This article examines the pathways to higher education of two working-class Latino students participating in an intervention program at a diverse, metropolitan high school. Using critical narratives from 2 of the 30 student participants, this article exposes several reasons disproportionately low numbers of Latino students gain access to higher education. Furthermore, their narratives identify several strategies to empower and guide first-generation Latino students toward college access.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
American Council on Education. (2002). Access and persistence: Findings from 10 years of longitudinal research on students. Washington, DC: American Council on Education.
2.
Bourdieu, P., & Wacquant, L. (1992). An invitation to reflexive sociology. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
3.
Bruner, J. (1996). The culture of education. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
4.
Burdell, P., & Swadener, B. B. (1999). Critical personal narrative and auto-ethnography in education: Reflections on a genre. Educational Researcher, 28(6), 21-26.
California Opportunities Indicators Project. (2002). UCACCORD: Research to make a difference. Retrieved September 9, 2003, from www.ucaccord.org
7.
Chapman, V. (2003). On “knowing one’s self” selfwriting, power and ethical practice: Reflections from an adult educator. Studies in the Education of Adults, 35(1), 35-44.
8.
Chapman, V., & Sork, T. J. (2001). Confessing regulation or telling secrets? Opening up the conversation on graduate supervision. Adult Education Quarterly, 51(2), 94-107.
9.
Cochran-Smith, M., & Lytle, S. (1993). Inside outside: Teacher research and knowledge. New York: Teachers College Press.
10.
Collatos, A., & Morrell, E. (2003). Apprenticing urban youth as critical researchers: Implications for school reform. In B. Rubin & E. Silva (Eds.), Critical voices in school reform: Students living through change (pp. 113-131). New York: Routledge/Falmer.
11.
Freire, P. (1970). Pedagogy of the oppressed. New York: Continuum.
12.
Gandara, P. (1995). Over the ivy walls: The educational mobility of low-income Chicanos. Albany: State University of New York Press.
13.
Gandara, P., & Bial, D. (2001). Paving the way for higher education: K-12 interventions for underrepresented students. Washington, DC: National Center for Educational Statistics.
14.
Garcia, E., & Figueroa, J. (2003). Access and participation of Latinos in the University of California. Social Justice, 29(4), 47-59.
15.
Jencks, C., & Phillips, M. (1998). The black-white test score gap. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution.
16.
Kincheloe, J. L., & McLaren, P. L. (1998). Rethinking critical theory and qualitative research. In N. K. Denzin & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.), The landscape of qualitative research (pp. 260-300). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
17.
Lara, R. (2003, April). Using critical sociology to navigate secondary and post-secondary institutions: A student’s perspective of hope. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Chicago.
18.
Lave, J., & Wenger, E. (1991). Situated learning: Legitimate peripheral participation. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
19.
McDonough, P. (1997). Choosing colleges. How social class and schools structure opportunity. Albany: State University of New York Press.
20.
McLaren, P. (1989). Life in schools: An introduction to critical pedagogy in the foundations of education. New York: Longman.
21.
McNiff, J. (1988). Action research: Principles and practices. London: Routledge.
22.
Morrell, E. (2004). Becoming critical researchers: Literacy and empowerment for urban youth. New York: Peter Lang.
23.
Morrell, E., & Collatos, A. (2002). Toward a critical teacher education: High school student sociologists as teacher educators. Social Justice, 29(4), 60-70.
24.
National Center for Education Statistics. (1998). Projection of education statistics to 2008. Washington, DC: Author.
25.
Nuno, A. (2003, April). Thinking critically as a family endeavor. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Chicago.
Oakes, J., & Collatos, A. (in press). Inequality in American high schools. In B. Cotner, K. Borman, & S. Cahill (Eds.), The American high school: An encyclopedia. Westport, CT: Greenwood.
28.
Perna, L., & Swail, W. S. (1998, November). Early intervention programs: How effective are they at increasing access to college? Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Association for the Study of Higher Education, Miami, FL.
29.
Solorzano, D., Ledesma, M., Perez, J., Burciaga, M., & Ornelas, A. (2003, February). Latina equity in education: Gaining access to academic enrichment programs. Latino Policy & Issues Brief No. 4. Los Angeles: UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center.
30.
Swail, W. S. (1999, October). Do pre-college early intervention programs work? Paper presented at the West Coast College Board Forum, San Diego, CA.
31.
Tierney, W. G. (in press). Academic triage: Challenges confronting college preparation programs. Qualitative Inquiry.
32.
Tierney, W. G., & Hagedorn, L. S. (Eds.). (2002). Increasing access to college: Extending possibilities for all students. New York: SUNY Press.
33.
Valencia, R. (1997). The evolution of deficit thinking. London: Falmer.
34.
Valenzuela, A. (1999). Subtractive schooling. New York: University Press.
35.
Wenger, E. (1998). Communities of practice: Learning, meaning and identity. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
36.
Wilds, D. (2000). Minorities in higher education, 17th annual status report. Washington, DC: American Council on Education.
37.
Zeichner, K., & Noffke, S. (2001). Practitioner research. In V. Richardson (Ed.), Handbook of research on teaching (4th ed., pp. 298-352). Washington, DC: American Educational Research Association.
