UC San Diego

This dissertation consists of three stand-alone scholarly articles, comprising of one systematic literature review and two separate empirical studies. Article one, From Institutional Exclusion to Internalized Worth: A Literature Review on Latina Immigrant Mothers' Experiences in the K-12 Education System, brings insight into the institutional barriers Latina immigrant mothers confront in the K-12 education system and the internalized impact of self-perception. Article two, Esperanza y Frustración: Mexican Immigrant Mothers Navigating Distance Learning During COVID-19, centers on the systemic and institutional challenges Mexican immigrant mothers endured during the first wave of distance learning during COVID-19. Article three, Reflejando Sobre Las Notas: The Contours of a Chicana/Latina Feminista Mixed Methods Study Through the Employment of Ego-entrenos, proposes six contours when employing ego-entrenos methodology, which aims to advance a critical race feminista mixed methods approach that braids together testimonio (Delgado Bernal et al., 2012), pláticas (Fierros & Delgado Bernal, 2016) and ego-net (Lin, 2002; Mamas et al., 2019). Connecting the three articles together is the reliance on Latina/o Critical Race Theory (LatCrit) (Solórzano & Yosso, 2002) and Chicana feminist epistemology (Delgado Bernal, 1998). To some extent, each article is guided by the overarching research questions, what are the experiences of Latina immigrant mothers navigating the U.S. K-12 education system? What are the systemic barriers being confronted by Latina immigrant mothers when attempting to navigate the U.S. K-12 education system? How do Latina immigrant mothers confront systemic barriers when attempting to navigate the U.S. K-12 education system? The goal of this dissertation is to provide (1) a critique of the historical, political, and social factors that shape the experiences of Latina immigrant mothers, (2) use an asset-based perspective to break down the deficit narrative of the Latinx community, and (3) provide insight into the empirical tools necessary to understand the formation of social networks and exchange of cultural and social capital as a tool to overcome the challenges that Latina immigrant mothers face when attempting to support their children in the education system.