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Collegiate Cultural Capital and Integration Into the College Community

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Collegiate Cultural Capital and Integration Into the College Community COLLEGIATE CULTURAL CAPITAL AND INTEGRATION INTO THE COLLEGE COMMUNITY John Wesley White University of North Florida Amanda Pascale University of North Florida Steven Aragon Aragon Education Preventing attrition for racially minoritized, first-generation, and low SES postsecondary students continues to be a challenge despite significant ef- forts of educational researchers, college administrators, and high school teachers and counselors. Cultural capital (skills necessary to successfully navigate an environment) may help to explain and address this issue. Apply- ing cultural capital and college readiness frameworks, we attempt to better understand the challenges four racially minoritized, first-generation, low- SES students face in attempting to get a “read” (understand the workings) on college. Students were in their second semester of their first year and on academic probation. Each participated in interviews and journal writing throughout one semester. Analysis revealed that cultural capital served as a foundation for reading the college environment in four key areas required for college readiness: understanding and calculating GPAs; computer liter- acy required for completing assignments; understanding the course listing and registration process; and finding other campus resources for addressing needs. Please direct inquires about this manuscript to: John Wesley White, [email protected] College Student Affairs Journal, Volume 38(1), pp. 34 - 52 ISSN 2381-2338 Copyright 2020 Southern Association for College Student Affairs All rights of reproduction in any form reserved. 35 College Student Affairs Journal Vol. 38, No. 1, 2020 just can’t get a read on this place…You & Hayek, 2007). For myriad reasons, these know, I’m still wet behind the ears and students have had fewer opportunities to I I don’t know much man. I came from a develop collegiate academic literacy prior place where I hardly even knew that this to enrolling in college. This, in turn, means system [university culture] existed” that once in college they have a less devel- - Simon, first-generation, Native-Amer- oped foundation on which to build new col- ican first year college student legiate academic literacy. Using a cultural capital framework, the Evidence suggests that Simon’s expe- purpose of this paper is to examine how rience is not unique; rather, it represents college campus practitioners can build in- the struggle that many racially minoritized, frastructure that better supports the growth first-generation and low social economic and development of acadmic literacy and status (SES) college students face in being collegiate cultural capital. The following able to “get a read” on what is expected of research questions guided this study: (1) them in college. Many racially minoritized, What forms of academic capital do racial- first-generation, and low-SES college stu- ly minoritized, first-generation, and low- dents transitioning from high school to col- SES students bring with them to college? lege start the latter with limited and insuf- (2) How do racially minoritized, first-gen- ficient knowledge about college social and eration, and low-SES college students de- academic culture and thus how to prepare scribe their academic identity? (3) What are for their first term (Tierney, 2013; Tierney the essential components of “collegiate ac- & Colyar, 2009).While the college admis- ademic literacy”? The examples described sions vetting process virtually guarentees below support the notion that soley provid- that enrolled students—regardless of race, ing access to the academy for youth from parental educational attainment, cultural disadvantaged backgrounds is not enough, background, prior educational experiences, we must also continue to find ways to pro- or academic ability—are literate in the literal vide support systems within higher educa- sense of the word, many lack the form of tion that will allow for the growth and suc- college readiness we refer to as collegiate cess of all students. academic literacy. While college students Before we begin, however, there is a individually bring a wealth of prior experi- critical issue that we would be remiss in ig- ences and academic strengths, too many, noring: what may appear to some readers particularly those who are first-genera- to be the lens of deficit theory (a focus on tion, from racially minoritized , or low-SES what groups of students lack rather than on backgrounds, arrive on campus with an in- what unique talents they bring to school) adequate understanding of the underlying in examining a complex problem. While we structures and rules associated with the col- fully acknowledge that all students come lege community, and with the institutional to college with many strengths—strengths norms that contribute to a more complete that are too seldom welcomed or appreciat- and useful collegiate academic literacy. ed in mainstream college academic and so- Not being fully versed in academic literacy, cial cultures—we also recognize that many these students have fewer opportunities to mainstream institutions (including colleges) become what Lave and Wenger (1991) call nonetheless require specific overt and tac- “full participants” (p. 105) in the culture in it skills. Academe is a discourse communi- which they find themselves. First-genera- ty and as such it expects specific norms of tion students, in particular, often have both the participants therein (Bizzell, 1992; Lave less overt knowledge and tacit knowledge & Wanger, 1991; Swales, 2016). Our goal about what college academic and social cul- in this paper is not to critique a group as tures entail (Kuh, Kinzie, Buckley, Bridges, lacking, but rather to note a few forms of Collegiate Cultural Capital 36 collegiate cultural capital that, despite their ed with parental educational achievement: importance to collegiate success, tend to of the low SES students enrolled in college remain part of what Eliot Eisner defines as between 1992 and 2000, those who had a the null curriculum: “the options students parent or parents who completed college are not afforded, the perspectives they may graduated at a rate of 68%; that number never know about, much less be able to use, drops to 43% for first-generation students the concepts and skills that are not part of (Chen, 2005). This trend is still present their intellectual repertoire” (1985, p. 107). now, with 42% of continuing generation col- Thus, describing how and why some racially lege students graduating and only 20% of minoritized students, first-generation stu- first-generation college students graduating dents, or students from low socioeconom- (Redford & Hoyer, 2017). Further, the data ic backgrounds lack certain forms of colle- are clear, the attrition rate for college stu- giate capital is not a critique of the students dents with one or more of these socio-de- themselves, but is, in some ways, an indict- mographic characteristics continues to far ment of the rigidity of the college institu- exceed that of their more advantaged peers. tion itself, and the failure of K-12 schools There are abundant and well-documented to adequately prepare everyone for college reasons for this. success (Balduf, 2009; Charles, 2018; Gew- The most commonly cited reason—and ertz, 2017; National Center for Education- the focus of the earlier research on racial- al Statistics, 2017; Reid & Moore, 2008; ly minoritized and low-SES student attri- Sheehy, 2012). However, criticism alone, is tion—is that these students are less likely not enough to foster change. We posit that than their White peers to be academically change is most meaningful and effective prepared through their previous academic when it orginiates from within; to this end, experience for the demands of college-level only when the academy itself contains a coursework, and thus drop out due to aca- greater multiplicity of voices and views will demic failure (Falcon, 2015;Adelman, 2006; it become more appreciative of the forms of Zarate & Gallimore, 2005). Inequitable K-12 capital that diverse students bring. school funding, tracking into low ability groups, lowered teacher expectations (defi- Background cit theories), and punitive behavioral man- agement all negatively affect minoritized Racially Minoritized, First-Generation, student academic performance and prepa- Low-SES Students in Higher Education ration for college more than they do White Racially minoritized students received students (Oakes, 2005; Oakes, Rogers, & only 33% of the nearly 1.9 million bach- Lipton, 2006; Solorzano, Ledesma, Perez, elor’s degrees awarded during the 2013- Burciaga, & Ornelas, 2002). 2014 academic year despite higher enroll- There is also a relationship between ment in college, an increase from 24% of attrition and racially minoritized students’ 1.7 million bachelor’s degrees awarded in perceptions that college campuses are of- the 2007-2008 academic year (Kim, 2011, tentimes hostile places, a perception that NCES, 2017). While the majority of U.S. 9th is backed up by many examples of overt grade students expect to go to college (Aud and tacit racism and classism on campuses et al., 2010; Aud, KewalRamani, & Frohlich, (Quaye, 2007; Schmidt, 2008). Reinforcing 2011), only 33% of those high school seniors this perception are cultural incongruences in the lowest SES quartile are expected to between racially minoritized and low-SES complete a bachelor’s degree compared to college students and their peers and pro- 39% in the middle two quartiles and 35% in fessors (Marcus et al., 2003;
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