This qualitative study examined the perspectives of Black and Latino high school and undergraduate students involved in an aspirational peer mentoring program for college access. Our findings identified five central themes that contributed to the development of social capital for participants: program expectations and experiences, sustaining relationships, near-peer network support, connecting through symbiotic roles, and keeping the legacy going. Findings contribute to an understanding of the relationship among factors that facilitate social network development.
AhnJ. (2010). The role of social network locations in the college access mentoring of urban youth. Education and Urban Society, 42, 839–859.
2.
AshtianiM.FelicianoC. (2018). Access and mobilization: How social capital relates to low-income youth’s postsecondary educational (PSE) attainment. Youth & Society, 50, 439–461.
3.
BourdieuP. (1986). The forms of capital. In RichardsonJ. (Ed.), Handbook of theory and research for the sociology of education (pp. 241–258). Greenwood.
4.
BourdieuP.WacquantL. (1992). An invitation to reflexive sociology. University of Chicago Press.
5.
CharmazK. (2006). Constructing grounded theory: A practical guide through qualitative analysis. SAGE.
6.
ColemanJ. S. (1988). Social capital in the creation of human capital. American Journal of Sociology, 94, S95–S120.
7.
CoxA. B. (2017). Cohorts, “siblings,” and mentors: Organizational structures and the creation of social capital. Sociology of Education, 90, 47–63.
8.
DuBoisD. L.HollowayB. E.ValentineJ. C.CooperH. (2002). Effectiveness of mentoring programs for youth: A meta-analytic review. American Journal of Community Psychology, 30, 157–197. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1014628810714
9.
ElliottD. C.BrennemanM. W.CarneyL.RobbinsS. (2018). Social networks and minority male college access: The “tip of the iceberg” phenomena. Urban Education, 53, 1210–1237. https://doi.org/10.1177/0042085915613551
10.
GboloS.Grier-ReedT. L. (2019). An African American student networking group in an urban high school: Experiences and outcomes. Urban Education, 54, 1210–1232. https://doi.org/10.1177/0042085916641170
11.
Gibbs GreyT. (2018). Reppin’ and risin’ above: Exploring communities of possibility that affirm the college-going aspirations of Black youth. Urban Education, 53, 1–30. https://doi.org/10.1177/0042085918804020
12.
GonzalezT. E.Hernandez-SacaD. I.ArtilesA. J. (2017). In search of voice: Theory and methods in K-12 student voice research in the US, 1990–2010. Educational Review, 69, 451–473. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131911.2016.1231661
13.
HigginsM. C.KramK. E. (2001). Reconceptualizing mentoring at work: A developmental network perspective. Academy of Management Review, 26(2), 264–288.
14.
HillL.BregmanA.AndradeF. (2014). Social capital for college: Network composition and access to selective institutions among urban high school students. Urban Education, 49, 1–30. https://doi.org/10.1177/0042085913514590
15.
JeynesW. (2016). A meta-analysis: The relationship between parental involvement and African American school outcomes. Journal of Black Studies, 47, 195–216.
16.
KarcherM. J. (2006). The effects of developmental mentoring and high school mentors’ attendance on their younger mentees’ self-esteem, social skills, and connectedness. Psychology in the Schools, 42, 65–77.
17.
Ladson-BillingsG. (2007). Pushing past the achievement gap: An essay on the language of deficit. The Journal of Negro Education, 76(3), 316–323.
18.
LavalleyM. (2018). Out of the loop: Rural schools are largely left out of research and policy discussions, exacerbating poverty, inequity, and isolation. Center for Public Education.
19.
LoganJ. R.Burdick-WillJ. (2017). School segregation and disparities in urban, suburban, and rural areas. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 674, 199–216.
20.
Mac IverM. A.SheldonS.NaegerS.ClarkE. (2017). Mentoring students back on-track to graduation: Program results from five communities. Education and Urban Society, 49, 643–675. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013124516645164
21.
MartinJ. E.Williams-DiehmK. (2013). Student engagement and leadership of the transition planning process. Career Development and Transition for Exceptional Individuals, 36, 43–50. https://doi.org/10.1177/2165143413476545
22.
MenahemG.DoronG.Itzhak HaimD. (2011). Bonding and bridging associational social capital and the financial performance of local authorities in Israel. Public Management Review, 13, 659–681. https://doi.org/10.1080/14719037.2010.532962
23.
Musu-GilletteL.de BreyC.McFarlandJ.HussarW.SonnenbergW.Wilkinson-FlickerS. (2017). Status and trends in the education of racial and ethnic groups 2017 (NCES 2017-051). U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved May 10, 2019, from http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch
24.
National Center for Education Statistics. (2020a). The condition of education 2020 (NCES 2020-144). U.S. Department of Education: Institute of Education Sciences.
25.
National Center for Education Statistics. (2020b). Revenues and expenditures for public elementary and secondary school districts: FY 17 (NCES 2020-303). U.S. Department of Education: Institute of Education Sciences. https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2020/2020303.pdf
26.
NesmithA.ChristophersenK. (2014). Smoothing the transition to adulthood: Creating ongoing supportive relationships among foster youth. Children and Youth Services Review, 37, 1–8.
27.
OrfieldG.LeeC. (2006). Racial transformation and the changing nature of segregation. The Civil Rights Project at Harvard University.
28.
PerezB. F.RomoH. D. (2011). “Couch surfing” of Latino foster care alumni: Reliance on peers as social capital. Journal of Adolescence, 34(2), 239–248.
29.
PutnamR. (2000). Bowling alone: The collapse and revival of American community. Simon & Schuster.
30.
Rios-EllisB.RascónM.GalvezG.Inzunza-FrancoG.BellamyL.TorresA. (2015). Creating a model of Latino peer education: Weaving cultural capital into the fabric of academic services in an urban university setting. Education and Urban Society, 47, 33–55.
31.
RoderickM.CocaV.NagaokaJ. (2011). Potholes on the road to college: High school effects in shaping urban students’ participation in college application, four-year college enrollment, and college match. Sociology of Education, 84, 178–211. https://doi.org/10.1177/0038040716681053
32.
ScrivensK.SmithC. (2013). Four interpretations of social capital: An agenda for measurement, OECD Statistics (Working Papers, No. 2013/06). OECD Publishing.
33.
SkobbaK.MeyersD.TillerL. (2018). Getting by and getting ahead: Social capital and transition to college among homeless and foster youth. Children and Youth Services Review, 94, 198–206.
34.
StraussA.CorbinJ. (1998). Basics of qualitative research: Techniques and procedures for developing grounded theory. SAGE.
35.
ThompsonA. E.GreesonJ. K. P.BrunsinkA. M. (2016). Natural mentoring among older youth in and aging out of foster care: A systematic review. Children and Youth Services Review, 61, 40–50.
36.
WeltonA. D.MartinezM. A. (2014). Coloring the college pathway: A more culturally responsive approach to college readiness and access for students of color in secondary schools. The Urban Review, 46, 197–223. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11256-013-0252-7
