“We cannot leave you a better inheritance than an education”: How Latinx Families Cultivate Youth’s College Persistence and Self-Efficacy

The role of Latinx families in their adolescents’ educational journey is critical for youth development and achievement across K–12 and postsecondary education. This qualitative study, grounded in Funds of Knowledge (FoK) and Phenomenological Variant Ecological Systems Theory (PVEST), explores how Latinx families foster college-going behaviors and self-efficacy among adolescents. Participants included 20 Latinx parents (predominantly mothers) of adolescents in middle and high school as well as college from low- to middle-income households, from the Southwest region of the U.S. Using an embedded case study design, in-depth family interviews were conducted and analyzed using thematic analysis guided by an inductive approach. Three key themes emerged: (1) parental socialization practices that emphasize the value of education, (2) modeling of economic knowledge-sharing and resourcefulness, and (3) cultivation of youth self-efficacy. Findings highlight culturally informed practices by which Latinx families support adolescents’ college-going orientations and sense of self-efficacy. This work underscores the importance of understanding family engagement as a multifaceted process that can be leveraged to advance Latinx youth’s educational attainment.