Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Coloring the College Pathway: A More Culturally Responsive Approach to College Readiness and Access for Students of Color in Secondary Schools

  • Published:
The Urban Review Aims and scope Submit manuscript

An Erratum to this article was published on 29 May 2014

Abstract

Considering the current structural challenges that exist for students of color (SOC) in accessing a higher education, an epistemology is needed that better represents the complex process SOC endure in this pursuit. College access literature either proposes stages (Hossler and Gallagher in Coll Univ 62(3):207–221, 1987), contextual layers (Perna in Higher education: handbook of theory and research. Springer, Amsterdam, 2006) or a pipeline approach (Horn in Confronting the odds: students at risk and the pipeline to higher education. National Center for Education Statistics, Washington, D.C., 1997; Cabrera and LaNasa in Understanding the colleges choice of disadvantaged. Jossey-Bass Inc, San Francisco, 2000a) that do not consider the additional resources and skills SOC must possess in navigating their educational pathways. This paper presents findings from two larger studies to propose an approach that colors outside the standard college access and readiness frameworks and uses a more culturally responsive approach to consider the complex and auspicious ways in which SOC navigate their college pathways. Culturally responsive recommendations for increasing college readiness and access for SOC in secondary schools will be provided based on the perspectives of SOC themselves.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. Texas has a Top Ten Percent Plan, H.B. 588, which grants all students in the top 10 % of their high school graduating class automatic mission to public universities (Tienda et al. 2003).

References

  • Arredondo, P., Toporek, M. S., Brown, S., Jones, J., Locke, D. C., Sanchez, J., et al. (1996). Operationalization of the multicultural counseling competencies. Journal of Multicultural Counseling & Development, 24(1), 42–78.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Balfanz, R., & Legters, N. (2004). Locating the dropout crisis. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Center for Social Organization of Schools.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bourdieu, P. (1977). Cultural reproduction and social reproduction. In J. Karabel & A. H. Halsey (Eds.), Power and ideology in education (pp. 487–511). New York: Oxford University.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cabrera, A. F., & LaNasa, S. M. (2000a). Three critical task America’s disadvantage face on their path to college. In A. F. Cabrera & S. M. LaNasa (Eds.), Understanding the colleges choice of disadvantaged (Vol. 107). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cabrera, A. F., & LaNasa, S. M. (2000b). Overcoming the task on the path to college for America’s disadvantaged. New Directions for Institutional Research, 2000(107), 31–43.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Castro, E. L. (2013). Racialized readiness for college and career: Toward an equity grounded social science of intervention programming. Community College Review (in press).

  • Ceja, M. (2001). Applying, choosing, and enrolling in higher education: Understanding the college choice process of first-generation Chicana students. Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation, University of California, Los Angeles.

  • Choy, S. P., Horn, L. J., Nunez, A., & Chen, X. (2000). Transition to college: What helps at-risk students and students whose parents did not attend college? In A. F. Cabrera, R. Zemsky, S. M. LA Nasa, M. Steven (Eds.) Understanding the college choice of disadvantaged students. New Directions for Institutional Research (Vol. 107). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

  • Coleman, J. S. (1988). Social capital in the creation of human capital. American Journal of Sociology (Supplement: Organizations and institutions: Sociological and Economic Approaches to the Analysis of Social Structure) (94), S95–S120.

  • Conley, D. T. (2007a). Redefining college readiness (Vol. 3). Eugene, OR: Educational Policy Improvement Center.

    Google Scholar 

  • Conley, D. T. (2007b). The Challenge of college readiness. Educational Leadership, 64(7), 23–29.

    Google Scholar 

  • Conley, D. T. (2008). Rethinking college readiness. New Directions for Higher Education, 144, 3–13.

    Google Scholar 

  • Conley, D. T. (2010). College and career ready: Helping all students succeed beyond high school. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Cooper, C. R. (2002). Five bridges along students’ pathways to college: A developmental blueprint of families, teachers, counselors, mentors, and peers in the Puente Project. Educational Policy, 16(4), 607–622.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cooper, R., & Liou, D. D. (2007). The structure and culture of information pathways: Rethinking opportunity to learn in urban high schools during the ninth grade transition. The High School Journal, 91(1), 43–56.

    Google Scholar 

  • Delgado Bernal, D. (2001). Learning and living pedagogies of the home: The mestizo consciousness of Chicana students. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 14(5), 623–639.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Delgado Bernal, D. (2002). Critical race theory, Latino critical theory, and critical raced-gendered epistemologies: Recognizing students of color as holders and creators of knowledge. Qualitative Inquiry, 8(1), 105–125.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dillon, D. R., O’Brien, D. G., Moje, E. B., & Stewart, R. A. (2006). Literacy learning in secondary school science classrooms: A cross-case analysis of three qualitative studies. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 31(4), 345–362.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dumais, S. A., & Ward, A. (2010). Cultural capital and first-generation college success. Poetics, 38, 245–265.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Farmer-Hinton, R. L., & Adams, T. L. (2006). Social capital and college preparation: Exploring the role of counselors in a college prep school for Black students. The Negro Educational Review, 57(1–2), 101–116.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fránquiz, M., & Salazar, M. (2004). The transformative potential of humanizing pedagogy: Addressing the diverse needs of Chicano/Mexicano students. The High School Journal, 87(4), 36–53.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Freeman, K. (1997). Increasing African Americans’ participation in higher education: African American high school students’ perspectives. Journal of Higher Education, 68(5), 523–550.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fruchter, N. M., Hester, M., Mokhtar, C., & Shahn, Z. (2012). Is demography still destiny? Neighborhood demographics and public high school students’ readiness for college in New York City. Providence, RI: Annenberg Institute for School Reform.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gay, G. (2000). Culturally responsive teaching: Theory, research, & practice. New York: Teachers College Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gonzales, K. P., Stoner, C., & Jovel, J. E. (2003). Examining the role of social capital in access to college for Latinas: Toward a college opportunity framework. Journal of Hispanic Higher Education, 2(1), 146–170.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • González, N., & Moll, L. C. (2002). Cruzando el puente: Harnessing funds of knowledge in the Puente project. Journal of Educational Policy, 16(4), 623–641.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Griffin, K. A., & Reddick, R. J. (2011). Surveillance and sacrifice: Gender differences in the mentoring patterns of Black professors at predominantly White research universities. American Educational Research Journal, 48(5), 1032–1057.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hooker, S., & Brand, B. (2010). College knowledge: A critical component of college readiness. New Directions for Youth Development, 127, 75–85.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Horn, L. (1997) Confronting the odds: Students at risk and the pipeline to higher education. Washington, D.C.: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, U.S. Government Printing Office, 1997. (NCES 98094).

  • Horvat, E. M., & Lewis, K. S. (2003). Reassessing the “Burden of ‘acting White’”: The importance of peer groups in managing academic success. Sociology of Education, 76, 265–280.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hossler, D., Braxton, J., & Coopersmith, G. (1989). Understanding student college choice. In J. C. Smart (Ed.), Higher education: Handbook of theory and research (Vol. 5, pp. 231–288). New York: Agathon.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hossler, D., & Gallagher, K. S. (1987). Studying student college choice: A three phase model and the implications for policymakers. College and University, 62(3), 207–221.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hossler, D., Schmit, J., & Vesper, N. (1999). Going to college: How social, economic, and educational factors influence the decisions students make. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Irizarry, I., & Donaldson, M. L. (2012). Teach for America: The Latinization of U.S. schools and the critical shortage of Latina/o teachers. American Educational Research Journal, 49(1), 155–194.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jackson, G. (1982). Public efficiency and private choice in higher education. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 4(2), 237–247.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jerald, C. D., Haycock, K., & Wilkins, A. (2009). Fighting for quality and equality, too. How state policymakers can ensure the drive to improve teacher quality doesn’t just trickle down to poor and minority children. Washington, D.C.: Education Trust.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kao, G. (2004). Social capital and its relevance to minority and immigrant populations. Sociology of Education, 77, 172–183.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kelly, S., & Price, H. (2011). The correlates of tracking policy: Opportunity hoarding, status competition, or a technical-functional explanation? American Educational Research Journal, 48(3), 560–585.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kimura-Walsh, E., Yamamura, E., Griffin, K. A., & Allen, W. R. (2009). Achieving the college dream? Examining disparities in access to college information among high achieving and non-high achieving Latina students. Journal of Hispanic Higher Education, 8(3), 298–315.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Knight-Diop, M. G. (2010). Closing the gap: Enacting care and facilitating Black students’ educational access in the creation of a college-going culture. Journal of Education for Students Placed At-Risk, 15, 158–172.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ladson-Billings, G. (2006). From the achievement gap to the education debt: Understanding achievement in U.S. schools. Educational Researcher, 35(7), 3–12.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lareau, A., & Horvat, E. M. (1999). Moments of social inclusion and exclusion race, class, and cultural capital in family-school relationships. Sociology of Education, 72(1), 37–53.

    Google Scholar 

  • Levine, A., & Nidiffer, J. (1996). Beating the odds: How the poor get to college. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lin, N. (2001). Social capital: A theory of social structure and action. Cambridge, NY: Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Lincoln, Y. S., & Guba, E. G. (1985). Naturalistic inquiry. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  • Linnehan, F., Weer, C. H., & Stonley, P. (2006). High school guidance counselors: Facilitators or preemptors of social stratification in education. Paper presented at the Academy of Management Conference, Atlanta, GA.

  • Liou, D. D., Antrop-González, R., & Cooper, R. (2009). Unveiling the promise of community cultural wealth to sustaining Latina/o students’ college-going information networks. Educational Studies, 45, 534–555.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lombardi, A., Seburn, M., & Conley, D. (2011). Developmental and initial validation of a measure of academic behaviors associated with college and career readiness. Journal of Career Assessment, 19(4), 375–391.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Martinez, M. A. (2010). Traversing literal and figurative borders in South Texas: Mexican Americans and college choice. Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation, The University of Texas at Austin.

  • Martinez, S., & Cervera, Y. L. (2012). Fulfilling educational aspirations: Latino students’ college information seeking patterns. Journal of Hispanic Higher Education, 11(4), 388–402.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Martinez, M. A., & Welton, A. D. (2012). Examining college opportunity structures for students of color at high “Minority,” high poverty secondary schools in Texas. Journal of School Leadership (in press).

  • Mayer, A. P., & Tucker, S. K. (2010). Cultivating students of color: Strategies for ensuring high academic achievement in middle and secondary schools. Journal of School Leadership, 20, 470–490.

    Google Scholar 

  • McDonough, P. M. (1997). Choosing college: How social class and school structure opportunity. Albany: State University of New York Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • McDonough, P. (2005). Counseling and college counseling in America’s high schools. A report commissioned by the National Association for College Admission Counseling. Retrieved April 1, 2010 from http://www.nacacnet.org/PublicationsResources/Research/Documents/WhitePaper_McDonough.pdf.

  • Millitello, M., Schweid, J., & Carey, J. (2011). ¡Sí se puede en colaboración! Increasing college placement rates of low-income students. Teachers College Record, 113(7), 1435–1479.

    Google Scholar 

  • Milner, H. R. (2007). Race, culture, and researcher positionality: Working through dangers seen, unseen, and unforeseen. Educational Researcher, 36(7), 388–400.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Muñoz, S. M., & Maldonado, M. M. (2012). Counterstories of college persistence by undocumented Mexicana students: navigating race, class, gender, and legal status. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 25(3), 293–315.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Museus, S. D. (2011). An introductory mixed-methods intersectionality analysis of college access and equity: an examination of first-generation Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. New Directions of Institutional Research, 151, 63–75.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • NCES. (2006). Student effort and educational progress transition to college, Table 24.1, Retrieved February 2009 from http://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/2008/section3/table.asp?tableID=902.

  • Nichols, J. D., & White, J. (2001). Impact of peer networks on achievement of high school algebra students. Journal of Educational Research, 94(5), 267–273.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Noguera, P. A. (2003). The trouble with Black boys: The role and influence of environmental and cultural factors on the academic performance of African American males. Urban Education, 38, 431–459.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oakes, J. (1982). The reproduction of inequity: The content of secondary school tracking. The Urban Review, 14(2), 107–120.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Orfield, G., & Lee, C. (2006). Racial transformation and the changing nature of segregation. Cambridge, MA: The Civil Rights Project, Harvard University.

    Google Scholar 

  • Perez, P. (2007). Social capital and chain migration: The college choice process of Chicana and Chicano community college, transfer and university students. Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation, University of California, Los Angeles.

  • Perna, L. W. (2006). Studying college access and choice: A proposed conceptual model. In J. C. Smart (Ed.), Higher education: Handbook of theory and research (Vol. 21, pp. 99–157). Amsterdam: Springer.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Peske, H. G., & Haycock, K. (2006). Teaching inequality: How poor and minority students are shortchanged on teacher quality. Washington, D.C.: The Education Trust.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pike, G. R., & Kuh, G. D. (2005). First- and second-generation college students: A comparison of their engagement and intellectual development. Journal of Higher Education, 76(3), 276–300.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Putnam, R. D. (1993). The prosperous community: Social capital and economic growth. Current, 356(6), 4.

    Google Scholar 

  • Putnam, R. D. (1995). Bowling alone: America’s declining social capital. Journal of Democracy, 6(1), 65–78.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reddick, R., Welton, A., Alsandor, D., Platt, S., & Denyszyn, J. (2011). Stories of success: Pathways to higher education for graduates from high minority, high poverty public schools. Journal of Advanced Academics, 22(4), 594–618.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reid, M. J., & Moore, J. L., III. (2008). College readiness and academic preparation for postsecondary education: Oral histories of first-generation urban college students. Urban Education, 43(2), 240–261.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rios-Aguilar, C., & Kiyama, J. M. (2012). Funds of knowledge: An approach to studying Latina(o) students’ transition to college. Journal of Latinos and Education, 11(1), 2–16.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Roderick, M., Nagaoka, J., & Coca, V. (2009). College readiness for all: The challenge for urban high schools. The Future of Children, 19(1), 185–210.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rosenbloom, S. R., & Way, N. (2004). Experiences of discrimination among African American, Asian American, and Latino adolescents in an urban high school. Youth & Society, 35(4), 420–451.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Scheurich, J., & Young, M. (1997). Coloring epistemologies. Are our research epistemologies racially biased? Educational Researcher, 26(4), 4–16.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schneider, B. (2007). Forming a college-going community in U.S. public high schools. Seattle, WA: Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Somers, P., Cofer, J., & VanderPutten, J. (2002). The early bird goes to college: The link between early college aspirations and postsecondary matriculation. Journal of College Students Development, 43(1), 93–107.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stanton-Salazar, R. D. (1997). A social capital framework for understanding the socialization of racial minority children and youths. Harvard Educational Review, 67(1), 1–40.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stanton-Salazar, R. D. (2001). Manufacturing hope and despair: The school and kin support networks of U.S. Mexican youth. New York: Teachers College Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stanton-Salazar, R. D., & Spina, S. U. (2000). The network orientations of highly resilient urban minority youth. The Urban Review: Issues and Ideas in Public Education, 32(3), 222–262.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Steele, C. (1997). A threat in the air: How stereotypes shape intellectual identity and performance. American Psychologist, 52(6), 613–629.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stewart, E. B., Stewart, E. A., & Simons, R. L. (2007). The effect of neighborhood context on the college aspirations of African American adolescents. American Educational Research Journal, 44(4), 896–919.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stinson, D. W. (2008). Negotiating sociocultural discourses: The counter-storytelling of academically (and mathematically) successful African American male students. American Educational Research Journal, 45(4), 975–1010.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Strauss, A., & Corbin, J. (1990). Basics of qualitative research: Grounded theory procedures and techniques. Newbury, Park, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  • Swail, W. S., Redd, K. E., & Perna, L. (2003). Retaining minority students in higher education: A framework for success: ASHE-ERIC Higher Education Report, 30(2). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  • Teranishi, R. T. (2002). Asian Pacific Americans and critical race theory: An examination of school racial climate. Equity & Excellence in Education, 32(2), 144–154.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Texas Education Agency. (2011). 2010-11 Academic Excellence Indicator System. Retrieved January 14, 2012 from http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/perfreport/aeis/2011/district.srch.html.

  • Tienda, M., Leicht, K., Sullivan, T., Maltese, M., & Lloyd, K. (2003). Closing the gap?: Admissions and enrollments at the Texas public flagships before and after affirmative action. Princeton, NJ: Texas Top 10% Project.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tillman, L. C. (2002). Culturally sensitive research approaches: An African-American perspective. Educational Researcher, 31(9), 3–12.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tobolowsky, B. F., Outcalt, C. L., & McDonough, P. (2005). The role of HBCUs in the college choice process of African Americans in California. The Journal of Negro Education, 74(1), 63–75.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tornatzky, L. G., Cutler, R., & Lee, J. (2002). College knowledge: What Latino parents need to know and why they don’t know it. Claremont, CA: The Tomás Rivera Policy Institute.

  • Tyson, K. (2011). Integration interrupted: Tracking, Black students, and acting White after Brown. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, Inc.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • U.S. Census. (2012). School enrollment in the United States: 2011. Retrieved September 9, 2012 from http://www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/archives/education/cb12-tps57.html.

  • Valadez, J. R. (2008). Shaping the educational decisions of Mexican immigrant high school students. American Educational Research Journal, 45(4), 834–860.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Valencia, R. R. (1997). The evolution of deficit thinking: Educational thought and practice. Bristol, PA: Falmer Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Valencia, R. R. (2010). Dismantling contemporary deficit thinking: Educational thought and practice. New York, NY: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Valenzuela, A. (1999). Subtractive schooling: U.S. Mexican youth and the politics of caring. New York: State University of New York Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vela-Gude, L., Cavazos, J., Jr, Johnson, M. S., Fielding, C., Cavazos, A. G., Campos, L., et al. (2009). “My counselors were never there”: Perceptions from Latino college students. Professional School Counseling, 12(4), 272–279.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Venezia, A., & Kirst, M. W. (2005). Inequitable opportunities: How current education systems and policies undermine the chances for student persistence and success in college. Educational Policy, 19(2), 283–307.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Venezia, A., Kirst, M. W., & Antonio, A. L. (2003). Betraying the college dream: How disconnected K-12 and postsecondary education systems undermine student aspirations. Stanford, CA: The Stanford Institute for Higher Education Research.

    Google Scholar 

  • Walpole, M. (2007). Social class effects and multiple identities. Economically and Educationally Challenged Students in Higher Education: Access to Outcomes. ASHE Higher Education Report, 33(3), 59–68.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yonezawa, S., Wells, A. S., & Serna, I. (2002). Choosing tracks: “Freedom of choice” in detracking schools. American Educational Research Journal, 39(1), 37–67.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yosso, T. J. (2005). Whose culture has capital? A critical race theory discussion of community cultural wealth. Race, Ethnicity and Education, 8(1), 69–91.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yosso, T. J. (2006). Critical race counterstories along the Chicana/o educational pipeline. New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zirkel, S. (2004). What will you think of me? Racial integration, peer relationships, and achievement among white students and students of color. Journal of Social Issues, 60(1), 57–74.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zuckerbrod, N. (2007). Dropout factories: Take a closer look at failing schools across the country. Retrieved June, 2008 from http://hosted.ap.org/specials/interactives/wdc/dropout/index.html?SITE=AP.

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Education, Policy, Organization and Leadership, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1310 S. 6th St. MC 708, Champaign, IL, 61820, USA

    Anjalé D. Welton

  2. Education and Community Leadership, Texas State University-San Marcos, 601 University Drive, ASB South 322, San Marcos, TX, 78666, USA

    Melissa A. Martinez

Authors
  1. Anjalé D. Welton
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Melissa A. Martinez
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Anjalé D. Welton.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Welton, A.D., Martinez, M.A. Coloring the College Pathway: A More Culturally Responsive Approach to College Readiness and Access for Students of Color in Secondary Schools. Urban Rev 46, 197–223 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11256-013-0252-7

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11256-013-0252-7

Keywords

Search

Navigation