The significance of race and gender in school success among Latinas and Latinos in college

This article considers how race and gender shape Latina and Latino paths to school success in college. A purposive sample of successful high school an d college students was selected. Through interviews, field work, and school records, the researchers find that Latinas navigate successfully through n egative stereotypes by maintaining positive definitions of themselves and b y emphasizing their group membership as Latina. Young Latino men also see t hemselves as part of a larger cultural group but tend to have less positive racial and ethnic identities than women do. Typically, they are supported by mentors, such as white athletic coaches, and tend to draw from the merit ocratic ethos of sports, regarding their success in individualistic terms. While successful Latinas do not assimilate in the ways predicted by the lit erature, the young men in this study accept the individualistic and meritoc ratic ethos of the dominant culture, but with a psychological price.