Leveraging Cultural Wealth in Comprehensive School Counseling: Supporting College Readiness and Mental Wellness

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

Abstract

Objectives or purposes
This qualitative case study investigates how school counselors operationalize cultural wealth
frameworks to simultaneously support academic excellence, college readiness, and mental
wellness among rural Latine International Baccalaureate students. Employing Irons' (2019)
conceptualization framework, the study examines how comprehensive counseling programs
transform students' cultural assets into mechanisms for navigating structural barriers while
promoting psychological well-being and postsecondary preparation.
Perspective(s) or theoretical framework
The integrated theoretical design integrates three frameworks: ASCA National Model (2025)
providing systematic counseling program structure; Yosso's (2005) Community Cultural Wealth
theory identifying six forms of capital as assets; and Multi-Tiered Systems of Support enabling
differentiated mental health interventions. This incorporation examines how cultural wealth
operates as both protective factor and developmental resource, addressing Luna and Martinez's
(2013) "dual pressure" concept through culturally sustaining practices promoting college
readiness (Conley, 2008) and well-being.
Methods, techniques, or modes of inquiry
Following Yin's (2014) single-case methodology, this investigation purposively selected five
Latine IB students from a rural southeastern high school implementing ASCA-aligned programs.
Data collection incorporated: semi-structured interviews exploring cultural wealth mobilization
and mental health support; observations of counseling sessions and family engagement events;
document analysis of culturally adapted curricula; and participant reflective journals. Analysis
employed Braun and Clarke's (2022) thematic approach with cross-case synthesis, generating
profiles mapping counseling services, cultural capital activation, and developmental outcomes.
Data sources, evidence, objects, or materials
The dataset captures culturally responsive counseling through multiple sources: 15 hours of
interview transcripts revealing students' bicultural navigation, including counselors helping
students "reframe family circumstances as sources of strength" (Roxy); observational notes
documenting cultural integration in college planning; program artifacts demonstrating systematic
responsiveness, including stress management incorporating "platicas with family" (Emmy); and
60 journal entries illuminating daily experiences transforming "bilingual skills...in scholarship
essays" into college-ready competencies.
Results and/or substantiated conclusions or warrants for arguments/point of view
Analysis yielded four interconnected themes: (1) Navigating academic pathways through cultural
resilience -- counselors helped students transform cultural experiences into college application
assets while building psychological resources; (2) Managing academic stress and mental
wellness -- interventions incorporated familistic values into evidence-based approaches; (3)
Leveraging comprehensive counseling for holistic support -- integrated programming addressed
college preparation and cultural identity as interconnected; (4) Integrating cultural wealth into
support systems -- counselors facilitated parent networks for "sharing college knowledge...and
mental health" support (Roxy), demonstrating institutional transformation.
Scientific or scholarly significance of the study or work
This investigation advances scholarship by demonstrating how counselors operationalize cultural
wealth within comprehensive support systems, transcending deficit interventions toward assetbased
practices. By documenting mechanisms through which cultural capital supports
achievement, postsecondary preparation, and well-being, the study provides evidence for
culturally sustaining approaches challenging traditional academic/mental health boundaries.
Findings illustrate how "unforgetting" community wisdom creates possibilities for reimagining
educational support, offering a replicable model where limited resources necessitate integrated
approaches serving as vehicles for individual and systemic transformation.

Authors

• Robert Richard Martinez, William & Mary

• Pamela Harris, William & Mary Law School