Cultural Resources and College Readiness: Youth Participatory Research with First-Generation Students

• In Event: Centering Cultural Wealth and Student Voice in College Readiness

Abstract

This Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR) study reconceptualizes college access as multidirectional, culturally-mediated processes by positioning first-generation college students (FGCS) as knowledge creators rather than subjects. The investigation addresses how undergraduate FGCS experience and navigate cultural collisions (choques; moments when institutional norms conflict with cultural values) while documenting experiences through counter-stories challenging deficit-based narratives. The study creates transition support through near-peer mentoring and develops culturally responsive activities building upon community cultural wealth to enhance college readiness (CR).
This investigation employs a framework synthesizing Community Cultural Wealth (CCW) and cultural collision theory within YPAR methodology. CCW (Yosso, 2005) recognizes six forms of capital (e.g., aspirational, linguistic) that communities of color possess for navigating educational institutions. Cultural collision theory (Anzaldúa, 1999; Delgado Bernal, 2014) examines "entre mundos" (between worlds) experiences where FGCS navigate institutional expectations while maintaining cultural identities. YPAR functions as methodology and theoretical perspective, recognizing that systematically excluded individuals carry deep knowledge about systemic injustice (Cammarota & Fine, 2008). Polyvagal theory provides physiological frameworks for understanding stress regulation's impact on transitions.
Methods, Techniques, or Modes of Inquiry
The study employs a four-phase YPAR design shifting leadership from faculty to undergraduate to high school researchers. Phase 1 involves six undergraduate FGCS researchers leading investigation of cultural collisions and resource utilization among 52 college FGCS and six academic support staff. Phase 2 focuses on counter-story development challenging dominant narratives. Phase 3 engages 40 high school FGCS as co-researchers through near-peer mentoring and participatory analysis training. Phase 4 facilitates creation of culturally responsive college readiness activities. The methodology integrates quantitative assessments, physiological monitoring via Heart Rate Variability (HRV), qualitative interviews, and participatory analysis sessions.
Data Sources, Evidence, Objects, or Materials
Data sources include quantitative instruments measuring school engagement, physiological regulation, cultural capital utilization, microaggressions/microaffirmations, and psychological well-being. HRV data from wearable devices and Ecological Momentary Assessment capture real-time experiences during academic stress periods. Qualitative sources encompass peer-conducted interviews with college FGCS, focus groups with high school participants, researcher reflection journals, observation notes of support staff interactions, and collaboratively developed counter-stories integrating quantitative findings with narrative themes.
Results and/or Substantiated Conclusions
Anticipated findings include significant relationships between cultural resource utilization and psychological well-being, with students demonstrating higher CCW recognition showing improved engagement and physiological regulation. Expected qualitative themes include navigating between worlds, cultural resistance, and family wisdom. The YPAR process is expected to yield increased research self-efficacy among undergraduate researchers and counter-stories addressing academic language barriers, imposter syndrome, and cultural identity negotiation.
Scientific or Scholarly Significance
This research advances CR scholarship by documenting transition as an ongoing processes rather than discrete events, while demonstrating how FGCS expertise informs institutional understanding of access barriers. Methodological innovations include positioning undergraduates as primary researchers, integrating physiological measures with cultural assessments, and developing quantitative-enhanced counter-storytelling approaches. The work provides empirical evidence for institutional accommodation of diverse student trajectories rather than conformity expectations, offering replicable frameworks for peer-led inquiry and culturally responsive transition support emerging from student communities.

Authors

• Robert Richard Martinez, William & Mary

• Katherine Barko-Alva, College of William & Mary