"They Make You Feel Inferior": The Experiences of Black and Latino/a/e Former Community College Students

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Thursday 8:00 am Four Seasons Ballroom 4
  In Roundtable Session: Navigating Institutional Structures and Transfer Pathways (Table 2)

Abstract

Since Black and Latino/a/e students attend community college at higher rates, it is important to examine how community colleges reproduce inequities throughout their educational journeys. This study collected 14 interviews with Black and Latino/a/e former students who left community college to explore the structural and procedural challenges that cool-out these students. This study implemented institutional precarity (Hart, 2019) and procedural cooling-out (Anderson, 2015) to examine the unique experiences of Black and Latino/a/e students through a racialized lens. Findings revealed that Black and Latino/a/e former students experienced challenges upheld by placement policies, funding formulas, and resource allocations. For this reason, this study demonstrates that community colleges uphold a racialized structure that contributes to the attrition rates of Black and Latino/a/e students.

Author

• Liza Chavac, Santa Ana College