scholarly journals Creating a college-going culture : accountability models and measuring institutional rigor in secondary schools.

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roland O'Daniel
Keyword(s):  
Secondary Schools ◽  
College Going ◽  
College Going Culture

Beyond Posters and Pennants: College-Going Messaging at Three Racially and Economically Diverse Public Schools

2019 ◽  
Vol 121 (11) ◽  
pp. 1-42
Author(s):  
Melissa A. Martinez ◽  
Isaac Torres ◽  
Katherine Lewis
Keyword(s):  
Public Schools ◽  
High Schools ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Students Of Color ◽  
Common Ground ◽  
Ecological Model ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
College Going ◽  
Field Notes ◽  
College Going Culture

Context It has been argued that high schools with a majority of students of color and from low-income backgrounds must be purposeful in fostering a college-going culture in order to address the challenges and inequities historically underserved students face in preparing for and accessing a higher education. However, what this looks and sounds like in practice is not always clear, leaving schools seeking common ground on how to create a college-going environment. Purpose Through a symbolic and ecological model of college readiness framework, the messaging associated with the college-going culture at three racially and economically diverse Texas high schools that had consistently high college ready graduate rates was examined. The research questions that guided the study included: What types of college-going culture messages are conveyed at the schools, and how? How might such messaging impact students, school staff and leaders? Research Design This study drew on data from a three-year, multi-site descriptive case study of three public high schools in different regions of Texas that all served approximately 50% or more of students with financial need and 72% to 97% students of color, specifically Latina/o and Black students. Data Collection and Analysis Data was collected during week-long, yearly visits to the three schools and included: school and district documents; individual and group semi-structured interviews with 194 individuals including administrators, teachers, support staff, students, parents, and community members; observations of common areas and classrooms; archival data; and researcher-derived documents including field notes, memos, and photographs of the school grounds and school activities. This paper primarily drew on the pictures taken of the schools (in hallways, classrooms, and shared spaces like cafeterias and libraries), field notes, memos, and interview data that specifically spoke to the visual and verbal messaging associated with the college-going culture. Analysis of data revealed six themes: college is a revered goal with many options; varying degrees of integration; support and resources are at your reach; think college and career; finding funding for college is vital; college is an individual and shared success. Conclusions This study's findings suggest the need to: reconsider what a strong college-going culture entails, re-envision college-going cultures as dynamic, multi-layered, and responsive, reframe postsecondary opportunities so they are more expansive and varied, and re-evaluate inequities in college-going messaging and academic rigor.

The Promise and Limitations of a College-Going Culture: Toward Cultures of Engaged Learning for Low-SES Latina/o Youth

2016 ◽  
Vol 118 (7) ◽  
pp. 1-60 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven Z. Athanases ◽  
Betty Achinstein ◽  
Marnie W. Curry ◽  
Rodney T. Ogawa
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
English Learners ◽  
Low Ses ◽  
Youth Of Color ◽  
College Level ◽  
Engaged Learning ◽  
Instructional Interactions ◽  
College Going ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
College Going Culture

Background/Context Literatures on college-going cultures offer patterns and lists of practices that promote schoolwide attention to college-going for nondominant youth, often with organization-level analyses of policies and procedures. Other literature identifies promising practices and challenges to conventional instruction, often examining pedagogical discourse. Seldom are ideas from these two literatures brought together to examine promises and tensions of effectively preparing youth of color for higher education. Our study examined both school and classroom levels to develop such understanding. Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of Study The purpose was to learn how high schools committed to reversing historic underrepresentation of low-SES students of color in higher education may leverage two dimensions of schooling to hit this goal: development of a school-wide college-going culture with norms and roles that articulate high expectations and provide extensive supports toward college admissions and academically engaging classroom experiences that include rigorous and meaningful disciplinary challenges, supported by language-rich communication, collaboration, culture, and context. To learn about one school's complex college-for-all efforts, we asked: How is a college-going culture enacted at the school, and by whom, to support Latina/o students in gaining access to college? What is the nature of academic engagement at the school that may help prepare Latina/o students for college? Setting Urban College Academy (UCA) is a public charter high school whose population was 98% Latina/o, 35% English learners, 81% receiving free/reduced price lunch. UCA's entering students were predominantly two or more years below grade level in reading and computing, according to standardized tests. The school explicitly recruits students who have previously failed a course, and the mission statement identifies “underachieving students” as UCA's target population. Students are mostly of Mexican origin, with roughly 80% first generation. Population/Participants/Subjects We collected data from school leaders, teachers, counselors, parents, and students. At classroom level, we selected six focal teachers (diverse in subject areas, ethnicity/race, and gender). We examined work and perspectives of focal students representative of academic performance and English language proficiency per focal class. Research Design We treat UCA as a “critical case,” holding strategic importance to the problem on which the study focuses. Using qualitative methods, a survey, and structured observation scores, we worked to integrate, associate, and counter themes and findings between and across school organization and classroom levels. Data Collection and Analysis School-level analysis focused on normative social structures (goals, values, norms, and roles); resource allocations associated with advancing a mission to promote Latina/o students’ academic success and college acceptance; and factors UCA identified as relevant. Drawing on over 40 hours of transcribed interviews with a wide range of participants, we developed themes and triangulated with other data. Classroom observation data were analyzed using CLASS and Standards Performance Continuum protocols, supported by other analyses. Teacher cases used teacher history and refections on practice; videos, annotated fieldnotes; materials of teaching; and student work samples and focus groups. We found comparisons, contrasts, and tensions across lessons and classes; one case emerges as “a pocket of promise.” Conclusions/Recommendations The study reveals a need for ongoing attention to both a college-going culture and instructional interactions. It highlights distinctions between college talk (talk about college) and college-level academic discourse, or socialization versus academic functions of schooling for college access and success. The study uncovers promising instructional interactions, as well as tensions, in engaging low-SES Latina/o students in academically rigorous work. Results suggest schools supporting low-SES youth of color may need a schoolwide culture of engaged learning that is rigorous, meaningful, and infused throughout school.

scholarly journals College Ready at a Cost: Underrepresented Students Overwhelmed, Scared, Increasingly Stressed, and Coping

2019 ◽  
Vol 52 (5) ◽  
pp. 734-758
Author(s):  
Melissa A. Martinez ◽  
Katherine Lewis ◽  
Jocabed Marquez
Keyword(s):  
College Readiness ◽  
Underrepresented Students ◽  
Unintended Consequences ◽  
Public High Schools ◽  
Descriptive Case Study ◽  
College Ready ◽  
College Going ◽  
College Going Culture ◽  
And Coping

As the push and expectation to attend college continues to increase, making the process of getting into college more competitive than ever before, there is a need to interrogate whether and how efforts to create a college-going culture and increase college readiness among students, particularly those from historically marginalized backgrounds, might have an adverse impact on students. This study illuminates 59 students’ voices who participated in a multisite descriptive case study examining the strong college-going culture and college readiness efforts at three racially and economically diverse urban public high schools in different regions of Texas. Although students revealed positive aspects of their schools’ efforts, this study focuses on some of the negative, unintended consequences related to how students felt and coped with being overwhelmed, scared, and increasingly stressed as a result of the narrow focus on college readiness. Such findings must be considered by scholars, policymakers, and practitioners alike.

Fostering a College-Going Culture for Historically Underserved Students: One Principal's Role

2017 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 242-268 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melissa A. Martinez ◽  
Daphne Everman
Keyword(s):  
Leadership Strategies ◽  
Public High School ◽  
Principal's Role ◽  
Descriptive Case Study ◽  
Underserved Students ◽  
College Ready ◽  
College Going ◽  
Diverse Student ◽  
College Going Culture

Current scholarship focused on a college-going culture, and college readiness in schools often underestimates or gives little attention to the role of the school leader. This study draws on qualitative data from a larger descriptive case study to help fill this gap by examining the role and approach of one principal at a public high school in Texas that has found success in graduating a large proportion of its racially and economically diverse student population college-ready. The principal's leadership strategies and the challenges he faced are revealed through his narrative and the perspective of multiple stakeholders to more aptly understand how his role and approach contributed to the school's college-going culture.

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