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The beauty of resilience: an examination of how continuation high school students overcome daily adversities

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The beauty of resilience: an examination of how continuation high school students overcome daily adversities

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Content Running head: RESILIENCE AND CONTINUATION HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS 1
THE BEAUTY OF RESILIENCE: AN EXAMINATION OF HOW CONTINUATION HIGH
SCHOOL STUDENTS OVERCOME DAILY ADVERSITIES

by
Quartney B. Cervantes

A Dissertation Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE USC ROSSIER SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
DOCTOR OF EDUCATION

December 2019

Copyright 2019 Quartney B. Cervantes

RESILIENCE AND CONTINUATION STUDENTS 2
DEDICATION
This work is dedicated to Cassandra, Nestor, Jesse, Lorenzo, Destinee my past, present, and
future students. You are my inspiration.

RESILIENCE AND CONTINUATION STUDENTS 3
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
“Here comes Quartney and her family”
First, I want to thank my family for supporting me throughout my pathway. To my mom
for always encouraging me to follow my dreams and empowering me to be a strong,
independent, and driven woman. Your strength, resilience, and sacrifices for Erika, Greg, and me
don’t go unnoticed. Thank you to my Nan and Papa for giving me the world. Especially my Nan,
for continuing to make sure I’m always taken care of since I was diagnosed with Type 1
Diabetes, for picking me up from school and driving me to all my activities and doctor
appointments. To my Aunt Karen and Uncle Garth for being the best aunt and uncle anyone
could ask for and to Cerys and William for being the most thoughtful little cousins. For my sister
Erika and brother Greg for always looking out for me and encouraging me with my hopes and
dreams.
I want to give thanks to amazing tribe for being there for me during this program and for
being my sisters in life. Laura, Adrianna, and Jenny, I love you girls! Thank you to my Sharefest
family for always being supportive of my decisions and allowing me to live my purpose.
Especially to Kyle for not only to being the best colleague but being there for me emotionally
and mentally through this program. I appreciate all your proofreading of my papers and helping
me talk through my thoughts.
I am grateful for my chair, Dr. Briana Hinga for your deep understanding of
transformative education and being a change agent. You have profoundly shaped my thoughts
and ideas. I am so thankful. Thank you to Dr. Anthony Collatos believing in me as a young
student who was just figuring out my purpose in education and for being my mentor. I hope one
day to be as phenomenal an educator like you. Dr. Alan Green, thank you for your wisdom.
RESILIENCE AND CONTINUATION STUDENTS 4
Thank you to Mrs. Silva Estrada. I am forever grateful to you for teaching me everything
I know about continuation high schools. I have been successful with the population because of
your guidance.
Lastly, I wouldn’t have made through this program without my crew of Ed.D. friends. I
am so grateful for our writing groups, our text threads, tailgates, and class break beverages.
Thank you for the experience and for the opportunity to become friends with you.

RESILIENCE AND CONTINUATION STUDENTS 5
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Dedication 2
Acknowledgements 3
List of Tables 7
List of Figures 8
Abstract 9
Chapter One: Overview of the Study 10
Background of the Problem 11
Statement of the Problem 13
Purpose of the Study 15
Research Questions 16
Research Objectives 16
Importance of the Study 17
Definition of Terminology 17
Summary 18
Chapter Two: Literature Review 19
Theoretical Framework 19
Latino/Latina Critical Race Theory 19
Historical Context of Continuation High Schools 21
Resilience: Overcoming Adversity 23
History of the Zero-Tolerance Policy 25
Mindset: Coping Through Adversities 26
Conceptual Framework 27
Community Cultural Wealth 27
Chapter Three: Methodology 30
Research Questions 30
Methodology 31
Positionality 31
Context 33
Participants and Sampling 36
Data Collection and Instrument Protocols 37
Instruments 37
Process 37
Data Analysis 37
Delimitations and Limitations 38
Credibility and Trustworthiness 39
Ethics 40
Summary 41
Chapter Four: Findings 42
Research Questions 43
A Review of Participants 43
Victoria 43
Sofia 44
Ricky 44
Samuel 45
RESILIENCE AND CONTINUATION STUDENTS 6
Amelia 46
Brooklyn 47
Overcoming Adversities and Building Resilience 47
Academic Challenges 48
Personal Challenges 50
Family Support 53
Peer Support 54
School Support 54
Summary 56
Demonstration of a Growth Mindset 56
Summary 59
Development and the Ability to Maintain Aspirations 59
Summary 61
Conclusion 61
Chapter Five: Discussion 63
Overview of the Study 63
Discussion of the Findings 63
School Support 64
Personal Challenges 64
Mindset 65
Aspiration 65
Implications of Theory and Research 66
LatCrit 66
Community Cultural Wealth 67
Implication for Practice 68
Recommendations for Practice 68
Training for Teachers and School Staff 68
Supportive Continuation High Schools 69
Comprehensive School Staff 69
Conversation About Resilience 69
Importance of Students’ Stories 70
Mental Health Service 70
Structural Issues 70
Recommendation for Research 70
Conclusion 71
References 72
Appendix: Interview Questions 76

RESILIENCE AND CONTINUATION STUDENTS 7
LIST OF TABLES
Table 1: Participant Demographics 36

RESILIENCE AND CONTINUATION STUDENTS 8
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1: Theoretical and conceptual framework. 29

RESILIENCE AND CONTINUATION STUDENTS 9
ABSTRACT
The purpose of this study was to examine how continuation high school students demonstrate
resilience while overcoming personal and academic adversity through Latino/a critical race
theory method of counter-story telling. This study interviewed six current continuation high
school studen0ts. Participants shared their experiences, and the study highlighted the importance
of the students’ voice and their life pathway. This study utilized Tuck’s desire-centered research
as a lens to recognize participants’ unique experiences. Through the LatCrit and community
cultural wealth framework as well as the desired-centered research lens, the study provided
insight into the experiences of continuation high school students and how they navigate
themselves through their personal and academic adversities. The themes that emerged from this
study offered awareness and understanding into the risk and protective factors that contribute to
continuation high school students’ demonstration of resilience as there is limited research on the
population. Through examination of this population, this study offers recommendation for
practitioners and researchers.

Keywords: Continuation high school students, Resilience, Protective Factors, Risk Factors,
Beauty

RESILIENCE AND CONTINUATION STUDENTS 10
CHAPTER ONE: OVERVIEW OF THE STUDY
California continuation high schools are considered a safety net for students who have
experienced life events that have derailed them from a traditional educational pathway (Velasco
& McLaughlin, 2012) and who strive to stay in school to earn a high school diploma. This work
focused solely on California continuation high schools, as they are a California phenomenon.
Through the United States, continuation high schools are referred to as alternative schools. It is
critical to note that alternative schools are similar to California continuation schools. This study
examined the resilience of continuation high school students while overcoming personal and
academic adversities.
According to the California Department of Education (CDE, 2017), continuation high
schools in California enrolled 53,439 students in 441 schools during the 2016–2017 school year.
Most students enrolled in continuation high schools racially identify as Latino. Latino students
comprise 55% of all students in continuation high schools while Black students make up 5.62%
(CDE, 2017; Velasco & McLaughlin, 2012). Continuation high schools are part of California’s
Alternative Education Options Program that serves as the preferred dropout intervention program
for the state. Continuation high school students are on an individualized learning plan and are
required to participate in state testing. However, there is no accountability system for these
schools. The schools are held accountable neither for test scores nor graduation rates. The lack of
an accountability system further promotes the notion that continuation high schools are a
dumping ground for districts (Velasco & McLaughlin, 2012). Continuation high schools and
their students are the forgotten population of the school districts. The continuation population
needs additional resources to assist them with gaining credits and developing within their
RESILIENCE AND CONTINUATION STUDENTS 11
pathway. However, continuation students are expected to function without resources available to
comprehensive high schools even though continuation high school students have the most need.
Students are referred to continuation high schools for various reasons. However,
comprehensive high schools mainly refer students who are credit-deficient, have low attendance,
or are experiencing behavioral challenges (Velasco et al., 2008). Although continuation high
school students have experienced the most challenges in their personal and academic lives, they
are often ignored by the state and in the literature. This study examined the resilience of such
students while overcoming personal and academic adversities.
Background of the Problem
Fundamental to this study is understanding the purpose of continuation high schools and
how they influence and shape the experiences of their students as well as assist them with their
academic and personal adversities. Continuation high schools in California were created as a
high school diploma program intended to meet the needs of students 16 years of age or older
who are at risk of not graduating high school (CDE, 2017). The students referred to continuation
schools are at risk of not graduating due to being credit-deficient, having low attendance,
requiring a flexible schedule due to employment, teen pregnancy, recent release from a juvenile
detention camp, experiencing homelessness, being in the foster care system, and/or critical
behavioral or academic needs (Velasco et al., 2008). These schools are a dropout prevention
strategy. The required minimum attendance for continuation schools is 180 minutes per day, or
15 hours per week (CDE, 2017). Continuation high schools are considered a short-term option,
the purpose of which is to allow students to make up credits and return to their comprehensive
high school. However, most students ultimately earn their diploma at the continuation high
school instead of transferring back to their comprehensive school (Velasco et al., 2008).
RESILIENCE AND CONTINUATION STUDENTS 12
While understanding the academic adversities continuation students face, it is critical to
consider the school setting. In many instances, continuation high schools are under-resourced
(Velasco et al., 2008). Teachers often instruct two subjects, and, in some cases, two teachers
share a classroom. Also, the schools’ academic counselor visits one continuation school per
week, meaning the students have access to an academic counselor only once per week between
the hours of 8:00 am and 12:30 pm. Continuation high school students are often described as the
“throw-away population,” and the schools are considered a dumping ground for students with
behavioral challenges, credit deficiency, and low attendance. In addition, continuation high
schools are more racially and ethnically concentrated than students at comprehensive high
schools (Velasco & McLaughlin, 2012).
This study focused on the students and their stories, which are substantially missing in
the literature. The significance of the students’ stories was pertinent to enhancing the existing
literature. For educators to truly understand the unique needs of the continuation student
population, they need to hear directly from the students. The stories the researcher aimed to
explore pertain to why students enroll in continuation high schools, how and when their pathway
shifted, and how they demonstrate resilience to overcome adversity, obtain a high school
diploma, and reach for their goals and aspirations.
The research was conducted under the theoretical framework of Latino/a critical race
theory (LatCrit). LatCrit explains the multidimensional identities of Latino/as to address the
intersectionality of racism, sexism, classism, and other forms of oppression like immigration and
language differences (Solórzano & Bernal, 2001). This framework works in synergy toward a
desire-centered theory of change (Tuck, 2009). As Tuck (2009) explained, moving toward
desire-centered research means focusing on understanding the complexity, contradiction, and
RESILIENCE AND CONTINUATION STUDENTS 13
self-determination of lived lives. The theoretical frameworks addressed the context of the
students’ environment, continuation high schools, and the systemic oppression students face as
people of color and as continuation students. The literature review was constructed as a desire-
centered approach to understanding the problem of continuation students being perceived by
society as damaged. The desire-centered approach addressed the need to add students’ voices to
the literature to express the beauty, strength, and tenacity of the continuation population.
Statement of the Problem
This study addressed the problem of the limited understanding of students’ perspectives
on their experience in continuation schools and of their resiliency through the structures they
navigate. The researcher investigated how students demonstrated resilience while overcoming
personal and academic adversities. The focus was on personal adversities, including community,
environmental, and family factors that students face outside the classroom. The study also
addressed academic adversities including academic inconsistencies and derailments they faced
during their educational pathway. The voices of students who overcame adversity to achieve
resilience by staying in school and reaching for their aspirations are emphasized. Further, the
study addressed the lack of conversation about students’ resilience. Examination of students’
resilience and their voices in a system designed to fail them is a significant contribution to
address the problem of the limited research on continuation students.
This study is an important addition to the existing literature, as limited research has
examined continuation high schools and their students. A significant portion of the literature is
focused on the policies, school staff, and students’ substance abuse issues. Patel (2014) brought
to light the patterns of colonization in educational research regarding who decides who is
researched and noted that educational research is similar to the settler-slave-Indigenous
RESILIENCE AND CONTINUATION STUDENTS 14
relationships. Continuation high school overall has been largely ignored because it is as if society
wants the continuation community to disappear or treats the community as if it does not exist.
The researcher narrowed the topic to focus on the adversity students overcome to earn their high
school diploma and overcome life events. This was done due to the limited research on
continuation high students and delimitation of topics on empowering students’ voices and stories
and the researcher’s insider experience with the population.
To address the statement of the problem, this qualitative study involved interviews with
six participants currently enrolled in continuation high school who are 18 years old and have
demonstrated resilience while overcoming adversity. Resilience has been defined by Garmezy
(1986) as successfully adapting in the presence of adversity. Resilience for the purpose of this
study involves how students strive to continue their education to attain a high school diploma
and their striving for their aspirations to overcome barriers using their protective factors. A
continuation student who has demonstrated resilience is herein defined as a student currently in a
continuation high school still striving to obtain a high school diploma.
Adversity has been defined as the difficulties and challenges a person faces (Jenson &
Fraser, 2016). The adversity examined in this study relates to the educational difficulties and
inconsistencies continuation high school students encounter during their educational pathways
that derailed them and the influential environmental factors in the students’ community and
family. The data collection was done through the LatCrit method of counter-story telling,
allowing students to share their experiences from their perspective (Solórzano & Yosso, 2002).
The purpose of the interviews was to give students the opportunity to share their experiences and
stories to shift the literature from damaged- to desire-centered. The hope is that the findings and
recommendations offer a greater understanding of continuation high school students through
RESILIENCE AND CONTINUATION STUDENTS 15
their experiences and how we, as educators, can further foster their resilience to overcome life
events they may face through adulthood.
Purpose of the Study
The purpose of this study was to examine how continuation high school students
demonstrate resilience while overcoming adversity, specifically how many of these students
experienced adversity that derailed them from a comprehensive educational pathway. The
adversity/adversities students have experienced and the fact that they are the most at risk of not
completing high school illustrate that students continue to demonstrate resilience by showing up
to school because they want to attain a high school diploma and continue their pursuit of their
aspirations.
In educational research, Patel (2014) pointed out there is a significant amount of research
on why everyone else does not achieve at the levels of economically privileged White
populations, and the studies end with the lack of achievement and suggested interventions. This
study aimed to challenge the colonized lens that educational research places on continuation
students as low achieving to see the beauty of their stories and their positive qualities.
In this study, a desire-centered theory of change is used to examine the complexities of
the human experience, the contradictions that exist, and the self-determination of continuation
students’ experience through a desire-centered research framework (Tuck, 2009). Tuck (2009)
described damage-centered research as documenting the pain or loss of an individual or
community to connect a deficit model focused on what is lacking in a population to explain the
underachievement or failure of an individual or community. This study documented the pain or
loss of the participants’ experiences, as the study addressed the pain or loss of the experiences in
Chapter Four. However, the intention was to focus on the beauty of the students’ stories, their
RESILIENCE AND CONTINUATION STUDENTS 16
resilience in overcoming adversity, and their voices. Further, Tuck challenged educational
researchers to consider the historical and social contexts that contribute to the dynamics, unique
perspectives, and experiences of the participants and called for an end to damage-centered
research.
The study used the LatCrit method of counter-story telling as the qualitative methodology
to critically and sensitively reconstruct the limited literature about the continuation school
student population. The process of research within this study intended to challenge the existing
structure of research on the continuation community to work toward transformative change that
highlights the importance of students’ voices. Thus, it was critical to make the targeted audience
for this study the researcher, the dissertation committee, the current doctoral students at the
Rossier School of Education, the overall education community in California, the continuation
high school administration, those reading the research, and the University of Southern California
Rossier School of Education.
Research Questions
The research questions are as follows:
1. How do students at Pacific Continuation High School demonstrate resilience through the
daily adversities they face in their personal and academic lives?
2. How do the protective and risk factors influence students’ ability to overcome their daily
adversities and build resilience?
3. How do students develop aspirational capital through their pathway?
Research Objectives
The research objectives for this study were to identify the protective and risk factors
involved in how continuation students demonstrate resilience and the ability to articulate their
RESILIENCE AND CONTINUATION STUDENTS 17
stories to understand the significance of their voice and to allow them to identify common
themes in how they relate to one another amongst themselves.
Importance of the Study
It is critical for educators to hear these students’ voices and highlight the barriers they
must overcome to graduate high school, as there are unintended consequences of ignoring or not
seeing the strengths amongst this community and their effort to thrive in and outside the
classroom. This study focused on hearing the voice of students, learning about and
acknowledging their resilience, while adding to the literature from their perspective. This
addressed the limited literature specifically on the stories of continuation high school students,
the reason students are referred to continuation school, and their aspiration to obtain a high
school diploma.
Moreover, the beauty of the students’ stories is significant to the importance of this study
and was aligned with desire-centered research. Further, the researcher attempted to not approach
these students with a colonial lens (Patel, 2014) and sought to bring to light that this community
has unique needs, which is part of the reason these students have been referred to or placed in
continuation school. The importance of their voices being heard assisted in having their unique
needs met. Their unique needs were addressed in this study with hope that educators will further
understand the continuation population’s unique needs.
Definition of Terminology
To obtain an in-depth understanding of the context of continuation high school students
within this study, several terms are defined. These terms are significant to this study because
they provide a guideline of the terminology used in the context of the study, the data collection,
and findings.
RESILIENCE AND CONTINUATION STUDENTS 18
Continuation high school student: A student who has been referred out of a
comprehensive high school to a continuation high school due to low attendance, a low grade
point average, and/or the need for a more intimate learning environment.
Academic adversities: The educational difficulties and inconsistencies continuation high
school students encountered during their educational pathway that have derailed them (Jenson &
Fraser, 2016).
Personal adversities: The influential environmental factors of students’ community and
family (Jenson & Fraser, 2016).
Academic resilience: Students’ will to continue on in their education and attain a high
school diploma (Garmezy, 1986).
Personal resilience: Students’ will to strive for their aspirations and overcome barriers
using their protective factors (Garmezy, 1986).
Beauty: Students’ truthful stories of overcoming their academic and personal challenges
and barriers.
Summary
Ultimately, continuation high school students are perceived as the forgotten population of
their school districts and have often been ignored in the scholarly literature (Velasco et al.,
2008). As mentioned above, continuation students are a unique population with unique needs
(Velasco & McLaughlin, 2012). The study was conducted outside of the colonial lens and
approached through a desire-centered framework. Thus, it contributes to the unique needs of
continuation students by offering new literature and giving students the opportunity to share their
experiences and their stories in their own voice. Furthermore, this study promoted an
understanding and awareness of the continuation student population.
RESILIENCE AND CONTINUATION STUDENTS 19
CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW
The purpose of this chapter is to present the specific literature available on continuation
high school students in California regarding their resilience and how they overcome adversities.
The chapter begins with the theoretical framework of LatCrit, which structures the need to
explore this population in educational research. Then, a historical explanation is provided of how
continuation high schools were created, their existing policies, and their operations. This is
followed by literature on students’ resilience, risk factors, protective factors, possible selves, and
a sense of belonging that are involved with shaping their resilience. This chapter also presents
the history of the zero-tolerance policy and its role in placing Black and Latino students in
continuation high schools. Finally addressed is the importance of mindsets and a person’s use of
coping skills through a growth-oriented mindset to overcome personal and academic adversities.
The chapter ends with the conceptual theory that is critical to understanding the
influential factors that continuation high school students bring into their daily lives and to the
classroom. Community cultural wealth is conceptualized and used by students demonstrating
resilience to survive and resist racism and oppression within the continuation high school
context. Similarly, this chapter is provide a way of structuring, studying, and interpreting the
stories of continuation high school students.
Theoretical Framework
Latino/Latina Critical Race Theory
LatCrit is a theory that explains multidimensional identities of Latino/as and addresses
the intersectionality of racism, sexism, classism, and other forms of oppression, such as
immigration and language differences (Solórzano & Bernal, 2001). Solórzano and Bernal (2001)
described LatCrit as a cousin of CRT in that they operate close together “but not necessarily live
RESILIENCE AND CONTINUATION STUDENTS 20
under the same roof” (p. 312). Most importantly, LatCrit is used to challenge race and racism as
they relate to education by examining how educational theory and practice are used to
subordinate and marginalize Latino students.
LatCrit is used to theorize, examine, and challenge the ways race and racism implicitly
and explicitly impact social structures, practices, and discourse (Yosso, 2005). Solórzano and
Bernal (2001) explained the five tenets of CRT and LatCrit and how they relate to educational
research. First, transdisciplinary approaches allow for educational researchers to draw from the
strengths and research methods of other disciplines to understand and improve education
(Solórzano & Bernal, 2001). Second, experiential knowledge is emphasized to view the strength
and life experiences of students of color using counter narratives, testimonies, and oral histories
(Solórzano & Bernal, 2001). Third, a challenge to dominant ideologies is giving importance to
how culture and linguistics are counted as knowledge and challenging the traditional forms of
knowledge (Solórzano & Bernal, 2001). Fourth, the centrality of race and racism and their
intersectionality with other forms of subordination is the intersection of racism, sexism, classism,
language, immigration status and recognizing the layers of oppression (Solórzano & Bernal,
2001). The fifth tenet is a commitment to social justice that will eliminate racism, sexism, and
poverty and empower marginalized groups (Solórzano & Bernal, 2001).
For the purpose of this study, LatCrit was used to examine how continuation high school
students are marginalized based on their race as Latinos/as and family immigration status while
dealing with the label of continuation students. As mentioned in the literature review,
continuation high school students are predominately of color and/or marginalized; thus, LatCrit
was chosen for this study.

RESILIENCE AND CONTINUATION STUDENTS 21
Historical Context of Continuation High Schools
In California, continuation high school education was created in 1919 as a high school
diploma program intended to meet the needs of students 16 years of age or older who are at risk
of not graduating high school (CDE, 2017). Often, students are referred to continuation because
they are credit-deficient or need a flexible schedule due to employment, family obligations,
and/or other critical needs. Continuation high schools require a minimum attendance of 180
minutes per day, or 15 hours per week (CDE, 2017). There are approximately 500 continuation
high schools in the state, and they serve an estimated115,000 students each year, which is nearly
10% of all high school students in the state (Velasco & McLaughlin, 2012). According to the
CDE (2017), during the 2016–2017 academic year, there were 441 continuation high schools and
53,439 students enrolled statewide. However, continuation high schools are more racially and
ethnically concentrated than the comprehensive high schools. Latino students comprise 55% of
all students in continuation high schools and Black students make up 5.62% (CDE, 2017;
Velasco & McLaughlin, 2012).
Students are referred to continuation high schools by the vice principal or counselor from
their comprehensive high school. According to the California education code, continuation high
schools should operate as a voluntary educational alternative for credit-deficient students to
“complete the required academic courses of instruction to graduate from high school” in a setting
“designed to meet the individual needs of each pupil” (Ed Code 48430.3). However, another part
of the education code allows the involuntary transfer of students to continuation high schools for
behavioral reasons unrelated to academic performance (Ed Code 48430.5). This portion of the
code gives comprehensive high school principals the right to make an involuntary transfer if it is
determined that a student’s presence causes danger to persons or property or threatens the
RESILIENCE AND CONTINUATION STUDENTS 22
instructional process (Velasco & McLaughlin, 2012). The students are deemed behaviorally
challenged by the comprehensive high schools and are involuntary transferred for behavior
reasons; however, continuation high schools are not equipped to offer psychological and social
emotional support or interventions to behaviorally challenged students.
Continuation high school students are a highly vulnerable population facing many
barriers that affect their ability to attend school consistently (Velasco et al., 2008). The
attendance of high school students in Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) is described
as a chronic problem if they miss more than 15 instructional school days (LAUSD, 2015). Many
high school students who suffer from chronic absences are referred to continuation high school,
and the chronic absences lead to the students being deficient on credits. Teasley (2004) pointed
out that chronic absences are caused by numerous factors, such as a lack of community support,
an unsupportive school environment, a disorderly family life, and transportation problems.
Particularly, low-income urban schools experience higher rates of absences than suburban
schools. Cultural disparities can also influence the attendance of students who might feel
unwelcomed or misunderstood by school staff. Several factors influence student attendance, as
every situation is different, and the vulnerability of continuation students presents complexities
that schools need to identify.
Ideally, continuation high schools’ purpose is to serve as a safety net for students because
those who drop out of high school are more likely than high school graduates to experience a
variety of negative consequences throughout their lives, such as low wages, poor health, reliance
on public assistance and being a single parent (Parr & Bonitz, 2015). Further, students who drop
out of high school are more likely to engage in substance abuse than those who graduated from
high school (Sheldon & Epstein, 2004). Research has shown that continuation high school
RESILIENCE AND CONTINUATION STUDENTS 23
students are likely to engage in substance abuse and are at least two times more likely to use
alcohol and drugs than comprehensive high school students (Velasco et al., 2008). As the
research above has shown, continuation high schools were created to prevent these negative
consequences and provide students with a high school diploma.
Resilience: Overcoming Adversity
Resilience is characterized by successful adaption in the presence of adversity (Garmezy,
1986). Adversity is defined as difficulties and challenges a person faces (Jenson & Fraser, 2016).
Jenson and Fraser (2016) conceptualized resilience not as a single influence or factor, but,
instead, as the outcomes of the process that takes into account both the level of risk factor
exposure and the presence of protective factors. Students who are at risk for but do not exhibit
the predicted negative outcomes are described as resilient (Worrell & Hale, 2001). The risk
factors are individual, school, peer, family, and community influences (Jenson & Fraser, 2016).
Risk factors are defined as “biological or psychosocial hazards that increase the likelihood of a
negative developmental outcome” (Werner, 1990, p. 99). This negative developmental outcome
is either social or health problems. Moreover, the presence of one or more risk factors in a
person’s life increases the likelihood that challenged behavior will occur at a later point in life. It
is critical to identify specific risk factors associated with school dropouts, delinquency, and other
challenges when discussing continuation high school students.
Protective factors. Protective factors are influences, characteristics, and conditions that
cushion a person’s exposure to risk (Jenson & Fraser, 2016). Some individuals who are exposed
to high risk factors do not engage in certain social or behavior problems. Researchers have found
that such individuals are protected from risk and have personal resources that help them to
overcome adversities (Jenson & Fraser, 2016). These personal resources are referred to as
RESILIENCE AND CONTINUATION STUDENTS 24
protective factors, which include individual factors, their cognitive abilities and temperament and
environmental factors such as family and school (Worrell & Hale, 2001). According to Yates and
Masten (2004), there are three approaches that contribute to youth demonstrating resilience. The
first is risk-focused, which entails reducing risk or avoiding it. The second is an asset focus,
which provides resources to help counteract adversity. Finally, a process focus emphasizes the
protection system of positive support. These protective factors assist researchers with explaining
how some individuals can overcome the odds associated with negative risk factors.
Possible selves. According to Markus and Nurius (1986), possible selves is a domain of
self-knowledge that pertains to how individuals think about their potential and about their future.
With this self-knowledge, youth construct their possible selves by developing what they know
about their traits, abilities, and about the skills needed to become their future selves (Cantor,
Norem, Niedenthal, Langston, & Brower, 1987). For example, youth think about what
individuals could become, would like to become, or are afraid of becoming (Markus & Nurius,
1986). Youth must creatively imagine their future adult selves on their own. Possible selves are
related to how students maintain resilience and overcome daily adversities by focusing on what
they might want to become in the future.
Sense of belonging. There is a substantial amount of literature that emphasizes the
importance of students’ sense of belonging in school and how it relates to important outcomes.
For many years, “theorists have acknowledged that people seek to develop and maintain social
bonds with one other” (Leary & Cox, 2008, p. 29). Researchers have pointed out that the need to
belong is fundamental to human motivation (Baumeister & Leary, 1995). Baumeister and Leary
(1995) defined two criteria for satisfying the human motivation of belonging: their need to have
frequent and pleasant interactions with a few people and the interactions must take place in a
RESILIENCE AND CONTINUATION STUDENTS 25
stable context and in a framework of concern for each other’s welfare. If students fail to achieve
a sense of belonging, there can be important negative consequences in their lives (Baumeister &
Leary, 1995). There is limited research on the sense of belonging in relation to continuation high
school students and their school environment.
In this study, the sense of belonging is critical for students in school and amongst their
peers because it offers the protective and risk factors that students need to overcome their daily
adversities and foster their resilience.
History of the Zero-Tolerance Policy
The school-to-prison pipeline refers to the practice of pushing students out of the
educational system and into the juvenile and adult criminal justice system (Castillo, 2014). The
push out of students from schools is primarily done through the zero-tolerance and severe
disciplinary policies. According to Castillo (2014), Black and Latino students are
disproportionately represented at every stage of the school-to-prison pipeline. Latino students are
three times more likely to be suspended, expelled, or arrested than their White peers for the same
infraction (Castillo, 2014). The zero-tolerance policy is a predetermined penalty for an
infraction, without considering the circumstances or uniqueness of the situation (Castillo, 2014).
According the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, school officials and law enforcement are influenced
by the historical inequalities in the educational system, especially segregated schools,
concentrated poverty, and the stereotypes that place labels on students and their treatment of
students who misbehave (Castillo, 2014).
According to Velasco and McLaughlin (2012), continuation high schools have become a
“dumping ground for students deemed too disruptive for comprehensive high schools” (p. 7). It
is possible that students who have been referred to continuation high schools voluntarily or
RESILIENCE AND CONTINUATION STUDENTS 26
involuntarily are placed in continuation because of the previously-mentioned zero-tolerance
policy.
Mindset: Coping Through Adversities
A mindset is the view that a person has adopted for him/herself that affects the way
he/she lives his/her life (Dweck, 2006). This means that your mindset determines the kind of
person you want to become. Research indicates that mindsets shape the meaning making
processes and foster goals, motivation, and behaviors (Dweck, Chiu, & Hong, 1995). Therefore,
mindsets may determine a person’s response when faced with challenges and barriers.
According to Dweck (2006), there are two different mindsets: a fixed mindset and a
growth mindset. A fixed mindset is the belief that “your qualities are carved in stone” and “you
have only a certain amount of intelligence, a certain personality, and a certain moral character”
(p. 6). A growth mindset is the belief “your basic qualities are things you can cultivate through
your efforts, your strategies, and help from others” (p. 7). Those who have a growth mindset
believe that people can change by growing through application and experience and believe that
their basic abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work. These people also view
challenges and failures as opportunities to improve (Dweck, 2006). Dweck explained that people
who adapt to a failure or a setback in life by turning it into success demonstrate “the kind of
perseverance and resilience produced by the growth mindset” (p. 12). In this study, mindsets
assist with understanding students’ abilities to cope through positive mindsets and perseverance
while providing insight into one of the reasons students overcome their adversities.
LatCrit framed the purpose of the review of literature to create an understanding of
continuation high school students. The literature was framed to collectively and accurately
recognize the complexities of the continuation population. Framing the literature in LatCrit
RESILIENCE AND CONTINUATION STUDENTS 27
offered background to the study as well as the foundation for the findings. Also, LatCrit provided
the lens for identifying the shortcomings and limited educational research on the continuation
population. The use of the LatCrit frame influenced the study to challenge the representation of
existing literature and challenge the way continuation students, as a marginalized population,
navigate themselves through structures of inequity.
Conceptual Framework
Community Cultural Wealth
Community cultural wealth is described as focusing on and learning from the “cultural
knowledge, skills, abilities, and contacts possessed by socially marginalized groups that often go
unrecognized and unacknowledged” (Yosso, 2005, p. 77). Notably, Yosso (2005) defined
community cultural wealth as “an array of knowledge, skills, abilities and contacts possessed and
used by communities of color to survive and resist racism and other forms of oppression” (p.
154). According to Yosso, the idea of community cultural wealth was introduced because of the
assumption that students of color come into the classroom with cultural deficiencies and lack the
cultural capital for social mobility.
There are six forms of community cultural wealth: aspirational capital, linguistic capital,
familial capital, social capital, navigational capital, and resistant capital. Yosso (2005) described
these types of capital as not mutually exclusive, but “dynamic processes that build on one
another as part of community cultural wealth” (p. 77). Students of color bring these types of
capital gained from their homes and communities into the classroom. In the classroom, often,
these capitals go unacknowledged. Only two of the six types of capital were used for the purpose
of this study: aspirational and navigational. These two types were used to frame the beauty of the
participants’ stories.
RESILIENCE AND CONTINUATION STUDENTS 28
Aspirational capital is defined as the ability to maintain hopes and dreams for the future,
even through the daily adversities and barriers one faces (Yosso, 2015). This capital is used to
highlight students’ resilience to overcome their daily adversities by making it to school each day
and maintaining hope in themselves and their dreams for their future. Navigational capital is
described as students’ ability to navigate the social and educational institutions that were not
intended for them to succeed (Yosso, 2005). According to Yosso (2005), navigational capital
empowers students to maneuver within unsupportive or hostile environments and/or spaces. Both
types of capital conceptualize the stories of the students and assist with focusing on the
importance of understanding their pathway.
Although there is limited literature on the continuation student population, the historical
context gives the study a background and understanding of the continuation high schools in
California. This study shifts from existing literature portraying continuation students through a
damage-centered lens to a desire-centered research framework to understand the true purpose of
continuation high schools. Since the study focused on the resilience of students and how they
overcome daily adversities, the literature presented how students are influenced by both risk and
protective factors and how their sense of belonging shapes their will to overcome adversities.
The historical context of continuation high schools and the significance of the zero-tolerance
policy gave an understanding of how students are placed on a path to continuation high schools.
Finally, the use of LatCrit is meaningful in framing how the study examined all the
biological and societal oppression matters of students’ lives, upbringing, and environment. The
use of community cultural wealth allowed the conceptualization of how students demonstrated
resilience to overcome oppression and resist racism while highlighting how these risks factors
and resilience foster the students’ will to overcome their adversities.
RESILIENCE AND CONTINUATION STUDENTS 29

Figure 1. Theoretical and conceptual framework.

Latino/a Critical Race Theory
Community Cultural Wealth
The Beauty of Resilience
Theory of Change:
Desired-Centered Approach
RESILIENCE AND CONTINUATION STUDENTS 30
CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY
As mentioned in Chapter Two, there is limited research on the continuation student
population, and most of it is damage-centered. This chapter addresses how the methods were
used to capture students’ voices and present their stories as desire-centered. The theoretical
framework and the approach of counter-story telling as the method of qualitative research is first
introduced. This is followed by the researcher’s positionality, which is critical to understanding
the position and the approach of the study. Then, the contexts of the school and community are
explained since they played significant roles in the data collection. The participants and their
qualities related to why they were chosen for this study are presented along with the data
instruments used to conduct a survey, interviews, and a focus group.
This chapter describes the data analysis, and the approach of LatCrit counter-story telling
is used as the lens to answer the research questions. This is followed by the limitations,
delimitations, credibility and trustworthiness, and ethics. The purpose of this qualitative study
was to examine how continuation high school students demonstrate resilience while overcoming
the daily adversities they face in their personal and academic lives.
Research Questions
The research questions are as follows:
1. How do students at Pacific Continuation High School demonstrate resilience through the
daily adversities they face in their personal and academic lives?
2. How do the protective and risk factors influence students’ ability to overcome their daily
adversities and build resilience?
3. How do students develop aspirational capital through their pathway?

RESILIENCE AND CONTINUATION STUDENTS 31
Methodology
The theory used as the overarching framework of the study was LatCrit and its method of
counter-story telling, and a counter-narrative case study was used as the unit of analysis.
Counter-story telling is an educational approach to research used as a critical race methodology.
A case study, as described by Merriam and Tisdell (2016), is “an intensive, holistic description
and analysis of a single, bounded unit” (p. 233). Using a case study as the unit of analysis
assisted with focusing on the characteristics of the participants demonstrating resilience and
overcoming adversities. The participants were 18-year-old current continuation high school
students who had demonstrated resilience in some capacity.
As mentioned in Chapter Two, LatCrit is a cousin of CRT, and Solórzano and Yosso
(2002) defined counter-story telling as a method to recount people’s experiences that are often
untold and overlooked in literature. The LatCrit lens was used to examine how continuation high
school students are marginalized based their race as Latinos/as, their family immigration status,
and while dealing with the label of continuation students. Counter-story methodology was used
to highlight students’ voices that have been largely ignored in the research.
Positionality
Positionality is the researcher’s position in relation to research, such as race, gender,
social class, background, and sexual orientation, and how the researcher’s position may influence
parts of the study, such as the data collection or interpretation (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). For the
purpose of this study, it is valuable to articulate my positionality in the study because some
“participants in studies of marginalized groups are often suspicious” of the researcher’s intent
and relationship to the study (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016, p. 63). Moreover, for transformative
epistemologies to happen, “researchers [must] articulate how they perceive the world to provoke
RESILIENCE AND CONTINUATION STUDENTS 32
sustainable and revolutionary social change” (Bang & Vossoughi, 2016, p. 174). As noted in
Chapter One, the purpose of this study was framed around transforming the existing literature to
a desire-centered framework. Since I have worked directly with the continuation student
population for four years, it is important for the participants to know my position in the study and
that I am conducting my research with the intent to give them the opportunity to share their
stories and experiences in a desire-centered framework.
I believe it is crucial for me to conduct research on the continuation high school
population because I have directly worked with the population over the last four years as both an
insider and outsider. As an insider, I am referring to directly teaching and mentoring continuation
students, and, as an outsider, I am referring to my role working for a non-profit that offers
additional resources and opportunities to the continuation high schools. The population is unique
and often overlooked by school districts and society. Through my experience, I have come to
recognize the negative labels that are placed on students attending continuation high schools and
I would like to change that label and perspective of the population. I believe this is the right time
to bring attention to this vulnerable population because there have been discussions in education
about closing continuation high schools without an alternative option. In addition, the aim was
for school districts to view continuation high schools as a safe place that fosters students’ growth
and encourages them to graduate.
As previously mentioned in Chapter One, there is limited research on continuation high
school students. Based on the limited literature, it is understood that the schools are under-
resourced and that continuation high school students struggle with substance abuse. The
literature in this study is important to gain an understanding of the resources needed by these
schools from an administration perspective. Moreover, as the researcher in this study, the
RESILIENCE AND CONTINUATION STUDENTS 33
theoretical frameworks, the approach, and how the study was framed using a desire-centered
approach had been carefully selected with responsibility and ethically highlighted the students’
stories and their experiences. This study was intended to benefit the scholarly community and
influence the community to approach researchers of this population positively and in a desire-
centered manner.
Finally, my assumptions on the topic are that all students in continuation high schools
have experienced some sort of adversity in their life that has derailed them from the traditional
educational pathway and/or from completing high school. My experience in working with the
continuation student population fosters my assumptions because the students with whom I have
interacted with directly have expressed to me that they have experienced some sort of hardship
or adversity. Students who are in continuation high school who have not experienced adversities
but have been referred to continuation because they were uncomfortable at the larger
comprehensive high schools for various reasons challenge this assumption that all students at
continuation high school have experience some sort of adversities that has derailed their
pathway.
Context
Pacific Continuation High School is in Southern California, 21.4 miles south of
downtown Los Angeles in the city of Heights, a pseudonym. The CDE (2017) stated that for the
2016–2017 school year, the school was comprised of 93.4% Latino, 1.3% Black or African
American, 1.3% American Indian or Alaskan Native, 1.3% Filipino, 1.3% Native Hawaiian or
Pacific Islander, and 1.3% White students. Most of the school population, 98.7%, qualified for
free or reduced-price lunch (CDE, 2017). Moreover, 22.4% of the students were classified as
English learners (CDE, 2017). Compared to other continuation high schools, Pacific had a
RESILIENCE AND CONTINUATION STUDENTS 34
dropout rate of 18.4% (CDE, 2017). Currently, Pacific has 81 students enrolled in the school,
55% males and 45% females (CDE, 2017).
It is across the street from the comprehensive high school on the busiest main street in the
city. There are four bungalows on the school grounds: three classrooms and one main office that
is conjoined with the student restrooms. There are no faculty restrooms. There is an outside area
of the school that has a small basketball court, eight lunch tables, and an additional sitting area
that separates the basketball court and the lunch tables. Currently, the school has three teachers
employed: one social science, one English language arts, and one teacher who instructs both
math and science. The teacher who instructs both math and science was out on medical leave in
October 2017 and returned in February 2018 but has missed many instructional days. There is
one principal and one office manager. The school recently employed a part-time community
representative. The community representative’s duties include helping the office manager with
administration, answering phones, and calling home if a student is tardy or absent. The academic
counselor is assigned to Pacific once per week and is assigned to three other continuation high
schools. The school does not have a pupil services and attendance counselor to oversee
attendance. The comprehensive high school A–G counselors visit the school once per month.
The school has a retired psychiatric social worker who offers free services and visits the school
once per week.
Pacific is on a flex-schedule, meaning the school day is from 8:00 am to 2:00 pm. The
daily schedule that includes core academic classes is from 8:00 am to 12:40 pm, and 12:40–2:00
pm is for elective classes offered through outside programs, such as non-profits. If students are
not enrolled in an elective class, they use the 12:40–2:00pm time as a tutoring and/or study hall
period. The flex-schedule was implemented by a previous principal in 2009; the staff are paid
RESILIENCE AND CONTINUATION STUDENTS 35
through Title I funding. Pacific’s dropout rate for the 2017–2018 school year is 23.4% (CDE,
2017). It is critical to note that the school population is 81, as the dropout rate might be
interpreted as high.
The local city has a population of 53,815 and is considered low-income (U.S. Census
Bureau, 2010). The resident demographics are as follows: 86.6% Latino, 6.4% White, 2.7%
Asian, 2.6% Black or African American, and 1.7% other (Los Angeles Times, 2000). Only 5.1%
of residents 25 and older have a four-year degree (Los Angeles Times, 2000). The city is 9.14
square miles and is adjacent to the Harbor Oil Field, the third-largest oil field in the United
States. Currently, there are six oil refineries in the city. The residents are not only exposed to the
six oil refineries but also to oil wells, trucks, trains, and cargo ships that reside in the harbor. A
study done by the Southern California Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) found that
refineries in the Los Angeles region emit six to 12 times more volatile organic compounds
(VOCs) than they initially reported, and they found the largest refinery in the city had benzene
emissions 43 times higher than reported (SCAQMD, 2016). VOCs are compounds that can easily
become vapors or gases and are extremely hazardous to people’s health. According to the
Environmental Protection Agency (2017), VOCs can cause eye, nose, and throat irritation,
frequent headaches, nausea, and damage the liver, kidneys, and the nervous system.
The context of the school and city allowed me to determine how students demonstrate
resilience while being exposed to the protective and risk factors associated with their school and
community. The limited resources at the school, the inconsistencies of the math and science
teacher, and high rate of low-income residents influence how the students overcame adversities
and demonstrated resilience.

RESILIENCE AND CONTINUATION STUDENTS 36
Participants and Sampling
Purposive sampling was used in this study. The participants were six 18-year-old students
who were at least 18 years old and current continuation high school students. Four were females,
two were males, and all had been through the school’s partner non-profit after-school program.
Participants were required to have experienced some sort of adversity in their life along with
being continuation high school students, identifying as students of color, and to have
demonstrated resilience. As previously mentioned in the literature review, adversity is defined as
difficulties and challenges that a person faces (Jenson & Fraser, 2016). Resilience is
characterized by successful adaption in the presence of adversity (Garmezy, 1986). The
participants were recommended by the school.
Table 1 describes each participant’s gender, age, and current number of credits. The
number of credits was chosen to be part of the table because, at the end of every month, there is
an evaluation of the number of credits students have and whether they are completing classes.
Therefore, the number of credits is significant in the participants’ academic life. Participants
have been given pseudonyms.
Table 1
Participant Demographics
Research
Participant
Gender Age Number of
Credits
Entering
Continuation
Current Number
of Credits
Victoria Female 18 years old 80 205
Sofia Female 18 years old 55 100
Ricky Male 18 years old 25 100
Samuel Male 18 years old 95 160
Amelia Female 18 years old 80 180
Brooklyn Female 18 years old 20 160

RESILIENCE AND CONTINUATION STUDENTS 37
Data Collection and Instrument Protocols
Instruments
Semi-structured interviews were conducted using counter-stories and open-ended
questions. The questions were focused on learning about the students’ stories, understanding
their background, the adversities and challenges they have faced both personally and
academically, their support system, whether they have experienced failure, and how they have
coped with it as well the support they are receiving at their continuation high school. The
interviews were semi-formal and allowed for other questions to be asked that were not
predetermined.
Process
The interviews were conducted during the last week of November to mid-January at the
city library. Each interview was conducted individually in a private area or conference room at
the library after the daily school day was completed. The interviews were 30 to 60 minutes long.
During three class periods, the researcher was provided access by the school to make an
announcement about the study. The researcher shared information about the study and how their
voice and stories would be used in the research, provided with a consent form with contact
information and indicated that the participants must be 18 or older.
Data Analysis
LatCrit was the overarching analytical framework for this study and constant comparative
methods were used to analyze the findings that discussed how continuation high school students
persist and demonstrate resilience. The researcher used these lenses to examine the resilience of
continuation high school students and the adversities they face in their personal and academic
lives. The method of counter-story telling was used to give the students a voice and opportunity
RESILIENCE AND CONTINUATION STUDENTS 38
to share the beauty of their stories. The approach used to analyze the interview data was the
constant comparative method of data analysis. Merriam and Tisdell (2016) stated that the method
“involves comparing one segment of data with another to determine similarities and
differences…and this analysis is to identify patterns in the data” (p. 32). The analysis began with
constructing categories, which led to open codes, axial codes, themes, and assertions. The open
codes were grouped through the process of axial coding, which allowed for the codes to be
interpreted and develop meaning. The analysis was constructed through memos of reflection
after each interview session. The constant comparative method of analysis was constructed
through memos about what the researcher was seeing in the data and how it related to the
research questions and the themes of adversities and resilience.
Delimitations and Limitations
The delimitations utilized by the researcher were determined by the desire to gain an
understanding of how the students demonstrated resilience and how they overcame adversities.
To examine students’ resilience and adversities, the participants were recommended by the
school and had previously been in an after-school class with the researcher.
Limitations are factors that may affect the interpretation of the findings. During this
study, it was critical to keep in mind that examining how continuation students demonstrate
resilience and overcome adversities was limited to the specific six participants and cannot be
generalized to the entire continuation student population. In addition, there are many variables
that are outside of the researcher’s control, such as a participant being removed from the school
by the principal, moving to another school because his/her family has moved to another city,
being in foster care and moved to another group home, being a new parent who is placed on
independent study, or dropping out of school to work full time to provide for his/her family.
RESILIENCE AND CONTINUATION STUDENTS 39
Moreover, participants might not have been completely comfortable with sharing their
experiences and adversities with the researcher.
Credibility and Trustworthiness
Since this study was qualitative, it was critical to establish trustworthiness and conduct
the study in an ethical manner. As stated by Merriam and Tisdell (2016), qualitative research is
based on assumptions of reality, so standards of rigor are necessary. To ensure the credibility and
trustworthiness of this study, the qualitative concepts of credibility, dependability, and
confirmability were defined and strategies identified. While analyzing the data, the researcher
kept in mind that the the participants’ construction of reality was being investigated.
Credibility is described by Merriam and Tisdell (2016) as follows: “how do research
findings match reality and are the findings credible, given the data presented?” (p. 242); they
describe reality as “holistic, multidimensional, and ever-changing” (p. 242). For the purpose of
this study, the strategies used to ensure credibility were triangulation and member checks.
Triangulation involves the use of multiple methods, multiple sources of data, and multiple
investigations and theories that confirm the emerging findings (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016).
Triangulation was used by first reporting back the findings to participants for accuracy,
comparing the findings to each other, and using LatCrit counter-stories as a method of
connecting with the broader perspectives. Member checks were used during the primary and
emerging part of the data collection to ask participants whether the findings are plausible.
Merriam and Tisdell (2016) defined dependability as the research findings being
consistent with the data collection. The interview questions were semi-structured; however, each
participant was given the same questions to ensure dependability. Another strategy that was used
to ensure dependability was adequate engagement in data collection to ensure that a sufficient
RESILIENCE AND CONTINUATION STUDENTS 40
amount of time was used to collect the data so they are saturated. During the data analysis, there
needed to be reflexivity maintained to continue to be self-critical and reduce bias.
Confirmability is the concept used to certify that the interviews, focus groups, and
memos can be traced back to the primary sources of the data collection. The method of audit
trails was used to ensure confirmability. The audit trails were conducted through detailed memos
to write down the researcher’s reflection, questions, and decisions made regarding problems,
issues, or ideas that arose while collecting data (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). The memos were
taken after the interviews and focus discussions. Likewise, through analyzing the research and
maintaining transparency through the methods, sample, and site, there needs to be dependability
and consistency offering confirmability to link the data.
Ethics
The findings from this study offer the lens of desire-centered research and changed the
pathway of the current damage-centered research (Tuck, 2009). This study can improve the
current situation of how continuation high school students are often overlooked and perceived as
a population that is negative, shifting the research to understanding the population, their stories,
and how we as an educational system can better assist students to improve their access to
resources and opportunities (Solórzano & Yosso, 2002; Tuck, 2009). The participants in the
study were 18-year-old current continuation high school students. Participants were asked how
they overcome their daily personal and academic adversities with the researcher coding when
they demonstrated resilience.
The data collection was done via a general survey, semi-structured interviews, and a
focus group. The data were analyzed through LatCrit counter-stories. The framing of the
research was desire-centered and concerned continuation high school students’ experiences and
RESILIENCE AND CONTINUATION STUDENTS 41
stories, which were shared with the approval of the participants. The benefits of this study and
the research on the continuation high school community are twofold. First, students can
understand how powerful their stories and experiences are in their lives and their peers’ lives.
Second, administration can gain insight into the population and see the beauty and advantage the
students have in their community and society as well as the capital they bring to the world.
The steps below followed the ethics code outlined by Glesne (2011) and the five basic
principles, which provide a framework of how qualitative research should be conducted
ethically. The step taken to ensure that the interviews and focus group were done ethically was
verifying that the participants’ identities would remain anonymous. Before the interview began,
the researcher explained the study to the participants and they were given an introduction and
recording instructions. The participants were notified that, at any time, they could decline to
answer a question or stop the interview.
Summary
Finally, the purpose of the methods used in this study was to identify the data-collection
process, how the research questions relate to the methodology, and the importance of credibility
and trustworthiness. Interviews were used to collect the data. During the data-collection process,
limitations were noted to prepare for unexpected events while collecting the data. Through this
study, the overarching goal was to shift from damage-centered to desire-centered research by
using counter-story telling to emphasize the students’ stories and experiences of adversities and
demonstrating resilience.

RESILIENCE AND CONTINUATION STUDENTS 42
CHAPTER FOUR: FINDINGS
The chapter begins by describing the background of the study participants to provide
context for each because the purpose of this study was to emphasize the importance of their
voice in research and share with readers who they are. As mentioned in the methodology section,
this is a counter-narrative case study emphasizing biographic importance (Solórzano & Yosso,
2002). After the review of participants, the chapter is organized according to the research
questions and themes. The findings begin with the risk and protective factors that influence the
participants’ ability to overcome their adversities and build resilience. Next, the findings indicate
the participants’ demonstration of resilience while overcoming their adversities. Lastly, the
findings indicated that participants are in the developmental stage of their aspirational capital
along their pathway.
While examining the findings, I was very intentional to stay true to my purpose of study
of using Tuck’s theory of change (2009) to not simply name their experienced harms but
simultaneously center the findings on the beauty of the resilience of each participant. The
findings are framed with a theory of change in line with desire-centered research (Tuck, 2009).
Through the desire-centered research lens of the analysis, the findings expressed the hope and
resiliency of communities that have been oppressed by our systems. The desire-centered
approach allowed for continuation high school students’ stories to be told and to emphasize the
importance of their voice. Further, LatCrit’s method of counter-story telling was used to focus on
the participants, their story, experiences, and the characteristics of demonstrating resilience and
overcoming their adversities (Solórzano & Bernal, 2001).

RESILIENCE AND CONTINUATION STUDENTS 43
Research Questions
1. How do students at Pacific Continuation High School demonstrate resilience through the
daily adversities they face in their personal and academic lives?
2. How do the protective and risk factors influence students’ ability to overcome their daily
adversities and build resilience?
3. How do students develop aspirational capital through their pathway?
A Review of Participants
A brief portrait of each participant is provided here. The participants are presented in
order of their interview and are identified by pseudonyms. Through these short portraits, it is my
intention that the reader learns about each participant’s background, home life, the reasons for
being referred to continuation, their current situation, and the beauty of their story. In addition,
the purpose of the review of participants is to emphasize the importance of their voice that is
often untold and overlooked in literature.
Victoria
Victoria is a Mexican-American woman from Heights who has senior credits and is
scheduled to graduate in a few days, three months after her intended graduation date. Victoria
describes herself as a “really shy, calm person.” She has three siblings, two older and one
younger, but she is the first to graduate from high school. Victoria’s parents are still together.
Growing up, her family moved frequently around Heights for various reasons. During Victoria’s
sophomore year of high school at a fast-paced charter school, her mother suffered a heart attack.
Due to her mother’s heart attack, Victoria and her siblings stopped attending school. Since
Victoria stopped attending school, she fell behind in her classes and was referred to her local
comprehensive high school, then to Pacific Continuation High School. Victoria has aspirations to
RESILIENCE AND CONTINUATION STUDENTS 44
work in the medical field but is currently working at a local refinery where she was accepted into
a summer internship program that became her part-time job.
Sofia
Sofia is a woman from the city of Chester, a pseudonym, just 15 miles southeast of
Heights. She is a junior, per the number of credits she has earned. Her intended graduation date
was June of 2018, but she is significantly behind. Sofia describes herself as “humble, sensitive
person.” Sofia is an only child whose parents divorced when she was 15 years old. Both of her
parents graduated from high school. After her parents divorced, both remarried. She has one
younger stepsibling from her mother’s remarriage, and her father’s wife is currently pregnant.
During her parents’ divorce, Sofia became unmotivated in school and fell behind on credits. Her
comprehensive high school recommended to Sofia’s mother that she go to continuation to catch
up, but Sofia’s mother declined the recommendation, which led to Sofia falling even further
behind. Eventually, Sofia enrolled in Pacific Continuation High School after moving to Heights.
Once Sofia turned 18, and while at Pacific Continuation, her mother told her that she was
no longer going to financially support her and that she had to get a job and pay for her own cell
phone, food, and clothes. Sofia works five days per week, with each shift being approximately
four to five hours. During the week, she usually works from 5:00 to 11:00 pm or 12:00 am.
Working part-time has made it difficult for Sofia to stay after school to work on a computer to
complete her classes since she does not have access to one at home. Sofia is projected to
graduate from Pacific Continuation High School in late 2019.
Ricky
Ricky is a man from Heights who has junior credits, and his intended graduation date is
June 2019. His parents are still together, and he has one older sister and one younger brother.
RESILIENCE AND CONTINUATION STUDENTS 45
Ricky recently became a father to a newborn baby boy. Ricky describes himself as an “18-year-
old [who] wants to graduate high school to get a better life.” In middle school, Ricky describes
being exposed to “different things” that “introduced him to the wrong crowd.” This led to Ricky
getting into trouble at his comprehensive high school; he eventually dropped out of school and
ran away with his girlfriend. After a traumatizing event while he was hanging out with the
“wrong crowd” that led to Ricky nearly losing his life and being arrested, he was charged with
three felony counts and must meet frequently with his probation officer. He is court mandated to
attend school, so he enrolled at Pacific Continuation High School.
When Ricky learned his girlfriend was pregnant, he began applying for jobs. However,
due to his history with the legal system, it was difficult for him to find employment. Eventually,
he found a job as a bus boy in a restaurant and now works full time. He expresses that his boss
takes advantage of him and schedules him for longer hours. Ricky works five to seven days per
week from 5:00 pm to midnight and does not get home until 1:30 am. Aside from working full
time, Ricky is on probation and has to complete a significant number of community service
hours. At the time of his interview, Ricky was projected to graduate from Pacific Continuation
High School in June of 2019. However, due to a disagreement with the grandfather of his child,
he had to move out of state and enrolled in adult school, but later returned to Heights and
enrolled in another continuation high school that has a night school option. His credit progress
towards graduation is currently unknown.
Samuel
Samuel is a Filipino male from Heights who has senior credits, and his intended
graduation date was June 2018. He describes himself as an “outgoing, caring, trustworthy, and
funny guy.” He grew up in a single-parent household with his mother and younger brother.
RESILIENCE AND CONTINUATION STUDENTS 46
Samuel’s father was incarcerated for 12 years, which he describes as “my childhood years” and
was released when Samuel was 13 or 14. His parents have never been together, but he visits his
father every weekend.
During his sophomore year, Samuel became involved in skateboarding, and, instead of
doing his homework, he went to the skate park after school. Since he was not completing his
homework, he failed classes and fell behind. In January of his junior year of high school, he was
referred to Pacific Continuation High School. Samuel is projected to graduate in June 2019, nine
and a half months after his intended graduation date.
Amelia
Amelia is a woman from Heights who has senior credits, and her intended graduation
date is June 2019. Amelia describes herself as “shy and quiet.” She is a single mother to an 18-
month-old baby girl. Amelia lives in a two-parent household with her older brother. Amelia
struggled with her temper and engaged in many fights at school, but she was not behind on
credits. She reached out to her counselor and asked to be referred to Pacific Continuation
because many of her classmates did not like her, but her counselors told her that it was best for
her to stay at her high school. During Amelia’s sophomore year of high school, she became
pregnant, and her comprehensive high school gave her two options: attend Pacific Continuation
High School or a pregnancy high school. Amelia chose Pacific Continuation because it was
closer to her house and her family does not have a car.
Amelia has little support from her daughter’s father, and, due to court restrictions, they
are not allowed to be in the same location as their daughter. Her main support is her mother, who
takes care of the baby while Amelia is at school and work. Amelia’s day begins at 6:30 am with
her getting ready for school, feeding her daughter, and then taking the city bus to school. She
RESILIENCE AND CONTINUATION STUDENTS 47
returns home via city bus and takes care of her daughter while juggling her homework. Amelia
describes herself as very tired and sleepy because, after the baby goes to sleep, she is up until
2:00 am thinking about finding a job and dealing with the baby’s father’s situation. Amelia is
projected to graduate in August 2019. However, she recently became pregnant with her second
child.
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is an 18-year-old half Salvadoran and half Black woman who grew up in a
suburb of Southern California but now lives two miles from downtown Los Angeles. She has
junior credits, and her intended graduation month and year is June 2019. She describes herself as
“quiet and to myself and hardworking when I really want to be.” She is from a single-parent
household, and her mother recently remarried. She has one older brother and a little brother. She
describes both her mother and stepfather as working a lot and having to watch her little brother.
Brooklyn often described herself as being different from her classmates because of her
hair and skin color, as she grew up in a predominantly White neighborhood. She stated that, now,
school is a trigger for her anxiety. When Brooklyn moved to the Heights area, she was starting
high school. Her freshman year, she did well academically, but she started skipping school with
her friends and fell behind on her classes during her sophomore year. At the beginning of her
senior year, her counselor at the comprehensive high school recommended she attend Pacific
Continuation High School to recover credits. Brooklyn is projected to graduate in December of
2019, six months later than her intended graduation date, and she is okay with that.
Overcoming Adversities and Building Resilience
How do the protective and risk factors influence students’ ability to overcome their daily
adversities and build resilience? The findings are presented to answer the second research
RESILIENCE AND CONTINUATION STUDENTS 48
question and organized in three themes. The participants demonstrated resilience as described by
Jenson and Fraser (2016) in that both risk and protective factors were influential in leading them
to face and overcome their adversities and build resilience. Werner (1990) defined risk factors as
“biological or psychosocial hazards that increase the likelihood of a negative development
outcome” (p. 97). People overcome adversities and demonstrate resilience where there is the
“presence of protective factors” in their lives (Jenson & Fraser, 2016, p. 6). Protective factors are
influences, characteristics, conditions, family, and school that cushion a person’s exposure to risk
(Jenson & Fraser, 2016). The presence of both risk and protective factors indicated how
participants demonstrated their ability to overcome their daily adversities and build resilience
while centered on their unique pathways and stories.
During the interviews, risk factors were prevalent in the participants’ stories. All six
participants indicated they experienced academic challenges, such as failure, and personal
challenges that ranged from family challenges, lack of family support, moving to different
homes, and their neighborhood environment. The findings show the presnce of risk factors
influenced the participants’ pathway by both hindering and motivating them to build their
resilience.
Academic Challenges
As previously mentioned in Chapter One, continuation high school students are credit-
deficient and are focused on catching up on credits so they can graduate in a timely manner. Five
participants indicated that they experience academic challenges and are still in the process of
overcoming them.
Samuel understood what he needed to do to improve his academic standing and what type
of person he needed to become to work through the challenge:
RESILIENCE AND CONTINUATION STUDENTS 49
When it comes to academic-wise, a challenge that’s been pretty big for me is actually
changing my ways. I need to stop being a certain type of person, a person who’s lazy and
not capable of doing something, into someone who’s asking for support and help, and
actually trying to get somewhere.
Victoria described her academic challenge as being behind on credits, stating
that school was not hard for her, but because she stopped going to school, she fell so behind on
her classes and credits:
I stopped going to school because my mom had a heart attack. They kicked me out
because it was really fast-paced school. When I got to Pacific, I had a lot of credits to
make up, and it was hard, really hard.
Sofia struggled with going to continuation high school and missing out on her senior year of high
school. She described the hurt she felt when seeing her friends graduate and dealing with failure:
It was just so challenging for me because I had to come to a new school, and it’s like
“Oh, my God, this is my senior year, like why?” To see all my friends graduate, and it’s
like I’m still here. That took a big part of me, where it hurts so much, but now I’m just
like, okay, I just need to get out of here as soon as possible.
Sofia described, “for a moment, I thought I failed school, when they’re like, ‘Oh you have to go
to continuation.’ Once I heard that, I was like, oh, my God, it’s over. My life is over.” Ricky
expressed graduating as his biggest academic and personal barrier. As a new father, he was
struggling with attending school and keeping up with his classes:
Graduation is a barrier I see have to face because so many things are happening so quick.
I’m actually getting almost kicked out of school because I haven’t been presenting myself
RESILIENCE AND CONTINUATION STUDENTS 50
because my newborn has been getting sick, and then work hasn’t been good with my
schedule. It’s hard.
Brooklyn struggled with her time management and motivation to get schoolwork done. She
described it as a huge barrier for her:
I have like problems with time, like coming on time and everything, so I’m always late
every day. Sometimes I’ll care, sometimes I’ll just be so down I just don’t really to try. I
think that’s one of my biggest problems. It’s like one I want to do it, and the next week I
fall off. I don’t why, it just happens.
The presence of academic challenges in the participants’ lives indicated that it is an
influential risk factor for them. None expressed that schoolwork was academically challenging,
but the challenge of completing their classes was a factor as well as dealing with the reality of
going to continuation high school. Amelia is the only one who did not indicate having academic
challenges. She described school as being easy for her.
Personal Challenges
The personal challenges the participants faced were significant in the findings. All
participants indicated the persistence of personal challenges, including family challenges, lack of
family support, moving around, and their neighborhood environment. For Sofia, just getting
through days was hard for her, mostly coping with her parents’ divorce and the lack of support
from her parents:
In my personal life would be suicide attempts. Just a lot that would go through my mind,
but it’s just, I tried to overcome them, but sometimes it would take a toll, and it’s just so
hard, but I walk through it.
RESILIENCE AND CONTINUATION STUDENTS 51
Dealing with family challenges was also a significant factor in the participants’ lives.
Family challenges were a parent becoming ill, unsupportive family members, experiencing
anxiety, dealing with the legal system, and moving to different apartments/houses for various
reasons. Victoria shared, “the hardest day for me was when I found out my mom had a heart
attack. A lot changed.” She discussed her childhood and moving to different homes:
We moved three times. The first time, it was because we didn’t have the money, and the
second time, the apartment was just too small for us. Then, the next time we found a
better opportunity. It’s not easy moving stuff, when you have to go to school and you
have to move. It’s difficult. Then, my mom’s heart attack.
Sofia described her home environment as, “I just have myself. I don’t really have anyone
that supports me. My parents are totally out of that.” The personal challenge of Sofia’s
unsupportive parents has been a rough barrier for her.
Ricky expressed his struggles with the criminal justice system. He is currently dealing
with his case while being a new father and high school student: “I’ve gone to trial and I’m still
fighting the case. Right now I’m just on probation, I’m trying to do my community service hours
as fast as I can. I was charged with three felonies.”
Samuel shared his experience of moving around and his relationship with his father. His
father was in jail for most of Samuel’s childhood and recently came back into his life:
My situation of moving from place to place is kind of hectic. It also has to do a lot with
since my dad wasn’t really in the picture but now he is trying to be. My dad is a really
doubtful person. He really puts me down and makes my self-esteem low. He thinks I
won’t be anything in life.
RESILIENCE AND CONTINUATION STUDENTS 52
Brooklyn shared her struggles with anxiety: “My anxiety. It pushed me back from a lot of
things. It held me back from doing a lot of things. I failed at a lot of things because of it.” She
views her anxiety as failure and believes it is barrier in her personal life that prevents from
experiences.
Amelia discussed her child being taken from her by the criminal justice system because
of a situation with her child’s father: “Having my daughter taken away from me. That was a huge
challenge. And dealing with my child’s father.”
Four participants indicated encountering gang violence in the community where they
grew up and where they are currently living. Victoria described the neighborhood she grew up in
and the experiences faced, but she noted that not everyone in her community is involved with
drugs and gang violence:
It’s not really a nice neighborhood. You always hear things happening and friends dying,
classmates dying. There’s a lot of gang violence and drug use. It all depends on the
people, too. Not everyone in that community is like that.
Sofia has moved to three different cities that are more than 7 miles from each other and said of
her neighborhood experiences,
When I was in Chester, the whole block smelled like weed. My neighbors, they would
sell, and they would smoke. In [another city], there was a lot of bums, car crashes, a lot of
shootings, or somebody getting killed around the block or something. When I moved to
Heights, it was quiet, but then someone died right here. It’s a crazy world.
Samuel did not provide detail about his two neighborhood experiences, but he provided enough
for the reader to understand his experiences:
RESILIENCE AND CONTINUATION STUDENTS 53
[City], I can really say it’s really calm city. When I moved to Heights, I can actually say
that it was totally different. I’m not gonna say that it’s a bad thing, but I was a little more
secure and safe in [previous city].
Amelia described her neighborhood as “really loud because of all the crime that happens here.”
Personal challenges are identified as risk factors because they are present in the
participants’ lives and they have been barriers in their pathway to reaching their aspirations and
success. People demonstrate resilience in the “presence of protective factors” (Jenson & Fraser,
2016, p.6). The protective factors identified in the interviews are family, peer, and school
support. Each participant articulated at least one protective factor.
Family Support
Five participants expressed that they receive family support, which came from different
members for each participant. Victoria, Ricky, and Samuel expressed that their parents are a
dominant support system for them, and all shared similar parent support. For example, Victoria
refers to her family member as being support of her: “Really sweet, caring. They always try to
motivate me, always pushing me to do better, have better futures than the one they had. I notice
how grateful I am for things I have, like my family members.” Ricky described his mother,
father, and his son as being this family support:
My father is mostly the one pushing me forward, and my mother’s always supporting me
in every decision I make, good or bad. My newborn is my whole world, everything is
going for him, everything I try I do is for him.
Samuel discussed his mother as his support and pushing him to graduate: “My mom, she
supports. She didn’t graduate from continuation, but she didn’t graduate her year. She pushes
me.” Brooklyn has support from both her mother and father: “My mom and my dad, they’re
RESILIENCE AND CONTINUATION STUDENTS 54
really big with supporting me.” Like Samuel, Amelia has her mother’s support: “My mom helps
me a lot and she supports. She helps a lot with my daughter.”
Victoria indicated that her sister has been supportive of her: “Since my sister is two years
younger than me, I always had her. We would always do our homework together, watch movies,
and stuff. I was never alone.” Ricky described his late grandmother as his strength and support.
Five participants expressed the importance of family support in their motivation. The
support of their family was a cushion from their risk factors that encouraged them to continue
their education.
Peer Support
Three participants indicated that peers provide significant portion of their support. The
peer support that was indicted is influential in these participants’ lives. Sofia has a strong unit of
friends whom she can depend on and she leans on them when she needs advice, someone to talk
to, or support: “My friends are reliable. I can depend on them when I need someone. They’re
there for me most of the time.” Ricky turns to his coworkers, who are older than he is as peer
support and guidance: “My closest friend is Danny. He is my coworker. He always supports me
in every decision I make. He’s always been there.” Brooklyn has the peer support of Des, who
inspires and motivates her. “My friends are my system, especially Des. She inspires me to do
better and makes sure I’m getting my things done. My friends, we tell each other ‘gotta do our
work. Gotta go to school.’ We’ll help each other.”
School Support
All participants mentioned their continuation high school as being a support system for
them and a place that influences their decision to continue their education. Victoria shared that
school staff are aware of the students’ feelings and moods and are there for the students: “Since
RESILIENCE AND CONTINUATION STUDENTS 55
it’s like a smaller school and there’s always a counselor on the campus, they always help you.
The staff even notices you, if your mood changes, or if you’re going through something. They
talk to you.” Sofia touched on the perception of continuation high schools and how there are
more opportunities and motivation at continuation schools:
The teachers helped me, because, when you think of continuation high, you think of
being at the bottom. You’re in the bottom pit already, but it’s like, no, there are more
opportunities when you’re at a continuation, like a lot of opportunities. The school pushes
you toward graduation, so you can get out of here faster.
Ricky shared where he would be if he were not at Pacific Continuation High School, the support
the school gives students, and the help he received to become aware of college:
This continuation high school has actually done a lot for me. Without this school, I bet
you anything that I would have been arrested and jailed or just killed. I am actually trying
to do better for myself because I actually had the motivation here and the support that I
want. They showed me college. I have mentors, the counselors that actually support me.
Samuel and Brooklyn discussed the resources Pacific provides. Samuel stated, “to be
honest, this school has great resources. I don’t think I would’ve had the same opportunities at
other schools. I can say that here, I do get a lot of help.” Brooklyn described, “I think this is
probably the first school that I’ve had the most support from teachers and the students.” Amelia
shared how the school has taught her to speak up for herself and offers advice and suggestions to
her:
The teachers have helped me a lot. They push me to do my best, to speak up, and to talk.
They help with how to get through things and give suggestions on what I need to do in
school and at home.
RESILIENCE AND CONTINUATION STUDENTS 56
The different support systems of family, peers, and the continuation high school are
significant in how participants overcome adversities and provide influential support systems. The
support systems each participant described reflect how they maintain their resilience and
persevere.
Summary
The risk and protective factors have significantly impacted each participant’s pathway.
The risk factors pf both academic and personal challenges were relevant factors in the
participants’ lives and created barriers in their pathways. However, protective factors from
family, peer, and school cushioned participants’ risk factors and helped them build and
demonstrate resiliency.
Demonstration of a Growth Mindset
How do students at Pacific Continuation High School demonstrate resilience through the
daily adversities they face in their personal and academic lives? The first research question is
answered through their demonstration of a growth mindset. The key characteristic for youth
overcoming their adversities and demonstrating resilience is their growth mindset and self-
determination. Dweck (2006) described a “growth mindset as people’s belief that their most
basic abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work…and view challenges and
failures as opportunities to improve their learning and skills” (p. 6).
One of the emerging themes from the interviews was participants’ talking themselves
through the adversities they experienced and focusing on their futures. Their talking themselves
through adversities was fostered by their resilience when faced with challenges. All participants
use self talk when getting through challenges and barriers, demonstrating a growth mindset.
RESILIENCE AND CONTINUATION STUDENTS 57
Five participants mentioned they reflect on their actions and experiences as well talk
themselves through steps toward their future. Victoria expressed that she constantly reminds
herself to take everything step by step when she feels stressed out: “I remind myself, or when
I’m stressed out I’m like, ‘Okay, just think about it. One step at a time. You can’t do a lot of
things at once.’” Sofia remains optimistic and hopeful when she encounters challenges: “There’s
a lot of people that, they go through worse and it’s like ‘okay, get it together.’ I’m very
optimistic.” Ricky refers to a quote by from the movie Stand and Deliver: “When I need to look
forward, I repeat to myself my favorite quote from Jaime Escalante: ‘The only thing you need is
ganas [desire] and anything can happen.’ You know how to do it and you feel like you can do
it.”
When experiencing failure, Samuel expressed, “there’s always a way to pick up and not
make the same mistakes as before.” Amelia remained focused: “I just try to concentrate and
remind myself that I need to continue looking forward and focus.” Both Samuel and Amelia have
coping strategies, which is beneficial to understanding how they overcome their failures and
adversities.
Two participants indicated they allow themselves to express their emotions, but not for
long because they need to move forward. Sofia shared, “I just cry. I just let it out with tears, and
that’s it. It’s done.” Then, Samuel expressed how he separates his challenges from school and
home:
To be honest, when I come to school and I know there’s something going wrong at home,
my way of thinking is, “Okay, that’s at home, not at school.” I don’t need to bring all that
stuff that’s going on at home to school. That’s not what school is for. I mean, at the end
RESILIENCE AND CONTINUATION STUDENTS 58
everybody has to deal with a problem somehow. There’s no way around it, you just need
to it.
Moreover, three participants indicated other ways of coping with stress, such as working
out, skating, and praying. Victoria mentioned exercising helps her deal with stress, but, when she
has to deal with problems, she takes a different approach:
I sometimes go to the gym and that helps me a lot. They offer kickboxing class that I
really, really like. When I do it, I feel relaxed. When I have problems at home, I avoid
them and stay as far away as possible.
Sofia described praying as a way to cope with stress and uses an analogy of how she shifts her
mindset in stressful situations:
I’m religious. I pray. When stuff happens, you’re just walking through the desert, and, at
the end, there’s always something there. I just see it as that, so I just keep walking.
Participants were asked to describe a time when they had to overcome a barrier. Victoria
shared her ability to maintain a positive mindset when she has to overcome a barrier:
I sometimes feel sad, but then I remember that people out there have it worse, and then
count my blessings. I sometimes feel we as a family have had rough times, but I know
that there’s families that have it worse.
Amelia discussed how she is able to look at her mistakes as growing and learning experiences,
which Dweck (2006) references as a growth mindset: “The good thing is that, out of that
challenge, I’m learning from my mistakes and those mistakes, I could learn from them and use
what I’ve learned from those mistakes in the future.”
The finding of growth mindset through the analytical lens of LatCrit allows for
understanding the study. The LatCrit emphasis on experiential knowledge as a way to view the
RESILIENCE AND CONTINUATION STUDENTS 59
strength and life experiences of the participants was used to highlight their mindsets and coping
skills. The participants described their unique tools to shape how they overcome their adversities
through their mindset. The use of their tools also influenced their view on life and on how to
persist through challenges.
Summary
Participants’ ability to cope with their adversities and persevere is correlated them
overcoming their adversities and demonstrating resilience. This is directly related to a growth
mindset. The participants maintain the steps needed to get through challenges and barriers while
focusing on coping and reflecting using the challenges, barriers, and mistakes as learning
experiences. Each participant had a unique pathway and the various themes were analyzed in the
findings. There numerous complexities in the themes were highlighted. The participants had a
need to share their story and demonstrate they can overcome, which leads to a growth mindset. It
is important to note that not all continuation high school students have a growth mindset, but
these particular participants do.
Development and the Ability to Maintain Aspirations
How do students develop aspirational capital through their pathway? Aspirations were a
major theme in the participants’ answers. Yosso (2005) described aspirational capital as the
ability to maintain hopes and dreams for the future despite adversity and barriers. The
development of aspirational capital was different for each participant. All expressed their
aspirations differently. A few mentioned their family as helping them maintain their hopes and
dreams while others described financially stability. Another one mentioned how they motivate
themselves to maintain their hopes and dreams.
RESILIENCE AND CONTINUATION STUDENTS 60
Reflecting on her childhood, Victoria shared how she maintains her desire for a better
future: :Thinking, remembering things, like the times we had to move because of money. It
makes me want to do good and be a better person. I want to go to college. I want to have a good-
paying job.” Brooklyn described coming to continuation high school and her views of her future
changing. She discussed how she never thought she would graduate high school, did not think of
college, never imagined her future, never set a career goal growing until she came to
continuation school. She described Pacific as opening her “eyes up” to the future:
I think my hopes are to become a better me, just working on myself and getting out of
here and getting the best opportunities that I can. I never even imagined myself
graduating from high school. That was never, like, a goal for me, but now it is. There’s
college awareness here at Pacific; I want to go to college now.
Ricky described his newborn as how he was able to identify his hopes and dreams and
being the factor pushing him through his adversities as well as his grandmother’s memory and
mother’s happiness:
I’m just trying to get my culinary arts school certificate, so I can just get a better job, to
just have a decent career and a house for myself. When we found out my girlfriend was
pregnant, that’s when I thought, that’s when I really opened my eyes to actually
succeeding. I actually do want to see my father proud of me, not just see the bad things in
my life. And my mother. I also want to see her actually cry for something happy once
because everything she’s cried for was always sadness for something I did.
Like Ricky, Amelia described her daughter has being her reason for graduating high
school and college:
RESILIENCE AND CONTINUATION STUDENTS 61
I want to be able to provide for my daughter…to show her that through everything I have
been through, it was all worth it for her. I want to be a registered nurse, I know thinking
about my daughter, it will give her a better future.
Two participants described being successful as their source of maintaining their hopes
and dreams. They reported different reasons. Samuel expressed, “I am for sure going to college;
it’s not that I’m planning to.” While Samuel expressed that he is going to college with great
confidence because he wants to, Sofia shared about being a psychologist to talk to students with
experiences similar to hers because she wants to help people who have been through similar
pathways to
look at the better picture, like the bigger picture. To be successful. Yeah, that would be
my hope. My career is to be a psychologist. I want to talk to students. It’s my future. I
need to be successful. That’s the only thing that pushes me forward, is like my
future…trying to see what’s there for me.
Summary
Each participant’s story and life journey influenced how s/he managed and maintained
her/his ability to strive to reach her/his hopes and dreams. Each pathway is different, and
participants are still in the process of developing their aspirational capital. The development of
their aspirational capital came from different experiences and at critical times in their lives.
Conclusion
Finally, the findings illustrate the beauty of resilience within each participant’s story and
pathway. The participants have faced significant challenges and barriers in their academic and
personal lives, but, through the influential protective factors in their lives, they have overcome
RESILIENCE AND CONTINUATION STUDENTS 62
their adversities and demonstrated resilience daily. The participants developed skillsets through
their pathways that help them cope and maintain their focus on their hopes and dreams.

RESILIENCE AND CONTINUATION STUDENTS 63
CHAPTER FIVE: DISCUSSION
In the previous chapter, the findings were presented and reported. Chapter Five consists
of an overview of the study, discussion of the findings, the researcher’s perspective, implications
for theory and research, implications of practice, recommendations for practice, and the
conclusion. The purpose of the discussion is to relate the findings to the literature and theories.
Finally, the discussion emphasizes the beauty of the participants’ stories as reminder of the focus
of the study.
Overview of the Study
The purpose of this study was to examine how continuation high school students
demonstrate resilience while overcoming daily personal and academic adversities. While
California continuation high schools are considered a safety net for students whose life
experiences derailed them from a traditional educational pathway, the literature on this
population is limited. The goal of the study was to focus on the students’ stories to understand
how they navigate through the system that is designed to fail them.
The six participants were 18 years old and current students at a continuation high school.
They were asked 25 open-ended questions. All participants answered all the questions. The
questions focused on LatCrit, community cultural wealth, demonstrating resilience, risk or
protective factors, and aspirational capital.
Discussion of the Findings
The findings support the notion that continuation high school students demonstrate
resilience while overcoming daily adversities. The findings were that continuation high schools
foster students’ resilience by providing the protective factors of a supportive school environment
as well as peer and family support. While the participants are in the process of developing their
RESILIENCE AND CONTINUATION STUDENTS 64
aspirational capital, the foundation of their hope and dreams is what fuels their self-
determination.
School Support
School support emerged as a key finding. The participants noted they receive advice,
support, and guidance on both personal and academic matters from their continuation high
school. Because of this support, a participant referenced her desire to go college when college
was something she did not think about before going to continuation. The literature on resiliency
confirms that a supportive school is a protective factor that assists in overcoming adversities
(Jenson & Fraser, 2016).
Moreover, the protective factor of school support fostered the students’ sense of
belonging at the continuation high school. Participants indicated that their school felt like a
family to them. As Leary and Cox (2008) mentioned, people develop and maintain social bond
fundamental to human motivation. Three participants shared their struggles with motivation, but
they identified motivation as their concern and are aware that their school is supporting them
through their motivational challenges.
Personal Challenges
Participants’ personal challenges are significant to their lives. Each of the personal
challenges was unique to the participant and they shaped their life experiences that detoured
them from a traditional educational pathway. In the literature on resilience, personal challenges
are risk factors that influence a person’s ability to overcome adversity (Jensen & Fraser, 2016).
Nevertheless, when students do not allow the influences to prevent them from overcoming
adversities, they demonstrate resiliency. The participants were direct with their personal
challenges, how they were influenced by and how they strive towards their goals.
RESILIENCE AND CONTINUATION STUDENTS 65
Mindset
An unexpected finding was the participants’ demonstration of growth mindset. Research
indicates that mindsets shape meaning-making processes and foster goals, motivation, and
behaviors (Dweck et al., 1995). Therefore, mindsets can determine a person’s response to
challenges and barriers. According to Dweck (2006), those who have a growth mindset believe
that people can change by growing through application and experience and believe that their
basic abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work. These people also view
challenges and failures as opportunities to improve. When asked about the skills they use to
overcome challenges or barriers, participants shared their ability to talk themselves through
adversity and reflect on mistakes they made.
Aspiration
The participants are developing aspirational capital. Yosso (2005) describes a person’s
ability to maintain hope and dreams for the future through daily adversities. All participants
indicated maintaining hope and dreams for the future and still forming what future looks like for
them.
As the researcher, I began this study with the whole-hearted intent to focus on the
positive and desired experiences of continuation high school students. Initially, much of the
literature I discovered was limited and focused on the negative aspects of the population and
highlighted the harms students of color experience. Through this study, I aimed to challenge the
deficit-based societal perception and the literature on continuation high schools and students.
Unexpectedly, during the interviews, I was brought to tears upon hearing about the
experiences of the participants by both their struggles as well as their self-determination to
persevere through their daily challenges. I also found myself wanting to offer advice, resources,
RESILIENCE AND CONTINUATION STUDENTS 66
and counseling to the participants, but I had to remind myself that it could derail and/or distract
from the interviews. However, through these moments of emotion, the interviews showed the
beauty of the participants’ stories. The beauty of their resilience is the umbrella finding in this
study.
Implications of Theory and Research
The findings were consistent with the literature in explaining how the participants
demonstrated resilience while overcoming their daily adversities. The literature served as an
informative and foundational element to support the participants’ stories since the literature on
continuation high school students is limited. Additionally, the findings did challenge the existing
literature by focusing on the importance of each participant’s voice. When interviewing
participants and analyzing the interviews, I relied on Tuck’s (2009) theory of change. This
encouraged me as the researcher to examine the interviews and center on the beauty of each
participant’s story.
Chapter Two includes LatCrit as the theoretical framework and community cultural
wealth as the conceptual framework. LatCrit served as a frame to understand biological and
societal oppression matters of the students’ lives, upbringing, and environment. Community
cultural wealth with the focus on aspirational capital framed how the study was conceptualized to
understand how students demonstrated resilience while overcoming adversities and maintaining
and fostering their hopes and dreams.
LatCrit
LatCrit tackles the intersectionality of racism, sexism, classism, and other forms of
oppression like immigration and language difference (Solórzano & Bernal, 2001). In this study,
LatCrit helped framed the participants’ experiential knowledge to draw on their strengths and life
RESILIENCE AND CONTINUATION STUDENTS 67
experiences to identify the skills and tools they used to overcome their adversities. The
participants described unique life experiences that significantly shaped their lives, and
recognizing their experiential knowledge assisted with analyzing the interviews. The findings
confirmed that the participants demonstrate resilience.
Community Cultural Wealth
Community cultural wealth is learning from the “cultural knowledge, skills, abilities, and
contacts possessed by socially marginalized groups that often go unrecognized and
unacknowledged” (Yosso, 2005, p. 77). Aspirational capital refers to the ability to maintain
hopes and dreams for the future even through daily adversities and barriers (Yosso, 2015) and
was the focus of this study. The findings were that the participants are in the process of
developing of aspirational capital. The development of aspirational capital was unique for each
participant; however, they maintain their hopes and dreams for the future through adversity and
barriers. Their aspiration provided the perseverance and self-determination to continue despite
barriers.
The findings revealed navigational capital from community cultural wealth. Navigational
capital refers to skills and abilities to navigate social institutions, including educational spaces, to
empower students to maneuver within unsupportive or hostile environments and/or spaces. In
this study, I the participants exercised their navigational capital to work through unsupportive
spaces, such as their neighborhoods, homes, comprehensive high schools, and family dynamics.
The participants expressed they found supportive spaces in their continuation high school and
peer groups. These supportive spaces fostered the protective factors that influenced their ability
to overcome their adversities.

RESILIENCE AND CONTINUATION STUDENTS 68
Implication for Practice
Due the limited research on continuation high schools, it is critical for educators to give
students a voice and highlight the barriers they must overcome to graduate high school and
continue toward their future. As there is limited research on such a specific and exclusive
population like continuation high school students, there can be unintended consequences in
ignoring their strengths and the beauty of their stories. Based on the findings, it is suggested that
continuation high schools deal with external and internal factors that make their educational and
personal needs unique, which is the responsibility of educators, to meet their students’ unique
needs.
For educators, this study offers insight into the stories and pathways of continuation high
school students. The findings indicate the importance of comprehensive school staff of
continuation high school students as well as the support and resources that the continuation
population needs to build resilience and be successful. Previous studies focused on staff needs
and staff perceptions of continuation high schools and the students; this study offers an
understanding of the uniqueness of continuation high schools that their needs from their voice.
The continuation high school the participants are enrolled at, should be considered a
model continuation high school because the school staff is supportive and understanding of the
population. The students are thriving because of the support, care, and attention they are
receiving from the school daily.
Recommendations for Practice
Training for Teachers and School Staff
The findings suggest that teachers and school staff at continuation high schools need to
be trained on the background of continuation schools and on the situations and dynamics which
RESILIENCE AND CONTINUATION STUDENTS 69
teachers and staff will face when working at continuation high schools. For example,
continuation students need to develop trust and rapport with the teachers and staff. Teachers and
school staff need to be adaptable.
Supportive Continuation High Schools
The findings suggest that supportive continuation high schools build and foster students’
resilience. Teachers, school staff, and outside organizations act as protective factors for students
to overcome their adversities. Participants’ responses noted school support as a strong factor in
dealing with their challenges. It is recommended that continuation high school principals and
staff seek resources for their students as well attend conferences, workshops, and focus groups
specifically on the continuation population to understand the support students need. However,
most important, it is recommended that continuation staff talk, listen, and empathize with the
population to further support their needs.
Comprehensive School Staff
The findings imply that comprehensive school staff is valuable for building and fostering
students’ resilience. Continuation school staff must have an understanding of the population to
assist with their needs, connect them to resources, and encourage them to overcome their
challenges. Participants described school staff as encouraging them and nurturing their hopes and
dreams for the future.
Conversation About Resilience
The findings indicated that conversations about resilience build skills and tools to
overcome adversities. Developing students’ awareness that they are capable and encouraging
them to talk through their challenges and barriers improves their ability to build resilience.
RESILIENCE AND CONTINUATION STUDENTS 70
Participants demonstrated self-talking, talking with school staff, and peers as helping their ability
to cope and overcome their adversities.
Importance of Students’ Stories
The findings from this study point to the importance of students’ stories in the
continuation school structure and literature. To learn about students, their needs, and their
pathways, they must have the opportunity to share their stories. Participants’ responses offered
insight into their pathways, which is key in guiding efforts from states, districts, continuation
high schools, and staff.
Mental Health Service
The findings indicated that the participants deal with depression, anxiety, and new parent
concerns. There is a need for a mental health professional to be on the site daily to assist the
students through their challenges.
Structural Issues
There are profound structural issues in continuation high schools. Serving students
effectively requires restructuring how students are taught, how staff are hired and trained,
resources, the accountability system, and the tracking of the students. All continuation schools
are created and treated as equal, yet their context is different and important to understand.
Recommendation for Research
This study offered desire-centered research and student-voice approach unique to the
current research and literature. Because there is limited research on this population, numerous
areas of research emerged from this study. As mentioned in Chapters One and Two, most
research is negative or presents the perspective of continuation school staff only. Therefore,
RESILIENCE AND CONTINUATION STUDENTS 71
abundant additional research needs to take place on continuation high schools, their students, and
college tracking data.
This study focused on current continuation high school students. As an educator, it is
important to examine what happens to continuation students when they graduate, the barriers and
challenges are continue to face, how they overcome them, and when they believe they reached
success. There are different directions of research pertaining to continuation high school
students. There is also much educational researchers can learn from continuation students to
better assist them and provide them with an opportunity for success. Lastly, this is a population
that is undiscovered in educational research. Most importantly, the population needs to be
studied because, like high-achieving high school students, they matter and have stories that must
be recognized so they can receive the richest services.
Conclusion
The findings of this study provided desire-centered literature on continuation high school
students centered on the beauty of their stories and the importance of their voices in a system that
was designed to fail them. The findings indicated that continuation high school students are
resilient, and, through their significant demonstration of resilience, they can overcome their daily
academic and personal adversities while maintaining their hopes and dreams for the future. This
study showcased their beauty of resilience, the significant adversities they must overcome for
their long-term future. These stories cannot continue to be ignored in the literature.

RESILIENCE AND CONTINUATION STUDENTS 72
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RESILIENCE AND CONTINUATION STUDENTS 76
APPENDIX
Interview Questions
Introduction: Good morning/afternoon. My name is Quartney Cervantes. Thank you so much for
coming and allowing me to interview you. I am a student at USC and since I work with
continuation high school students, I would to get to know more about your story and your
experience at continuation high school. The purpose of this interview is for my dissertation, you
will not be named nor will the school. Everything will be kept confidential. There is no right or
wrong answer. I would like you to feel comfortable with saying what you really think and how
you really feel. Do you have any questions for me about the study before we begin?

Recorder Instructions: if it is okay with you, I would like to record our conversation. The reason
I would like to record our conversation is so that I can get all the details while still carrying on
the conversation with you. As mentioned, everything we talk about will be confidential and I will
not use your name or school. Please know that if you may skip any questions or stop the
interview at any time. Is this ok with you?

Consent Form: I am completing this research for my dissertation. Therefore, as part of ethical
considerations I have a consent form that I would like you to sign, which says a bit about the
study. Please know you are free to skip any questions or stop the interview at any time. I would
appreciate if you would take a few moments to review the consent form and sign if you feel
comfortable.

RESILIENCE AND CONTINUATION STUDENTS 77
Research Question Interview
Question
Type of
Question
Part of
Theoretical
Framework
Citations
How do students at
Pacific Continuation
High School
demonstrate
resilience through
the daily adversities
they face in their
personal and
academic lives?

How old are
you?

Backgroun
d question

How do students at
Pacific Continuation
High School
demonstrate
resilience through
the daily adversities
they face in their
personal and
academic lives?

What is your
graduation
year?

Backgroun
d question

How do students at
Pacific Continuation
High School
demonstrate
resilience through
the daily adversities
they face in their
personal and
academic lives?

Please
describe
yourself.

Backgroun
d question
LatCrit’s
acknowledging
unique experience
Bernal, 2002
RESILIENCE AND CONTINUATION STUDENTS 78
How do the
protective and risk
factors influence the
student’s ability
overcome their daily
adversities and build
resilience?

Please
describe
your family.

Backgroun
d question
LatCrit’s
acknowledging
unique cultural
experience
Bernal, 2002
How do the
protective and risk
factors influence the
student’s ability
overcome their daily
adversities and build
resilience?

Please
describe
your friends.

Backgroun
d question
LatCrit’s
acknowledging of
unique experiences
Bernal, 2002
How do the
protective and risk
factors influence the
student’s ability
overcome their daily
adversities and build
resilience?

Tell me
what your
day looks
like from
beginning to
end.

Backgroun
d question
LatCrit’s
acknowledging of
unique experiences
Bernal, 2002
How do the
protective and risk
factors influence the
student’s ability
overcome their daily
adversities and build
resilience?

Please
describe
your home
life.
Backgroun
d question
LatCrit’s
acknowledging of
unique experiences
Bernal, 2002
RESILIENCE AND CONTINUATION STUDENTS 79
How do the
protective and risk
factors influence the
student’s ability
overcome their daily
adversities and build
resilience?

What city do
you grow up
in?

Backgroun
d question

LatCrit’s
acknowledge of
the unique
experience and
recognizing
oppression
Bernal, 2002
How do the
protective and risk
factors influence the
student’s ability
overcome their daily
adversities and build
resilience?

Please
describe
your
neighborhoo
d that you
grew up in.

Environme
nt question

LatCrit’s
acknowledge of
the unique
experience and
recognizing
oppression
Bernal, 2002
How do students at
Pacific Continuation
High School
demonstrate
resilience through
the daily adversities
they face in their
personal and
academic lives?

How did
you get
referred to
continuation
high school?

Experience
question
LatCrit’s
acknowledge of
the unique
experience
Bernal, 2002
How do students at
Pacific Continuation
High School
demonstrate
resilience through
the daily adversities
they face in their
personal and
academic lives?

Describe a
time you
were really
stressed out.
What skills
did you use
to get
through that
time?

Experience
and
behavior
question

Responding to
stress, reflecting –
Restorative Justice

Macready, 2009
RESILIENCE AND CONTINUATION STUDENTS 80
How do students at
Pacific Continuation
High School
demonstrate
resilience through
the daily adversities
they face in their
personal and
academic lives?

Describe a
time you
dealt with a
challenge.
Who helped
you
overcome
that
challenge?

Experience
and
behavior
question

Social
connectedness –
Restorative Justice

Macready, 2009
How do students at
Pacific Continuation
High School
demonstrate
resilience through
the daily adversities
they face in their
personal and
academic lives?
Do you
know what
it means
when
someone has
faced a
barrier in
their life?
Have you
faced a
barrier?
Hypothetic
al question

Resilience

Jenson & Fraser,
2016

How do students at
Pacific Continuation
High School
demonstrate
resilience through
the daily adversities
they face in their
personal and
academic lives?

Describe a
time when
you had to
overcome a
barrier in
school.

Experience
and
behavior
question

LatCrit’s strength
and knowledge of
life experiences

Resilience
Bernal, 2002

Jenson & Fraser,
2016
RESILIENCE AND CONTINUATION STUDENTS 81
How do students at
Pacific Continuation
High School
demonstrate
resilience through
the daily adversities
they face in their
personal and
academic lives?

Describe a
time when
you had to
overcome a
barrier in
your
personal
life.

Experience
and
behavior
question

LatCrit’s
recognizing the
oppression

Resilience
Bernal, 2002

Jenson & Fraser,
2016
How do students at
Pacific Continuation
High School
demonstrate
resilience through
the daily adversities
they face in their
personal and
academic lives?

Describe a
time when
you failed at
something.
How did
you dealt
with it? Did
you bounce
back from
it? If so,
how?

Experience
and
behavior
question

Resilience
Jenson & Fraser,
2016
How do the
protective and risk
factors influence the
student’s ability
overcome their daily
adversities and build
resilience?

Who is your
support
system?

Backgroun
d question

Social
connectedness/Col
laborative support
– Restorative
Justice
Macready, 2009
How do the
protective and risk
factors influence the
student’s ability
overcome their daily
adversities and build
resilience?

Who do you
turn to when
times get
hard?

Backgroun
d question

Social
connectedness/Col
laborative support
– Restorative
Justice
Macready, 2009
RESILIENCE AND CONTINUATION STUDENTS 82
How do the
protective and risk
factors influence the
student’s ability
overcome their daily
adversities and build
resilience?

When things
get rough at
home, how
do you
navigate
yourself
through
school and
your
academics?

Experience
and
behavior
question

Resilience
Jenson & Fraser,
2016
How do the
protective and risk
factors influence the
student’s ability
overcome their daily
adversities and build
resilience?

What would
you like to
have had at
your home
high school
to help you
persist or
overcome
the
challenges?

Feeling
question

LatCrit’s culture
and identity
Bernal, 2002
How do the
protective and risk
factors influence the
student’s ability
overcome their daily
adversities and build
resilience?

What about
the
continuation
high school
that has
helped you
succeed?

Feeling
question

Resilience
Jenson & Fraser,
2016
RESILIENCE AND CONTINUATION STUDENTS 83
How do students
develop aspirational
capital through their
pathway?
What are
your hopes
for your
future?

Feeling
question

Hope and dreams -
Aspirational
Capital

Yosso, 2006
How do students
develop aspirational
capital through their
pathway?
What keeps
your hope
alive?
Feeling
question

Hope and dreams -
Aspirational
Capital

Yosso, 2006
How do students
develop aspirational
capital through their
pathway?
Do you hope
to earn a
high school
diploma?

Feeling
question

Hope and dreams -
Aspirational
Capital

Yosso, 2006
How do students
develop aspirational
capital through their
pathway?
What has
kept you
going to
earn your
high school
diploma?

Feeling
question

Present conditions
- Aspirational
Capital

Yosso, 2006

Abstract (if available)

Abstract The purpose of this study was to examine how continuation high school students demonstrate resilience while overcoming personal and academic adversity through Latino/a critical race theory method of counter-story telling. This study interviewed six current continuation high school studen0ts. Participants shared their experiences, and the study highlighted the importance of the students’ voice and their life pathway. This study utilized Tuck’s desire-centered research as a lens to recognize participants’ unique experiences. Through the LatCrit and community cultural wealth framework as well as the desired-centered research lens, the study provided insight into the experiences of continuation high school students and how they navigate themselves through their personal and academic adversities. The themes that emerged from this study offered awareness and understanding into the risk and protective factors that contribute to continuation high school students' demonstration of resilience as there is limited research on the population. Through examination of this population, this study offers recommendation for practitioners and researchers.

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Honorary mention: the untold stories of minoritized community college honors students

Asset Metadata

Creator Cervantes, Quartney B. (author)

Core Title The beauty of resilience: an examination of how continuation high school students overcome daily adversities

School Rossier School of Education

Degree Doctor of Education

Degree Program Education (Leadership)

Publication Date 11/12/2019

Defense Date 04/17/2019

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

Tag beauty,continuation high school students,OAI-PMH Harvest,protective factors,resilience,risk factors

Language English

Contributor Electronically uploaded by the author (provenance)

Advisor Hinga, Briana (committee chair), Collatos, Anthony (committee member), Green, Allen (committee member)

Creator Email qbcervan@usc.edu,qbcervantes@gmail.com

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c89-231480

Unique identifier UC11673879

Identifier etd-CervantesQ-7906.pdf (filename),usctheses-c89-231480 (legacy record id)

Legacy Identifier etd-CervantesQ-7906.pdf

Dmrecord 231480

Document Type Dissertation

Rights Cervantes, Quartney B.

Type texts

Source 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 a...

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