College-Bound Figured Worlds: Intentional Spaces for Expanding Access

• In Event: Historically Marginalized Racial and Ethnic Groups' Experiences in College Access and Enrollment

Abstract

This study sought to explore the unique ways near-peer mentors in three different large public high schools created and sustained physical and figurative spaces to support historically marginalized students imagine, create, and enact college-bound identities. Through a multiple case-study examination of school contexts and student/mentor interactions, results indicated the social context at each school played an important role in the way near-peer mentors interacted with students to both support those already positioned as college-bound as well as welcome students exploring or attempting to construct a college-bound identity.

Author

• Meredith R. Naughton, Colorado State University