Community Cultural Wealth Framework Research Articles

Complicating our image of the “good student:” Mexican students’ use of navigational capital in a newcomer school

Newcomer schools inherently frame students in terms of what they lack—namely, fluency in the English language. The purpose of this study, drawing on a six-month ethnography of 14 tenth grade students from Mexico, is to counter this deficit framing by exploring, using the additive framework of community cultural wealth, what supports newcomer students from Mexico have and use in the context of a newcomer school in Central Texas. I argue that participating students were assisted in their coursework by their previously developed navigational capital, which enabled them to position themselves as “good students.” However, these students’ efforts to embody the behaviors of “good students” occasionally led them to not ask clarifying questions, as they did not want to appear to have not paid attention. I end exploring the complications inherent in students using their community cultural wealth to navigate inequitable educational structures that reward docility over learning.

“Sometimes We Struggle, Sometimes We Push Back:” The Educational Experiences and Aspirations of Youth with Refugee Backgrounds from the Horn of Africa

This qualitative article focuses on the high school experiences and post-secondary education (PSE) plans of 57 youth with refugee backgrounds from the Horn of Africa living in Ontario. The article is guided by two conceptual frameworks. The first is an anti-oppressive approach, which helps us examine the structural barriers at school that prevent, impede, and discourage the youth from successfully transitioning to PSE. We then use Yosso’s (2005) community cultural wealth framework to highlight the cultural capital that the youth bring from their homes and communities to navigate the challenges at school and embark on a pathway to PSE. Our findings show that while a significant number of the youth continue to face challenges, some are pushing back on the common narrative that Black African refugees are not capable of attending PSE.

Validating an instrument for measuring community cultural wealth with biology majors at a Hispanic-serving institution.

Boosting underrepresented student persistence in STEM majors has been of interest for several years. Prior research has explored various factors that may influence student success and persistence in STEM majors. Specifically, some of these studies have employed Yosso's community cultural wealth framework to explore how a student's cultural wealth may link to certain outcomes. Most of these studies have taken a qualitative approach when exploring cultural wealth and less adopt a quantitative approach. Using biology students in an introductory biology class during the fall (n = 303) and spring semesters (n = 215) at a large Hispanic-serving institution in the southeastern United States, this study seeks to contribute to the literature by validating a previously constructed instrument with a new population. An exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was conducted using principal axis factoring and an oblique rotation. EFA results revealed 10 dimensions of cultural wealth. Additionally, confirmatory factor analysis confirmed that the model produced properly measures the constructs as intended. Overall, the final 56-item instrument used in this study was validated and can be used for measuring cultural wealth in similar populations.

A Critical Systematic Review of Cultural and Community Practices in Integrated Reading and Writing Courses in Two-Year Colleges

ABSTRACT This study aimed to synthesize and critically analyze 24 empirical studies that focused on Students of Color (SOC) in Integrated Reading and Writing (IRW) classrooms in U.S. community colleges. Our review, through the cultural and community practices framing, examined IRW studies and how SOC, curriculum/institutional reform, and wise pedagogical practices for culturally diverse learning communities were portrayed. Our cultural and community practices framework was informed by culturally sustaining pedagogy and community cultural wealth framework in literacy. Through narratively reviewing studies, we generated the following six themes using our framework of cultural and community practices in classroom settings: ways to culturally diversify reading and writing text, strengthening students’ identity through curriculum, fostering community in the postsecondary classroom, supporting students’ mother tongue in the classroom, the need for diverse faculty representation, and the need for asset-based narratives in developmental education. Implications for asset-focused research and practice are discussed in postsecondary literacy spaces.

Cultural Mentoring as Acompañamiento: Rethinking Community Cultural Wealth

In this article, Andrea Dyrness, Jackquelin Bristol, and Daniel Garzón explore how cultural mentoring with elementary students was enacted by undergraduate and graduate students from minoritized backgrounds attending a predominantly white university. They examine how these mentors engaged with a framework of community cultural wealth and borderlands pedagogies of acompañamiento in their interactions with their mentees and in their own and collective reflections. Using testimonies and ethnographic data, the authors illustrate participants’ mutual engagement in the ongoing struggle to make sense of and confront structural injustice and argue that acompañamiento illuminates the reciprocal, transformative relationships between university and elementary students of color in the shared process of developing their critical consciousness.

Community Cultural Wealth: Supporting Migrant Youth in Schools

Latiné migrant youth are a unique population of students with complex academic and social-emotional experiences. Those experiences are enhanced by several factors including strong family connections, commitment to educational success, and overall resilience. There are also systemic issues that may cause instability to migrant youth due to limited access to resources and heightened exposure to unstable environments. In this study, 20 Latiné migrant youth from the rural western United States participated in semi-structured interviews that explored their experiences during the pandemic. Using a phenomenological analysis, these students provide much-needed insight into their experience. The authors used a community cultural wealth framework to examine how migrant youth create their own paths to meet their educational and socio-emotional needs. One of the valuable lessons learned from that study was a better understanding of the ways virtual learning impacts migrant youth. While there are benefits to virtual learning in accessing academic knowledge, school psychologists should consider additional support to increase social-emotional wellness. Impact Statement School psychologists can learn to leverage migrant youth’s community cultural wealth to support their social emotional development. Migrant youth used their aspirational and navigational wealth to negotiate the complexity of virtual learning during the pandemic. Addressing the structural gaps in virtual learning could be a viable model for supporting migrant youth academic and social-emotional needs in the face of future mobility.

(Re)structuring and (Re)imagining the First Year Experience for Graduate Students of Color Using Community Cultural Wealth

Graduate students of color have been entering graduate schools at unprecedented rates, yet these programs and institutions are not ready to fully support their unique needs. Using Yosso’s Community Cultural Wealth framework, we showcase how graduate students of color utilize their cultural capital to succeed during their first year of graduate studies. We interviewed 10 graduate students from various graduate programs in Southern California and found that graduate students of color activated all six forms of cultural capital to persist through the challenges of their first year in graduate education. As graduate students of color used various forms of cultural capital to combat oppressive systems and structures during their first year, we call on graduate school programs and institutions to restructure and reimagine what support looks like for first-year graduate students of color by using an assets-based approach.

Medical Student and Faculty Attitudes Toward Translanguaging with Spanish-Speaking Patients

Background: Spanish is the second most common US language, and Spanish speakers commonly translanguage—spontaneously integrate multiple languages. Medical language courses have proliferated, yet learner and faculty attitudes about translanguaging with patients remain unexplored. Also, it is unclear whether medical Spanish courses address real-world patient linguistic practices, such as translanguaging. Methods: We applied a community cultural wealth framework to identify translanguaging practices relevant to patient-physician communication: regionalisms, Spanglish, and non-standard language usage. From January 2020 to May 2021, we surveyed students (n=355) and faculty (n=14) in a standardized medical Spanish course at 14 sites on their attitudes toward translanguaging practices. Results: Regionalisms were the most widely accepted translanguaging practice by both students and faculty, and this opinion was reinforced by the course (94% pre vs. 95% post-course agreement; p=0.045). Student agreement with Spanglish was moderate and declined post-course (58% vs. 55%; p<0.001). Faculty were likelier than students to be accepting of non-standard language usage (57% faculty vs. 5% students; p<0.001). Conclusion: Medical students and faculty reported mixed attitudes about translanguaging practices in healthcare, and taking a medical Spanish course had variable effects on student responses. Future work should focus on developing and evaluating medical Spanish educational pedagogies that explicitly incorporate real-world patient perspectives and promote flexible language use that prioritizes mutual respect and understanding.

Parental involvement as a convergence of understanding by teachers and parents

This qualitative interpretative study aimed to investigate parents' and teachers' understanding of parental involvement and its implications for improving relations between schools and parents. The study employed the theoretical framework of Community Cultural Wealth, which emphasises the importance of listening to and including multiple educational stakeholders in order to leverage their expertise. This framework helped us analyse the existing literature on parental involvement and the responses we received from participants. For data collection, we conducted individual interviews with three parents and three teachers who were purposefully selected from three different schools in the Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality, Free State, South Africa. We prompted participants to articulate their understanding of parental involvement using an open-ended question. Through thematic analysis, we found that both teachers and parents perceive parental involvement as encompassing communication, parenting, participation in extracurricular activities, and assistance with learning activities. Based on our findings, we recommend that schools and parents engage in ongoing discussions to (re)negotiate and (re)formalise their understanding of parental involvement to enhance collaboration and efficiency between schools, teachers, learners, and parents.

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

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 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.

“I’ve Sat in Your Seat Before”: A Study of the Experiences of Three Black Women Music Educators

This descriptive collective case study explored the experiences of three Black women music educators through the framework of community cultural wealth. Analysis of data collected through Seidman’s three-stage phenomenological interview model revealed three themes. The first, “path to teaching,” represented the formative experiences that shaped participants’ development, including a deep level of embodied musical knowledge in multiple genres and the development of resilience. The second, “navigating the academy,” represented the experiences of participants during their collegiate programs, including mentorship and support they had received, perseverance through difficult challenges, and intersections of their experience with existing and often problematic structures in music schools. The final theme, “pedagogical approach,” represented the ways that participants wove aspects of their individual capital and experience into their pedagogical approach, including knowledge of families and community, ethnoracial representation for their students, culturally responsive approaches to pedagogy, and passing along tools for navigational success to their students. Alignment of the data with the framework of community cultural wealth is discussed, emphasizing participants’ prominent uses of both navigational and resistant capital and the development of “Black musical capital.” Implications for music education are discussed.

“Our Social Lives Were Kind of Ruined”: Challenges and Sources of Support During COVID-19 Distance Learning Among Latinx High School Students

The aim of this study was to better understand Latinx adolescents’ experiences during the pandemic and the transition to distance learning. Guided by the community cultural wealth framework, this study focuses on the key challenges and the sources of support that Latinx adolescents relied on during this unique period. Participants included 40 Latinx high school students from Southern California (28 female, 12 male; 75% Mexican or Mexican-American) between the ages of 14 and 17. A semi-structured interview was conducted with each participant; a thematic analysis approach was utilized to identify the key themes. Five themes emerged as the prominent challenges Latinx adolescents faced during the transition to distance learning. These challenges included disrupted peer relations, academic and motivation difficulties, home distractions, distant teacher relations, and poor mental health. In terms of the sources of support and coping resources to manage these challenges, the four key themes were supportive teacher relations, positive friend interactions, future aspirations and supportive family relations. The findings provide insights into Latinx adolescents’ experiences and sources of stress and support during distance learning. The findings have implications for how schools can best support Latinx youth with the transition to in-person schooling.

Elevating Teachers’ Voices on Staff Diversity: A Case Study in Teacher-Informed Recruitment Policy

This case study engages educational leaders in exploring how district-specific stakeholder perspectives might impact recruitment policy implementation and resource allocation through the lens of the Community Cultural Wealth framework. The case introduces Dr. Sheila Hill, the superintendent of a large district with a significant population of students of color without a commensurate diverse faculty. Like many others, her district faced teacher recruitment challenges. Dr. Hill hosted focus groups to hear from teachers about the district’s staffing needs. Emphasizing the role of the Community Cultural Wealth framework in recruiting teachers of color, Dr. Hill navigated the complexities of policy implementation amid potentially competing priorities. She foregrounded the internal knowledge her staff provided as she decided how to distribute funds from a private grant.

You’re Hired! A Phenomenographic Study of Undergraduate Students’ Pathways to Job Attainment in Computing

Although there is a great demand for graduates in computing fields, companies frequently struggle to find enough workers. They may also grapple with obtaining racial, ethnic, and gender diversity in representation. It has been suggested that the hiring process further contributes to these inequities. This study examined undergraduate computing students’ experiences with technical interviews and their pathways to job attainment, focusing on men and women who identify as Black or African American, Hispanic or Latinx, Asian, and mixed-race. We applied the community cultural wealth framework and employed the methodology of phenomenography to investigate the different assets that students leveraged to succeed in obtaining a position. Our investigation centered around the conceptions of sixteen computing students, all of whom completed at least one technical interview and received at least one job offer. We conducted semi-structured interviews to explore their interpretations of the hiring process, the resources they utilized, and their perceptions of inclusivity in the field. The findings illustrated that students’ support mechanisms included the following categories of description: intrinsic characteristics, capitalizing on experience, community, preparation, and organizational. They relied heavily on distinct forms of capital, particularly social and navigational, to attain a job in computing. Peers and clubs or groups were essential for students to learn about what to expect during the hiring process, to help them prepare, and to make connections with employers. They also helped the students cope with the discrimination they faced throughout their professional trajectories. By investigating the various experiences students have, we contribute to the understanding of how hiring practices may be viewed as well as possible ways to provide support. While students must study for technical interviews and refine their skills and pertinacity in the face of obstacles, industry and academia should consider their role in hiring and its impact. Transparency in what to expect and enhanced preparation opportunities could serve to make the process more equitable for all job candidates.

The Ripple Effect of Mentorship: A Cross-Case Analysis of Five Rural, Latine Youth

ABSTRACT The literature on mentorship centralizes formal mentoring programs with hired and trained staff and volunteers to work with at-promise youth of color at school- or community-based sites such as Big Brothers Big Sisters or smaller localized programs; however, these programs are not always available in rural areas. This multiple case study explores the phenomenon of naturally-occurring mentorships among Latine, gang-affiliated youth to evaluate what mentorship is and how mentoring relationships are cultivated and sustained. The research draws on fieldnotes, 300 hours of observations, eight three-phase semi-structured interviews with mentoring pairs, and written and pictorial evidence of the socio-political climate of the community confirmed through 20 semi-structured interviews with community leaders and elders. The study’s findings apply elements of aspirational, navigational, and resilient cultural wealth according to Yosso’s (2005) Community Cultural Wealth framework and were member-checked by mentoring participants. The findings suggest that a mentor can be an individual holding familial space in the mentee’s life; while the act of mentorship entails listening attentively, providing advice based on personal experiences, supporting the mentee in “getting out” of their hometown, and speaking one’s truth even if it is difficult to hear.

Using Community Cultural Wealth: An Asset-Based Approach to Persistence of On-Campus Black and Latinx Collegians

In this qualitative study, we took a novel approach of adopting an asset-oriented mindset based on Yosso's community cultural wealth framework. We conducted individual interviews at a large land-grant institution to understand the experiences of Black- and Latinx-identified on-campus collegians. Our goal was to explore the types of resistant capital employed by collegians of color to address both experienced and anticipated opposition. Resistant capital refers to the skills and strengths individuals use to overcome challenges. In this study, we presented our findings on the challenges and strategies utilized by the participants. By delving deeper into these experiences, we hope to contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of the experiences of underrepresented collegians.

A Phenomenological Inquiry of College Engineering Students with Low-Income and Economic Marginalization: Implications for High School Counselors

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological qualitative study was to describe the precollege interactions of undergraduate engineering students with low-income and economic marginalization (LIEM). Our analysis yielded three major themes regarding precollege interactions: (a) family and kinship as a source of motivation, (b) educators as encouragers, and (c) building bridges with professionals. We discuss the importance of these findings within the community cultural wealth framework, highlighting important considerations and implications for school counselors.

Leaning on family: Examining college-going and help-seeking behaviors of Latino male high school students through dichos, consejos, and community cultural wealth

This article presents research from interviews with high school Latino males from the Bronx, N.Y. to explore the role of family in their college-transition process. Specifically, we highlight the factors that help garner educational success for these Latino males by highlighting how they search out and “lean” on their families for advice during the transition to higher education. This research builds upon studies which have examined the relationship between help-seeking behaviors and masculinity. More specifically, it extends the research which examines Latino males and their help-seeking strategies concerning education through the use of a Community Cultural Wealth framework and the importance of dichos and consejos from families as they make the transition from high school to post-secondary education.

Cultivating cultural capitals in introductory algebra-based physics through reflective journaling.

At a large, diverse, hispanic-serving, master's-granting university, the Alma Project was created to support the rich connections of life experiences of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) students that come from racially diverse backgrounds through reflective journaling. Utilizing frameworks in ethnic studies and social psychology, the Alma Project aims to make learning STEM inclusive by affirming the intersectional identities and cultural wealth that students bring into STEM classrooms. Approximately once per month students who participate in the Alma Project spend 5-10 min at the beginning of class responding to questions designed to affirm their values and purpose for studying STEM in college. Students then spend time in class sharing their responses with their peers, to the extent that they feel comfortable, including common struggles and successes in navigating through college and STEM spaces. For this study, we analyze 180 reflective journaling essays of students enrolled in General Physics I, an algebra-based introductory physics course primarily for life science majors. Students were enrolled in a required lab, a self-selected community-based learning program (Supplemental Instruction), or in a small number of instances, both. Using the community cultural wealth framework to anchor our analysis, we identified 11 cultural capitals that students often expressed within these physics spaces. Students in both populations frequently expressed aspirational, attainment, and navigational capital, while expressions of other cultural capitals, such as social capital, differ in the two populations. Our findings suggest that students bring rich and diverse perspectives into physics classrooms when asked to reflect about their lived experiences. Moreover, our study provides evidence that reflective journaling can be used as an asset-based teaching tool. By using reflective journaling in physics spaces, recognizing students' assets has the potential for physics educators to leverage students' lived experiences, goals, and values to make physics learning more meaningful and engaging.

Identity and Persistence Among Latinx Engineering Students at a: Research-Intensive Hispanic-Serving Institution

Drawing on ethnographic methods, this study employed a community cultural wealth framework to analyze the successful trajectories of 27 Latinx engineering/computer science students at a research-intensive HSI. Our findings uncovered four types of community cultural wealth leveraged by participants—aspirational, linguistic, social, and navigational—as well as one additional form of capital: positional. The study has implications for institutions and individuals who serve Latinx students in engineering and STEM more broadly.