Browsing by Subject "Community cultural wealth"

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A miracle on 19th Street : tracing the roots of resistance in the Blackland community
(2019-07-09) Anderson, Kyle William; Sletto, Bjørn; Oden, Michael
In the 1980s, the University of Texas annexed swathes of the Blackland community in East Austin for its Campus Expansion Plan. The Blackland community rallied together to resist annexation, and through the creation of the Blackland Neighborhood Association (BNA) and the Blackland Community Development Corporation (BCDC) was able to sustain their resistance to displacement over time through community-driven development. While community resistance in Blackland was an exceptional case of success, other communities were unable to effectively resist displacement, and many continue to be at risk of displacement from development pressures today. This thesis looks to understand how the Blackland community was able to create conditions for sustainable resistance to University annexations, what forms of community capacity were employed to do so, and what insight their experiences might offer to contemporary community resistance efforts. To explore these questions this paper employs an analytical framework informed by community capacity and critical development theory. While political resistance through the BNA was effective in challenging UT’s institutional power and create spaces for participation, it was through the BCDC that the community was able to assert community control over development in the neighborhood. The dynamic nature of resistance over time in the Blackland community fits within a broader process of mutual learning between east-side communities that should continue to inspire communities in the future.
Entre broma y broma la verdad se asoma : the mobilization of third-grade emergent bilinguals’ cultural capital around sites of humor
(2020-04-23) Ingram, Mitchell Dean; Salinas, Cinthia; Palmer, Deborah; Abril-González, Paty; Dávila, Denise; Flores, Tracey
To say that humor is a universal form of interactive communication is only partially correct. In this dissertation, I argue that it is actually a site where individuals are able to exchange cultural capital, display shared knowledge, form affiliative bonds and disaffiliative stances, and employ metalinguistic skills. The following presentation shares findings that emerged after spending an academic year observing and participating with 23 emergent bilingual students whose first language was Spanish. In this qualitative case study, I employed ethnographic methods to understand how humor phenomenologically functioned within their 3rd grade school settings. I drew from a panoply of research in bilingual education, humor studies, linguistic anthropology, and sociolinguistics to approach and make sense of the subject matter. I allowed the diverse data to inform how I established and analyzed the categories in order to answer the following research questions: (1) In what ways do minoritized emergent bilinguals mobilize their cultural capitals around spaces of humor? (2) How does humor function as a site for emergent bilinguals’ agentic affordances within structural constraints? To answer these queries, I drew on the theoretical framework of community cultural wealth (Yosso, 2005), which examines the “array of knowledge, skills, abilities, and contacts possessed and utilized by communities of color” (p. 77). As the students interactional episodes of humor developed throughout one year and I performed situated interpretations and analyses of the events, I found that most cases were able to fit beneath the umbrella of three meta-themes: resilience, resistance, and resonance. This dissertation sought to add to extant research that foregrounds minoritized students’ agency vis-à-vis an education system that historically does not prioritize nor acknowledge the wealth of linguistic ability and cultural knowledge that these students possess. Furthermore, by viewing humor as a locus of engagement, I hope to further a solutions-seeking agenda that is rooted and grounded in the assets of these students. As humor reveals itself as a phenomenon that is multi-pronged enough to accomplish a multiplicity of functions simultaneously, it proves the adage true: Entre broma y broma, la verdad se asoma [Many a true word is spoken in jest].
Quedarse o irse: evaluating the college decision of non-first generation Latinx students from the Rio Grande Valley border region
(2024-05) Garcia, David Eric ; Saenz, Victor B.; Nava, Michael E., 1972-; Dr. Stella Flores; Dr. Michael Nava; Dr. Veronica Pecero
This study reviewed the college decision of non-first generation Latinx students from the Rio Grande Valley border region. While there is a vast amount of literature on first generation students, there is a gap in literature for non-first generation students overall, with a larger gap for those non-first generation students that may be Latinx from the Rio Grande Valley. With many Latinx students utilizing the theoretical frameworks of familismo and community cultural wealth in their college decision process, this study will utilize the same frameworks to determine if non-first generation Latinx students from this region utilize these frameworks as well. Ten students were interviewed to discuss their college decision process along with the various factors and influencers that were significant in their final college decision. Results of this study found that these students did utilize aspects of familismo and community cultural wealth while citing various factors such as college visits, parent support and diversity in their final decision. The results of this study will serve to assist non-first generation Latinx students from the Rio Grande Valley with their final college decision, while also informing admissions and recruitment offices with better assisting these students.
Re-writing & re-righting a BIPOC Teach For America Corps Member narrative: elevating the testimonios of BIPOC educators and recalibrating a teacher leadership program with community care
(2024-05) Murguia, Kelly Jordan ; Urrieta, Luis; Adair, Jennifer Keys; Jabbar , Huriya; Brown, Keffrelyn D
This study explores the experiences of second-year Black, Indigenous, and People of Color(BIPOC) Teach For America (TFA) Corps Members in a South Texas city. Grounded in Critical Race Theory (CRT), semi-structured interviews and community circles/focus groups, the research seeks to understand how BIPOC educators made meaning of their experiences in the TFA program. The study is situated within a broader narrative of educational equity and social justice, recognizing the importance of collective action and community empowerment. Specifically, the study investigates how second-year BIPOC Corps Members described their overall experience in the TFA program, the role of their racial identity in shaping their teaching experience, and the types of support they received--and needed--to fulfill their aspirations as teachers. By centering the voices and experiences of BIPOC educators, this study aims to inform and transform teacher preparation programs towards a more humanizing and culturally appropriate approach. The dissertation also reflects on the challenges encountered during the research process, including navigating institutional permissions and the impact of global events such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the racial reckoning that took place in the wake of the killings of Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and George Floyd. Despite these challenges, the study underscores the resilience and determination of BIPOC educators. CRT also plays an important role in addressing systemic racism within the field of teaching to create more equitable and supportive environments for all educators, particularly for teachers of color. This study implicates the broader structural inequalities embedded within educational systems, highlighting the systemic challenges faced by BIPOC educators in teacher preparation programs like TFA. By interrogating the intersections of race, identity, and support within the TFA context, the research sheds light on the urgent need to dismantle oppressive structures and cultivate inclusive and empowering environments for BIPOC teachers. This critical perspective emphasizes the imperative for transformative change within teacher preparation programs, advocating for culturally relevant pedagogy, community-centered support systems, and collective efforts towards educational equity and social justice. Finally, the research calls for programmatic efforts that prioritize community care, cultural competence, and collective action in teacher preparation programs.
Storied moments : foregrounding community cultural wealth through digital storytelling
(2018-05-04) Flagler, Moriah; Alrutz, Megan
Schools have historically been sites of acculturation, highly influenced by political issues. Concepts such as “subtractive schooling,” explain that schools that de-value young immigrants’ perspectives, strip them of their social and cultural resources and make them especially prone to academic failure. Building on the scholarship and research surrounding critical race theory and applied theatre, this qualitative MFA thesis examines how community cultural wealth was foregrounded in storied moments – planned and unplanned – when digital storytelling as an applied theatre practice was used with the aim of disrupting subtractive schooling. This study took place in a sixth-grade Spanish for Spanish Speakers class over a three-week residency and explores and analyzes how concepts of vulnerability, authentic caring, and communities of practice played out in the facilitator’s attempts to foreground community cultural wealth in the classroom. Based on the data collected, this document posits that employing digital storytelling as an applied theatre practice can counter subtractive schooling by making space and time for spontaneous and storied moments. Finally, this document discusses tensions that came up during the residency and invites practitioners to consider how they might bring personal story (dichos, cuentos, and testimonios) into the language classroom to center their students’ ways of knowing and lived experiences. This study hopes to contribute to the greater systemic change needed to create schooling experiences that build on the knowledges Latinx students bring with them into the classroom.
“Tienes que Poner Atención” : the benefits and drawbacks of Mexican immigrant students' previous academic experiences in an urban central Texas school
(2010-08) Straubhaar, Rolf Jacob; Marteleto, Leticia; Crosnoe, Robert
In Central Texas, one high school (hereafter referred to as Literacy High) has attempted to help bridge the literacy gap in immigrant populations so as to more easily facilitate their success in standard classroom settings. In this high school, recent immigrants can focus extensively on English language studies so that, upon completion of the program, they can return to their neighborhood high schools with the linguistic and cultural capital (Bourdieu, 1973, 1974, 1977) they need to succeed in a heterogeneous group setting. The following study focuses on second-year students from Mexico within this school. Basing itself upon Yosso's (2006a, 2006b, 2007) theory of “community cultural wealth”, this ethnographic study looks for evidence of cultural attributes held by Mexican tenth grade students that contribute positively to their English literacy development and performance in Literacy High's coursework. The study has found that, primarily, Mexican students at Literacy High are assisted in their coursework by their previously developed aspirational capital (i.e. their ability to maintain their hopes and dreams for a better future even when faced with real and perceived barriers) and navigational capital (i.e. their ability to maneuver through social institutions, in this case the educational system). These characteristics enable them to pass their classes both at Literacy High and the high schools they transfer to upon program completion. However, this high achievement in terms of grades does not necessarily translate into complete English literacy, especially oral literacy. Potential reasons for these results will be discussed, based upon observations of sampled students in Literacy High classes, interviews with these students, and interviews with all Literacy High teachers. This work will also discuss the relative merit of both formal school settings and nonprofit settings in teaching written and oral literacy. Positive exemplary case studies of nonprofit ESL programs will be compared and contrasted with the results from this case study to determine what skills are most effectively taught in either setting, and how particular practices from both nonprofit and formal school settings might be better incorporated in each to improve achievement. The work will end with recommendations for how English literacy might more effectively be taught in formal school settings like Literacy High.