The Project MALES Research Institute has released a new research brief examining maternal influence on college-going behavior among Latinx males.

The report, authored by Tracy Arámbula Ballysingh, an assistant professor of higher education student affairs at the University of Vermont, highlighted findings from previous studies and literature on academic experiences and college-going behavior among Latinx students. Contrary to the common deficit narrative focused on underachievement, the researcher highlighted the ways in which mothers served as motivation for their sons’ higher education pursuits.

“A more comprehensive view suggests Latinos’ desire to access higher education, to excel and to uplift their communities,” Arámbula Ballysingh stated in the report. “They do this for their families and—sometimes exclusively—for the overwhelming love of their mothers.

The researcher concludes that more must be done to highlight the strengths and persistence among this population of students in order to offer guidance for better policies and practice.

“More emphasis must be given to the profound cultural wealth that compels this comunidad to thrive academically despite dire statistical realities,” Arámbula Ballysingh notes.

With this research brief, Project MALES seeks to amplify scholarship focused on men of color in education across the country Go here to read the full report.

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More about Project MALES: Housed within UT Austin’s Division of Diversity and Community Engagement, Project MALES (Mentoring to Achieve Latino Educational Success) is a research and mentoring initiative committed to advancing the educational outcomes of male students of color at the local, state and national level.