Unapologetically Belong: Fostering Critical Consciousness of AAPI Community College Students through Capstone Projects

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Sunday 1:45 pm
  In Roundtable Session: Access and Success in Higher Education: Advising, Belonging, and Participation

Abstract

Experiences and perceptions of Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) college students are underrepresented in scholarly works. Grounded in critical asset-based theories, this qualitative study examined the effects of a capstone project assignment on the critical consciousness of 17 AAPI community college students. Results showed that the students harnessed the power of their community cultural wealth to reject dominant narratives and stereotypes, to root themselves in their community’s and family’s history and intergenerational wisdom, and to issue calls to action against social injustices. This study served as an important counter-narrative to the stereotype of political apathy among AAPI students and demonstrated the importance of culturally nurturing curriculum to support AAPI community college students to feel like they “unapologetically belong.”

Author

• Katlin Choi, San Diego Mesa College