1. Journal of Hispanic Higher
Education
http://jhh.sagepub.com/
Academic Resilience in Retrospect : Following Up a Decade Later
Erik E. Morales
Journal of Hispanic Higher Education 2008 7: 228 originally published online 23 April
2008
DOI: 10.1177/1538192708317119
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What is This?
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3. Morales / Academic Resilience in Retrospect 229
Academic resilience researchers focused on high educational achievement despite
risk factors that were statistically linked to poor academic performance. Definitions
of high achievement and risk factors vary from study to study. For example, Gordan
(1995) looked at African American students who were able to graduate from high
school, whereas Gandara (1995) used more stringent criteria and studied low socioe-conomic
status Mexican Americans who went on to earn MDs, JDs, or PhDs.
Regardless of the specific criteria used, all academic resilience studies are based on
anomalous or unlikely academic outcomes.
Academic resilience research also has a history of focusing on specific ethnic
subpopulations. In addition to African Americans and Mexican Americans, other
groups studied include Native Americans (Heavyrunner & Marshall, 2003), Puerto
Ricans (Taylor & Wang, 2000), East Asian immigrants (Gibson, 1986), and Asian
Americans (Crosnoe & Elder, 2004). Following this trend, the research presented
here focuses in on academically resilient Dominican Americans.
A focus on Dominican American students is justified based on several key fac-tors,
including the growing population, the inadequacy of current schooling, their
generally low academic performance, and their overrepresentation in low socioeco-nomic
status urban areas.
Dominicans are currently the fourth largest Hispanic subgroup in the United
States, and have grown in population by 79% from the year 1990 to 2000 (U.S.
Census Bureau, 2004). It has also been documented that this group has unique edu-cational
needs that are generally not being met by the American school system
(Dicker, 2001; Gould, O’Regan, Schwartz, & Steifel, 2001). In fact Gold, Vargas,
DeSipio, and Pachon (1998), in surveying Dominican Americans parents, found that
their most pressing concern was inadequate education for their children. Related to
these educational needs and concerns is the general academic underachievement
characterizing Dominicans and Hispanics in general, who continue to remain behind
Whites and Asians in virtually all measures of K-12 achievement (Garcia & Jensen,
2007). Finally, Dominican Americans are disproportionately represented within
lower socioeconomic strata and are more likely to live in urban areas, particularly
the Washington Heights section of New York City (Pessar, 1995; Tores-Saillant &
Hernandez, 1998). The realities outlined above support both the relevance of the
population and the need for further research designed to enhance their future educa-tional
possibilities.
Researching and understanding academic resilience has as its primary mission the
desire to learn about and thus spread resilience to underachieving groups (Gardynik
& McDonald, 2005; Milstein & Henry, 2000), thus the focus on Dominican
Americans is highly justified.
Because resilience is measured over time, longitudinal studies are effective.
Although there have been a number of quantitative longitudinal studies that have used
databases to determine factors significant to resilience (Hawkins & Mulkey, 2005;
Smokowski, Reynolds, & Bezruczko, 1999; Swanson, Cunningham,& Spencer, 2003),
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4. 230 Journal of Hispanic Higher Education
no longitudinal qualitative study that re-examines resiliency processes after a decade
exist. This research chronicles the postacademic resilience experiences of four out of
five resilient students whose resilience was originally documented back in 1997 as
part of the author’s doctoral dissertation (the fifth student was unreachable and thus
did not participate). That research was the basis of several articles and publications
(Morales, 2000; Morales & Friedman, 2000; Morales & Trotman, 2004) and helped
to generate new ideas and theories about the process of academic resilience among
American ethnic minorities, particularly Hispanics and African Americans.
For this study, a decade later the author reinterviewed the resilient students in an
attempt to explore the following three core questions:
• Have the students continued on their resilience paths and accomplished their academic/
professional goals?
• How, if at all, are the protective factors that the students identified 10 years ago still
in effect?
• How, if at all, have the students’ views about their protective factors and resilience
related issues changed or evolved during the past 10 years?
Method
Rationale
To add richness, depth, and context to understanding the educational resilience
process, the use of a follow-up qualitative study is essential. As discussed above,
time passing is an essential element to deeply understand the lasting significance of
key factors.
The use of a decade as the duration between interviews is effectual for a number
of reasons. First, given that the students were undergraduates during the initial inter-views,
10 years provides adequate time for their academic plans to play out. This
will help determine if the mideducational career resilience identified in the original
study was indeed predictive of ultimate success. Second, a decade is also long
enough to see how the students’ professional/work lives have formed. Third, it gives
the students enough time to reflect on how their academic and professional experi-ences
have evolved, and on the significance of intervening events. Although the
decade of time does allow for a sense of completeness, it is by no means the end of
the story for these individuals. At this point, the interviewees are in their late 20s or
early 30s and still have the majority of their lives ahead of them.
Initial Interviews
The initial set of interviews took place in 1997. There were five students in the
original study and all met the following resilience pre- and postrequisite criteria:
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5. Morales / Academic Resilience in Retrospect 231
• had completed at least 30 credits as a full-time student at an elite and selective univer-sity,
New York University (high academic achievement criterion)
• had a minimum grade point average of 3.0 (4.0) scale (high academic achievement
criterion)
• came from urban households where neither parent had attended college, and where
parent(s) did not hold jobs above the nonskilled or low-skilled levels (low socioeco-nomic
background)
• self-identified as Dominican American student (ethnic minority status)
Students who meet all of these criteria are by definition academically resilient.
Based on educational research data (U.S. Census Bureau, n.d.), the first two criteria
indicate achievement levels which significantly exceed what would be expected
from students who originate from the second two criteria.
The Ethnographic Interview
It was essential that a qualitative (specifically using ethnographic semistructured
interviews) research approach was conducted for this study. The research questions
stated above are exploratory by nature, and require the nuanced detail made possible
only through qualitative means (McCracken, 1988). Additionally, the core of this
research is concerned with gaining an understanding of the personal experiences and
perspectives of the individuals being interviewed and the sense they have made of their
worlds. These are the primary goals of the ethnographic interview (Spradley, 1979).
As with the initial set of interviews, a semi-structured interview approach was
conducted with these individuals. As per McCracken (1988), an interview protocol
was created for the interviews. The protocol began with what Werner and Schoepfle
(1987) refer to as “grand tour questions.” These questions were intended to get a
general overview of what the students have been doing since 1997. Subsequent ques-tions
were tailored to the individual students based on the 1997 interviews. These
questions were more specific and inquired about the ongoing relevancy of particular
protective factors that the students had originally identified. Moving from the gen-eral
to the specific like this is consistent with Kirk and Miller’s (1986) “inverted tri-angle,”
where researchers move from broad concepts to particular issues.
Each interview lasted approximately 90 minutes and was tape recorded.
Transcripts of the recordings were created and those transcripts were analyzed
through coding. Significant themes, trends, and conclusions arose from the coding.
The basic process of analysis involved identifying original protective factors, then
reviewing transcript data to evaluate the degree (if any) to which these factors were
still evident. If factors were found to have remained relevant, the data were further
mined and coded for examples of how these factors operated and contributed to the
participants’ success.
Subsequently, the researcher used e-mail and phone calls to follow-up and
“member checks” when confusing or seemingly contradictory data emerged. Drafts
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6. 232 Journal of Hispanic Higher Education
of analytic memos (which served as the basis for final drafts) were shared with the
students to gain input and reaction. At times, students requested that certain details
not altering significant conclusions be omitted from the final write-up. These wishes
were respected. However, given the amount of data that was collected, a very small
percentage was deemed “off limits” by the students.
Findings
The following are brief snapshots of the individuals where they were 10 years ago
and now. The protective factors were identified during the original interviews.
Protective factors still relevant are explored for each of the students below. (In ref-erence
to transcript excerpts, Q is used to indicate researcher’s question, and the
interviewee’s first initial is used to indicate their responses.)
Participant: Andrea
GPA/Major (1997): 3.6/Political Science
Undergrad status/outcome: BS Political Science, May 1998, GPA 3.12
Graduate status/outcome: MA Latin American Studies, May 2003, GPA 3.75
Professional status (2007): Project coordinator for nonprofit charity
Marital/familial status: Single/no children
Original protective factors identified. Exceptional Internal Locus of Control,
Empowering Reaction to Obstacles, View of School as Life Constant/Anchor,
Attendance at Specialized Out-of-Zone Schools, Supportive Teachers, Membership
in the Higher Education Opportunity Program in College.
Brief background. Andrea’s upbringing can best be described as “unstable.” Her
family was homeless on several occasions. She has had to overcome abusive/alcoholic
stepfathers, violent communities, and estrangement from her mother. School was the
one constant in her life, and she hung onto that to help sustain her academically.
Exceptional Internal Locus of Control/Empowering
Reaction to Obstacles
When we first met, Andrea prided herself on her independence and her accom-plishments.
As a result, her high degree of internal locus of control arose as a key
explanation for her success up until that point. And while she still believes in her
ability to affect the outcomes of her life, she no longer views that as necessarily an
individual endeavor:
Q. When we spoke back in 1997 we concluded that you had what you referred to as a
“large sphere of influence” which is similar to what I termed an “internal locus of
control.” Do you still posses and utilize this quality and, if so, how has it has it affected
you since then?
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7. Morales / Academic Resilience in Retrospect 233
A. I always felt like I had to be proactive and believe in my actions because, especially
at that time, I had a lot of anger and resentment. . . . In looking back over the old tran-script
I think that the internal locus of control idea was definitely real, but I also think
that I used it to prove to everyone else, and myself, how tough and independent I
was. . . . As I have grown up, and especially during my master’s, I have learned to
count on other people more. I still use my belief in the power of my actions, but those
actions involve other people more. . . . I have actually gotten good with getting others
to do what I want which makes me good at the job I am doing now. Most of what I
do involves dealing with the city. If you can get them to work with you, you can get
anything done!
In speaking with Andrea, it becomes clear that she has softened, and no longer
feels as though she has to be perceived as completely independent. She has further
cultivated her internal locus of control by utilizing others to help her achieve her
goals, and having confidence in her ability to build alliances with others. The inter-nal
locus of control concept (Rotter, 1966), which refers to an individual’s belief that
he or she influences personal life circumstances, is one of the most ubiquitously
cited protective factors for resilient students (Morales & Trotman, 2004). Interestingly,
this self-efficacy has been explored as the key factor in promoting the success of
Hispanic women like Andrea (Suarez-McCrink, 2002). In Andrea’s case, it has
evolved from an individual to more of a communal tool, but clearly it is still a valuable
asset for her.
Another strength exhibited by Andrea in her early schooling years was her
empowering reactions to obstacles and challenges. As outlined earlier, Andrea is a
survivor not only of the traditional risks associated with low socioeconomic status,
but also of especially unsettling phenomena such as bouts with homelessness,
estranged family members, and witnessing violence.
In the time since her late adolescence, Andrea has positioned herself firmly in the
middle class and now does not have to worry about where she will be sleeping on a
given night. And while she has been relatively comfortable for a while now, she does
recognize that her difficult beginning has strengthened her and provided her with
valuable tools to help navigate the more common challenges associated with finish-ing
college, earning a graduate degree, and entering the work force:
Q. Back in 1997, you spoke proudly of your ability to overcome challenges and
strengthen yourself as a result. What sorts of challenges have you faced since then
and how, if at all, have your reactions changed?
A. I have spent a lot of time thinking about that issue. For the longest time I have felt
bitter and angry about how I had to grow up. . . . Similar to what we were talking
about before, I felt like I had to act like nothing bothered me, but it did. I even went
to therapy to deal with a lot of the issues that I experienced growing up. I had issues
of trust, like with my mother and father, and just sort of low self-esteem. . . . But what
I came away with was a true appreciation for my survival and I do feel empowered.
. . . But now I know that it is not a solitary thing. . . . That realization had a lot do
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8. 234 Journal of Hispanic Higher Education
with my career choice. What I am doing now is really promoting resilience, like what
you write about, for immigrant families here in New York. I think back then [in col-lege]
I was much more into thinking everything had to do with the individual. And
that you could accomplish whatever, without really needing others. . . . Now I am
much more into collaboration.
The notion that early stressors can actually strengthen resilient individuals has
been explored by resilience researchers (Miller & Macintosh, 1999). Similar to
Andrea, students from difficult situations have at times acknowledged and become
empowered by their success in overcoming challenges. As a result, in some ways
they view themselves as even stronger than their fellow classmates who have not
been “toughened up” by life.
Viewed School as Life Constant/Anchor
Q. Back in 1997 you talked about how school was a safe haven and constant for you.
Do you still take solace in schooling and the pursuit of academics?
A. I have basically been in school my entire life, and am thinking about going for more.
A lot of my friends think I am crazy. They dreaded writing papers and reading, and
could not understand why I would continue subjecting myself. But I don’t see it that
way. I have gotten used to going to school. To think that I will not be going back
would be weird. . . . School is still a place where I find comfort, not only because
of the structure and “known nature” of it, but also because I have always excelled
in that area. As we spoke about last time, much of my self-esteem was tied to my
excelling in school.
One of the key factors contributing to Andrea’s academic success was that she
affixed herself to formal schooling, and savored its stability amid the chaos of her
life. Interestingly, an early ease and comfort with school as been correlated to future
resilience (Cuellar & Cuellar, 1991; Werner & Smith, 1982). Originally, Andrea had
aspirations of going to law school. And while she did not attend law school, she did
go on to graduate school, and is currently debating beginning a doctoral program.
Family Issues
In terms of potential family protective factors, Andrea became visibly uncomfort-able
when her relationship to her family was brought up. No matter how the ques-tions
were asked or the discussion flowed, there was never any evidence that Andrea
used her family to help facilitate her resilience. And while it is true that for students
in general supportive family is associated with academic success, because poten-tially
resilient students often lack parents who possess the necessary academic
knowledge to directly assist and support them, resilient students often have to
depend on teachers and peers to play this essential role (Crosnoe & Elder, 2004;
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9. Morales / Academic Resilience in Retrospect 235
Sanchez, Reyes, & Singh, 2006). However, even given this reality, Andrea’s com-plete
lack of connection and support in regard to her family is rare.
Participant: John
GPA/Major (1997): 3.2/Philosophy
Undergrad status/outcome: BA Economics, May 2000, GPA 2.8
Graduate status/outcome: 30 credits toward MBA, GPA 3.45
Professional status (2007): Manager for telecommunications company
Marital/familial status: Married/two children
Original protective factors identified. Above Average Cognitive Ability, High
Self-Confidence,Work Ethic, Out of Zone-Specialized Junior High School, Competitive
Chess, Higher Education Opportunity Program, Older Sister.
Brief background. At the time of our first interview, John had had just competed
his freshman year and earned a 3.2 GPA. He is the middle child, with an older sister
and younger brother. His mother was (and still is) a cleaning woman in a Manhattan
office building and immigrated to the United States from the Dominican Republic in
1978. John’s father left the family when John was 8, and has not been in touch since.
Since junior high school, he had been actively involved in competitive chess. He was
a philosophy major with plans to attend law school.
Above Average Cognitive Ability and High Self-Confidence
When we first met, John expressed firmly his belief that much of his success was
predicated on the fact that he was “naturally bright.” In an attempt to explore the
degree to which he still believed this, the following question was posed:
Q. When we first spoke in 1997, you continuously expressed your belief that much of
your success was predicated on your “natural intelligence”—your words—and that
the high levels of natural intelligence lead to high self-confidence. Do you still feel
that way?
J. [smiles] Did I really say that? God, I come off as conceited. . . . As I continue on
with my schooling and my work life, I focus on intelligence less and less. Not
because it is not important, but because I see it now as a given. Especially when I
transferred to the business school, everyone was really smart. So when everyone is
naturally intelligent, then it no longer matters. . . . You have to be more than that in
order to get ahead, to separate yourself. . . . I worked harder during the second part
of undergrad than the first and my GPA went down! Everything got a lot harder and
I got a little overwhelmed. . . . I also had to work more with others, manage my time,
and create projects. Those are things that take more than intelligence. . . . My self-confidence
took a hit there. Recognizing how much work I was doing and not
seeing the immediate results I was used to forced me to reevaluate things. That is
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10. 236 Journal of Hispanic Higher Education
one of the reasons I changed directions and moved away from the law school path.
. . . I began to doubt that I could do it. . . . But once I adjusted my goals, my confi-dence
was still there, only redirected. Even with school, my confidence is still there.
I mean, would I spend the time and money on an MBA if I didn’t know I could do
it? . . . Now, as a manager, I have to be confident in everything I do. If I don’t believe
in what I am doing, how can my sales team? . . . In speaking with my own supervi-sor,
the VP of Sales, during my last evaluation, he pointed to “confidence” and
“enthusiasm” as my best features; I think he hit the nail on the head with that one.
Although significantly high intelligence level is ubiquitously cited as a protective
factor in the resilience literature (Gandara, 1995; Garmenzy, 1991; Gordan, 1996;
Kitano & Lewis, 2005; Werner & Smith, 1982), John’s evolved beliefs about intelli-gence
and its value is more closely mirrored in Goleman’s (1995) beliefs about emo-tional
versus cognitive intelligence. Like John, Goleman does not discount the
importance and value of intelligence, but rather points out that in certain contexts, when
everyone is equally bright, emotional intelligence levels can often make the difference.
A high level of self-confidence has also often been associated with academic
resilience (Conchas, 2006; Hartman & Everson, 1996; Steele & Aronson, 1998).
However, what is often difficult to ascertain is the degree to which the confidence is
real or inflated. There is research that shows a discontinuity between what a student
says about his or her abilities and what he or she actually believes about them (see
Mickelson, 1990). In John’s case he has had to adjust his level of self-confidence in
light of new realities.
Work Ethic
Q. Back in 1997, you pointed to a combination of intelligence, confidence, and hard
work as the primary characteristics facilitating your academic accomplishments. Do
you still feel this way?
J. I do, but I think that it is more complex than that. I mean I don’t think it is a for-mula
like I did back then. . . . Back then, when I was really into competitive chess,
I would boil everything down to a formula or a series of moves. . . . I think then I
did not have an appreciation for the complexity of life. I still believe strongly in hard
work, but I no longer think it alone is enough.
John’s appreciation for the complexity and grey areas of life is highly reflective
of what student development theory has been saying for decades about how college
students change over time. Perry’s (1968) early work set the theoretical stage for the
basic premise that as college students mature and evolve they move from dualism,
where things are viewed dichotomously, toward relativism, where reality is context
and perspective based. John’s perception of hard work and its ability to always pro-duce
results has been challenged by his newfound appreciation for the complexity of
the world.
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11. Older Sister
Morales / Academic Resilience in Retrospect 237
J. Me and my sister are still really close. She got her MBA, which encouraged me to
start mine. Between the two of us, I think she had it harder. Being the first one to
go to college and being a girl, that was tough. I didn’t think about it at the time, but
looking back . . . she had a lot to overcome. . . . In a way I feel like I have to at least
accomplish as much as her, if not more . . . given that I had it easier. I had her to
walk me through the admissions, the essay, all that . . . she helped me pick courses
all that stuff. . . . Sometimes I think—who helped her with all that?
John’s sister has continued in her role as true trailblazer. Many resilience
researchers have specifically identified the importance of the older sibling as a
model/confidante (Ceja, 2006; Crosnoe & Elder, 2004: Reis, Colbert, & Hebert, 2005;
Sanchez et al., 2006). When it comes to educational issues, often these siblings play
influential roles because parents lack knowledge in the area. John’s sister has contin-ued
to play this role and remains influential in John’s life.
Participant: Stacy
GPA/Major (1997): 3.3/Spanish Education
Undergrad status/outcome: BS Spanish Education, May 1998, GPA 3.85
Graduate status/outcome: MED Education Administration, May 2004, GPA 3.85
Professional status (2007): High school Spanish teacher
Marital/familial status: Married/one child
Original protective factors identified. Independence, Discipline and Willingness
to Work Hard, Motivation From Desire to Leave Neighborhood, Catholic High
School, Higher Education Opportunity Program, Strict/Education as Priority Parenting
Style.
Brief background. Stacy grew up in a housing project in the Bronx with both
parents and her sister. Her parents immigrated to New York during the 1970s; her
father from Puerto Rico and her mother from the Dominican Republic. Stacy
attended Catholic schools up until college. From the first conversation back in 1997,
it became clear that her primary motivation for success came from her desire to
move away from a home neighborhood which she perceived as “dangerous and
dirty” and to provide a “better” life for her future family.
Independence
Q. When we first spoke, you stressed your sense of independence as a vital character-istic
that helped you succeed. Do you feel that that has continued?
S. That sense of going my own way stayed with me and paid off big time. I don’t think
that most people understand how much growing up in a housing project sucks. I
know the people here [the suburb she currently lives and works in] don’t. I am a
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12. 238 Journal of Hispanic Higher Education
very clean person, but I remember opening up my refrigerator when I was growing
up, and cockroaches would scatter everywhere. It was disgusting. So I knew that if
I wanted to live differently I would have to think, act, and behave differently than
everyone around me. As soon as I got a full-time teaching job, I left that environ-ment
and I never looked back.
Stacy’s desire to leave her neighborhood of origin to live in a “safer” and more
suburban environment reflects a controversial aspect of resilience literature. Is it
appropriate to publicize and or promote the idea that escaping one’s origin is an
acceptable motivation for academic resilience? This situation is unique to people of
color because in communities of color there are certain expectations that those who
“make it” should return and help out others (Steele & Aronson, 1988).
In Stacy’s case, she had to exhibit large degrees of independence to have a life
different than those around her. This strong sense of autonomy is very common
among resilient students (Gordan, 1996; Gordan & Song, 1994), and especially valu-able
for Stacy given that her primary objective was to escape her neighborhood.
Stacy’s actions were a prime example of what Chess (1989) describes as adaptive
distancing, where individuals are able to separate themselves from the unsettling and
disabling forces around them to work toward productive goals.
Motivation From Desire to Leave Neighborhood
Regardless of one’s judgment of what Stacy has done and her attitudes, the fact
is that she has used her desire for a different life as motivation to live and act differ-ently.
And whereas many students desire a better life for themselves and their family,
when we first spoke, Stacy had an especially intense amount of vitriol and disgust
for her neighborhood. In an attempt to see how, if at all, this may have changed, the
following question was posed to Stacy:
Q. When we first spoke back in 1997, you said, “As far as my school performance
goes, the neighborhood played no positive role, aside from the fact that it reminded
me of what I didn’t want.”You then went on to describe your community by saying,
“The teenagers are mostly drug dealers and are not into school. The girls are
mostly pregnant, and everyone is hanging out on the corner, drinking and smoking
weed. . . . It’s embarrassing, it really is.” Do you still feel this way, and how have
your feelings affected your academic and professional success?
S. I think that I am less judgmental now. . . . I am still motivated by having a different
life than the one I had growing up. . . . But another motivator now goes back to how
I used to feel embarrassed about where I was from, I didn’t want to be associated
with those people . . . but then I realized that I am one of those people, so I wanted
to achieve to prove our worth . . . but then sometimes I don’t want to be “them.” I
still want that different life . . . but I don’t blame the people from my neighborhood
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13. Morales / Academic Resilience in Retrospect 239
as much as I did when I was younger. I think I realize that not everyone had the strict
parents I had. As much as I complained about them, they protected me from that
environment; most other kids from my neighborhood had parents that didn’t care,
and almost none had fathers at home. That’s not their fault.
Part of Stacy’s motivation is now coming from wanting to be a positive reflection
of her community of origin. Several researchers have explored academic resilience
as “social resistance” (Cammarota, 2004; Solorzano & Delgado-Bernal, 2001), and
contend that resilient individuals are often motivated by their desire to disprove
stereotypes and create cognitive dissonance in the White majority.
Strict/“Education as Priority” Parenting Style
When we first spoke, Stacy resented her parents’ strict parenting style, but under-stood
why they were the way they were. She also appreciated that when it came to
education, they “put their money where their mouth was,” literally by scraping
together the money for Catholic schools even though the family struggled to make
ends meet. In an effort to see how Stacy’s perception of her parents’ insistence on
insulating her from the perceived risks of her immediate environment has evolved
over the years, the following question was posed:
Q. We had spoken a great deal about how your parents believed that your future suc-cess
was predicated on your separation from the community and your success in
school. Do you feel that these beliefs have continued to facilitate your progress?
S. As I got older and got more freedom, you would think I would’ve rebelled or defied
them, but I didn’t. . . . I am often surprised by how much I am like them—my
beliefs, my values, I even catch myself talking to my daughter using the same
phrases my mother said to me, like, “Give a man a fish and he eats for a day, teach
him how to fish and he eats forever” but in English. . . . I think I internalized their
beliefs about the value of “making it” because I can now see it paying off. . . . When
I got my first job, I was 21 years old. My salary was $42,000 a year. That was more
than my father had ever made. . . . I have so much gratitude for them and education,
that’s why I went on and got a master’s degree. And I know that my husband and I
are going to be strict with my daughter. Even though she won’t be growing up in the
ghetto, she still needs to be protected.
Even though statistically speaking and in Stacy’s case, Hispanic parents often
lack the formal education helpful in guiding their children academically, research
has shown that for resilient Hispanics, parents often still do play an integral part in
helping to motivate and inspire their children to succeed academically (Ceja, 2004).
Stacy has grown to appreciate her parents’ style, in part because she now realizes
that the severity and firmness with which they parented was in direct response to the
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14. 240 Journal of Hispanic Higher Education
danger levels of the community. In fact, several researchers (Hauser,Vieyra, Jacobson,
& Wertleib, 1989; Pinderhughes, Dodge, Bates, Pettit, & Zelli, 2000; Turner & Johnson,
2003) contend that in environments of “chronic poverty” (such as where Stacy grew
up), strict parental supervision at the expense of a joyful home environment may be
appropriate. This relativity of parenting appropriateness is reflected in the work of
Clark (1983). He posits that for people of color in dangerous neighborhoods, a much
more authoritative parenting style is necessary. As Stacy says above, “Given where
we lived, it totally makes sense that they were that strict—one bad decision and my
life could have been ruined.”
Another reason that Stacy has continued to value her parents’ style and their
emphasis on formal education is that, as alluded to above, she has experienced the
“payoff.” The notion that resilient students increase the degree to which they value
core protective factors as those factors pay off has been explored fully in the
resilience cycle (Morales & Trotman, 2004) and is highly evident in Stacy’s story.
Participant: Ricardo
GPA/Major (1997): 3.1/Philosophy
Undergrad status/outcome: BA Philosophy, Summer 1998, GPA 2.91
Graduate status/outcome: MAT Secondary Education–Social Studies, January 2005,
GPA 3.75
Professional status (2007): Middle school social studies teacher
Marital/familial status: Single/no children
Original protective factors identified. Willingness to Work Hard, Ability to
Effectively Utilize Valuable Others, Church Involvement and Spiritual Conversion,
Move to New Neighborhood, The Pastor, and The Uncle.
Brief background. Ricardo is a native New Yorker whose father emigrated from
the Dominican Republic at 15, and whose mother came from Puerto Rico before
that. His mother still works as a beautician in a Brooklyn beauty parlor. Ricardo is
estranged from his father and not sure what he does for a living. When we first
spoke, Ricardo identified his religious “conversion” and newfound spirituality,
which occurred during his early high school years, as the primary driving forces
behind his academic and life success.
Willingness to Work Hard
Like many other aspects of Ricardo’s life, his work ethic is tied directly to his reli-giosity
and spirituality. Early on in his academic career, he was taught by his pastor
that Ricardo had an ecumenical obligation to maximize effort in every facet of his
life.
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15. Morales / Academic Resilience in Retrospect 241
Q. When we first spoke back in 1997, you stated that your work ethic and its relation
to your spirituality was a key factor in your success. Has that remained true as you
have continued on with your education?
R. In thinking back to my own life, I was a worker at an early age even before my con-version.
. . . That early work ethic was based on watching my grandfather bust his
butt. He modeled that work was just what you did . . . then later on I connected that
to my faith. . . . I tell my kids all the time that it doesn’t really matter how smart you
are, if you are willing to put your head down and work, you can get what you want.
For me, I saw that characteristic as a gift from God that I had early on . . . like all
of God’s gifts, you have an obligation to covet it . . . that’s what I teach my kids and
that’s what I believe.
Ricardo believes that his ongoing strong work ethic is a result of both his com-mitment
to God and the work ethic modeled by his family, particularly his grandfa-ther.
Although there is little in the resilience literature that connects willingness to
work hard with religiosity, there is research that correlates spirituality with resilience
(Heavyrunner & Marshall, 2003; Rutter, 1987). Additionally, there is evidence that
claims that potentially resilient students sometimes have an advantage over their
wealthier peers because they and their parents have had to work hard for whatever
they have received; thus, a strong work ethic is modeled and emulated (Morales &
Trotman, 2004).
Ability to Effectively Utilize Valuable Others
More than most, Ricardo has exploited his charm and affability to ingratiate himself
to others and allow them to help him. Significant teachers, professors, and the church
pastor have all invested in him and assisted him with his goals. Although Ricardo has
continued to use this skill, he now sees the obligation that he has to help others.
R. I am still a people person and actively cultivate mentors, and like professional col-leagues.
. . . I remember applying for graduate school—some of my friends were
too, and it was a good 5 years after college, so they had trouble coming up with ref-erences
and people to write letters of academic recommendations. I had the oppo-site
problem, I had 8 or 10 people I was thinking of using and didn’t know who to
choose! . . . Now, as a teacher, I am committed to being that person that kids can
lean on. I have been so fortunate to have so many people to invest in me that I feel
like it is my turn now.
Ricardo’s specific ability to get others to like him and thus help him has been cited
by Werner and Smith (1982) in their seminal work, Vulnerable but Invincible: A Study
of Resilient Children, as a major characteristic of resilient individuals. Furthermore,
the group of influential individuals available to facilitate Ricardo’s success is in
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16. 242 Journal of Hispanic Higher Education
essence a form of “social capital” (Coleman, 1988) which he has consistently utilized
during his resilient journey. Ricardo’s valuable interpersonal skill is a core element of
Goleman’s emotional intelligence, discussed earlier, which is increasingly becoming
linked to both academic and psychosocial resilience. Additionally, given the seemingly
intractable education achievement gap between Whites and non-Whites, particularly
Hispanics, academic roles models and mentors can be especially valuable to Hispanic
youth in academic environments (Levine, 1996; Sanchez et al., 2006; Santos &
Reigadas, 2002), and even more so if the mentors and students share the same ethnic
background (Bordes & Arredondo, 2005).
Church Involvement, Spiritual Conversion,
and Church Pastor
Ricardo’s spiritual conversion during his adolescence and his relationship to his
church and pastor have been life-altering events which changed his life direction, from
D student/class clown to focused high achiever. Although, as discussed above, there is
literature that claims spirituality as a significant protective factor, rarely has there been
chronicled such a drastic change as Ricardo has experienced. Ricardo discussed how
this experience and his relation to the church have continued to support him.
R. My commitment to God and the church has not waned. In fact, it has intensified
and become part of who I am. . . . Like most people I have had my share of ups
and downs, trials and tribulations, and my faith has sustained me. . . . My church
lost three members on 9/11—one was an elevator operator in Tower One and two
were firemen. . . . Needless to say, we were devastated. . . . At that point, I was
literally just beginning my master’s, but after that day I was ready to quit. It
seemed so meaningless to sit in class. But the pastor reminded me of my calling
and my obligation to God.
Just as it did when he was beginning high school, Ricardo’s religious convictions
guided him toward completion of his educational and professional goals.
Uncle
Ricardo’s uncle was his only educated family member and played a key role in
inspiring Ricardo’s intellectual curiosity. When we first spoke in 1997, Ricardo
explained how his uncle was actively involved in his formal education, so much so
that he was the one who would go to parent teacher conferences and back to school
nights. At one point he went to the school to insist that Ricardo be moved from a
lower math track to a higher one.
Unfortunately, Ricardo’s uncle died of AIDS in 2000. And although his uncle’s
homosexuality conflicted with aspects of Ricardo’s religious beliefs, he stayed close
to his uncle until the end. Ricardo was uncomfortable continuing to talk about him,
simply repeating, “He is now in a better place.”
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17. Morales / Academic Resilience in Retrospect 243
Group Findings
Continued Resilience
All four of the students continued to perform at high educational levels. Not only
did they each complete their undergraduate degrees, but three of four earned gradu-ate
degrees, and the other had begun his graduate education. To put this into perspec-tive,
note that only 12% of Hispanics nationwide earn bachelors degrees (U.S.
Census Bureau, 2004) and only 3.6% earn graduate degrees of any kind (U.S.
Department of Education, n.d.). These statistics place these four students in
extremely rare company; they truly are the “statistical academic elite.” For this group
of students, the resilience snapshot taken in 1997 was indeed a portentous depiction
of their eventual success.
Efficacy and Endurance of Protective Factors
For the students in this study, the significant dispositional protective factors iden-tified
a decade ago proved enduring. And in many instances, the students actually
increased in the degree to which they believed in the efficacy of the factors. The rea-sons
for the solidification of protective factor usage can only be seen through a ret-rospective
lens such as the one made possible by a follow-up study such as this one.
It appears that it is through the students’ recognition of the protective factor’s effi-cacy
over time that the factors become entrenched and part of the students’ ongoing
repertoire of coping skills.
Illustrations of this process appear throughout the findings above. For example,
Andrea’s early ability to express empowering reactions to obstacles became even
more embedded in her life as she moved up the social ladder and achieved a sense
of economic and social security. In John’s case, his high level of self-confidence,
once it was reconciled with the changing realities of his life, served to assist him
with his academic and career goals. For Stacy, the leitmotif of independent thought
and action that initially motivated her to strive for a new life has driven her to con-tinue
with her education up through the master’s level, thus virtually securing her
permanent detachment from her South Bronx community and peers. And perhaps
most profound is Ricardo’s commitment to his faith, which has guided him toward
graduate school completion and service as a teacher, mentor, and church community
leader. All of these dispositional attributes have grown stronger as the individuals
have achieved their academic and personal goals.
The notion that commitment to a certain attribute increases with evidence that the
attribute had been effective is consistent with basic motivational and educational psy-chology.
A combination of Bandura’s (1982) influential work on self-efficacy and
human agency as well as Hull’s (1951) formula of motivation helps illuminate this
phenomenon. Bandura posits that self-competence is promoted through mastery of
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18. 244 Journal of Hispanic Higher Education
experience (in this case, the students’ ongoing success) and that individuals will put
forth more effort when they have experienced prior success. Hull identified “incentive”
as a key element of motivation. In his work incentive derives from a desire to continue
with a particular habit if success was gleaned from that habit. For the students in this
study, their incentive to continue with a particular dispositional protective factor came
from a sense of self-competence which resulted from their ongoing success.
Protective Factors Evolved Along With
Students’ Maturity and Empathy
Generally speaking, the protective factors that the students identified during their
undergraduate years continued to operate during the students’ later lives. The factors
did, however, evolve in response to new contexts and challenges. What changed was
how the students characterized those key factors. Often, in response to the students’
maturation and personal growth, they broadened their sense of whom or what was
responsible for their success and began to include others. For example, Andrea’s
belief that she alone was responsible for what she had accomplished and her prefer-ence
to work alone changed, and she began to frame her achievements as much more
communal in nature. Initially, John believed that his hard work alone accounted for
most of his success; later he expressed his realization that opportunities are not dis-tributed
evenly in the world, and that sometimes hard work alone does not make a
difference in the end. Perhaps the most dramatic change came in Stacy, who origi-nally
expressed her belief that those who did not “escape” the neighborhoods simply
chose to remain. As she grew, she acknowledged that most of them lacked the level
of parental support and guidance she was fortunate enough to receive. And even
Ricardo, who began as exceptionally altruistic, evolved to the point where he not
only wanted to ingratiate himself to others but wanted to be an asset to those less for-tunate
than he. Most interesting, in line with the evolving focus on empathy and
assisting those less fortunate, is the fact that three of the four went into helping
fields. It appears that once the students were adults and experienced the postcollege
world for themselves, they gained a better appreciation for the inequality character-izing
much of society, and thus increased their appreciation and gratitude for those
who had helped them along the way.
Implications for Future Research
Based on the research presented here, there are several implications for future
research. First, as a general rule, Dominican Americans, as well as other Hispanic
subgroups, deserve more attention in the educational research realm. Although they
are considered Hispanic, these subgroups have unique cultural traditions that affect
their educational experiences in distinct ways. Second, the focus on positive and
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19. successful Hispanic students should be continued. By exploring those who have
been successful, a deeper understanding of achievement processes can be attained.
Third, as presented here, resilience for these students required a combination of per-sistence
and flexibility. Qualitative and quantitative inquiries into the exact nature of
these qualities, as well as into ways to encourage and facilitate them, would add sig-nificantly
to the literature and provide much needed guidance for those working to
promote resilience in others.
Conclusion
The primary theme of the group findings above is a sense of evolution of protec-tive
factors over time. Early in their college careers, these students manifested dis-positional
protective factors that they utilized to not only reach the doors of an
exclusive private university but excel once inside those doors. From that point on,
the students have been able to adapt those protective factors, apply them to new chal-lenges
that arise, and remain on a path of academic and professional success. Thus,
adaptability appears to be a crucial underlying personality trait that has helped to
make success possible. These students have demonstrated the stick-to-itiveness and
dogged determination necessary to reach goals while maintaining a sense of mal-leability.
When environmental risk factors and challenges occurred, the ability to
step outside of themselves and strategize emerged.
The basis for this balancing act can be found in the students’ metacognitive abil-ities.
These students have exhibited a unique ability to step outside of themselves and
assess both themselves and their environments, and redirect their thinking and action
in productive ways. Without this metacognitive ability, the protective factors that
were developed would have been of limited use.
The process by which the metacognition unfolds is idiosyncratic by nature; how-ever,
Jew, Green, and Kroger (1999) present a theory of cognitive appraisal that cap-tures
its essence. They propose that resilient students respond to stressful situations
by enacting the following four steps: (a) assessing the situation, (b) processing the
experience, (c) applying meaning to it, and (d) integrating it into their belief system.
Essentially, this is what the resilient students in this study have managed to do to
continuously update and reapply their protective factors.
Given the importance and value of metacognition, programs or initiatives
designed to facilitate resilience should include components that help students to ana-lyze
their own thought processes and make strategic decisions that will help them
achieve their goals. Metacognition can help students to avoid common pitfalls, delay
gratification, practice impulse control, and, more specific, maximize the effective-ness
of available protective factors.
Morales / Academic Resilience in Retrospect 245
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20. 246 Journal of Hispanic Higher Education
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Erik E. Morales earned his PhD in higher education from New York University in 1999. He has authored
a book and a wide range of articles focused on the academic resilience of at-risk students and on ways to
close the achievement gap. He has also spent several years teaching in public schools in urban environ-ments.
He is currently an assistant professor in the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
in the College of Education at New Jersey City University.
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