Research as Critical Resistance: A College Readiness Program Alternative for First-Generation Students of Color

• In Event: Marriott Roundtable Session 20
  In Roundtable Session: Critical Perspectives in Higher Education

Abstract

Typical college readiness programs are geared toward supporting historically underrepresented students, working to support them in navigating a complex system through rigorous academic preparation and standardization. This practitioner-research and YPAR informed case study illuminates the affordances in allowing a college access program curriculum to make space for the perspectives, identities, knowledge, and youth-led research of students through the support of critical literacy and participatory methodologies. This study stemmed from a community need around a college access alternative. 27 high school students from diverse backgrounds met on a college campus for seven weeks to navigate the complexity of college admissions while also being afforded the opportunity to conduct collaborative research around issues of equity, social justice, and access pertaining to college.

Author

• Chloe Kannan, University of Pennsylvania