Exploring The Motivations and Aspirations of High School Senior Latinas: A Phenomenological Constructivist Study of Advancement Via Individual Determination and Non-Advancement Via Individual Determination Student Experiences

While student support programs aim to offer guidance on college information and resources, not all student support programs offer a class curriculum targeted toward college and career readiness. The Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) program offers AVID as an elective class in a student’s academic schedule. Similar programs that support students include the Migrant Education Program, TRIO, and Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs. The purpose of this study was to establish a greater understanding of the motives and aspirations to attend a higher education institution of Latina high school seniors who have participated in an AVID program and of Latina high school seniors who have not participated in an AVID program. The following research questions guided this study: Q1 What are the experiences of high school senior Latinas’ participating in AVID and high school senior Latinas’ not participating in AVID regarding motivations and aspirations to attend a higher education institution after graduation? Q2 How are high school senior Latinas’ motivations and aspirations to attend a higher education institution after high school graduation influenced by participating in or not participating in an AVID program? Guided by a constructivist lens, participants constructed meaning of their experiences, motivations, and aspirations. This study included 16 participants from four districts and seven schools. The theoretical framework guiding this study was Yosso’s (2005) community of cultural wealth model and Moll’s (2019) description of this framework as funds of knowledge.