Over the Ivy Wall: Latino Male Achievers Nurturing Community Cultural Wealth at a Highly Selective Predominantly White Institution

• In Event: Employing a Community Cultural Wealth Framework to Analyze the Complexities of Latina/o Educational Attainment

Abstract

In recent years, the educational crisis facing Latino males has garnered the attention of numerous stakeholders within higher education (The College Board, 2010). Researchers’ preoccupation with factors that contribute to the underrepresentation of Latino males at postsecondary institutions presents limited solutions to address this emergent education crisis (Sáenz & Ponjuan, 2009). This paper seeks to address this issue by focusing on Latino males who excel academically at a highly selective, predominantly White research university.

Within the last two decades, researchers have devoted increased attention to the experiences of Latina/o achievers at postsecondary institutions. The extant literature published on Latina/o achievers reveals that these students possess aspirational capital (Gándara, 1982, 1994, 1995; Gándara & Osugi, 1994; Rivas-Drake & Mooney, 2008), familial capital (Ceballo, 2004; Gándara, 1995; Zalaquett, 2006); and social capital (Hurtado & Carter, 1997; Hurtado et al., 1996; Lopez, 2005). Community Cultural Wealth advances discourse regarding the experiences of Latina/o achievers by drawing attention to additional forms of capital (i.e., Linguistic Capital, Navigational Capital, and Resistant Capital) that facilitate positive educational outcomes among Latino male college students.

This paper presents findings from a larger phenomenological investigation on Latino males attending Private University, a highly selective, predominantly White research university. Nominations led to the identification of eleven Latino male achievers who met the following criteria: 1) Born and/or raised prior to the age of five in the U.S., 2) Traditional age college students, 3) Enrolled full-time, 4) Entered as freshmen, 5) Junior or senior class-standing, and 6) Maintained a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or higher during the time of the study. Latino males were invited to participate in a three-hour semi-structured interview, complete a demographic profile form, and submit an electronic-copy of their transcript as verification of their cumulative grade point average.

This paper extends research on Latina/o achievers by addressing the following question: How does community cultural wealth translate to the academic achievement patterns of Latino male collegians at a highly selective, predominantly White research university? Data confirm that participants make use of various forms of capital to facilitate their academic achievement; however, Latino achievers also nurtured cultural wealth in others. This was reflected in their engagement in co-curricular activities, involvement in the community, and conceptualizations of achievement. Accordingly, the findings of this study advance discourse regarding Community Cultural Wealth by attending to the manner in which individuals nurture various forms of capital. Implications for research and practice are presented in this paper with an emphasis placed on supporting Latina/o students’ academic achievement.

Author

• David Perez II, The Pennsylvania State University