Addressing College Access: The Importance of College-Going Cultures and Caring School Environments

• In Event: Examining the Impact of School Culture and Climate on Equity and Access

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to explore the extent to which a college-going culture in comprehensive urban high schools and perceptions of care predict the likelihood of student engagement in the college-going process. This article is embedded in a larger ongoing multi-year project situated around the implementation of college-going cultures in eleven secondary schools across California. The quantitative data collected for this article consists of 11,900 student surveys. We use binary logistic regression analysis to address our purpose. Preliminary findings underscore the importance of college-going cultures in addressing disparities in access to college for marginalized populations in large secondary schools in California. Such school environments represent the most plausible solution to redressing longstanding inequalities in college access.

Authors

• Robert Cooper, University of California - Los Angeles

• Jonathan C. W. Davis, University of California - Los Angeles