (2) Immigration; and (3) Family. A secondary focus of this article is how school leaders can use these findings to facilitate academic achievement for Latina/o students.