It’s Capital! Understanding Latina/o Presence in Higher Education

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 229-243 ◽  
Author(s):  
María Isabel Ayala ◽  
Sheila Marie Contreras

Latina/o educational differentials have been studied predominantly from a deficit standpoint that emphasizes a lack of cultural capital. More recently, researchers began to reject this deficit perspective, foregrounding instead the cultural capital that enables Latina/o students to succeed academically. The very idea that Latina/o students possess cultural capital is new to higher education, which has historically undervalued Latina/o student experience and community history. Cultural capital, however, plays a crucial role in Latina/o student academic achievement. The authors’ study of junior- and senior-level Latina/o students attending a primarily White four-year research university in the Midwest examines Latina/o community cultural wealth, particularly with regard to navigating the academy. The authors also suggest institutional changes to develop policies that address Latina/o student presence from a capital rather than a deficit perspective.

2009 ◽  
Vol 79 (4) ◽  
pp. 704-730 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lindsay Pérez Huber

Using the critical race testimonios of ten Chicana undergraduate students at a toptier research university, Lindsay Pérez Huber interrogates and challenges the racist nativist framing of undocumented Latina/o immigrants as problematic, burdensome,and "illegal." Specifically, a community cultural wealth framework (Yosso,2005) is utilized and expanded to highlight the rich forms of capital existing within the families and communities of these young women that have allowed them to survive,resist, and navigate higher education while simultaneously challenging racist nativist discourses. Reflecting on her data and analysis, Pérez Huber ends with a call for a human rights framework that demands the right of all students—and particularly Latinas/os—to live full and free lives.


2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Lina M. Trigos-Carrillo

[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT AUTHOR'S REQUEST.] In this study, I investigated the social practices related to reading and writing of first-generation college students and their families and communities in Latin America from a critical sociocultural perspective (Lewis, Enciso and Moje, 2007). This embedded multiple-case study was conducted in Mexico, Colombia, and Costa Rica. Using an ethnographic perspective of data collection (Bernard, 2011; Lillis and Scott, 2007) and the constant comparative method (Heath and Street, 2008), situational analysis (Clarke, 2005), and within and cross-case analysis (Yin, 2014), I analyzed specific literacy events (Heath, 1982) and literacy practices (Street, 2003) in social context. First, I argue that access to the academic discourse and culture is one of the main barriers first-generation college students faced, although they constructed strong social support systems and engaged in rich literacy practices that involved critical action and thinking. Second, I found that, in contrast to the common belief that socially and economically nonmainstream college students were deficient in literacy, these students and their families possessed a literacy capital and engaged in complex and varied literacy practices. Using their literacy capital, first-generation college students and their families and communities procured the preservation of cultural identity, resisted the effects of cultural globalization, served the role of literacy sponsors, and reacted critically to the sociopolitical context. These literacy practices constituted a community cultural wealth for the families and communities of first-generation college students. I argue that a positive approach towards first-generation college students' identities and their community cultural wealth is necessary in curriculum, instruction, and policy if universities are truly committed to provide access to higher education to students from diverse backgrounds. Finally, I investigated first-generation university women's gender identities, discourses, and roles as they navigated the social worlds of the public university and their local communities in Mexico, Colombia, and Costa Rica. While dominant discourses and roles associated with women reproduced the machismo culture in the region, these group of first-generation university women contested, challenged, and resisted those roles, discourses, and identities. From a Latin American feminist perspective, I argue that bonds of solidarity and communal relations are values that resist the negative effects of global capitalism in marginalized bodies. In particular, public universities, women's supporters, emancipatory discourses, and situated critical literacies played a critical role in improving gender equality in higher education in Latin America. This study contributes to a better understanding of the literacy practices in situated social contexts and informs the ways in which more equitable college instruction, policy, and practices can be developed and promoted.


2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 162-171
Author(s):  
Eshthih Fithriyana

This study is a study study that analyzes the role of metacognitive strategies with the help of the PQ4R method on academic achievement of PIAUD students at the Sunan Giri Bojonegoro Institute of Islamic Religion. Students in this case are students who follow the learning process in higher education who are required to equip themselves with standardized competencies created with academic achievement, as a provision to take positions and support in an increasingly competitive world of work. Based on the results of data analysis of interviews, observations and questionnaires showed that the use of metacognitive strategies with the help of the PQ4R method had a significant role in student academic achievement in cognitive courses.


2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 62-89
Author(s):  
Sharon leonie Brown

Graduate students who come from a background where neither parent has pursued higher education or specifically, who are Women of Colour (WOC), lack important cultural capital that could otherwise threaten or derail their pursuit of a doctoral degree. Yet, even with this prior familial knowledge, WOC still succeed because they depend on their developed cultural wealth (CW) to navigate through their doctoral studies. To thoroughly analyze this assessment, a theoretical framework that included: critical race theory, cultural capital theory, and Womanist theory was implemented. A six-item structured instrument was utilized to examine the educational experiences of 10 WOC doctoral students who were attending an elite Canadian university. The aim of the survey was to assess how these diverse students cultivated unique forms of CW through the telling of their stories.  An analysis of the data revealed six categories of cultural wealth that were significant and instrumental in graduate student achievement. These elements were: 1) Mother’s Influence, 2) Age Capital, 3) Survival Strategies, 4) Navigating Academic culture or “Know- How” 5) Mentorship, and 6) Spirituality.  The majority of the participants interviewed acquired; grants, publishing and funding opportunities, possessed all six components. Findings of this study suggest that experiential/cultural knowledge of WOC is valuable and important for further research in higher education; and that academic supervisors and administrators should consider using cultural knowledge as a guide and tool for practical mentorship, academic development, and supervision to ensure successful outcomes for current and future diverse students, especially for WOC in doctoral programs.


2020 ◽  
pp. 019685992092438
Author(s):  
David L. Stamps

Often media research interrogating Black male characters featured in television does so from a deficit-based framework. To shift the conversation and showcase affirmative examples of Black male roles in scripted television, the following essay analyzes portrayals in the series This Is Us (2016–current), Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (2015–2019), S.W.A.T. (2017–current), and A Million Little Things (2018–current). This work adopts critical race theory and community cultural wealth as mechanisms to examine depictions of Black male television characters to illustrate how each offers various forms of cultural capital, including aspirational and resistant capital, for minority audiences. The portrayals discussed here demonstrate a shift in depictions of Black men in television as characters express nonaggressive idiosyncrasies, display vulnerability, and engage in social support with other characters.


2019 ◽  
pp. 71-84
Author(s):  
Michael J. Farrow ◽  
JeanMarie Farrow

Religious organizations within communities of colour have traditionally been ignored by educational institutions, even though they provide community cultural wealth and literacy assets. While churches are often considered as having nothing to do with school, intergenerational experiences fostered by religious networks positively influence academic achievement and should be considered. In an effort to confront the minority deficit myth and promote a responsive pedagogy, this literature-based position paper promotes the acknowledgment of religion’s role in the cultural makeup of many children of colour, and the recognition of the intergenerational assets within marginalized religious social networks.


2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 438-446
Author(s):  
Serena Johnson ◽  
Lissa Stapleton ◽  
Bryan Berrett

Abstract Deaf students are members of a linguistic and cultural minority whose background and experiences provide a unique backdrop for the navigation of higher education. Using the framework of Deaf community cultural wealth, this study examines the experiences of Deaf students in community college and their utilization of various forms of capital. Findings showed that they exhibited instances of resistant, navigational, social, and familial capital in accessing and persisting in higher education.


2021 ◽  
pp. 004208592110165
Author(s):  
Nancy Acevedo ◽  
Daniel G. Solorzano

Community cultural wealth (CCW) as an asset-based framework challenges the deficit notion that Communities of Color do not possess “cultural” capital. Here, we adapt CCW as a framework that can help Students of Color navigate PK-20 educational contexts, particularly when experiencing interpersonal and structured racism, such as racial microaggressions. We begin by discussing the conceptual origins and intent of CCW. Next, we provide an overview of research studies that exemplify Students and Faculty of Color accessing CCW. Finally, by framing racism as an everyday risk factor, we consider how CCW can be used as a protective factor when experiencing racism.


2018 ◽  
Vol 49 (8) ◽  
pp. 782-800 ◽  
Author(s):  
DeShawn Calvin Preston ◽  
Robert Terry Palmer

Historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are not monolithic as they differ in size, curriculum specializations, and a host of other characteristics. However, HBCUs share a mission of providing a higher education for Black students within the broader context of a discriminatory social environment. The ability to understand and articulate the fundamental characteristics, which shape Black colleges, can provide more nuanced conversations about these institutions’ contributions toward addressing equity and access for Black students in higher education. Historically, scholars have used social and cultural capital to explain the role HBCUs play in Black students’ academic careers. However, this article uses Community Cultural Wealth to discuss the various forms of capital that HBCUs impart to their students. Specifically, in this article, we argue that using such a lens when discussing HBCUs is important because it provides a more holistic and broader outlook regarding the forms of culture HBCUs provide to their students.


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