Operating from Postcolonial theory and using Honneth (1994), and Taylor (1995) conception of Multicultural recognition, Yosso's (2005) Community Cultural Wealth, and studies on Culturally Responsive Leadership, this dissertation presents three empirical studies that evidence the necessity of a global decolonization towards multicultural recognition. The first study shed light of a recognized Indigenous school that struggles for recognition and counters colonial domination. Findings demonstrated how a culturally responsive shared leadership fosters academic achievement and cultural pride. The second study provides an example of resilience and community cultural wealth in a group of repatriated students from the United States to Mexico, at the same time presents a re-conceptualization of cultural capital concept (Bourdieu, 1997), as a guide for recognition of cultural wealth within migrant communities. The final study examines how Southern Arizona principals conceptualize and enact successful leadership in border schools with shifting demographics and high percentages of colonized populations. Findings indicate that, along with Leithwood and Riehl's leadership dimensions, all four principals demonstrate a sociocultural affect as part of successful practice in Arizona border contexts.

Within the broader context of the representation of Latinas in higher education, the purpose of this study is to investigate the post-secondary aspirations of Latinas who were involved in a community-based folklórico program. In addition, this study seeks to understand how participating in folklórico programs can influence the college and career aspirations of Latinas, if at all. Finally, this study examines the skills developed by participating in folklórico programs that are transferable to education and career goals or life in general. The theoretical framework of this study was Yosso’s (2005) concept of community cultural wealth and included the expansion of community cultural wealth by Rendon, Nora, and Kanagala (2014). The method of this study was an instrumental case study using individual semi-structured interviews, a focus group, and document analysis to collect data. The findings of this study described the influence of participation in community-based folklórico programs for Latinas, and the development of transferable skills. This study informs educational leaders about the importance of developing pathways to college for folklórico participants that are equipped with the skills, qualities, and capital necessary to be successful in higher education.

This study employed narrative methods to explore how two Somali-Canadian women formed and understood their identities as first-generation university students. In conceptualizing identity, the study draws on sociological literature that frames identities as a collection of social roles that are performed. Within this framework, university student is a cultural object related to specific kinds of capital. The data are presented in narrative form, based in life history and life story approaches. Within their narratives, participants recounted the ways in which their attempts at developing a university student identity were complicated by their identities as Black, Muslim, economically marginalized individuals from refugee backgrounds. The tension at the heart of each participants’ narrative was not how to perform the university student role, but the cost of that performance on other parts of their identity. These findings reveal the narrow definition university student within the Canadian imagination and its consequence for the lives of marginalized communities.

Dominant education ideology focuses on the numerous challenges encountered by low-income Black youth in urban education settings. Although much of the research seeks to highlight structural challenges faced by these students, the general interpretation of these studies may reinforce the popular belief that academic underperformance by low-income Black students is the result of family structure and maladaptive familial behaviors. The implications of this ideology is that these family characteristics foster low achievement because students enter schools without normative skills and knowledge, in addition to adhering to beliefs that do not value education (Ogbu & Simmons, 1998). Some research argues that low-income Black students that demonstrate success in schools do so because they have adopted White middle-class normative capital (Hubbard, 1999). Yosso (2005) argues that the analysis of student narratives of success through the lens of Critical Race Theory offers a critique of deficit theorizing and shifts the perspective away from White middle-class culture to the cultural capital of minority communities. Yosso posits that low-income minority communities have cultural capital that is not widely recognized in research that she describes as community cultural wealth. This qualitative study explored if community-derived “capital” is utilized by high-achieving, low-income Black high school students in order to succeed academically in educational institutions. This inquiry privileged the narratives of high-achieving Black students from disadvantaged communities in order to understand the factors that contribute to their academic success, from their perspectives. Seven high achieving Black high school students from Philadelphia who were enrolled in a college access mentoring program were chosen for this study. Interviews and observations were conducted to allow the researcher to examine the experiences of study participants in a naturalistic setting while engaging with their life histories through narrative. Participants were selected and observed once a week at their mentor site, in addition to participating in three rounds of interviews during spring/summer 2015. Two of the seven participants were also observed in their high schools. Student-participants engaged in three rounds of interviews that focused on family background and dynamics, educational experiences, and aspirations. Additionally, one mentor for each student-participant was interviewed. This examination of community cultural wealth found that aspirational, familial, and navigational capital are vital in the academic success of the participants in this study. Linguistic capital and social capital only moderately apply to rationalizations for their high academic achievement, and resistant capital does not apply in the explication of their success. / Urban Education

In Central Texas, one high school (hereafter referred to as Literacy High) has attempted to help bridge the literacy gap in immigrant populations so as to more easily facilitate their success in standard classroom settings. In this high school, recent immigrants can focus extensively on English language studies so that, upon completion of the program, they can return to their neighborhood high schools with the linguistic and cultural capital (Bourdieu, 1973, 1974, 1977) they need to succeed in a heterogeneous group setting. The following study focuses on second-year students from Mexico within this school. Basing itself upon Yosso's (2006a, 2006b, 2007) theory of “community cultural wealth”, this ethnographic study looks for evidence of cultural attributes held by Mexican tenth grade students that contribute positively to their English literacy development and performance in Literacy High's coursework. The study has found that, primarily, Mexican students at Literacy High are assisted in their coursework by their previously developed aspirational capital (i.e. their ability to maintain their hopes and dreams for a better future even when faced with real and perceived barriers) and navigational capital (i.e. their ability to maneuver through social institutions, in this case the educational system). These characteristics enable them to pass their classes both at Literacy High and the high schools they transfer to upon program completion. However, this high achievement in terms of grades does not necessarily translate into complete English literacy, especially oral literacy. Potential reasons for these results will be discussed, based upon observations of sampled students in Literacy High classes, interviews with these students, and interviews with all Literacy High teachers. This work will also discuss the relative merit of both formal school settings and nonprofit settings in teaching written and oral literacy. Positive exemplary case studies of nonprofit ESL programs will be compared and contrasted with the results from this case study to determine what skills are most effectively taught in either setting, and how particular practices from both nonprofit and formal school settings might be better incorporated in each to improve achievement. The work will end with recommendations for how English literacy might more effectively be taught in formal school settings like Literacy High. / text

Most research on low-income, racial minority students' access to higher education has been conducted in urban communities. Little research explores these students' experiences within rural settings. Using Ríos-Aguilar, Kiyama, Gravitt and Moll's framework (2011) that bridges Yosso's (2005) "community cultural wealth" with alternative forms of capital, this case study investigated how three alumni students from a low-income, rural, border community accessed information and resources for college within their school, homes and community. Narratives, one-on-one interviews, and a survey questionnaire helped determine multiple forms of capital participants leveraged towards higher education. Participants' college pursuits and choices were influenced by information from family members, teachers and guidance counselors, community scholarships, and emotional support of family, friends, and community members. Research must continue to follow the experiences of rural, low-income, minority students access to higher education and create better opportunities and connections for them to attend college.

No description available.

Thesis advisor: Heather T. Rowan-Kenyon / Many postsecondary students in the United States exist at the intersection of multiple marginalized identities, such as race, socioeconomic status, (dis)ability, and legal status. Amidst a tumultuous sociopolitical context, a number of higher education institutions in the United States established Undocumented Student Resource Centers (USRCs), identity-centered student services that provide specialized support for students who hold marginalized legal identities (Ballerini & Feldblum, 2021; Castrellón, 2021; Cisneros & Valdivia, 2018; Cisneros et al., 2021; Gomez & Pérez Huber, 2021; Tapia-Fuselier, 2021). This study, which focuses on the professional employees at USRCs, is ultimately in service of students who are united by their marginalized legal statuses—those who are undocumented, those who are DACA recipients, and those who belong to mixed-status families. This issue is addressed through the following primary research questions: 1) What are the lived experiences of the professional employees who work at USRCs?; 1a) What personal factors inform their experiences in their role?; 2) What are the experiences of USRC professionals when they encounter systemic factors, ranging from the centered to the marginalized? While there is existing literature that recognizes the ways in which USRCs benefit their students, less is known about the experiences of the professional employees who work in USRCs (Cisneros et al., 2021; Tapia-Fuselier, 2021). This hermeneutic phenomenological (van Manen, 1990) study sought to address this gap by examining the experiences of the professional employees of USRCs. Three intersecting frameworks were used to conduct this research: Community Cultural Wealth (Yosso, 2005), Tierney's (1988) framework of Organization, and Critical Systems Thinking (Cordoba & Midgley, 2008; Jackson, 2001; Midgley, 1992; Midgley et al., 1998; Rajagopalan & Midgley, 2015; Raza, 2021; Ulrich, 1983, 1988). The sample consisted of 6 professional employees from 2- and 4-year higher education institutions across the United States. Three semi-structured interviews were conducted with each participant, and data was analyzed using the hermeneutic circle (Dibley et al., 2020; van Manen, 1990). The findings indicate that the professional employees of USRCs bring untold assets and forms of wealth to their work, including their commitment to joy and their employment of aspirational, familial, and navigational capital. Systemic factors within their organization and beyond create barriers to their work, resulting in mentally and emotionally exhausting experiences, overburdened work environments, and instances where their identities and offices are marginalized by their tumultuous sociopolitical context. Implications for higher education practice, research, and theory are offered. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2024. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Educational Leadership and Higher Education.

This thesis studies the role of community cultural wealth (CCW), an asset-based framework, and environmental education (EE) to better understand how to support Black, Asian, and Latine individuals in their interactions with nature (chapter 1) and civic engagement related to the environment (chapter 2) - two activities that have been impacted by structural racism in the US. In the introduction, we give a brief overview of how historical segregation and structural racism impacts equity in outdoor spaces, how EE may be an avenue for increased equity in these spaces, a brief overview of CCW, and existing research on drivers of participation in nature-based activities and civic engagement related to the environment. In chapter 1, we use interviews and surveys to understand how CCW, EE, and the intersection of gender and race are associated with Black, Asian, and Latine individuals' participation in nature-based activities. We found that social connections, connections with organizations, family, community, and EE can provide the necessary skills, information, and emotional support to persist in nature-based activities. Using the same interviews and surveys, chapter 2 investigates how EE and CCW are associated with Black, Asian, and Latine participation in civic engagement related to the environment. The results of this study show that a knowledge of systems of oppression and the motivation to challenge those oppressive systems are important predictors for the civic engagement related to the environment of Black, Asian, and Latine individuals. Additionally, EE, social connections, community organizations, and family provide opportunities to participate in civic engagement related to the environment and the skills and information necessary to participate. The findings from this thesis contribute valuable insights to initiatives aimed at enhancing equity in nature-based activities and civic engagement related to the environment. Such efforts can provide individuals with the benefits of interactions with nature, equip them with tools to address adverse environmental impacts in their communities, and ultimately foster broader support for the environmental movement. Additionally, this study could help public land managers reach a broader portion of their constituents and stay relevant in a rapidly diversifying US. / Master of Science / In the face of global environmental crises such as climate change and biodiversity loss, scholars are pointing to nature-based recreation and civic engagement related to the environment as potential avenues for addressing these pressing issues. Positive interaction with nature not only provides cognitive, emotional, and physiological benefits to people, but also improves pro-environmental attitudes and behaviors. Civic engagement related to the environment benefits people and the planet as well – by creating more equitable and representative societies and by providing an avenue to address environmental issues. However, both nature-based recreation and civic engagement related to the environment have historically been impacted by structural racism and by the framing of the outdoor narrative in the US as a "White space", which still disproportionately impacts people's participation today. To help address these inequities, this thesis investigates the role of community cultural wealth (CCW), an asset-based framework, and environmental education (EE) in supporting Black, Asian, and Latine individual's participation in nature-based activities and civic engagement related to the environment. Results from semi-structured interviews and a nationwide survey showed that social connections, family ties, community organizations, and previous experiences with EE significantly influenced the involvement of Black, Asian, and Latine individuals in nature-based activities. These factors, along with an understanding of structures of oppression, were also important precursors to civic engagement related to the environment in our study. Our findings suggest that creating institutional opportunities (e.g., community organizations or affinity groups) for both nature interaction and civic engagement related to the environment may be a key method of diversifying outdoor spaces. Additionally, our results suggest that increasing equity within EE is necessary to expand its benefits.

Published Article / Why do African learners continue to be underrepresented in the top 20 positions of the Grade 12 examination results, and what can be done to remedy the situation? Yosso's notion of community cultural wealth shows that it is because our education continues to exclude the African learners' ways of knowing and being that the situation remains as it is. Analysing discourses of top performing white former Grade 12 learners, their teachers, their parents and their former African classmates, indicate that including modes of knowing of all learners in the curriculum irrespective of their race, class, disability or gender may help to create more socially just schooling, which is reflective of sustainable learning environments.