This article utilizes interview data to explore how notions of risk operate in a school—university partnership program. Our analysis traces the divergence between conceptualizations of “at-risk” in scholarship, its use in policy, and students’ responses to this terminology. Although students targeted in such programs are often constructed in both scholarship and policy in terms of deficiency, it is a designation the students themselves are often quite resistant to, and consider it to be an inaccurate representation of their circumstances. We conclude by suggesting that despite the pervasive contemporary espousal of inclusivity and equity in education, universities essentially remain the site of exclusionary practice.
Abramovitch, R. ( 2003). Implications of providing access in a context of inequality . In K. Brathwaite (Ed.), Access and equity in the university: A collection of papers from the Thirtieth Anniversary Conference of the Transitional Year Programme University of Toronto (pp. 93-106). Toronto, Ontario: Canadian Scholar’s Press.
2.
Allen, K. ( 2003). University access and educational opportunity: A Canadian perspective. In K. Brathwaite (Ed.), Access and equity in the university: A collection of papers from the Thirtieth Anniversary Conference of the Transitional Year Programme University of Toronto (pp. 79-92). Toronto, Ontario: Canadian Scholar’s Press.
3.
Atkinson, E. ( 2004). Thinking outside the box: An exercise in heresy. Qualitative Inquiry, 10, 111-129
4.
Bailey, T., & Karp, M.M. ( 2003). Promoting college access and success: A review of credit-based transition programs. Retrieved from http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ovae/pi/cclo/crdbase.doc
5.
Bempechat, J. ( 1998). Against the odds: How "at-risk" children exceed expectations . San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass .
6.
Bourdieu, P. ( 1977). Cultural reproduction and social reproduction. In J. Karabel & A. H. Halsey (Eds.), Power and ideology in education (pp. 487-510). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
7.
Bourdieu, P. ( 1986). The forms of capital. In J. G. Richardson (Ed.), Handbook of theory and research for the sociology of education (pp. 241-258). New York, NY: Greenwood Press.
8.
Brathwaite, K. (Ed). (2003). Access and equity in the university: A collection of papers from the Thirtieth Anniversary Conference of the Transitional Year Programme, University of Toronto . Toronto, Ontario: Canadian Scholars’ Press.
9.
Briggs, C.L. ( 2002). Interviewing, power/knowledge, and social inequality . In J. A. Gubrium & J. Holstein (Eds.), Handbook of interview research: Context and method (pp. 911-922). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
10.
Brydon-Miller, M., Greenwood, D., & Maguire, P. ( 2003). Why action research? Action Research , 1(1), 9-23.
11.
Campbell, H. ( 2003). Is it possible to have access and equity in university education in the twenty-first century? Lessons from the Transitional Year Programme of the University of Toronto. In K. Brathwaite (Ed.), Access and equity in the university: A collection of papers from the Thirtieth Anniversary Conference of the Transitional Year Programme University of Toronto (pp. 35-58). Toronto, Ontario: Canadian Scholars’ Press.
12.
Canadian Education Statistics Council. (2001 ). Pan-Canadian Education Research Agenda Symposium Report: Children and youth at risk. Retrieved from http://www.statcan.ca/english/freepub/81-589-XIE/81-589-XIE2001001.pdf
13.
Capuzzi, D., & Gross, D.R. ( 2006). Defining youth at risk. In D. Capuzzi & D. R. Gross (Eds.), Youth at risk: A prevention resource for counsellors, teachers, and parents . Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.
14.
Crouch, M., & McKenzie, H. ( 2006). The logic of small samples in interview-based qualitative research. Social Science Information, 45, 483-499.
15.
Cummins, J. ( 1997). Minority status and schooling in Canada. Anthropology and Education Quarterly, 28, 411-430.
16.
Curtis, B. ( 1992). Stacking the decks: The streaming of working-class kids in Ontario schools. Toronto, Ontario, Canada: Our Schools/Our Selves Education Foundation.
17.
Dei, G.J.S., James, I.M., Karumanchery, L.L., James-Wilson, S., &. Zine, J. ( 2000). Removing the margins: The challenges and possibilities of inclusive schooling. Toronto, Ontario: Canadian Scholars’ Press.
18.
Dei, G.J.S. ( 2002). Situating race and equity concerns in school effectiveness discourse. In C. Reynolds & A. Griffith (Eds.), Equity and globalization in education (pp. 165-181). Calgary, Alberta, Canada: Detselig.
19.
Dippo, D. ( 2005). Redefining community-urban university relations: A project for education faculties? Teaching Education, 16(2), 89-110.
20.
Ferreira, M. ( 2007). The development of a learning community through a university-school district partnership. School Community Journal, 17(1), 95-112.
21.
Fine, M., Weiss, L., Weseen, S., & Wong, L. ( 2003). For whom? Qualitative research, representations, and social responsibilities. In N. Denzin & Y. Lincoln (Eds.), Landscape of qualitative research: Theories and issues (2nd ed., pp. 167-207). London, UK: Sage.
22.
Fontana, A., & Frey, J.H. ( 1994). Interviewing: The art of science. In N. Denzin & Y. Lincoln (Eds.), Handbook of qualitative research (1sted., pp. 161-175). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
23.
Gallagher, C. ( 2004). White like me? Methods, meaning and manipulation in the field of white studies. In S. N. Hesse-Biber & P. Leavy (Eds.), Approaches to qualitative research (pp. 203-224). New York, NY : Oxford University Press.
24.
Goldring, E., & Sims, P. ( 2005). Modelling creative and courageous school leadership district-community-university partnerships. Educational Policy, 19, 223-249.
25.
Greenwood, D., & Levin, M. ( 2003). Reconstructing the relationships between universities and society through action research. In N. Denzin & Y. Lincoln (Eds.), Landscape of qualitative research: Theories and issues (2nd ed., pp. 131-162). London, UK: Sage .
26.
Hammersley, M. ( 2003). Review: Recent radical criticisms of interview studies: Any implications for the sociology of education? British Journal of Education, 24, 119-126.
27.
Holstein, J.A., & Gubrium, J.F. ( 2002). Active Interviewing. In J. A. Gubrium & J. Holstein (Eds.), Handbook of interview research (pp.67-79). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
28.
James, C. ( 2003a). Becoming "insiders": Racialized students in the academy . In K. Brathwaite (Ed.), Access and equity in the university: A collection of papers from the Thirtieth Anniversary Conference of the Transitional Year Programme University of Toronto (pp. 139-164). Toronto, Ontario: Canadian Scholars’ Press.
29.
James, C. ( 2003b). Seeing ourselves: Exploring ethnicity, race and culture (3rd ed.) Toronto, Ontario, Canada: Thompson Educational.
30.
James, C., & Haig-Brown, C. (2001). "Returning the dues": Community and the personal in a university-school partnership. Urban Education, 36, 226-255.
31.
James, C., & Wood, M. ( 2005). Multicultural education in Canada: Opportunities, limitations, and contradictions. In C. James (Ed.), Possibilities and limitations: Multicultural policies and programs in Canada (pp. 93-107). Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada: Fernwood.
32.
Johnson, G.M. ( 1997). Perceptions of the effectiveness for at-risk students: A survey of inner-city school administrators. Canadian Journal of Education, 22, 445-450.
33.
Kaufman, C., & Ramarao, S. ( 2005). Community confidentiality, consent, and the individual research process: implications for demographic research. Population Research and Policy Review, 24, 149-173.
34.
Ladson-Billings, G. ( 2004). Racialized discourse and ethnic epistemologies. In N. Denzin & Y. Lincoln (Eds.), Handbook of qualitative research (2nd ed., pp. 257-278). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
35.
Lawson, H. ( 2002). Meeting the needs of low performing urban schools: A policy and practice brief. Retrieved from http://www.albany.edu/%7Ehlawson/urbanschools.pdf
36.
Lincoln, Y.S., & Guba, E.G. ( 2004). Competing paradigms in qualitative research. In S. N. Hesse-Biber & P. Leavy (Eds.), Approaches to qualitative research (pp. 17-38). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
37.
Marquardt, R. ( 1998). Enter at your own risk: Canadian youth and the labour market. Toronto, Ontario, Canada: Between the Lines.
38.
Ontario Ministry for Education. (2003a). Building pathways to success, Grades 7-12: Final report of the Program Pathways for Students at Risk Work Group Ontario. Retrieved from http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/document/reports/pathways.pdf
39.
Ontario Ministry for Education. (2003b). Think literacy success: The report of the Expert Panel on Students at Risk in Ontario, Grades7-12. Retrieved from http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/document/reports/literacyreport.pdf
40.
Pollard-Durodola, S. ( 2003). Wesley Elementary: A beacon of hope for at-risk students . Education and Urban Society, 36, 94-117.
41.
Rapley, T. ( 2001). The art(fulness) of open-ended interviewing: Some considerations on analyzing interviews. Qualitative Research, 1, 303-323.
42.
Reynolds, C., & Griffith, A. (Eds.). (2002). Equity and globalization in education. Calgary, Alberta, Canada: Detselig.
43.
Rezai-Rashh, G. ( 2003). Initiating equity programs in changing times: Ontario education and issues of social justice. In C. Reynolds & A. Griffith (Eds.), Equity and globalization in education (pp. 283-300). Calgary, Alberta , Canada: Detselig.
44.
Rhee, J., & Subreenduth, S. (2006). De/Colonizing education: Examining transnational localities. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 19, 545-548.
45.
Rossi, R. ( 1994). School and students at risk: Context and framework for positive change. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.
46.
Sirotnik, K. ( 1988). School-university partnerships in action: Concepts, cases, and concerns. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.
47.
Slavin, R., Karweit, N.L., & Madden, N.A. ( 1989). Effective programs for students at risk. Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
48.
Sprague, J. ( 2005). Qualitative shifts: Feminist strategies in field research and interviewing. In Feminist Methodologies for critical researchers: Bridging differences (pp. 119-164). Walnut Creek, CA: Altimira.
49.
Thorkildsen, R., & Scott Stein, M. (1996). Fundamental characteristics of successful university-school partnerships. The School Community Journal, 6(2), 79-92.
50.
Vidich, A., & Lyman, S. ( 2003). Qualitative methods: Their history in sociology and anthropology . In N. Denzin & Y. Lincoln (Eds.), Landscape of qualitative research: Theories and issues (2nd ed., pp. 55-95). London, UK: Sage.
51.
Wang, M. ( 1995). Making a difference for students at risk. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
52.
Ward, N.L. ( 2006). Improving equity and access for low-income and minority youth into institutions of higher education. Urban Education , 41(1), 50-70.
53.
Watson, M., & Okolie, A. ( 2003). Enhancing university for "at-risk" students: The Steps to University Program in the eyes of two participants. In K. Brathwaite (Ed.), Access and equity in the university: A collection of papers from the Thirtieth Anniversary Conference of the Transitional Year Programme University of Toronto (pp. 325-342). Toronto, Ontario: Canadian Scholars’ Press.
54.
Wotherspoon, T., & Schissel, B. ( 2001). The business of placing Canadian children and youth "at-risk."Canadian Journal of Education, 26, 321-339.
55.
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.
56.
Zetlin, A., Harris, K., MacLeod, E., & Watkins, A. ( 1992). The evolution of a university/inner city school partnership: A case study account. Urban Education, 27(1), 80-90.
