Developing a College-Going Habitus: How First-Generation Latina/o/x Students Bi-directionally Exchange Familial Funds of Knowledge and Capital within Their Familias

Abstract

ABSTRACT This qualitative study analyzes interviews with 17 first-generation Latina/o/x students. This study bridges funds of knowledge and social reproduction theory to examine the bi-directional exchange of familial funds of knowledge and capital relevant to higher education in Latina/o/x families. Students’ familial funds of knowledge assisted them as they accessed and persisted through higher education. Students bridged fields between their home communities and higher education when they shared capital and transformed it into funds of knowledge to assist family members in accessing college. In doing so, students encouraged the pursuit of higher education, contributing to the college-bound habitus of their familias. Implications for practice center on cultural shifts that must occur at the institutional level to develop policies and practices around developing relationships and partnerships early on with Latina/o/x communities.