Finding La Raza in the Suburbs: Race, Place, and Schooling in a Latino-majority Suburb

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dc.contributor.advisorLopez Turley, Ruthen_US
dc.contributor.advisorRhodes, Annaen_US
dc.creatorSzabo, Julia Colleen Campbellen_US
dc.date.accessioned2024-08-30T16:34:42Zen_US
dc.date.created2024-08en_US
dc.date.issued2024-07-16en_US
dc.date.submittedAugust 2024en_US
dc.date.updated2024-08-30T16:34:42Zen_US
dc.descriptionEMBARGO NOTE: This item is embargoed until 2030-08-01en_US
dc.description.abstractAs American suburbs become increasingly diverse, a growing share of Latino families call them home. In 2020, 61% of Latinos living in major metropolitan areas lived in the suburbs, including ethnic suburbs or ethnoburbs that are majority Latino. Latino-majority suburbs upend assumptions about race, class, and nativity in suburbia, offering a strategic case to explore the residential selection and suburban schooling experiences of families in this new iteration of a contemporary suburb. This dissertation examines these dynamics in a Latino-majority suburb and school district in Houston, Texas, which I call Arroyo. Drawing on in-depth interviews with 70 parents and 40 educators in district middle schools, I examine why families and educators came to live and teach in Arroyo and their schooling experiences and schooling decisions once there. I find that family, co-ethnicity, and schools were important factors drawing families to Arroyo but that the bundle of factors and perceived benefits of co-ethnicity varied by immigrant generation and race. Additionally, I demonstrate that educators’ narratives of district choice and narratives of Latino students and families varied by educator race, as Latino and white educators drew on distinct lived experiences in Arroyo and closeness to the Latino community. These varied narratives were consequential because they informed educators’ classroom and family engagement practices, leading some to adopt practices that affirm and include Latino families, and others, practices that blame and exclude them. Finally, I illustrate that school dissatisfaction led some families to exit the school district, given unresolved challenges related to bullying, safety, and academics in district middle schools. However, mobility was a poor proxy for dissatisfaction in the sample broadly, as some dissatisfied families chose to stay despite facing similar challenges, and other satisfied families left the district in response to new opportunities and constraints. This research contributes to our understanding of the residential selection and schooling experiences within Latino-majority suburbs, pointing to their perceived protective promise for Latino families and the challenge of living up to this promise in racially changed suburban schools.en_US
dc.embargo.lift2030-08-01en_US
dc.embargo.terms2030-08-01en_US
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdfen_US
dc.identifier.citationSzabo, Julia Colleen Campbell. Finding La Raza in the Suburbs: Race, Place, and Schooling in a Latino-majority Suburb. (2024). PhD diss., Rice University. https://hdl.handle.net/1911/117796en_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/1911/117796en_US
dc.language.isoengen_US
dc.rightsCopyright is held by the author, unless otherwise indicated. Permission to reuse, publish, or reproduce the work beyond the bounds of fair use or other exemptions to copyright law must be obtained from the copyright holder.en_US
dc.subjectLatino/aen_US
dc.subjectUrban/Suburbanen_US
dc.subjectEducationen_US
dc.titleFinding La Raza in the Suburbs: Race, Place, and Schooling in a Latino-majority Suburben_US
dc.typeThesisen_US
dc.type.materialTexten_US
thesis.degree.departmentSociologyen_US
thesis.degree.disciplineSocial Sciencesen_US
thesis.degree.grantorRice Universityen_US
thesis.degree.levelDoctoralen_US
thesis.degree.nameDoctor of Philosophyen_US
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