Transfronterizx Family, Their Children, and U.S. Educators in Border Communities

Abstract

Transfronterizx students and their families cross the U.S.–Mexico border daily for academic, economic, social, cultural, and linguistic reasons. Socioeconomic disparities, deportation, and work have propelled some families to live in Mexico and enroll their U.S.-born children in U.S. schools. Educators of transfronterizx students are uniquely tasked to work with these nontraditional students. This qualitative study aimed to understand the experiences of transfronterizx public school students, families, and educators of transfronterizx to understand the impact of transfronterizx students on strategies that support and foster effective family engagement. Findings include district and school policies that validate the experiences of people of color; transfronterizx community cultural wealth, including endurance and sacrifice wealth; and educators’ commitment to social justice through humanizing practices. Key themes include the following: fear is endemic among transfronterizx; the intersectionality of the global north and south shapes their experiences and interactions with the educational and sociopolitical systems. Lastly, I delineate recommendations for future research on the multilevel systems that impact transfronterizx.

1. Introduction

Transfronterizx live, work, or attend school in the United States and Mexico. They are imbued in both countries’ cultural, social, economic, and political realities. The term transfronterizo/a came into academic borderland literature in the mid-1990s and combines the term border and the prefix trans—resulting in a neologism, transborder, which in Spanish is transfronterizo. I use transfronterizx as a term that is more inclusive of gender identity. Iglesias Prieto (2014) and Ojeda (2009) are borderland scholars who defined transfronterizx as individuals who cross the international U.S.–Mexico border on a continual basis. They can hold dual citizenship for both countries, and transfronterizx families can have a mixed-status household. Velasco Ortiz and Contreras (2014) presented three different ways individuals experience crossing the U.S.–Mexico border: obstacle, opportunity, and uncertainty. This categorization aptly captures the daily encounters of transfronterizx as they cross into the United States and remain connected to both or multiple countries (Iglesias Prieto 2014; Ojeda 2009). The National Family, School, and Community Engagement Working Group (NFSCEWG) (Harvard Family Research Project 2009) defines family engagement as a shared responsibility that extends across a child’s life and takes place in all learning environments. For transfronterizx families, this engagement is shaped by their unique border-crossing experiences, suggesting a need for collaboration between schools and families that acknowledges the sociopolitical complexities of their daily lives.

1.1. Historical Context

The border region between Mexico and the United States, which stretches for 1954 miles, has a sui generis social context in which the first world and developing world engage in a confluence of movement between the two nations that impacts the economic, social, and cultural dynamics (Ojeda 2009). The Tijuana–San Diego border region is home to over 6 million people, making it one of the largest binational metropolitan areas worldwide. The U.S. Census Bureau (n.d.) reported the San Diego County population was 3,338,330 in 2020, and the Tijuana metropolitan area had an estimated population of over 1.8 million in 2020. The border region is one of the most important economic crossroads in the world. It is home to various industries, including high-tech manufacturing, biotech, tourism, and logistics. According to the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce, the region had a combined gross domestic product, which is a measure of the final monetary value of goods and services produced in a country in a given period, of over $230 billion (Canedo Rivas et al. 2022).

1.2. Background to the Problem

E. T. Trueba (1999) and H. T. Trueba (2002) posited that immigrants who reside in their host country for extended periods of time develop multiple identities as part of the adaptive process of immigration to function effectively in both their home and host countries. This conceptualization is particularly relevant to the families in the present study, who similarly navigate multifaceted identities as they adapt to transnational contexts and the sociocultural demands of both nations.

A transnational individual is someone who actively maintains economic, social, cultural, or political ties across national borders, engaging in a continuous exchange between their country of origin and their country of residence (Schiller et al. 1995). This transnational engagement may include various forms, including frequent travel, financial remittances, political participation, or the preservation of linguistic and cultural practices (Levitt and Jaworsky 2007).

While transfronterizx share goals with immigrants and transnationals, however, transfronterizx cross the international border daily. Living along the border gives an opportunity to parents to exercise what Tessman, Koyama, and Rivera term transborder parentocracy. That is, parents have children in the United States, thereby providing them with U.S. citizenship and mitigating the socioeconomic disparities between the two countries (Tessman and Koyama 2017; Rivera 2020). Transborder parentocracy grants their children access to resources such as free education, healthcare, and social contacts that could facilitate access to opportunities in a future labor market (Orraca et al. 2017).

Transfronterizx students attending schools in the United States have unique educational needs that often remain unseen in the school community (Tessman 2016). Their distinctive experiences as transfronterizx students may not be widely recognized, officially acknowledged, or systematically monitored within the educational system because the U.S. residency documentation does not accurately indicate their residence in Tijuana. As a result, their daily cross-border journey to attend school remains concealed from school officials (Tessman 2016; Rivera 2020).

1.3. Purpose

The purpose of this study was to understand the experiences of transfronterizx public school students and families and the educators of transfronterizx students, to understand the impact of engagement in schools, and to identify strategies that strengthen family–school partnerships. Considering that meaningful family–school partnerships cannot exist without initial engagement, this study also seeks to identify strategies that facilitate engagement as a necessary foundation for building sustainable partnerships.

This study contributes to the field of education by adding to the literature on the understanding of transfronterizx students’ and families’ experiences, the impact of school engagement, and the ways perceptions and interpretations of Community Cultural Wealth (CCW) have an impact on the educators of transfronterizx students and families. This research provides information to educators, schools, and districts on effective ways to engage transfronterizx families living in border communities along the U.S.–Mexico border. The research questions were as follows:

To what extent do educators perceive and acknowledge the experiences of transfronterizx families and students?

In what ways do the experiences of transfronterizx families impact their engagement with the school and educators?

In what ways is the experience of transfronterizx students affected by their families and educators?

The first research question aimed to understand the extent to which educators understood the experiences of transfronterizx parents. The second question focused on the families’ experiences and the ways these experiences as transfronterizx affected their engagement in their child(ren)’s school. The third question helped me understand the ways the transfronterizx student experience was affected by their families and teachers. The research questions were aligned with the research purpose by asking the extent to which there was an understanding, perception, and interpretation of the transfronterizx family’s experience; in what ways these experiences impacted transfronterizx families’ engagement; and in what ways students were affected.

The interview questions were formulated as open-ended questions to elicit conversation. They provided a framework to engage in semi-structured conversations and opportunities for me to ask follow-up questions for clarification. This framework provided a space for participants to voice their experiences and explain the intricacies of the transfronterizx life.

1.4. Theoretical Framework

The theoretical framework provides a foundation for understanding the transfronterizx experience—specifically, the educational experiences of transfronterizx students and families in the United States—and for demonstrating the need for further study.

The study’s theoretical framework is grounded in Yosso’s (2005) Community Cultural Wealth (CCW), which expands Bourdieu’s (2011) concept of cultural and social capital by shifting from capital as a means for individual economic mobility within dominant groups to capital as a form of communal and transformative wealth. This form of wealth includes the assets and resources an individual accumulates and transmits to their children and families in a community-based model centered on group participation and benefit. Delgado and Stefancic’s (2017) tenets of Critical Race Theory (CRT)—race is a social construct, Whiteness as property, counter storytelling, interest convergence, and a critique of liberalism—serve as the lens through which wealth is perceived and acknowledged (Lalas and Strikwerda 2023; Quezada 2014). Yosso (2005) applied the tenets of CRT to expand forms of capital to reframe what counted as wealth to include the forms of wealth nondominant communities have.

Yosso’s CCW extracts the “knowledge, skills, abilities, and contacts communities of color possess and use to survive and resist racism and other forms of oppression” (Yosso 2005, p. 154). The six forms of cultural capital that makeup Yosso’s CCW are (a) aspirational, (b) linguistic, (c) familial, (d) social, (e) navigational, and (f) resistance. These forms enable an individual or household to function and thrive (Yosso 2005). Transfronterizx students and families carry assets with them as they continuously cross the border to attend school in the United States and live in Mexico (González et al. 2006; Ojeda 2009; Yosso 2005). I employed this theoretical framework to examine the phenomena through an asset-based lens, centering on students, families, and educators who work with them. The research drew from a body of literature in the field of education, family, school, community engagement, Latinx family engagement, and transfronterizx (Antony-Newman 2019; Brown et al. 2018; Delgado and Stefancic 2017; Epstein et al. 2018; Ladson-Billings and Tate 2016; Marchand et al. 2019; Pellecchia et al. 2018; Piper et al. 2022; Santiago et al. 2016; Solórzano 2019; Solórzano and Yosso 2001).

1.5. Literature Review

Family engagement in education is widely recognized as a critical factor in student success, yet the ways in which schools conceptualize and implement engagement strategies have evolved over time. Historically, parental involvement was framed as a school-centric model that positioned parents as passive participants, reinforcing institutional expectations rather than fostering genuine collaboration (Antony-Newman 2019). However, contemporary research highlights the shift toward an asset-based model of engagement, emphasizing reciprocal relationships between families, schools, and communities (Epstein et al. 2018; Quezada 2014). This paradigm acknowledges the diverse cultural and social capital that families, particularly those from nondominant communities, contribute to the educational landscape.

For Latinx and immigrant families, engagement strategies must be culturally responsive and address systemic barriers that hinder participation (Marchand et al. 2019; Pellecchia et al. 2018; Piper et al. 2022). Within this broader discourse, transfronterizx families—who navigate the complexities of cross-border schooling—face additional challenges related to immigration status, time poverty, and school policies that often overlook their unique circumstances (Tessman 2016). Despite their deep commitment to their children’s education, transfronterizx parents are frequently marginalized in traditional engagement models, necessitating alternative approaches that recognize their distinct experiences (Baquedano-López et al. 2013; Tessman and Koyama 2017).

This literature review examines the evolution of family–school models and the specific barriers faced by transfronterizx families, schools, and educators in enacting effective engagement strategies. This review situates transfronterizx family engagement within a broader discussion on equity and educational access. By analyzing existing research and identifying gaps in the literature, this section provides a foundation for understanding the systemic and institutional factors that shape the experiences of transfronterizx families and the educators who work with them.

1.6. Family Engagement

Engagement implies a commitment from both partners—i.e., a two-way street in which families and schools share the responsibility of working in meaningful ways to improve students’ overall schooling experiences. The National Family, School, and Community Engagement Working Group (NFSCEWG) (Harvard Family Research Project 2009) defined parent (or family) engagement in their child(ren)’s education as a shared responsibility that is continuous across a child’s life and carried out everywhere that children learn.

1.7. Family, School, and Community Engagement

Title I, Part A, in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), passed in 1965 and reauthorized in 2016 as the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), requires school districts to conduct outreach to all parents and family members to implement programs, activities, and procedures to increase involvement in schools (California Department of Education, n.d.). Under Title I, Part A, schools may create workshops, meetings, and training activities that address the needs of the students and families (California Department of Education, n.d.). Title I, part A, requires parent involvement in schools, its implementation has evolved over time. The family, school, and community collaboration model has progressed over the past decades from involvement to active engagement to meaningful partnerships (Clark-Louque et al. 2019; Epstein et al. 2018).

Historically, schools framed participation in schools as a way to reinforce school expectations that were superficial and prioritized school values over a family, school, and community model that incorporated the perspectives of parents and families (Antony-Newman 2019). Involvement was a direct, school-centric model that supported attendance at school-sanctioned activities: parent–teacher conferences, school-site council meetings, English Learner Advisory Committee meetings, PTA meetings, fundraisers, and more. Indirect involvement meant supporting learning at home, reading, homework completion, and participating in White middle-class education approaches, such as cultivating children’s skills and talents in sports, arts, and music (Lareau 2011). In these models of parent participation, parents passively comply with school directives, thereby participating in the reproduction of hierarchical social constructs that privilege White middle-class forms of parenting (Antony-Newman 2019; Washington 2019). Family, school, and community partnerships provide a more inclusive, asset-based approach to parents engaging in a cooperative relationship with shared power, shared responsibility, and mutual respect of educators and parents as partners in children’s education (Epstein et al. 2018; Quezada 2014).

1.8. Latinx Family, School, and Community Engagement

Current research on Latinx and immigrant family engagement has suggested that effective family engagement strategies for Latinx families should consider the unique cultural experiences, perspectives, and challenges faced by Latinx families in accessing and participating in educational programs (Marchand et al. 2019; Pellecchia et al. 2018; Piper et al. 2022; Quezada 2014). Further, research by Marchand et al. (2019), Clark-Louque et al. (2019), Piper et al. (2022), and Pellecchia et al. (2018) reported culturally relevant strategies that ameliorated these barriers for underrepresented parents. Clark-Louque et al. (2019) identified seven culturally proficient parent engagement practices to engage parents: collaboration, communication, caring, culture, community, connectedness, and collective responsibility. However, according to Smith and Murillo (2012), the cultural minority group of transfronterizx Latinx parents’ participation in any manner in schools continues to evolve.

Pellecchia et al.’s (2018) study on parent involvement from underrepresented families yielded various effective strategies. Underrepresented families, as defined in the study by Pellecchia et al. (2018), are often from minority racial or ethnic groups, live in poverty, or experience all three conditions. The study reported that seven approaches increased parent participation. These included accessibility, translation and cultural acknowledgment, peer pairing, a support network that included formal helpers (e.g., relatives, friends, neighbors, faith community members), collaboration and relationship/rapport building, goal setting, assessment, and problem-solving (Pellecchia et al. 2018).

Research-based strategies coupled with federal policies, such as Title I, support parent engagement and are available to educators, schools, and districts with diverse populations to implement such programs (California Department of Education, n.d.). Educators and school administrators who practice these essentials have the potential to strengthen and improve collaboration with parents from diverse backgrounds.

1.9. Transfronterizx Family Engagement

Informed by multiple studies on nondominant parent family engagement (Antony-Newman 2019; Baquedano-López et al. 2013; Clark-Louque et al. 2019) and transfronterizx (transborder parents; Tessman and Koyama 2017; Valdés 1996) and the NFSCEWG (Harvard Family Research Project 2009) definition, my working definition of transfronterizx family engagement adds additional points:

Schools and other community organizations and agencies are committed to reaching out across borders to engage families in culturally proficient and meaningful ways in which transfronterizx families are acknowledged for their commitment to crossing their U.S.–Mexico border daily to support their children’s learning and development actively.

Educators and schools should consider critical factors influencing transfronterizx parent involvement: time poverty, lack of access (parents might not be able to come to the United States), and potential lack of awareness (where communication strategies may not be effective for transfronterizx families) while maintaining neutrality regarding transfronterizx immigration status.

Transfronterizx families must be committed to being open to trusting the educator or school with sensitive information and, if needed, sharing pertinent information regarding their child’s social–emotional and academic well-being (immigration status, deportation, fear, anxiety, and the trauma endured due to transfronterizx experience).

It is a bi-directional commitment from both transfronterizx families and the school community to work together in nontraditional ways to inform and shape the educational experiences and outcomes of transfronterizx students and school and district goals.

1.10. Barriers to Participation Faced by Transfronterizx

Marchand et al. (2019) and Piper et al. (2022) found microaggressions and stereotypes by the school community were upsetting and branding for some parents and limited their participation in school (Marchand et al. 2019; Piper et al. 2022). Microaggressions, stereotypes, and the use of stigmatizing language further marginalized parents and unintentionally disengaged them from participation, which affected the impact of the engagement activities for students (Marchand et al. 2019; Piper et al. 2022; Santiago et al. 2016). Among transfronterizx, school participation is further constrained by their immigration status, which might make crossing into the United States challenging or impossible. Tessman (2016) found that transfronterizx were viewed in a deficit frame by school personnel because of their limited English proficiency and lack of social capital to navigate and understand the U.S. school system.

Transfronterizx families’ statuses, coupled with the known barriers, are limiting factors for their involvement in their child(ren)’s school. There is a limited amount of peer-reviewed academic research examining transfronterizx parents’ participation, engagement and collaboration in their children’s schooling.

1.11. Educators of Transfronterizx

Educators bring to the classroom various perspectives and beliefs that have been formulated in their family and community knowledge. This inevitably influences their practice in the classroom, their decision-making, their beliefs, and their perspectives, which have been shown to shape and influence the instruction in the classroom regardless of the curriculum (Banks 2006). The literature review includes studies on educators of transfronterizx students. In the border town of Denning, New Mexico, which enrolls students who live in Mexico, educators and administrators found innovative ways to reach out to parents who live in Las Palomas, Chihuahua, Mexico; they had an online parent meeting for those who could not cross the border. If there were Internet connectivity issues, the school issued hotspots to families. Educators made phone calls to relatives to contact parents, and the school hosted a YouTube channel with events that happened at school, from awards presentations to sporting events at the high school level. Educators, administrators, and parents formed a “close-knit community” (Kew and Fellus 2022, p. 427) that capitalized on their different forms of cultural wealth to ensure educational access for students residing in Las Palomas, Mexico (Kew and Fellus 2022).

1.12. Educator Demographics

Demographic data on teachers in the San Diego border region revealed that teachers did not resemble the race and ethnicity of the students they served. The exception was the San Ysidro School District. According to the most recent data available from the 2018–2019 school year, the San Ysidro School District had over 74% Hispanic/Latino teachers and 90% Hispanic/Latino students, 15% White teachers and 1.5% White students, and 3.8% Asian teachers and 0.8% Asian students. Although no database exists with exact numbers of the transfronterizx student population in San Ysidro, some of the 90% of Hispanic/Latinx students were also transfronterizx students. Sweetwater High School District was unique, with over 57% of teachers not reporting their race or ethnicity.

The California Department of Education, in partnership with Ed-Data, provided teacher and student demographic data for the 2018–2019 school year (Ed-Data, n.d.); see

Table 1. Educator demographics along the San Diego/Tijuana border.

Demographics	San Ysidro School District	South Bay Union School District	Chula Vista Elementary School District	Sweetwater Union High School District	National Elementary School District
Total teachers	237	334	1561	1893	288
Female	78.9%	86.8%	84.6%	57.5%	89.6%
Male	21.1%	13.2%	15.4%	42.5%	10.4%
Hispanic/Latino	74.3%	48.5%	38.5%	39.1%	48.6%
White	15.6%	35.6%	46.8%	2.7%	41.7%
Asian	3.8%	0.6%	3.8%	0.1%	3.5%
Filipino	1.3%	3%	6.1%	0.4%	4.9%
Black/African American	1.7%	1.8%	1.4%	0.2%	0.7%
Two or more races	0.0%	0%	0%	0%	0%
Pacific Islander	0.4%	0%	0.6%	0.0%	0.3%
American Indian/Alaska Native	0.0%	0%	0.1%	0.0%	0%
None Reported	3%	10.5%	2.6%	57.5%	0.3%

and

Table 2. Student demographics along the San Diego/Tijuana border.

Demographics	San Ysidro School District	South Bay Union School District	Chula Vista Elementary School District	Sweetwater Union High School District	National Elementary School District K-08
Total enrollment	4578	7199	30,135	40,364	5536
Female	2243	3551	14,664	19,556	2703
Male	2335	3648	15,471	20,808	2833
Hispanic/Latino	90%	83.8%	70%	73.9%	83.9%
White	1.5%	6.8%	10.8%	8%	2.1%
Asian	0.7%	0.4%	2.3%	1.6%	2%
Filipino	3.6%	3.3%	9%	8.4%	8.3%
Black/African American	2.6%	2.5%	3.6%	2.8%	1.3%
Two or more races	1.4%	2.6%	3.5%	4.4%	1.7%
Pacific Islander	0%	0.3%	0.4%	0.4%	0.4%
American Indian/Alaska Native	0%	0.1%	0.2%	0.3%	0.1%
None Reported	0.2%	0.1%	0.3%	0.1%	0%

).

Scholars have examined how White teachers, whether explicitly or implicitly, contribute to maintaining racial dominance by replicating the larger societal discriminatory structures in the classroom setting (Anyon 2005; Leonardo 2015). Research also highlights that White teachers who used liberatory pedagogy and CRT to challenge White supremacy often faced backlash, being labeled as race or epistemological traitors. As a result, breaking from teaching practices that reinforce White dominant cultural norms remains uncommon (Leonardo 2015). The teacher demographics at the southern border between the United States and Mexico may significantly impact the experiences of transfronterizx students, families, and educators who work with them. However, research on Hispanic/Latinx students who are transfronterizx and receive instruction that acknowledges and affirms their assets and maintains their sense of dignity, belonging, justice, and equity is understudied.

2. Methodology

This study used narrative inquiry to explore, discover, and understand the lived experiences of participants based on their personal accounts in semi-structured interviews (Connelly and Clandinin 1990; Creswell and Creswell 2017; Mertler 2019). The narrative inquiry methodology was well suited for this study to understand the experiences of transfronterizx public school students and families, the experiences of the educators of transfronterizx students and their impact on school engagement, and interventions or activities that may lead to the effective engagement of transfronterizx families in their children’s education.

Bhattacharya (2017) described the way a researcher could oscillate between both emic and etic perspectives, even when the researcher was a cultural insider. Thus, an examination of my emic and etic status elucidates how my positionality in conducting the research influenced data collection, analysis, and interpretation. Maintaining bracketing was crucial, recognizing that qualitative researchers are subjective due to their insider status and the transformative impact of data collection on the researcher.

As a transnational and daughter of transnationals, I examined the life experiences of transfronterizx students and families. As such, I had to analyze my own experiences as they related to my perspective as both an insider into the immigrant transborder, transnational, bi-national, transfronterizx experience and my identity as a transfronteriza and my status as an outsider to the life experiences of the study participants. I have worked and lived in communities of color as a teacher, elementary school principal, and teacher educator. In this capacity, I came to know families and friends who fit the criteria for the participants I was seeking.

2.1. Participant Recruitment

The practice of attending school in the United States while living in Mexico without paying tuition is illegal, making it a sensitive and delicate situation that required careful consideration during the recruitment phase of the study. To navigate these challenges, the snowball sampling technique was used as a strategic recruitment strategy for this hard-to-reach population (Sadler et al. 2010). Transfronterizx participants shared their fear and apprehension about being “caught”—either as educators who knew about the transfronterizx student but did not report them or as parents and students who risked reprimand for attending school in the U.S. while living in Mexico. Due to this fear, three transfronterizx families declined to have their children participate in the study after having previously agreed. To address these challenges, I used nontraditional communication methods, including word-of-mouth and WhatsApp, to reach potential participants and maintain communication once their participation was established.

2.2. Participant Selection

The nature and focus of the research study narrowed the participant pool to the population of individuals self-identifying as Latinx, being a transfronterizx family with a child(ren) who currently attended school in the United States in San Diego County or being an educator who worked with Latinx transfronterizx students in San Diego. The rationale for selecting Latinx transfronterizx families with a child(ren) who currently attended school in the United States and educators who worked with students who were transfronterizx as criteria was to inform and develop an understanding of the transfronterizx family and student (K–12) experiences (Falcón Orta 2021; Tessman 2016). First, previous research on the broader domain of transnational and transborder experiences has focused on the experiences of migrants or immigrants who have moved from their homeland to cities across the United States (Antony-Newman 2019; Sánchez and Machado-Casas 2009). Second, studies on the specific transfronterizx experience have focused on transfronterizx students in higher education (Falcón Orta 2021) and educators’ pedagogical practices on both sides of the U.S.–Mexico border (De la Piedra et al. 2018; Ojeda 2009). Studies on the experiences of transfronterizx families with a child(ren) attending school in the United States and of the educators of these transfronterizx students was an area of research that was underdeveloped (Kew and Fellus 2022; Tessman 2016; Tessman and Koyama 2017). Educator participants who decided to take part in the study were willing and open to sharing their experiences. I defined the study’s parameters and remained open to possible changes to provide further assurances of their safety and security. I was clear and transparent about the study’s intent, their safety as anonymous participants, and their right to end their participation.

2.3. Participant Sampling

According to Onwuegbuzie and Collins (2007), the minimum sample size recommendation when using the interview as the data collection procedure should be 12 interviews. This narrative inquiry included nineteen participants: fifteen adult participants and four school-aged students. The small sample size allowed me to conduct a deep case-oriented analysis (Onwuegbuzie and Collins 2007). I used purposive sampling, a nonprobability sampling based on the characteristics of the population and the objective of the study, to identify appropriate participants who had experienced life as a transfronterizx (Onwuegbuzie and Collins 2007). I followed the initial sampling with a snowball sampling method for participant selection. Participants identified other participants with similar characteristics based on the study’s objective (Creswell and Creswell 2017).

2.4. Participant Profile

All interview participants represented transfronterizx students, families, and educators who worked with transfronterizx students (see

Table 3. Participating educators who worked with transfronterizx students (N = 8).

Characteristic	Number of Participants
Geographic location
San Ysidro	4
Chula Vista	2
San Diego	1
South Bay	1
Grade level
Elementary	3
Middle school	3
High school	2
School type
Charter	2
Public	6
Private	0
Years of experience
Novice (0–5 years)	1
Experienced (5–10 years)	1
Seasoned (10+ years)	6

,

Table 4. Participating Transfronterizx Families (N = 7).

Characteristic	Number of Participants
Geographic location (home)
Tijuana	5
San Diego	0
Both sides of border	2
Parental age
20–30 years	0
30–40 years	1
40+ years	6
Parental education level
High school	2
Some college	3
Master’s degree	2
Doctoral degree	0

and

Table 5. Participating transfronterizx students attending U.S. schools (N = 4).

Characteristic	Number of Participants
Geographic location (school)
San Ysidro	0
Chula Vista	4
San Diego	0
School type
Charter	2
Public	2
Private	0
Student grade level
Elementary	1
Middle school	1
High school	2

).

2.5. Instrumentation

The research interviews took place in San Diego, U.S., and Tijuana, Mexico, via Zoom using only the audio. I used Otter.ai to record and transcribe the interviews in the English language and a Word docx set to the Spanish language with the dictation setting enabled to capture the interviews in Spanish. Then, I refined the transcription to capture both English and Spanish responses from participants as they shared their experiences.

I conducted one-on-one semi-structured interviews with two families and one student from elementary level, two families and one student from middle school level, and three families and two students from high school level. Additionally, I conducted individual interviews with educators of transfronterizx students, including three from elementary school, three from middle school, and two from high school. I developed 10 interview questions for educators of transfronterizx students, 15 for families, and 12 for students.

Focus groups were also conducted with three educators of transfronterizx students during the Spring of 2024. This population was the most accessible. Given that transfronterizx family participants lived in Tijuana and worked different hours of the day, finding a set date and time to hold a focus group was not feasible for that sector of participants. Transfronterizx students at various grade levels had different time commitments and constraints, given their after-school activities and the necessity to cross the international border at the end of the day. Educators’ schedules were more predictable, so a focus group was organized.

In addition to interviews with parents, students, teachers, and a focus group with educators, I collected documents on district policies, school policies, and classroom policies. For document analysis, I used data provided in the publicly available database of board policies on transfronterizx (if any) from the districts close to the Tijuana–San Diego border: San Ysidro, South Bay, Chula Vista, National Elementary, and Sweetwater Union High School District.

2.6. Coding

I conducted the interview data analysis using several coding cycles that included the use of both manual coding for transcripts that were in Spanish or in both languages, English and Spanish, when participants were translanguaging, and NVivo software 14 used for coding for transcripts that were only in English. For interviews conducted in Spanish, I first coded the interviews in the same language as the data. Saldaña (2021) explained that nuances in the language and specific syntax are maintained when coding is conducted in the original language because it creates a more trustworthy analysis. Although I had initially begun to translate every interview conducted in Spanish to English, this process did not add to the richness of the experience and, in fact, subtracted because finding exact words to convey the meaning in English could not be fully achieved. The first cycle of coding consisted of systematic line-by-line coding using attribute coding to analyze the demographics and then moving on to in vivo coding, in which codes “derive from the actual language of the participants” (Saldaña 2021, p. 95), thereby honoring the language in which the interview was conducted and the colloquial nuances of the regional Spanish participants used, which were not easily translatable to the English language.

Saldaña (2021) explains that when coding, researchers should cluster data according to similar patterns, which could then be used to develop categories based on the patterns that emerged from the data. As I listened to recorded interviews and read, reread, sorted, and coded data, I connected emerging ideas to relevant literature on culturally proficient family–school community engagement and theoretical perspectives on CCW in their various forms of wealth. I began with initial transfronterizx codes like “para un mejor futuro” (for a better future), “survival”, and “barriers to overcome”. With educator participants, the initial codes were “challenges” and “support”. Themes such as “aspiration” emerged from coded data, revealing shared experiences by parent participants on the journey they selected for their children, and “commitment to social justice” by educator participants as they chose to humanize their students and challenge dominant ideology.

I categorized codes into themes aligned to the forms of wealth from CCW. This allowed me to explore how these forms of wealth shaped transfronterizx experiences and in what ways these impacted school engagement while uncovering strategies that supported and fostered effective engagement. Subcodes later revealed distinct commonalities among parents, educators, and students, all of whom had experiences with the transfronterizx life. I used the qualitative software product NVivo with the interviews conducted in English to identify different themes, patterns, and keywords. This revealed frequent data consistency and supported the study’s dependability.

2.7. Delimitations and Assumptions

In this study, I used data from 19 participants who were familiar with the transfronterizx experience, interview data, and document analysis (e.g., board documents, school policies, and classroom policies for transfronterizx students) from five school districts near the border of San Diego and Tijuana. As such, the findings do not represent all border communities or the full range of educator perspectives.

I conducted this study with the following assumptions: the interviewees answered questions accurately; the situations or events experienced were depicted truthfully and honestly; and the participants were forthright about their current living situation, accommodations, country of work, and residence.

3. Findings

3.1. Findings of Document Analysis

Key findings of document analysis are consistent by including state and federal policies in all publicly available documents that support student success. Senate Bill (SB) 257, “School Admissions: Pupil Residency: Pupils of Deported Parents” in 2017 and the subsequent addition to the California Education Code under Section 48204.4 (a) deemed children whose parents were deported from California or had to leave the state against their will, still met the residency requirements for school attendance. SB 257 prohibits a school district from levying any charges or fees on the student or their parents. SB 257 also allows a parent or guardian of the student to designate an adult to attend school meetings and serve as an emergency contact. California SB 257 acknowledged the challenges faced by mixed-status families stemming from broader sociopolitical issues such as immigration and validated the role of extended family and community networks in supporting student success.

3.2. Findings of Educators from Transfronterizx Interviews

Research Question 1 asked the following: to what extent do educators of transfronterizx students perceive and acknowledge the experiences of transfronterizx families and students?

Through in-depth interviews with eight educators connected to the transfronterizx experience, this question revealed insights into their awareness and understanding of their roles as educators and of the transfronterizx community. Findings indicate that educators recognize key aspects of Community Cultural Wealth (CCW) in their students’ experiences. The following section presents these findings, organized by subheadings that highlight educators’ personal and professional experiences. Supporting evidence is provided through direct quotes that align with Research Question 1.

3.3. Educators’ Personal and Professional Experiences

All (n = 8) of the educators interviewed had been transnationals themselves or had close relatives who lived the transfronterizx experience. Their backgrounds provided them with direct knowledge of the experiences of transfronterizx students and families. The findings identified several themes related to educators’ awareness and recognition of students’ experiences. These themes were categorized under Resistance Capital and Navigational Capital (Yosso 2005).

Resistance capital (barriers to overcome). Educators who had personal experience with the international border or connections to transfronterizx experience reported recognizing the challenges faced by transfronterizx students and families. Their direct knowledge of border-related obstacles and systemic barriers shaped their understanding of how students exercised resistance capital to navigate these challenges. Educators described how students and families persisted despite border-related obstacles, demonstrating resilience in securing access to education in the U.S. One elementary school teacher shared the following:

Other students that are crossing the borders are doing this completely by themselves. And some are pretty young. I’ve seen middle school students or a middle school student with an older sibling that’s in high school and I know of a student that is in our elementary where that’s the situation … I’ve literally been on the same trolley with her and all the way to Mexico … When I think of how young they are, and how maybe their family is telling them to go and pushing them to cross the border to go to school. And I imagine that the conversations that are happening on why they should be crossing the border at 3 or 4 or 5 a.m. in the morning. It must be difficult to have a conversation with a 14- or 15- or 16-year-old, but they do it. They do it every single day.

Navigational capital refers to the knowledge, strategies, and resources that individuals use to navigate and overcome challenges in unsupportive and hostile environments. Educators, drawing on their firsthand understanding of transfronterizx experiences, possessed valuable insights into the specific obstacles faced by their students and families in educational systems that may not fully acknowledge or support their needs. The navigational capital was evident in this teacher’s recounting of her students’ daily morning routine:

[They] see military with rifles every morning at five in the morning. Like that’s, that’s what you do. Every morning. You see these military people like, and then you have to converse with a border patrol agent who might be in a bad mood every single day and then, you know, and then one day they catch you in a bad mood, and they make it … they attacked you for being in a bad mood like there’s all these little micro situations that happen … before 8 a.m. before first period … all of these things already happened … And their first period of teacher wants them to be focused, and that’s me, right? Like I have a student in my first period class…I knew this happened, but I never thought I’d get to see my student actually do this. It really stood out to me because. this is a 13-year-old student who had to do this in his morning and then get to class.

As agents of change, these educators leveraged their personal experiences and their understanding of the education system to advocate more effectively for the needs and rights of transfronterizx individuals. One teacher had the following suggestion: “We have an after-school program, but these kids need to get to the border after school; they can’t stay; what we need is a before-school program, so they are not waiting outside our school in the rain and cold early in the morning”.

3.4. Findings of Transfronterizx Parent Interviews

Research Question 2 asked the following: in what ways do the experiences of transfronterizx families impact their engagement with the school and educators?

Through this research question, I sought to understand the impact of transfronterizx families’ experiences in their interactions with schools and educators. Through comprehensive interviews with transfronterizx parents, the research illuminates the nuanced dynamics shaping their engagement with educational settings.

3.5. Parents’ Experiences

Transfronterizx families’ physical engagement in schools was directly impacted by their residing in another country and, for some, their inability to cross the international border into the United States due to factors such as immigration status, deportation status, work, and familial circumstances. However, their level of engagement in school was primarily driven by their desire to have their children attend school in the United States for better opportunities. This includes giving up parental rights for their children to a friend or relative in the U.S. to attend school or engaging in transborder parentocracy (Rivera 2020), where parents give birth to their children in the United States to secure a pathway to ensure lifelong opportunities in the Tijuana–San Diego border region. Interview data from parents were analyzed using in vivo codes, followed by categories and themes.

Findings fell into several themes based on Community Cultural Wealth from Yosso (2005): (a) aspirational, (b) familial, (c) navigational, and (d) resistant. Sacrifice capital and endurance capital were identified as additional forms of wealth.

Aspirational capital was evident in one parent’s choice to enroll their children in a San Diego school, motivated by the desire for them to learn English and access greater opportunities in the United States. This decision was seen as a necessary step toward realizing their children’s future goals and dreams. One parent shared the following (my translation):

Well, look, we’re not really and, and, and, and they know it, we’ve talked a lot with them, both my dad and my mom, my children, we’re not rich, we’re not millionaires, we’re not going to inherit them a mansion, we’re not going to inherit cars, so the only thing, what we are going to inherit, is their studies.

One key finding among parents was the theme of sacrifice. Enriquez (2017) defines “sacrifice capital” as giving up comfort, money, energy, and time for the betterment of somebody else (Enriquez 2017); this concept was reflected in the experiences shared by parents, including one parent who recounted the following (my translation):

For example, they remember a lot of the sacrifice it was to wake up at that hour, and yes, I mean … it weighed on them quite a bit, I mean, poor things, I mean, they also obviously suffered.

Another parent shared the following (my translation):

She has to cross every day. Because of the very early hours … she has to get up early … there are many sacrifices that I know that in the long run they are going to … they are going to be good for her, but well, these moments are sometimes even harder because, because she does struggle, I mean right now she’s already tired, there are … there are days when she has told me crying “Mommy, I’m already tired, I don’t want to go there anymore”. She says “I’m tired, I want to rest”, but, well, I tell my daughter, “Everything we do is a sacrifice that sooner or later you will benefit you”.

Another key finding, endurance capital (Velazquez 2024), encompasses the strength, determination, adaptability, and resilience that individuals build as they navigate prolonged periods of stress and adversity. This concept expands Yosso’s (2005) CCW framework. A parent of three children, two of whom had a disability, shared, “It is hard for them, my poor babies, they suffer a lot with early wake up times and the border crossing every day”. One parent who crossed the border from Tijuana, Mexico, to San Diego, U.S., for 12 years recalls the following:

So it was challenging, but it was it was at the beginning wasn’t bad because the border wasn’t bad. It was toward the last years I crossed the border was like three and a half hours. That’s when it was getting heavy. So, like, like a typical day…I would pack the car the night before with their books, and lunch and stuff to do their hair…I always I always try to have them clean, well-groomed and dressed as best as I could, because I didn’t want them to really know … I would get up myself at four in the morning 4:30 a.m. because I needed to be out of the house, like 5:15 a.m. and 5:30 a.m. depending on I have to listen to the radio all the time. I was always paying attention to the radio. And then I would go on my car with my two kids. I would put my daughter asleep in the car and just tie her and then my my kids are eight years apart. After she was no longer in the car seat, she was still a car seat when I started crossing because my son was going to school. I carry a potty with me. So, she had a potty and I made like a little like a little curtain thing where she couldn’t go potty because there’s no bathroom in the border.

This parent’s testimony highlights the physical and emotional demands and the resilience developed through daily challenges. The child’s early wake ups and cross-border commute shaped their adaptability and perseverance, illustrating how transfronterizx parents navigate sustained stress and adversity.

3.6. Findings from Transfronterizx Student Interviews

Research Question 3 asked the following: in what ways is the transfronterizx student experience affected by their families and educators?

The perspectives of transfronterizx students themselves revealed connections between familial and educational influences on their lived experiences that students’ experience daily. Results of Research Question 3 are organized by the students’ personal and educational experiences, with supporting statements from the students.

3.7. Students’ Personal and Educational Experiences

Transfronterizx students are aware of their situation and understand that their U.S. citizenship affords them the opportunity to attend school in the United States. They recognize the privileges associated with U.S. citizenship and the impact it has on their life and future. This finding highlights the CCW’s aspirational, familial, navigational, and resistant capital that students carry. Students in this study understood the importance of taking advantage of opportunities available to them. One student shared:

With my family, I know some of them [some students] don’t have that much support from the parents like I do, so I’m very grateful that I can go to school, can have education, when I know that my cousins are struggling.

A sixth grader retold his daily routine:

So, wake up like around three in the morning, get ready. And then go to the border and then do the line for 3 h and then get to school.

Fear as endemic emerged as a recurring theme in the study. Students shared their fears about being discovered as residents of Tijuana and the potential impact on their education and their family’s hopes for them. One student participant shared:

I think there’s still some teachers or some students that have a certain view of people that cross every day. And, like, they want to tell on us.

Transfronterizx students mitigate and manage their fears while they carry their assets as they navigate daily border crossings and participate in schools.

Engagement and empowerment emerged from all three groups: transfronterizx students, families, and educators, working in unison to achieve a common goal with an understanding of each other’s experiences. Transfronterizx navigate their fears, leverage their assets, and accumulate new ones as they advance through grades.

3.8. Limitations

A key limitation of this study was the assumption that the sample was representative of the population being studied. Snowball sampling identified potential participants through existing networks; this may have restricted participant variation, as transfronterizx parents and educators feared scrutiny due to the politicized nature of transfronterizx residency status. An additional limitation was my perspective and positionality as the researcher, which could have produced a potential bias and could have influenced the analysis of the artifacts and results of the findings. I continuously monitored this potential limiting bias via memo writing. Another study limitation was time. I conducted the research from November 2022 to February 2024, and I did not collect any other information outside of these time limits. These limitations impacted the generalizability of the study. However, the study provided information on the transfronterizx experience of students, parents, and educators.

4. Discussion

The adoption and implementation of SB 257 align with Critical Race Theory (CRT) by challenging dominant ideologies that marginalize transfronterizx families. This policy acknowledges the systemic barriers faced by mixed-status families and affirms their right to education despite immigration-related challenges. From a Community Cultural Wealth (CCW) perspective, SB 257 validates the various forms of capital—navigational, aspirational, and resistant capital—that families leverage to ensure their children’s educational success.

To further examine the experiences of transfronterizx families, this study situates participant narratives within Yosso’s (2005) six forms of CCW while introducing an additional form: endurance capital. Building on Villarreal’s (2022) framework, I categorized these into foundational forms of capital (aspirational, familial, and linguistic capital) and driving forms of capital (navigational, social, resistant, and endurance capital). These forms of capital frame the lived experiences of transfronterizx students and their families, highlighting the ways they navigate and resist systemic barriers.

4.1. Endurance Capital and Transfronterizx Families

Endurance capital (Velazquez 2024) is a deep fortitude that allows transfronterizx families and students to sustain their educational journeys despite prolonged hardship. Merriam-Webster (n.d.) defines endurance as the ability to withstand adversity and sustain prolonged effort, pain, or suffering. Transfronterizx families embody this endurance through their unwavering commitment to cross the border daily, often for years or even decades, in pursuit of better educational opportunities for their children.

This endurance capital is embedded in their routines—waking up at 3 or 4 a.m., crossing the border, attending school, participating in extracurricular activities, completing homework, and then repeating the journey back home, all while navigating the complexities of a militarized border and mixed-status family dynamics. These daily acts of perseverance reinforce their aspirational capital as families remain steadfast in their long-term vision for their children’s success in the U.S. education system.

For transfronterizx students, endurance capital becomes a significant asset. The emotional, physical, and psychological toll of constant border crossings can be exhausting, yet these students develop resilience, adaptability, and determination in response to the systemic barriers they encounter. However, it is crucial to acknowledge that this perseverance comes at a cost—mental and emotional strain that may impact their well-being. Educational institutions must recognize these challenges and create supportive, inclusive learning environments that validate and accommodate the unique experiences of transfronterizx students.

4.2. Endurance Capital as a Form of Family Engagement

Endurance capital extends beyond individual resilience—it is also a critical form of family engagement. Unlike traditional models of parental involvement, which often prioritize school-based participation, transfronterizx family engagement is demonstrated through their daily sacrifices and long-term commitment to their children’s education. The decision to maintain a life on both sides of the U.S.–Mexico border over years, sometimes decades, is a profound expression of investment in their children’s future.

Recognizing endurance capital as a legitimate form of family engagement challenges deficit-based perspectives that view transfronterizx parents as uninvolved simply because they may not attend school events or meetings. Instead, it highlights the strength and resourcefulness of these families, affirming their role in shaping their children’s academic and social success. By incorporating this understanding into educational policies and practices, schools can better support transfronterizx students through tailored resources, flexible engagement strategies, and an inclusive approach that values their unique realities.

4.3. Recommendations

The recommendations in the following section are drawn from the findings of this study and suggest directions for future research and practice. The recommendations address identified challenges identified in this study and aim to foster effective ways to engage transfronterizx families in school partnerships, which can create positive outcomes for transfronterizx students. Guided by the voices of participants and grounded in anecdotal and empirical evidence, these suggestions provide a foundation for future work that can explore unanswered questions.

4.4. Future Research

Given the absence of school principals’ perspective in this study, future research can explore their role in shaping policies and practices for transfronterizx families and students, such as leadership and policy implementation, culturally responsive leadership, administrative strategies, and barriers at the institutional level. This study revealed that educators of transfronterizx have creative ways to reach families who live across the border. Future studies could examine how these strategies can be measured for effectiveness, expanded, and systematically implemented across schools with transfronterizx families. Additionally, a broader range of transfronterizx families, students, and educator perspectives across the southern U.S. border with Mexico could more fully capture the complexities of transfronterizx engagement to strengthen family–school partnerships.

5. Conclusions

In conclusion, this study shed light on a profound aspect of parental dedication and sacrifice in the pursuit of their children’s education, including enduring lengthy border wait times over a span of many years, relinquishing parental rights, and risking potential disciplinary actions at school to ensure their children’s access to education in the United States. This dedication and commitment epitomize a level of parental involvement and engagement that transcends conventional notions. It is imperative that the existing understanding of effective engagement expand to acknowledge and perceive these unseen parenting practices.

By examining the impact of parental engagement in schools and identifying strategies to strengthen family–school partnerships, this study underscores the need for more inclusive and supportive educational environments. Acknowledging and validating these hidden acts of sacrifice, societies can cultivate a deeper understanding of the multifaceted nature of transfronterizx parental engagement and inform policies and practices that are more inclusive and supportive educational environments for all children, including transfronterizx students and their families.

This study provides a limited but crucial foundation for understanding the depth of parental sacrifice, endurance, and dedication in seeking educational opportunities for their children. Researchers can build upon these findings by examining the long-term social, emotional, and academic impacts of these forms of parental engagement. Additionally, further exploration is needed to assess how educational policies and school practices can better support transfronterizx families, acknowledging their unique challenges and contributions. By expanding this body of knowledge, we can redefine traditional notions of parental engagement, fostering a more inclusive partnership framework that recognizes and values the unseen efforts of these dedicated parents.