Integrating Community Cultural Wealth Into Postsecondary Transition for Students With Disabilities Receiving English Learner Services

Abstract

Understanding how capital influences postsecondary transition for students receiving special education and English learner (EL) services can inform culturally sustaining planning practices and improve postsecondary outcomes. Recognizing how students and families utilize community cultural wealth capital in the transition process can support efforts to thwart deficit-based practices and replace them with asset-based approaches that expand upon students’ strengths. At the same time, examining the ways the dominant group maintains power through actions that perpetuate the status quo is important. In this article, we apply Bourdieu’s capital theory alongside Yosso’s community cultural wealth framework to better understand how capital informed the postsecondary transition experiences of 13 U.S. students receiving special education and EL services and their parents. Implications and recommendations for understanding and utilizing cultural capital and community cultural wealth in transition are explored.