Chapter 13: High-Achieving Latinx K-12 Students: Factors that Support Academic Achievement and School Persistence Toward STEM Careers

This chapter describes several research-based factors that develop high-achieving Latinx students in K–12 contexts. Based on the complementary theoretical frameworks of educational resilience and social cognitive career theory, we discuss factors associated with achievement and school persistence. The educational resilience perspective focuses on research that describes protective and preventive factors that promote students’ high academic achievement, while the social cognitive career theory examines the complex interactions between individual, environmental, and behavioral factors that influence Latinx students’ academic persistence, including successful career choices in STEM. The chapter concludes with key research, practice, and policy implications for effective strategies and interventions in schools.