Reframing School Climate: Critical Race Analysis of College-Going Culture in an Urban Underresourced High School

• In Event: Successfully Transitioning to College: Providing Support for Underserved Students

Abstract

This qualitative case study reveals how high school educators fostered a college-going culture, despite having limited resources for a student population that was largely Latina/o, the first to attend college, and low-income. Data entailed multiple oral history interviews with 57 students, semi-structured interviews with 17 educators, and observations of college-going events. Findings depicted how educators develop a college-going culture within a school-wide culture of change, instability, and marginalization. The larger school culture was composed of four intersecting climates: high aspirations, college-going, low expectations, and surveillance and control. This paper counters the traditional college-going culture rhetoric and establishes the need to account for organizational factors when attempting to increase college access in under-resourced high schools, as well as, contextualize college-going efforts.

Author

• Nancy Acevedo-Gil, California State University - San Bernardino