Narrative analysis of feedback-loops affecting Latino male youth's identify and self-advocacy in connection to career preparation

Only half of the Latino male student population in the United States graduates from high school and pursues a 2- or 4-year career preparation program (Pew Research Center, 2015; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2018). This phenomenon is problematic because the lack of career preparation jeopardizes this population’s ability to reach fulfillment and live above the poverty level, perpetuating social inequities and semi-caste systems (Flores-Gonzalez, 2002; Schott Foundation for Public Education, 2016). This study uses the postcolonial theory and explores the problem by using Riessman’s (2008) thematic narrative analysis to create and analyze the stories of 10 Latino male 12th graders from the same urban school district and community—where 5 of them are in post-secondary career preparation pathways, and 5 are not. Specifically, the research addresses what is different between the narratives of Latino male students who are career prepared, and those who are not? And it analyzes the inflow and feedback-loops shaping Latino male adolescents’ identities and self-advocacy in connection to career preparation. Finally, considering the relevance of the immigration policies and jargon in today’s time, it investigates how present political policies and jargon (the Trump effect) affect immigrant students’ image in relation to being inferior/superior, and the negative effect this has in their career preparation. The contribution of this study is methodological, conceptual and practical, since it offers a greater understanding of what forges an identity and self-advocacy for career preparation in Latino youth, through a systems-thinking approach that plays close attention to potentially subtle school, community and family reinforcement loops; and a research model for educational research where the narrative analysis and the systems-thinking approach connects variables, and bridges different perspectives.