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Showing papers in "American Educational Research Journal in 2008"


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The authors describe the second wave of research, which has involved the development of online measures of self-regulatory processes and motivational feelings or beliefs regarding learning in authentic contexts, including computer traces, think-aloud protocols, diaries of studying, direct observation, and microanalyses.
Abstract: The topic of how students become self-regulated as learners has attracted researchers for decades. Initial attempts to measure self-regulated learning (SRL) using questionnaires and interviews were successful in demonstrating significant predictions of students’ academic outcomes. The present article describes the second wave of research, which has involved the development of online measures of self-regulatory processes and motivational feelings or beliefs regarding learning in authentic contexts. These innovative methods include computer traces, think-aloud protocols, diaries of studying, direct observation, and microanalyses. Although still in the formative stage of development, these online measures are providing valuable new information regarding the causal impact of SRL processes as well as raising new questions for future study.

2,771 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examine two distinct but closely related fields, research on teaching and research on teacher education, and argue that for research in teacher education to move forward, it must reconnect with these fields to address the complexity of both teaching as a practice and the preparation of teachers.
Abstract: In this article, the authors examine two distinct but closely related fields, research on teaching and research on teacher education. Despite its roots in research on teaching, research in teacher education has developed in isolation both from mainstream research on teaching and from research on higher education and professional education. A stronger connection to research on teaching could inform the content of teacher education, while a stronger relationship to research on organizations and policy implementation could focus attention on the organizational contexts in which the work takes shape. The authors argue that for research in teacher education to move forward, it must reconnect with these fields to address the complexity of both teaching as a practice and the preparation of teachers.

1,009 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The authors examined the extent to which variation in observed classroom supports (quality of emotional and instructional interactions and amount of exposure to literacy and math activities) predicts trajectories of achievement in reading and math from 54 months to fifth grade.
Abstract: This nonexperimental, longitudinal field study examines the extent to which variation in observed classroom supports (quality of emotional and instructional interactions and amount of exposure to literacy and math activities) predicts trajectories of achievement in reading and math from 54 months to fifth grade. Growth mixture modeling detected two latent classes of readers: fast readers whose skills developed rapidly and leveled off, and a typical group for which reading growth was somewhat less rapid. Only one latent class was identified for math achievement. For reading, there were small positive associations between observed emotional quality of teacher-child interactions and growth. Growth in math achievement showed small positive relations with observed emotional interactions and exposure to math activities. There was a significant interaction between quality and quantity of instruction for reading such that at higher levels of emotional quality there was less of a negative association between amoun...

474 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This article found that a set of specific kinds of civic learning opportunities fosters notable improvements in students' commitments to civic participation, including discussing civic and political issues with one's parents, extracurricular activities other than sports, and living in a civically responsive neighborhood.
Abstract: This study of 4,057 students from 52 high schools in Chicago finds that a set of specific kinds of civic learning opportunities fosters notable improvements in students’ commitments to civic participation. The study controls for demographic factors, preexisting civic commitments, and academic test scores. Prior large-scale studies that found limited impact from school-based civic education often did not focus on the content and style of the curriculum and instruction. Discussing civic and political issues with one’s parents, extracurricular activities other than sports, and living in a civically responsive neighborhood also appear to meaningfully support this goal. Other school characteristics appear less influential.

392 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: A randomized-trials design was used to evaluate the effectiveness of a preschool mathematics program based on a comprehensive model of research-based curricula development, finding that early interventions can increase the quality of the mathematics environment and help preschoolers develop a foundation of mathematics knowledge.
Abstract: A randomized-trials design was used to evaluate the effectiveness of a preschool mathematics program based on a comprehensive model of researchbased curricula development. Thirty-six preschool classrooms were assigned to experimental (Building Blocks), comparison (a different preschool mathematics curriculum), or control conditions. Children were individually pre- and posttested, participating in 26 weeks of instruction in between. Observational measures indicated that the curricula were implemented with fidelity, and the experimental condition had significant positive effects on classrooms’ mathematics environment and teaching. The experimental group score increased significantly more than the comparison group score (effect size = 0.47) and the control group score (effect size = 1.07). Early interventions can increase the quality of the mathematics environment and help preschoolers develop a foundation of mathematics knowledge.

366 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This paper examined regular classroom teachers' views of their roles with regard to English language learners (ELLs) and the relationship between their teaching approaches and the students' reactions and positioning of themselves in the classroom.
Abstract: Grounded in positioning theory, this study examined regular classroom teachers’ views of their roles with regard to English language learners (ELLs) and the relationship between their teaching approaches and the students’ reactions and positioning of themselves in the classroom. Findings suggest that the teachers’ views of their roles varied based on their positioning of themselves as teachers for all students, as teachers for regular education students, or as teachers for a single subject. The teachers’ different approaches were related to the ELLs’ different levels of participation and their positioning of themselves as powerful or powerless students. The study breaks important ground in our understanding of the complex interactional classroom dynamics that influence the teaching and learning of ELLs.

330 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The authors report on how urban middle school girls enact meaningful strategies of engagement in science class in their efforts to merge their social worlds with the worlds of school science and on the unsanctioned resources and identities they take up to do so.
Abstract: The middle grades are a crucial time for girls in making decisions about how or if they want to follow science trajectories. In this article, the authors report on how urban middle school girls enact meaningful strategies of engagement in science class in their efforts to merge their social worlds with the worlds of school science and on the unsanctioned resources and identities they take up to do so. The authors argue that such merging science practices are generative both in terms of how they develop over time and in how they impact the science learning community of practice. They discuss the implications these findings have for current policy and practice surrounding gender equity in science education.

324 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, a predictive and mediation model of teacher commitment is proposed to mediate the relations of an individual antecedent (teaching experience) and two organizational antecedents (perceived organizational politics and reflective dialogue).
Abstract: This study tested a predictive and mediation model of teacher commitment. Teacher efficacy and sense of identification with school were hypothesized to mediate the relations of an individual antecedent (teaching experience) and two organizational antecedents (perceived organizational politics and reflective dialogue) to teacher commitment. Multigroup structural equation modeling was used to test and validate the mediation model across two independent samples of teachers. Perceived organizational politics was found to be negatively related to teacher commitment, whereas reflective dialogue and teaching experience were positively related. Teacher efficacy and identification with school were found to completely mediate the relations between the three antecedents and teacher commitment.

245 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This article examined how mathematics and science teachers' classroom assessment practices were affected by the National Board Certification process and found that teachers who showed noticeable changes in practice described professional development experiences similar to those of the comparison group.
Abstract: This study examines how mathematics and science teachers’ classroom assessment practices were affected by the National Board Certification process. Using a 3-year, longitudinal, comparison group design, evidence of changes in teachers’ classroom practice were measured on six dimensions of formative assessment. The National Board candidates began the study with lower mean scores than the comparison group on all six assessment dimensions; had higher mean scores on all dimensions by the second year, with statistically significant gains on four of the dimensions; and continued to demonstrate substantially higher scores in the third year. Pronounced changes were in the variety of assessments used and the way assessment information was used to support student learning. National Board candidates attributed changes in practice to the National Board standards and assessment tasks. Comparison group teachers who showed noticeable changes in practice described professional development experiences similar to those sup...

199 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the counterstories of four academically (and mathematically) successful African American male students were analyzed using a somewhat eclectic theoretical framework that included poststructural theory, critical race theory, and critical theory.
Abstract: This study documents the counterstories of four academically (and mathematically) successful African American male students. Using participative inquiry, the participants were asked to read, reflect on, and respond to historical and current research literature regarding the schooling experiences of African American students. Their responses were analyzed using a somewhat eclectic theoretical framework that included poststructural theory, critical race theory, and critical theory. Collectively, the participants’ counterstories revealed that each had acquired a robust mathematics identity as a component of his overall efforts toward success. How the participants acquired such “uncharacteristic” mathematics identities was to be found in part in how they understood sociocultural discourses of U.S. society and how they negotiated the specific discourses that surround male African Americans. Present throughout the counterstories of each participant was a recognition of himself as a discursive formation who could negotiate sociocultural discourses as a means to subversively repeat his constituted “raced” self.

195 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The authors found that the amount of time that students spent speaking English in informal social situations is predictive of English language proficiency, and that social context factors directly affect language learning among adolescent immigrants.
Abstract: This study aims to increase understanding of factors that account for academic English language proficiency in a sample of 274 adolescent first-generation immigrant students from China, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Central America, and Mexico. Previous research has shown the importance of English language proficiency in predicting academic achievement measured by GPA and achievement tests. The present study describes the academic English language proficiency of immigrant youth after, on average, 7 years in the United States and models factors that contribute to variation. Findings show that although differences in individual student characteristics partially explain variation in English language proficiency, the schools that immigrant youth attended are also important. The amount of time that students spent speaking English in informal social situations is predictive of English language proficiency. These findings demonstrate that social context factors directly affect language learning among adolescent...

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This article examined preservice elementary teachers' knowledge of fractions in five ways: computational skill, basic concepts, word problems, flexibility, and transfer to further capture the complexity of knowledge, solution methods were examined for patterns that might reveal understandings and misconceptions.
Abstract: The study of preservice elementary teachers’ knowledge of fractions is important because fractions are notoriously difficult to learn and teach Unfortunately, studies of preservice teachers’ fraction knowledge are limited and have focused primarily on division The present study included all four operations to provide a more comprehensive understanding of this knowledge Because knowledge is complex, it was examined in five ways: computational skill, basic concepts, word problems, flexibility, and transfer To further capture the complexity of knowledge, solution methods were examined for patterns that might reveal understandings and misconceptions Data were gathered before and after a course designed to deepen preservice teachers’ knowledge Quantitative and qualitative shifts occurred during the semester, but flexibility and transfer were low Implications for teacher education are discussed

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors tested a model for enhancing mathematics instruction in five high school CTE programs (agriculture, auto technology, business and marketing, health, and information technology).
Abstract: Numerous high school students, including many who are enrolled in career and technical education (CTE) courses, do not have the math skills necessary for today’s high-skill workplace or college entrance requirements. This study tests a model for enhancing mathematics instruction in five high school CTE programs (agriculture, auto technology, business and marketing, health, and information technology). The model includes a pedagogy and intense teacher professional development. Volunteer CTE teachers were randomly assigned to an experimental (n = 59) or control (n = 78) group. The experimental teachers worked with math teachers to develop CTE instructional activities that integrated more mathematics into the occupational curriculum. After 1 year of the math-enhanced CTE lessons, students in the experimental classrooms performed equally on technical skills and significantly better than control students on two standardized tests of math ability (TerraNova and ACCUPLACER®).

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This paper found that whereas larger stocks of parental social capital accompany higher rungs on the social class ladder, its educational utility is less clearly associated with class status, a possible exception to this pattern pertains to the educational utility of middle-class parents' ideas about the collective efficacy of influencing school policies and practices.
Abstract: Emergent ethnographic research disentangles “social capital” from other components of social class (e.g., material and human capital) to show how class-stratified parental social networks exacerbate educational inequality among schoolchildren. The authors build upon this research by using survey data to reexamine whether certain forms of parental social capital create educational advantages for socioeconomically privileged students vis-a-vis their less economically fortunate peers. By drawing a distinction between the availability of social capital and its convertibility, the authors find that whereas larger stocks of parental social capital accompany higher rungs on the social class ladder, its educational utility is less clearly associated with class status. A possible exception to this pattern pertains to the educational utility of middle-class parents’ ideas about the collective efficacy of influencing school policies and practices. At issue is whether a more inclusive understanding of the material an...

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors explore the intersection between emotions and socially just teaching via a case study of a White novice teacher at one urban school as she struggles to formulate social just teaching practices.
Abstract: The authors contend that studying emotional perspectives can facilitate understanding of the complexities of socially just teaching. They explore the intersection between emotions and socially just teaching via a case study of a White novice teacher at one urban school as she struggles to formulate socially just teaching practices. Drawing from feminist and critical theory, the authors propose the term critical emotional praxis to denote critical praxis informed by emotional resistance to unjust pedagogical systems and practices. The authors’ analysis may assist in the development of socially just teachers: First, emotions and their expression play an important, ongoing role in socially just teaching, and second, emotional negotiation related to socially just teaching can provide deeper understanding of possible change, perhaps even in counterresponse to wider social, political contexts of schools.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors consider studies of the impact of intended versus experienced instructional regimes on student learning and find that intended regimes are well measured and accessible to randomized trials, whereas experienced instruction is measured with error and not amenable to randomization.
Abstract: Understanding the impact of “instructional regimes” on student learning is central to advancing educational policy Research on instructional regimes has parallels with clinical trials in medicine yet poses unique challenges because of the social nature of instruction: A child’s potential outcome under a given regime depends on peers and teachers, requiring the need for multilevel methods of causal inference The author considers studies of the impact of intended versus experienced instructional regimes Both are important; however, intended regimes are well measured and accessible to randomized trials, whereas experienced instruction is measured with error and not amenable to randomization Multiyear sequences of experienced instruction are of central interest but pose special methodological challenges A 2-year study of intensive mathematics instruction illustrates these ideas

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This article used the National Educational Longitudinal Study to model educational inequality as a feedback process among course placement, student engagement, and academic achievement, separately for students in schools with high and low percentages of African American students.
Abstract: This study uses national data from the National Educational Longitudinal Study to model educational inequality as a feedback process among course placement, student engagement, and academic achievement, separately for students in schools with high and low percentages of African American students. Results find strong effects of placement, engagement, and performance on one another over time and across both school types. However, the results also show that racial segregation is detrimental to the overall learning process for students between 8th and 10th grade. The author concludes that White and African American students in predominantly Black, particularly urban, schools are significantly disadvantaged at each point of the learning process compared to students in other school types.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The authors explored the practices of two high school teachers of U.S. history and their students' performance on evidence-based history essays over 7 months and found that the following qualities of instruction support students' development in writing evidence based historical essays: reading historical texts and considering them as interpretations; supporting reading comprehension and historical thinking; asking students to develop interpretations and support them with evidence; and using direct instruction, guided practice, indep...
Abstract: This study explored the practices of two high school teachers of U.S. history and their students’ performance on evidence-based history essays over 7 months. Data include pre- and posttest essays, interviews, observations, teacher feedback, assignments, and readings. Qualitative and quantitative comparisons of 42 students’ work show that one class improved in writing evidence-based history essays whereas the other did not. Qualitative analyses of the teachers’ practices suggest that different opportunities to learn to read, write, and think historically are not equally valuable. In particular, the following qualities of instruction support students’ development in writing evidence-based historical essays: approaching history as evidence-based interpretation; reading historical texts and considering them as interpretations; supporting reading comprehension and historical thinking; asking students to develop interpretations and support them with evidence; and using direct instruction, guided practice, indep...

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: First-language instruction did not impede the learning of a second language, and enhancements and best practices are needed to accelerate oral English acquisition to remove the initial disadvantage of low levels of English proficiency.
Abstract: The authors examined the effectiveness of a 2-year (kindergarten and first grade) oral English intervention provided to 534 Hispanic English-language learners in transitional bilingual education (TBE) and structured English immersion (SEI) programs. Using latent growth modeling, the authors compared instructional programs in relation to growth trajectories and rates in academic English oracy. The findings revealed that students in all four programs (treatment TBE, control TBE, treatment SEI, and control SEI) improved significantly (p 0.46). The authors concluded that (a) first-language instruction did not impede the learning of a second language, and (b) enhancements and best practices in TBE and SEI programs are needed to accelerate oral English acquisition to remove the initial disadvantage of low levels of English proficiency.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The authors conducted a survey with primary grade teachers across the United States to examine their instructional practices in spelling and the types of adaptations they made for struggling spellers, finding that almost every teacher surveyed reported teaching spelling, and the vast majority of respondents implemented a complex and multifaceted instructional program that applied a variety of research supported procedures.
Abstract: Primary grade teachers randomly selected from across the United Sates completed a survey (N = 168) that examined their instructional practices in spelling and the types of adaptations they made for struggling spellers. Almost every single teacher surveyed reported teaching spelling, and the vast majority of respondents implemented a complex and multifaceted instructional program that applied a variety of research-supported procedures. Although some teachers were sensitive to the instructional needs of weaker spellers and reported making many different adaptations for these students, a sizable minority of teachers (42%) indicated they made few or no adaptations. In addition, the teachers indicated that 27% of their students experienced difficulty with spelling, calling into question the effectiveness of their instruction with these children.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, student-and class-level predictors of homework interest were analyzed in a survey of 1,046 8th graders from 63 classes and of 849 11th-graders from 48 classes.
Abstract: This aim of this study was to test empirical models of variables posited to predict homework interest at the secondary school level. Student- and class-level predictors of homework interest were analyzed in a survey of 1,046 8th graders from 63 classes and of 849 11th graders from 48 classes. Most of the variance in homework interest occurred at the student level, with grade level appearing as the only significant predictor at the class level. At the student level, the variation in homework interest was positively associated with affective attitude toward homework, motivational orientation toward homework, student initiative in monitoring homework motivation, teacher feedback, and self-reported grade. Girls reported statistically significant higher scores in homework interest than did boys.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This paper examined the enactment of the English National Literacy Strategy (NLS) in a case study of two consecutive Year 6 literacy lessons, which are drawn from a year long ethnographic study of the NLS in one school.
Abstract: How and why is national policy translated into interactions between teachers and pupils? This article examines the enactment of the English National Literacy Strategy (NLS) in a case study of two consecutive Year 6 literacy lessons, which are drawn from a year long ethnographic study of the NLS in one school. Although the teacher taught directly from and adhered closely to the prescribed materials, curricular contents were recontextualised into the interactional genres habitual in that classroom, and the open questions that constituted the primary aim of the lesson were suppressed. In explaining these patterns of enactment, I supplement analysis of teacher knowledge and policy support with consideration of conditions of teacher engagement with the curricular materials and the durability of interactional genres, rooted in pupil collusion and habitus.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The authors describes efforts to devise and test one such model, the theory of successful intelligence, which is a theory of cognitive and other skills that apply across subject-matter areas, such as reading or mathematics.
Abstract: Two approaches to the application of psychological theories to education might be referred to as domain-general and domain-specific. The domain-general approach seeks a general theory of cognitive and other skills that apply across subject-matter areas. The domain-specific approach seeks to apply specific theories within given domains, such as reading or mathematics. The latter approach is more widely used. But it fails to provide a unified model of learning and instruction. One of the greatest challenges facing modern research in learning and instruction is devising and then empirically testing domain-general theories. This article describes efforts to devise and test one such model, the theory of successful intelligence.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This article investigated whether there was evidence of critically reflective problem solving on the part of prospective teachers who participated in a peer-led online discussion of a teaching case about English-language learners.
Abstract: In this self-study of a secondary teacher education course, the authors investigated whether there was evidence of critically reflective problem solving on the part of prospective teachers who participated in a peer-led online discussion of a teaching case about English-language learners. They also examined what approaches to multicultural education the peer-led dialogues suggested. Using the tools of discourse analysis to analyze the dialogue, they found some evidence of reflective problem solving. However, few students engaged in critical reflection, which entails examining the sociopolitical consequences of solutions and promoting social change through community action projects. Furthermore, many responses reflected deficit theories, stereotypical thinking, and technical-rational problem solving. Interwoven with the analysis of the students’ discussion is a self-study dialogue reflecting on the instructor’s curriculum and pedagogy. The self-study addresses what the authors have learned about how teache...

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The authors analyzes three decades of educational reform strategies pertaining to ethnocultural diversity in the United States and Canada and how they affect the efforts of four secondary schools, two in each context, to respond to increasing student diversity.
Abstract: This article analyzes three decades of educational reform strategies pertaining to ethnocultural diversity in the United States and Canada and how they affect the efforts of four secondary schools, two in each context, to respond to increasing student diversity. Data include 186 teacher interviews drawn from a large ethnographic study. The article describes the current effects of increasing standardization on racially diverse schools and concludes with recommendations for policy reform that embrace poststandardization.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This article used Critical Discourse Analysis to examine how the Parent Education Profile (PEP) constructs the ideal parent, the text's underlying assumptions about parenting and education, and its ideological effects, showing that the PEP lends support to several dominant discourses regarding poor and minority families, such as the discourse of parent involvement and the mothering discourse, which encourages mothers' supplementary educational work.
Abstract: The Parent Education Profile (PEP) is an instrument used by family literacy programs to rate parents’ support for children’s literacy development. This article uses Critical Discourse Analysis to examine how the PEP constructs the ideal parent, the text’s underlying assumptions about parenting and education, and its ideological effects. The analysis shows how many features of the PEP evaluate parents according to a middle-class, predominantly White model of parenting and family-school interaction. Furthermore, the PEP tends to assume a universal, normative model of parental support for literacy, parental (mothers’) responsibility for educational outcomes, equal access to resources required to meet the PEP standards, and a limited parental role in assessment. In so doing, the PEP lends support to several dominant discourses regarding poor and minority families, such as the discourse of parent involvement and the “mothering discourse,” which encourages mothers’ supplementary educational work. Implications f...

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the effect of one year's schooling for 15-year-olds in England on reading performance, reading engagement, and reading activities was analyzed using regression discontinuity approach within a multilevel framework.
Abstract: This article reports the findings of an analysis into the effect of one year’s schooling for 15-year-olds in England on reading performance, reading engagement, and reading activities. The analyses were done on PISA 2000 data by applying a regression discontinuity approach within a multilevel framework. The effect of schooling is estimated as the difference between students from two consecutive grades minus the effect of age. A remarkably modest effect on reading performance was found, and no significant effects were found for the other two measures. The effect on reading performance was found to be somewhat stronger in schools with disadvantaged student populations.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the conceptual framework of improved school finance is presented and the implications of this approach are explored with the National Educational Longitudinal Survey of the Class of 1988 (NELS88), data rich enough to measure many school resources and many outcomes.
Abstract: This article first presents the conceptual framework of the “improved” school finance. This approach clarifies that effective school resources include compound resources, complex resources, and abstract resources in addition to the simple resources usually included in production functions. The implications of this approach are then explored with the National Educational Longitudinal Survey of the Class of 1988 (NELS88), data rich enough to measure many school resources and many outcomes. The results indicate that simple resources are much less powerful than compound, complex, and abstract resources. Many effective resources are unaffected by spending levels and must be constructed within schools, explaining why money often does not make a difference to outcomes. The results also indicate that, while a few powerful resources affect all outcomes, some affect test scores but not progress through high school, while others affect progress but not learning.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The authors explored the relationship between oral narratives and discussion in middle school literature study and found that teachers and students used various kinds of oral narratives genres to prime, sustain, ratify, and amplify discussion.
Abstract: Five questions guided a case study exploring the relationship between oral narrative and discussion in middle school literature study: (a) Relative to similar classrooms in a large-scale study, how can overall literature instruction be characterized? (b) Relative to similar classrooms in a large-scale study, how well do students achieve in the focal classroom? (c) What, if any, are the links between oral narrative and discussion? (d) If discussion and narrative co-occur, what sorts of oral narratives do narrators tell in discussions? and (e) If discussion and narrative co-occur, how can we characterize the overlap in terms of interaction? In the frequent conversational narrative discussions, where oral narrative and discussion discourse overlapped, teacher and students used various kinds of oral narrative genres to prime, sustain, ratify, and amplify discussion.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This paper investigated the decision-making processes of 12 high-achieving rural Mexican immigrant high school students and found that students do not follow a conventional path to college, a path that often conflicts with their own cultural values.
Abstract: The purpose of this case study is to investigate the decision-making processes of 12 high-achieving rural Mexican immigrant high school students. Ethnographic data are collected over 18 months, and the investigation is guided by structuration theory. The strength of using structuration theory is that it opens up the possibility for exploring how students form decisions while taking into consideration how the students’ social and cultural contexts influence their choices. The study shows that students do not follow a conventional path to college, a path that often conflicts with their own cultural values. Implications for this study indicate that educational institutions must learn more about the culture and worldviews of Mexican immigrants to create more effective paths to higher education.