‘Crazyghettosmart’: a case study in Latina identities

Abstract

Drawing from recent scholarship that examines schooling and the shifting terrain of youth identities, this study examines the identity constructions of Jessica, a Latina high school student. Our portrait of Jessica is part of a larger longitudinal study in which the middle and high school experiences of three Latinas, including Jessica, were examined. For this paper, we used data gathered from Jessica's four years in high school, which included interviews from Jessica and her mother, and field observations from shadowing Jessica's school days during her junior and senior years. Data analysis illustrated two broad themes: Jessica's relationships with her academics and her social life, including the recent positioning of herself as a mother during her pregnancy in her senior year. Findings suggest that Jessica improvised her positions within various realms of school to both resist and reconfigure discourses that shaped her identities as a student and adolescent. This study argues for more research that examines and explores what youth have to say about their school experiences in order to illustrate the complex ways in which adolescents author themselves in school.

The Role of School in Adolescents’ Identity Development. A Literature Review

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School experiences and young women's pregnancy and parenthood decisions: A systematic review and synthesis of qualitative research

“…Multiple authors framed this theme as a class issue, in which most middle-class, white adolescents favoured higher education pathways and financial independence prior to parenthood. The educational and life plans of low-income, youth of colour were more diverse (Elley, 2011;Vetter et al, 2011), and included higher education, as well as young parenthood and earlier entrance into the workforce (Arai, 2003;Bettie, 2003;Biggs et al, 2013;Coleman and Cater, 2006;Elley, 2011;Erdmans and Black, 2015;Smith and Roberts, 2011;Vetter et al, 2011;Walkerdine et al, 2001).…”

The ghostly workings of Danish accountability policies

“…Shadowing simply means to follow a particular person in her everyday doings as she moves around in or across organizational sites (Wolcott 2003;Gill 2011;Vetter, Fairbanks, and Ariail 2011). Even without adding much to the ways in which researchers have for many years been following educational actors, there are several reasons why shadowing is an appropriate strategy for studying ghostly matters.…”