message-received

message received 79 their level of education. Each of the women spoke of how their parents wanted them to earn a high school diploma since all but one parent (Lena’s father) had failed in this regard. The findings also seem to support the ways in which poverty and race combine to discourage or conceal college aspirations from loving and well-meaning parents (Baum&Flores, 2011; Perez &McDonough, 2008). The parent’s encouragement to not “be like [me]” has everything to do with the struggles they constantly faced as Americans with minimal educa- tion but also as Americans from a historically marginalized ethnic group. A similar point was made 26 years ago by Staples and Johnson’s (1993) review of the literature around low-SES Black parents that found “a large proportion of Black lower income mothers and fathers not only hope that their children will attend college, but spend time discussing educational options with them” (pp. 175–176). It strongly supports college choice theorist Freeman’s (2005) assertions that although Blacks value education as an important part of upward mobility, economic and sociocultural realities/barriers cause working, poor parents to send conflicting signals to their children about college aspirations. Overall, Freeman (2005) found that Black parents encourage their children to “go beyond their own level of schooling” (p. 17), which is an important signal sent during what college choice theorist Hossler calls the “predisposition stage” of college choice where the goals of college attendance are born (Hossler & Gallagher, 1987; Hossler et al., 1989, 1998). As part of the effort to encourage their children to achieve academi- cally, the Three recalled that their parents actively discouraged them from following their own failed educational journeys. Their encouragement varies slightly from what Freeman (2005) described as “avoidance of a negative role model” (p. 18). This study found that parents invoked the negative role model themselves by encouraging their children to make the kind of educa- tional and career choices available with a high school education as opposed to dropping out of high school as they had done many years before. Findings from this study suggest that this process may be a positive example of paren- tal involvement in the predisposition stage of college choice. Finally, as suggested by Freeman (2005), this study shows that the parents of the Three did not have critical information about how to prepare for, apply to, and eventually enroll in college, nor information about how it could be funded. Kathy’s parents, in particular, stated that “college was so expensive” and believed it was something “they [she and her parents] were not able to afford” even during a time of generous federal and state financial aid during the early 1970s. Simply stated, this information needs to reach all levels of the Black community, most particularly those members who comprise the lowest economic strata.