La Familia: The Important Ingredient for Latina/o College Student Engagement and Persistence

Abstract

This article utilizes Yosso's (2005) community cultural framework and the six forms of cultural capital (aspirational, familial, linguistic, navigational, resistant, social) as corrective reframes of the cultural deficit model. Although the prevailing literature on Latina/o parents and families portray this population as being unmotivated and uninterested in education, this article highlights findings from my study on the impact of Latina/o parental involvement on college students that contradicts sentiments held by the cultural deficit model. Participants in the study identified how they use the cultural capital transmitted to them by their families and communities, and how they create “finishing,” a new form of capital. The article also contains strategies for how students and practitioners in K-12 and higher education settings can use the findings within the study to improve the educational climate and conditions for Latina/o students in U.S. schools.

Notes

¹I am referring specifically to North American, United States, culture.

²Institutions used as data collection sites were given pseudonyms, as were any student names and student organizations.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Jennifer M. D. Matos

Jennifer M. D. Matos holds a doctorate in Education with a concentration in Social Justice Education from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She is a founding member of the Social Justice at Work Consulting Group, an agency that provides social justice training and resources to K-12 schools, colleges, and private organizations. Currently, she is a visiting lecturer at Mt. Holyoke College in South Hadley, MA, where she teaches in the Department of Psychology and Education. She resides in Western Massachusetts with her wife and their two-year old daughter.