Negotiated Access to College: Micropolitics and College-Going Cultures

• In Event: 45.092 - MTCC Roundtable Session 17
  In Roundtable Session: 45.092-9 - Politics of Postsecondary Education and Education Funding

Abstract

In this study, the authors investigate how school actors negotiate expectations about college access and preparation in order to create and sustain college-going cultures that improve college matriculation pathways for all students. Using a fully mixed concurrent equal status multisite embedded case study design, the authors employed survey data from school actors at two sites in California, as well as focus group interviews, semi structured individual interviews, document analysis, and observations. Data were collected throughout AY 2017-2018. The authors found that school actors articulate expectations about college through key curricular assignments all students complete. This enables school actors to negotiate expectations more effectively and implement policies and practices that facilitate the creation and permanence of a college-going culture.

Authors

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

• Robert Cooper, University of California - Los Angeles

• Brande Otis, University of California - Los Angeles