The Two Faces of Outreach: Using Interest Convergence to Analyze a College Outreach Program

• In Event: 18.058 - MTCC Roundtable Session Four
  In Roundtable Session: 18.058-7 - Understanding Latinx Undergraduates

Abstract

Using a Critical Race Theory lens, this qualitative case study explores the positioning of a parent outreach program by a Research 1 institution. Using Bell’s Theory of Interest Convergence, the researchers demonstrate how a college outreach program is manipulated by institutional agents. Analyzing an outreach program through the lens of interest convergence demonstrates how the Latino/a community has been positioned by the institution for their convenience. Findings demonstrate how the program director and coordinators must constantly negotiate institutional spaces that limit funds and question the value that the program brings to the university. Implications for researchers and practitioners in college access help to further our understanding of the application of interest convergence to analyze institutional behavior.

Authors

• Janette Mariscal, Iowa State University

• Judy Marquez Kiyama, University of Denver

• Eligio Martinez, Claremont Graduate University