"You Gotta Do What You Gotta Do": Undocumented College Students’ Resourcefulness Through Corporal Votive and Relationship Banking

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Wednesday 4:20 pm Four Seasons Ballroom 2-3
  In Roundtable Session: Educational Research for and With Immigrant and Transnational Communities (Table 6)

Abstract

California is categorized as a college-accessible state for undocumented students. Yet for many students in California’s Central Valley, the area's conservative politics and their exclusion from federal educational subsidies curtail their college access. This qualitative work explores the social context of the region and correspondingly how students finance their pursuit of a higher education. Findings indicate that students were misinformed or not informed about the financial assistance available to them. Thus, in addition to working long hours, they financed their education by i) practicing corporal votive and ii) relying on relationship banking. Findings contribute theoretical frameworks that dispel notions of meritocracy in higher education, and implications educate institutional agents about funding inequities in an effort to rectify them.

Authors

• Citlalli Rendon Guzman, California State University - Fresno

• Luis Fernando Macias, California State University - Fresno