“… you don’t come to this school... to show off your hoodies”: Latinas, Community Cultural Wealth, and an Early College High School

Authors

Leslie A. Locke, University of IowaFollow
Gerri Maxwell, Texas A&M University--KingsvileFollow
Maria Tello, South Texas CollegeFollow

Abstract

Early College High Schools (ECHS), recent school reforms in the U.S., were designed as social justice, equity-oriented interventions to increase educational opportunity for students from traditionally marginalized and underserved groups. The purpose of this qualitative inquiry was to understand and examine the perceptions and experiences of eight Latina students, regarding their motivation and persistence in an ECHS. Yosso’s Community Cultural Wealth (CCW) framed the analyses. Findings demonstrated the students relied on several forms of CCW to support their motivation and persistence. However, observations and prolonged engagement in the ECHS setting revealed deficit perspectives held by some teachers and incidents of racist mocking occurring between some teachers and students. Resultantly, the students’ CCW was undermined as well as the school’s social justice imperative. Recommendations relevant to the early college context are provided.

Keywords

Latinas, Community Cultural Wealth, Early College High Schools, Social Justice

Author Bio(s)

Leslie Ann Locke is an Assistant Professor in Educational Policy and Leadership Studies at the University of Iowa. Correspondence regarding this article can be addressed directly to: leslie-locke@uiowa.edu.

Gerri M. Maxwell is an Associate Professor in Educational Leadership and Chair of the Department of Teacher & Bilingual Education at Texas A&M University—Kingsville. Correspondence regarding this article can also be addressed directly to: gerri.maxwell@tamuk.edu.

Maria R. Tello is an Associate Professor in Developmental English at South Texas College. Correspondence regarding this article can also be addressed directly to: mtello@southtexascollege.edu.

Publication Date

9-18-2017

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.

DOI

10.46743/2160-3715/2017.2496

Recommended APA Citation

Locke, L. A., Maxwell, G., & Tello, M. (2017). “… you don’t come to this school... to show off your hoodies”: Latinas, Community Cultural Wealth, and an Early College High School. The Qualitative Report, 22(9), 2404-2427. https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2017.2496