“Es como una Familia”: Bridging Emotional Support With Academic and Professional Development Through the Acquisition of Capital in Latinx Student Organizations
Restricted accessResearch articleFirst published online October, 2019
“Es como una Familia”: Bridging Emotional Support With Academic and Professional Development Through the Acquisition of Capital in Latinx Student Organizations
This study explored the ways Latinx-based organizations assist students in navigating college and career preparation. Data consist of in-depth interviews with 17 first-generation Latinx students attending two predominantly White institutions in the Midwest. I employed Bourdieu’s social reproduction theory to examine the ways Latinx student organizations cultivate social and cultural capital among participants. Findings reveal that peers in Latinx-based organizations share capital relevant to navigating college, academics, and career development.
BourdieuP. (1984). Distinction: A social critique of the judgment of taste (NiceR., Trans.). Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. (Original work published 1979).
2.
BroomsD. R.ClarkJ.SmithM. (2017). Being and becoming men of character: Exploring Latino and Black males’ brotherhood and masculinity through leadership in college. Journal of Hispanic Higher Education. Advance online publication. doi:10.1177/1538192717699048
3.
CarspeckenP. F. (1996). Critical ethnography in educational research: A theoretical and practical guide. New York, NY: Routledge.
4.
CastellanosJ.GloriaA. M. (2007). Research considerations and theoretical application for best practices in higher education: Latina/os achieving success. Journal of Hispanic Higher Education, 6, 378-396.
5.
CastellanosM. (2016). Sustaining Latina student organizations: An exploratory instrumental case study. Journal of Hispanic Higher Education, 15, 240-259.
6.
CerezoA.ChangT. (2013). Latina/o achievement at predominantly White universities: The importance of culture and ethnic community. Journal of Hispanic Higher Education, 12, 72-85.
7.
Delgado-GuerreroM.CherniackM. A.GloriaA. M. (2014). Family away from home: Factors influencing undergraduate women of color’s decisions to join a cultural-specific sorority. Journal of Diversity in Higher Education, 7, 45-57.
8.
Delgado-GuerreroM.GloriaA. M. (2013). La importancia de la hermandad Latina: Examining the psychosociocultural influences of Latina-based sororities on academic persistence decisions. Journal of College Student Development, 54, 361-378.
9.
FordhamS. (1996). Blacked out: Dilemmas of race, identity, and success at capital high. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
10.
FryR.LopezM. H. (2012). Hispanic student enrollments reach new highs in 2011. Washington, DC: Pew Hispanic Center.
11.
GlaserB.StraussA. L. (1967). The discovery of grounded theory. Chicago, IL: Aldine.
12.
GuardiaJ. R. (2015). Leadership and identity: Development through a Latino/a fraternity and sorority lens. In LozanoA. (Ed.), Latina/o college student leadership: Emerging theory, promising practice. Lanham, MD: Lexington.
13.
HurtadoS.CarterD. F. (1997). Effects of college transition and perceptions of the campus racial climate on Latino college students’ sense of belonging. Sociology of Education, 70, 324-345.
14.
HurtadoS.PonjuanL. (2005). Latino educational outcomes and the campus climate. Journal of Hispanic Higher Education, 4, 235-251.
15.
KimY. K.ParkJ. J.KooK. K. (2015). Testing self-segregation: Multiple-group structural equation modeling of college students’ interracial friendship by race. Research in Higher Education, 56, 57-77.
16.
KiyamaJ. M.MuseusS. D.VegaB. E. (2015). Cultivating campus environments to maximize success among Latino and Latina college students. New Directions for Higher Education, 2015(172), 29-38.
17.
LopezJ. D. (2013). Differences among Latino students in precollege multicultural exposure and the transition into an elite institution. Journal of Hispanic Higher Education, 12, 269-279.
18.
LuedkeC. L. (2017). Person first, student second: Staff and administrators of Color supporting Students of Color authentically in higher education. Journal of College Student Development, 58(1), 37-52.
19.
MerriamS. B.TisdellE. J. (2016). Qualitative research: A guide to design and implementation (4th ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
20.
OgunwoleS. U.DreweryM. P.Rios-VargasM. (2012). The population with a bachelor’s degree or higher by race and Hispanic origin: 2006-2010. Washington, DC: U.S. Census Bureau.
21.
PérezD.SáenzV. B. (2017). Thriving Latino males in selective predominantly White institutions. Journal of Hispanic Higher Education, 16, 162-186.
22.
PérezD.IITaylorK. B. (2016). Cultivando logradores: Nurturing and sustaining Latino male success in higher education. Journal of Diversity in Higher Education, 9(1), 1-19.
23.
SolórzanoD.CejaM.YossoT. (2000). Critical race theory, racial microaggressions, and campus racial climate: The experiences of African American college students. Journal of Negro Education, 69, 60-73.
24.
StrayhornT. L. (2012). College students’ sense of belonging: A key to educational success. New York, NY: Routledge.
25.
YossoT. J. (2005). Whose culture has capital? A critical race theory discussion of community cultural wealth. Race Ethnicity and Education, 8, 69-91.
26.
YossoT. J.SmithW.CejaM.SolórzanoD. (2009). Critical race theory, racial microaggressions, and campus racial climate for Latina/o undergraduates. Harvard Educational Review, 79, 659-691.
