Overview

Illuminates how family-student interactions enhance the educational achievement of students of color/first-generation academics and applies these lessons to institutional goals. Shaping Students of Color from Preschool to Graduate School argues that family socialization and parent involvement in education influence paths to graduate school. Based on personal interviews with over thirty graduate students of color and first-generation graduate students, the text shows that families and parents use a complex system where cultural knowledge and behavioral modeling socialize children over the life course to promote specific values, including prioritizing education and hard work; building family unity and spirituality; honoring familial and ancestral sacrifices; fostering individual agency and personal autonomy at a young age; resisting gendered and racialized norms; and managing relationships in both personal and professional settings. These stories lay the groundwork for developing an asset-based understanding of what graduate students of color and first-generation graduate students bring to campus. Institutionally, what we learn can continue to build on the unique experiences and strengths of graduate students and enhance connections between personal and familial backgrounds and inclusive educational programming.

Full Product Details

Author:   Nathan Durdella (Professor, California State University, Northridge)
Publisher:   State University of New York Press
Imprint:   State University of New York Press
Dimensions:   Width: 15.20cm , Height: 3.00cm , Length: 22.90cm
Weight:   0.658kg
ISBN:  

9798855803693

Pages:   368
Publication Date:   01 September 2025
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Tertiary & Higher Education
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print  
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Table of Contents

List of Tables Acknowledgments Preface Introduction 1. Parenting Roles, Early Experiences in Families, and Resistance to Gender Norms for Children 2. Parental Relationship Quality: Physical and Relational Distance but Emotional Closeness from a Young Age to Adulthood for Children 3. Parental Values Extend Far for Children: The Importance of Education, Hard Work, Family Unity, Empathy, and Spirituality 4. Honoring Sacrifices that Parents Make to Get Children to College and Beyond: Education, Immigration, and Racial Discrimination 5. Familial Contexts and Parenting Shape Self-Reliance, Independence, and Resilience as Students: From Elementary to Postsecondary Education 6. Educational Connections in Precollege and College Years: Effects of Parents on College Choice, Transitions to College, and Experiences in College 7. Parenting Relationships While in Graduate School: Changing Roles, Conflicting Demands, and Remaining Connected Later in Life 8. Where Parents, Families, and More Fit into Academic Life and Student Outcomes References Index

Reviews

""Shaping Students of Color from Preschool to Graduate School provides a comprehensive discussion on the role of family and the educational pathways from preschool to graduate school. The chapters are well organized to address critical nuances that influence student decision-making, academic success, and degree completion."" — Pamela Felder-Small, President and Founder of Black Doctorates Matter and coeditor of Sankofa: African American Perspectives on Race and Culture in US Doctoral Education ""The positive, affirming nature of this work related to the roles of families in graduate student's long-term success is both important and very appealing. This work is significant to and can even till new soil related to our understanding of first-generation graduate students and graduate students of color. In addition, the work has the potential to be very useful in informing practice in graduate programs."" — Don Haviland, coauthor of Shaping Your Career: A Guide for College Faculty

Author Information

Nathan Durdella is a professor in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at California State University, Northridge. He is the author of Conducting Research with Human Participants: An IRB Guide for Students and Faculty and Qualitative Dissertation Methodology: A Guide for Research Design and Methods.

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