Summer 2025: The Transborder Lifestyle: Studying, Parenting, and Schooling Across Borders

Affiliations:	Race and Ethnic Studies Research Leadership
Project Leader:	P. Michelle Ochoa p.michelle.ochoaa@tamu.edu Sociology
Faculty Mentor	Sarah Gatson, Ph.D.
Meeting Times:	TBA
Team Size:	8
Open Spots:	4
Special Opportunities:	Students who decide to participate in this project will have the opportunity to: 1) conduct interviews 2) code qualitative data 3) travel on-site to conduct field research 4) use Qualtrics for survey data collection 5) participate in the community aid program 6) work to produce a poster or paper to present at a conference
Team Needs:	Preferred requirements: – Knowledge of the U.S.-Mexico border – Have lived in the U.S.-Mexico border area – Good Communication skills – Active listening – Searching for information – Willing to ask questions – Time management – English-Spanish translation – Availability to miss class for research purposes if needed (Will be Excused Absences)Mandatory Requirements: – Writing – Note taking – Attention to detail – Checking, Replying, and Sending Emails
Description:	“This project aims to investigate the experiences of K-12 transborder students, their parents, and teachers. This project aims to answer the following questions: 1) “In what ways does the transborder lifestyle impact families with K-12 students in the U.S-Mexico borderlands?” 2) “What kind of strategies do transborder families use to navigate the U.S. educational system?” 3) “How have K-12 teachers in the U.S-Mexico borderlands addressed transborder families’ experiences?” To address these questions, ethnographic methods are used to collect data and analyze the contextual effect of the transborder lifestyle in the U.S.-Mexico borderlands. Data will be collected through visual ethnography, semi-structured interviews, and survey responses of Texas transborder students, parents, and teachers. By exploring transborder student development, transborder parent navigation strategies, and transborder schooling in the U.S.-Mexico borderlands, we can assess the impact of transborderism on families with K-12 border commuter students and their experiences with the U.S. educational system and how in turn the education system has been impacted. If you are interested please use this link to contact the graduate student investigator: https://forms.gle/iDbEGzVsTHYftb6Y8