Leveraging Their Family Capital: How Latino Males Successfully Navigate The Community College

Keywords

community college; familial capital; first generation; Latino male students; persistence

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of this study is to apply Yosso’s community cultural wealth framework to the experiences of Latino male community college students to understand how they balance family obligations, work, and academics while also navigating their educational pathways. Method: The research team conducted 23 semistructured focus groups with 130 Latino male students enrolled full- and part-time at seven distinct community colleges in Texas. Results: Findings reveal the important role family members play in the educational pathway of Latino males who relied heavily on familismo and familial capital as a source of support as they matriculated through the community college environment. Despite entering the community college with multiple sources of community cultural wealth, Latino males had a difficult time navigating their educational experiences due to their first in family, first-generation status, and their apprehension around help-seeking. Contributions: Despite the multiple roles and responsibilities Latino males hold within their family units, they do not pose limitations on their educational pathways; rather, these family relationships motivate Latino males and provide them with support that strengthens their aspirations to persist onto graduation.

Publication Date

1-1-2018

Publication Title

Community College Review

Volume

46

Issue

1

Number of Pages

40-61

Document Type

Article

Personal Identifier

scopus

DOI Link

https://doi.org/10.1177/0091552117743567

Socpus ID

85037595394 (Scopus)

Source API URL

https://api.elsevier.com/content/abstract/scopus_id/85037595394

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