“Whatever You Become, Just Be Proud of It.” Uncovering the Ways Families Influence Black and Latino Adolescent Boys’ Postsecondary Future Selves

Abstract

As researchers and school stakeholders determine ways to best support Black and Latino adolescent boys from low-income communities in actualizing their postsecondary future ambitions, more attention is needed on the types of futures these boys imagine and how family members influence this process. Guided by future orientations and possible selves frameworks, this school-based ethnographic study investigated the ways families influenced what the author calls the “postsecondary future selves” of Black and Latino (i.e., U.S.-born Salvadoran) 11th-grade boys ( N = 5). Described as what youth conceptualize as possible, likely, and expected for their lives after high school, postsecondary future selves considers three future domains: “college” (postsecondary education), “career” (postcollege employment trajectory), and “condition” (expected financial stability, relational and familial prospects, future living arrangements, happiness, and joy). Findings indicate that families built their boys’ capacities for envisioning and making strides toward ideal futures. Finding “success,” “being somebody,” and “having a future” underscored familial messages that emphasized the salience of college going in obtaining a career and life condition that would lead their boys to finding pride and fulfillment. Implications support stakeholders in building adolescents’ efficacy for threading linkages between college going and college majors, career trajectories, and expected life conditions, thus complementing familial-based supports.

Accessing Possible Selves With Limited College Knowledge: Case Studies of Latino Boys in Two Urban Continuation Schools

“…Similarly, Rios’s (2017) ethnographic scholarship shows that Latino boys would leave gangs for a steady hourly income. Carey (in press) asserts that Black and Latino boys want a college degree to become somebody and have future opportunities (Huerta et al, 2018). Furthermore, van Dommelen-Gonzalez et al (2015) demonstrate that Latino gang youth—boys and girls—held high aspirations for higher education.…”

“…Although adolescence is seen as a point of exploration and identity development (Huerta et al, 2018; Marcia, 1980; Nakkula & Toshalis, 2006), youth of color and those involved in the juvenile justice system are not granted similar experiences or leeway for childhood missteps; childish acts are interpreted as willful defiance and resistance to the sociocultural norms of the community (DeLuca et al, 2016; Musto, 2019; Rios, 2011). This stage of adolescence, ages 12–19, is critical for youth development as it is an opportunity for individuals to “create and define” who they want to become in the future (Carey, in press; Oyserman & Markus, 1990a, pp. 114).…”

“…The cultivation of possible selves is not an individual act by students but comprises positive and negative social relationships between “deviant” youth and school-based agents including teachers and counselors (Oyserman & Markus, 1990b). Without youth building prosocial relationships with caring adults who can facilitate positive development and open doors to new pathways (Carey, in press), youth will foreclose positive opportunities. If adults are not receptive to delinquent youths’ efforts to change, youth may grow frustrated, seeing those efforts as hopeless (Oyserman & Saltz, 1993).…”

Future Directions on BIPOC Youth Mental Health: The Importance of Cultural Rituals in the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…Many Black students attribute their academic success to having supportive communities, including family, the Black Church, and fictive kin who strengthen students' commitment, hope, and perseverance (Brooks & Allen, 2016). Black families send messages to students about their future selves, specifically regarding the importance of "being somebody" and "having a future" that they can be proud of (Carey, 2021), which can be accomplished through educational attainment. Moreover, graduation and educational attainment are associated with greater social and economic opportunities, long-term benefits to physical health (Allen et al, 2019), and lower depressive symptoms and psychological distress (Assari, 2018).…”

“…For many Black students and families, graduation represents attaining what was long denied for their ancestors (McCallum, 2017). Familial messages often underscore the importance making oneself and family proud (Carey, 2021). Graduation presents Black students with the opportunity to use their knowledge and resources gained in school to make economic, political, and social changes (McCallum, 2017).…”