Chicano scholars: against all odds

Patricia C. Gandara

Expert InsightsPublished 1980

Discusses results of a study of factors underlying the high academic achievement of a sample of 45 male and female Mexican-American scholars, in contrast to the dismal record of educational attainment among Hispanics in general. The 45 subjects interviewed were aged 40 or less, held Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. degrees from recognized universities, and came from families in which neither parent had completed high school or held a job higher in status than skilled labor. The major influential factors proved to be: strong mothers with substantial authority in the home who steadfastly supported the importance of education; attendance at highly integrated--at least half-Anglo--schools (where the subjects often deliberately, if tacitly, strove to exceed the brightest Anglo students); residence in communities that encouraged ambition and achievement; personal characteristics of persistence, willingness to work hard, and ability; and the encouragement of a particular academic mentor.

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Gandara, Patricia C., Chicano scholars: against all odds. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 1980. https://www.rand.org/pubs/papers/P6567.html.
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