Purpose This study examines how English teachers use culturally relevant pedagogy (CRP) to suppor... more Purpose This study examines how English teachers use culturally relevant pedagogy (CRP) to support postsecondary readiness for underrepresented students in the context of dual credit (DC) coursework in the USA. Postsecondary readiness, termed “college readiness” in the USA, refers to the skills and knowledge students need to succeed at a university. DC courses are university-level classes delivered to high school students through partnerships with postsecondary institutions, most often two-year community colleges. The purpose of this study is to highlight practices and institutional conditions that enable English instructors to foster postsecondary opportunity for all. Design/methodology/approach Using an interpretive approach, this qualitative study analyzes data derived from in-depth interviews with five community college English instructors who teach DC to diverse high-school students and who apply CRP in their classroom practice. Findings Findings reveal that instructors used cu...
Postsecondary attainment has increased in import and more students from all backgrounds are enter... more Postsecondary attainment has increased in import and more students from all backgrounds are entering higher education today relative to prior generations. Unfortunately, students who are low-income, of color, and the first in their families to attend college drop out at disproportionately higher rates than their more privileged counterparts. Graduates of low-performing urban high schools face particular challenges persisting in college—even those with strong academic records. Efforts to enhance postsecondary completion have focused on the construct of college readiness (CR), or the preparation needed to enroll in credit-bearing courses and persist to graduation. CR is typically defined as a set of cognitive and non-cognitive skills that students should master. However, a list of universal, reified skills may not account for the complex social, cultural, and institutional factors that shape disparate college pathways, particularly for students from underrepresented backgrounds. ❧ Thi...
Teachers College Record: The Voice of Scholarship in Education, 2019
Background/Context To enhance postsecondary completion and minimize equity gaps, researchers have... more Background/Context To enhance postsecondary completion and minimize equity gaps, researchers have focused on defining, measuring, and developing students’ college readiness, or the preparation required to persist in higher education. While this work has been useful to identify the ingredients of postsecondary success, the emphasis on individual achievement runs the risk of portraying marginalized students as deficient. Culturally relevant studies that highlight institutional accountability for college readiness are needed to inform policy and practice. Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of Study Using Holland and colleagues’ (1998) figured worlds theory, this study examines college readiness through the lens of student identity in an urban magnet high school. We investigate how first-generation, low-income students of color interpreted and negotiated local discourses and artifacts to “figure” college-going identities—that is, who they should become and how they should behave ...
Policy efforts to enhance postsecondary access and completion often emphasize the construct of co... more Policy efforts to enhance postsecondary access and completion often emphasize the construct of college readiness (CR). While most research has focused on defining and measuring CR, less has examined the perspectives of first generation students and the urban high school contexts in which many prepare for college. This study utilizes data from an ethnography of college preparation in a low-performing urban high school. Drawing on sensemaking theory, I explore how high-achieving college-bound seniors make sense of CR and what factors shape their sensemaking. Findings offer insight into how CR discourses manifest at the local level to shape opportunity for urban youth.
As educational stakeholders endeavor to prepare more students for postsecondary success, the cons... more As educational stakeholders endeavor to prepare more students for postsecondary success, the construct of college readiness has gained national attention. Scholarly perspectives vary regarding what constitutes readiness, but even less is known about the perceptions of secondary educators tasked with preparing college-ready students. Drawing on interview data and sensemaking theory, we explore the perspectives of 108 teachers working in eight early college high schools in a border region of Texas. Findings suggest teachers rely primarily on their personal and professional experience to make sense of college readiness, resulting in wide variation with respect to how they approach it in their classrooms. The article closes with implications for policy and practice.
Postsecondary attainment has increased in import and more students from all backgrounds are enter... more Postsecondary attainment has increased in import and more students from all backgrounds are entering higher education today relative to prior generations. Unfortunately, students who are low-income, of color, and the first in their families to attend college drop out at disproportionately higher rates than their more privileged counterparts. Graduates of low-performing urban high schools face particular challenges persisting in college—even those with strong academic records. Efforts to enhance postsecondary completion have focused on the construct of college readiness (CR), or the preparation needed to enroll in credit-bearing courses and persist to graduation. CR is typically defined as a set of cognitive and non-cognitive skills that students should master. However, a list of universal, reified skills may not account for the complex social, cultural, and institutional factors that shape disparate college pathways, particularly for students from underrepresented backgrounds. ❧ Thi...
Teachers College Record: The Voice of Scholarship in Education, 2019
Background/Context To enhance postsecondary completion and minimize equity gaps, researchers have... more Background/Context To enhance postsecondary completion and minimize equity gaps, researchers have focused on defining, measuring, and developing students’ college readiness, or the preparation required to persist in higher education. While this work has been useful to identify the ingredients of postsecondary success, the emphasis on individual achievement runs the risk of portraying marginalized students as deficient. Culturally relevant studies that highlight institutional accountability for college readiness are needed to inform policy and practice. Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of Study Using Holland and colleagues’ (1998) figured worlds theory, this study examines college readiness through the lens of student identity in an urban magnet high school. We investigate how first-generation, low-income students of color interpreted and negotiated local discourses and artifacts to “figure” college-going identities—that is, who they should become and how they should behave ...
Policy efforts to enhance postsecondary access and completion often emphasize the construct of co... more Policy efforts to enhance postsecondary access and completion often emphasize the construct of college readiness (CR). While most research has focused on defining and measuring CR, less has examined the perspectives of first generation students and the urban high school contexts in which many prepare for college. This study utilizes data from an ethnography of college preparation in a low-performing urban high school. Drawing on sensemaking theory, I explore how high-achieving college-bound seniors make sense of CR and what factors shape their sensemaking. Findings offer insight into how CR discourses manifest at the local level to shape opportunity for urban youth.
As educational stakeholders endeavor to prepare more students for postsecondary success, the cons... more As educational stakeholders endeavor to prepare more students for postsecondary success, the construct of college readiness has gained national attention. Scholarly perspectives vary regarding what constitutes readiness, but even less is known about the perceptions of secondary educators tasked with preparing college-ready students. Drawing on interview data and sensemaking theory, we explore the perspectives of 108 teachers working in eight early college high schools in a border region of Texas. Findings suggest teachers rely primarily on their personal and professional experience to make sense of college readiness, resulting in wide variation with respect to how they approach it in their classrooms. The article closes with implications for policy and practice.
Social capital research has demonstrated the value of relationships and networks to enhance colle... more Social capital research has demonstrated the value of relationships and networks to enhance college opportunity for first-generation students. While most work has focused on individual students and their ties, high schools play a critical role in social capital processes by connecting students to external college access organizations and resources. This case study employs Mario Small’s organizational brokerage theory to investigate social capital formation among college-bound first-generation youth in an urban high school. Specifically, we explore how the school itself brokered college-going resources through its partner organizations. Findings illustrate a range of passive and active brokerage strategies that influenced the quantity and quality of available resources, and in turn, the amount of student agency required to secure social capital gains.
Social capital research has demonstrated the value of relationships and networks to enhance colle... more Social capital research has demonstrated the value of relationships and networks to enhance college opportunity for first-generation students. While most work has focused on individual students and their ties, high schools play a critical role in social capital processes by connecting students to external college access organizations and resources. This case study employs Mario Small’s organizational brokerage theory to investigate social capital formation among college-bound first-generation youth in an urban high school. Specifically, we explore how the school itself brokered college-going resources through its partner organizations. Findings illustrate a range of passive and active brokerage strategies that influenced the quantity and quality of available resources, and in turn, the amount of student agency required to secure social capital gains.
Early college high schools, which allow underrepresented students to earn up to an associate’s de... more Early college high schools, which allow underrepresented students to earn up to an associate’s degree during 9th through 12th grades, have been lauded for their potential to increase college access and opportunity. Yet little is known about the role of the principal. Using data drawn from 10 administrators in the borderlands of West Texas, this qualitative study uses an instructional leadership framework to explore how early college principals support students’ college preparation at the intersection of secondary and postsecondary education.
As workforce participation increasingly requires a college degree, ensuring that more students fr... more As workforce participation increasingly requires a college degree, ensuring that more students from traditionally underrepresented populations have the opportunity to enter and complete college is an equity imperative. To that end, high school reforms have promoted “college-going cultures” in low-performing high schools through interventions such as rigorous course offerings and college counseling. College access research has focused on issues specific to academics and college-going processes. Yet this research has tended to ignore broader school climate factors such as school safety and extracurricular programming, which may play a critical role in postsecondary opportunity, especially for historically underserved students. The current study applies hierarchical generalized linear modeling to the Educational Longitudinal Study of 2002 to 2006 to examine the role of college-going culture and high school climate characteristics on college enrollment and persistence. We find that whil...
Purpose This study examines how English teachers use culturally relevant pedagogy (CRP) to suppor... more Purpose This study examines how English teachers use culturally relevant pedagogy (CRP) to support postsecondary readiness for underrepresented students in the context of dual credit (DC) coursework in the USA. Postsecondary readiness, termed “college readiness” in the USA, refers to the skills and knowledge students need to succeed at a university. DC courses are university-level classes delivered to high school students through partnerships with postsecondary institutions, most often two-year community colleges. The purpose of this study is to highlight practices and institutional conditions that enable English instructors to foster postsecondary opportunity for all. Design/methodology/approach Using an interpretive approach, this qualitative study analyzes data derived from in-depth interviews with five community college English instructors who teach DC to diverse high-school students and who apply CRP in their classroom practice. Findings Findings reveal that instructors used cu...
Postsecondary attainment has increased in import and more students from all backgrounds are enter... more Postsecondary attainment has increased in import and more students from all backgrounds are entering higher education today relative to prior generations. Unfortunately, students who are low-income, of color, and the first in their families to attend college drop out at disproportionately higher rates than their more privileged counterparts. Graduates of low-performing urban high schools face particular challenges persisting in college—even those with strong academic records. Efforts to enhance postsecondary completion have focused on the construct of college readiness (CR), or the preparation needed to enroll in credit-bearing courses and persist to graduation. CR is typically defined as a set of cognitive and non-cognitive skills that students should master. However, a list of universal, reified skills may not account for the complex social, cultural, and institutional factors that shape disparate college pathways, particularly for students from underrepresented backgrounds. ❧ Thi...
Teachers College Record: The Voice of Scholarship in Education, 2019
Background/Context To enhance postsecondary completion and minimize equity gaps, researchers have... more Background/Context To enhance postsecondary completion and minimize equity gaps, researchers have focused on defining, measuring, and developing students’ college readiness, or the preparation required to persist in higher education. While this work has been useful to identify the ingredients of postsecondary success, the emphasis on individual achievement runs the risk of portraying marginalized students as deficient. Culturally relevant studies that highlight institutional accountability for college readiness are needed to inform policy and practice. Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of Study Using Holland and colleagues’ (1998) figured worlds theory, this study examines college readiness through the lens of student identity in an urban magnet high school. We investigate how first-generation, low-income students of color interpreted and negotiated local discourses and artifacts to “figure” college-going identities—that is, who they should become and how they should behave ...
Policy efforts to enhance postsecondary access and completion often emphasize the construct of co... more Policy efforts to enhance postsecondary access and completion often emphasize the construct of college readiness (CR). While most research has focused on defining and measuring CR, less has examined the perspectives of first generation students and the urban high school contexts in which many prepare for college. This study utilizes data from an ethnography of college preparation in a low-performing urban high school. Drawing on sensemaking theory, I explore how high-achieving college-bound seniors make sense of CR and what factors shape their sensemaking. Findings offer insight into how CR discourses manifest at the local level to shape opportunity for urban youth.
As educational stakeholders endeavor to prepare more students for postsecondary success, the cons... more As educational stakeholders endeavor to prepare more students for postsecondary success, the construct of college readiness has gained national attention. Scholarly perspectives vary regarding what constitutes readiness, but even less is known about the perceptions of secondary educators tasked with preparing college-ready students. Drawing on interview data and sensemaking theory, we explore the perspectives of 108 teachers working in eight early college high schools in a border region of Texas. Findings suggest teachers rely primarily on their personal and professional experience to make sense of college readiness, resulting in wide variation with respect to how they approach it in their classrooms. The article closes with implications for policy and practice.
Postsecondary attainment has increased in import and more students from all backgrounds are enter... more Postsecondary attainment has increased in import and more students from all backgrounds are entering higher education today relative to prior generations. Unfortunately, students who are low-income, of color, and the first in their families to attend college drop out at disproportionately higher rates than their more privileged counterparts. Graduates of low-performing urban high schools face particular challenges persisting in college—even those with strong academic records. Efforts to enhance postsecondary completion have focused on the construct of college readiness (CR), or the preparation needed to enroll in credit-bearing courses and persist to graduation. CR is typically defined as a set of cognitive and non-cognitive skills that students should master. However, a list of universal, reified skills may not account for the complex social, cultural, and institutional factors that shape disparate college pathways, particularly for students from underrepresented backgrounds. ❧ Thi...
Teachers College Record: The Voice of Scholarship in Education, 2019
Background/Context To enhance postsecondary completion and minimize equity gaps, researchers have... more Background/Context To enhance postsecondary completion and minimize equity gaps, researchers have focused on defining, measuring, and developing students’ college readiness, or the preparation required to persist in higher education. While this work has been useful to identify the ingredients of postsecondary success, the emphasis on individual achievement runs the risk of portraying marginalized students as deficient. Culturally relevant studies that highlight institutional accountability for college readiness are needed to inform policy and practice. Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of Study Using Holland and colleagues’ (1998) figured worlds theory, this study examines college readiness through the lens of student identity in an urban magnet high school. We investigate how first-generation, low-income students of color interpreted and negotiated local discourses and artifacts to “figure” college-going identities—that is, who they should become and how they should behave ...
Policy efforts to enhance postsecondary access and completion often emphasize the construct of co... more Policy efforts to enhance postsecondary access and completion often emphasize the construct of college readiness (CR). While most research has focused on defining and measuring CR, less has examined the perspectives of first generation students and the urban high school contexts in which many prepare for college. This study utilizes data from an ethnography of college preparation in a low-performing urban high school. Drawing on sensemaking theory, I explore how high-achieving college-bound seniors make sense of CR and what factors shape their sensemaking. Findings offer insight into how CR discourses manifest at the local level to shape opportunity for urban youth.
As educational stakeholders endeavor to prepare more students for postsecondary success, the cons... more As educational stakeholders endeavor to prepare more students for postsecondary success, the construct of college readiness has gained national attention. Scholarly perspectives vary regarding what constitutes readiness, but even less is known about the perceptions of secondary educators tasked with preparing college-ready students. Drawing on interview data and sensemaking theory, we explore the perspectives of 108 teachers working in eight early college high schools in a border region of Texas. Findings suggest teachers rely primarily on their personal and professional experience to make sense of college readiness, resulting in wide variation with respect to how they approach it in their classrooms. The article closes with implications for policy and practice.
Social capital research has demonstrated the value of relationships and networks to enhance colle... more Social capital research has demonstrated the value of relationships and networks to enhance college opportunity for first-generation students. While most work has focused on individual students and their ties, high schools play a critical role in social capital processes by connecting students to external college access organizations and resources. This case study employs Mario Small’s organizational brokerage theory to investigate social capital formation among college-bound first-generation youth in an urban high school. Specifically, we explore how the school itself brokered college-going resources through its partner organizations. Findings illustrate a range of passive and active brokerage strategies that influenced the quantity and quality of available resources, and in turn, the amount of student agency required to secure social capital gains.
Social capital research has demonstrated the value of relationships and networks to enhance colle... more Social capital research has demonstrated the value of relationships and networks to enhance college opportunity for first-generation students. While most work has focused on individual students and their ties, high schools play a critical role in social capital processes by connecting students to external college access organizations and resources. This case study employs Mario Small’s organizational brokerage theory to investigate social capital formation among college-bound first-generation youth in an urban high school. Specifically, we explore how the school itself brokered college-going resources through its partner organizations. Findings illustrate a range of passive and active brokerage strategies that influenced the quantity and quality of available resources, and in turn, the amount of student agency required to secure social capital gains.
Early college high schools, which allow underrepresented students to earn up to an associate’s de... more Early college high schools, which allow underrepresented students to earn up to an associate’s degree during 9th through 12th grades, have been lauded for their potential to increase college access and opportunity. Yet little is known about the role of the principal. Using data drawn from 10 administrators in the borderlands of West Texas, this qualitative study uses an instructional leadership framework to explore how early college principals support students’ college preparation at the intersection of secondary and postsecondary education.
As workforce participation increasingly requires a college degree, ensuring that more students fr... more As workforce participation increasingly requires a college degree, ensuring that more students from traditionally underrepresented populations have the opportunity to enter and complete college is an equity imperative. To that end, high school reforms have promoted “college-going cultures” in low-performing high schools through interventions such as rigorous course offerings and college counseling. College access research has focused on issues specific to academics and college-going processes. Yet this research has tended to ignore broader school climate factors such as school safety and extracurricular programming, which may play a critical role in postsecondary opportunity, especially for historically underserved students. The current study applies hierarchical generalized linear modeling to the Educational Longitudinal Study of 2002 to 2006 to examine the role of college-going culture and high school climate characteristics on college enrollment and persistence. We find that whil...
College readiness (CR), or the preparation required to avoid remedial coursework and persist to g... more College readiness (CR), or the preparation required to avoid remedial coursework and persist to graduation, is typically defined as the cognitive and non-cognitive competencies that individuals possess. However, scholars have suggested that enhancing college-going among underserved populations requires situating conceptions of readiness in sociocultural context. For example, mainstream CR frameworks omit culturally-specific skillsets that non-dominant students may need to persist. College-ready competencies also develop vis-à-vis students’ schooling contexts, requiring attention to not only individuals’ skills or knowledge but also their opportunities to learn.
This study seeks to understand CR in relation to the cultural experiences and schooling contexts of urban youth. To that end, I examine how first generation low-income students of color develop college-going identities in an urban high school. I use the term college-going identity to refer broadly to students’ skills, knowledge, aspirations, and self-perceptions that position them for postsecondary transition. I draw on ethnographic methods and a sample of 30 college-bound seniors attending one low-performing urban high school. Data derive from interviews, focus groups, observations, field notes, and document analysis conducted over a five-month period. Informed by Bourdieu’s (1986) theory of cultural capital and Yosso’s (2005) theory of community cultural wealth, findings offer insight into the cultural and structural dynamics that shape students’ orientation toward college. Implications for college readiness development among non-dominant urban youth are discussed.
This study contributes to the literature in several ways. First, low-income students of color who graduate from urban high schools face particular challenges persisting in higher education. Improving CR interventions requires refining conceptions of readiness to address the unique challenges this population faces. Second, examining the ideas students develop about college while still in high school is useful to support improved CR research and practice. Third, students are directly affected by schooling processes and can offer valuable insider knowledge, yet their voices are often absent from the literature.
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Papers by Julia Duncheon
This study seeks to understand CR in relation to the cultural experiences and schooling contexts of urban youth. To that end, I examine how first generation low-income students of color develop college-going identities in an urban high school. I use the term college-going identity to refer broadly to students’ skills, knowledge, aspirations, and self-perceptions that position them for postsecondary transition. I draw on ethnographic methods and a sample of 30 college-bound seniors attending one low-performing urban high school. Data derive from interviews, focus groups, observations, field notes, and document analysis conducted over a five-month period. Informed by Bourdieu’s (1986) theory of cultural capital and Yosso’s (2005) theory of community cultural wealth, findings offer insight into the cultural and structural dynamics that shape students’ orientation toward college. Implications for college readiness development among non-dominant urban youth are discussed.
This study contributes to the literature in several ways. First, low-income students of color who graduate from urban high schools face particular challenges persisting in higher education. Improving CR interventions requires refining conceptions of readiness to address the unique challenges this population faces. Second, examining the ideas students develop about college while still in high school is useful to support improved CR research and practice. Third, students are directly affected by schooling processes and can offer valuable insider knowledge, yet their voices are often absent from the literature.