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U.S. Mexican adolescent cultural values and prosocial tendencies

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U.S. Mexican adolescent cultural values and prosocial tendencies

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U.S. Mexican Adolescent Cultural Values and Prosocial Tendencies

Thea Fabián

Rossier School of Education
University of Southern California
A dissertation submitted to the faculty
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of
Doctor of Education

August 2023

© Copyright by Thea Fabián 2023
All Rights Reserved

The Committee for Thea Fabián certifies the approval of this Dissertation.

Gustavo Carlo
Pamela Spycher
Don Trahan
Marsha Boveja Riggio, Committee Chair

Rossier School of Education
University of Southern California

2023

iv
Abstract
Cultural issues in schooling are regarded as significantly impacting the academic
achievement of historically marginalized students. Cultural proficiency work in schools has
rightly focused on the need to work through a continuum of learning about self and others.
However, the needed work to integrate diverse cultural values into schooling contexts remains at
the conceptual level without concrete understandings identifying which cultural values resound
with specific students and family demographics and how these culturally specific values are
correlated or not with prosocial tendencies of minoritized adolescents. This dissertation
addresses a need to increase and integrate knowledge around the cultural values of marginalized
students and families into the professional learning curriculum of teachers and schools. The
purpose of this mixed methods dissertation study was then to understand the degree to which
U.S. Mexican adolescents endorsed traditional U.S. Mexican values and prosocial helping
behaviors, and to ascertain if there was a correlation between those values and prosocial helping
behaviors endorsed by participants. The study provides nuanced understandings around cultural
values, as well as specific school and home situations, that illuminate how U.S. Mexican
adolescents negotiate bicultural adaptation in their relationships with peers, family members, and
in their roles as students in U.S. schools. 199 students at two large urban high schools in Fresno,
California completed a survey on the topic of cultural values and helping behaviors. Eight
students from this group also participated in semi-structured interviews on the same topics. As
hypothesized, participants strongly endorsement the traditional Mexican values of familism and
respect. Participants showed partial endorsement for traditional religious values as well as the
dominant cultural values of competition and personal achievement. Participants showed little to
no endorsement for Mexican traditional gender roles nor material success, that is part of the
v
dominant cultural values in the United States. Positive correlations between the students’
endorsed cultural values and endorsed prosocial tendencies were confirmed. Participants
additionally spoke to cultural values that were not present in the established survey instrument,
through the interview process. The results of this study may provide useful insights to educators
concerning the values of U.S. Mexican adolescents when designing effective learning scenarios,
and engaging in cross-cultural communication with U.S. Mexican adolescent students and
families.
Keywords: U.S. Mexican; Mexican-American; adolescent; cultural; values, assets;
prosocial; tendencies; cultural values; prosocial tendencias

vi
Dedication
To the many educators in dual language immersion and multilingual learner
education throughout the state of California, who leaned on the system and continued the
essential teaching and learning needed for the state’s largest language minority group to be
fully included and respected as human beings in their educational process.
To the members, past and present, of Fresno Unified’s Leading with Learning
project, especially Dr. Maria Maldonado and Dr. Pamela Spycher, for working together to
build teams that would generate more teams and leaders and create a vision of excellence for
Fresno’s minoritized children and adolescents.
To Gibbons, Schleppegrell, Derewianka, Halliday, Rossbridge, and the many
more SFL voices that continue to propagate and unlock the chains of the languages of power,
and the many more who work to move us toward dialogic and democratic methods of
teaching and learning.
To my own children, who belong to the world. I hope that you continue to
discover your great internal resources as people of mixed cultural and linguistic heritage, and
use these gifts to build community, spread love, and contribute to greater social progress,
with integrity and resilience, each time you encounter new and difficult challenges.
This study is mostly for the hundreds of thousands of diverse U.S. Mexican
children and adolescents in California schools, as well as their families, who love them very
much.

vii
Acknowledgements
A sincere appreciation to my dissertation chair, Marsha Riggio, of USC. Thank you for
your kindness and patience in taking me through this dissertation process and allowing me to go
through it the way I likely needed to, to do something meaningful. Thank you to Pamela Spycher
for your expertise on promising practices for multilingual students. Thank you to Don Trahan for
reminding me that I can write all those other papers later, and helping me to focus on the
message at hand. Finally, thank you to Gustavo Carlo for your important research on U.S.
Mexican adolescents that inspired me to take on this topic. What I have learned through your
work has provided me the language to speak to the cultural strengths of the students and families
I serve, and identify actions I can take with others to support the improvement of schooling for
them.

viii
Table of Contents
Abstract iv
Dedication vi
Acknowledgements vii
List of Tables xi
List of Figures xii
Chapter 1: Introduction 1
Background of the Problem 3
Statement of the Problem 5
Purpose of the Study 10
Significance of the Study 11
Assumptions 14
Limitations and Delimitations 15
Definition of Terms 18
Positionality 19
Conclusion 22
Organization of the Study 23
Chapter 2: Review of the Literature 24
Search Description 24
Theoretical Framework 25
Review of Research 27
Chapter 3: Methodology 55
Research Design 55
ix
Research Questions and Hypotheses 56
Variables 57
Setting 58
Participants 58
Instrumentation 64
Reliability and Validity of the Prosocial Tendencies Measure-Revised (PTM-R). 70
Reliability and Validity Studies of the U.S. Mexican Cultural Values Survey
(MACVS). 73
Data Collection 76
Data Analysis 81
Purposeful Quantitative and Qualitative Data Mixing 85
Reliability 86
Validity 87
Credibility 87
Transferability 88
Conclusion 88
Chapter 4: Research Findings 89
Demographic Data 89
Findings: Survey Instruments 92
Findings: Thematic Analysis of Semi-Structured Interviews 100
Chapter 5: Discussion 113
Summary of Findings 113
Conclusions 115
x
Discussion 117
Suggestions for Future Research 123
Conclusion 126
References 129
Appendix A: Survey Instruments 138
Demographic Survey 138
Prosocial Tendencies Measure-Revised 140
The Mexican American Cultural Values Scales 141
Spanish Version MACVS 144
MACVS Subscales and Aligned Questions 146
Appendix B: Semi-Structured Interview Protocol 147
Appendix C: Recruitment Documents 151
Appendix D: Consent Documents 154
Appendix E: IRB 158

xi
List of Tables
Table 1 Research Questions 11
Table 2 Definitions of Terms 19
Table 3 Research Questions and Hypotheses 56
Table 4 Variables 57
Table 5 School Demographics 61
Table 6 Study Instrumentation and Connection to RQs 65
Table 7 Procedures for Surveys 76
Table 8 Procedures for Semi-Structured Interviews 78
Table 9 Quantitative and Qualitative Data Collection 81
Table 10 Demographic Survey Responses 89
Table 11
Descriptive Statistics: MACVS Subscales, Mean and Standard
Deviation Scores 93
Table 12
Descriptive Statistics: PTM-R Subscales, Mean and Standard
Deviation Scores 95
Table 13 Correlation Coefficient between MACVS and PTMR subscales 98
Table 14
Strength and Statistical Significance of Correlation MACVS and
PTM-R Scales 99
Table 15 Examples of Familism, Gender Roles, Humility 101
Table 16 Dimensions of Personalismo 102
Table 17 Cultural Motivations in Interactions with Teachers 103
Table 18 Dimensions of Respect for Parents 105
Table 19 Dimensions of Helping Behaviors and Identified Recipients of Help 107
Table 20 Effective Help from Teachers 109
Table 21 Cultural Dimensions of Relationships and Interactions 111

xii
List of Figures
Figure 1 Informational and Recruitment Letter to Families 151
Figure 2 Student Recruitment Flyer 152
Figure 3 Scripted Phone Call to Parents, English 153
Figure 4 Scripted Phone Call to Parents, Spanish 153
Figure 5 Assent Disclosure Screenshot, Survey 154
Figure 6 Consent, Semi-Structured Interviews 155
Figure 7 IRB Approval, Fresno Unified School District 159
Figure 8 IRB Approval Letter, USC 159

1
Chapter 1: Introduction
The current educational policy context in California suggests a level of advocacy for
sustaining the U.S. Mexican child and adolescent’s cultural and linguistic values and associated
prosocial tendencies. In the last decade, professional learning in California around the concept of
cultural proficiency has created a growing awareness of the relevance of cultural matters to the
academic success of California’s diverse students. Indeed, educators have grown in their comfort
around the terminology surrounding cultural proficiency and the suggested continuum of
proficiency each educator may look to in order to build further proficiency. In my own
experience as an educator, I found that though I had read many books on the topic along with my
work and education-school colleagues, we had been conceptualizing our own progress in this
cultural proficiency continuum without ever discussing the cultures of the students and families
we serve, or indeed just discussing the matter with them.
We had also acquired direction from research and policy about taking an “asset-based”
orientation to students and families, and very specifically their cultures and languages. Being a
multilingual person, the language assets appeared obvious to me, and I had some access to the
broadness and flexibility of worldview one develops as a multilingual person. I thought that
being asset-oriented toward home cultures also seemed logical, but I could not explicitly name
the cultural assets of our district’s major demographic populations beyond surface culture. And if
I am being honest, I had not yet acknowledged that my own approaches to raising children and
interacting with students and families actually were culturally determined. I just thought of them
as “best practices”.
Oddly enough, I found that even though cultural proficiency work expects, and even
invites, the conflict that will likely arise when openly discussing the underlying and invisible

2
cultural norms permeating educational institutions, I realized that every discussion in which I
participated addressed culture as merely a theoretical concept, rather than identifiable beliefs,
perspectives, and behaviors.
We all wholeheartedly agreed that honoring culture was important! But we were unable
to recognize our own cultural values as educators that we brought to every aspect of our work.
We had even developed language that would support us in avoiding acknowledging possible
difference, such as “we have more in common than different,” and implying that ideas such as
“respect” and “appropriate school behavior” are generalizable across diverse ethnicities, families,
and individuals. Really, we were practicing dominant institutionalized values derived from
White middle-class culture, and possibly—unintentionally and unconsciously—assuming that
these were values shared by our students and families.
It seemed to me that not being able to name what was happening, also allowed us to cite
differences in perspectives as ‘opinions’ or personality differences and look away from the
historical narrative of cultural dominance, exclusion, and assimilationist expectations for our
student and family populations. For us educators, there was missing information; information
that would help us to explicitly identify and name our own personal, group, and societal values,
and compare these with the values of others. It was missing information that was urgently needed
in conversations between educators, in their planning for schools and classrooms; planning that
seemed to proceed regardless of the worldviews and perspectives of the people these plans were
to serve.
I found that this learning for me was to be found in the work of research psychologists
focusing on specific ethnic value systems and parental inductions, and in the historical and
political narratives that have shaped California’s school-age populations. I decided that I could

3
begin with U.S. Mexican culture. In becoming culturally proficient, being able to see,
acknowledge, accommodate, and embrace differences among students and families becomes
critical. Being able to do this in an asset-orientated manner also meant that I would need to learn
about the contemporary values of our U.S. Mexican student population and their families.
Background of the Problem
Terms such as Hispanic or Latino aim to describe all peoples of Latin American heritage
as a coherent group, associated through their common historical circumstance. In educational
settings, the terms become nondescript, and perhaps even a barrier to discussing what is
culturally relevant, culturally affirming, and most recently, culturally revitalizing and sustaining
(CDE, 2022; Ferlazzo, 2017; Hollie, 2017; Ladson-Billings, 2014; McCarty & Lee, 2014; Paris
& Alim, 2017). These labels group together diverse populations, many of whom share neither
ethnic identity nor language, dialect, nor in-common daily practices. In California, the dominant
school-age population who are referred to by these labels are, in fact, U.S. Mexican children and
adolescents.
1
Even this label is quite diverse itself, accounting for a broad range of Indigenous,
European, and African cultural and linguistic heritages, diverse class and political histories,
religions, and accounting for first generation born in the U.S. to people whose families remained
in California following the state’s annexation to the United States from Mexico in the Treaty of
Guadalupe Hidalgo following the Mexican-American War.
Even though Mexican peoples have a long history in California, the state’s educational
interest in affirming the cultural identities, and seeking the full inclusion of U.S. Mexican

1
U.S. Mexican is used in this dissertation to describe all peoples of Mexican heritage that are
currently within the boundaries of the United States long term or seasonally, whether as residents,
citizens, undocumented peoples, migrant farmworkers, or other. The term also captures a range of genetic
diversity, primarily Indigenous, varied European (including Spanish), and African, as well as diverse
linguistic heritage.

4
children and adolescents is relatively recent—within the last decade in official state educational
policy (Ed.G.E. Education for A Global Economy Initiative, 2018; CDE, 2014; CDE, 2021;
CDE, 2022; CDE, 2014; CDE, 2022). This interest of educators is built upon an overt reckoning
with the chronicle of cultural, linguistic, economic, and political disenfranchisement of a
majority subset of Mexican peoples both in the U.S. and in Mexico. The long record of
disenfranchisement stretches at least through colonization processes dating from the 1500s in
Mexico. The story of U.S. Mexican education begins in the late 1800s with explicit, racially
motivated exclusionary policies toward students identified as Mexican Indians. These policies
evolved into isolationist, then segregationist, and finally assimilationist, or otherwise culturally
and linguistically incongruent cultures of schooling available to most U.S. Mexican students.
The importance of the historical record to this dissertation is to situate this
disenfranchisement as a continuing process of institutionalized cultural domination that is
integrated into all aspects of U.S. schooling, but one that is invisible, for lack of increased
knowledge building and conversations around the cultural values upon which U.S. educational
institutions are built. The culture dictates concepts and language taken for granted such as
classroom management, what is considered “emotionally intelligent,” and with its underlying
assumptions in terms such as “growth mindset.” Additionally, it dictates how schools work as
bureaucracies, with parents who share an understanding of this functioning and the underlying
cultural rules and assumptions, situated with high degrees of political power in comparison to
parents for whom these underlying rules and assumptions are invisible, and disempowering. The
culture of schooling then creates the impregnable layer of integrated oppressive forces that work
to tire and exhaust those marginalized in the system. The thought is that by naming the values of
distinct, evolving, and intersectional peoples, and positing these in contrast to the dominant

5
culture of schooling, we can employ emergent practices that benefit the children, adolescents,
families, and communities to whom schools belong.
Statement of the Problem
There is one central problem pertaining to this dissertation. There is a lack of widely
understood knowledge in the educational community around the contemporary cultural values
and related cultural assets of U.S. Mexican adolescents that could be leveraged to support the
creation of improved, culturally sustaining schooling for these students, as well as informing
interactions and partnering with their families. The apparent incongruence between the cultural
values of U.S. schooling and the cultural values of U.S. Mexican adolescents creates numerous
detrimental repercussions for students, families, and communities. In this section, I have
elaborated on one of these consequences, which is the reduced opportunity for advanced
educational attainment, and, as a negative externality, the reduced social mobility of U.S.
Mexican individuals, families, and communities.
The incongruence between U.S. Mexican adolescents and the culture of U.S. schooling
is not exclusive to interactions between these students and White educators, though the increased
diversity of school faculty is one important lever for dismantling systemic racism in schools
through providing accessible models of professionals from BIPOC backgrounds and, at times,
providing adults on campus who may share cultural or linguistic backgrounds with students with
whom they work closely, thereby supporting the development of positive ethnic identity. The
issue of adult-constructed and controlled spaces that operate dominantly, or exclusively, inWhite
cultural norms pertains to all educators who, either consciously or unconsciously, endorse White
middle-class cultural values, to the exclusion, or without regard for, the broader set of cultural
values deriving from U.S. Mexican students’ home cultures and personal ethnic identities. This

6
incongruence, for students and families who, in many areas of California, may already be
socioeconomically marginalized, contributes to a restricting of opportunities to build
understanding between U.S. Mexican families and schools, what we contemporarily would
consider a culturally sustaining approach endorsed by California’s state educational policy
(CDE, 2022; Paris & Alim, 2017). Authentic and nonpaternalistic partnership, power sharing,
and decision making between students, families, schools, and districts is essential to this
approach.
This lack of coming together and making ample space for the identification of cultural
difference in worldview, has created barriers for students and families in learning about the
dominant culture, its preferred levers of power in how one negotiates structures to accomplish
personal and group goals, and the language best utilized to achieve these outcomes. This is all
apart from more explicit forms of racialized and intersectional prejudice, discrimination, and
exclusion students and families encounter through educational systems. Explicit knowledge
around the dominant culture is needed by students and families to negotiate the bureaucracy of
schools and understand the perspectives of educators with worldviews far different than their
own. This is to allow students and families to engage with schools with equitable cultural power
resources. Furthermore, knowledge of the culture and language of power is needed for
advancement within U.S. society and is the foundation for people’s capacity to effectively speak
to, and advocate for, alternate approaches.
For adolescents specifically, the lack of integration of their own cultural values into
schooling has contributed to reduced access to culturally sustaining academic instruction and
counseling support, a reduced sense of belonging within schools, loss of motivation, and many
times a clear divide between what they regard as their school and home identities, and reduced

7
shared understanding between them and their parents with regards to their progress in school and
their plans for future education. Ultimately, this has contributed to the persistent academic failure
of California and U.S. schools in advancing U.S. Mexican students as a demographic.
Wavering on the continuum between cultural incapacity and blindness, this pattern has
reinforced racialized narratives of Mexican exceptionalism for those students perceived as
deserving in their grit and willingness to work hard, and has provided confirmation for ingrained
bias against the majority of U.S. Mexican students regarded as unmotivated, entitled, not suited
for intellectual learning, and either not interested or not engaged in the project of schooling.
2

The cultural disconnect reinforces the unremitting imposed outsider status of U.S. Mexican
students and families, regardless of generation, that is also reflected in political ideologies in
U.S. society more broadly. On a generational scale, the academic failure of schools contributes to
a lack of social mobility in U.S. Mexican communities, and to stagnation in a range of social
progress indicators.
U.S. Mexican families in California make up the majority of all families noted as
Latino/Hispanic on state and national surveys. Latino/Hispanic families are currently ranked as
the most socioeconomically disadvantaged group in California (PPIC, 2022; Public Policy
Institute of California, 2002). The cause of entrenched poverty in U.S. Mexican families and
communities involves diverse contributing factors such as immigration status, and lower levels
of education. Undocumented immigrants experience one of the highest poverty rates at 25%,

2
I italicized terms here that are racially coded language used for historically marginalized students, not
only in schools but in the educationally oriented literature marketed to schools and educators. This coded language
can also be considered as part of the broader spectrum of microaggressions directed toward minoritized children and
adolescents. The use of this language puts aside the need to discuss cultural differences and perspectives in that the
terms correlate educational outcomes with privatized behaviors that are regarded as active choices made by children
and adolescents of color. As a mechanism for the maintenance of cultural and ethnic hierarchies in educational
systems, this discourse works to absolve institutions for the academic and social emotional outcomes in their student
populations.

8
while documented immigrants experience a 16% poverty rate and U.S. born people experience a
10% poverty rate, overall (PPIC, 2022).
Because a great majority of U.S. Mexican students reside in urban areas that experienced
historical redlining and are racially and economically segregated, these adolescents are typically
concentrated in high poverty schools. Many schools have not applied adequately impactful
culturally specific strategies to address U.S. Mexican students’ needs, and this has contributed to
a significant and persistent academic achievement difference between U.S. Mexican students and
their White and Asian peers across all tested grades. Through 2021-2022 CAASPP testing, 36%
of Latino students met or exceeded the ELA standards, while 22.4% met or exceeded the
mathematics standards for all grades (CDE CAASPP, 2023). This is in comparison to a 66.2%
met or exceeded rate for White students in ELA and a 48.18% met or exceeded rate for White
students in mathematics, both for all grades (CDE CAASPP, 2023). Asian students had a rate of
75.27% and 68.46% for ELA and Mathematics, respectively, for all grades (CDE CAASPP,
2023). Assessments of California’s 11th grade students demonstrate that Latino students are
graduating high school with much lower assessed levels of both literacy and mathematics than
both White and Asian students. Again, the rates for AA/Black students are even lower (CDE
CAASPP, 2023). Though college-going rates are improving, not being prepared with the
necessary skills to succeed puts U.S. Mexican students in danger of failure.
From the 2020-2021, 80.5% percent of Latino and 67.1% of English Learner students
graduated from high school within four years, compared to 88.2% percent of White students and
94.1% percent of Asian students (CDE, 2023). Apart from academic achievement, U.S. Mexican
students are more likely to face school discipline on a range of issues from classroom behavioral
issues to more serious offenses than both White and Asian students, though their suspension

9
rates and disproportionalities are lower than those of African American students. While Latino
students make up 55.8% of total school enrollment in California, they made up 58.9% of total
suspensions (Dataquest, 2023).
Lower levels of advanced education are widely understood to be the dominant factor for
the lack of social mobility in U.S. Mexican families and communities (Public Policy Institute of
California, 2002). U.S. Mexican students are more highly concentrated in high-poverty schools
than any other student ethnic demographic, partly since they are often the dominant population in
these schools or the only demographic in many cases. Although college going rates for Latino
students in California have increased, with about 72% of the community college population
being Latino, only 2% of students transfer after two years, 16% after four years, and 32% after
six years (Marquez Rosales, 2021). For low income first and second-generation U.S. Mexican
students, accessing social mobility depends on first getting into college, and second, staying and
completing the degree, a feat that is shown to require much higher levels of support from U.S.
colleges and federal and state support agencies than they are currently set up to provide (Kelly,
2014).
Education continues to be correlated to poverty rates. For example, 6.2% of college
graduates aged 25–64 and 19.5% of adults aged 25–64 without a high school diploma live in
poverty (PPIC, 2022). In contrast, higher levels of college education result in higher pay (Kelly,
2014). On a national scale, U.S. Latinos and African Americans have lower median earnings
than both Whites and second-generation Asian Americans (Joo & Reeves, 2015). Although new
immigrants tend toward more rapid attainment of advanced degrees and better paying
professional work, the Latino population is highly heterogeneous, arriving with vastly different
levels of education, skills, and economic resources (Joo & Reeves, 2015). For example, in the

10
last decade there has been a sharp rise in the educational levels of Latino immigrants but there is
wide variation by origin country. So, while immigrants from South American countries, such as
Argentina and Venezuela, entering with a prior bachelor’s degree have risen to 64 and 65%
respectively, that number is only 17% for Mexican immigrants (Noe-Bustamante, 2020).
3

Many of California’s Central Valley immigrants from Mexico in the last two decades
have been indigenous peoples from communities who prior to 2008, had not had any contact
with the United States (IFS, 2023). Many of these peoples spoke differing levels of Spanish
fluency as an additional language to their indigenous mother tongues, and came from primarily
agricultural communities. Importantly, most Mexican immigrants to the United States in the last
several decades have come due to economic push factors and have sought access to higher levels
of education and access to the professions inaccessible to them in Mexico due to persistent,
historical racial and rural/urban inequities there.
Purpose of the Study
One intention of this research was to identify the culturally specific values of U.S.
Mexican students, specifically high school students aged 13-17, in California’s Central Valley.
An additional intention of this research was to understand any correlations between the identified
values and the students’ self-endorsed prosocial tendencies. Anchoring in student voice and
perspective, this study purposefully focused on U.S. Mexican students' thoughts and feelings
around their own ethnic identities. This means, for example, the ways in which students are
obliged or desire to negotiate the expectations of home and school, and their interpretations of
teacher behaviors as well as classroom and school experiences.

3
Mexico accounted for 37% of recently arrived Latino immigrants ages 25 and older in 2018, down from
54% in Joo, Nathan and Richard V. Reeves. (2015). How upwardly mobile are hispanic children? depends how you
look at it. Retrieved from https://www.brookings.edu/blog/social-mobility-memos/2015/11/10/how-upwardly-
mobile-are-hispanic-children-depends-how-you-look-at-it/

11
This mixed methods study included two research questions. Both questions are included
in Table 1 below. The first question is definitional and seeks to understand the extent to which
contemporary U.S. Mexican adolescents endorse what has been previously identified as
traditional U.S. Mexican values. The second research question asked if there was a relationship
between the identified cultural values and prosocial tendencies (helping behaviors) and adjoining
prosocial reasoning. What I wanted to understand is if, as previous studies have shown, is there a
cultural component to or influence upon U.S. Mexican students’ possible disposition toward
helping in a range of situations. This would potentially support educators in considering
behaviors that support learning in classrooms that are culturally grounded, and how to promote
and sustain these behaviors.
Table 1
Research Questions
Research Question 1:
What are the culturally specific values of U.S. Mexican
adolescents?
Research Question 2: Is there a relationship between U.S. Mexican cultural values
endorsed by U.S. Mexican adolescents and prosocial
tendencies and prosocial reasoning?

Significance of the Study
For the first time, there is widespread recognition and policy guidance in California of the
need to authentically collaborate with students and families to create cultural and linguistic

12
congruency in schooling practices (CDE, 2014). This comes with a necessary recognition of our
historical journey in U.S. education beginning with the exclusion of Indigenous (including
Mexican Indian), Black, and Chinese students and families, to later segregation, and finally to
our current circumstance of assimilation. Beyond building community strength and collective
resilience, actions in this direction of fully inclusive schooling should accelerate educational
outcomes for historically marginalized children and adolescents. Given this, it becomes essential
to probe the uniquely U.S. Mexican experiences and perspectives.
To my knowledge, studies of this nature, which hope to arrive at specific conclusions
regarding culture and practices, derive primarily from psychologists and anthropologists. Schools
of education have typically engaged heavily with theoretical research psychology connected to
how individuals learn, such as sociocognitive and sociocultural theories. Additionally, there is a
general category of literature around cultural proficiency and cultural responsiveness, wherein
educators are guided to develop inclusive mindsets and behaviors, and to create ample space for
students to express their unique cultural orientations as they understand them. The research base
in this area has evolved to an understanding that, for students to become as successful
academically as possible, they will need to have not only permission, but advocacy for utilizing
their cultural strengths (Lindsey, Robins, & Terrell, 2003). This means acknowledging and
understanding the cultural and linguistic differences between people, and responding effectively
based on this knowledge, with affirming person-centered care (Lindsey et al., 2003). Cultural-
proficiency professional development, including books, individualized and PLC coaching, leads
participants to look inward to discover subtle biases and behaviors that can potentially create a
classroom or school environment that is uninviting to already marginalized students. The
continuum of cultural proficiency supports educators in assessing their own statements, thoughts,

13
and actions that may be culturally destructive, culturally incapacitated, culturally blind, culturally
precompetent, culturally competent, and finally, culturally proficient, and to support educators in
their own personal growth (Lindsey et al., 2003).
However, educators have generally been offered very surface knowledge around the
home cultures of their students, and so it is not surprising that when some teachers want to create
cultural inclusion, they may define this as including study around significant people that match
their students’ ethnicities, celebrating and holding assemblies around culturally representative
holidays, and sharing ethnically based foods. In short, practicing culture for schools can be
limited to engaging in cultural activities to honor the presence of ethnically diverse populations
in our schools. Although these practices can be very helpful, and likely increase a sense of
belonging for students, they lie in the surface layers of cultural understanding, and hold little
potential to impact student achievement on their own.
Developing culturally sustaining environments involves promoting dialogue around the
deep cultural values of the communities we serve, namely the perspectives and worldviews of
our families in a range of areas, as well as the ways in which our parents prepare their children
for the world. As an educational community, we engage in very little research-informed dialogue
regarding these cultural orientations and mindsets. Moreover, as we lack deep understanding of
others’ values, we lack the necessary comparative context through which to understand our own
cultural orientations and behaviors. Because deeper levels of culture pervade all daily
interactions, we should understand that if there's a difference in culture, and a lack of cultural
understanding at the deeper levels between educators and the students and families they serve,
misunderstanding, tensions, and conflicts are more likely, and this incongruence is at the
foundation of chronic underachievement.

14
For schools that dedicate significant time and energy to increasing student achievement
through strategic plans that center fully or mostly around technical approaches to instruction,
without anchoring in cultural knowledge, this study offers a fundamentally different lens and
positioning toward where the impetus and foundations for initiatives should lay. Instead of
reiterating a necessary focus on standards-based learning, this study acknowledges much deeper
issues that infiltrate all areas of schooling. This study was focused on identifying the values and
prosocial behaviors of U.S. Mexican adolescents to inform dialogue around critical structures
and processes within schools. Cultural knowledge derived from our students and families will
drive the effective reworking of organizational systems. This requires not only a reimagining of
educational cultures and significant learning for everyone, but it implies a critical dialogue
around the dominant Anglo cultural norms and assumptions that pervade organizational culture,
and that are transmitted through ways of interacting with others and structuring contexts for
teaching and learning. It implies an embrace of a radically inclusive and additive orientation
toward the culture of teaching and learning, and the culture of schooling.
Assumptions
This empirical study was conducted in two public high schools in the Fresno Unified
School District in California’s Central Valley. Many studies have been conducted using the same
cultural values and prosocial tendencies measures utilized in this study, but in different locations
and time frames. This study will then contribute to the literature in this area as it reiterates
research questions that have been asked prior. However, this study cannot on its own be
extrapolated to infer implications for other populations, and in distinct geographical regions.
This study made the assumption that asking participants about their own cultural values
and prosocial tendencies was the most effective way to interpret cultural values. An additional

15
positionality in this is to respect self-identity and both individuals’ and communities’ rights to
define their own cultural values and ethnic identities. Thus, the study relies on participants’
subjective lived experiences and understandings of themselves. The self-reported information,
when compiled, created an amalgamation of experiences and perspectives. I made an assumption
that each participating adolescent experienced a unique intersectional identity and that this
combining of experiences gave voice, but not absolute truth, to the definition of the
contemporary cultural values and prosocial tendencies of U.S. Mexican adolescents. The
information was self-reported, and no additional tools for outside observation were utilized to
understand these cultural values.
Limitations and Delimitations
Because the specific ethnic population under study was known through the literature to
endorse both familism and communalism, I wondered if measuring individual experience and
perception on its own would yield the greatest understanding. Some of the literature points to
familism impacts at the neighborhood level that mitigate parental inductions of moral behavior
and academic motivation. The current study, focused on individual participants from diverse
neighborhood contexts, did not incorporate a lens to grapple with this and that was an important
limitation.
Moreover, through the literature, it was understood that US Mexican adolescents rely
heavily on peer relationships to define and develop their sense of self. They are often most open
with peers of similar ethnic backgrounds and/or whose life experiences are implicitly
understood. This study did not integrate peer influence as a research question. The importance of
peers, however, emerged as an important factor in the semi-structured interview process. The
exclusion of a rich consideration of the role of peers to U.S. Mexican adolescent identity

16
development within schools, then serves as an important limitation in this study, most likely
impacting notions regarding forces impacting bicultural adaptation and the salience of specific
traditional Mexican values.
Although this study did not engage parents or the family unit and did not look at cultural
values at the neighborhood level, a group setting was used for the semi-structured interviews to
address the collective nature of cultural values for U.S. Mexican populations. Again, the study
only involved adolescents as opposed to families and neighborhoods. However, the group setting
allowed for participants to build upon each other's ideas and served as a delimitation. One
participant’s commentary often reminded other participants of experiences they could connect
with and prompted them to share their stories. Additionally, participants acted as encouragement
of their peers in terms of reflecting the researcher’s questions to peers who had not yet
contributed and acknowledging each other’s similar and different experiences. In this way, I felt
that the group setting was appropriately selected to yield the important peer-based context and
interactions that are critical to the topics of values salience and ethnic identity consolidation in
late adolescence.
An additional limitation of this study was that the semi-structured interviews engaged
self-identified cisgender females to self-identified cisgender males at a ratio of three to one (3:1)
and that the surveys engaged self-identified cisgender females to self-identified cisgender males
at a ratio of approximately two to one (2:1). Importantly, the survey questions did not forge
deeply into the area of male gendered experience, and self-identifying cisgender females
contributed most to the topic of gender roles and the specific ways that they are carrying forward
traditional aspects of these roles or recrafting them in unique ways. Because the group setting for
the semi-structured interviews engaged a mixed gender group, I questioned if late adolescent

17
males might have better been able to express their experiences and perspectives in a completely
or predominantly male group setting, and whether LGBTIQQ adolescents would or would not be
able to fully express their thoughts and feelings given the uncertainty they may face regarding
the safety of disclosure in a non-specified safe LGBTIQQ setting. This gender imbalance and
uncertainty around gender and sexual identity created important limitations in the analysis of the
survey results, and in categorizing the themes of the semi-structured interview responses.
Importantly, considering these factors caused me to pause frequently and analyze my own biases
regarding the how I perceived gendered perspectives from U.S. Mexican adolescents.
Regarding the imbalance of cisgender female to cisgender male participation in the study,
it became important in the research findings to point out the imbalance; U.S. Mexican adolescent
cisgender males are not monolithic in their gendered experiences. This was even more important
given the changing nature of male gendered roles more generally in society. In the section on
recommendations for further research, I noted that increased studies on cisgender males would
clarify their perspectives more deeply. Similarly, increased dedicated studies of LGBTIQQ U.S.
Mexican adolescents would yield more focused understandings of their experiences which may
not be fully expressed in studies that group these youth with non-LGBTIQQ U.S. Mexican
adolescents.
Upon completion of this research study, a summary of the study and possible applications
were shared with the Fresno Unified educational community, including educators and
departments in the district as well as families and community members in both English and
Spanish. Although not part of the research itself, this allowed for broader community
involvement and conversations.

18
Definition of Terms
Several terms in this dissertation were used to communicate around the specific
population studied as well as the variables studied, which were cultural values and prosocial
behaviors. Some terms used in this dissertation may be unfamiliar, nuanced, or may be used in a
way that is particular to this study. For this reason, I have included definitions of a select group
of terms. The terms listed below in Table 2 are those that were critical to understanding the
purpose of the study as well as analyzing and communicating around the findings.
Table 2
Definition of Terms
● U.S. Mexican is used throughout this dissertation to note students and families who
have descendancy from Mexico. The term captures the many generations of U.S.
Mexican people, and the many self-identifying terms different people use, all statuses
including citizen, resident, undocumented, along with the multi-ethnic characteristic of
Mexican society, primarily a broad diversity of indigenous heritages.
● Adaptive culture refers to the collective history of the group, reflecting the family’s
cultural, political, and religious traditions and generally rooted in the parents' country
of origin.
● Cultural values are a culture's core beliefs about what's good or right. These are
sometimes called 'cultural value preferences'. They're informed by the cultures people
most associate themselves with. These values are neither positive nor negative. Cultural
values remain relatively stable over time.

19
● Culturally sustaining practices/pedagogies (CSP) allow, invite, and encourage students
to not only use their cultural practices from home in school, but to maintain them. CSP
allows students to exist and thrive not only in the culture of their school, but also in the
culture of their home. CSP inherits all the qualities of culturally appropriate and
culturally responsive practices but adds an important layer of child, youth, and family
self-advocacy and a need for schools to evolve in response to the cultural needs of their
communities.
● Prosocial tendencies or behaviors are actions that are intended to benefit others. For
this dissertation, the prosocial tendencies researched are different types of helping
behaviors.
● Mainstream values refer to the dominant ideas, values, and perspectives accepted by
the majority of U.S. society. These values, including material success, competition,
independence, and personal achievement, are also associated with values of White
middle-class culture. Importantly, people of any ethnic identity may adopt little, some,
or much of mainstream U.S. values through the process of acculturation.

Positionality
My upbringing shaped much of the way I view the world and why this topic is important
to me. I spent my 1980s childhood in Fresno and my 1990s high school years in southern
Oregon. I grew up like most Fresno kids at the time and even now, without many economic
resources. I shared clothes and shoes with siblings, went to school close to home, ate sloppy joe

20
and pizza in the school cafeteria, and played freely outside, most times barefoot, many times
scalding my feet from running competitions in the open street. I went to public school like
everyone else, with culturally, ethnically, and linguistically diverse Fresno kids. My parents were
first-generation college graduates who stepped outside their own family’s traditional gender and
cultural views of who they could be, and tried to do something different, and something creative.
Both of my parents were dedicated to big ideas and my mother still is. My father passed
away in 2011. My dad was an artist and a teacher and my mom, an actress, teacher, liturgical
dancer, and later a minister. Both of my parents dedicated a significant amount of their time and
energy to contributing in their own ways to a vision of a better world. My home was not a utopia.
Many times, I have considered how difficult childhood experiences also provided me with a bit
more understanding of why it is so hard for people living with few resources to take advantage of
the opportunities of which people of more accommodated circumstances believe they should be
able.
In our Fresno community, it is evident to me why many of our families are unable to
negotiate the bureaucracy we have created to access basic and appropriate help and services.
Most of our families do not possess the necessary educational, economic, political, and health
resources you must have to negotiate our educational or other systems. Through my college
experiences, work, and travels in different parts of the world, I came across simple, paternalistic
explanations as to why poor and minoritized people are succeeding neither educationally nor
financially. Some would say that these people are not trying hard enough, not taking advantage
of the opportunities they have, and choosing to be poor or even homeless.
Eventually, this led me to study the White middle-class cultural lens that frames and
contours our society, and U.S. schooling. I noticed the implicit and hidden cultural rules in all

21
spaces. As a child, I had felt these hidden cultural expectations, but I could not name them, and I
did not understand them. I just knew that certain areas of success were not accessible for me
unless I could radically change my economic circumstances, my worldview, and most things my
parents had raised me to believe.
In 2001, the first year I taught school full time, I also began my long-term fascination
with systemic functional linguistics (SFL). SFL connected me with the way my own brain works,
and how it is oriented toward systems. I began to utilize SFL as my new code for unlocking the
dominant culture and context that I did not understand previously. This provided clues as to how
I could use teaching around functional language to empower my students to decode and master
the language of schooling. Since that time, SFL has deeply informed my understanding of
society and schools as constructed spaces. I saw increased and accelerated literacy growth in my
students the more I was up front with them about the rules of the culture and language game we
were playing at school, and how to “do” school. Now I understand something even bigger; that
because schools are constructed spaces, they can be altered to accommodate previously excluded
perspectives, and ways of knowing and communicating.
I am an eternal optimist. Despite so much failure of the educational system toward
minoritized children and youth, I know that we can do things to improve education for students
who cannot assimilate to the cultural requirements of our schooling practices without sacrificing
significant aspects of who they are as people, and their belonging to their families. This includes
diverse children and adolescents of color, queer people, and our neurodivergent learners, among
others. It is not a mistake that even though I have spent a couple of decades mostly working with
students around the language of schooling and mentoring others in that work, I now want to
integrate a fuller understanding of culture into every aspect of my own work.

22
At this moment, I think it is possible that strategic solutions divorced from cultural
considerations cannot improve the problems we face in educating our student populations. We
have never been successful at educating our general population equitably, historically speaking.
We have only been consistently successful with large groups of students whose home cultures
most resembled the cultural expectations and orientations of schools. Recognizing that we
remain in a culturally and linguistically assimilationist era of public education then, allows us to
question and consider how schools can advance from this state and become reflective of our
communities’ values, world views, languages, and ways of knowing.
From my perspective, adolescents are continuously refining their nuanced multicultural
identities, while simultaneously shielding and absconding these identities in spaces where they
are not welcome. Pointedly, adolescence is a crucial developmental time for the formation of
grounded, affirmed, and empowered personal identities. In my view, if adolescents must hide
their deep culture at school and always acquiesce to the preferences of the dominant culture, we
are likely walking in the opposite direction of contributing to healthy and empowered identities.
We are knowingly running from an embrace of their full academic potential.
Conclusion
In sum, this study looked at the self-reported cultural values and prosocial tendencies of
U.S. Mexican adolescents. The two research questions sought to identify the cultural values of
U.S. Mexican adolescents and asked if there was a relationship between these values and
participants’ endorsement of prosocial tendencies and prosocial reasoning. The purpose of this
study was to contribute to the literature in this area, and to inform best practices in schooling for
U.S. Mexican adolescents.

23
Organization of the Study
In chapter 2, the theoretical framework for the study is explained. Underlying
frameworks, including critical race theory, dual cultural adaptation perspective, and an
integrative model of racial stratification and discrimination for children and adolescents are
explained. These frameworks helped to situate the experiences of U.S. Mexican adolescents in
their stage of human development and as part of historically marginalized people in the United
States.
Following this, a literature review is presented in Chapter Two. The literature review
focuses on what is known about U.S. Mexican values and prosocial tendencies through the
record of empirical research in the field. This also includes the research around parental
inductions and expectations for U.S. Mexican adolescents that impact their values development
and salience. These topics provide a background for this dissertation’s inquiry into contemporary
U.S. Mexican adolescents’ endorsement of traditional Mexican values and helping behaviors.
Chapter Three details the methodology for this study. This study used a mixed-methods
approach including quantitative surveys of adolescent students and their parents in addition to
semi structured interviews of students. The surveys helped to ascertain the level of endorsement
of U.S. Mexican values in the population studied, as well as categories of prosocial tendencies
identified to be closely aligned with U.S. Mexican cultural values. The semi-structured
interviews and daily diaries were used to gather qualitative data on the broad questions of this
study. The survey and semi structured interview findings are included in Chapter Four of this
dissertation and are organized by research question. Chapter Five includes a summary of the
findings, followed by a discussion of implications, and avenues for future research.

24
Chapter 2: Review of the Literature
This chapter addresses the initial research into the literature pertaining to U.S. Mexican
adolescents’ cultural values and prosocial assets. First, I present the search process I used to
locate the relevant literature references. Next, I include an explanation of the theoretical
framework I relied on in the research process that speaks to the causes of the problem introduced
in Chapter One, and that supports the need for this research into the values of U.S. Mexican
adolescents. Finally, I present a review of the relevant research literature, introduced and
organized by theme.
Search Description
I searched several databases to obtain current literature on the topics included in the
literature review. These databases and resources included GoogleScholar, ERIC, PsychLit,
EdLit, EBSCOhost, JSTOR, Proquest Multisearch, and the University of Southern California
Library server. The reviews made were directly linked to the cultural values of U.S. Mexican
adolescents, the prosocial tendencies of U.S. Mexican adolescents, as well as information
discussing correlations between U.S. Mexican adolescents’ cultural values and prosocial
tendencies. The inclusion criteria entailed all articles, books, and book chapters/sections: (a)
Published in either the English or Spanish languages or a combination of both; (b) peer
reviewed; (c) available in full text either online or in downloadable PDFs; and (d) published
between 1979 and 2023.
I specifically sought out empirical studies in psychology due to the theme of adolescent
values and the connection with parental inductions. Additionally, this approach supported me in
identifying double blind peer reviews published in psychology journals. The exclusion criteria
entailed studies that were not available in full text. I used the following key words to search for

25
the literature on the topics included in the literature search: U.S.; Mexican; adolescents; youth;
late adolescence; early adolescence; Anglo; U.S. Mexican; Mexican American; Chicano;
mestizo; prosocial behaviors; prosocial tendencies; helping behaviors; empathy; perspective-
taking; PTM-R; IRI; MACVS; ethnic identity; cultural values; parental expectations; parental
inductions; schooling; exclusion; segregation; assimilation; competition; collectivist; familism.
The literature search generated over 100 journal articles, book sections, and theses. I
worked through the process to identify the resources most connected to this dissertation’s
research questions. This included 55 journal articles, theses, and books published since 1979, and
numerous additional sources from the California Department of Education policy documents as
well as state and federal legal and policy websites.
Theoretical Framework
The primary framework and perspectives used in this study included critical race theory
(CRT), dual cultural adaptation perspective, and the integrative model of racial stratification and
discrimination for children and adolescents.
CRT and multiple iterations of this basic concept have offered researchers nw and ample
resources for reframing our understanding of histories and contemporary cultural and political
consequences of these histories. Specifically, CRT aims to amplify the narratives, experiences,
and voices of historically marginalized peoples, past and present, and to center issues of power
imbalance and purposeful marginalization in the conversation. This framework is a natural fit for
any study on cultural values in schooling contexts because of the persistence of White dominant
culture in schooling and the need to perceive experience from the perspectives of non-dominant
peoples and their group histories in these educational contexts.

26
The dual cultural adaptation perspective has been posited by researchers in this specific
area to help understand the internalization of more mainstream cultural values (e.g., material
success and personal achievement values; Knight et al., 2016). U.S. Mexican youth are self-
defining in more flexible and nuanced ways, and outside of a strictly binary Mexican/American
binary, and in how they negotiate, combine, and reject specific cultural values during this critical
period of ethnic identity consolidation. These cultural values are fostered by socialization
experiences both within and outside the family context but to a lesser degree within the family
context relative to ethnically related values. The dual cultural adaptation perspective helps to
understand why U.S. Mexican adolescents may exhibit different prosocial behaviors than those
culturally supported through family interactions and aligned to familism. Mainstream values that
are internalized, such as material success and personal achievement, may also motivate prosocial
behaviors, such as helping behaviors to gain approval or advancement (Carlo et al., 2016). The
dual cultural adaptation perspective, in particular, points to the ways in which U.S. Mexican
adolescents’ experiences contribute to their unique identity formation. This allows us to consider
how U.S. Mexican adolescents’ cultural identities are not static and must be considered in the
context of place and time.
The dual cultural adaptation perspective additionally allows us to understand how
educators in schools may culturally adapt to dominant cultural frames depending on a range of
factors. This is critical to the improvement efforts in schools to address White cultural
supremacy amongst all possible cultural actors, whether they be Anglo/White or people of color.
Finally, I include the integrative model of racial stratification and discrimination for
children and adolescents (Coll et al., 1996). An integrative conceptual model of child
development is anchored within social stratification theory, emphasizing the importance of

27
racism, prejudice, discrimination, oppression, and segregation on the development of minoritized
children and adolescents, and the protective actions of parents and families. Through an
integrative model, parents and other caregivers are viewed as making efforts at providing
potential buffers in a society that often does not value their group (Coll et al., 1996). Families
promote positive social development through adaptive culture, the collective history of the
group, reflecting the family’s cultural, political, and religious traditions, generally rooted in the
parents' country of origin. Migration and acculturation patterns influence the adaptive culture of
the family and its members. Therefore, it is imperative to consider the families’ cultural context
and past experiences as marginalized peoples raising children and adolescents in the United
States, and how this impacts differences in parental inductions received by first and future
generation U.S. Mexican children and adolescents.
The unique intersection of framework and perspectives referenced above provided a
backdrop for considering the cultural values and prosocial tendencies and reasoning of
multigenerational, ethnically and linguistically diverse, U.S. Mexican adolescents.
Review of Research
To reiterate, the two research questions for this study were as follows: What are the
culturally specific values of U.S. Mexican adolescents? Is there a relationship between U.S.
Mexican cultural values endorsed by U.S. Mexican adolescents and prosocial tendencies and
prosocial reasoning?
There were four areas of research for this literature review. The first concerned how
parental inductions and additional factors impact the ethnic identity development of U.S.
Mexican children and adolescents. The second area of research concerned the prosocial
tendencies and reasoning of U.S. Mexican adolescents. The third and final area of review

28
included literature around U.S. Mexican adolescents’ perceptions of their teachers' behaviors and
perceptions of their own needs. The purpose of probing these three areas was to understand the
nature of U.S. Mexican cultural values, prosocial tendencies, and prosocial reasoning, as well as
if, and how, they contrast their own values with those presented by teachers in school.
Many empirical studies that consider the ethic identities of U.S. Mexican adolescents
center on parents’ influence upon ethnic identity and related prosocial tendencies. This body of
research includes dedicated studies on parental expectations, parental support, as well as explicit
or implied lessons from parents known as parental inductions. As noted above, peers are also
known to play a uniquely important role for U.S. Mexican adolescents in their cultural identity
formation. This review of literature brings together studies that highlight the transmission of U.S.
Mexican values through parenting, including a focus on ethnic identity development and
expectations. Research conducted around U.S. Mexican values has made significant progress
with repeated studies utilizing instruments in varied settings and including both cross-
dimensional single point and longitudinal studies (Calderón-Tena et al., 2011a; Carlo, et al.,
2003b; Carlo et al., 2010; Knight & Carlo, 2012; Knight et al., 2015; Knight et al., 2016a).
Ethnic identity is defined as the attitudes, beliefs, and feelings related to a person’s sense
of belonging within their own ethnic group as well as perceptions of other ethnic groups. Ethnic
self-concept includes the cultural self, possible minority self, and self that transcends ethnic
group boundaries. Researchers have demonstrated a specific interest in the ethnic identity of U.S.
Mexican children since the 1990s (Bernal et al., 1990). Ethnic identity is an important
consideration as it can influence the psychological, social, and academic outcomes of adolescents
(Hashtpari et al., 2021). Research shows a positive link between positive ethnic identity, self-
efficacy, and academic achievement including positive social skills and fewer behavioral issues.

29
In many important ways, the research on the prosocial tendencies and reasoning of U.S.
Mexican adolescents built upon itself chronologically through a series of refined hypotheses. The
work began in the 1970s with foundational studies oriented around the identifying the
socialization tendencies of U.S. Mexican adolescents alone, and in comparison, with European
American adolescents. However, across the next decades, while the research in this area
continued and became more refined, a new field studying U.S. Mexican cultural values in both
adults and adolescents began. The purpose of this research was to identify what were the cultural
values of U.S. Mexican families and adolescents.
Starting in 2011 these two bodies of work began to merge with an interest in identifying
associations between culturally specific values and identified prosocial tendencies of U.S.
Mexican adolescents. It is important to note that though many researchers have engaged in these
studies, Professor George Knight and Professor Gustavo Carlo, both professors of psychology,
have worked both separately and collaboratively through a critical series of cross-sectional and
longitudinal studies in this area. Both have developed instruments that contribute to
understanding and replication of studies in this area.
This body of work at times studies U.S. Mexican adolescents on their own and at other
points contrasts and compares them with samples of other ethnically identified adolescents such
as European American adolescents. The research body also interrogates generational differences,
theories of sibling order, and cultural values as protective factors for risk-mitigation effects of
racialized discrimination, among a myriad of other interrelated issues. Many early studies are
comparative in nature. For example, for the study referenced above, previous studies showed that
U.S. Mexican youth exhibit stronger prosocial tendencies than European American youth in the
area of resource sharing, and that Mexican children exhibit higher levels than their U.S. Mexican

30
counterparts (Knight et al., 2015). For the purpose of the present dissertation study, the research
that is followed from the 1977–2021 timeframe are cross-sectional and longitudinal studies that
focus primarily on U.S. Mexican adolescents in a non-comparative context. Finally, noted in the
development of this research is a change in the terminology used to discuss cultural values and
adolescent behaviors. As the research developed, so did the assigned terminology to adjust for
understanding of the time.
An early study into the prosocial values of U.S. Mexican children attempted to ascertain
whether children were acculturating more strongly to the majority culture or endorsing values
consistent with what the researchers refer to as the barrio culture (Knight & Kagan, 1977). Barrio
culture for the time of this study, refered to the fact that the majority of Mexican immigrants at
this time were coming from rural towns in Mexico. The study looked at the acculturation of
prosocial and competitive behaviors for second- and third-generation U.S. Mexican children. The
study supported an association between generational level and an increase in preference for
rivalry/superiority and a decrease in altruism/group enhancement and equality choices.
A later study explored the possible relationship between cooperative motives in U.S.
Mexican children with their affiliation motivation and competitive motives in Anglo American
children with their achievement motivations (Kagan & Knight, 1981). They found that these
motives are related but they are distinct variables. A further question was to the cultural basis for
these associations for each group. The study found that the variables studied could not fully
explain the responses of behaviors and that U.S. Mexican participant responses revealed possible
underlying cultural values at play in social contexts. Interestingly, the researchers found that high
achievement motivation is not necessarily associated with competitiveness when affiliation

31
motives are present and suggest that achievement motivation might be tempered through
affiliation motives in order to promote prosocial behavior.
A slightly later study returned to the issue of competitive-cooperative differences in
Anglo-American and U.S. Mexican children (Knight & Kagan, 1982). The results demonstrated
similar differences as previous studies in terms of culture, age, and gender. In the study, U.S.
Mexican children had more siblings and differed significantly in birth order compared to the
Anglo-American children. However, the results did not demonstrate a significant relation
between cooperative-competitive social behavior and the number of siblings or birth order.
Familial interdependence and patterning of relationships, a notion supported in earlier studies,
was suggested as a possible culturally based explanation for why U.S. Mexican children
exhibited more cooperative behaviors.
Knight, Cota, and Bernal’s 1993 study into the mediating role of ethnic identity in the
socialization of cooperative, competitive, and individualistic resource allocation preferences
among U.S. Mexican children built on earlier research that indicated connections between what
they then termed ethnic socialization of culturally prescribed values and what they termed social
behavior styles (Knight et al., 1993). Analysis indicated that the mother’s ethnic identity was
strongly related to the child’s ethnic identity and that this was related to the child’s cooperative,
competitive, and individualistic preferences.
In 2003, Carlo and colleagues studied the psychometric properties of the Prosocial
Tendencies Measure-Revised and tested its application with early and middle adolescents (Carlo
et al., 2003b). The study combined the use of this survey with teacher ratings of adolescents’
generosity and helpfulness toward others. Analyses showed adequate reliability and evidence of
validity for PTM-R and noted the need to differentiate among differing types of prosocial

32
behaviors. At the same time, Knight and fellow researchers were analyzing data from two large
previously conducting studies to assess the factor structure, reliability, and construct validity of
subscales for Knight’s Mexican American Cultural Values Scales (MACVS; Knight et al.,
2010a). The subscales, each individually identified values, were shown to be frequently
associated with Mexican/U.S. Mexican culture. The importance of this study was in setting the
stage for the utility of this measure for use in longitudinal research. The study was critical in
providing an instrument that could help to probe cultural identification for adolescents and adults
and also to assess questions of dual acculturation. Important to the present study, work around
both surveys addressed above was soon to merge with attempts to surface possible links between
culturally specific values and prosocial behaviors.
It was at this point that researchers turned their attention to the dearth of research
regarding specific prosocial behaviors amongst ethnic minorities. Specific studies emerged that
unpacked a prior conceptualization of prosocial behavior as unidimensional and global (Carlo et
al., 2010). Conversations around cooperative tendencies of U.S. Mexican children for example,
could plausibly be broken into discussions of specific social skills that fall under the cooperative
umbrella, such as interpersonal and communication skills. In contrast, Carlo’s PTM-R was
designed to address this issue by assessing helping behaviors in distinct scenarios in order to
articulate differences amongst individuals and populations, to become more specific in what is
being discussed as “prosocial behaviors.” Because Carlo and colleagues’ prior application of the
multidimensional PTM-R instrument was predominantly in European-American samples, there
was a prescient need to assess whether the PTM-R was equally applicable to U.S. Mexican
students in order to offer comparative analysis.

33
Through the study, the instrument was shown to be effective in use with U.S. Mexican
adolescent populations (Carlo et al., 2010). The two populations studied were not distinguished
in their identification with dire, anonymous, emotional, and public helping behaviors (Carlo et
al., 2010). European American students exhibited higher levels of altruism and compliant
helping behaviors in the study. Researchers suggest that perhaps the PTM-R might not
adequately define or measure the “cooperative” behaviors of U.S. Mexican adolescents noted in
earlier studies.
Most recently, researchers have begun to inquire as to how cultural values mediate social
cognition in U.S. Mexican adolescents as well as identifying what can be thought of as key
cultural values (Knight et al., 2015). This work builds on and combines decades long research in
the areas of adolescent prosocial tendencies and minority adolescent experience of cultural
values. Initially, studies aimed to ascertain any connection between social cognitive traits, such
as perspective taking, with culturally specific values of familism and predicted that the
sociocognitive traits in combination with the culturally specific values together yielded prosocial
behaviors.
4
U.S. Mexican youth who more highly endorsed familism values also reported higher
perspective taking and prosocial moral reasoning as well as higher compliant, emotional, dire,
anonymous, and public prosocial tendencies. They found that the sociocognitive traits of
perspective taking and prosocial moral reasoning are differentially related to the prosocial-
tendencies dimensions (Knight et al., 2015). Through this study, higher levels of prosocial moral

4
This is tested against the traditional model that separates cultural processes from sociocognitive
development processes. A range of surveys were used in 105 students and their mothers. They tested 5 types of
prosocial reasoning (hedonistic, approval-oriented, stereotype, needs-oriented, and internalized) and rated the
prosocial reasoning types higher and the less prosocial reasoning types lower to provide a score for the self-reporting
of students. They were also given a prosocial tendencies measure to look at 6 types of prosocial behaviors.

34
reasoning were connected to strongly internalized values and prosocial tendencies to meet
others’ needs.
Importantly, at this time researchers homed in on familism values, hypothesizing that the
socialization of familism values is one of the key elements of U.S. Mexican culture associated
with specific forms of prosocial behaviors ( Calderón-Tena et al., 2011b; Knight & Carlo, 2012).
This initial study on familism resulted in the first empirical evidence consistent with the
researchers’ theory that familial values work to influence and proscribe behaviors and attitudes
directed toward family members that become the foundation for behaviors directed toward others
outside the family.
In 2016, the first longitudinal prospective indicated a connection between familism, and
prosocial behaviors (Knight et al., 2016b). Familism includes a sense of obligation to one’s
family, consideration of one’s family as a primary source of social and emotional support,
respect for parents and other family members, and viewing one’s family as an important
reference group in decision-making processes. Tendencies toward familism are aligned to the
types of sociocognitive and socioemotional traits (i.e., the awareness, consideration, and
responsiveness to the needs of others, in addition to family members) that foster prosocial
development and likely promote prosocial tendencies in compliant, highly emotional and dire
circumstances (Armenta et al., 2011; Knight et al., 2015). Importantly, research has not
demonstrated a link between familism values and altruistic, public, and anonymous types of
prosocial tendencies. It is possible that responsiveness to others’ needs for U.S. Mexican
adolescents was linked to internalized norms or principles, sympathy, or moral identity processes
rather than culture-specific processes. Yet, at this point, that hypothesis needed greater probing.
Because prior research has not been able to ascertain whether familism was a

35
developmental precursor to prosocial tendencies development for U.S. Mexican adolescents, it
was possible that instead, the process worked in reverse and prosocial children adopt familism
values. To that end, an extensive longitudinal study was conducted to inquire upon this point
(Knight et al., 2018). The study involved surveys conducted with both U.S. Mexican youth and
their mothers and at distinct points of adolescent development: at 5th, 7th, 10th, and 12th grades.
Although there were minor differences in the endorsement of familism values between 5th and
12th grade as well as a stronger salience for male students, there was no significant difference
between children of United States-born and Mexico-born parents. Importantly, the study here
was consistent with the researcher’s hypothesis of U.S. Mexican adolescents’ internalization and
endorsement of familism values as a developmental precursor to specific types of prosocial
tendencies (Knight, & Carlo, 2012). In other words, the cultural value of familism is believed to
be directly influencing these beneficial behaviors.
There was some association with public prosocial behaviors where helping behaviors are
observed by others. The thought is that in the family structure, the act of helping gains the
approval of parents and that this is valued. As in the previous studies, anonymous and altruistic
prosocial behaviors that were not shown to be connected to the culturally specific familism
values are likely more strongly linked to internalized norms or principles, sympathy, or moral
identity processes rather than culture-specific processes (Knight et al., 2018). This finding
supports the perspective that the socialization of familism values in U.S. Mexican families is a
cultural mechanism that fosters the prosocial development of the youth in these families.
Importantly for the present dissertation study, the authors contend that support and maintenance
of familism values in these ethnic minority adolescents may be “quite desirable from a societal
perspective” (Knight et al., 2018, p.#). Familism stresses caring about the well-being of the

36
group. Familism, in some respects, counters an individualism that suggests there are winners and
losers or that attempts to rank people. Familism instead stresses the equal importance of all in
their contributions. This can be a powerful value when considering how to support the success
and well-being of all people within society. U.S. Mexican adolescents, due to their ethnic
identity formation, may have a disposition for this collective view.
Apart from establishing the relationship between Mexican cultural values and prosocial
behaviors and the role parents play, it is also important to note that Mexican cultural values have
been found to be a protective factor against substance abuse for adolescents (Telzer et al., 2013).
When students feel a strong sense of family obligation, they associate less with peers involved in
deviant behaviors and they share more with their parents. However, in homes with high parent-
child conflict, family obligation is connected to higher levels of substance use. These findings
suggest that the relational context of the family impacts the protective nature of cultural values
for U.S. Mexican adolescents.
Studies have additionally examined the transmission of cultural values from Mexican
heritage parents to their children. This type of ethnic socialization impacts ethnic self-identity
and adolescents’ self-conceptualization of this identity and perceived associated values. Though
studies as early as 1990 began to look at how U.S. Mexican children understand their own ethnic
identity, research within the last 15 years has extended this field to include how specific cultural
factors such as familism are transmitted, distinguishing the roles of gendered parents, perceptions
of parenting from the perspective of adolescents, and most recently in developing the field of
U.S. Mexican parents’ moral development of children (Bernal et al., 1990). Studies have
demonstrated a predictive quality of U.S. Mexican parents’ familism values and their ethnic
socialization practices toward their children (Knight et al., 2016). As a key component in an

37
ethnic socialization process, familism values are associated with several types of prosocial
tendencies.
Mothers are theorized to play an important role in ethnic socialization. Findings from a
large sample longitudinal study in the Phoenix Arizona region (also utilized to test the construct
validity of the MACVS) indicate that the socialization of U.S. Mexican values was primarily a
function of mothers' U.S. Mexican values and ethnic socialization, and that mothers' U.S.
Mexican values were longitudinally related to children's U.S. Mexican values (Knight et al.,
2011; Knight et al., 2015). These associations were consistent across gender and nativity groups.
The effectiveness of parents in the ethnic socialization of children is enhanced by the
degree of cohesiveness in the parent-child relationship. Cohesive parent-child relationships allow
for a stronger transmission of cultural messages (Tsai et al., 2015). Transmission of cultural
values is best accomplished in households where there is lower conflict between parents and
children and a high level of parental support (Tsai et al., 2015). These closer bonds and more
successful transmission of cultural messages also appear to result in a higher endorsement of
family obligation sentiment as well as family assistance behaviors in minors. For immigrant
parents, a challenge is how to pass on values in a society where the home values may not match
those of the larger society. Studies that examine how these specific sentiments and behaviors are
transmitted and internalized by adolescents are still in the early stages.
Crockett and colleagues have looked at U.S. Mexican adolescents’ understanding of good
parent-child relationships (Crockett et al., 2007). Adolescents' ability to comply with parental
directives and their feelings of acceptance or rejection in relational to parental messages rest
upon adolescents’ subjective interpretation of these messages. This in part influences their sense
of well-being, positive adjustment, and family functioning. Expectations for parental behavior

38
are cultural. One example of this is in authoritarian parenting styles.
5
Positive parent-child
relationships have positive psychological and school impacts for children. Understanding how
U.S. Mexican adolescents define good relationships helps to understand implications for their
well-being.
In asking U.S. Mexican teenagers about their definition of good parent-child
relationships, familism, respeto, and gender roles emerged as possible areas that impact how U.S.
Mexican adolescents will define what is good (Crockett et al., 2007). All three of these areas are
consistent with aligned U.S. Mexican cultural values and demonstrate adolescents’ evaluation of
parenting through a cultural lens. Parental caring emerged as a higher order concept that aligned
with many of the other ideas that the participants associated with good parent-child relationships.
The other themes are valued relationship qualities such as trust, open communication, support,
indirect displays of caring, and parental control (Crockett et al., 2007).
Gender roles emerged as a significant umbrella topic for adolescent participants. Some
students revealed generational differences, including how U.S. Mexican adolescents thought
about the role of women. However, overall, U.S. Mexican youth define good parenting as
meeting gender role obligations. Both boys and girls identified the relationship with the mother
and communication with her as being more critical. They noted that the communication with the
father was not as open. Participants noted mothers’ expression of caring in making food,
attending to children, doing chores, verbal, and physical expressions of caring, providing direct
emotional support, and generally always being there for children. Positive notion of fathers’
caring behaviors included generally providing for the family, as well as sharing in activities.

5
Detrimental effects of authoritarian parenting for European-American students may not be apparent for
Asian American students where authoritarian parenting may have more positive implications. Physical discipline
may be interpreted differently by different cultural groups according to normative expectations. It may be less
detrimental to children where it is seen by both child and parent as normative.

39
They also noted that yelling or directing behaviors is a way for mothers to show love. Girls in
particular expressed strictness in parental rules as a form of caring. Both genders brought up
parental monitoring as a form of caring. Conditional permissiveness of mothers for their
daughters—advocating for them to have freedoms if certain conditions were met, such as good
grades, also fit adolescents’ definitions of good parenting.
Adolescents in this study expressed developed understandings of intergenerational issues
as well as those of dual cultural adaptation. Participants identified parental upbringing, culture,
gender, and life stage as elements shaping their relationships with parents (Crockett et al., 2007).
Youth described ideal behaviors and values consistent with familism and respeto. Even though
their relationships with parents were not perfect, their general view of their own parents
positively is a part of familism. Acculturation is an issue that impacts relationships and
sometimes causes conflict of ideals. A question for this study is whether specific previously
identified cultural values of U.S. adolescents contrast with these prior studies and suggest a
greater difference in generational thinking or perhaps a difference in how U.S. Mexicans today
consider particular cultural issues, such as gender roles.
Understanding how U.S. Mexican adolescents consider their primary adult role models
can constitute significant helpful information for educators. Mexican adolescents’ interpretations
and evaluations of adult educators’ behaviors will be modeled on what is perceived as
appropriate and good both in the adult educator’s individually expressed behaviors, as well as
their specific interactions with U.S. Mexican students. Importantly, due to cultural expectations
around respeto, it is unlikely that U.S. Mexican students would directly express these opinions
and perceptions to teachers. So then, it becomes imperative for educators to build knowledge on
this topic and not expect for their students to identify and bring forth the cultural disconnects

40
they experience in their learning environments.
Beyond the individual family unit, the neighborhood has been shown to constitute a
significant factor in supporting parents in their role of conveying ethnically based values and in
mitigating negative perceptions of safety in communities as well as family economic hardship
(Gonzales et al., 2010). Economic hardship for U.S. Mexican families is not only associated with
parental depression, which impacts children through a decrease in warmth and caring behaviors
exhibited by parents. Neighborhood familism showed robust effects in its relation to maternal
and paternal warmth as well as important positive effects on adolescent externalizing behaviors
within the context of economic hardship. Researchers contend that neighborhood familism
values offer a protective factor against problem behaviors (Gonzales et al., 2010). A community
that visibly supports the caring and protective role of family can offer validation and support for
parents’ efforts and support a sustained commitment to family and positive parenting practices.
Ultimately, the neighborhood is shown to support the transmission for culturally specific
beneficial parenting practices identified by both Mexican-American adolescents and parents.
U.S. Mexican adolescents’ perceptions of the benefits and drawbacks of parental
psychological autonomy and control have also been tied to familism values (Sher-Censor et al.,
2010). Generally, U.S. Mexican culture, being collectivist in nature and endorsing familism, is
not typically associated with psychological autonomy which invites personal exploration and
individual goals. This is a value of Western culture and often cultivated in European American
youth. For early adolescents, these two parenting modes have been shown to have a positive
correlation. However, for U.S. Mexican adolescents, parental control may be perceived as an
indirect form of caring. Contrary to this, for older upper high school U.S. Mexican adolescents,
there is a weak negative association, perhaps showing an increase in independent thought at a

41
later age or due to acculturation. Researchers suggest that the promotion of psychological
autonomy in U.S. Mexican youth could help in reducing negative mental health implications.
Incorporating parents into the process and encouraging them to invite self-expression at home,
may be beneficial to U.S. Mexican adolescents' well-being, especially regarding mental health
issues.
The ways in which parents discipline children is also being studied to ascertain the
impact of specific parental discipline practices on prosocial behaviors (Carlo et al., 2011).
Induction is a type of parental discipline used to help children understand the impact of their
behaviors. It is considered prosocial in nature because it involves the parent dialoguing and
reasoning with the child in correcting behavior that has harmed another person in some way and
that may lead the child away from the core family-oriented values. One example of an induction
is when a child hits his sibling, and the parent speaks with the child about how this makes their
sibling feel. This can generate perspective-taking ability over time in the child. Two other types
of parental discipline, power assertion and love withdrawal, are generally believed to mitigate
prosocial development.
Parental inductions then function as a conduit for instructing children in culturally
acceptable behaviors and moral values. Parental inductions are considered as a way of nurturing
stronger child-parent bonds and fostering perspective taking in adolescents. A study of parental
inductions comparing European American and U.S. Mexican girls Well understood through
research is that Latino families generally, and U.S. Mexican families specifically, place an
emphasis on the role not only of family bonds but also on respeto and good moral upbringing,
termed simply, buena educación. Of additional importance is the previous research that suggests
that parenting practices might exert their influence on moral behaviors through its impact on

42
sociocognitive and socioemotional skills. This might be particularly important because parental
inductions are hypothesized to promote sympathy in children by encouraging them to understand
the perspective of others. Importantly, both European American and U.S. Mexican parents were
found to use inductions at similar levels and to promote caring and compassion.
Furthermore, the study showed some evidence of situational application of prosocial
behaviors when more processing time was permitted. U.S. Mexican girls reported higher levels
of public prosocial behaviors than did European American girls and European American girls
reported higher levels of altruistic prosocial behaviors (Carlo et al., 2011). It is hypothesized that
because the questions aligned to altruistic behaviors were unidirectional in nature, providing
assistance to others without the expectation of anything in return, and because Latino culture
places a high value on mutual reciprocity, U.S. Mexican adolescents rated lower in this area.
They also rated higher in anonymous prosocial behaviors than European American girls, and this
is hypothesized to be a result of protecting the dignity of the recipient. The findings of this study
may be instructive for school and classroom practice in understanding U.S. Mexican adolescents'
cultural dispositions to situations in which helping might be viewed as positive and in which they
are likely to engage in.
In a separate study, firm parenting was evaluated in combination with supportive
parenting to measure the effects on prosocial tendencies in U.S. Mexican boys and girls.
Supportive parenting is defined by high levels of warmth, responsiveness to children’s needs,
positive affect, involvement, and a child-centered orientation that characterize supportive
parenting (Deater-Deckard et al., 2011; Maccoby & Martin, 1983). Positive discipline techniques
such as inductions, discussed above, are often used by supportive parents. Firm parenting is
defined by high parental expectations for children and consequences when children do not meet

43
the required standards (Maccoby & Martin, 1983). Like supportive parents, firm parents show
involvement in their children's lives and monitor their behaviors. Supportive parenting is
generally understood to foster prosocial behaviors in children and youth. While firm parenting,
when executed as punitive discipline can have deleterious effects on children, when used in a
caring and supportive environment it can still promote prosocial behaviors in adolescents
through high expectations for positive behavior and responsibility.
A study looking at mothers’ parenting styles found that supportive parenting was
associated with prosocial tendencies for both boys and girls (Davis et al., 2015). Specifically,
mothers' supportive parenting was directly positively associated with dire, compliant, and
altruistic prosocial helping behaviors and negatively associated with public helping behaviors or
helping that will be noticed or that is done intentionally for recognition. Interestingly, for boys,
supportive parenting was only negatively associated with public prosocial tendencies and was
positively associated with altruistic prosocial tendencies. The results confirmed previous
research noting that maternal warmth and support promotes prosocial behaviors such as
sensitivity and caring (Carlo et al., 2011). Supportive parenting was not connected with
traditional gender roles, and it is thought that Mexican heritage mothers in the U.S. might
encourage their daughters to develop in ways outside the traditional gender roles.
6

A recent study examined a longitudinal ethnic socialization model that suggests that
maternal and paternal U.S. Mexican values are associated with the parents’ ethnic socialization

6
As noted in the literature, the concepts of Marianismo and Machismo are traditional gender role
conceptions in Latino culture. Marianismo in girls and women is characterized by values such as acting as a source
of emotional strength for the family, maintaining harmony in the family, remaining subordinate to authority, and
remaining virtuous while Machismo is the stereotypic male role characterized by a demand for respect and
engagement in aggressive and dominant behaviors (Castillo, Perez, Castillo, & Ghosheh, 2010; Falicov, 2010;
Davis, A. N., Carlo, G., & Knight, G. P. (2015). Perceived maternal parenting styles, cultural values, and prosocial
tendencies among Mexican American youth. The journal of genetic psychology; J genet psychol, 176(4), 235-252.
doi:10.1080/00221325.2015.1044494

44
practices and in turn, adolescents’ self-views and ethnic group membership (Knight, Carlo,
Streit, & White, 2017). The study confirmed on a larger scale than previous empirical studies
that both mothers’ and fathers’ ethnic socialization of their children impacted their identity
exploration at Grade 10, but that the impact of fathers’ and mothers’ socialization occurs at
distinct time frames. Mothers’ ethnic socialization is most salient in 5th grade while father’s
ethnic socialization is most salient in 7th grade. Moreover, adolescents who had experienced
direct messages from parents about ethnic history and pride were more likely to seek out further
information on their own identity in 10th grade.
For schooling contexts, considering why adolescents might not show motivation at times
for engaging in learning is critical because this lack of engagement limits school achievement.
Beyond the above study providing support for relationship building amongst students and faculty
in schools, an additional consideration is that the work at school is merely obligatory, and in a
way done for altruistic reasons. A hypothesis is that when U.S. Mexican adolescents are in
situations where there is increased mutual reciprocity and aspects of familism, they feel a greater
cultural impulse to engage and contribute. Studies that analyze U.S. Mexican adolescents in such
designed learning situations would help to understand this hypothesis further.
A distinct set of research studies have interrogated adolescent’s perceptions of parental
expectations and how these relate to academic self-efficacy (Cross et al., 2019).
7
Parental
expectations are one of the strongest components of parental involvement in school that drive
improved academic outcomes (Cross et al., 2019). This is stronger than parental participation.
Whether children and parents perceive these messages in the same way is questionable.

7
Academic self-efficacy is defined as a students’ ability to understand and master their schoolwork. This is
potentially influenced by academic socialization messages they receive from significant others.

45
U.S. Mexican adolescents' academic performance and educational aspirations have been
shown to be influenced by students' perceptions of parental educational expectations, students'
acculturation level, and students' self-esteem (Carranza et al., 2009). Adolescents’ perceived
expectations significantly influenced GPA and aspiration level. This effect was especially salient
for female students. Perceptions of parental help, school monitoring, and parent-child
communication about school were not found to significantly impact U.S. Mexican students'
school performance and aspirations. Higher levels of acculturation and parental educational level
have been associated with higher levels of school achievement.
Studies reveal nuances in the type of academic socialization messages occurring within
Latino families.
8
In general, Latino parents have been shown to be more persistent than other
groups in their school involvement through the adolescent years primarily though through home-
based involvement and less on school-based actions. This research has been conducted through
looking at adolescents’ perceptions of parents’ educational expectations for them in addition to
parental uses of messages of shame and pressure to promote conformity to a particular academic
standard, and parental messages urging youth to exert effort to their schoolwork.
9

Through the research, high educational expectations from parents were positively
associated with adolescent academic self-efficacy (Cross et al., 2019). These results were
stronger among adolescents who reported receiving fewer messages of shame and pressure and a

8
The study, based in both expectancy value theory and an integrative model, contends that demographic
characteristics, social and cultural aspects of children's lives influence their goals, motivations, and beliefs about
their abilities to succeed in school. Coll and colleagues emphasize the importance of a strength-based approach to
studying children and youth of color (Coll et al., 1996).
9
Messages can include pressure to perform well, importance of making good efforts, and shame for not
achieving the standards set. Latino and Indo-Chinese students report stronger feelings of shame than AA and
Caucasion students for poor academic performance. Shame can lead to less classroom engagement. Academic
pressure may include commands, punishments, and coercive interaction negatively related to school achievement as
measured by student GPA, overall Math and reading Competence, and self-concept in reading and math (Rogers,
Theule, Ryan, Adams, Keating 2009).

46
higher frequency of messages around academic effort.
10
The majority of studies show that
shame and pressure lead to deleterious effects on academic outcomes. Studies generally show
that messages of effort have a positive effect on academic outcomes for U.S. Mexican
adolescents (Cross et al., 2019). The study was not able to establish a finding regarding parent
messages regarding effort, potentially due to conflation of messages of effort and shame/pressure
in the perception of adolescents.
Through connecting research on U.S. Mexican adolescents’ cultural values with their
perceptions of school and teacher behaviors, a few salient points emerged. The first is that U.S.
Mexican adolescents demonstrate preferences for cooperation and interdependence, identity and
affiliation, and educator caring and support. These factors connect strongly in the research with
academic achievement and motivation. The second is that specific cultural values have been
shown to contrast with the cultural expectations of school behavior. In these situations,
adolescents utilize prosocial reasoning to consciously or unconsciously select behaviors with the
lowest perceived negative impact.
The cultural foundations of respeto and educación provide a backdrop with which to
consider U.S. Mexican adolescents’ general reluctance to actively engage in questioning of the
curriculum or teaching approaches without provocation.
11
Questioning authority would not be a
way of showing respeto, or at least not one that might be automatically culturally assumed.
Cooperation, affiliation, and interdependence aligned with familism values may automatically

10
The study revealed nuances in the type of academic socialization messages occurring within Latino
families. In general, Latino parents have been shown to be more persistent than other groups in their school
involvement through the adolescent years but that the parents during this stage rely more on home-based
involvement and less on school-based actions.
11
Educación is a concept known to Mexican and U.S. Mexican families to mean a linking of both
academic and moral behaviors. Students who are educated behave well and thus do well. The behavioral aspect
includes moral behaviors and having good manners. Respeto implies compliance with rules systems and people of
authority.

47
assist with student motivation (Bae et al., 2007). Another thought is that engaging in behaviors
that are not well-regarded culturally but can be beneficial to academic learning and
psychological autonomy development might well be instructed directly.
Piña-Watson and colleagues note the importance of attending to cultural factors when
assisting U.S. Mexican youth in increasing academic motivation. Bicultural stress occurs as a
function of the cultural adaptation process (Piña-Watson et al., 2015) They also gave special
attention to bicultural stress, the level of subjective distress one experiences as one adjusts to the
demands of living between two cultures. This can include inter-family and external factors such
as discrimination, intergenerational gaps, and feeling pressured to conform to the norms of one's
heritage culture and the mainstream culture (Romero & Roberts, 2003). Bicultural-specific
stressors have been associated with more depressive symptoms and school failure and lower
levels of life satisfaction and self-esteem (Knight et al., 2010; Piña-Watson et al., 2013).
In the study, generational status, bicultural stress, familismo, and ethnic identity
collectively affected academic motivation. Familism and ethnic identity are shown to have a
positive impact on academic motivation. In providing a source of identity and self-worth, it’s
possible that strong familism orients U.S. Mexican youth to strive and do their best for the
benefit of the families (DeGarmo & Martinez, 2006). Bicultural stress was related to lower
academic motivation. The authors suggest that counselors and educators should consider cultural
processes when working with U.S. Mexican adolescents to improve academic motivation, a
precursor of academic achievement. Specifically, incorporating the support of immediate and
extended family in meeting social challenges has been stressed. This approach may counter
deficit perspectives of Latino culture that see family involvement as a negative pathology.

48
Furthermore, acculturation stress in the development of bicultural identity should be taken into
consideration when addressing student needs (Knight & Carlo, 2012; Knight et al., 2018).
The role of stress in the lives of U.S. Mexican adolescents living in lower socioeconomic
urban contexts has been shown to impact their school performance (Gillock & Reyes, 1999).
Boys and girls living in such circumstances are shown to experience equal numbers of stressors.
The most dominant stressors pertained heavily to the neighborhood context (presence of violence
and crime) and family economic status (job loss, etc…). Many students reported the death or
incarceration of a family member within the last two year and some noted involvement of
parents or themselves in illicit activities. Many students are employed and also note their lack of
basic resources available to adolescents in more affluent communities.
The presence of emotional support and caring from both family and school contexts,
though helpful, was not sufficient to offset the negative effects of stress (Gillock & Reyes, 1999).
This is to say that they do not have access to enough of or the right kind of support. Students
experiencing high levels of school stress are shown to not receive sufficient support to mitigate
the negative impact of this stress. Relationships with teachers, if the student feels unfavored or
ignored, can exacerbate this stress for U.S. Mexican adolescents from resource-poor
communities. Importantly, the authors note that a school’s response to large bodies of students
grappling with this type of stress may turn to “discipline, control, and interpersonal distance,”
actions that create less cohesion and interdependence in the school community (Gillock & Reyes,
1999, p. #).
As noted in the research on parental development of ethnic identity, caring is a value
expressed through interviews with U.S. Mexican adolescents of both genders that carries special
importance. The research accords for a gendered nature of caring within the family setting that

49
might be considered regarding Latino students’ views of teachers’ behaviors. Results from a
comparative study of Latino and White high-school students' perceptions of teacher behaviors
show that there are distinct cultural assumptions with regard to the expression of caring (Garza,
Rubén, 2009). Students' perceptions generated five dominant themes: (a) provide scaffolding
during a teaching episode, (b) reflect a kind disposition through actions, (c) are always available
to the student, (d) show a personal interest in the student's well-being inside and outside the
classroom, (e) and provide effective academic support in the classroom setting. The authors
suggest that teachers can use this information to examine their own practice and to determine the
extent of culturally responsive caring.
Teachers’ emotional support appears to impact student motivation and academic effort
but not academic performance (Wentzel et al., 2016). This could be due to an inability on the
part of teachers to provide appropriate levels of instruction. This is an important reminder in
considering both the emotional and academic needs of U.S. Mexican students, that both
emotional support and effective instruction are needed.
As noted above, U.S. Mexican family interdependence and emotional connectedness to
parents have been associated significantly and positively with adolescent prosocial behavior.
Important correlations have also been documented between emotional support from teachers and
Latino students’ interest in school, positive behavior, and orientation to continuous improvement
(Garcia-Reid, 2007; Stevens, Hamman, & Olivarez, 2007; Woolley, Kol, & Bowen, 2009). The
emotional support provided by teachers perhaps provides its greatest impact on students when
supporting effective pedagogical practices. Emotional support provided by parents has been
shown to be a direct predictor of grades. Again, familism values and U.S. Mexican adolescents’
desire for a warm relationship with parents has strong implications for their behaviors. U.S.

50
Mexican parents might have the strongest influence on their children’s more global attitudes
toward achievement than on classroom-specific outcomes.
An important finding is that social–behavioral outcomes of U.S. Mexican youth were
predicted most strongly by perceived expectations for social behavior and emotional support
from peers (Wentzel et al., 2016). This is important considering the heavy emphasis in teacher
education on teachers’ classroom management and regulation of the class environment. This
suggests that the combination of peers within a classroom can have a significant impact on social
behaviors.
A further area of research yields some understandings around classroom dynamics and
differences in U.S. Mexican and Anglo student reference points for self-esteem and social
orientation. An early study showed that classrooms have more cooperative classroom structures
than previously thought but that teacher behaviors and classroom variables were culturally
relative (Gumbiner et al., 1981). This research indicated that U.S. Mexican adolescents who
endorsed cultural values of mutual interdependence and affiliation are especially sensitive to peer
influences on social orientation. Peer influences are probably stronger in cooperative classroom
structures than in individualized classroom structures. The suggestion is that cooperative group
classroom structure and interdependence may encourage cooperative social orientations and
discourage individualistic social orientations among U.S. Mexican children.
The study also found negative effects on self-esteem for Anglo students when teachers
attend to groups as opposed to unique individual students. This is because Anglo self-esteem
may be highly reactive to social comparison and Anglo adolescents consider their unique,
individual identity to take precedence over group identity. U.S. Mexican children and
adolescents, in contrast, tend to express a greater need for affiliation and a greater desire for

51
guidance, direction, and support from authority figures, and may rely on these interpersonal
interactions as a means of self-evaluation (Ramirez & Castaiieda, 1974). Regarding respeto, for
U.S. Mexican children, if a teacher in an authority role listens to and questions them, they may
evaluate themselves positively. This initial research yielded more support for early work in
interdependent, cooperative group-oriented classrooms that necessarily allow more talking than
do traditional classrooms but also necessitates that teachers listen more (Gumbiner et al., 1981).
This research points to the need for listening and helping skills in teachers. Knight and
colleagues found that competitiveness is positively related to school achievement for Anglo-
American students but not for U.S. Mexican students (Knight et al., 1982).
In more recent scholarship, Gonzalez argues that adolescents of U.S. Mexican students
are engaged in a process of coherent identity formation like all adolescents, but they are
additionally tasked with constantly dismissing racialized views of their ethnic group (Gonzalez,
2009). Gonzalez suggests, based on the correlation between positive messages about one's ethnic
group and academic achievement, that schools would benefit from increasing positive messages
about U.S. Mexican ethnic identity. Additionally, she argues that youth with more risk factors
are likely in need of more intensive efforts in this vein (Gonzalez, 2009).
Language use is an important consideration for cultural relevance in school contexts for
identity development. The interviews in the Murillo Schall study, which tested the impact of
negative messaging around home language, revealed that participants had integrated dominant
deficit-oriented perceptions of home language and Latin American heritage (Murillo & Schall,
2016). Participants expressed that Spanish was a hindrance to their English language
development, that Latino families are not reading families, and that reading is not an important
part of Latin American culture. Specifically, participants expressed negative attitudes toward

52
bilingualism and scientifically inaccurate but socially current notions such as language confusion
in elementary age students. These views were particularly internalized regarding U.S. Spanish
bilingual children and families. Importantly, students noted a mismatch between home language
backgrounds and the language of schooling.
Deficit perspectives of U.S. Mexican students and culture by their teachers are also
suspected to have a strong impact on long term academic impacts. An important study conducted
to gather evidence as to the perceptions of White teachers working with young U.S. Mexican
students yielded insights into how teachers see their role and the potential areas of student
development (Garza & Garza, 2010). This body of recent research concerns teachers’
perceptions of citizenship education as noncultural and perceiving themselves as addressing
cultural and academic deficits in children.
Researchers noted the relative success of White teachers in helping younger students to
succeed academically, but in the absence of culturally relevant instruction. In fact, they noted
assimilation components to daily instruction that the teachers felt were part of developing what
they thought of as good citizens and did not recognize as reflective of cultural framing. Building
on the literature in subtractive schooling for Latino children, the authors posit that the teachers’
views of U.S. Mexican children and their deficit-oriented approach to educating them was a
result of the teachers’ lack of awareness of their own cultural values and demonstrated
generalized assumptions about students’ life circumstances (Valenzuela, 1999). In essence,
students are asked to leave their culture outside the classroom and to adopt the mainstream
values. In contrast, teachers saw their classrooms as safe havens from a generally sad and poor
life circumstance for their students. Teachers expressed faith in their citizenship education and
noted many ways in which the school filled perceived developmental gaps of students.

53
The teachers in this study also offered contrasting feelings regarding parent involvement,
on the one hand, lamenting that their students’ parents are not involved in the school the way
other (White) parents are, but on the other hand, expressing satisfaction with the fact that the
parents of their students did not appear to complain very much. Furthermore, they understood
and accepted as necessary that the students at the U.S. Mexican students at their school were
focused on a standardized test requirement while students in more affluent districts were focused
on acceleration.
Ultimately discrimination also can negatively impact U.S. Mexican adolescents’
prosocial behaviors. One study showed that perceived discrimination in U.S. Mexican youth was
associated with reduced intentions of helping (Brittian et al., 2012). Brittain and colleagues
hypothesize that this may be because the youth feel that if others treat them badly, they do not
have a reason to help. The cultural value of mutual reciprocity could also play a role here.
Importantly, the study found that associations between perceived discrimination and the
reduction of prosocial behaviors were mediated by youths' Mexican American values and
specifically familism, leading to the suggestion that fortifying youth in these areas might help to
provide further protection and resilience in sustaining culturally derived prosocial behaviors
(Brittian et al., 2012).
It appears that across decades, Latinx students have also become more aware of the
racism and discrimination they face, and many are able to discuss issues of racism overtly
(Conchas et al., 2012). Their consciousness of what is happening to them coupled with the
negative impacts we understand this discrimination to have on their social skills and self-esteem
leads us to seek solutions. There are tangible ways in which schools can also provide protective
factors with regard to negative and discriminatory messages. Research bears out that positive

54
encounters in schools can reinforce equal status and integrate U.S. Mexican youth. U.S. Mexican
youth report increased positive sentiment toward their ethnic self after participating in events that
they perceived as dispelling stereotypes and when they had concrete experiences in which their
bilingual competence was perceived as an asset (Gonzalez, 2009). The research on U.S. Mexican
adolescents show that they are consistently considering their ethnic identity as a result of both
home cultural influences as well as factors outside of the home. Researchers in the field have
amassed wide ranging and consistent results to reflect that U.S. Mexican adolescents consider
identity within three broad categories: cultural self, possible minority self, and self that
transcends ethnic group boundaries (Quintana et al., 2010).
The research around parental inductions, peer influence, experiences in schooling, and
responses to discrimination, illustrate the overlapping factors impacting the development of
cultural values and prosocial tendencies and prosocial reasoning for U.S. Mexican adolescents.
Adolescents begin to solidify their ethnic identity during late adolescence and they are sensitive
to the behaviors of teachers and their relative responsiveness to their cultural identities and
helpfulness of teachers in meeting their academic goals. The research illustrates areas in which
adolescents’ cultural values play a critical role in their decisions to engage in helping behaviors
and how negative messaging around Mexican ethnic identity can reduce culturally specific
prosocial behaviors and reasoning that are desirable to cultivate for school success. Finally, the
studies show the importance of peer influence and provide some indications as to the fortification
of cultural values and prosocial tendencies and reasoning when U.S. Mexican adolescents are
offered consistent cooperative learning approaches, which they culturally prefer.

55
Chapter 3: Methodology
Scholars have recognized that U.S. Mexican adolescents engage in prosocial helping
behaviors, and that these appear related to culturally specific values (Carlo, Hausmann,
Christiansen, & Randall, 2003). For this study, I utilized a research design that supported the
identification of U.S. Mexican cultural values, prosocial tendencies and related prosocial
reasoning, as well as considering any correlation between the two. Importantly, the research
design centered the voices of adolescents to allow self-definition of ethnically relevant values
and in acknowledgement of the evolving nature of culture and the role of dual cultural adaptation
in the lives of adolescents.
Research Design
This study utilized a mixed methods approach with both quantitative and qualitative
features. Mixed methods research requires the purposeful combination of methods in data
collection, data analysis and interpretation of the evidence. Data is purposefully integrated or
‘mixed’ at predetermined points in the data analysis process. This approach allows researchers to
gather substantial diverse information on their research question and to look at the data from
different perspectives. This study emphasizes the perspectives of U.S. Mexican adolescents. A
representative sample size of 193 students for the survey portion allowed for appropriate data
analysis from which correlations could be expressed. Surveys, when conducted with large
enough sample sizes, also allow for inferring relationships between the variables which is not
possible with interviews. The semi-structured interviews were limited in participants (8) but
yielded rich data and allowed the participant adolescents to appraise and share their own
meaning around the topics. An unexpected quality was also the positivity and assistance the
participants provided to each other in capturing the ways they wanted to appropriately express

56
their ideas. The qualitative features of the study were constructivist in nature, and the themes
emerged from the data.
Research Questions and Hypotheses
The two research questions for this study appear in Table 3, along with the hypothesis for
each. Both questions sought to understand U.S. Mexican adolescent perspectives regarding
cultural identity and culturally based prosocial tendencies. Considering the literature survey in
this area, the assumption was that there is a relationship between the culturally specific values of
U.S. Mexican students and prosocial tendencies. This research question was measured through
surveys and semi-structured interviews. Additional survey questions measuring the extent to
which the school context capitalizes on these assets and students’ perspectives around
relationships and belonging were not connected to the primary research questions. These
questions, both in the survey and in the semi-structured interviews, were used to inform the
greater educational applications of this study.
Table 3
Research Questions and Hypotheses
RQ1 What are the culturally specific values of U.S. Mexican adolescents?
H1 U.S. Mexican adolescents endorse traditional U.S. Mexican values related to
familism and respeto.
RQ2 Is there a relationship between U.S. Mexican cultural values endorsed by U.S.
Mexican adolescents and prosocial tendencies and prosocial reasoning?

57
H2 There is a positive relationship between U.S. Mexican cultural values and the
prosocial tendencies and prosocial reasoning of U.S. Mexican adolescents.

Variables
The variables in this study derive from two established surveys. The first is the Mexican
American Cultural Values Survey (MACVS) with subscales in familism, religion, respect,
material success, competition and personal achievement, and independence and self-reliance (see
Appendix A; Knight et al., 2010). The second set of variables comes from the Prosocial
Tendencies Measure Revised (PTM-R) with subscales in emotional, dire, compliant, anonymous,
altruistic, and public helping behaviors (see Appendix A; Carlo et al., 2003). Variables for this
study are detailed in Table 4, below.
Table 4
Variables
IVs MACVS (Knight et al., 2009) DVs PTM-R (Carlo et al., 2018)
Level of endorsement of traditional Mexican
and contemporary mainstream values:

● Traditional Mexican: Familism
Support, Familism Obligations,
Familism Referents, Respect, Religion,
and Traditional Gender Roles)
● Contemporary mainstream American
values: Material Success,
Independence & Self-Reliance,
Competition & Personal Achievement
Level of endorsement for specific helping
behaviors:

● Prosocial Tendencies: public,
anonymous, dire, emotional,
compliant, and altruistic

58
Setting
The semi-structured interviews occurred on campus at each of the high schools
involved in the study. The interviews occurred during the lunch period in one case and during
after school hours in the other. For the survey, students took this in different locations. Some
took the survey in class during classroom hours if permitted by both the principal and teacher.
Others took the survey during their passing periods or during a before or after school time, in
which case they may have been at home, or at another undisclosed location. The survey was
open and accessible through a web link, and by mobile or PC/Mac.
Participants
While this study utilized established surveys that captured well-documented U.S.
Mexican values and recognized prosocial behaviors of U.S. Mexican adolescents, this study also
had potential to unveil further cultural values and prosocial tendencies not captured in the
published survey work. Important to remember is that the surveys used in this study were
designed as the result of interviews with U.S. Mexican populations, and thus qualitative work.
Therefore, I engaged U.S. Mexican adolescents in semi-structured interviews. Through these
interviews, evidence for further culturally specific values were noted.
Target and Accessible Population
According to the 2020 national census records, Hispanics were the largest ethnic group in
California, making up nearly 40% of the population in the state. People of Mexican ancestry in
the state are estimated to make up 31% of the state’s total population. Fresno County CA, a
region encompassing major cities such as Fresno as well as suburbs and smaller towns, has a
population of 1,008,000 with 53.6% of that population being Hispanic and primarily of Mexican

59
ancestry. The largest urban school district in the region is 69% Hispanic/Latino in the student
population.
The target population for this study was all U.S. Mexican secondary school students ages
13-18, in grades 9-12. This included students who had at least one parent of Mexican descent,
and students of any U.S. born generation. The accessible population was U.S. Mexican
secondary school students ages 13-18 in grades 9-12 in public high schools in Fresno Unified
School District, in California’s Central Valley. Both the target and accessible population
included Indigenous U.S. Mexican students, as well as those with European and African cultural
and linguistic heritage backgrounds. Both the target and accessible population represented a wide
range of U.S. Mexican diversity. Significant areas of diversity included generational status,
parent origin country, gender/gender identity, socioeconomic status, U.S. and Mexican regional
identity factors, and parental education level.
Sample
The sample for the student survey included 199 self-identified U.S. Mexican secondary
school students ages 13-18 in grades 9-12 at two public high schools in California’s Central
Valley. 275 students began the survey. Of those, 115 completed the survey at one high school
and 84 participants completed the survey at the other high school. A subsample of participants
was derived from the survey participants with the goal of maintaining diversity consistent with
the survey population. Semi-structured interviews included four U.S. Mexican secondary school
students ages 13-18 in grades 9-12 at each of the two selected high schools. Three of the
participants at each high school were female and one participant at each high school was male.
Sampling Method
California’s Central Valley was selected based on the convenience sampling

60
method. The schools under study are easily accessible and would permit the time
commitments needed for the semi-structured interview process. This is a valid method due to the
high level of representation of U.S. Mexican students across all of California’s Central Valley.
Although there are variations in the total percentages, U.S. Mexican students have the highest or
second highest student population across all comprehensive high schools. As discussed above,
the Central Valley of California is a region with a high percentage of Latinx students in general
and U.S. Mexican students in specific. The region and district selected make them ideal
candidates due to its high percentage of U.S. Mexican students with a low SES as well as needs
for an increase in the high school and college graduation rates in the region. The region has a
poverty rate of 17.1% and a median household income of $57,109 (U.S. Census Bureau, date). In
2022, only 21.76% of adults ages 25 and older possessed any type of college degree (FCHIP,
2022). In one district, 285 out of the 391 (72%) students that dropped out of school for the 2021
cohort year were Latinx and the four-year cohort graduation rate for that demographic in 2021
was 85.9% (CDE, 2021b).
The two high schools selected for this study reside in Fresno Unified. The sampling
method for selecting these two schools was a voluntary response sampling. All students in the
school were provided access to the online survey and a portion of those students chose to access
and complete the survey. The characteristics of participants from each school are detailed in
Table 5. Several characteristics make this high school an ideal choice for the study (CDE, 2021).
Both high schools have a high level of students who are socioeconomically disadvantaged. Both
have high levels of Hispanic or Latino students (primarily U.S. Mexican). However, high school
B has a higher graduation rate, lower dropout rate, and students at this school complete all
requirements for CSU/UC at a 10% higher rate than students in high school A. They also have a

61
much higher Asian population than High School A and lower Black or African American
population. So the ethnic diversity levels are different. High School B also has a higher level of
English Learners and a dedicated Newcomer entrance program. See Table 5 below for a
summary of each high school’s demographics.
Table 5
School Demographics
Demographic High School A High School B
Female 48.4 51.2
Male 51.4 48.7
Nonbinary .1 0
Socioeconomically Disadvantaged 90.2 89.8
Black or African American 9.1 5.8
American Indian or Alaska Native .7 .3
Asian 4.6 20.2
Filipino .2 .3
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander .4 .3
Hispanic or Latino 73.4 69.1
White 9.8 2.5
Two or more races 1.8 1.3
English learner students 12.7 15.7
Students with disabilities 14.6 9.3
Enrolled in UC/CSU courses 97.74 98.57

62

Purposive sampling was used to identify survey participants. Purposive sampling was
utilized due to the focus on U.S. Mexican students and a need to gain participation from this
demographic population of adolescent students. Both high schools’ populations enrolled a
majority Latino/Hispanic population which was itself majority U.S. Mexican. In addition to this,
both high schools offered Ethnic Studies and Spanish classes that enrolled as high or a higher
percentage of U.S. Mexican students in the school population. These classes were targeted
specifically, though the survey was offered to all students on campus. The first question of the
survey was a screener and stated that the survey was intended for students of Mexican descent.
Participants were asked to respond if they self-identified as of Mexican descent and proceed with
the survey, or otherwise stop taking the survey.
In total, 275 students accessed the online Qualtrics survey available to all students. Of
those 275 participants, 199 completed the survey. Only completed surveys were used for analysis
in this dissertation. Upon completion of the survey, students proceeded to a question that asked
about their willingness to participate in the interview portion of the study. A total of 99 students
responded that they would like to participate. However, only 20 accessed the additional link
outside the survey to fill in their information with a chosen pseudonym as well as the contact
information for their parents for me to request permission. Of the 20 who submitted information,
only 14 students submitted parent contact information. I contacted the parents of all 14 students.
Complete all courses required for UC/CSU entrance 50.65 60.84
Graduation rate (2020-2021) 87.4 93.1
Dropout rate (2020-2021) 8.3 4.1
Pupils to each academic counselor 276.8 294.8

63
I talked to many parents over the phone and left messages for others. All students were invited to
attend the group interviews. A total of eight students arrived at the time allocated for the semi-
structured interviews.
Recruitment
To recruit students for the survey study, a few different methods were used. Before any
recruitment took place, I obtained permission for the IRB committee of both the University of
Southern California as well as Fresno Unified School District (see IRB approval letters in
Appendix E). The IRB process with both institutions was interactive in that I was able to
correspond with the committee leads in order to ensure that appropriate procedures were in place
for this study and adjust elements appropriately.
Following IRB approval from both institutions, I engaged with each high school’s
principal, head counselor, and teaching faculty in the recruitment of students using a recruitment
letter (see Appendix C, Student Recruitment Flyer). The school’s head counselor shared
communication around the study with the parents and families of the school through their social
media see (Appendix C, Informational and Recruit Letter to Families). The letter to families
introduced me as the researcher, explained the purpose of the study, and provided a link to the
specific questions asked on the survey. In addition, there was a link that parents could use to opt
their child out of the study.
I placed a copy of the student recruitment flyers in each teacher mailbox at both school
sites. Teachers posted the student recruitment flyers in their classroom on an optional basis. The
teachers who had a high number of U.S. Mexican students, additionally received a script to read
to students explaining the study. This was done with the teachers of Ethnic Studies and Spanish
classes for the purpose of inclusivity of dominant Spanish-speaking students and also because

64
these classes in particular had a high percentage of U.S. Mexican students. The flyers included
both a QR and hyperlink to the student survey. These were provided so that students could easily
access the Qualtrics survey on their mobile device using the QR code or through the web link
sent out by their teachers on their laptops. The recruitment flier also included a parental
notification that went out to families with a copy of the survey questions and an opportunity to
opt out their child, if desired (see Appendix C, Informational and Recruit Letter to Families).
Lastly, flyers were posted by volunteer leadership students in approved general areas on
campus. All student participants were informed that they would receive a bag of snacks as an
incentive for completing the survey. Each interview participant was told that they would receive
a Target gift card. The eight students selected for the interviews included the following from
each school: One primarily English-speaking student, two equally bilingual students, and one
primarily Spanish-speaking student.
Instrumentation
There were four different instruments used in this study: Demographic Survey, Semi-
structured Interview, Prosocial Tendencies Measure-Revised, and Mexican American Cultural
Values Scale. Each instrument helped to answer some of two research questions and the two
hypotheses (see Table 6). The interview protocol began with a welcome and introductions,
followed by an explanation of the purpose and content of the interview. After this, participants
were asked questions around general background information such as their grade level, how they
self-identify, and the languages spoken in the home. The interview proceeded with questions
regarding cultural values and how these values come into play at home and at school. There were
also included specific questions around self-identified prosocial behaviors. All questions

65
mirrored the general categories introduced in the survey, but allowed for the participants to
expand upon the topics with explanation and personal examples.
Table 6
Study Instrumentation and Connection to RQs

Demographic
Survey
Semi-Structured
Interviews
Prosocial
Tendencies
Measure-
Revised (PTM-
R)
Mexican
Cultural Values
Survey
(MACVS)
RQ1 All demographic
questions
#s 1-8, 22 All subscales
and questions
All subscales
and questions
RQ2 All PTM-R
instrument
questions (21
total) grouped by
subscale and all
MACVS
instrument
questions (42)
grouped by
subscale
#s 9-22 All subscales
and questions
All subscales
and questions
H1 All MACVS
survey questions
(42 total)
#s 1-8, 22 All subscales
and questions
All subscales
and questions
H2 All PTM-R
instrument
questions (21
total) grouped by
subscale and all
MACVS
instrument
questions (42)
grouped by
subscale
#s 9-22 All subscales
and questions
All subscales
and questions
SI=Semi-structured Interviews

66
Demographic Survey
The demographic survey (see Appendix A, include the name) was constructed in
Qualtrics and contained questions in the following areas: school of attendance, language, gender
identity, age, home country of parents and grandparents, and self, and terms of self-
identification, and self-assessment of skin tone. The racial/ethnic identity question as well as the
cultural identity of parents accounted for Indigenous identities. In the Central Valley of
California, students of Mexican descent by nationality may also be of Zapoteco, Ñuu Savi
(Mixteco), Triqui, Otomi, or other Mexican Indigenous heritage that carries cultural
distinctiveness that might be accounted for. The purpose of the question regarding the parent’s
country was also intended to broaden a discussion on distinctiveness or commonalities in the
cultural assets of U.S. Mexican youth by generation. The question on gender identity included
options for non-conforming/nonbinary gender identity, transgender identities, as well as male
and female gender identities. As the United States has seen a recent increase in adolescents
expressing their genders along an expanded continuum, collecting this information might prove
an important addition to the present research which has only included binary choices in
demographic surveys. This information was collected for comparison purposes but also because
gender roles is a variable studied in the cultural values survey administered.
Semi-structured Interview
For the semi-structured interviews (see Appendix B: include the name), I constructed an
interview protocol that corresponded with the two research questions. I first welcomed the
interview participants and oriented them to the focus of the research. I informed them of the
confidentiality of their responses and that they should feel able to share as much or little personal
information as is comfortable for them. I stated my role as researcher and that in no way would

67
any responses impact their school performance and that they would not get in trouble for
anything they decide to share confidentially. Finally, the orientation provided an opportunity for
me to let students know that they could speak in English and or Spanish, and translanguage as
needed and wanted, I let them know that I would be able to interact with them bilingually as
much as needed and desired to best express their thoughts.
The proceeding interview questions were broken into the following categories: sharing a
bit about themselves, questions about the values and social skills expected in their homes, their
own and their parents expectations for adolescents toward different adults, how their schools do
and/or do not create circumstances for valuing their cultural identities and increase belonging at
school, questions concerning additional values not represented in the MACVS survey, and
finally, limitations they face at school in receiving academic support that may be culturally
correlated.
For the questions regarding the cultural context present in the students’ homes, I asked
questions regarding the specific values and prosocial skills that family members demonstrate or
that they feel are expected. Helping behaviors, concern for others, and perspective taking were
the three specific prosocial skills I focused on. Helping behaviors is the focus of the PTM-R
survey and both concern for others and perspective taking show up in different ways in the
MACVS survey. I asked these questions to elicit narratives connected to the students’ own lives
that could provide nuance to the adolescents’ survey responses.
Next, I asked participants about their own perspectives regarding the behaviors of
adolescents at school. This allowed the participants to offer definitions of what they thought of as
appropriate school behaviors and culturally based reasoning for their definitions. I also asked
about their parents’ expectations for good school behavior. Additionally, I inquired about their

68
own and their parents’ expectations for adolescent behavior toward parents, grandparents, and
teachers. Finally, I asked the participants as to the presence of values that their parents hold
strongly that may be different for them. The content and sequence of these questions allowed
participants to provide nuanced narratives regarding their own bicultural adaptation process and
provided further information around their metacognitive processes in considering their own
values and expectations in conjunction with and comparatively against those of their parents.
After probing the home cultural values context and bicultural adaptation, I asked a series
of questions regarding the interaction of cultural values and positive identity in the school
context. I asked the students if there were instances when they felt that their cultural values and
identity were valued at school and if there were instances when they felt their culture was not
valued. A further question asked student to comment on any efforts their schools made around
increasing a sense of belonging for them and other U.S. Mexican students.
Because the MACVS addressed a limited set of values known through research at the
time, and because additional work has revealed the possibility of additional, salient cultural
values, I took time in the semi-structured interviews to probe a small set of additional values.
These included humility, personalismo, and being bien educado. For each value, I defined the
value briefly and asked whether the students noticed this value in their interactions with family
members at and home. I also asked if they could share any instances where they saw these values
in action.
My final topic of inquiry in the semi-structured interviews was around how any
incongruence between their own cultural values and those of the school and/or teachers may be
impacting their academic success. The way I approached this was to first ask for their
perspectives on the meaning of success at school. This question allowed for me to hear from

69
participants how they define success and perhaps goals for school. I moved on to inquiring about
any possible limitations to success at the school they attend. I did this by asking if there were any
areas in which success was not possible for them. I also asked at to the ease or difficulty of
asking for help at school. I probed this in a manner that allowed for students to situate their
relative ability to ask for academic support within the confines of cultural expectations from
parents, teachers, and themselves.
Throughout the interview process, I used additional, open ended, probing questions to go
deeper with each topic. The group interviews lasted one hour each, and this time frame allowed
for participants to individually provide responses for each topic, but also to build upon the
comments and experiences shared by other students. At the end of the topic-based questions, I
asked if participants wanted to add anything further. I closed by thanking all participants and
providing them and wishing them well as they pursued their end of year academic pursuits.
Assessment Tools
245 students began and 185 students completed a quantitative survey that combined
statements targeting cultural values and prosocial tendencies. There were two assessments used
in this study. Each assessment was constructed in Qualtrics, and all questions were Likert scale
questions (qualtrics.com, 2022). The survey was available to student participants in both English
and Spanish. Students could switch between languages on each individual question by clicking a
button on the top right corner of the screen. The impact of this is that the students were able to
complete the survey using both languages. From the demographic survey results, 35% of
respondents stated that they mostly speak Spanish with their parents and grandparents, 32%
stated that they mostly speak English with their parents and grandparents, 33% stated that they
speak a mix of English and Spanish with their parents and grandparents, and one respondent

70
stated that they speak another language better than English or Spanish. 25% of respondents
stated that they have an Indigenous language in their background. In viewing the results of the
language survey, it appears that providing the opportunity for students to switch back and forth
between English and Spanish was likely supportive of meaning making for both the questions
and response options.
The first assessment, the Prosocial Tendencies Measure-Revised (PTM-R), was used to
understand self-assessed tendencies toward helping behaviors (Carlo et al, 2005) (see Appendix
A: include the title). Additionally, the Mexican American Cultural Values Scale (MACVS) (see
Appendix A: include the title) was used to assess traditional U.S. Mexican values endorsement
and any cultural adaptation where adolescents may now incorporate cultural values more
strongly aligned to European-American values systems (MACVS: Knight et al, 2010).
Reliability and Validity of the Prosocial Tendencies Measure-Revised (PTM-R).
The psychometric properties of the Prosocial Tendencies Measure-Revised (PTM-R)
were assessed in a multidimensional study (Carlo et al., 2003). One hundred, thirty-eight
adolescents from public middle and high schools completed the PTM-R as well as completing
measures of prosocial moral reasoning, sympathy, perspective taking, aggression, ascription of
responsibility, social desirability, verbal skills. Surveys were completed twice, separated by a
two-week time span to test reliability of responses. Teacher ratings of generosity and helpfulness
were also completed.
Prior to the development of the PTM-R, relatively little was understood in the research
about the development of prosocial behaviors during adolescence, even though it is well
understood that early adolescence is a key period for new opportunities through volunteerism
and social interactions for adolescents to develop these tendencies. This is also due to

71
adolescence being a period of emerging interpersonal relationships, cognitive and emotive
development, and changes in the social context (Carlo et al., 1992; Carlo et al., 1999; Fabes et
al., 1999). This was partly due to the lack of reliable measures to understand adolescent prosocial
behavior, a need the development of the PTM-R contributed to addressing. Research prior to the
development of the PTM-R has shown a wide variance in prosocial behaviors amongst
individual adolescents.
That research has indicated that prosocial behaviors have a strong correlation with social
information processes and skills, such as specific sociocognitive skills. For example, individuals
who frequently help in emotionally evocative situations also are prone to sympathy and higher
levels of moral reasoning and perspective taking (Carlo et al., 1991). The study made a particular
contribution in distinguishing the types of prosocial behaviors adolescents engage in and also
distinguishing important differences between early and middle adolescence (Carlo et al., 2003).
The PTM-R itself is a list of 25 Likert scale questions. Originally the Prosocial
Tendencies Measure was created for college age students and the measure was created from
previously developed prosocial disposition scales. The PTM was modified for use with
adolescents by simplifying language choices and adding two additional items. The six types of
prosocial behaviors in the PTM-R include public, anonymous, dire, emotional, compliant, and
altruism (see appendix A). For the most part, the statements can be generalized to understand
types of helping behaviors and the contexts in which subjects self-report engaging in such
helping behavior. For the present study, the items from this measure have been selected for this
purpose, to measure the prosocial helping behaviors of U.S. Mexican adolescents.
The multidimensional study resulted in partial support for the reliability and validity of
the PTM-R to use with early adolescents and middle adolescents. The PTM-R scales were found

72
to be significantly related with theoretically relevant variables, namely the prosocial tendencies
being studied, and not significantly related with nontheoretically relevant variables such as
vocabulary skills, that might have potentially reduced reliability. The PTM-R then was found to
have adequate psychometric properties and that it can be used with early adolescents and middle
adolescents from the United States. It is important to note that the original findings of the PTM-
R were executed with a group of 70% White/non-Hispanic adolescents but that the primary
researcher followed this with additional studies on U.S. Mexican adolescents in the southwest of
the United States as well as how U.S. Mexican youth are socialized into these values (Davis et al,
2015; Knight & Carlo, 2012; Knight et al, 2016b; Knight et al, 2018). These studies and others
are discussed in Chapter Two of this dissertation. The complete PTM-R survey can be found in
Appendix A.
Scores were derived by summing the items across the five scores, or each of the five
types of prosocial moral reasoning to obtain a frequency score (Carlo et al., 2003). The
frequency PROM scores were transformed to proportion PROM scores by dividing each of the
scores for the five types of moral reasoning by the sum of frequency PROM scores. The
proportion score reflects a participant’s preference for a particular reasoning type relative to the
other reasoning types (Carlo et al., 2003).There were five hedonistic items (Cronbach’s alpha
coefficient = .74), five needs-oriented items (Cronbach’s alpha coefficient = .71), five approval-
oriented items (Cronbach’s alpha coefficient = .86), five stereotypic items(Cronbach’s alpha
coefficient = .83), and five internalized-level items(Cronbach’s alpha coefficient = .75).
Evidence for the reliability and validity of the PROM has been reported elsewhere (e.g., Carlo et
al., 1996; Eisenberg et al., 1995).

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Reliability and Validity Studies of the U.S. Mexican Cultural
Values Survey (MACVS).
The U.S. Mexican Cultural Values Survey (MACVS) was derived from qualitative data,
specifically focus group interviews with U.S. Mexican adolescents, mothers, and fathers (Knight
et al., 2010). Through these interviews, key cultural values were discussed, and salient values
were identified. Two previously published studies were analyzed utilizing the identified key
cultural values. Evidence for the higher order construct, reliability, and construct validity of the
subscales of the MACVS were indicated. Values solidified and internalized in adolescence are
helpful for understanding cultural salience, as values are a primary means by which culture is
transmitted. As it is understood through research that socialization in new cultural contexts
impacts cultural values, the MACVS helps to understand cultural adaptation in longitudinal
studies of U.S. Mexican populations and has added to the paucity of scales that aim to measure
adolescent cultural adaptation directly.
Included in the scale is a total of nine values themes. These themes were identified from
direct comments of focus group participants rather than from prior research in this area. Six of
these themes reflect values associated with Mexican and U.S. Mexican beliefs, behaviors, and
traditions (i.e., Familism Support, Familism Obligations, Familism Referents, Respect, Religion,
and Traditional Gender Roles), and three of these themes reflect contemporary mainstream
American values (i.e., Material Success, Independence & Self-Reliance, Competition & Personal
Achievement). The mainstream American values provide an important area for the present study
with which to understand the extent to which U.S. Mexican children participate in the values
aspirations of the generalized American culture and schooling that reflect Protestant, Anglo-
Saxon-values traditions.

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The researchers who formulated the MACVS conducted an extensive confirmatory factor
analysis process using data from two significant studies, one of a group of 750 fifth-grade
students in the La Familia study, as well as a second study of 598 seventh-grade students and
their parents in the Puentes study (Knight et al., 2010b). They used correlation and structural
equation modeling analyses to examine construct validity relations of the subscales to
theoretically related constructs available in the La Familia data set. The La Familia study looked
at U.S. Mexican ethnic pride, ethnic socialization, social support, acceptance, parental
monitoring, and positive role models in the family. The ethnic-oriented values were expected to
relate to ethnic pride and ethnic socialization because they should be elevated in families that
actively promote traditional values and maintain a sense of pride in their ethnic heritage. Social
support and parental acceptance should also be related to the ethnically oriented value domains,
particularly with the familism values, because they are behavioral manifestations of the strong
affective ties and family bonds specifically promoted by these familism values. For the La
Familia study, along with the MACVS, participants completed several measures that allowed for
the assessment of construct validity of this measure. Six measures selected were expected to
show positive relations with those values more associated with ethnic culture (Familism Support,
Familism Obligations, Familism Referents, Respect, and Religion).
The confirmatory factor analysis data suggests that this scale is best used when subscales
are combined and that scores on the individual subscales should be used with caution. This is
because although the analysis indicates that each subscale measures an individual construct,
some of the internal consistency coefficients are low, likely due to the small number of items that
are included for each subscale. The results of the cross-sectional confirmatory analyses using the
data from both the La Familia and Puentes studies provide limited support for the MACVS as a

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tool for measuring culturally related values among U.S. Mexican adolescents and adults and for
utilizing this measure in longitudinal studies and analyses as well as providing support for the
construct validity. The confirmatory analyses also provided support for using the MACVS in
static single-point in time relationships amongst culturally related values and additional
culturally related phenomena. There are also substantial preliminary findings regarding the
psychometric properties of the MACVS, and its integrated use in qualitative and quantitative
research approaches in the development of culturally sensitive measures. The authors of the
MACVS acknowledge that longitudinal studies are needed to understand changes in the extent to
which adolescents endorse these same cultural values over time, thus adding understanding to the
usefulness of these measures.
The individual subscale internal consistency coefficients, that is, Cronbach’ alphas, for
adolescent, mother, and father reports are familism support (.67, .58, and .60, respectively);
familism obligations (.65, .55, .46); familism referents (.61, .63, .53); religion (.78, .78, .84);
respect (.75, .52, .45); traditional gender roles (.73, .66, .67); material success (.74, .78, .78);
independence and self-reliance (.48, .35, .40); and competition and personal achievement (.57,
.65, .62). The internal consistency coefficients for a composite of the items from the three
familism subscales are .84 for adolescents, .79 for mothers, and .75 for fathers (Knight et al.,
2009). The internal consistency coefficients for a composite of the items from the overall
Mexican American values subscales are .89 for adolescents, .87 for mothers, and .84 for fathers.
The internal consistency coefficients for a composite of the items from the overall Mainstream
values subscales are .77 for adolescents, .79 for mothers, and .79 for fathers (Knight et al., 2009).
Due to the recommendation of the research around the use of the MACVS, all questions in the
MACVS are used in the present study. This means that the student surveys will reflect responses

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to both the questions aligned to traditional Mexican-American values as well as those more
aligned to mainstream Anglo-Saxon influenced American values.
Data Collection
I followed specific procedures in the creation and administration of surveys at both high
schools. These procedures are detailed in Table 7 below. The Qualtrics platform was used in the
creation and administration of the survey. Because the survey combined grouped questions from
two surveys with extensive testing and research (MACVS and PTM-R) all questions were
entered as stated exactly as presented in the original tool. Translation into Spanish occurred after
the survey was complete in English and an option to switch between English and Spanish freely
in viewing and responding to questions for survey takers was available in both the PC/MAC and
mobile versions of the survey. Principals and head counselors at the two high schools worked
with me to coordinate survey efforts and provided opportunities for students at their schools to
participate and for the dissemination of information to families at their sites.
Table 7
Procedures for Surveys
● I created the survey in Qualtrics by entering the survey questions in an appropriate
survey flow and with appropriate settings for the question types.
● All surveys were programmed for a four-week time frame.
● A copy of the survey questions was provided to parents through a digital announcement
sent from the school. Parents were able to fill out an opt-out form if they did not wish
for their child to participate in the study.
● I provided all teachers at the school with a flier highlighting the survey’s purpose and
providing a hyperlink and QR link for students to access. All teachers were asked to
share the survey opportunity with their students.
● The head counselor at each school was provided a digital copy of the flier and
requested that they send this out to their teachers on staff. The head counselors at each
school confirmed they had done this.

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● Participant students accessed the survey through either a QR link provided on the paper
flier or through the hyperlink that was emailed to teachers by the school counselor.
● After beginning the survey, student participants selected the language in which they
preferred to access the survey. Available languages included English and Spanish.
● Student participants completed surveys at their own pace. Completion of all surveys
was estimated to take 20 minutes. Student participants completed surveys
independently.
● Surveys were completed independently.
● At the conclusion of the survey, participants received a question asking about interest
in participating in interviews. Student participants who wished to participate provided
their name or a pseudonym and their parent’s contact number.
● After beginning the survey, student participants were permitted four weeks to access
and complete in Qualtrics.

Procedures for Semi-Structured Interviews
Prior to the semi-structured interviews, I phoned each volunteer participant’s parents to
introduce myself and confirm that the student could participate in the interview (see Appendix C:
Parental Phone Call Script, Semi-Structured Interviews). I took this additional step knowing of
the importance for Mexican parents to have a detailed explanation of conversations that involve
their children. It was also my way of showing cultural respect for them. Because most of the
parents were Spanish speaking, this allowed for me to engage with them in Spanish and use
expressions of respect for parental authority (i.e. si permite Usted,...). There were also English-
speaking parents for whom I presumed the same cultural assumptions in seeking their permission
for their child’s participation. All parents were affirming that their children would be speaking to
their cultural experiences. Table 8 includes the procedures for semi-structured interviews.
I met with students in groups of four, one at each high school studied. The purpose of this
design was to allow for a culturally responsive setting where the adolescents could build on
eachother’s ideas comfortably. The interview protocol was followed, and many follow up

78
questions were utilized due to the need to understand students’ definitions of concepts when
expressed (i.e. when a student noted that it was important to be respectful, I asked them to tell
me what being respectful looked like in someone’s behaviors). The interviews explored
connections with and examples of the cultural values from the MACVS survey, and the prosocial
behaviors from the PTM-R for both for themselves and their family members. Additionally, we
discussed how students experience their school environments in the context of these cultural
values and prosocial behaviors.
Because it was possible that the respondents had not yet explored their own connections
to some of the ideas presented through the interview protocol, it was understood that their
responses would be somewhat exploratory. I expected respondents to be conjecturing and
suggesting possibilities, rather than expressing firm arguments about their own developing
identities. Yet there were many points when students expressed certainty around cultural and
behavioral constructs that were salient in their lived experiences.
Table 8
Semi-Structured Interview Procedures
● I welcomed student participants into the room and engaged them in some informal
“getting to know you'' questions.
● I informed the student participants of the interview procedures including recording. I
asked permission of all students as to if I could record.
● I asked the student demographic questions.
● I then proceeded to ask open-ended questions organized by the research subtopics.
● I asked follow up questions as needed.
● I incorporated transitions to orient participants to the next set of questions.
● I responded to each participant in a non-evaluative manner throughout.

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● I maintained a calm and receptive demeanor throughout.
● I thanked the student participants for their participation.

Confidentiality Parameters
Each survey participant was identified by a unique survey number. Survey results were
only accessible to me, the sole researcher. The methods used to identify potential participants
were advertising through the use of fliers and teacher conversations. I provided my own
information on the flyers, but participants did not need to self-identify in order to access the
survey. IP addresses for survey participants were not collected. This was done through a specific
setting in Qualtrics. There was no further contact with survey participants during the research
period, except those that were participating in the semi-structured interviews. The interview
participants were contacted by email and phone. I interacted with these participants individually
in person, in an identified confidential location on the student’s high school campus. The
methods used to obtain information about interview participants’ perspectives on this
dissertation’s research focus were recorded oral interviews.
The potential privacy risks of information participants shared included any information
that would fall under mandated reporter guidelines, to which I am subject. The steps taken to
ensure access to the minimum amount of information necessary to complete the study include the
following. No information was obtained about individuals other than the desired sampling
information. Each survey participant was assigned an individual identification number that was
used to distinguish surveys. No personal or identifiable information was obtained to facilitate the
research nor as part of data collection, except for participants who answered in the affirmative to
participate in interviews and provide that information explicitly. Pseudonyms were used for all
participants of the survey and daily diaries. The other purpose was to later identify volunteers for

80
the qualitative semi-structured interviews. The computer-based survey was password protected
for participants.
Data Management
The account on which the survey results were held was password protected using a two-
factor authentication system. I remained current with cybersecurity practices by practicing safe
computing practices, staying current by reading technological articles, installing antivirus
Software, installing a firewall, and enabling automatic updates for Windows. In regard to system
authentication and security, I ensured that access to all confidential and sensitive data was
managed appropriately by using strong passwords, restricting user permissions to the files being
used, and by locking the workstation when I was away.
Encryption
Survey results as well as interview notes and audio files, when downloaded into computer
files for analysis, were encrypted. Data encryption was used to further protect confidential and
sensitive research data. The encryption stays with the data as it travels through any networks, as
well as web, application, and database servers. Any confidential and sensitive email
communications were encrypted using the encryption feature of security settings.
Dissemination of Findings
The findings of this dissertation were shared with the school district and schools studied.
The results of the survey were shared with school faculty and administration in a summarized
version, highlighting the identified relationships between self-reported prosocial tendencies and
endorsement of U.S. Mexican cultural values. I contextualized the findings within the larger
frame of the dissertation research, how knowledge of cultural values and prosocial tendencies
can assist educators and schools in improving the structures, relationships, and interactions to

81
better create culturally sustaining schooling environments, and thereby make possible the
academic acceleration and achievement of U.S. Mexican students. Additionally, I offered all
participants and their parents the opportunity to review the summarized findings as described
above.
Data Analysis
Data analysis for this study involved the quantitative analysis of surveys as well as the
thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews. Table 9 below shows whether qualitative,
quantitative, or both types of data were used to answer each question. Both research questions
were answered through both quantitative and qualitative data collection.
Table 9
Quantitative and Qualitative Data Collection
Question Quantitative Qualitative
RQ1 MACVS
PTM-R
SI #: 1-8, 19
RQ2 MACVS
PTM-R
SI #: 9-10, 13-21, 23, 25

Descriptive Analysis
Demographic Survey
Demographic information for survey participants was obtained through the demographic
survey at the start of the study. Following the survey’s closure, I analyzed the aggregate data to
ascertain numbers and percentages of respondents in each of these categories with their
corresponding responses.

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PTM-R and the MACVS
For the descriptive analysis of the PTM-R and the MACVS survey questions and
subscales, I identified the means and standard deviations of the questions in each subscale. This
was done through a simple automated process in Qualtrics. Then, I accessed the raw data
available for all survey participants in Qualtrics and transferred this data into Microsoft Excel
Data Analysis Toolpak for descriptive analysis, in order to more easily facilitate the grouping of
subscale questions. In Excel, I grouped the individual questions of each subscale and determined
the mean scores per participant of all items grouped in the subscale. I further analyzed the means
for each subscale by averaging the means of all participant means. After this, I determined the
standard deviations for the full participant data set. Because the total number of surveys analyzed
was 199 this was sufficient information in order to yield reliable information regarding the
distance from the mean for individual scores and the general sense of central tendency.
Altruistic items were negatively scored prior to analysis. This is due to the statements
being assertions that negate altruistic behaviors. Then responses to those questions were summed
up and averaged. The average scores for compliant, dire, and emotional helping were summed up
in order to create a composite score. I used that composite score to analyze the correlations of
subscales.
Thematic Analysis
Qualitative data analysis involved the probing of themes expressed by participants in the
semi-structured interviews. In order to capture the ideas and themes, I recorded the interviews
and later uploaded the recordings into NVivo (Nvivo, 2023), a transcription analysis application.
Inferential Statistics
For the inferential analysis of the survey data, I began with the data set obtained through

83
the descriptive statistics analysis in Microsoft Excel Data Analysis Toolpak. Specifically, I began
with the full individual participant, meaning the individual items in each of the PTM-R and
MACVS subscales. As noted above, the subscales for PTMR-R Compliant, Dire, and Emotional
were combined to create composite means for each individual participant.
I then used a multiple regression analysis to determine the Pearson correlation coefficient
in order to measure the strength and direction of linear relationships between pairs of the
continuous variables analyzed. Thus, it was to identify a negative or positive correlation. These
variables were the MACVS subscales measured against the PTM-R subscales or composite
scales. Through this process, I obtained both the coefficient (r value) to note the presence of a
negative or positive linear relationship, or no relationship at all. Through the same regression
sequence, I obtained the statistical significance (p value), which directed me to the probability of
the correlation being incidental or meaningful in the population tested. Several positive and
negative correlations of statistical significance were noted through this process.
Finally, I organized this information into a matrix in order to express subscales and
composites that showed either a positive or negative linear relationship as well as the level of
statistical significance for this relationship. Following this, I used my own research basis to
further inform the nature of the results as well as the possible factors that may have contributed
to weak or very weak correlations but with statistical significance. I then compared this with the
general research findings in this area.
I interviewed four participants from each school. In each small group interview, there
were three students identifying as female and one student identifying as male. Two of the
students in each group were first generation U.S. born, one student was born in Mexico, and the
remaining student in each group was second generation U.S. born. Two members in each group

84
self-identified as fully bilingual, one member in each group identified as Spanish dominant, and
the remaining student in each group identified as English dominant.
Thematic Content Analysis (TCA) was used in this study. TCA is a descriptive
presentation of qualitative data that was taken from the researcher’s semi-structured interview
transcripts with the research sample. I used NVivo transcription tools to transcribe the interviews
conducted at each school. In the analysis, I examined the content of the discourse to identify
common themes—topics, ideas, and patterns of meaning that came up repeatedly. For the most
part, these themes bore a close resemblance to the general categories of the two research
questions, the cultural values of the adolescents interviewed, and the relationship between their
prosocial behaviors and those values. Though, because the interviews allowed for information to
emerge organically and was based on the lived experiences of the adolescents interviewed,
additional dimensions and contours of both values and prosocial tendencies were encountered
along the way. Additionally, due to the interviews being conducted in small groups, similar-aged
peers were able to listen to and build upon the comments of others. There were many moments
when the student interviewees noted that another participant’s experience was similar to their
own. Without prompting, student participants prompted each other and waited for peers to make
their own contributions.
While there are various approaches to conducting TCA, I followed this six-step process:
familiarization, coding, generating themes, reviewing themes, defining and naming themes, and
writing up analysis results. During this process, many adjustments were made along the way in
identifying best-fit categories for the themes. The process was greatly impacted by the
intersecting nature of the values being studied with each other and with prosocial tendencies.

85
Many student narrative selections belonged to multiple categories because of how these values
and behaviors intertwine in daily life and in their interactions at school and at home.
Toward the end of the data analysis process, I organized the finalized themes and selected
quotes that were most representative of the findings as related to the questions. These themes and
quotes were then organized into a table for presentation of the metathemes. They were further
organized with sub themes and exemplar quotes for each metatheme. Themes identified through
the analysis process that did not directly relate to the two primary research questions were
nonetheless organized for interpretive work at a later time. The generous narratives offered by
student participants offered an abundance of new information to follow up on in subsequent
research.
Purposeful Quantitative and Qualitative Data Mixing
Following the descriptive and inferential analysis of the quantitative and qualitative data
sets, I probed both sets of data in order to identify crossover themes and points at which the
student narratives could inform the survey results. Firstly, the cadence of this probing involved
noting how themes emerging from the qualitative data explained, expanded, or countered the
quantitative data from the MACVS and PTM-R subscales. I refocused again on the two primary
research questions, but I also used subscale descriptive statistics and correlations in order to
refine my focus. Further, I looked for themes in the qualitative data that provided more
information regarding the correlations identified through the subscale correlations. As a point of
final reflection and analysis, I reviewed the significant patterns and correlations from the survey
data alongside the significant qualitative themes, in order to narrow down what the data
expressed most strongly. This was narrowly focused on the two research questions, in which
case, much of the rich information provided by the participants was necessarily set aside for

86
subsequent inquiry. Part of this process involved also self-assessing my own possible analysis
bias to ensure that there was sufficient data to support my interpretations.
Reliability
Dependability
This dissertation research accommodated appropriate levels of documentation and made
possible the auditing of the original and summarized data. A printed file of the NVivo
transcriptions was created. Electronic files (anonymized) were created for the original survey
results per participant through Qualtrics, and these will additionally be printed in hard copy. All
documentation for this dissertation research will be maintained for a minimum of three years in a
hard copy file. The digital file will be stored in a password protected computer cloud storage file,
as well as a password protected hard drive for a period beyond three years. In this way, there is
the possibility of auditing the primary documentation and comparing with the analysis and
findings.
Confirmability
In the future, it would be possible to conduct a similar study and within the same or
similar region to confirm findings. The process can be conducted through the same data software
tools and through finding means, standard deviations, and correlations and levels of significance.
In the future, due to the presence of dual cultural adaptation mitigated by generational status and
other factors, it is possible that the levels of students’ endorsement of specific cultural values and
their own alignment to prosocial tendencies will shift. Still, the basic parameters of the study
could be applied. The internal reliability for questions and subscales has been evaluated using
Cronbach’s alpha analysis.

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Validity
Inferential Validity
The potential for inferential validity is thought to be high. The defense for this position is
that many studies cited in this dissertation’s literature review have previously been used in
conjunction. Multiple regression analysis using Pearson’s correlation coefficient has been used to
understand relationships between these same variables and subscales in the past. Moreover, the
relationship between weak positive correlations that are statistically significant (by analysis of p
values) is explained by other factors that are impacting the construct measured.
For the semi-structured interviews, the artificial intelligence (AI) thematic analysis in
addition to my own review of dominant themes allowed for themes to emerge independently
from the data. The intention of the survey was not to establish causal links, but it was the case
that the qualitative surveys helped to provide further information around questions contained in
the survey.
Credibility
The use of NVivo software to analyze themes in the semi-structured interviews helped in
establishing a level of credibility for those data sets. One area to note is that the responses from
students varied widely due to the open nature of the questions in the interviews. Additionally,
participants were not limited to the amount they could contribute verbally. Because I was
recording, I was free to interact and engage in deep listening of the interviewees, which may
have provided motivation for them to contribute even more information. For this reason, some
themes emerged from individual participants contributing heavily. Thus analyzing the data to
understand trends and commonalities across participants was important.

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Transferability
Although this study is an empirical study in a specific geographic area and during a
defined time frame, it is likely that the responses of participants will contribute to a broader
understanding of the perspectives of U.S. Mexican students more broadly. It is important that
they enhance and amplify and not replace the current data available for this subgroup. Important
to remember is that U.S. Mexican students are not monolithic in their endorsement of U.S.
Mexican or mainstream cultural values nor consistent in their levels of prosocial tendencies and
behaviors. Thus it should always be considered that studies such as this one provide broad
notions of cultural values’ endorsement as well as dual cultural adaptation.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the present dissertation study given the research design laid out in this
chapter, was able to provide both qualitative and quantitative data and an analysis of that data
that contributes meaningfully to knowledge in the fields of adolescent psychology and
educational leadership.

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Chapter 4: Research Findings
In this section, I will discuss the findings of both the survey and semi structured
interviews. The survey resulted in a calculation of means and standard deviations for the
individual items and subscales of both the MACVS and PTM-R. The semi-structured interviews
amplified and added to the survey findings, elucidating students’ personal experiences of cultural
values, and allowing for new areas of importance to emerge through the conversations.
Demographic Data
The results of the demographic survey show that the group of survey participants was
primarily older teenagers as well as having been completed by participants identifying as female
at a rate of two to one. The demographic survey also showed that the majority of participants
were first generation in the US and that Spanish and English shared equal status in language
dominance for these students. Table 10 provides a summary of the demographic characteristics
of survey participants.
Table 10
Demographic Survey Responses
n %
School of attendance
School A 105 57%
School B 80 43%
Gender
Male 61 33%
Female 117 63%

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Transgender female 0 0%
Transgender male 1 1%
Gender nonconforming or nonbinary 3 2%
Something other than what is listed 3 2%
Age
13-14 years old 8 4%
15 years old 29 16%
16 years old 60 32%
17 years old 66 35%
18 years old 23 12%
U.S. Generation
Born in Mexico 9 4.86%
First generation in US 126 68.11%
Second generation in US 29 15.68%
Third or higher generation in US 19 10.27%
Born neither in the U.S. nor in Mexico 2 1.08%
Parental heritage
Both parents of Mexican heritage 152 82%
One parent of non-Mexican heritage 33 18%
Dominant language

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Spanish dominant 64 35%
English dominant 59 32%
Equally bilingual 61 33%
Other language dominant 1 1%
Indigenous languages
Indigenous language speakers in family 45 25%
No indigenous language speakers in family 135 75%
Self-identification
Mexican 124 42%
Mexican American 117 40%
Chicano/a/x 34 12%
Indigenous community name 14 5%
Mestizo 2%
Self-Assessed Skin tone
Very fair, pale white 9 3%
Fair, white 35 19%
Lighter olive 56 31%
Darker olive, medium brown 72 40%
Dark brown 10 6%
Very dark brown, black 1 1%

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Semi-Structured Interviews Participant Demographics
Two separate group interviews were conducted, one at each high school. Pseudonyms
were established for each participant. At High School A, the participants were MJ, Sofi, Maryah,
and Adán. At High School B, the participants were Maite, Alicia, Eliseo, and Rose. Between
both high schools, there were four first generation U.S. born students and one second generation
U.S. born student. Three students were born in Mexico. Of the three students born in Mexico,
one came to the U.S.as a young child and the other two came during early adolescence. Two of
the student participants were undocumented. Two out of the eight students interviewed identified
as dominant Spanish speakers who also speak English, four identified as dominant English
speakers with varying levels of fluency and confidence in using Spanish, and two identified as
fully bilingual and confident in both languages. Six students had primarily Spanish-speaking
parents and two participants had families that used primarily English with some Spanish in the
home. All semi-structured interview participants were 17-18 years of age and in their last two
years of high school.
Findings: Survey Instruments
RQ1: What are the culturally specific values and prosocial tendencies of U.S. Mexican
adolescents?
Table 11 below details the means and standard deviations of the MACVS subscales. The
means and standard deviations for familism support (M=3.63, SD=0.24), for familism obligation
(M=3.45, SD=0.34), and for familism referent (M=3.23, SD=3.23) demonstrate a positive
attitude and agreement with these values that, although not at the highest possible levels of
endorsement, nevertheless confirm a positive attitude toward familism values and agreement,
noted by lower standard deviations. Apart from the traditional gender roles subscale, the standard

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deviations for familism were the smallest among all subscales, showing a generalized agreement
and consensus around the mean level of endorsement.
Table 11

Descriptive Statistics: MACVS Subscales, Mean and Standard Deviation Scores

Subscale M SD
Religion 2.97 0.40
Familism-Support 3.63 0.24
Familism-Obligation 3.45 0.34
Familism-Referent 3.23 0.15
Respect 3.24 0.65
Traditional Gender Roles 2.04 0.05
Material Success 2.30 0.49
Independence and Self-Reliance 3.64 0.63
Competition and Personal Achievement 2.87 0.43

To test the RQ 1, I found the mean and standard deviations for the subscales of the MACVS
survey instrument.
The mean and standard deviation for the respect subscale (M=3.24, SD=0.64) shows both
general endorsement for respect as a cultural value but with a wider spread of levels of
endorsement than seen with familism values. This is explained to a great extent by students’
generalized disagreement with never questioning their parents’ decisions (M=2.26). This view
was contrasted with the endorsement for always treating parents with respect (M=3.82). One
important note to be discussed in the interpretation of results is that the statement around never

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questioning parents’ decisions is not explicit whether this is an internalized questioning
occurring as a cognitive process or if it’s verbally expressed toward parents.
U.S. Mexican adolescent attitudes toward traditional religious values (M=2.97, SD=0.40)
appeared to be more nuanced and variable in the population, showing that survey participants
regarded statements around religion to be somewhat true. The statement around God being first
and family second was the lowest rated item is this subscale (M=2.48) and appears to have
lowered the overall endorsement of religion along with the prescription for daily prayer (2.81),
both doctrinal aspects of Catholic catechism. Contrastingly, students endorsed statements
concerning the importance of God in ones’ life.
U.S. Mexican adolescents expressed disagreement with traditional gender roles that was
close to strong disagreement (M=2.04, SD=0.05) with survey participant responses clustered
tightly around the mean, showing strong agreement for this low level of endorsement. There was
strongest disagreement around the traditional roles of mothers and fathers in providing economic
support or taking care of the home (M=1.87), as well as around men having more power than
women in families (1.56).
To test students' endorsement of prosocial tendencies, students completed the PTM-R.
Table 12 summarizes the means and standard deviations for each of the subscales of the PTM-R
taken from survey participant responses.
Overall, students endorsed compliant (M=3.66, SD=0.24), emotional (M=3.44,
SD=0.29), dire (M=3.42, SD=0.29), and anonymous (M=3.07, SD=0.27) helping behaviors. For
helping in emotional situations, students expressed the highest level of endorsement for the
positive feelings they receive because of helping others. For helping in dire situations, students
strongly endorsed helping in times of crisis or injury and expressed a much lower level of

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endorsement for helping in highly emotional situations. The results for these subscales support
the general hypothesis for research question one, that U.S. Mexican students endorse these types
of helping behaviors. However, there is nuance to the particular details around helping which are
elaborated through the qualitative data, student narratives on these topics.
Altruistic helping behavior was assessed through statements contradicting altruism and
was thus reverse-scored prior to analysis. Consequently, a higher mean in these subscales
demonstrates lower agreement with altruistic helping and a lower mean notes a stronger
endorsement. The means and standard deviation for altruistic (M=4.02, SD= 0.35) shows that
U.S. Mexican adolescents endorse selfless helping behaviors and generally do not help with the
expectation of reward. In this survey, adolescents did not positively endorse public helping but
showed some support with helping being easier at times when watched (M=2.36, SD=0.36).
There were minimal differences in gender for both public and altruistic subscales. Public helping
had the lowest average amongst all helping behaviors with little difference amongst participants
as noted through the standard deviation.
Table 12

Descriptive Statistics: PTM-R Subscales, Mean and Standard Deviation Scores

Subscale M SD
PTM-R Compliant 3.66 0.24
PTM-R Emotional 3.44 0.29
PTM-R Dire 3.42 0.29
PTM-R Anonymous 3.07 0.27
PTM-R Altruistic (-) 4.02 0.35
PTM-R Public 2.36 0.36
Note. PTM-R= Prosocial Tendencies Measure Revised

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H1: U.S. Mexican adolescents strongly endorse familism and respect, and partially endorse
traditional religious values.
I had hypothesized that both familism and respeto would be endorsed by the participating
adolescents. That hypothesis was confirmed, as detailed above and in Table 11.
H2: U.S. Mexican adolescents strongly endorse prosocial helping behaviors.
I had hypothesized that U.S. Mexican adolescents would strongly endorse prosocial
helping behaviors. This hypothesis was confirmed.
H3: U.S. Mexican adolescents show limited or no endorsement of U.S. dominant cultural
values.
The means for subscales associated with U.S. dominant cultural values showed a
relatively low level of endorsement: material success (M=2.30, SD=0.49), independence and
self-reliance (2.64, 0.63), as well as competition and personal achievement (2.87, 0.43). On
average, survey participants somewhat agreed with these values. However, the standard
deviations for all three subscales were relatively high in comparison to the SDs for traditional
U.S. Mexican cultural 0.43) values, showing that there is wider disagreement in the student
population tested regarding these values and differences in specific subscale items.
For material success, students somewhat endorsed the connection between material
wealth and happiness while disagreeing with deserving more respect as a result of having more
money. For independence and self-reliance, the lowest level of endorsement (M=2.75) is the
statement around only being able to depend on oneself while the highest level of endorsement is
for parents allowing children to make their own decisions as they get older (M=4.11). Similarly,
with the competition and personal achievement subscale, students endorsed the perspective that

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personal achievements are the most important things in life (M=3.42) while disagreeing that one
should always compete to win (M=2.46) or that one parents should teach their children to do
everything better than others (M=2.65). Thus, students appear to have expressed a distinction
between the two constructs in this subscale. Again, additional elaborations on these constructs
came about through the semi-structured interview process.
RQ2: Is there a relationship between U.S. Mexican cultural values and the prosocial
tendencies and prosocial reasoning of U.S. Mexican adolescents?
The results of the MACVS survey demonstrated many correlations between specific
values from the MACVS survey and the specific helping behaviors noted in the PTM-R. Table
13 below shows the r and p values for the seven value domains of the MACVS on the left-hand
column paired with the six subscales of PTM-R running across the top row.
H2: There is a positive correlation between U.S. Mexican adolescents’ endorsement of
familism and prosocial helping behaviors.
As noted in Table 14, although the strength of the correlations is generally weak, the
statistical significance is generally very high, indicating that this correlation is not by chance but
is due to some cause. For the correlations tested with higher p values that do not indicate
statistical significance, there is a greater likelihood that any correlation could be random. Table
14 summarizes the correlations of statistical significance. As a reminder, altruistic helping was
tested negatively, meaning that the statements were antithetical to altruistic tendencies and that
this indicator should be understood to be negatively correlated to an endorsement of the
identified values of traditional gender roles, material success, and competition and personal
achievement.

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Table 13
Correlation Coefficient between MACVS and PTMR subscales

Subscales PTM-R
Compliant
PTM-R
Emotional
PTM-R
Dire
PTM-R
Anonymous
PTM-R
Altruistic (-)
PTM-R
Public (-)
Familism-Composite r = .12 r = .21 r = .13 r = .05 r = .13 r = .13
p = .11 p = .004** p = .09 p = .47 p =.09 p = .08
Respect r = .08 r = .12 r = .12 r = .03 r = .14 r = .08
p = .29 p = .11 p = .15 p = .64 p = .06 p = .29
Religion r = .13 r = .19 r = .15 r = .01 r = .11 r = .09
p = .07 p = .01** p = .04* p = .87 p = .13 p = .23
Traditional Gender Roles r = .16 r = .03 r = .14 r = .01 r = .36 r = .08
p = .03* p = .65 p = .05* p = .88 p ＜
.001***
p = .289
Material Success r = .255 r = .13 r = .17 r = .004 r = .34 r = .05
p ＜ .001*** p = .09 p = .02* p = 0.96 p ＜
.001***
p = .53
Independence and Self-Reliance r = .20 r = .19 r = .20 r = .23 r = .058 r = .003
p = .007** p = .008** p = .006** p = .001** p = .44 p = .97
Competition and Personal Achievement r = .01 r = .04 r = .04 r = .21 r = .31 r = .09
p = .86 p = .59 p = .61 p = .005** p ＜
.001***
p = .25
Note. p ≤ .05* s i g n i f i c a n t ; p ≤ .01** v e r y s i g n i f i c a n t ; p ≤ .001*** hi ghl y s i gni f i c a nt

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Table 14
Strength and Statistical Significance of Correlation MACVS and PTM-R Scales

Scales Correlated Strength of
Correlation
Statistical Significance
Familism & PTM-R Emotional Weak Very Significant
Religion & PTMR Emotional Very weak Very Significant
Religion & PTMR Dire Very weak Significant
Traditional Gender Roles & PTMR Compliant Very weak Significant
Traditional Gender Roles & Dire Very weak Significant
Traditional Gender Roles & Altruistic (-) Weak Highly Significant
Material Success & PTMR Compliant Weak Highly Significant
Material Success & PTMR Dire Very weak Significant
Material Success & PTMR Altruistic (-) Weak Very Significant
Independence and Self-Reliance & PTMR Compliant Weak Very Significant
Independence and Self-Reliance & PTMR Emotional Very Weak Very Significant
Independence and Self-Reliance & Dire Weak Very Significant
Independence and Self-Reliance & PTMR Anonymous Weak Highly Significant
Competition and Personal Achievement & PTMR Anonymous Weak Very Significant
Competition and Personal Achievement & Altruistic (-) Weak Highly Significant

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Findings: Thematic Analysis of Semi-Structured Interviews
In order to gain more information around research question one, the cultural values of
U.S. Mexican adolescents, transcripts from the semi-structured interviews were reviewed and
categorized into themes through thematic content analysis (TCA). From this analysis, six
thematic areas emerged that helped to answer research question one more fully. These included
familism, gender roles, humility, helping behaviors, respect, and personalismo. The student
narratives provided a great deal of nuance to the cultural values identified in the MACVS and
appeared in many cases to intersect with each other. Emotional, dire, compliant, public, and
altruistic helping behaviors were brought up organically as examples by interview participants.
These too were nuanced, especially in terms of the adolescent's relationship with the recipient of
help. Furthermore, students expressed many examples of helping behaviors from teachers that
best support their learning.
Humility emerged as a multifaceted theme. On the one hand, almost all interview
participants expressed extreme discomfort with receiving positive attention and academic
accolades at school if they drew the attention to them individually. The main concern was around
unintentionally causing their peers to feel bad about their own performance and as being
perceived as a show-off. Raising one’s hand also caused discomfort for most of the participants
for the issue of bringing attention to themselves purposefully and causing a type of
embarrassment that is valued in Mexican culture for keeping one humble.
Humility has a strong aspect for adolescents with cognitive empathy, in which the
adolescents prioritize the emotional needs of others and engage in a type of therapeutic listening
and visibly demonstrating concern for the other person. They expressed a need to ask questions
so that the person was able to share their experiences. All students shared narratives around

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understanding their parents’ constraints and needs and seeing things from their parents’
perspectives. This contributed in one narrative to the decision to not pursue college, due to the
burden it could impose upon parents through the prioritization of an individual want or need.
Table 15 includes selected quotes that capture many of the dominant sentiments that students
expressed regarding familism values, traditional gender roles, and humility.
Table 15
Examples of Familism, Gender Roles, Humility
Theme Sample Quote
Familism MJ: “If you ever need a helping hand, you can always count on someone
else and you don't have to, like, feel overwhelmed with doing everything
yourself.”
Gender Roles Maite: “I would say that in my family, the girls have more, or a lot more to
do. I have more responsibility, you know, like the kids, the house. But, it's
not like in my family that all women should be stay at home moms or
something. The women work but we have more to do at home. And then I
feel like I've seen a lot of girls get it more strict than the boys. Like, for
(supposed) safety reasons, girls can't be alone as much. And I feel like the
guys have more, in a way, freedom.”
Humility MJ: “I feel like my achievements at school, like, I don't like them to be
represented at school because I feel like then other people are going to see
me like, Oh, she thinks she's better than me.”
Eliseo: “Seeing them struggle to pay for college makes me feel like, well,
maybe I probably shouldn't go to college, even just to not put them into
more of a struggle just for me to possibly not do well.”

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In their narratives about family members and themselves, interview participants
consistently noted the importance of personalized interactions with others and the ability to get
along well with others. This concept is captured in the idea of personalismo. Students expressed
three dimensions of this value and skill; showing interest through physical cues, showing that
you are listening intently through physical cues, asking questions to understand people’s
experiences, and demonstrating warmth and appreciation for others through words and actions.
These qualities along with sample participant commentary are detailed in Table 16.
Table 16
Dimensions of Personalismo
Dimension Sample Quote
Showing that you are
listening intently
through physical cues
Marayah: “I think it's important to engage, nod your head, to make
sure they know you're listening, so they feel comfortable to open up if
they need to.”
Asking questions to
understand people’s
experiences
Adán: “If it was kind of a personal conversation, I would ask
questions to better understand the person. I get pretty frustrated or
mad when I'm clearly talking, and no one is trying to understand me.
It goes back to treating people the way you want to be treated.”
Demonstrating
appreciation and
warmth toward others
through words and
actions
Alicia: “I try to look like I'm happy to be here, even though there are
days where I'm not. But I feel like everyone should try to be more
welcoming, like responding to a teacher when they say good morning
or say good afternoon or something like that. Be more open to being
more welcoming. Be willing to listen to their stories and their
experiences as well. Well, I don't want to say it, but I feel like we
should just spread kindness to everybody.”

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When speaking about their interactions with teachers, study participants shared examples
that highlighted how culturally based motivations may be guiding their chosen behavioral
responses, depending on scenarios presented during classroom instruction. Because their
interactions with teachers are consistent, students have an opportunity to routinize these
negotiated behaviors. Table 17 below includes tendencies toward maintaining humility,
protecting the teacher’s self-efficacy and reputation, and deference to positional authority.
Developing rapport was noted by almost all students as a way in which they could uphold their
cultural obligations for respect but also be able to build the communication gap they experience
with their teachers and learn more effectively. Collaborative learning was a way in which
interview participants noted a greater ease with negotiating cultural values, due to the reduction
of competitive aspects or aspects that draw attention to them personally in class.
Table 17
Cultural Motivations in Interactions with Teachers
Motivation Sample Quote
Maintain Humility Maryah: “I was like really struggling in the beginning with my
Calculus class because I can't get it with the way the teacher explains
it, so I have to go to other students and have them teach it to me from
their point of view and then go through it step by step with me
personally. I would feel too embarrassed to ask the teacher. I think
my parents would expect me to ask for help, but only when the
teacher isn't teaching or when they're sitting doing nothing, you can
always go ask for help after school. Do that on my own time and just,
reaching out on my own time. Don’t interrupt teachers or cause
problems for them.”
Protect Teacher Self- MJ: “I feel like there's conflict with raising my hand sometimes,

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Efficacy & Reputation because then I feel like the teacher is going to be like, ‘OK, she sat
through my whole class, but then I ask the question, so maybe like
she just doesn't understand it at all, or she was just not trying to ask
for help to understand the assignment.’ So I think it's controversial
because it does go back to like on our end, like, okay, we can ask
questions to a certain extent. But after like three questions and we
still don't understand it, we can’t keep asking questions. That would
be kind of saying this is not working. We can maybe ask the teacher
for more tutoring. So, the teacher doesn't feel like we're just not
trying to do the work at all.”
Sofi: “I think it’s important to be respectful to teachers even if they
aren't quite right. You know, like not giving teachers problems even
though sometimes they may not be teaching it the way that we want it
to be taught. Still don’t cause problems for the teacher.”
Defer to Positional
Authority
Sofi: “It’s a really weird conversation that I keep having with my
teacher. I don't understand the way he teaches. So, it got to a point
like last year I needed help and he just said, ‘Go get a book.’ And I
was thinking, I don’t think that’s going to help, but I’ll do that.”

In looking at participant commentaries regarding their relationship to their parents,
students expressed a multidimensional view of respect. These dimensions of respect toward
parents are detailed in Table 18 below. They include attempting to understand their parents’
perspectives, respecting parents’ emotional and physical privacy, demonstrating manners with an
understanding that this generates increased respect to their parents, and respecting that their
parents have unique identities apart from their role as mother or father. These qualities of respect
were expressed globally as a strong need to maintain positional deference to parents.
Adolescents in the study shared that notions of respect limit their ability to express
objections to rules that feel unfair, or sexist for female adolescents. In these situations, which

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participants expressed are frequent, all participants agreed upon the need to see things from their
parents’ perspectives. Respect also includes a dimension of respect for privacy, especially
regarding their parents’ emotional experiences. Adolescents distinguish between actions and
words that are acceptable for showing some concern and empathy for parents’ struggles, but also
shared an awareness of an internal boundary that limits probing into private topics that are not
meant for them. This boundary around privacy also includes physical spaces. The interviewees
expressed a need to be invited into physical spaces and to not overstep one’s welcome by
journeying into a space in which they are not invited. With regard to parents, this includes their
private spaces, such as bedrooms. A few participants expressed that they would not enter their
parents’ bedroom, even if they were invited to do so. Conversely, there were limits around their
own privacy as adolescents that their parents respected, though parents were granted a higher
level of privacy.

Table 18
Dimensions of Respect for Parents

Dimension Sample Quote
Physical Privacy Alicia: “I always ask for permission to go into my parents’ room. Then
like just, you know, I don't know, even so, it just doesn't feel right to do
that. And I feel like that's for privacy reasons. I don't know what they
might have in there. I don't know if they want people in there and my
parents, they will give other people, you know, privacy.”

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Emotional Privacy Maite: “I feel like I can tell when something is wrong with my parents
and I kind of do things to help them out, but I won't actually ask them,
‘Hey, what's wrong?’ or questions like that. I don't feel necessarily
comfortable, and we don’t have that kind of relationship. But I will help
them by doing things around the house.”
Unique Identity Eliseo: “It's like, we all kind of have our own thing, they (parents) have
their own things, and they let us (children) do our own things.”
Perspective Taking
toward Parents
Maite: “I mean, they do try to understand me, but sometimes like within
our household, they kind of stick to their own mindset, like if it's what
they said, it's kind of like we need to see it in their perspective.”
Public Manners Marayah: “It’s like being very well-mannered in public, especially if
someone's around. And if you go somewhere, I always say hi. Just don't
be loud… My grandma used to take me to church, and she would always
be talking to me, “Be quiet, listen, pay attention and just be respectful.”

Interview participants also discussed their decision making and thinking around helping
others in a multidimensional way. In this case, the dimensionality comes from associating the
recipient of their helping behaviors with the type of helping behavior indicated, along with the
specific context for helping, such as academic and personal. Helping was expressed as a way to
validate their own cultural pride and identity, and a lens through which they may evaluate others.
Helping was also a way to provide support to others altruistically, and a way to reinforce their
cultural role efficacy. Interestingly, there were circumstances in which helping may not be
indicated, for example when it is not requested. This appeared to overstep the bounds of
humility. This multidimensional view of helping behaviors with specific quotes from study
participants is presented in Table 19.

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Students expressed many incidences of helping their peers and siblings with problems
that caused them emotional distress. All students, however, expressed that emotional helping was
typically not directed to parents out of respect for parents’ emotional privacy. They noted that
their understanding was that their parents helped each other with such concerns. They also
expressed that they would accept some emotional help from parents and that their expression of
significant negative emotions with parents would be limited. It was common to hear participants
say that this would be uncomfortable, they did not wish to burden their parents further, or that
because things for their parents were very different in Mexico, it would be hard for their parents
to understand their concerns. Taking care of the household duties and providing instruction for
siblings was noted as the primary way in which they helped their parents. All participants noted
the general helpfulness of family members. For different contexts, students also expressed a need
to be invited to help, while in other contexts, helping before being asked was a key
understanding of their role efficacy.
Table 19
Dimensions of Helping Behaviors and Identified Recipients of Help
Dimension Recipients Sample quote
Identity Family and
Friends
Alicia: “I've noticed my parents, especially my dad, tend to, like, let
people borrow certain things if they need anything. Even if people
don't ask. My grandpa, too. He just comes over to visit whenever
and without even asking he'll do stuff in the yard like cut a tree or
something or like, my parents as well, they're very helpful, too, I
always try to help people as best as I can. For example, I have a job.
I will always offer what I have to anybody, depending on the
situation. I've been called the problem solver. So, I feel like we all
are kind of helpful in that way.”

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Role Efficacy Parents Maite: “I try my best to do what I can for them. And sometimes, if
they've had a long day, I either just do it on my own or they will ask
me to do it. It’s not a lot that I have to do in the house where I feel
like I do most of the work or, you know, like I'm not over like,
parenting. Just like looking out for my siblings because my parents
get home around five or six, and so I understand they're tired. So, I
feel like I play a part with my siblings.”
Emotional
Support
Close Peers Maite: “Me personally, I feel like it’s easier for me to show concern
to people around my age or younger. We show concern just by
giving each other our own space or asking, you know, do you want
to come sit with us. It just feels necessary to do that.”
Dire Situations Family and
Friends
Rose: “If anyone that we love is in any kind of, like, you know, in a
stressful situation, we'll help in any way we can.”
Requests for Help Non-Close
Peers
Adán: “I get done with the work quickly. There's not any more
practice you can do. So, she (teacher) tells us to go and help others
but it’s sort of on their side of communication and asking for help,
not just like towards someone else teaching them without asking. If
someone asked me, I would always help them.”

The literature review revealed that by and far, U.S. Mexican students had a preference for
teachers who consistently support them in concrete ways, in achieving academic goals, and less
preference for teachers who are kind, but not very helpful to them academically. For example,
participants associated a teacher’s level of helpfulness with their overall effectiveness in
teaching. The semi-structured interviews provided further evidence of this preference toward
receiving effective help from teachers. Table 20 provides examples of comments from students
related to this general preference and delineate areas of effective help. These include establishing
rapport, providing additional needed academic support, allowing for ample peer support in

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learning, effective reteaching using iterative approaches, providing supportive tools such as notes
and note-taking guides, allowing for dual language processing. Additional areas of effective
teacher support noted by the interview participants, and closely connected to widely researched
strategies of culturally sustaining teaching and learning include allowing for sufficient dual
language processing time, understanding and utilizing Mexican cultural knowledge, and
explicitly connecting peers of same and similar language backgrounds and allowing them to use
their languages flexibly to learn.
Table 20
Effective Help from Teachers
Strategy Sample Quote
Teacher-Initiated
Rapport-Building
Sofi: “I feel like it's the communication issue. You know, I think it's really
good when the teacher communicates with you so you can gain confidence in
talking with them and maybe finding things in common, to build that up by
talking to each other. I feel like that's one thing (developing rapport) that
actually does help very much.”
Additional Support Sofi: “I feel like there are many other Mexican students who do not
understand. I think he (teacher) could maybe say, you can come to tutoring to
maybe have a little bit more understanding from a different perspective.
Peer Support Marayah: “I can't get it with the way the teacher explains it, so I have to go to
other students and have them teach it to me from their point of view, and
then go through it step by step with me.”
Iterative Approaches to
Teaching & Learning
Sofi: “One of my teachers told the students who understood it to move to one
side of the classroom for independent work and the other students who didn’t
understand it to move to the other side to work with him. It’s helpful because
he explains it again in a different way and he knows I need more help.”

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Supportive Notes
Guides and Note-taking
MJ: “There’s a lot of teachers who don’t do notes, and they’ll just do like the
problems by themselves, and we’ll copy them. Well, for me, I have to write
down the steps in order to understand the assignments later. So, I would need
the notes to be on the side with me to work.”
Allowing for dual
language processing
time
Sofi: “I feel like that’s how it was with my teacher last year with her thinking
that I wasn’t paying attention. I would be paying attention, it’s just like I
would have to wait a couple minutes for my brain to process what she was
stating, in order to write notes.”
Understanding and
Utilizing U.S. Mexican
Cultural Knowledge
Adán: “I feel like I have more of a connection with my Spanish teacher.
She’s also Mexican-American. And since we both know, I guess, the culture
itself, we have more of a connection.”
Connecting students of
similar language
backgrounds
Sofi: “At (specialty school student attends half day) most of the people are
American people who don't speak Spanish. I mean, there are some people
who are like, “Oh, well, I speak Spanish, but I don't know how to translate
something that I'm saying, but I think I get the word that you're trying to
say.” So, then you have a hard time explaining what you're trying to
explain.”

Students participating in the semi-structured interviews provided substantial commentary
from which inferences could be derived regarding their relationship and positionality to family
members and close friends. Although this was not a part of the original set of values dimensions
suggested in the research questions, it was evident that their differentiated relationships impact
the context for how values and prosocial behaviors play out in their daily lives. Importantly, the
commentary revealed the central role of peer relationships in providing protective emotional
support and in confirming and consolidating shared U.S. Mexican identity. Many of the students'
comments also revealed the adolescents’ utilization of behaviors rooted in cultural values to
respond (or not respond directly) to racialized aggressions in classrooms. Table 21 below offers a

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categorization of the general areas of values expressions that are associated with close friends,
siblings, parents, grandparents, God/church, and teachers/classrooms.
Table 21
Cultural Dimensions of Relationships and Interactions
Person Values expressions
Close friend -long term bonds
-emotional support and transparency
-empathetic listening
-contextualized manners
-help to evaluate strength of character
-terms of relationship set by both
-consultative teaching and learning
-offer help freely
Sibling -terms of relationship set by eldest
-caretaking role of youngers
-emotional closeness
-empathetic listening
-contextualized manners
-evaluated through contribution
-offer help freely
-confidentiality with close age
Parent -moral modeling/guidance
-deference toward parental rights
-adolescent essential to household
success
-limited power sharing
-contextualized manners
-respect for parental privacy
-respect for spousal bond
-offer help before being asked and
when told (housework, siblings)
-empathy for parental struggles
-limited emotional sharing/support
-terms of relationship set by mother
-high regard for mother’s role
-gendered roles determined by
mother
-father evaluated through presence,
efforts to support family, respect for
mother

Grandparent -signifying, respect for elders
-evaluated through warmth/caring
-grandparent contributions are
altruistic (cooking, gardening, etc..)
-relationship connected strongly with
ethnic identity, Mexico
-adolescent should offer help before
being asked
God, Church -omniscient/comforting presence
-catechism/doctrine not critical
-participation in family’s customs
-public manners in church
Teacher,
Classroom
-evaluated by quality/frequency of
help provided as well as personalismo
-strong needs for humility, peer
group belonging, egalitarian values

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-deference to positional authority
-terms of relationship set by teacher
-use of public manners
-empathy for teacher efforts
-offer help when requested by peer or
through collaborative structures
-conscientiousness around parental
expectations
-ongoing internal metacognitive
analysis of classroom culture and
learning
-prosocial moral
reasoning/autonomous decision-
making guide responses to
microaggressions, racism,
ethnocentrism

Throughout the interviews, the students exhibited well-developed and astute perspectives
in their appraisals of their own cultural values, as well as a heightened awareness of the cultural
perspectives of their parents, and the cultural behaviors of their teachers at school. In their
detailed personal narratives, the students presented as experienced purveyors and skilled
negotiators of the multiple comparative cultural contexts they experienced. What also seems to
arise from the compiled narratives is that there are not always clear delineations between the
traditional U.S. Mexican and dominant American cultural values outlined in the MACVS, but
that these values intersect, overlay, and inform each other. Nor is there a one-to-one
correspondence between these values and the prosocial tendencies outlined in the PTM-R.

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Chapter 5: Discussion
This dissertation study looked at the cultural values of U.S. Mexican adolescents as well
as the connection between these values and adolescents’ prosocial helping tendencies and
prosocial reasoning skills. The purpose of the study was to understand these values, tendencies,
and reasoning abilities in order to build on the current research in this area and suggest
applications for school settings. The study involved the surveys of 199 students in two urban
high schools in Fresno Unified School District, in California’s Central Valley. These surveys,
MACVS and PTM-R, probed the cultural values and prosocial tendencies (helping behaviors) of
participants. I also interviewed eight students who participated in the survey on these same
topics. The semi-structured interviews allowed for substantial elaboration on the part of students
around their prosocial reasoning.
Summary of Findings
RQ 1 required me to identify the culturally specific values of U.S. Mexican adolescents.
My hypothesis was that both familism and respeto would be endorsed. This hypothesis was
confirmed. RQ 2 asked as to the relationship between the culturally specific values and prosocial
tendencies and prosocial reasoning of Mexican adolescents. I hypothesized that there was a
positive correlation. This hypothesis also was confirmed through the results of this study. U.S.
Mexican adolescents endorse familism and respect values at high levels. The strongest
endorsement was for independence and self-reliance. Students somewhat endorsed religion,
material success, and competition and personal achievement, with specific items in each
subscales receiving notable high or low scores. Additionally, students endorsed the prosocial
helping behaviors in emotional, compliant, dire, and altruistic contexts and showed some support
for anonymous helping as well. Students showed mixed support for helping in public situations.

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The statistical analysis demonstrated a correlation between U.S. Mexican students’ cultural
values and their prosocial helping behaviors in multiple areas.
The interviews provided more information for the level of endorsement for the MACVS
and PTM-TR subscales. For example, reluctance toward public helping was at least partly
clarified in the interview process when students spoke of wanting to aid strangers in need but not
feeling as comfortable as they would in private settings with peers. Additionally, the interviews
provided crucial information regarding the ways in which U.S. Mexican adolescents analyze
interactional situations and problems they encounter through the lens of their cultural values.
The findings here reinforce previous studies detailing the connection between cultural
values, parental inductions, and prosocial behaviors of U.S. Mexican adolescents, but expands
them by adding more qualitative data that assists in defining the contours and nuances of these
cultural values. Regarding prosocial tendencies, the qualitative data in this area indicates that
application of different types of helping behaviors is not universal, and depends on the type of
helping, who the helping is directed to, and whether it is requested or not.
Overall, the study results demonstrated a possible reconceptualization of U.S. Mexican
adolescent values. Both in students’ differentiated responses to specific items in subscales as
well as their narratives in the semi-structured interviews, students communicated a holistic
picture of collective familism being the driving factor in their self-efficacy and autonomous
decision-making process. The process is metacognitive in nature, highly independent, and
involves adolescents making connections to, and integrating their deep knowledge around
various values and dimensions of values. Below familism are a series of specific concepts that
guide and support their interactions with people who play different roles and functions in their

115
lives. The concepts of egalitarianism, humility, and personalismo appeared critical in their
decision-making processes around their interactions with others.
In contrast to notions of being simply obedient to either parents or teachers, or following
gender expectations blindly, the survey results and narratives appear to show U.S. Mexican
adolescents culturally engaged, purposefully prioritizing the collectivist orientation, and
relationship-driven contingencies in their thinking and decision-making. In turn, this appears to
contribute to students' sense of positive ethnic identity, and individual self-efficacy.
The consideration of a comparative dichotomy between traditional Mexican and U.S.
dominant cultural values was a necessary starting place in distinguishing aspects of dual cultural
adaptation for U.S. Mexican adolescents. Moving forward into a framing that centers
adolescents’ autonomous prosocial reasoning can support a more complex understanding of how
U.S. Mexican adolescents and their families negotiate multiple variables in their desire to move
their families forward educationally and economically, prioritizing the strength and
connectedness of the family.
Conclusions
RQ 1
From both the quantitative and qualitative data, a picture of interconnected culturally
specific values emerged. The result of this study confirms the salience of both familism and
respeto but adds nuanced dimensions in how adolescents were outwardly performing cultural
values essential to their role as child and student, versus how they were internalizing these
values. A good example of this was how females stated that they perform traditional gender roles
because it is required of them but that they do not agree with gendered divisions of labor.
Importantly, the participants in the semi-structured interviews expressed values and

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behaviors that are contextualized within relationships and interactions. The conversations around
classroom behavioral choices indicated the adolescents' use of humility and respect, including
deference to teachers and a valuing of what they felt to be correct behaviors for school. They
expressed a strong valuing of personalismo, both in what their parents modeled for them as being
a characteristic of helpful teachers. Students engaged in analysis of their home and school
experiences and had developed thoughts around their own choices and those of peers and family
members.
The survey revealed an ambiguity around endorsements for values of the dominant
culture, namely materialism and personal achievement. Students expressed a support for some
materialism insofar as it supported a family’s wellness. All students expressed the importance of
personal achievement insofar as it supports one's autonomy and contribution to the family.
However, interview participants additionally expressed disinterest and discomfort in competitive
educational scenarios and instead expressed a preference for learning conditions that support
them in collaborating with and helping others. Taken together, the values expressed the role of
each family or group member as a part of the whole. In their connectedness, the values worked
together to support both personal autonomy and strong group identity through.
RQ 2
Additionally, through the conversations around differing parental expectations for
children in a family, as well as their understanding of their own strengths and those of their
siblings, students communicated that everyone contributes uniquely and that helping is also
contextualized within relationships and concepts of respect for self and others. This added
nuance to the concept of equity in helping. Everyone is expected to help but it may look different
according to who helps and who they help. Students also expressed a high degree of prosocial

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reasoning that resonates with the longer term, prosocial moral reasoning. Throughout the
interviews, students repeatedly justified examples or concluded their narrative of experiences by
stating that it was important to treat everyone as you wish to be treated.
H1
The first hypothesis stated that U.S. Mexican adolescents would endorse the traditional
Mexican values of respeto and familism. This hypothesis was affirmed through the results of the
MACVS survey instrument.
H2
The second hypothesis stated that there would be a positive correlation between the
cultural values endorsed by U.S. Mexican adolescents and the prosocial tendencies they
endorsed. This was also confirmed through the correlation analysis of the MACVS and PTM-R
survey results.
Discussion
As detailed in the findings from this study, U.S. Mexican cultural values provide
adolescents with significant moral and social development skills. Metacognitive moral reasoning
and autonomous decision making further emerged as a significant means of processing
experiences and gaining personal agency. Expressions of metacognitive moral reasoning and
autonomous decision making permeated the interviews. For my analysis, I am defining
autonomous decision making as the willingness to endorse one’s own behaviors and to engage in
independent analysis and problem solving. This reasoning process informs the nature of
adolescents’ dual cultural adaptation and provides opportunities for U.S. Mexican adolescents to
reinforce cultural integrity, especially related to the centrality of familism values.

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In terms of emotional autonomy, the students interviewed were engaged in a constant
process of evaluating prospective thinking partners. Almost all adolescents expressed that
emotional problems were sometimes discussed with parents but were best discussed with peers
as thinking partners. Highly emotional experiences were also reserved for peers due to a desire to
not burden parents. This reflected U.S. Mexican adolescents’ sensitivity toward the emotional
and economic load parents already bore and a heightened awareness of their parents' life
struggles, especially regarding immigration trajectories and life in Mexico.
In terms of reasoning around gender roles, student participants in both the survey and
interviewees firmly stated their objections to the continuance of traditional roles. However, they
reasoned that their contributions to the family associated with these roles were essential, and that
it was incumbent upon them to see things from their parents’ perspective. This did not imply
adopting their parents' perspectives, and in fact many told their parents they did not agree. It
implied complying for the time being out of respect for their parents’ authority and because they
were needed in these roles. Except in the case of Adán, adolescents stated that their parents were
always “there for them,” meaning that for the most part that they were present in culturally
appropriate ways, but not in ways that would try to alter their internal emotional experience.
Adán’s desire to take on the traditional role of nurturer was coupled with his statement around
his father being mentally and emotionally absent.
Finally, the adolescents’ capacities in metacognitive moral reasoning and autonomous
decision-making were demonstrated in their descriptions of interactions with teachers at school.
These interactions fell into three general categories: teaching that was ineffective, teaching that
was effective, and microaggressions and discrimination. Almost all adolescents shared a
narrative of teacher actions that either caused emotional discomfort or harm due to

119
microaggressions or teaching approaches and interactions that were not helpful. They were clear
in their analyses of what was helpful and not helpful to them as learners. The students were
conscious regarding their cultural obligation to respect teacher authority, but this did not translate
into a general belief around the correctness of teacher actions. Instead, students reserved their
internal analysis of those situations for themselves, and reasoned through a response that would
allow them to fulfill the cultural values expectations around respect for authority figures, even if
that meant sacrificing being able to understand the academic material. In a sense, they expressed
choosing in many cases not to force the issue of asking for increased instruction, or providing
feedback to their teachers, because this would require sacrificing one or more cultural values
such as respect or humility.
At no point did any of the students interviewed express a negative opinion or assign a
judgment as to the teachers’ decisions, nor that teachers’ behaviors were unilaterally wrong or
right. This might reflect the mitigating role of humility in autonomous thinking, and the inherent
importance of taking multiple perspectives as opposed to viewing situations through a
dichotomous lens and either/or thinking. After describing the situation factually, students pointed
out the reasons why the teacher may have chosen to say or do something as well as the teacher’s
perspective, and why that was not effective for them personally. This descriptive and inferential
analysis of teaching and learning on the part of students reflects a high level of autonomous
thinking, and disposition for taking the perspective of others, and the active integration of
multiple cultural values on the part of U.S. Mexican adolescents when encountering barriers to
learning. Importantly, in all of the situations, it appears that this reasoning supported the
students’ emotional self-regulation, and their continued ability to sustain cultural practices of
respect, humility, and personalismo, as well as honor their parents’ expectations for them.

120
Students were able to generalize around teaching practices that were ineffective based on
a series of experiences in multiple classes throughout high school, and through comparing the
teaching approaches of many different teachers across time. Contrastingly, the adolescents
pointed to models of helpful instruction and provided succinct reasoning for the educational
value of those teacher practices. Typically, they expressed this as the teaching practice being
helpful to them, and to help them feel that they had a positive relationship with the teacher.
Finally, autonomous values-based reasoning also supported adolescents in making
independent decisions around future schooling. Students were actively taking in messages from
school personnel supporting going to college and integrating this into their own cultural frame
and what they understood to be true, possible, and appropriate according to cultural values.
Moreover, each expressed that though their parents may have expectations for them
academically, they understood this to be their own decision. All students expressed that it was
acceptable to do well enough, but not to be the best, and important to be able to one day take care
of yourself and your family. In the case of Eliseo, autonomous reasoning based on his familism
values led him to consider why college may not be the best option for him. Specifically, the
expense might have burdened his parents unnecessarily. In this case, his brother’s concealing of
his own decision to forego college was reasonable and expected, because it protected their
parents against economic hardship, and did not impose an additional emotional burden of feeling
that they were somehow responsible for him not attending.
Students also cited a need for an increase in values-based autonomous thinking to support
community-building and engagement at school. The reasoning was that their families support
extending welcome and kindness to others (through personalismo, humility, and nonjudgment)
as well as high expectations for student behavior in classrooms. According to a few of the

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interviewees, students who misbehave are not focused on the reasons for which their parents
send them to school. Interviewees stated that U.S. Mexican and other adolescents follow along
with the poor examples of peers when they are not attuning to own autonomy in decision
making. They expressed that greater conscientiousness in this area connecting to their core
values would create stronger school communities through students connecting authentically with
people outside of their normal groups and behaving in an appropriate manner for classrooms.
Overall, students’ expressions around autonomy provided important information
concerning U.S. Mexican adolescents’ capacity to engage in an analytical and reflective process
where cultural values play a central role. Values that receive heightened attention through
autonomous decision making impact academic achievement goals, especially familism values.
Familism emphasizes the importance of the collective whole, and everyone’s lifelong
contribution to that entity. This emphasis on the collective contrasts with notions of
competitiveness and individualism, which emphasize being the best without a strong
consideration of the process through which that comes to happen. However, collectivist and
autonomy values do not necessarily contrast with notions of personal achievement, which can
benefit the family. Students expressed that parents have high expectations and hopes for their
academic achievement, but the values around respect and manners are significant mitigating
factors for the process by which this can occur.
U.S. Mexican adolescents’ autonomous thinking may be partly reflected in their
emotional restraint in school settings, even in situations where they are conscious of racism,
ethnocentrism, microaggressions, and difficulties accessing appropriate instruction. In the
American schooling context, U.S. Mexican adolescents’ values-based autonomous reasoning
contributes to their dual cultural adaptation, specifically being able to sustain values that bind

122
them to their families and with which they agree, while negotiating the culture of American
schooling which challenges students to make important sacrifices in order to sustain those
values.
Through the combining of the quantitative and qualitative data in this study, it became
evident that students’ endorsement of values and helping tendencies were inconsistently applied
to different contexts and people, but that there was consistency in categories of context and roles
for the expression of values and behaviors. There were also different versions of values, such as
in the case of public versus private manners, appropriate times to be loud and times to be quiet.
Students expressed being able to share emotional issues with close peers but not with parents.
They talked about helping someone they know in a highly emotional situation but hesitating if
they were not familiar with a peer they saw in distress. This appeared not to be an issue of not
wanting to help, but more of a hesitancy around imposing themselves, maybe related to humility.
Taken together, we see those relationships and interactions (contexts) play an important role in
how values and prosocial tendencies are expressed, and that values and behaviors become
dynamic, adaptable, and subject to the prosocial reasoning of the adolescent.
In general, the qualitative interviews expanded upon the connected areas of the MACVS
and PTM-R surveys. One prominent example regards traditional gender roles, a value for which
there was little endorsement, whereas compliant helping had a much higher endorsement.
Students explained that they are complying with their parents’ requests to fulfill the gender roles
but that their parents are aware of their disagreement, and they do not plan to have their own
children replicate the same roles. Female students also expressed that beyond obligation and
support, their contribution to the family through the housework and tending to children was
needed by their parents and that they negotiated certain aspects of this arrangement.

123
Additionally, this was the major way in which they could provide support to their parents in
times of stress or emotional need. All students explained that they respect their parents’
emotional privacy and do not pry into their personal struggles. They understand that to be off
limits. All female students felt that their role with siblings was significant, that their siblings
looked to them for instruction in addition to their parents but noted it as helping their parents and
not becoming their siblings’ parents.
The results of this study confirmed the strong endorsement of familism, respect,
independence, and personal achievement. There was also a moderate level of endorsement for
religion and material success. There was a lower level of endorsement for competitiveness and a
general disagreement with traditional gender roles. Adolescents endorsed emotional, dire,
anonymous, and altruistic helping at high levels and showed support for compliant and public
helping at lower levels. The interviews helped to explain much of distinctions between students’
survey responses. The study results revealed a correlation between several values in the MACVS
and prosocial helping behaviors from the PTM-R. Throughout the interviews, students
consistently connected various identified cultural values with helping behaviors. They also
explained their processes of reasoning through decisions based on their cultural values.
Suggestions for Future Research
The qualitative information gained from interviews with students was significant in
speaking to ways in which the surveys could capture broad aspects of values and behaviors but
also in revealing some important limitations. Gathering further information through qualitative
interviews would yield increased information to improve revisions of surveys of U.S. Mexican
adolescents. Future interviews with students could include questions that specify the nature of
specific relationships, namely those of close friends, siblings, parents, grandparents, and

124
teachers. Because almost all students in the survey and all interviewed students expressed time-
contingent compliance with the gender roles of their households, while broadly maintaining a
strikingly contrasting view of their own future practice in this area, future qualitative studies and
surveys might distinguish between compliance and endorsement/internalized belief. Statements
that offer students close either/or scenarios for contrasting values would also help to understand
the nuances of preferences.
The selection to conduct group interviews for this study was highly productive and I
think culturally more supportive for adolescents. Students were able to build on each other’s
narratives, freely offering comparisons and contrasts with peers. This helped to move the
conversation into areas directed by the students themselves because certain topics could be built
upon dialogically. I do not think the information obtained would have been nearly as ample by
interviewing students individually.
Through the study, students expressed relating more confidently and comfortable with
Mexican teachers and noted sharing culture. It’s also understood that U.S. Mexican teachers face
acculturation pressures, including the pressure to assimilate to U.S. dominant values both in
personal and professional settings. Because the collectivist orientations of U.S. Mexican
adolescents support highly collaborative and noncompetitive learning settings, it would be
important to understand the level of endorsement of U.S. Mexican teachers for these same
orientations, as well as their practices in classroom design, management styles, and teaching
practices. This could build upon prior work in this area that needs amplification.
Additionally important is understanding the factors in teaching development and initial
practice that support U.S. Mexican teachers, and all teachers in sustaining or adopting
orientations that support U.S. Mexican students. Practitioner action research that focuses on

125
educator learning around and application of U.S. Mexican adolescent cultural values and
prosocial tendencies in school settings can add a vital layer to the current discussion around
culturally sustaining practices. Teacher practitioners and teaching candidates can plan for, and
test out, practices that align classroom teaching and learning environments to the research based
cultural framings of U.S. Mexican adolescents included in this dissertation and the work that
came before it.
Future work around U.S. Mexican cultural values, both in studying adolescents, families
and communities, would benefit from comparative studies of Mexican communities of diverse
geographic, cultural, and linguistic origins. Continued research around the endorsement of
cultural values and prosocial behaviors would provide indications as to the characteristics that
might be generalized in the diverse U.S. Mexican population, as well as contrasts that could be
due to differing heritage in the Mexican and/or U.S. Contexts.
Of particular importance would be dedicated studies in Indigenous communities in
California that have been extensively networked through the Indigenous Farmworkers Study
(IFS, 2023). Understanding the cultural values and prosocial behaviors of the Triqui, Otomi,
Mixteco, Zapoteco, and many other communities who have lived continuously in the same
regions since shortly after the Spanish conquest until their immigration into the United States,
would provide critical knowledge into the Indigenous knowledge foundations of Mexican
peoples. Perhaps then we may see lines of historical continuity and also change in those
communities who did not remain isolated for various reasons. If studies include schooling
factors, it would be significant to understand key similarities and differences in how distinct
Mexican heritages impact students' engagements with teachers, especially with respect to power
dynamics.

126
Finally, the present study provides researchers and educators with some starting points in
understanding U.S. Mexican students’ values-based autonomous reasoning capacity, and how
this interacts in school contexts, where adherence to, or negotiation of the dominant culture is
tied to school success. This builds on the prior research around prosocial moral reasoning. This
dissertation study did not ask intentional questions in this area, but students’ reasoning was
central in their developed narratives. Moreover, educators understand that centering the assets of
children and youth is central in building schools where all students can, and do, succeed, though
this is a long-term effort that requires substantial knowledge and skill building. Pedagogical
studies that use U.S. Mexican students’ strong cognitive dispositions in analyzing and
negotiating complex cultural and moral variables as a starting point, will be in a better position to
inform the educator community around best practices for student acceleration.
Conclusion
The U.S. Education system is engaged in the complex and long-term process of trying to
understand the reasons for academic achievement disparities. U.S. Mexican students have
inherited an historical legacy of school exclusion, and later racial and linguistic segregation up to
the present, where educators and institutions generally require adolescents to subjugate personal
and group cultural identities to the dominant culture of schooling. The discussion around values
and prosocial tendencies supports researchers and educators in fostering an additional, critical
lens; considering how U.S. Mexican adolescents currently face a culture of schooling with deep
cultural foundations in White middle-class culture and its inherent motivational preferences and
behavioral dispositions. It is important that schools acknowledge that, if our classrooms are
spaces where White dominant culture is the only culture, what we are asking of, or requiring
from students and families, is cultural and linguistic assimilation.

127
Although school systems typically use a range of academic metrics to understand how
specific initiatives may or may not improve outcomes for marginalized demographic groups,
what we come to see is that U.S. Mexican adolescents are consistently engaged in an intense
internalized unpacking and analysis of their school experiences daily. Consequently, they have
accumulated a rich body of knowledge and adaptive skill. U.S. Mexican adolescents are highly
cognizant of the cultural and linguistic incongruencies, microaggressions, and
racism/ethnocentrism that limit their school achievement. Like most marginalized peoples, they
are also highly aware of societal disparities that hold their communities back. Interestingly, we
also see that through their metacognitive moral reasoning, U.S. Mexican adolescents continue to
actively endorse the significant Mexican values of humility, being well-mannered, respect,
personalismo, familism, and a type of autonomy that does not separate them from their families.
U.S. Mexican adolescents are continuously cataloging these experiences to broaden their
knowledge base, and to inform future intercultural interactions, and the tenor of their dual
cultural adaptation process.
As documented in this study, U.S. Mexican students also exhibit a high level of regard
for the feelings, experiences, and choices of others, through subjugating their own wants and
needs to those of others (humility), and a positive ethnic identity rooted in their willingness to
help, be kind and welcoming, and cooperate with others. This constitutes a significant values-
based skill set for schools and an indication for efforts at strengthening the organizational culture
of schools and districts. This would involve educators analyzing similarities and differences in
their own cultural framing and developing needed cultural skills, in order to meet the needs of
their students. In short, we’ll need to move from just learning about culture to learning to
negotiate, adapt to, and enact new cultural norms.

128
Because this is knowledge that can only arise from conversations with diverse U.S.
Mexican students, families, and communities, the current dissertation affirms the critical need to
center their voices and experiences. As well, we should look toward engaging in democratic and
pluralistic dialogues with communities around culturally specific values and students’ prosocial
tendencies. Supportive and constructivist dialogues rooted in anti-oppressive practices and a
belief in, and commitment to, fundamental change could, in turn, bring about points of blending,
alignment, and negotiation of school-based value systems. Ultimately, it could shift the burden of
cultural negotiation and adaptation from U.S. Mexican adolescent students, to become the shared
responsibility of the school system and its educators working in the public’s interest.

129
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Appendix A: Survey Instruments

Student Survey for this Dissertation
I. Demographic Survey
II. Prosocial Tendency Measure-Revised (PTM-R)
III. Mexican American Cultural Values Survey (MACVS)
IV.
Demographic Survey
This is the complete survey that will be used with students. It combines the demographic survey
and then the subsets of the PTM-R, IRI, and the student version of the ED School Climate
Survey, as well as the complete MACVS.

Demographic Survey
1. Which of these terms best describes your gender?
a. Male
b. Female
c. Transgender female
d. Transgender male
e. Gender nonconforming or Nonbinary
f. Other
2. What is your age?
a. 13-14 years old
b. 15 years old
c. 16 years old
d. 17 years old
e. 18 years old
3. Which school do you attend?
a. School A
b. School B
4. To the best of your knowledge, which of these statements best describes your family?
a. I was born in Mexico and so were my parents AND grandparents.
b. I was born in the United States but one or more of my parents AND one or
more of my grandparents were born in Mexico.
c. I was born in the United States and so were both of my parents but NOT
one or more of my grandparents.
d. I was born in the United States and so were both of my parents AND both
of my grandparents.
5. To the best of your knowledge, which of these statements best describes your parents?
a. Both of my parents are of Mexican heritage

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b. One of my parents is of Mexican heritage and one of my parents has a
different ethnicity (such as White, Black, Hmong, Cambodian, etc…)
6. Language: Select the statement that best describes you:
a. Spanish dominant: I speak mostly Spanish with my parents and/or
grandparents.
b. English dominant: I speak mostly English with my parents and/or
grandparents.
c. Equally bilingual: I speak a mix of both English and Spanish equally with
my parents/grandparents.
7. When referring to your own Mexican heritage, which term do you prefer to describe yourself?
(For students with mixed heritage, answer which term you prefer for your Mexican heritage.)
a. Mexican
b. Mexican American
c. Chicano, Chicana, or Chicanx
d. An Indigenous People’s Name (i.e. Zapoteco, Mixteco, Triqui, etc…)
e. None of the above terms

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Prosocial Tendencies Measure-Revised
(PTM-R: Carlo, Haussman, et al, 2005) (Carlo, Dear Colleague Letter, 2020)

Below are sentences that might or might not describe you. Please indicate HOW MUCH
EACH STATEMENT DESCRIBES YOU by using the scale below.
_______________________________________________________________________
DOES NOT DESCRIBES SOMEWHAT DESCRIBES DESCRIBES
DESCRIBE ME ME A LITTLE DESCRIBES ME ME WELL ME GREATLY
AT ALL
1 2 3 4 5
_______________________________________________________________________
Pub 1. I can help others best when people are watching me.
Emot 2. It makes me feel good when I can comfort someone who is very upset.
Pub 3. When other people are around, it is easier for me to help others in need.
*Alt 4. I think that one of the best things about helping others is that it makes me look good.
Dire 5. I tend to help people who are in a real crisis or need.
Com 6. When people ask me to help them, I don't hesitate.
Anon 7. I prefer to help others without anyone knowing.
Dire 8. I tend to help people who are hurt badly.
*Alt 9. I believe that giving goods or money works best when I get some benefit.
Anon 10. I tend to help others in need when they do not know who helped them.
Emot 11. I tend to help others especially when they are really emotional.
Pub 12. Helping others when I am being watched is when I work best.
Dire 13. It is easy for me to help others when they are in a bad situation.
Anon 14. Most of the time, I help others when they do not know who helped them.
Emot 15. I respond to helping others best when the situation is highly emotional.
Com 16. I never wait to help others when they ask for it.
Anon 17. I think that helping others without them knowing is the best type of situation.
*Alt 18. One of the best things about doing charity work is that it looks good.
Emot 19. Emotional situations make me want to help others in need.
*Alt 20. I feel that if I help someone, they should help me in the future.
Emot 21. I usually help others when they are very upset.

Note. * indicates item is reverse scored. Pub = Public, Emt = Emotional, Dire = Dire,
Anon = Anonymous, Alt = Altruism, Com = Compliant.

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The Mexican American Cultural Values Scales
(MACVS: Knight et al, 2010)

English Version MACVS

The next statements are about what people may think or believe. Remember, there are no right or
wrong answers. Tell me how much you believe that...

Response Alternatives:
1 = Not at all.
2 = A little.
3 = Somewhat.
4 = Very much.
5 = Completely.

1. One’s belief in God gives inner strength and meaning to life. (REL: .74, .72)
2. Parents should teach their children that the family always comes first. (FAM-SUP: .39, .28)
3. Children should be taught that it is their duty to care for their parents when their parents get
old. (FAM-OB: .41, .42)
4. Children should always do things to make their parents happy. (FAM-REF: .46, .39)
5. No matter what, children should always treat their parents with respect. (RESP: .46, .46)
6. Children should be taught that it is important to have a lot of money. (MATSUC: .52, .59)
7. People should learn how to take care of themselves and not depend on others. (IND&SR: .37,
.47)
8. God is first; family is second. (REL: .44, .55)
9. Family provides a sense of security because they will always be there for you. (FAM-SUP:
.51, .51)
10. Children should respect adult relatives as if they were parents. (RESP: .56, .53)
11. If a relative is having a hard time financially, one should help them out if possible. (FAM-
OB: .52, .51)
12. When it comes to important decisions, the family should ask for advice from close relatives.
(FAM-REF: .47, .49)
13. Men should earn most of the money for the family so women can stay home and take care of
the children and the home. (TGEN: .60, .64)
14. One must be ready to compete with others to get ahead. (COMP&PA: .52, .71)
15. Children should never question their parents’ decisions. (RESP: .42, .30)
16. Money is the key to happiness. (MATSUC: .70, .77)

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17. The most important thing parents can teach their children is to be independent from others.
(IND&SR: .46, .42)
18. Parents should teach their children to pray. (REL: .61, .51)
19. Families need to watch over and protect teenage girls more than teenage boys. (TGEN: .50,
.55)
20. It is always important to be united as a family. (FAM- SUP: .52, .38)
21. A person should share their home with relatives if they need a place to stay. (FAM-OB: .44,
.43)
22. Children should be on their best behavior when visiting the homes of friends or relatives.
(RESP: .52, .51)
23. Parents should encourage children to do everything better than others. (COMP&PA: .61, .74)
24. Owning a lot of nice things makes one very happy. (MATSUC: .50, .65)
25. Children should always honor their parents and never say bad things about them. (RESP: .57,
.52)
26. As children get older their parents should allow them to make their own decisions.
(IND&SR: .26, .23)
27. If everything is taken away, one still has their faith in God. (REL: .69, .68)
28. It is important to have close relationships with aunts/ uncles, grandparents and cousins.
(FAM-SUP: .59, .52)
29. Older kids should take care of and be role models for their younger brothers and sisters.
(FAM-OB: .54, .52)
30. Children should be taught to always be good because they represent the family. (FAM-REF:
.57, .54)
31. Children should follow their parents’ rules, even if they think the rules are unfair. (RESP:
.43, .41)
32. It is important for the man to have more power in the family than the woman.(TGEN: .60,
.66)
33. Personal achievements are the most important things in life. (COMP&PA: .35, .40)
34. The more money one has, the more respect they should get from others. (MATSUC: .71,
.66)
35. When there are problems in life, a person can only count on him/herself. (IND&SR: .34, .47)
36. It is important to thank God every day for all one has. (REL: .68, .68)
37. Holidays and celebrations are important because the whole family comes together. (FAM-
SUP: .43, .43)
38. Parents should be willing to make great sacrifices to make sure their children have a better
life. (FAM-OB: .46, .35)
39. A person should always think about their family when making important decisions. (FAM-
REF: .48, .46)
40. It is important for children to understand that their parents should have the final say when
decisions are made in the family. (RESP: .46, .45)

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41. Parents should teach their children to compete to win. (COMP&PA: .72, .81)
42. Mothers are the main people responsible for raising children. (TGEN: .54, .60)

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Spanish Version MACVS

Las siguientes frases son acerca de lo que la gente puede pensar o creer. Recuerda, no hay
respuestas correctas o incorrectas. Dime que tanto cree que…..
Opciones para respuestas:
1 = Nada.
2 = Poquito.
3 = Algo.
4 = Bastante.
5 = Completamente.

1. La creencia en Dios da fuerza interna y significado a la vida.
2. Los padres deberían enseñarle a sus hijos que la familia siempre es primero.
3. Se les debería enseñar a los niños que es su obligación cuidar a sus padres cuando ellos
envejezcan.
4. Los niños siempre deberían hacer las cosas que hagan a sus padres felices.
5. Sea lo que sea, los niños siempre deberían tratar a sus padres con respeto.
6. Se les debería enseñar a los niños que es importante tener mucho dinero.
7. La gente debería aprender cómo cuidarse sola y no depender de otros.
8. Dios está primero, la familia está segundo.
9. La familia provee un sentido de seguridad, porque ellos siempre estarán alli para usted.
10. Los niños deberían respetar a familiares adultos como si fueran sus padres.
11. Si un pariente está teniendo dificultades económicas, uno debería ayudarlo si puede.
12. La familia debería pedir consejos a sus parientes más cercanos cuando se trata de
decisiones importantes.
13. Los hombres deberían ganar la mayoría del dinero para la familia para que las mujeres
puedan quedarse en casa y cuidar a los hijos y el hogar.
14. Uno tiene que estar listo para competir con otros si uno quiere salir adelante.
15. Los hijos nunca deberían cuestionar las decisiones de los padres.
16. El dinero es la clave para la felicidad.
17. Lo más importante que los padres pueden enseñarle a sus hijos es que sean
independientes de otros.
18. Los padres deberían enseñar a sus hijos a rezar.
19. Las familias necesitan vigilar y proteger más a las niñas adolescentes que a los niños
adolescentes.
20. Siempre es importante estar unidos como familia.
21. Uno debería compartir su casa con parientes si ellos necesitan donde quedarse.
22. Los niños deberían portarse de la mejor manera cuando visitan las casas de amigos o
familiares.

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23. Los padres deberían animar a los hijos para que hagan todo mejor que los demás.
24. Tener muchas cosas buenas lo hace a uno muy feliz.
25. Los niños siempre deberían honrar a sus padres y nunca decir cosas malas de ellos.
26. Según los niños van creciendo, los padres deberían dejar que ellos tomen sus propias
decisiones.
27. Si a uno le quitan todo, todavía le queda la fe en Dios.
28. Es importante mantener relaciones cercanas con tíos, abuelos y primos.
29. Los hermanos grandes deberían cuidar y darles el buen ejemplo a los hermanos y
hermanas menores.
30. Se le debería enseñar a los niños a que siempre sean buenos porque ellos representan a la
familia.
31. Los niños deberían seguir las reglas de sus padres, aún cuando piensen que no son justas.
32. En la familia es importante que el hombre tenga más poder que la mujer.
33. Los logros personales son las cosas más importantes en la vida.
34. Entre más dinero uno tenga, más el respeto que uno debería recibir.
35. Cuando hay problemas en la vida, uno sólo puede contar con sí mismo.
36. Es importante darle gracias a Dios todos los días por todo lo que tenemos.
37. Los días festivos y las celebraciones son importantes porque se reúne toda la familia.
38. Los padres deberían estar dispuestos a hacer grandes sacrificios para asegurarse que sus
hijos tengan una vida mejor.
39. Uno siempre debería considerar a su familia cuando toma decisiones importantes.
40. Es importante que los niños entiendan que sus padres deberían tener la última palabra
cuando se toman decisiones en la familia.
41. Los padres deberían enseñarle a sus hijos a competir para ganar.
42. Las madres son la persona principal responsable por la crianza de los hijos.

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MACVS Subscales and Aligned Questions

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Appendix B: Semi-Structured Interview Protocol
*Interview will be conducted in Spanish, English, and/or a mix of both languages
I. Welcome and Orientation:
Hello, how are you doing today?
My name is Thea Fabián, and you?
It’s so nice to meet you.
To provide you a little about what we’re doing here today, I am a student at USC and I am
conducting a study about U.S. Mexican students’ values and identities. I am interested in how
much U.S. Mexican students’ cultural values are or are not incorporated into the policies and
practices of schools. I am particularly interested in understanding students’ experiences and how
schools can cultivate a deep respect and appreciation for U.S. Mexican values and incorporate
these into our ways of interacting in schools.
I want to assure you that I am strictly wearing the hat of researcher today. What this means is
that the nature of my questions is not evaluative. I will not be making any judgments about you
as a person or as a student. My goal is to understand your perspective.
As stated in the Study Information Sheet I provided to you previously, this interview is
confidential. What that means is that your name will not be shared with anyone outside of the
research team. I will not share them with teachers, the principal, or the district. The data for this
study will be compiled into a report and while I do plan on using some of what you say as direct
quotes, none of this data will be directly attributed to you. That means I won’t write your name
into the paper. I will use a pseudonym-a fake name, to protect your confidentiality and will try
my best to de-identify any of the data I gather from you. I am happy to provide you with a copy
of my final paper if you are interested.
As stated in the Study Information Sheet, I will keep the data in a password protected
computer and all data will be destroyed after 3 years.
Do you have any questions about the study before we get started? I have brought a recorder
with me today so that I can accurately capture what you share with me. The recording is solely
for my purposes to best capture your perspectives and will not be shared with anyone outside the
research team. May I have your permission to record our conversation?
I am excited to learn more about you and your experiences. I am going to be asking you some
questions about your experiences at home and at school. Please answer each question as fully as
you can but within what is comfortable for you. I wanted to let you know that in terms of the
language we speak in, I am flexible. We can interchange languages and/or stay in the language
that is most comfortable for you. If you mix in words and phrases in either language, I will
understand you and it’s good to hear how you prefer to communicate. I also wanted to encourage
you to speak the way you are most comfortable. There is no right or wrong way to express your
ideas and I look forward to listening to you.”

Interview Questions RQ Reference
Tell me a little bit about yourself. RQ 1

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1. What grade level are you in?
2. What languages are spoken and/or understood at home?

Transition: Thank you so much for helping me to understand that. Now, I’d like to ask some
questions that go a little bit deeper into how you see your culture at home.
3. I'm going to be asking some questions about U.S. Mexican
students. Would you identify yourself as Mexican, U.S. Mexican,
or Mexican-American? If so, what does that mean for you? If not,
how do you identify yourself?
RQ 1
4. When you're at home with your family, what kinds of things do
you talk about?
● Tell me more.
RQ 1
5. What values are most important to your family? Values are what
is important to us in life and how we expect ourselves and other
people to behave. For example, one value some people have is
taking turns when speaking. For some people their religion is very
important to them, it’s one of their values.
● Tell me more.
● Are there any early experiences that show those values that you
can share with me?
RQ 1
6. Please look at the list of social skills on the paper I am handing
you. Go ahead and select one skill to begin with. Is this a skill you
or your family members engage in? Could you provide me with
one or two examples? (then move on two the second and third
social skill listed)
a. Being helpful in different circumstances
b. Showing concern for other people
c. Taking the perspective of another person/looking at a situation
from another person’s perspective
RQ 1
7. Behavior at home and at school.

a. How do you think people your age should behave at school?
i. What about at home?
ii. …toward teachers?
iii. …toward parents, guardians, or grandparents?
b. How would your parents say students should behave at school?
i. …at home?
RQ 1
8. Are there any cultural beliefs about family life that you feel are very
strong for your parents but less strong for you?
RQ 1

149
Transition: “Thanks so much for helping me to deepen my own understanding of your
experiences. Now, I would like to ask you some questions about school.”
9. Describe a time when you felt that your identity or culture was valued
at school.
● What I hear you saying is….
● Tell me more.
RQ 2
10. Describe a time when you felt that your identity or culture was not
valued at school.
● What I hear you saying is….
● Tell me more.
RQ 2
11.
a. How well does your school do in helping students to feel that they
belong?
b. Do U.S. Mexican students feel that they belong at school? Why or
why not?
RQ 2
Question on humility, personalismo, bien educado
12. For U.S. Mexican students who like to spend time with or “hang out”
with other U.S. Mexican students, why is this?
RQ 2
13. What does it mean to be successful at school?
● Tell me more.
RQ 2

14. Do any students you know get in trouble at school? Why do you think
that is?
RQ2
15. In what ways, if any, do you feel that you can be successful at school? RQ2
16. In what ways, if any, do you feel that success is not possible for you? RQ2
17. Do you ever see people like you or your family/community in the
books or other materials you use in your classes? What kinds of books or
materials would you like to see?
RQ2
18. Why don’t some Mexican students ask for help at school when they
need it?
a. Is it ok to ask for help at school? Why or why not?
RQ 1; RQ 2
19. Describe situations at school that make you happy.
● Tell me more.
RQ2
20. Describe situations at school that make you feel proud of who you
are.
● Tell me more.
RQ2

150
Closing Question:
22. Is there anything further you would like to add on the topic of U.S.
Mexican cultural values and school?
RQ 1, RQ2
Closing Comments:
“Thank you so much. You have been very helpful and I have appreciated listening to you. At a
future point, I might follow up with you to see if we can talk further. Would that be all right?”
(Say goodbyes)

151
Appendix C: Recruitment Documents
Informational and Recruitment Letter to Families
Figure 1

Informational and Recruitment Letter to Families

152
Student Recruitment Flyer
Figure 2

Student Recruitment Flyer

153
Parent Phone Call Script, Semi-Structured Interviews
Figure 3

Scripted Phone Call to Parents, English

Hello and Good Afternoon,
My name is Thea Fabián and I am a doctoral student at the University of Southern California. I
am calling because your student who attends ________ high school has volunteered to participate in an
interview with me to discuss Mexican Cultural Values and also the social skills Mexican adolescents
bring to school. I am calling for your permission to include your student.
The interviews are completely voluntary and confidential. Your student will not be named
directly in my study. Also, your student will not be penalized in any way academically, or otherwise for
not participating. The interviews will occur at (location) on (date) at (time).
The group interview will last approximately 45 minutes to 1 hour. I will also follow up with a
formal document for you to sign to provide permission. At this time, may I answer any questions you
may have? May I have your permission to contact your student directly?
Thank you and have a wonderful rest of your day.

Figure 4
Scripted Phone Call to Parents, Spanish
Hola y buenas tardes,
Mi nombre es Thea Fabián y soy una estudiante de doctorado en la Universidad del Sur de
California. Llamo hoy porque su estudiante que asiste a la escuela secundaria (nombre de escuela) se ha
ofrecido como voluntario para participar en una entrevista conmigo para discutir los valores culturales
mexicanos y también las habilidades sociales que los adolescentes mexicanos traen a la escuela. Estoy
pidiendo su permiso para incluir a su estudiante.
Las entrevistas son completamente voluntarias y confidenciales. Su estudiante no será
nombrado en mi estudio. Tampoco recibirá ninguna consecuencia negativa por decidir no participar en
las entrevistas.
Las entrevistas ocurrirán (día) a las (hora) en (ubicación). También haré un seguimiento con un
documento formal para que usted firme para proporcionar permiso. En este momento, ¿puedo
responder cualquier pregunta que pueda tener? ¿Me da su permiso para contactar a su estudiante
directamente?
Muchas gracias y que usted pase un buen día.

154
Appendix D: Consent Documents
Assent, Survey
Figure 5

Assent Disclosure Screenshot, Survey

155
Parental Consent, Semi-Structured Interviews
Figure 6

Consent, Semi-Structured Interviews

156

157

158
Appendix E: IRB
Fresno Unified School District IRB
Figure 7

IRB Approval, Fresno Unified School District

159

University of Southern California IRB
Figure 8

IRB Approval Letter, USC, page 1

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Asset Metadata

Creator Fabián, Thea (author)

Core Title U.S. Mexican adolescent cultural values and prosocial tendencies

School Rossier School of Education

Degree Doctor of Education

Degree Program Education (Leadership)

Degree Conferral Date 2023-08

Publication Date 09/11/2023

Defense Date 03/22/2023

Publisher Los Angeles, California (original), University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag Adolescent,OAI-PMH Harvest,prosocial tendencies,U.S. Mexican,Values

Format theses (aat)

Language English

Contributor Electronically uploaded by the author (provenance)

Advisor Riggio, Marsha (committee chair), Carlo, Gustavo (committee member), Spycher, Pamela (committee member), Trahan, Don (committee member)

Creator Email tfabian@usc.edu,theafabian@yahoo.com

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-oUC113305099

Unique identifier UC113305099

Identifier etd-FabinThea-12353.pdf (filename)

Legacy Identifier etd-FabinThea-12353

Document Type Dissertation

Format theses (aat)

Rights Fabián, Thea

Internet Media Type application/pdf

Type texts

Source 20230911-usctheses-batch-1095 (batch), University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Access Conditions The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the author, as the original true and official version of the work, but does not grant the reader permission to use the work if the desired use is covered by copyright. It is the author, as rights holder, who must provide use permission if such use is covered by copyright.

Repository Name University of Southern California Digital Library

Repository Location USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus MC 2810, 3434 South Grand Avenue, 2nd Floor, Los Angeles, California 90089-2810, USA

Repository Email cisadmin@lib.usc.edu