Record Details
Under co-construction : parent roles in promoting college access for students of color
ScholarsArchive at Oregon State University
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Title | Under co-construction : parent roles in promoting college access for students of color |
| Names |
Auerbach, Susan, 1956-
(creator) |
| Date Issued | 2001 (iso8601) |
| Note | Access restricted to the OSU Community |
| Abstract | Most parents of color now aspire to college for their children, yet students of color remain underrepresented in four-year institutions. With the loss of key institutional supports, the onus of college planning now falls largely on students and their families on an uneven playing field. How do parents of color without college experience construct and enact their role in promoting college access for their children? I examined this question in an ethnographic case study of 16 workingclass Black and Latino parents whose children were in a college access program at a diverse Los Angeles-area high school. Primary data came from two in-depth interviews with each parent and three years of participant observation at the school, supplemented by student interviews from a database. Parents believed that they were providing important support for college but did so in different ways according to their capacity (college knowledge) and inclination (predisposition for proactive support). Coding and analysis for emergent themes revealed three role orientations along a continuum of support: Moral Supporters, who offered encouragement and indirect guidance at home; Struggling Advocates, who provided monitoring at home and advocacy at school despite obstacles; and Ambivalent Companions, who gave emotional support despite ambivalence on college goals. As anticipated, parent roles were found to be fundamentally socially structured by parents' class and race/ethnicity, as well as culturally mediated and psychosocially enacted. Parents co-constructed their roles with others as members of social and cultural groups in particular home and school contexts. I use cultural and social capital theory to explain variation in role construction and theories of cultural models and self-efficacy to explain subtler nuances. Building on Bourdieu's concept of the habitus-what parents see as desirable, appropriate, and possible for "people like us"-I suggest the formula, (Parents' Capacity x Inclination) + Perceptions of/relations with child + Perceptions of/relations with school = Parent Role. With its highlighting of parents' voices and struggles, this study informs policy and practice on parent involvement and college access while contributing to theory and a more inclusive discourse on parents and schooling. |
| Genre | Thesis |
| Topic | Education, Higher -- Parent participation -- California |
| Identifier | http://hdl.handle.net/1957/50933 |
