A Community Cultural Wealth Examination of Sources of Support and Challenges Among Latino First- and Second-Generation College Students

• In Event: Hispanic Higher Education: What Does the Future Hold?

Abstract

Given the increases in first generation college students in colleges and universities, it is critical to examine the resources this population has access to. Community Cultural Wealth provides a framework that identifies six capitals that work simultaneously to examine resources that go unrecognized and unacknowledged by dominant society and the educational system. Using this framework, first and second generation students identify aspirational, familial, social and navigational capital as sources of support. The largest challenge students identify to their academic success is financial, in the form of employment, lack of financial aid, and lack of financial stability.Understanding the sources of support and the challenges first generation college students identify can aid in developing programming for students and increase college completion.

Authors

• Claudia Kouyoumdjian, California State University, Los Angeles

• Nichole Garcia, University of California - Los Angeles

• Bianca Guzman, California State University - Los Angeles